Regenesis

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.”

Tanner's words echoed in the empty silence of Rose's helmet as she drifted further from the Pilgrim. He'd said it with a smirk and an evil glint in his stormy blue eyes just moments before shutting her in the airlock. Rose was sure he meant it as a joke, but now that she was floating into the heart of space, she couldn't help but wonder if he intentionally tampered with her tethering lines. After she'd rejected him yet again, he hadn't been happy.

As the hangar’s main mechanic and engineer, it was Rose's job to conduct weekly scans of the exterior of sector twenty. After encountering a small field of space debris, the opening to the hangar became jammed, and Rose drew the short straw to walk outside and repair the damage. Usually, she didn't mind the vast beauty of space with its endless wonders, but now she longed for the comfort of her six-by-four room.

As part of the last refugee missions, Rose was on the fifth year of her ten year contract. Everyone on board the Pilgrim and the other four spaceships had to serve ten years working. Months before launch, everyone was given their schedules as well as their job descriptions. Some started in cryogenic sleep while others watched the first ten years of space travel. Of course, the experimental portal technology was as unpredictable as it was unstable. One moment the ship was coasting along faster than the speed of thought, and the next, it was in the middle of a meteor field.

None of that mattered now. A rescue mission was out of the question with the hangar bay sealed from the outside. Rose was doomed to die in seven minutes when the oxygen ran out. For a brief moment, she entertained the thought of popping the seal on her helmet and letting space kill her but fear stilled her hands.

Tears blurred her vision as hopelessness set in. All Rose had wanted was to help find a new world for humanity to inhabit. She’d studied hard to earn her engineering degree and helped develop the new designs for the last two Ark missions. In addition to the crew, every ship sent off into the unknown carried with it billions of frozen sperm and egg samples to help restart the human race.

Oh, please, Father, don't let me die like this!

Rose silently pleaded with God as memories from her childhood flooded her mind. Images of attending a small, wooden church with her grandma played like a silent movie. She'd been too young and adventurous to pay attention to the teachers and the preacher, but now she wished she could remember anything from those days.

Something like a bar of steel suddenly pressed against Rose’s abdomen. She screamed as she unsuccessfully flailed around like a fish out of water. The monitors in her suit shouted at her as her back collided with something rock hard, knocking the breath from her lungs. Panic set in as she realized she was moving faster than before away from the Pilgrim, all while being held captive by the oppressive weight.

A small eternity passed before the oppressive darkness of space gave way to a strange reddish glow. It filled a small rectangular room that she was pulled inside. The room was covered in black, vine-like plants with shimmering silver-purple leaves. Suddenly, something pressed her knees into the floor below, and a human-shaped hand covered in black gripped her hand and forced her to take hold of a handle on the floor. Confusion barely beat out panic as she started to float up from the bottom only to be pulled down hard. Her knees cracked at the force moments before the hand pushed her face towards her knees.

She realized then that she was still screaming as the opening they came through closed. Before she could stop herself, she looked over at her rescuer. A human-shaped body in a black suit with broad shoulders gripped the handle next to hers. His helmet reminded her of a motorcycle helmet.

The reflective visor turned towards her again, and he quickly pulled her back to the floor. Before she could take a breath between screams, the room felt like gravity suddenly cranked up to twenty times its usual strength. The force caused grey spots to fill Rose’s vision just before unconsciousness overtook her.

Rose slowly became aware of arms like steel beams carrying her through a reddish hall. It took everything to force her eyes open and stare up at the man. He wore a silver mask over his face with blue reflective lenses over his eyes. His strange clothing was rough against her skin and his biceps had armored bands around them. Each band had three glowing, orange vials of swirling liquid and one blue-silver one. They were an inch and a half tall and no wider than her pinkie finger.

“Where am I? Who are you?”

As Rose spoke, strange, interlocking geometric patterns on his arms lit up with an aquamarine color. He turned his face down and released a guttural sound filled with pops and growls. She jerked in response and said, “Put me down!”

When he didn't comply but continued walking through the maze of corridors, she pushed against his chest and told him once more to put her down. The moment she spoke, those strange patterns lit up with aquamarine. A few moments later, they returned to a color a shade darker than his olive skin tone. The strange phenomena distracted Rose for a long moment before she tried again. This time he spoke with the same strange language before lowering her feet to the ground. Her bare feet met warm metal that had a strange texture and almost seemed to hum with energy.

“Where’s my suit and my shoes?”

He tilted his head as his markings flared to life once more. He stood taller than her at seven foot four inches and looked like he could easily take on an entire football team. The strange black and silver clothing combined with the air of authority he carried gave her the impression that he was someone important, like an FBI agent. The silver facial mask and spiked black hair made him look even more menacing.

He grabbed her gently by the arm and resumed walking. As they went, Rose looked around at the strange looking walls cast in the same eerie reddish light that seemed to feel like it was caressing her skin. Above them, veins of red were set into the ceiling and branched off like tree roots in all directions.

"Oh, Rose, aliens are real, and you're on one of their ships. That or you are suffocating right now, and your brain is being unusually imaginative for its last moments."

