‘Wake up, Jemma. Wake up!’

Someone is shaking me by the shoulder. I open my eyes to see the worried face of Stevens looming over me.

‘What?’ I rub my eyes. Did I just doze off? ‘What is it, Stevens?’

‘It’s Harris. There’s something the going on with him.’

I shift my seat into the upright position and peer across the starship’s central console at Harris. He’s staring blankly ahead. His two thumbs are working away against his cupped fingers but there’s nothing in his hands.

‘Looks like he’s gaming in his sleep,’ suggests Stevens.

I lean over and wave my hand in front of Harris’s face. There’s no response. ‘Maybe he’s in some kind of trance.’

At that moment, Harris lets out an excited yell and punches the air. ‘Yesss! High score Harris!’ He beams at us, wide-eyed and triumphant, holding out his hand for a high five. Stevens leans over and obliges.

Red warning lights start to flash and the familiar rising wail of the siren blares. The viewing screen flashes a message.

WARNING! SHIP UNDER ATTACK! WARNING!

Shields, need to activate shields, I think to myself.

SHIELDS ACTIVATED

The message fades and is replaced by a view of our surroundings. The stars don’t look familiar at all. But there’s no sign of any immediate threat. So why does the ship think we’re under attack?

As if in response, a group of small star fighters flash past us on the right-hand side of the screen. There is a crackle of static from the ship’s console.

‘This is Red Leader. Good shooting, Harris! Cover me, I’m going in!’

‘Roger that!’ answers Harris excitedly, extending his right hand and curling his fist around an imaginary joystick. Our ship banks to follow the star fighters.

The view of the unfamiliar stars is replaced by one huge dark sphere.

Has Harris been recruited to the Rebel Alliance? Are the Cadets about to be caught in the crossfire? Tune in next time for the third episode of Space Cadets Series Two.

Image credits: Hanson Lu on Unsplash, StarWars.com

Game on, Sinead!

January 8, 2020January 8, 2020 Chris Hall22 Comments

what do you see 11 by chris hall lunasonline

Sinead had fought and won. Finally, the Sword of Elshain, the second of the four Sacred Artifacts, was hers. The first, the Crystal of Nor, was safely tucked in her unicorn’s saddle bag, and he, Moonsprite, had gone on ahead over the dark mountain, while she followed the sunset path into its heart to find the fabled Blue Orb.

She pressed on into the gathering darkness, a halo of bats swooping and calling her onwards. The Sword began to glow, lighting her way. All she had to do was hold her nerve and follow the words of The Prophesy.

Without warning, Sinead was plunged into darkness. The silence pressed in on her.

No sight, no sound.

* * *

‘Arrrgh!’ Sinead screamed out in frustration. ‘Damn these power cuts. That was the furthest I’ve ever got: Level 9.’ She sighed and groped around for her head torch. Its beam cast a hollow light over the dark and silent computer screen.

She picked up her book and ran her fingers over the embossed lettering on the cover: The Prophesy.

Written in response to Sadje’s What Do You See #11 photo prompt.
Photo credit: Pixabay

Games Aliens Play

May 4, 2018January 7, 2019 Chris HallLeave a comment

you wine

Probe Agents Delta-Zero-Four and Beta-Two-Two were waiting for the next batch of human minds to be loaded for processing. Something had gone wrong with the scanner and their monitors were blank. Delta-Zero-Four was idly picking at her front claws while Beta-Two-Two was playing a game on his cellphone, his forked tongue curled around his upper lip as he concentrated. The phone was emitting a series of beeps and whoops interspersed with the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

“What’s that you’re playing, Beta-Two-Two?” asked Delta-Zero-Four.

“Mmm?” said her colleague, jabbing away at the screen with his manicured claws.

“What’re you playing?” she asked again, peering over the divider which separated their desks.

There was another rattle of gunfire and a flash of light from the screen of the phone. A cry of jubilation escaped Beta-Two-Two’s leathery lips. “Gotcha!”

The four operatives at the next bank of desks looked round at him and scowled.

“Show me?” wheedled Delta-Zero-Four.

Beta-Two-Two looked up. “Okay, bring your chair around here.”

Delta-Zero-Four hooked her tail over the back of her chair and propelled it round the desk on its castors with her broad scaly feet.

“Look,” he said, showing her the screen. “It’s the new Live-Game from BlatherTech, and it’s set here on Earth. It has awesome graphics!” Delta-Zero-Four nodded. “It uses live feed of actual human beings.” His claws tapped busily on the screen. “Here have a go.”

Beta-Two-Two handed her his phone. She studied the screen. The game was called ‘Fight your way to the top.’ There followed a series of instructions on the levels of play and the points.

Beta-Two-Two watched as Delta-Zero-Four made a few moves before selecting a target and firing a rocket launcher at the doors of Bankalot on Wall Street. ‘200 points’ flashed on the corner of the screen. She trashed the security desk with a couple of hand grenades and picked off a mixed group of secretarial staff and junior traders on the way to the elevator. The score climbed to 1000 points. Bursting through double doors on the fifth floor, Delta-Zero-Four pressed ahead, felling a handful of middle managers and a post-boy, who appeared out of a side office right on the edge of the screen (2500 points). Following the signs, she paused at the doors of the boardroom while she scooped up some passing ammunition, then she let loose with a pair of automatic pistols. The glass doors shattered and she strode into the room. Delta-Zero-Four sprayed bullets around the table. Spot bonuses of 500 points flashed up on the screen as she took out assorted senior executives including the Finance Director and the COO. Both guns flashed up as empty, but Delta-Zero-Four had collected a Smith and Wesson pistol on the way out of the elevator. She aimed and fired, hitting the man sitting at the head of the table between the eyes. The phone made a series of excited beeps and a message flashed up. CEO down! Score 10,000 points. Click to play again.