An “empty giant cloud of dust” was the nickname given to the Skonis Nebula. A mixture of gas and dust particles that created vivid colors upon the backdrop of space. It expanded billions of miles, but no one has discovered how far it truly reached. Thousands have tried to chart this infamous nebula at the cost of many never returning from its depths. A cargo space vessel, given the name of Titan One by its new crew, was racing towards this nebula in hopes to escape the ones hunting them. 

“Are you sure this is our best option?” Filos questioned Igetis in a whisper with his usual soft-spoken tone, hoping the others would not hear. One of his beady hazel eyes looked directly at Igetis while his other eye scanned the rest of the crew. His usual green leathery skin began changing colors which it did when he was nervous. “Many have not returned from this nebula.  Ships have been found floating helplessly with the crew dead.”

“It is our only chance. We cannot outrun them and there is no way we can withstand their firepower,” answered Igetis with his usual penetrating voice as he guided the space vessel towards their new destination. The blue pupils of his two large transparent eyes continued to focus straight ahead, not wandering from his objective. “We will be safe inside in less than two minutes,” he continued in a clear non-worrisome tone. His moist grayish pale skin would give the impression that he was nervous, but Igetis was a Dagon, an amphibian with human characteristics. His skin was always moist.  

Another explosion was seen and heard on the side of the ship and the whole vessel rocked. All the crew fidgeted nervously because they knew that they would not be able to handle many more blasts. The elite enemy spacecraft behind them was equipped with powerful laser cannons that could render any vessel helpless after a few hits.

“Shields are weakening! Generators are pulling more and more power from the reactor! It is going to collapse!” shrieked Tharros in her usual powerful tone from the copilot chair. She quickly viewed the scanners for the attacking vessel. “We have more incoming fire,” she yelled as another explosion shook the ship. Debris and sparks flew across the bridge making all believe that they were all about to perish in a fiery explosion. Lights flickered casting shadows then darkness enveloped everything.  All that anyone could see were Tharros’s piercing brilliant yellow eyes. The silhouette of her head shaped like an eagle’s could be seen by all. Then the emergency lighting kicked in, giving a small glimmer of hope.

“Almost there! Just a little bit farther!” shouted Igetis, looking straight ahead. His long pale fingers wrapped around the controls as he maneuvered the ship in all directions, desperately trying to avoid all incoming fire.   

Three quick blasts exploded on the port and starboard of the ship.  The reactor sensor popped on showing that it was beginning to shut down.  Power to the controls began to fluctuate.  More debris and sparks flew once again. Gennai shrieked with his high-pitched voice, “This is the end!” as everyone instinctively went to crash position fearing the worst. Gennai being only a foot and a half tall, was able to fit under his seat where he felt safer. Only his perky nose and whiskers could be seen sticking out from underneath the chair. His long tail wrapped around his pudgy body to give him comfort.

Seeing that this could very well be the end, Igetis quickly directed all power to the engines. Then he punched full power. The ship rocketed into the nebula at lightspeed and vanished out of sight from the pursuing enemy spacecraft. The pilot of the ship then pulled back on the throttle and found that they were deep within the nebula. He sourced what power was left in the engine generators to the main generator, to conserve power for life-support. He then shut the engines down, so that they sat drifting in the “empty cloud of dust”. 

“Are you crazy!” growled Dyamion with his deep powerful voice, his sharp teeth showing, as he rose from his chair and stepped towards Igetis. His dark green eyes were purely visible even with the low lighting from the emergency lights.  “You could have killed us with a stunt like that! We could have flown through any number of obstacles!  Gas in this nebula could have ignited with the engines running that hot!” His gray fur stood on end and growls could be heard from his large snout. It was never a good idea to make a Lykos mad.

“I was aware of the consequences,” answered Igetis in a condescending tone as he turned in his chair to confront Dyamion. His confidence was unwavering even knowing that the claws of Dyamion could shred him instantly.  “I thought dying by the hands of our enemies would be worse than dying by crashing or exploding the ship, so I took the chance.” A sly smile appeared on Igetis’s thin lips. A trait that all will come to know of this amphibian-like creature.

