Ark Noah 1
Hey Everyone!
This is a new story I’m writing. A science fiction with a bit of fantasy thrown in. I have a couple of other stories on the site but I have no plans to continue them at the moment and I’m currently rewriting another. Here is Chapter 1. The second one will follow soon. Email your comments to jewelofthewestmeadow@gmail.com
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Disclaimer:
The following works are copyrighted by the author. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the author. All characters are entirely fictional and any resemblance to living persons is coincidental. This story will contain scenes of explicit or erotic sex between men. If this is illegal in your country or state, or offends you, please leave now.
Chapter 1
"DAMN it!" Rock swore as the valve continued to leak despite his adjustments. Maybe he just needed to replace the valve.
Rock was loathe to do so. There was nothing wrong with the valve; it only needed a good adjusting, and maybe one or two thwacks with his autowrench. He would make it work.
Besides, there was no time to get a new valve, it could take weeks before a replacement arrived, and Rock needed his readings now.
"Come on Sean, it's time to get your ass inside," came an irritated, deep voice from over the comm system.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep your pants on Sumeragi. I just need another minute," Rock replied.
"You only have a minute before you run out of oxygen," Hiroki Sumeragi returned.
"I'll hold my breath."
Rock could hear the exasperated sigh on the other end and smiled. It was always fun teasing the reserved Asian.
Rock was at this moment attached to the outer hull of Noah, trying to repair an errant valve that was causing havoc to their observations array.
Giving the valve a good whack, Rock was satisfied when it ceased its incessant leaking. The damn thing wasn't even vital.
"Okay Hiro, I'm heading in."
"Good," was the terse reply.
One day, Rock thought, a gleam in his eye.
Inside the relative safety of the station, Rock made his way to the science deck. Looking around at the aged and near derelict station, rock grew sad. The day he arrived was a memory that would always remain fresh in his mind. If it wasn't for the love and stability that his foster father Corrin Day had given him, Rock didn't know where he'd be today.
Ark Space Station Noah had continued to receive refugees for a week after that day, and he and Corrin had remained steadfast in their duty to provide comfort for the displaced. He grew to be such a sturdy and robust rock that the name stuck. Only two people ever called him Sean these days. One of them was going to use it in a watering down manner if he ever found out Rock had done a hull walk without permission. He'd have to figure out a good story to tell Corrin.
After the last refugees had left, the problem of what to do with the station had arisen. The Integra did not think it worthwhile to continue to spend huge amounts of credits on a facility that was for all intents and purposes, obsolete in its newness. A careful suggestion from the then Station Commander had ensured that Noah would not be abandoned. And so it became an observation station under the Science Guild. It would continue to study and attempt to discover the reason behind the sun's untimely expansion. This was perfect for the Integra as it meant the credit injections into maintaining the facility fell to the lowest bracket.
Rock didn't care about all that politics. He got to stay. That was all he cared about. The desire to find answers dominated a huge part of him, and the best place to do so was where it all began. The central solar system was more or less abandoned, and all colonies had moved to the outer edge near Eris.
"I'm back, he announced when he entered the science deck.
"Whoopee," another science officer said.
"Aw, did you miss me Vaughn?" Rock said, cuffing the man lightly on the head as he walked by.
"We're getting clear readings again," Hiroki interjected smoothly before Vaughn could react.
Rock came and stood next to Hiroki in front of the viewscreen. "Good."
"That valve malfunction caused a bit of a software glitch and it inadvertently brought up some old footage. It's dated ten years ago."
Rock's heart leapt. Footage from ten years ago was all but lost. The huge energy spike from the expanding sun had caused some of the antennae to fry.
"Send it to my personal unit. I'll take a look at it as soon as we're done here." Rock hoped it would reveal some of the answers.
A beep sounded and the viewscreen changed to reveal the image of Corrin Day. Rock groaned silently. How did Corrin always know?
"Hello ladies and gentlemen," Corrin greeted pleasantly.
The science officers greeted their station commander.
"Can you explain to me why an unauthorized hull walk was done?" There was a subtle censure in Corrin's voice that seemed to stab at their guilt all the more.
There was no answer they could give that would satisfy Corrin. In ten years the young man that had welcomed Rock to his new home was now someone to be reckoned with. In a pleasant manner of course. The phrase kill them with kindness seemed to be a mantra that people thought Corrin stood by.
