Velocity - Chapter 2

  The cabin made an unexpected vibration sound. The crew looked at eachother but felt a dizzying haze when they looked about. It was as if everything was vibrating in their minds, though their bodies were not feeling the sensation that their eyes were showing. Everything was slightly blurred. Bodhi looked at his cup and the coffee started to drain down into nothing like there was an invisible hole at the bottom, leaving a stain in the cup. Anissa had a small plant at her station to show her love of biology. It turned brown and withered, causing her heart to sink. Kamala's gelatinous vitamin cubes that was to be her snack had dried up in front of her eyes. Pete's language research paper started to turn yellow and aged. It was as if the force was removing the life out of the ship. The vibrations continued to get stronger and layer of powder accumulated on all that could be seen. No one was able to talk. Bodhi stared at Elijah and made a made a hacking motion with his arm to signal for him to stop it. Elijah just fixated on Bohdi's gaze, shook his head and shrugged to indicate that it was not possible. All of a sudden, there was an explosion in the engine room. Smoke billowed into the command bridge as everything became still again. The air vents turned on and moved it out of the cabin.

  Everyone gasped for breath at the same time. Aly sneezed.

  "What the hell happened?!" Bodhi screamed.

  "I don't know." Elijah said. "I, uhh, I don't know."

  "Is this dust?" asked Aly.

  "Is everyone alright?" Bodhi asked. Everyone seemed to be. Aly sneezed again. Bodhi looked at Riel, "Call command."

  Riel grabbed a headset and opened a communication line. "Command. This is the Vivaldi. We have an emergency."

  No one responded.

  "Command. This is the Vivaldi. Emergency. Respond."

  The line was still silent.

  "Are the comms down?" Bodhi asked.

  "No. There's just no one."

  "Aly. Sensors?"

  Aly scrambled to get some information. "They're working. The engine is out. Everything else seems to be working for now."

  "Command. Third attempt. This is the Vivaldi. Emergency."

  "Okay, Desmond. Hold on that." Bodhi said.

  "There's a ship approaching us, Captain." Aly said. "It hit us with a bunch of different radio waves. It seems like it's trying to communicate with us."

  "Hello? Is anyone there?" said the voice on the communication line. It was direct and masculine.

  Aly looked at Bodhi and asked, "What should we do?"

  "Do you know where we are?" asked Bodhi.

  "It looks like we're at Testudas, if these sensors are using the star analysis correctly."

  "It's supposed to be uninhabited, isn't it?" Rose said. Everyone turned to her. She averted their gaze and looked down with embarassment.

  "Let's respond." Bodhi said. Aly opened up the line of communication and nodded to him with worry in her eyes.

  "This is Captain Stevens from the FESMA craft, the Vivaldi."

  The voice on the line spoke, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

  "I'm Captain Stevens from the FESMA craft, the Vivaldi."

  "Is that true?" the voice said, in disbelief.

  "Yes. We're a research vessel. We need assistance. We have no engines. We're stuck."

  "We're going to dock with you to bring you aboard. I'm Captain Alcott. I will see you in a moment."

  Bodhi, Riel, and Aly all walked toward the docking bay. The ship moved closer and oriented the docking doors to the Vivaldi. They saw the good samaritans on their side on their docking doors giving them signals to indicate that it was safe to pressurize the connection. The door opened and six soldiers entered with a distinguished leader following behind. His attire sported a nameplate with "Alcott" along with a gold circle on his chest. Alcott and his soldiers were wearing a style of uniform that they have never seen before. The soldiers looked around the docking bay in astonishment.

  Alcott looked at Bodhi and spoke up loudly, at which the soldiers composed themselves, "I'm Captain Nestor Alcott. Captain Stevens?"

  "Yes."

  "We're going to look at your vessel."

  "That's fine with me." They walked out of the docking bay. Bodhi asked, "Who are you guys?"

  "We're with the Testudas Global Force."

  "Testudas is supposed to be uninhabited."

  The soldiers look at eachother with skeptical glances. One snickered. Alcott asked, "Why do you say that?"

  "We analyzed this planet, it has no colony. You're humans, too, aren't you?" asked Bodhi. Aly and Riel looked at eachother in confusion. Riel then looked down in contemplation.

  "Of course. Can we hold off on the questions until we verify your identity?"

  Bodhi felt a burning in his head. It was the burning of anger. He wanted answers and suddenly found himself with no control of the situation.

  They stopped by the engine room and found that the engine could not work in its condition. They arrived at the command bridge. The research staff stared at them with puzzled looks due to the strange attired of their new friends. Alcott pulled out a tablet that looked nice than the ones that the Vivaldi crew used. He asked them for their names and they all provided them. Alcott nodded as he listened. He looked around and he came up with an impression of understanding.

  Alcott said, "Consider yourself refugees. Based on what I see, we are compelled to help you. We're going to bring you down to the home of TGF Representative Damiran, where you will be guests. You will have to answer questions, however. I should expect that once we get you sorted, Captain Stevens, you can discuss the situation with your crew."