“Why are you complaining?” asked Filos standing up from his chair showing no fear. Dyamion was twice his height and triple the lizard’s mass, but still, Filos looked boldly into the Lykos’s eyes. His leathery green skin was now only one color. “We are alive thanks to him.”

“For now!” roared Dyamion pointing a long claw at Filos. “With his stunt, we are deep into the nebula and are now lost and nearly out of power.” 

“Dyamion is right,” snarled Atromitos with a surprisingly strong voice, jumping up from her chair. Her height was more than that of Filos but less than Dyamion. Her distinct golden-brown eyes gave away from where she origin. Not a good idea to make a Mati mad either. “The plan was to reach Asfaleia and there find help from the local governments!  Now there is no chance of finding help!” she roared showing her sharp teeth as her white with black stripes fur stood on end as well.  “We should have attacked the Kraken warship head-on and escape once we blinded them with quantum missiles.” Her words showed her strengths of being fearless and bold, but also her weakness of being overconfident. 

“We were no match for the firing power on that warship,” answered Igetis calmly.  “We would be floating space debris if we would have stayed and fought. The only logical answer was to escape at any cost.  I weighed the consequences, made the best choice possible and because of my excellent instincts we are alive.” His known trait once again appeared on his thin lips.

“Thank you so much for saving our lives you cold-blooded reptile!” shouted Dyamion while bowing his head in a mocking gesture towards Igetis.  “Your instincts never cease to amaze me,” he continued in a mocking tone. “Now that we are lost and have no power, how are your instincts going to get us out of this mess?”

“I don’t see how calling me cold-blooded is an insult,” replied Igetis.  “I find my blood type and all organs and tissues superior to any of yours.  However, being called a reptile is insulting.” He then glanced at Filos. “No offense my friend.”

Filos only rolled his eyes while giving a small smirk.

“That is enough!” shouted Tharros staring at Dyamion with her piercing eyes while she rose from her copilot chair.  Her height was equal to that of Dyamion. She spread her wings as she stared at the Lykos to show her superiority.  “You would have not done any better!”  She then glanced at Igetis. “I may have,” she said with a wink to the amphibian. She then looked back at Dyamion.  “But we are here now, so let us calmly discuss what our circumstances are and then decide what we do next.”

“Agreed,” said Filos with boldness. Tharros looked in the lizard’s direction. His leathery skin began to change colors once again. “We need a new plan,” he continued nervously, “and we need to do it quickly because the power we have left will not last long.”

Dyamion and Atromitos grudgingly return to their seats while Igetis stood to acknowledge the crew. Everyone took notice of his flat fin-like feet as he began to walk around the ship. They were impossible to miss.

“I understand the position that I have put us in and how this complicates our plans,” Igetis said as he scanned the faces of each of the crew members as he walked around the bridge of the ship. He had a gift of being able to know what someone was thinking by simply looking at their facial features and sensing their thoughts. A trait that had got him into “deep water” numerous times.  He continued, “It was, however, the only choice that we could have taken where we would not be dead right now.” He could see both Dyamion and Atromitos shake their heads in disapproval, but he sensed that they thought he was right. His plan of gaining trust from the entire crew seemed to be working.

“Our priority is power,” continued Igetis.  “The reactor of this vessel has been damaged and is unable to create power. The only power left is in the main generator.  From my calculations, if we only use the power available for life support, we have about two to three days. If we do not find a way to power the reactor, it may collapse before that.  The power in the main generator is not sufficient to ignite the reactor.”

Concern faces began to stare back at Igetis.  He could see and feel that it was worse than they expected.

“However, luck is on our side,” said Igetis with a surprisingly upbeat tone. “The vessel that we have stolen is a cargo ship and there must be something that we can find that holds power that we can use to charge the reactor.  I am hoping that by charging the reactor the system will have the power to fix the reactor if the damage is not too extensive.”

