Space Cadets #10

September 13, 2019September 14, 2019 Chris Hall16 Comments

Captain Kirk holds up his hands. “So let me get this straight,” he looks at each of us in turn. “You imagine something and then it just happens?”

“Yes sir.” I can hardly believe I’m speaking to Captain James T. Kirk. “Apparently the ship is powered by our minds and guided by our imaginations.”

Spock raises a skeptical eyebrow.

“Well, that’s what the Zyborgatron said.”

“The Zybogatron?” Kirk frowns and turns to Spock who is scanning the console with his tricorder. “Anything, Spock?”

“Negative, Captain.” He tweaks the instrument again.

“The longer we stay, the more likely something else bad is going to happen again,” I say nervously. “That Klingon and the Professor…” I glance at Harris and Stevens.

The screen on the console flickers into life. The Doctor’s face appears. “Jemma! Are you still on that ship?” He knocks on the screen. “Get off at once!” We see him peer at the screen, head on one side. “Well I never, is that Captain Kirk?”

Kirk frowns. “Have we met?

“I don’t think so, but I’ve met your Chief Engineer. It was a few regenerations ago.
I sorted out a little problem which your holodeck caused… I’m the Doctor, by the way.”

“Doctor Who?”

“No, just the Doctor; but never mind that now. The ship you are on is dangerous, Captain Kirk! You need to evacuate. Destroy it if you…”

The screen goes blank.

Kirk’s communicator chirps. “Go ahead, Scotty.”

“Sir, we have a problem… It’s the Klingon. He’s standing right behind me with a weapon in his hand. It seems he wants that ship you’re on.”

“Fascinating,” observes Spock. He puts the tricorder down. “Let me try something, Captain.” Spock reaches across the console to the keyboard the boys were using to play Space Invaders. He presses three keys, one after the other: Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

Everything goes black.

The Enterprise Space Cadets lunasonline — fandom.com

This has been the last in the present series of Space Cadets, leaving you, in fine tradition, with more questions than answers.
Fear not, Space Cadets will return!
And, of course, we will be bringing you a Christmas Special – there has to be one, doesn’t there?

Meanwhile, the script writers and production team will be busy with some other projects. Stay tuned!

Read all 10 episodes

Before it’s too late

September 9, 2019September 8, 2019 Chris Hall11 Comments

Detail from Hanover and Tennant Street, District Six by Solly Gutman — Detail from ‘Hanover and Tennant Streets’ by Solly Gutman

Come sit with me
here on the stoep
and tell me your stories.

Tell me about
when you were a girl
with a flower in your hair
on the first day of spring.

Tell me about
the games you played,
the friends you made
and the songs you sang.

Tell me about
the parades and parties,
the festivals and dances
and the secret stolen kisses.

Tell me about
the man you married,
the children you had
and the plans that you made.

What were your hopes?
What were your dreams?
Who was the woman you wanted to be?

Come sit with me
and sip your tea, and
tell me your stories.

Space Cadets #9

September 6, 2019September 5, 2019 Chris Hall11 Comments

Previously…

“Professor!” we all cry in unison.

The Klingon waves his disruptor, gesturing for us to move away from the console.

“Mr. Kurn will take over from you now, Cadets,” the Professor says. She speaks in a flat tone, almost mechanically. Something’s definitely wrong.

“But Professor…”

The Klingon grunts something as he walks over us, his weapon is pointing directly at my chest. The Professor tries to say something, but suddenly she cries out and clutches at her left ear, wincing in pain. What’s going on?

We edge away from the console as a burst of static erupts from the speaker. A conversation is going on outside the ship.

“…Spock will give you the coordinates, Scotty… energize!”

Five new figures appear on the deck. It’s Captain Kirk and his crew.

“Hold it right there. All of you!” orders Kirk. The two red shirts close in, brandishing their phasers. One of them points his weapon at us. I glance at Stevens and Harris as slowly we raise our hands. Hold on, you’re supposed to be on our side!

The Klingon attempts to fire, but the disruptor jams. The red shirts rush to grab him just as the Professor collapses on the floor, holding her head in her hands. Dr. McCoy hurries to her side and whips out his medical tricorder. He waves it across her head and frowns.

“I need to get her straight to sick bay, Jim,” says the doctor. “It’s one of those damn mind-controlling worms of theirs!” He glares at the Klingon.

Kirk nods. “Okay, Bones,” he flips open his communicator. “Scotty, lock onto the doctor and his patient, and the security detail plus one prisoner.” He glances at the two red shirts. “Take the Klingon straight to the brig and make sure he stays there.”

Moments later they dematerialize, leaving Kirk and Spock alone on the deck with us. Kirk gestures to us to lower our hands.

