Tag: habitat

Pegasus (Part 137)

Our pace now quickened. I thought back to those plans I had seen all that time ago. The Emperor’s habitat and the palace on it had been constructed many generations ago. But even then, there was resistance to the autocracy.

One of the contractors had built a flaw into the palace’s emergency shield. A power line for the habitat runs very close. If they are connected, it triggers a massive explosion in just minutes, which ultimately reverberates throughout the entire habitat, destroying everything. A secret that the resistance had managed to keep.

The Emperor would finally be no more, and peace and freedom would finally prevail. Or, at least that was what I hoped would happen.

The hallway led to one room after another. All full of ornate wooden furniture. The tables were golden.

We were close now. I could feel it.

Tabitha grabbed my hand. “We’re being followed.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Damn”

The next thing we heard was shouts of “Stop!”. Then the firing started.

I opened the next door. It was what we were looking for. It was bare except for a mechanical device in its centre that took up most of the room, and a large cylindrical tube on the left side. They were what I needed to connect.

Pegasus (Part 124)

As the cargo bay creaked open, I wondered what awaited us. Tabitha and I went one way, Tabitha and the smuggler the other. We set up a communication link between us and the group remaining on the ship. Communications were to be kept to the absolute minimum, as habitat security would almost certainly be listening in.

The habitat was bright. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust. Lush trees and grass surrounded the ship parking area. The air was clean and easy to breathe.

There was nobody else within view. I looked into the hazy blue sky to see the barely hospitable Earth in the distance.

I had studied the map before leaving and told Tabitha to follow me along a narrow pathway.

She held my hand. “It’s like heaven.”

I stopped and kissed her on the mouth. “It does feel like that. This habitat has pheromones in its atmosphere that give you a happy feeling.” I winked. “But we have to remember that this is a business trip.”

She nodded, and we continued on our walk.

After another few minutes, white pyramid-shaped structures appeared in the distance. Drones were darting from one to the next.

I clenched my jaw.

Pegasus (Part 122)

The entire rag group of rebels stood in astonishment when the Emperor’s habitat finally came into view by the naked eye. I believed it would look like all the others, but I was wrong.

It wasn’t that it was large, but rather the multitude of colors. Nobody could be left in any doubt that this was anything other than the residence of the star system’s ruler. It was semi-spherical, with a huge golden archway linking one side of the surface to the other.

The city, well, more like a town, was located near one of them. The habitat was sparsely populated with no real cities. Most of it was more like a huge wilderness.

I spoke to the others. “We’re about two hours from landing. Now we need a plan,”

“Kill the Emperor by blowing him up.” Tabitha looked at me blankly.

I allowed myself a small chuckle. “Yes, I know. But how and what role will we each play? I’m the only one who will not look out of place. Tabitha and I together should not arouse suspicion. Anymore, definitely will. The rest of you should stay in the ship.”

There were groans.

The smuggler interjected. “That won’t work. At the very least, you will need to complete the drug deal. Otherwise, you will be reported. Make no mistake about it.”

Pegasus (Part 120)

An hour passed and I was sure we were not being followed. It was a huge relief. I had enough excitement for a while.

Our next destination was the Emperor’s Habitat. Everyone was on the bridge apart from Leanne and the smuggler. They were sleeping. I reckoned that the smuggler’s injuries should be well healed by now. A med laser was used on her a good forty minutes previously.

I rise slowly out of the chair and enter the cargo bay.

On the other side, Leanne and the smuggler are gazing into each other’s eyes, the smuggler’s hand caressing Leanne’s face.

I take a step back and clear my throat waking those around me before stepping back inside. The two ladies look at me with perplexed facial expressions.

Much better, I think to myself.

I walk over to them and look at the smuggler.

“You’re looking far better now anyway.”

“Thanks,” she replied. Her tone solemn.

“You said you could get us into the Emperor’s Habitat? How”

She looked over at some crates.

“Drugs. And there’s a high demand for them in the habitat. I have a contact in Darious, the main port. Actually, he looks quite like you. He makes sure I get through without any problems. Takes a cut, of course.”

Pegasus (Part 82)

The trick seemed to work. A few moments later, the ship was taken over by a docking device which gently landed us on a grass surface after travelling through a thin atmosphere. We landed in what seemed to be the outskirts of a town. It was dark apart from some street lights. I surmised that the habitat rotated giving day and night cycle.

I opened the overhead hatch and we both climbed out. We were met by the most beautiful vista. A shining Earth stood overhead. It was a beautiful mixture of blue, purple and white. I could make out the great white deserts of Africa and South America, the toxic purple patch of the mid Atlantic and the blue where the seas were less contaminated.

Then you could make out some of the larger habitats surrounding the Earth. The enormous and the ones that could only only just be made out. I thought of the billions of lives encapsulated in that one view.

Underneath it all, were the tall buildings of the town. The air was crisp and carried a whiff of flowers. The nightmare of the previous habitat was laid to rest. I looked knowingly at Tabitha and we started what looked like a relatively short walk towards the town.

“Why artifacts?” I asked Tabitha.

“There is some sort of festival on,” she replied.