When no answer came Corrin shook his head and sighed. "Four hours of vent duty all around I'd say. I'm sure the rest of the stationers would appreciate your kind generosity in helping to keep our air vents clear."
The men and women on the science deck moaned and shot Rock accusatory glares.
"Sean report to my office after your shift along with your second." With that Corrin signed off and the viewscreen reverted to the data it had previously displayed.
"Well that could have been worse," Rock commented.
"You suck Rock," an officer called out from behind.
Rock ignored the taunt and turned to Hiroki. "So what do the readings say?"
Clearing his throat, Hiroki tapped a few keys, silently miffed at having gotten into trouble along with the frustrating young man next to him. " The readings look good. In fact there is nothing remotely untoward about the data we are getting from the bloated red giant. There are no aggressive expansions occurring at all. Our calculations find that the sun is growing at a rate the same as before the abrupt expansion. It would take millions of years before the sun ever reached its peak and contract again."
Rock sat down. This was good news and it was terrible news. It meant there was no more danger of rapid expansion and the sun going prematurely nova. But it meant the expansion wasn't natural. So what was the cause? Rock was sure the ten year old footage held the answer.
But just in case. "Vaughn run a scan of this region of space, especially near the sun. Check for anomalies and distortions. No matter how strange, I want to know."
"Right away Rock," Vaughn said.
"Come on Hiro, let's get this over with," Rock announced as he made his way to the door.
Hiroki nodded silently and followed Rock, wondering what Commander Corrin was going to do with them.
HIROKI sighed in relief as he made it to the quiet confines of the quarters he shared with his grandmother. The meeting with the Station Commander had been pleasantly unpleasant.
Needless to say he and Rock had been educated once again, to the delight of the Commander, on the dangers of unauthorized hull walks, and why protocol was of utmost importance. Nothing was brand new on Noah and therefore danger was even higher than in a star cruiser just released from the shipyard. Safety first.
But that wasn't what the meeting with the commander had been about. The heads of life support, engineering, navigation and the chief medical officer were present. The commander had shared some startling news.
"I've heard from the Integra," Corrin had begun ominously. "We've been ordered to begin preparations for space flight."
There were shocked murmurs among the officers. Rock had remained silent. As the chief science officer Rock had the most to lose. The shock and disappointment that had clamored through Rock's mind had nearly undone Hiroki.
Being an empath was one of the most straining abilities to have.
As Hiroki watched Rock trying to control his emotions, he wanted to ease Rocks mind. This he did by slowly siphoning off small amount of negative emotions and absorbing them. Hiroki's face barely twitched at the sharp pain in his mind.
"The Integra has made a decision," Corrin continued. "Four of the colony class ships will journey into outer space. They will search for a new home for us. The rest will remain on the outer edge of the solar system, and continue to develop a new way of life for us. The Noah will make its way to Eris and there it will become the headquarters for the new Science and Technology Guild."
Sitting in the living room, Hiroki sipped his green tea and tried to calm down. Five minutes later his grandmother entered the quarters.
"Tadaima Hiroki!" She exclaimed, announcing her return.
"Okaeri nasai, Obaa-sama," Hiroki welcomed.
Kagura Sumeragi was a short, slim and surprisingly spry woman for her age. She worked in engineering and was a brilliant engineer. She and Hiroki shared the trademark Sumeragi blue-black hair and green eyes, and they could trace their ancestry back to ancient feudal Japan.
"You heard?" She asked Hiroki, pouring herself a cup of tea.
"Yes, Grandmother. My job just got a whole lot difficult," Hiroki sighed, rubbing his temples.
"No doubt. You must remain strong. He will need your help soon, I think. And you will need his strength too. For all our sakes."
This startled Hiroki. "What did you see?" He was at his grandmother's side in an instant.
"Calm down Hiroki," she ordered sternly."
Subsiding, Hiroki returned to the couch and picked up his cup again. Kagura came and settled in next to him.
"I haven't seen anything definite. But there will be death and destruction, and a shock that will make our race cry out and demand retribution. I don't know what it could be."
Hiroki nodded silently. His grandmother's visions only became definite right before it happen. He supposed they would have to wait and see. In the meantime, he'd need to find a way to keep Rock from falling apart without his life's work.