Spock looks at Kirk and raises a quizzical eyebrow. Kirk turns to us.

“You kids have got some explaining to do.”

Will Bones manage to save the Professor from the mind-worm? What if he fails?
What was that Klingon up to? and what questions does Captain Kirk have for the cadets?
Tune in next week for the next episode of Space Cadets!

On Getting Older

September 2, 2019September 2, 2019 Chris Hall20 Comments

on getting old by chris hall lunasonline

Labelled now, that strange old bag
Not all aging is a drag.

No more for you the daily grind
Use purple hair dye, who’s to mind?

Every day is just the same
No need to go out in the rain.

Catch a film, hit the beach
All of a sudden life’s a peach!

Dress for comfort, not for style
That hat you wear stands out a mile.

But come the evening, shut the door
Fill your glass and say, ‘no more’.

The eyes that dim, the ears that strain
The knees that crack, the joints that pain

Time’s the one unbreakable law
And getting old is such a bore!

BUT

Space Cadets #8

August 30, 2019September 6, 2019 Chris Hall18 Comments

Previously…

“Yeah Jem, this one’s down to you,” Harris glares at me accusingly.

Stevens sighs loudly. “Can’t you just un-imagine the Klingon?”

“Or at least get him to drop his gun?” Harris chimes in.

I try to visualize the Klingon vanishing but nothing happens.

“What’s the Professor saying?” Stevens points at the viewing screen. We all peer at her face. She’s looking straight at us and she’s mouthing something.

The Klingon’s mouth begins to move as well. He seems to be shouting. Don’t they always shout?

Then they both disappear in an explosion of starry sparkles like they’ve dematerialized. But to where?

“What did you do Jemma?”

What did I do?

I’m still shaking my head in disbelief when more starry sparkles appear on the screen in front of us. The Professor reappears flanked by Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and a couple of red-shirts. I sense that something bad is about to happen.

The Professor looks confused. She points straight at us, then shakes her head. Mr. Spock consults his tricorder and raises a puzzled eyebrow. They all fan out, although apart from the Professor’s Special Space Machine there is little to see in this plain and featureless landscape. The Professor continues walking towards us, a hand stretched out in front of her.

“Why can’t they see us?” Harris asks.

Stevens prods the buttons on the console randomly. “Open voice communication!” he commands. We hear a popping noise. Stevens looks at each of us.

We shout in unison. “Professor! Professor!”

Something registers on her face; she turns around to look at the members of the Enterprise crew who, phasers at the ready, are still scanning the empty landscape.

Something’s wrong but I can’t work out what.

“Professor!” Harris yells, banging on the screen which flickers and goes dead.

“No need to shout.”

We spin around. The Professor is standing in a doorway at the back of the deck which I hadn’t noticed before. She walks forward and smiles. “Hello, Space Cadets!”

The Klingon appears and stands next to her.

Slowly he raises his disruptor and points it at us.

Klingon Space Cadets lunasonline — startrek.com

Who’s side is the Professor actually on? What does the Klingon want?
Tune in next week for the next episode of Space Cadets!

Amazonia

August 26, 2019 Chris Hall28 Comments

amazon on fire rtt news lunasonline

Up in the tall, tall tree, the little spider monkey hugged her infant to her chest. The air was thick and yellow-brown. The bright burning was coming. Clutching her baby she descended. It was time.

The creatures of the forest, predator and prey together, were gathering, deep in the mystical heart of the jungle. Silently they formed a circle around Her Sacred Place, wingtip to paw, talon to claw. The huge black jaguar turned his head and gazed amber-eyed at the little spider monkey, but she wasn’t afraid.

The people of the forest emerged from the trees. They lay down their bows and quietly joined the circle. The little spider monkey looked up. High in the canopy, the spirits of the forest shimmered.

They waited. And prayed.

Mother Gaia rose from the earth. She threw back her head and opened her mouth wide. Her ululation filled the air. The lament grew. The creatures of the forest joined in. The air vibrated.

On the other side of the ocean, the Powerful People were chomping their way through a lavish lunch, while discussing the iniquity of inequality and admiring the ocean view.

The crystal glasses began to rattle. Then a wave, shaped like a monstrous hand, rose up from the ocean. Huge watery fingers plucked the Powerful People from their table and dropped them into the sea one by one where they bobbed and floundered.

The hand closed into a fist and rose skyward, speeding away and disappearing over the western horizon. As it neared opposite continent the fist unclenched and scooped up a massive handful of ocean.

Cool air ruffled the little spider monkey’s fur. She smelt the moisture in the air and heard the hiss of the dying flames. Mother Gaia began to sing the sweetest song the little spider monkey had ever heard. And the forest breathed again.

