Tag: sci-fi

Space Cadets Holiday Special – Part One

Chris Hall11 Comments

Hanson Lu on Unsplash

As promised, our gallant Space Cadets return to your screen…

I’m woken by a vaguely familiar song playing over the star-ship’s hailing channel. Rubbing my sore neck, I look around. I must’ve been out for some time. Stevens and Harris are in their seats on either side of me, heads lolling. Stevens is snoring gently.

Then I hear a voice. ‘May Day, May Day! This is Greta’s Ark. Anyone receiving? May Day!’

The voice is lost in a burst of static. Greta’s Ark? It sounds familiar. Then it dawns on me. We’d learned about Greta Thunberg when we studied early time travel. She was the girl who travelled back two hundred years to the 21st century to save the Earth’s animals. How can we be receiving a distress call from the long distant past?

I jab angrily at the console, trying to get the message back. What’s wrong with the ship now?

‘Hey, what’s the drama, Jem?’ Harris has finally woken up.

‘Comms aren’t working. Drat this ship!’ I prod at the console again.

The static clears and we hear Greta’s voice: ‘May Day, May Day! This is Greta’s Ark. Come in, somebody… please!’

Harris puts his ear to the speaker. ‘Wow! That’s the Thunberg girl, isn’t it? Cool!’ He pulls an uncomprehending face at me. ‘But hold on… she was, like, a hundred years ago…? How come she’s hailing us now?’

‘The timey-wimey thing?’ Making air quotes with my fingers, I mimic the Matt Smith version of the Doctor, who saved us from the black hole.

‘She sounds as if she’s in trouble,’ Harris says.

I roll my eyes. ‘Yes, right. So fix the console so we can find out what’s wrong!’

‘What gives, peeps?’ Steve rubs his eyes and yawns.

I can’t hide my sarcasm. ‘Welcome back, Steve.’

Harris, meanwhile, is fiddling with the comms system; the static whines and crackles. Finally, Greta Thunberg’s face appears on the view screen. I catch the end of what she’s saying: ‘… and they’re going ape!’

Space Cadets Christmas Special Greta Thunberg

I lean forward. ‘This is Jemma Kirk. How can we assist, Greta?’

‘Thank goodness.’ She doesn’t seem surprised that I know her name. ‘Listen, the monkeys have escaped and are causing mayhem. We need to get these animals under control before they do any more damage to my ship.’ Behind her we see a young man in a khaki uniform fighting to hold the flight deck door closed against a barrage of blows which are accompanied by excited screeching. ‘Please, get me David Attenborough!’

‘Who?’

‘He’s the naturalist from the 21st century who’s been helping us gather the animals. He’s from the BBC, you must have heard of him.’

Stevens is busy searching the ship’s data banks. A clip from an ancient British TV series pops up at the side of the viewing screen. I recognise the man who is crouching in a leafy rain forest next to a group of gorillas.

‘Yes, that’s him,’ Greta exclaims! ‘I’d go myself, but I can’t leave the ship.’

‘Well you can’t be in two places at once…’ I begin.

Greta cuts in. ‘I can actually, aren’t you familiar with quantum superposition?’ She throws her hands in the air. ‘Look we’re wasting time. Can you get hold of Mr. Attenborough, or not?’

‘We’ll get the Doctor,’ I say confidently.

‘Doctor who?’

‘No, just the Doctor. Don’t worry, he’ll track down your Mr. Attenborough.’

I glance at Harris and Stevens. ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ I turn back to the screen. ‘Hang on in there Greta, we’ve got this.’ I signal to Harris to cut the comms.

‘You hope…’ says Stevens.

I look from Stevens to Harris. ‘Come on, guys. We need to focus.’

All we need to do is imagine. That’s how our ship works – powered by our minds and guided by our imaginations – although I’m not sure how Greta’s distress call fits in, but there’s no time to worry about that now.

Space Cadets 5 by Chris Hall lunasonline

‘Guys, think of the Doctor! Imagine the Tardis!’

Almost immediately we hear the familiar sound of the Tardis materializing, and sure enough, the iconic blue police box appears at the other side of our flight deck. We’re getting good at this!

