The Optimum Project

Chapter 10

The so called "complications"

I walked in and turned on the lights, looking around at the somewhat empty cargo bay, there were some extra cargo straps hanging along the wall next to the door, and a small container of emergency medical supplies. I nudged it with my foot and sighed, we wouldn't need it today after all. I glanced towards the hulking military container in the middle of the room, and wondered for the second time what was so important that it warranted the fancy container and a drone if said cargo is a day late. I rubbed my eyes, even with the nap I had that only bought me about two hours sleep, I was running on empty and could feel the effects of it kicking in.

I walked over to the container and unlocked it. Peering in I didn't see anything, so I opened the door real wide and looked around the container. A small switch was on the wall, along with a control array, I walked over and flipped the switch into the "on" position. Old school fluorescent lights flickered on down the length of the container. I gave a low whistle, crates lined the walls marked with words like "classified" and "explosive", I glanced at the control panel and realized it was a gravity manipulator. Gravity manipulators could take the existing force of gravity and weaken it or amplify it in a contained space, it could also allow for gravity to take place in a different direction, I checked the panels settings and nodded in approval, from what I could understand it was set to apply the Same amount of gravity to the same plane, so that if the container fell over, the crates would remain on what had been the floor. I looked along the walls for the shipping manifesto but didn't see one, I frowned, even the alliance had to make sure they had all the stuff they needed. I started to walk towards the back of the container when I heard a loud boom, I looked up, feeling the ship shudder slightly.

I jogged out of the container and was just about to close the door when my dad spoke through the intercom, "Noah, get the special cargo and bring it up front, hurry!"

He sounded urgent, as though our lives depended on this 'special' cargo. I jerked the door back open as I thought to myself "how the heck should I know where this special cargo is?"

I jogged over to the grav panel to see if there was any special settings, nothing. I sighed and jogged down the central isle, reading crates and such, classified, explosive, security level 4, containment alpha... Wait. I stopped and jogged back to a small jar, it was a gravity well, about the size of a wine bottle and filled with a black, ink like substance. I watched as it shifted and morphed into a small Pyramid, and then a red cube, the ship shuddered again, bringing me back to reality. I grabbed the well and ran out, not bothering to close any doors, I rushed down the hall suddenly the strongest shudder of all ran through the ship, I heard a loud creak and turned around in time to see a tear in the steel wall at the far end of the cargo bay form and reach toward me and the rest of the ship, my eyes widened, "crap."

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That word seemed to sum up nicely what had happened in the past few hours. I got up and ran as fast as I could towards the door that led to the cockpit but I wasn't going to make it, of course not. In desperation I threw the well towards the door, just in time to hear the hull give out and the slight hiss of air escaping. With a sudden boom the well froze in the air and was sucked towards me, or rather the now gaping hole into space behind me. I saw the well coming towards my face and raised my arm to protect it, the well struck my arm and shattered, the ink inside drenching my arm. That's when I realized it wasn't drenching my arm... It was encompassing it.

I blinked and shook my head as what appeared to be random lines of computer code flashed across my vision, something flew by, cutting open a gash in my forehead. I groaned and fell back, letting the vacuum take me, the last thing I saw was the door to the cockpit, the last sound I thought I heard were the words "merge complete."