“Unfortunately, that is only half the battle,” interrupted Dyamion. “If we can find something to charge the reactor, where do we go? This nebula is well known for being an empty cloud of dust.”

Tharros glanced at Dyamion while she played with the sharp hook on her beak that was used to tear flesh from her prey. Something she always did when she was in deep thought. “First we get the reactor ignited, then we worry about the next step,” suggested Tharros. She stood straight up and spread her wings once again. “I will take lead on that so I know we will be successful.” 

“I will join you,” said Gennai in his high-pitched voice while tugging on his collar trying to calm his nerves. “I… I am good at finding things.  That is what our species are known for.”

“Left behind food crumbs and other trash is not what we are searching for, but you may be useful,” remarked Tharros in a derisive tone.

“Thanks for the kind words,” said Gennai with a scowl while finicking with his tail. “We are much more than the vermin you speak of.  Before the Kraken came, my species built great cities that many would have called incredible. Troks have evolved into a people that are equal to any other in what they have accomplished.”

“Sorry,” said Tharros with a smirk. “On our planet, you would be considered dinner, well appetizers.”

“I will help the bird and the rat,” said Dunamis with his deep, throaty voice. He brushed his hand through his long black wavy hair which allowed all to see his pure red eyes. Even after seeing his eyes before, some of the crew still looked away because they were so disturbing.  “Better that than standing here waiting to die,” he continued with a small grin. He shifted his weight from his two back legs to his two front legs as he nervously rubbed his chin. Knowing that he was now the center of attention made him uncomfortable. Centaurs were always a private species.        

“I can help too,” offered Filos, his beady hazel eyes looking in two different directions while he flicked his long tongue. It was either changing skin color or the flicking of the tongue that gave away his nervous habits.

Igetis nodded in approval.  “The rest of us will search the vessel’s navigational systems for any help in finding out where we are at.  Chances are there will not be much help, but you never know.”

“My planet circles the Makrinos Sun which is billions of miles away, and even we have heard of this nebula,” remarked Makarios in his usual sotto voice as two eyes focused on Igetis while the other six eyes scanned the other crew members. Igetis searched around the bridge, trying to find where the voice was coming from. He found Makarios hanging upside down from the ceiling as Arachnes, giant spiders, like to do.  “We can fly in this nebula for years and find nothing.” He lowered himself from the ceiling until both their faces were a few feet apart. He gave Igetis his usual toothy grin.

“The alternative is just to wait for death,” responded Igetis in a supportive tone.  “None of us want that.  Let’s see what we can find.”

“After a few days with this crew, death cannot come quick enough,” joked Gelio with her silvery voice.  A large thin smile showed on her face. Her large brilliant green and yellow eyes fluttered as she coiled her long body around one of the many large support pillars found on the bridge and pulled herself up until she reached Igetis’s height. She gave him a small wink as she waited for him to reply.

 Igetis could only roll his eyes and give a soft chuckle, already aware of her quirky personality. 

Tharros, Gennai, Dunamis, and Filos made their way off the bridge of the ship through the main entrance and the rest began to scan the navigational systems.

 

Their stolen cargo ship was not as immaculate as the top of line warships. The technology was sub-par and was not a threat to most enemies which was why they were able to steal the vessel.  It only had four main sections.  The first section was the bridge where all controls to fly the vessel were found. The section directly outside the bridge was the crew quarters. Nothing more than a concrete bed and a small closet was found in each room.  The third section was the cargo space which was divided into two giant rooms.  One room was above the other and the room below had twice the height as the room above.  The last section was the engine room where all items that were needed to propel the ship were located plus the generators and the all-important reactor. 

When the four crew members arrived in the cargo section, many items were scattered because of the attack on their ship. Debris was everywhere and damage to the ship could be seen in many different areas. They punched up the manifest on one of the monitors to see if it could guide them in finding something to power the reactor.  They found this ship was carrying weapons used during ground evasions. Each of those weapons would hold a power source but finding them in this now disorganized mess would be much more difficult. 