The door opens and I’m delighted to see the Matt Smith version of the Doctor.

‘Hi guys,’ the Doctor lifts his hand in greeting. ‘You seem to have summoned me.’ He frowns. ‘Slightly inconvenient, but I’m sure it’s important.’

‘It is, Doctor,’ I assure him.

‘So’, the Doctor claps his hands together, ‘what’s the problem Jemma?’

I explain.

‘Oh yes, David Attenborough, lovely man. Don’t you just love his nature programmes?’

At that moment, the Tardis door opens and David Attenborough himself appears. He looks around, a mildly puzzled expression on his face.

‘And here he is!’ announces the Doctor.

‘How did you do that Doctor?’ I ask.

‘No idea, Jemma.’

David Attenborough is scratching his head. ‘Oh, hello, Doctor.’ He gestures vaguely at the Tardis. Sorry, I must have wandered into the wrong studio.’ He looks around again. ‘Are you filming?’

‘Just the man we were after!’ The Doctor claps him on the back.

‘I’m going to be in one of your episodes?’ David exclaims excitedly.

‘Well, not exactly. A young lady by the name of Greta is asking for you.’

‘Ms Thunberg? I was only with her the other day.’ He frowns. ‘Has something happened to the Ark?’

‘She needs your help, Mr Attenborough.’ I guide him towards the console. ‘She’s having some trouble with the monkeys on her ship.’

‘Monkey trouble, eh?’

Harris brings up the comms and Greta’s face appears on the screen. ‘Mr Attenborough,’ she sighs with relief. ‘Thank goodness!’

At that moment, the door behind her gives way and her lieutenant is pushed off balance. He lands in a sprawling heap on the floor and a group of around ten monkeys of assorted shapes and sizes start leaping around the flight deck screeching mischievously.

‘They’re totally out of control,’ Greta cries, ‘they’re all over the ship!’ She deftly removes a cute-looking capuchin which has climbed up onto her control desk and is peering at us on the screen.

A spider monkey appears at her side and starts fiddling with the controls on the desk. ‘Get off that now!’ She tries to bat the animal away, but he persists. Another one joins it. This one’s larger; a baboon.

David leans into the screen and points a finger. ‘Now stop that at once!’ His voice is calm but authoritative. The baboon pauses and looks at the screen, turning his head to one side. Then he turns his back on us and his large red behind fills the screen.

‘Charming,’ observes the Doctor.

The picture flickers. We see Greta desperately wrestling with the spider monkey who now seems keen to sit on her head. The baboon turns around and brandishes a large lever at us which he has clearly wrenched from the control desk. ‘No!’ Greta bellows. That’s the stabilizer!’

Our viewing screen goes blank.

‘Where did they go?’ asks David.

Will the Doctor and the Cadets be able to locate Greta’s Art? Will they be in time before the monkeys dismantle Greta’s ship? And will David Attenborough take charge of the escapees?

Find out in Part 2 – coming soon!

 

A new dawn

Chris Hall10 Comments
Treetops by Nigel Whitehead
‘Tree tops’ by Nigel Whitehead

From my Flash Fiction Collection

Great Being Five was having a bad day. The worst day she’d ever had since she’d decided to delete planet Earth. She’d known she had to do it, but still she regretted it. What she also regretted was agreeing to collaborate with Great Being Nineteen on his newly relocated planet. What a nightmare that had turned out to be.

After the destruction of Earth, Great Being Nineteen had given his barren little red planet a nudge, moving it gently into the Earth’s old orbit. Deferring to her experience of the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ he’d asked her to set up the basic building blocks for life, most essentially, the liquid water. The planet already had important elements like carbon and nitrogen; it even had ready-made continents and a slightly defunct volcanic system which just required a little kick-start to give the planet more energy.

She’d carefully retrieved the Earth’s old moon and substituted for Mars’ own two moons which she felt weren’t really up to the job. They were too small and misshapen and she hated their forbidding names which reminded her of all the worst qualities of her erstwhile earthlings. Who in their right mind would call their nearest heavenly bodies Phobos and Deimos – fear and dread?