Her alien rescuer looked her way as she spoke, his markings pulsing to life on his arms and neck. Other than the strange marks and the fact that they pulsed with color, he could pass for human. Of course, that depended on what was under the mask.

Suddenly, the wall in front of them pulsed then dematerialized. Rose jumped back with a shriek while he continued. Heart pounding in her chest, she forced her feet to move, only then realizing that her alien was also barefooted and those markings were there as well. The moment she stepped inside, the wall solidified. The sight distracted her as a strange sound like bubbles in a brook filled the quiet.

A series of cracking sounds drew her attention, and she turned just in time to see her alien talking to a strange creature. It was a few inches shorter than him in its chair and had an exoskeleton like a beetle that shimmered with vibrant purple hues in the red light. Nearly two dozen spindly arms about two inches in diameter protruded from its back. The arms reminded her of crab legs and even had small spikes covering the areas around the joints. It turned around to look at her, revealing a small head with eye clusters like a spider and a mouth covered with many white feather-like bristles.

The bubbling sound grew more frantic as it turned around and began tapping away at a console with its many arms. Her rescuer spoke with it again before returning his attention to her. He spoke for a long time before sighing and walking towards her.

Unsure of his intentions, Rose took a step back, knowing she had nowhere to run. He pulled a small black circular object from a pouch on his belt and held it out for her to inspect. It looked like a length of braided cord tightly wound into a flat circle. When she looked up at him again, he quickly pressed it to the back of her neck. Startled, she jerked back and reached for it, but it was stuck to her skin. He grabbed her hand to keep her from ripping it off and spoke again.

The creature continued to bubble away in quick succession, giving Rose the impression that it was cussing out her alien. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he released her hand and retrieved the object before pressing it to the back of his neck. The moment it attached, his markings pulsed in aquamarine waves. He shuddered then walked away while the light continued to dance along his skin.

Rose followed him only to stop dead in her tracks as she looked out the windshield at her ship slowly growing larger. Were they returning her to the Pilgrim? Who were they, and what did they want? Surely, after rescuing her, they wouldn't want to harm the crew.

A relieved sigh drew her attention, and she looked over in time to see her alien pull the object from his neck. It was stretched out now and looked three times its original size. Without looking, he tossed it towards the creature across the room. It landed on the console then slithered like a snake into a pool of liquid near the wall. Chills spread over her skin at the sight.

“Is that your ship?”

The firm, masculine voice boomed through the room, and Rose half turned, half jumped in response. Her rescuer stood four feet from her with one finger pointed at the Pilgrim.

“Y-yes.” Rose stammered in shock, not sure if she had truly heard him speak English.

“Are you in charge?”

“No.”

“I must speak to whoever is in charge.”

“How can I understand you?” Rose spoke before he could stop herself.

"I simply downloaded information from your brain." He paused, tilted his head to the side, and continued, "My race is highly adaptive, and if you would have continued to speak, I would naturally pick up on your language. Unfortunately, I had to resort to other methods due to your lack of communication skills."

Anger surged through Rose at the audacity of the alien before her, and she quickly replied, "I'll have you know that I'm an excellent communicator but talking to an alien isn't exactly normal."

“From where I’m standing, human, you’re the alien.” He turned and spoke to the creature for a moment before returning his attention to her and saying, “Come. I must speak to your leader.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked through the disappearing wall. Rose had to run to catch up as he led the way back to the airlock. Her suit hung neatly from some vines, and he practically shoved it at her when she drew near. While she suited up, he grabbed a three-foot long by two-foot wide rectangle with straps, slung it over his shoulders, and placed his hand over the straps. Without warning or sound, the box slowly disappeared, becoming his black suit.

Rose watched in wonder at the strange, advanced tech until he turned his face towards her. Impatience rolled off him in waves as she struggled into her suit and checked everything over. Surprise flooded her when the oxygen gauge showed she was back at full capacity.

“Come.” He grabbed her arm once more and pulled her into the airlock.

“I have a name, you know.”

“So do I.” He retorted as he walked through the room, dissolving another wall and leading her into a large hangar with two black ships about the size of a military helicopter.

“What is it? Mine’s Rose.”

He walked towards a ship, opening the cockpit hatch as he approached with a wave of his hand before answering, “Human languages cannot fathom my name.” He climbed inside before turning to help her. Once he settled her into a seat, he launched the ship and headed towards the Pilgrim.

“The best I can give you as far as a name is Maverick.”

As they approached the Pilgrim, she asked the question burning in her mind, “What do you want with us?”

“Nothing. I want absolutely nothing to do with you or your race. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the luxury of making those decisions. It’s up to the Council to decide what is to be done with you.”

Rose swallowed her fear at his words and quickly told him about the damage to the hangar. He grunted in response and landed his ship on a flat surface near the entrance to the airlock. From there, he propelled them through space using his suit's thrusters. Rose quickly punched in her override codes and explained that they didn't need to worry about gravity returning like in his ship.