After scavenging around the last known location for these items, they found containers marked with the weapons they were seeking, but they were buried under wreckage. After some heavy lifting and reorganizing, they were able to search through the containers. What they found were parts to weapons that when assembled became mini rocket launchers that fire one-inch rockets.  Each one of these rockets had a forty feet explosion radius which was very useful in taking out large groups.  This weapon was all too familiar to the crew.  They had seen this weapon take out thousands of their fellow species when their planets were evaded.  Tharros picked up the parts of one of the containers and began to assemble the weapon while the others looked on with concerned looks.

Tharros, sensing their concern, said calmly, “Relax.  Before the Kraken evaded my planet, I was with the Security Forces.  I know how to handle weapons.”  She finished assembling the mini rocket launcher and then said while trying to keep her emotions under control, “This is a remarkable piece of machinery.”  She gripped the handle and pointed the weapon towards the back of the ship. Her actions became procedural, as if she was preparing this weapon for battle. Her mind, on the other hand, was in the past. A horrifying past that cannot be forgotten. She began to tell her story hoping it would ease the pain, “When my planet first saw their ships coming towards our home, we tried to communicate with them, but there was no reply.”  She then lowered the weapon and began to inspect the magazines holding hundreds of one-inch rockets.  “I was in the first attack run piloting my space cruiser against their large elite vessels but that did not last long.” She then rotated the weapon over and began to try and remove a panel by the magazine.    “They then entered our planet’s atmosphere and then smaller ships from the larger ones were dispatched to land on our planet. Many landed near our most major cities.”  She successfully removed the panel and began to inspect the inner workings of the weapon. “The doors opened from the many landed ships and immediately they attacked.  One of the many weapons they used was this very weapon.  Each rocket blast was thirty to forty feet wide.  Thousands of my people lay dead in the first two minutes of the ground attack.  Within twenty-four hours after the first attack, we surrendered the entire planet.” For the first time sadness could be seen in her brilliant yellow eyes. She paused only for a few seconds then she carried on with her work.

For a moment, no one else spoke because each of them suffered similar events.  They knew the difficulty in telling the story because it is not something that anybody would like to relive. Not every day do you see the annihilation of your species.

Tharros continued to fiddle with the inner workings by removing parts and carefully setting them on the ground.  Soon she had several different parts organized neatly before her.  She set the weapon down and began inspecting each part individually.  After a few minutes, she held up a small rectangular object. “This has to be the power source for this weapon. It appears to be a plasma-ion cell, but the technology is more advanced than I have seen.”

“Will we be able to charge the reactor with this cell?” asked Filos.

“The reactor uses plasma as the main power supply.  The same as this plasma-ion cell, so in theory, it should work,” answered Tharros.

“Isn’t igniting a damaged reactor manually dangerous,” remarked Gennai.  “If the damage is too extensive then we are dead.”

“That is why I am hoping the ‘talking fish’ that claims to have all the answers knows what he is doing,” Tharros said with a small wink and a large grin. She purposely used the playful, but spiteful, nickname that some of the crew used to describe Igetis. Since he was amphibian, he could live and swim underwater, so therefore he was a fish to all land dwellers. His obnoxious attitude only embellished the desire to use the vindictive label.

They continued to remove the other plasma cells from the other three weapons they found.  After that, they searched the manifest for additional items.  They found more weapons, portable light sources, cooking equipment, replacement parts for ground vehicles, and armor. All items that needed power to operate. Once they had removed all power cells, they had eighteen in total in all different shapes and sizes.  They gathered up all their findings and carried them to the bridge.

 

 

As they entered the bridge, Makarios asked, “Did you have any luck?” Two of his legs fidget nervously hoping for a good answer.

“I am more concerned about what they found to eat than power sources for the ship,” said Gelio with a wink.  “I do not want to die on an empty stomach.”  All eight of Makarios’s eyes looked at the serpent trying to tell if she was serious.

Tharros raised her feathered hands and said, “Patience, please.  We will show you everything we found.  We hope we found some items that will be useful.”