Being thrifty she had put them in storage in an empty part of the universe. They might come in useful for something, although Great Being Nineteen would probably auction them off.

She sighed as she looked across the surface of the red planet. It had gone so well initially, especially after she’d introduced the blue-green algae. The warmth of the now-nearer sun had allowed them to photosynthesize and voilà, oxygen levels increased rapidly, an ozone layer formed and the plant developed an atmosphere. It had been a long wait, but as far as Great Being Five was concerned, it was party time.

As she and Great Being Nineteen toasted their success, the bickering began. First of all they couldn’t agree on a name. It needed something new, bright and vibrant, but all their brainstorming only ended in bitter recrimination. Great Being Nineteen wanted something tough and macho-sounding. Five told him tersely that it really wouldn’t do. What sort of tone would that set for a new world? Eventually, they decided to ‘park’ the problem until the planet developed a character of its own.

The next bone of contention was how they would develop the aesthetic. Great Being Nineteen really had no idea. They browsed among the galaxies, searching for ideas, but nothing really grabbed them. Eventually Five decided to show him her lovely planet in Alpha Centauri, proudly lifting the subtle cloaking device she’d installed to keep it hidden from predatory interstellar life forms.

He wasn’t impressed. “Just birds and trees and flowers? Where’s the interest? Where’s the ultimate struggle for survival?”

Five had turned away in disgust, washing her hands of the whole project. Let him do as he wants, she thought, and turned her attention to adding some pretty pastel coloured animals to the dappled woodlands of her lovely planet; all herbivores, of course. And then, finally, she settled upon its name. Her lovely planet would be known as Orea.

But over the millennia she couldn’t resist the odd little peak at Nineteen’s handiwork.

Over time, Great Being Nineteen had named his planet Ferox and had introduced an interesting collection of flora and fauna. He’d raided the Earth archives she’d shared with him and picked out the most predatory creatures he could find. Huge raptors circled the skies, carnivores red in tooth and claw stalked the plains and forests, killer whales patrolled the oceans. Happily there were no war-mongering bipeds… yet.

Five had to admit his collection of big cats were beautiful, as she scanned the planet; but, wait, what was that tiger eating? She peered at her viewing screen more closely. What she saw filled her with horror.

She flicked her monitor over to Orea. Where were all the furry mammals? She roved among the woodland glades. Not a pink fluffy bunny in sight! And where were the birds?

She returned her attention to Ferox just in time to see a raptor gobble up one of her red-gold sun-birds in mid-flight. Everywhere she looked were signs of the carnage; a handful of bright feathers here, a sorry lump of pastel-coloured fur there.

He’d ransacked her lovely planet. It had to be him! No-one else knew about Orea. How could he do such a thing? She wept for the loss of her beautiful benign creatures.

Finally her lament ceased. Great Being Five brushed away her tears.

She had a plan. She would re-set her planet. Ctrl-alt-delete, turn back the clock, then repopulate.

Then she had her best idea.

Adopting an anonymous thought-pattern, she sent a mind-message to Great Being Nineteen. “I have some very exciting new stock you might be interested in.” She smiled to herself as she dropped the thought into his brain. “It will add a real ‘wow factor’ to the planet I hear you’re working on,” she floated an image of a couple of dragons in flight in front of him. “But you’ll need to come in person.”

She gave him the co-ordinates.

Great Being Nineteen arrived on the surface of the planet. It looked familiar, very much like that soppy planet of Five’s, but he was certain he’d never visited this part of the Dark Universe. He stared around. Where was this new stock the dealer had offered him?

Over on the bright side of the universe Five hit the keyboard, glancing at her monitor to see the empty space which Orea had previously occupied.

She hit the keyboard again and entered another complex sequence into the system. Orea reappeared, recently returned from the furthest corner of the universe where she had dumped a few unwanted items. Orea was as lush as ever and ready for new life.

Suddenly it wasn’t a bad day after all.

©2019 Chris Hall

Space Cadets #10

Chris Hall16 Comments

Kirk and Spock Space Cadets lunasonline

Previously…

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

Space Cadets #9

Chris Hall11 Comments

Klingon Space Cadets lunasonline

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.”

Kirk and Spock Space Cadets lunasonline

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!

