An attack on a space station led to an emergency. I did not understand the madness and tried to help.
I looked into the whiskey glass with a dull gaze. Smoky-smelling vapors rose from the golden-brown liquid into my nose. I couldn’t believe it and leaned heavily on the counter. A few minutes ago I had seen the breaking news on the mobi glass. The Nine Tails had attacked the Ambitious Dream refinery station. Space battles raged in the asteroid field surrounding the station. The people in the station were cut off from supplies. Anger boiled up inside me. Why!? Why were there always madmen who had insane claims to great power. Why did these lunatics have to walk over corpses. Why did they have to cause suffering to other people. I thought the times of the A.M.C.Y., the Asteroid Mining Corporation of Yela were over. The times when the Mining Corporation terrorized the area of Grim Hex and the moon Yela with the help of the Nine Tails. But there was someone in the Nine Tails who wanted to restore the old order by force. I knew the Nine Tails, I had met many of them on Grim Hex. I was sure that not all of them agreed with the attack. However, it was hard to imagine that the majority of the Nine Tails would openly oppose it. The consequences would be harsh. I had also had to experience this. There had been an attack on my HAB in Grim Hex some time ago. Just because I had asked too many questions.
I looked up and saw myself in the mirror behind the bar. Glassy eyes and determination were visible on my face. There was a dull thud as I put the whiskey glass down on the counter with force. The few patrons in the dark bar looked at me furtively. I did not care. Let them think what they wanted. Medical supplies were urgently needed at the Ambitious Dream Station. My White Rabbit was a very fast spaceship. She was a blockade runner. I could help. I wanted to help.
*****
A few hours later, I was on approach to the Rayari Anvik Research outpost on the moon Calliope. One of four outposts in the Stanton system where medical supplies could be purchased. The visibility on Calliope was crappy as usual. I could barely see what was on the other side of the cockpit window. It was still 20 km to the outpost when a signal appeared on the radar. Then a second. The signals were directly ahead, at the outpost. My hands got wet and shook slightly. Had the Nine Tails set up a blockade around the outpost? Straining, I looked out of the cockpit. But I could see nothing. Still 10 km. I had to make a decision. I courageously gave full thrust. The engines roared to life, catapulting the Star Runner forward and me into the seat.
At maximum speed, I thundered low over the outpost. A Cutlass Black and a Hercules Starlifter were on the landing pads. They were not Nine Tails but helpers getting medical supplies for the Ambitious Dream Station. I knew that the mighty Starlifter had more cargo space than the outpost storage area. My chances of getting medical supplies here were slim. I decided to fly to the nearby moon Clio. There was another Rayari Research outpost. To my surprise, it had enough medical supplies to completely fill my cargo hold.
During the Quantum flight to Ambitious Dream Station, I was able to relax a bit. I sank deeply into the pilot’s seat and closed my eyes. Images of explosions and spaceship wrecks rushed into my mind, not letting me go. Fears came up in me. Fears from past times that I thought I had left behind. The images in my mind’s eye turned red. Red light burned through my closed eyelids. In the distance I thought I heard sirens. Suddenly, I startled and wrenched my eyes open. A shrill alarm echoed through the cockpit accompanied by a pulsing red light. Then a bang. Suddenly the White Rabbit stopped moving, hovering silently in space. The Nine Tails had set up an anti-quantum field. The fast quantum flight had ended here. I was still almost 200 km away from the station. The last part I had to fly with the conventional drive. 200 km of uncertainty.
Just as I had collected myself, a ship suddenly appeared next to me without warning. More out of reflex than conscious I gave full power to the shields. All my muscles were tense. My whole body tensed, unable to move. Seconds passed like hours. Then I cautiously dared to look out of the cockpit window. A Constellation was hovering to my right. Peacefully it lay in the sea of stars. Another auxiliary ship that had fallen out of the Quantum Tunnel like me. The helpfulness was gigantic. So many were helping, bringing much needed goods to the crisis area to the Ambitious Dream Station. Together with the Constellation, I set off for our destination.
It wasn’t until we reached the space station that my tension slowly fell away. I stood on the observation deck and looked out through the gigantic panorama window. The view of the nebula and the asteroids was dreamlike. Space was so beautiful, could be so peaceful. If only these guys were not greedy for power and influence. Why did mankind still leave a trail of war and destruction? We were so advanced. We had spread out into space, colonized many planets. And there was still so much unknown to discover. Nevertheless, some had nothing better to do than to attack others. I just suppressed a tear when I felt a hand on my shoulder. An orderly from the hospital was standing next to me. He didn’t have to say anything. His gratitude for the medical supplies delivered was clear to see.
Together we looked out into the vastness of space and listened to the music coming from the mobi glass. The same song came on all the radio stations. “Give Peace A Chance“. I hoped the madness would end soon.
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