They placed all the plasma power cells on the table in the navigational station where all were reviewing constellation maps from the ship’s computer.  Igetis began to pick up each power cell one by one along with Dyamion.  Igetis looked at Dyamion and knowing Dyamion had a background in repairing space vessels asked, “Will we be able to use them?”

The Lykos was surprised at first that he would be asking him due to their tense relationship. He replied with some hesitancy, “Not to power the reactor directly but we may be able to power it using one of the secondary systems.”

“Those were my thoughts as well,” replied Igetis. He could sense that Dyamion was encouraged that he was asking him for help.

“For those of us that are not engineering-minded,” remarked Atromitos.  “Please enlighten us.  How can we power the reactor if not directly?”

“We could use the shield generators or one of the other subordinate systems,” replied Dyamion to Igetis, seeming to ignore Atromitos’s question.

“I would suggest the shield generators,” remarked Igetis.

“I think that would be best,” agreed Dyamion, happy that “the talking fish” was descending from his throne to ask him for help. The tension had seemed to lessen, at least between him and Dyamion.

After a few moments of silence, Atromitos flung her arms above her head and said, “Still not understanding!  How is powering the shield generators going to power the reactor?  At least I understand that we need the reactor to power the engines so we can move.”

“Sorry,” apologized Igetis while raising his cold long fingered hands in an apologetic gesture. “Powering the reactor directly is dangerous because it can explode with the slightest mishap, especially when damaged.  Using the shield generators, we can transfer power to the reactor at a minimum level to avoid overloading it.  The conduits between the reactor and the shield generators are set up with an inversion system which inverts the power to what it can use.  This should allow the reactor to ignite the plasma, therefore creating power for the ship.  Hopefully, with the system back online, the ship’s repair systems can repair the damage.”

“That is only if the shield generator accepts these cells,” clarified Dyamion. “Most likely they will because it looks to be the same technology.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?”  Atromitos questioned.

“You, I guess,” answered Igetis with a smug tone.  “You’re the one asking questions,” he continued with a sly grin.

Atromitos closed her eyes and clinched her teeth, trying not to lose her temper. Her long tail stood straight up and slowly swung back and forth, an idiosyncrasy she used to vent her anger. Dyamion and Tharros picked up the plasma cells and everyone made their way to the engine room.

In the engine room, they began connecting one of the larger cells to the shield generators and then changed the flow of power from the cell to the generators.  The shield generators began to respond.

“It is working!” said Dyamion with a huge grin. His large, jagged teeth were seen by all.

All breathed a sigh of relief, except Igetis who seemed to know that it would work all along.

“It will take a couple of hours to transfer all power to the generators, then we will see about the reactor,” explained Dyamion as he continued to monitor the power flow.

“Fine,” said Igetis.  “The rest of us will return to the bridge and talk about what we have found in the ship’s computers.”

All left Dyamion except Atromitos who stayed behind to help.  Back on the bridge, Igetis began to explain what they had found.  His gloomy tone told them that it was not good news. “There is not much information found on the ship’s computer. A few maps showing missions into the nebula where they placed beacons in hopes to map their way through the nebula.  This was hundreds of years ago, and they stopped due to lack of success.”

“Do we know if those beacons are still active?” asked Dunamis. His dark red eyes hoping for a positive answer.

“No,” replied Igetis. “When we get the reactor back, we can do a full scan of the area and see if we can pick up a signal.  I believe we will find something that will guide us through this large nebula.”

“What are the chances that we do?” asked Dunamis while showing everyone his nervous habits once again.

Igetis just smiled.  He could sense that all were beginning to lose hope.  “I remember when I looked across the many large oceans of my home planet, the water was so clear that it was hard to determine which way was the sky.” His voice was soft but penetrating and seemed to ease the tensions that all were experiencing.  “Many days, I sat for hours admiring the pure beauty and meditating on the future.”  He looked at each of their faces and could see their minds reminiscing about their homes.  “For many of us, our homes may be gone, but not in here.”  He pointed one of his long fingers at his giant head.  “All I have to do is close my eyes, and I am there.”   For the next two hours, everyone was able to forget about the predicament they were in and lose themselves in memories of being home.