Space Cadets #8

Chris Hall18 Comments

Hanson Lu on Unsplash

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!

Space Cadets #7

Chris Hall8 Comments

Game Over Space Cadets series part 7 lunasonline

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

Chris Hall19 Comments
tardis for space cadets 6 by chris hall lunasonline
bigbig85

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!

Space Cadets #5

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

Will the Tardis save our brave Cadets?
Tune in next week for the next episode of Space Cadets!

Space Cadets #4

Chris Hall7 Comments

Hanson Lu on Unsplash

Previously…

“What’s that noise?” yells Stevens over the resonating sound.

“Sounds like the Tardis.” I reply, still wondering what happened to the Borg Cube which a moment ago had been poised to assimilate our space craft.

“The what?”

“It’s the doctor.” I say confidently. “That’s who I just thought of. You know how it works.”

“Doctor who?” the boys turn to be, puzzled expressions on their faces.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, that’s right. Doctor Who. From the British TV series. You know, late 20th, early 21st century? Goes around space and time saving people.” I raise my eyebrows. “Like he might be able to get us out of this mess..?”

They shake their heads. Then their eyes slide past me, widening. I spin around in my chair to see the familiar blue box start to materialize. Relieved, I try to jump up from my seat, but the safety belt restrains me.

Suddenly the ship is rocked by a huge explosion. Over my shoulder the viewing screen flashes on, showing a ball of flames and massive pieces of dark black debris scattering across the void.

“Gotcha!” cries Harris, punching the air.

“Way to go!” cheers Stevens, leaning across the console to give Harris a high five.

So that’s what’s happened to the Cube. “How did you do that?” I ask.

“Hit the red button,” Harris indicates the joystick in front of him.

I turn back to see the Tardis start to fade. “Come back, Doctor!” I cry. “We need your help!”

“We don’t need help from some old doctor. We’re fine,” says Harris smugly. “I just blew up The Borg.”

“Er, I’d not be so sure,” says Stevens pointing at the viewing screen.

black hole guardian.com

How will the Cadets escape from the Black Hole? And who imagined that??
Tune in next week for the next episode of Space Cadets!

Space Cadets #3

Chris Hall11 Comments
Space Cadets by Chris Hall lunasonline
Source

Previously…

The music fades out as we leave the planet’s atmosphere. The viewing screen blinks.

[STARDATE: 2607.7 – DESTINATION: SECOND STAR ON THE RIGHT]

The letters dissolve. The screen is filled with huge rocks, hurtling towards us.

“Asteroids!” yells Stevens.

The warning siren starts to wail and the red light flashes.

“Does this thing have shields?” I wonder out loud.

[SHIELDS ACTIVATED]

A medium-sized asteroid glances off the screen; the ship slews. Only our seat straps save us from being thrown to the floor.

“How do we steer?” shouts Harris.

A joystick, with a large red button on the top, sprouts from the console in front of him. He grabs hold and his eyes fix on the screen. His tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth; his gaming face. The control is hyper-responsive. Harris dodges nimbly through the asteroid belt, blowing rocks to smithereens with a dab of his thumb.

Then we’re through. The asteroids are behind us and all we can see is the inky blackness of space, peppered with bright pinpricks of light which are the stars.

All is quiet. We sit back and admire the view. My thoughts wander.

 

A huge black cube appears on the left of the screen. It glitters menacingly.  

[You will be assimilated]

Stevens peers at the screen. “The Borg Cube!”

The ship is being pulled towards the vast angular vessel. Sirens wail, warning lights flash. 

“But that’s not real!” Harris protests as he wrestles desperately with the joystick.

The ship judders ominously.

[Resistance is useless]

Stevens turns to me. “Hold on. Remember what the Zyborgatron said?”

I think for a moment. “Something about the ship being ‘guided by your imaginations.’ “

“Okay, who imagined The Borg?” Harris growls.

“Never mind who’s responsible. Just think of something else; something friendly!” I yell. “Hurry!”

The Borg Cube fills the screen. Harris jabs the red button repeatedly.

The viewing screen goes blank.

 

Then I hear a familiar sound.

Tune into episode #4