The water receded around the Powerful People leaving them standing on the beach. Sweet music filled the air. They stood and waved proudly to the crowd, as if claiming victory from the sea. But then the waves rolled back. The Powerful People were no longer waving. They were drowning.

Space Cadets #7

August 23, 2019September 3, 2020 Chris Hall8 Comments

Previously…

At last the shooting stops and the Doctor and I see the boys high five each other. Harris is busy with a keyboard. Over his shoulder I see him type: DS&HH and their score.

“Doctor, they’ve won!”

The Doctor squints at the screen. “Golly, 267984!”

“That’s the highest score in the known universe!”

“Clever,” the Doctor replies.

“The boys are always playing those ancient arcade games.”

“No me.” The Doctor examines his finger nails. “I’m clever.” The central column on the Tardis’ console makes a huffing noise. “Okay. The Tardis and I are clever.” He taps on the screen. “Look out there, Jemma.”

A view of the surface of a planet comes into view… and there’s the Professor’s Special Space Machine.

“I…” he eyes the column, “….we simply reset the time-stream to bring you back to square one, as it were. All the three of you need to do now is get off the Zyborgatron’s ship before any of you imagines anything else. Come on,” he strides towards the door.

“And the number I was waiting to see before I hit the green button, that wasn’t a stardate time, was it?”

“Oh that? That was a random number, a red herring; just something to keep your mind occupied, to stop you imagining something which would interfere with the Tardis’ navigation systems.” He touches his finger to his nose. “Clever, eh?”

I frown. “I thought I’d been doing something important.”

“Sometimes NOT doing something is equally important.” He opens the Tardis’ door. “Now, come along, Jenna. Let’s get you off the ship before anything else happens.”

Harris and Stevens are still celebrating.

“Did you see that?” says Stevens.

“Indeed we did. Well done, chaps!” The Doctor claps them both on the back.

I’m feeling slightly miffed. They brought on the Space Invaders attack, even if they did achieve a mega-score to defeat them.

“Right then,” says the Doctor, clapping his hands together. “Off you all pop.” He waves us in the direction of the ship’s door. “And I hope NOT to see you again!” He touches his hand to his head in salute, spins on his heel and bounds back into the Tardis.

I glance at the viewing screen as the Tardis takes off. “Look guys. It’s the Professor!”

We watch as she emerges from her Special Space Machine. Slowly she raises her hands in the air. Another figure appears behind her.

“That’s a Klingon, isn’t it?” says Harris.

The swarthy humanoid jabs his disruptor into the small of the Professor’s back.
My heart sinks.

Where did that Klingon come from? Are there more? Can the Cadets save the Professor?
Tune in next week for the next episode of Space Cadets!

Space Cadets #6

August 16, 2019August 29, 2019 Chris Hall19 Comments

Previously…

“Come on, old girl!” shouts the Doctor smacking the side of the central column of the Tardis’ console which is emitting an unpleasant screeching sound as it rises and falls.

“Is everything all right? Doctor,” I yell over the noise, gripping the edge of the console to steady myself as the Tardis bucks and pitches.

“Um, yes, just needs a minor correction.” He frowns at the column and flicks a couple of switches. The Tardis comes to an abrupt halt and all is quiet “Come on, let’s see what’s happening outside.” He motions me to stand beside him, then with a flourish he taps a button on the console. A large viewing screen flashes up on the other side of the control room.

The screen is blank.

“Ah,” he says tapping on the button repeatedly. Nothing happens. The screen is still blank.

The Doctor rushes over to the doors and flings then open.

All is black.

I follow him and peer out. “Oh,” I say. There is literally nothing there. I turn to the Doctor who is rubbing his jaw. “Where’s space gone?”

“That, Jemma, is space.” He leans out of the doors looking up and down. “Space. Nothing else.”

“But the stars and…”

“I better check the coordinates,” he says over his shoulder as he runs back to the console. “Close the doors won’t you?”

I pull the doors closed. My heart thumps. “What’s happened to Harris and Stevens? Are they all right?”

“I certainly hope so.” He pulls out his sonic screwdriver and disappears under the console.

The viewing screen flickers into life showing a view of my two shipmates sitting just where I’d left them on our spacecraft. Both have expressions of extreme concentration on their faces. In the background I can see what they’re staring at. I blink in surprise.

They’re playing the ancient arcade game ‘Space Invaders’!

The Doctor reappears from beneath the console. “That should do it. We should be able to see them now.” He glances at the screen as the Tardis shudders under a sudden impact.

“No, NO,NO, NO!” he shouts.