Once the airlock pressurized, the doors opened to twenty men standing in stunned disbelief. Rose stripped off her suit before looking at her alien and saying, “Maverick, this is some of the crew of the Pilgrim.”

He stood frozen in place for a long moment before placing his hand over his chest, causing the suit to fold back into a backpack. He looked around before saying, “Now take me to your leader.”

"You can't just let that thing on our ship, Rose." Tanner spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. He stood there with a pipe wrench clutched in his meaty fist.

Maverick moved quicker than they could track and grabbed Tanner. He held him three feet off the ground by his neck, only using his thumb and forefinger.

“Maverick!” Rose shouted as she ran to his side. “Please, put him down. He’s an idiot and doesn’t know that you could have blown us up instead of coming to help us.” She bluffed, not knowing if his ship was equipped with weapons.

"Very well, the human shall live for now." He dropped Tanner, looked at Rose with those reflective blue lenses, and said, "Take me to your leader."

Rose nodded and nervously led Maverick towards the bridge. As they passed, crewmembers stepped aside, eying them wearily. No doubt, news had already spread about the alien on board.

The door was already open, and two armed men awaited their arrival. Maverick didn't seem to care that they were armed as he passed them. The moment they were in the room, he looked at the co-captain, a woman with curly red hair, and asked, "Are you in charge?"

Beside her, the captain stiffened before he pegged Maverick with a glare and said, “I am in charge here.”

Maverick looked at him and casually said, “You are in restricted space. Violation of the Intergalactic Treaties under Article Four, section seven states that anyone entering into restricted space shall be detained and/or destroyed at the discretion of the Union Officer assigned the case.”

Captain Josh’s face paled as he responded, “We didn’t know. We didn’t know that there were other people out here.”

“You thought you were the only living, intelligent beings in the whole of the universe? How arrogant of you.” Maverick shook his head, continuing, "Fortunately for you, I was assigned your case. Unlike many of my colleagues, who would have blown you apart, I will show you mercy. From what I've learned from Rose's memories, your planet is destroyed, and this ship might contain the last remnant of your species. As an endangered race, you fall under the protection of the Union, and I am now your representative. Once I learn the history of your people and file a report, I can petition the Council for your relocation to a suitable planet."

Josh blinked several times before looking at Rose and saying, “Don’t you have work to do?”

"She stays." Maverick quickly interjected. "Under the laws of first contact with an unregistered species, the first being to make contact is the official representative of said race, and any and all correspondence between the Union liaison and the new race goes through the representative."

With a reluctant nod, the captain said, “You need to see our history? It will take years to sift through all the data.”

“I only need a few minutes.”

Josh looked at his co-captain, and at her nod, he led Maverick to a console on the far wall. Rose followed them over, curious to see how her alien would handle the information gathering from a machine. It didn't take long for him to pull another black circle thing from his bag, stretch it out and attach one end to his arm and the other to the panel. The little creature split at the ends and latched on like a leach. Soon afterward, the markings covering his arms and neck began pulsing with the aquamarine color. Rose was sure that color meant he was actively learning something.

Seven minutes passed before he removed the little creature and returned it to the bag. Without saying a word, he stood and pulled a small device from the bag before walking to the center of the room. It pulsed with color before thirteen holograms appeared. Each figure was a new species, some human-like while others were hard to describe.

Maverick spent the next twenty minutes conversing with them in different languages. He bowed to them before the holograms disappeared, ending the conversation. With a sigh, he turned to Rose and said, "I shall take you, your captain, and three others to Azura Prime. If you find the planet suitable to meet your needs, you may begin settlement after each human has been cleansed.”

“Cleansed?”

"A process to remove parasites, bacteria, and viruses you carry to prevent the spread of disease to your new environment. Don’t worry. You'll receive vaccinations to ensure the planet doesn't poison you as well."

Rose nodded and consulted the captain. After a brief discussion, they picked the team that would accompany them to the new planet. Two hours later, they were crammed into Maverick's spacecraft and flying away from the Pilgrim and his larger ship, which was as black as space. No one would know it was there if it wasn’t for the lack of stars shining behind it.

Maverick told everyone to hold onto something as he touched a button that launched a portal. It shimmered in space like a wispy, silver net before pulsing twice and turning into a solid blanket. Once it was stable, he pushed the thrusters to the max and punched through. The ship shook violently for a small eternity before appearing in orbit around a massive planet.

Its breathtaking beauty stunned everyone into silence. It pulsed with vibrant colors they hadn’t seen before and seemed to glow.

Without a word, Maverick guided the ship through the atmosphere into bright orange clouds and finally broke through just above the ocean. The water was neon blue and glowed. Where it lapped at the shores, dark purple sands and bright pink rocks swirled together.

The purple beaches quickly gave way to massive forests filled with red, orange, blue, and purple plants. The colors blended together in a dizzying display, leaving Rose breathless. Everywhere she looked, strange hues filled her vision.

"It's beautiful." Rose looked over at her alien as she spoke. He looked ahead, but his markings pulsed with a mix of dark purple and burnt orange, betraying his awe of the world.

“Welcome to Azura Prime.”