 

 

After two hours of charging the shield generators, they were sitting at half power.

“Time to test the reactor,” said Dyamion as he and Atromitos entered the bridge.

Their entrance startled everyone except Igetis of course.  Tharros immediately went to the main control station.  She brought up the power systems and saw that the shield generators were at half power.

“I will go ahead and begin the transfer at minimum flow,” said Tharros. She began the flow, and the reactor began to respond. 

“It is trying to ignite,” remarked Dyamion as he viewed the control panel over Tharros’s shoulder. “In a few minutes, we will see how bad the reactor is damaged.”

It felt as if everyone was holding their breath as the minutes seemed to pass by slowly.  The control panel finally began to send back readings on the reactor.

“The plasma in the reactor has ignited!” shouted Dyamion.  “Now if it stabilizes, we’re in business.” Power began to fluctuate, and sensors at all control panels were beginning to pop on.  The system looked to be coming back online. 

“The reactor is stable, now it is running a diagnostic,” said Tharros. “We will now see how bad the damage is.”

A few more minutes passed, and the control panel lit up with the diagnostic. With a great sigh of relief, Dyamion reported, “There is a slight crack in the core where plasma is venting but the system can seal it.  Thirty minutes max and the crack will be sealed.”  Smiles were seen all around, and shouts of joy were heard. Power was restored. The control panel popped up another message.  Tharros began reading and then tapped Dyamion on his shoulder.  His joy turned to concern. He pounded his fist on the control panel which startled everyone including Igetis.

“I take it that it is not all good news?”  asked Igetis, showing concern in his large, transparent frog-like eyes.

“The core of the reactor can be repaired by the ship’s repair system,” replied Dyamion.  He then took a deep breath and his tone and actions showed fear.  “The conduit between the core and the main chamber has weakened greatly and is losing its integrity quickly.  As we continue to use the reactor, it will continue to weaken.  Eventually, the plasma will be exposed, and the plasma will begin to leak.  This will shut down the reactor.”

“There is no way to fix it?” asked Atromitos with a lump in her throat.

“Since it is outside the core, the system can’t fix it,” replied Dyamion, shaking his head, his green eyes narrowed.  He then arched his head, and all could see that he was trying to control his emotions.  He then said in an almost whisper, “The piping has to be replaced.  There is no way to seal the leak once the piping breaks.  We would have to empty the reactor, replace the piping and then fill the core with plasma again.”

“Any way to store the plasma while we do the repairs?”  asked Filos.

“Where would you store plasma?” replied Tharros with an angry, patronizing tone. “Radioactive, flammable, combustible plasma?!”

Dyamion lightly placed his large paw on Tharros’s shoulder while giving her a soothing look, hoping this would ease the tension.  Tharros understood and then looked at Filos and gave him an apologetic stare.

Filos nodded with his adorable tiny lizard smile, showing he had no hard feelings. A trait well known for an Abas, lizards with human characteristics.

Dyamion continued, “The only way to repair this type of damage is at a space station with all the needed equipment and safety gear.  There is no way to repair it here, lost in a giant nebula.”

“So, we can run the ship normally until eventually, the reactor will shut down?” asked Igetis.

“In theory, yes.”

“How long do we have?”

“With what I am seeing from the diagnostic and if we use power sparingly, five to six weeks.”

Shock overtook most of the crew. Gasps and shouts of anger were heard.  All shook their heads in disgust.  What once was joy had now turned to panic and fear.  Many of the crew scoffed at the irony of escaping a powerful enemy, to only die in an “empty cloud of dust.”  The future again looked bleak.  Only one did not show any emotion and appeared as if he knew everything would turn out fine. Seeing this, all stared at him waiting for his response.

For a long moment, Igetis looked at the entire group. His large eyes not giving the slightest hint of how he was feeling.  Some were nearly at their boiling point waiting for him to say something that would calm their fears.  Then with a small shrug and a sly smile on his pasty amphibian face, Igetis said in a tone that lacked any worry, “Then we just need to find civilization before then.”