I turn to him, not understanding what’s happening. The Tardis shudders again; sparks fly from the console. The Doctor points at the bottom of the screen the boys are staring at. “They’re firing at us!”

We watch as the little white aliens descend towards the Tardis.

The boys are firing back.

“No Doctor, they’re defending us.”

Or at least they’re trying to…

tardis and space invaders lunasonline

Will the Harris and Stevens beat the aliens? Can the Tardis escape from the game?
Tune in next week for the next episode of Space Cadets!

And finally, she pulled the plug

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 Chris Hall29 Comments

She pulled the plug by Chris Hall lunasonline

From my Flash Fiction Collection

And now there was nothing left of what had been her beautiful blue planet. Great Big Five sighed. She had given them chance after chance. She had very nearly deleted the entire human race in Earth Year 2018. Only that little message which flashed up after she had hit the big red button had given her pause.

Do you really want to DELETE?

No, she hadn’t. She’d cancelled the request. Sat back and watched and waited for fifteen Earth Years more. She’d watched the greedy, selfish humans squander more and more of the precious resources of her pretty planet. Barren soil blew away, the oceans turned to acid, the very atmosphere was toxic. Some of the little humans had tried to avert the crisis. They’d spoken out. Even important, influential ones had acted, added their voices. There were protests, social media campaigns, new policies agreed and implemented; the planet had staggered on, but it was all too little, too late.

Meanwhile others had been working on a plan. Done with the Earth, they would move on. Move to another planet. Their neighbour: the red planet. Clever little humans!

Never mind what they’d done to the animals and birds, the trees and flowers, the mountains and lakes. All her best work they’d left in tatters.

She had mind-melded with Great Being Nineteen. The red planet was under his jurisdiction. She had suspected he had plans. With Earth out of the way, he could move his smaller red planet nearer to its sun, into what her imaginative earthlings called the Goldilocks Zone, after one of their sweet little stories. Allow something new to evolve. He’d even let her collaborate on his project.

You have activated Planet Total Destruction. Are you sure you want to do this?

She did.

They couldn’t be allowed to spread their wicked ways.

Space Cadets #5

August 9, 2019March 28, 2020 Chris Hall20 Comments

black hole guardian.com

Previously…

“That’s a black hole!” I stare in horror at the viewing screen. “How close is it?”

[FIVE MINUTES TO EVENT HORIZON]

The red light starts to flash.

“Your doctor friend,” cries Stevens. “Call him!”

I close my eyes and visualize the Tardis. Nothing happens. I empty my mind then start to picture every detail I can remember of the familiar blue box. To my relief I hear its arrival over the shrill wail of the siren. I open my eyes to see Tardis materialize. The door opens. It’s the Matt Smith version of the Doctor.

“Ah,” he says, “spot of bother?” He bounds over to the screen. “Oh, I should say so!” He looks round at us.

“Can you help us, Doctor?” I stare up at him.

[FOUR MINUTES TO EVENT HORIZON]

“Let me think,” he says, tapping his sonic screwdriver absently against the side of his head. He starts to pace about.

Suddenly he whirls around to face us. “Okay. I’m going to tether your ship to the Tardis, then we’re going to travel back in time to before that thing formed.” He points at the screen.

“But it’ll be a supernova, won’t it?” shouts Stevens.

“Good point.” The Doctor waves his sonic screwdriver at Stevens. “Back to before the star goes supernova.” He taps his head again. “I’ll just need to make a couple of calculations.”

[THREE MINUTES TO EVENT HORIZON]

“Who’s good at maths?”

The boys look at me. “Jemma!”

“Okay, Jemma,” he nods. “Come with me.”

The interior of the Tardis looks exactly as I thought it would. The Doctor runs around the control console flicking switches and turning dials. He hums to himself as he works.

Grabbing my hand he takes me to the other side of the console. “Watch this screen,” he indicates a monitor with seemingly random numbers flashing up on it. “When it reaches 367.984, hit that green button.” He points to the button. “Don’t take your eyes off that screen; we only have one chance at this!” He rushes over to the door and pokes his head out.

[TWO MINUTES TO EVENT HORIZON]

“Remember, chaps. You must believe this will work. Concentrate on nothing else!” I glance up and see him touch his hand to the side of his head in salute.

He shuts the door and returns to the console. “The monitor, Jemma. Concentrate!” I hear him flick some more switches

I stare at the screen. The numbers continue to change.
I concentrate, willing 367.984 to appear.

[ONE MINUTE TO EVENT HORIZON]

I stare at the monitor.

The number I’ve been waiting for flashes up.

I hit the green button.

The Tardis is going to save us.

Space Cadets 5 by Chris Hall lunasonline