Destiny Found (Epsilon Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  If this is what it’s like to have a sister, she thought, I don’t know if I like it or not.

  Natalie again shook her head, said, “Talk to you later, you idiot,” and hung up on Kayla.

  She couldn’t help the laughter that escaped then, so she just let it loose and went with it. It felt surprisingly good to laugh; she hadn’t realized it had been so long since she had had a good laugh.

  It would have been even better though if she had picked it up and if Ben had been drinking something. She could just imagine his face going red as he spit out his drink and sputtered. She would have to tell Kayla that the next time they talked.

  Placing the lid back onto the box, she went to put it back into the drawer and started plotting a course for the next galaxy. She could only hope that her days provided some entertainment in the weeks to come, otherwise she just might have to…entertain herself.

  Chapter Two

  It had been two months since she had been deployed; two long, boring, and lonely months.

  She had forgotten to bring reading material and had to console herself with the twenty different movies that had been uploaded into the computer. Thank goodness for them or she would have chewed her own arm off by now.

  Her favourite, by far, were the Star Trek movies. To think that there might actually be all those different kinds of life out there, somewhere, and she might be one of the people to discover them. Every time she watched one of the movies, she felt anticipation for the unknown drive away the monotonous lifestyle she was currently living.

  That, and Captain James Kirk was definitely something nice to look at.

  There had been nothing unusual thus far, including anything that resembled a habitable planet. There were a couple that had appeared to be contenders, but upon further inspection, each one had to be nixed because of how poisonous the surface was.

  “Natalie, how’s it going today?” came a voice from the speaker behind her.

  She got up from watching the stars and walked over to the communication panel. The screen showed Ben and Kayla looking at her with big smiles. They had called her almost every day to see how she was doing and to hear about her findings, as well as just sharing about themselves.

  She smiled, grabbed a nutrition bar, and gave a small wave before sitting down.

  “Hey guys, how’s it going? I missed talking to you yesterday.”

  She knew they were busy with life on Neptune, but that didn’t make it any easier to spend all of her time alone.

  She took a bite of her bar, chewing thoughtfully.

  “Hey, stop with the long face, kid. Chin up. We’re sorry about yesterday, but there was a bunch of new data to go through from the drone that was sent out before you. It’s about a week away from you, and there was some sort of explosion or electrical impulse interference. It’s down, missing, or completely blown to hell and back; at this point we don’t really know. The General has asked Ben to assign you to check it out and see what happened to it.” Kayla glared at Ben, shaking her head in exasperation.

  Ben sighed, running his fingers through his hair, and looked at Kayla.

  “I’m sorry, but it’s my job, Kayla, and you need to respect that.” He turned toward Natalie, his intense gaze piercing through the screen. “I honestly hate to ask this of you, Nat, but I have a job to do, and so do you. So although I would love to chat, I need to make this an official call. I need you to reset calibrations and plot a course for these coordinates. We need to get back to work, but we will call you tomorrow,” and with those final words of goodbye, the transmission ended.

  Well, that was one way to end a conversation.

  She sighed, rubbing her eyes, and reminded herself not to cry. That she couldn’t cry, because if she did, she probably wouldn’t stop for a good long time. She would just have to wait until tomorrow and keep herself busy until then.

  She finished munching on her bar and made her way down the small hallway to her bedroom. Deciding to watch Star Trek again, since she was not able to talk with Ben and Kayla, she debated whether to shower or not to get comfortable.

  Showering won.

  She took off her dark grey jumpsuit and entered the small shower stall.

  Unfortunately, when she turned it on, no water came out of the showerhead. She opened the door and turned on the chemwater tank; it just seemed like a waste of perfectly good water when she could just use the chemwater, which was about five percent water and ninety-five percent whatever else was in there. Thankfully, it wasn’t too different than water other than the fact it stung if it got in the eyes or tasted awful if it got on the tongue – meaning it wasn’t drinkable. But it kept her clean and smelling fresh, so she could deal with the consequences of having stinging eyes or a metallic, chemical taste in her mouth.

  She got out of the shower and decided that she did not feel like putting on another jumpsuit or sweats. Drying off, she put her undergarments on and wrapped her kimono around herself. It was so soft and silky she spent a few seconds just rubbing it against her skin. She belted it and made her way back to her chair out front while brushing her hair.

  Yes, it’s time for Kirk and Spock to distract me.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Gosh, it had been another long, boring week, so much so she was actually getting sick of watching Star Trek.

  Go figure.

  With so much pressure being put on each pilot sent out to look for a new planet, with how busy the people back on Alpha Station were, there hadn’t been a lot of time for her friends to talk with her. They talked for a few minutes here and there, but didn’t have extra time for an actual conversation.

  She couldn’t wait until she was back home where she could actually spend time with the people she loved.

  She checked her position and noticed that she was a few minutes from the coordinates where the drone had last been transmitting before it went dark. The computer scan didn’t show anything of interest in the distance on screen. She decided it would be a good time to call base.

  “Kayla here. How’s it going, Nat?” The pretty brunette sat down on a chair to make it easier to see the screen. “You at the site yet?”

  “No, but according to the computer, I will be there in about three minutes. I thought since I had to call you when I arrived, I may as well call you now, maybe chat for a bit.”

  She twirled her hair around her finger, grateful she had a few minutes to talk before it was time to get down to business.

  “Wow. I see that when you get back you’ll need a haircut! It’s getting so long. What is it now? At your butt?” Kayla squinted, obviously trying to see how long Natalie’s hair actually was, even though the screen cut her off just below the shoulders.

  She stood up, took a step away from the screen, and turned her back toward Kayla. She knew what Kayla would see; black wavy hair, just above her bottom.

  She didn’t know if she wanted to cut it when she got back. She loved how long her hair was, and thought that she could just wear it in a bun like normal. It might be heavier and bigger, but it would still work, and she would get to keep her hair at its current length.

  “Holy cow, Nat, it’s grown like five inches! I wish my hair grew like yours does. I’ve been growing mine for a whole year now and it’s only grown a measly two inches.” Kayla rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated huff. “C’est la vie, I guess. The young always get the good genes.”

  Natalie laughed, rolling her eyes, saying, “Oh, please. I’m twenty-three, you’re barely twenty-six; that’s only three years difference. Quit with the youngster routine, it’s getting old. We’re basically the same age. And I like your hair that length, it keeps your curls nice and bouncy.”

  Ben walked up behind Kayla as she gave her curls a little shake.

  “I see you two have been having your routine ‘girl talk’, and I trust that now that I’m here, you’ll knock it off.” Ben grabbed a seat and sat next to Kayla.

  Kayla smacked him on the arm, gave a mock salute and a “sir, yes sir”
, rolling her eyes as she did.

  Natalie gave a small smile, always entertained by their antics. They really did act like brother and sister and treated her like their little sister. She loved it.

  “Hello, Ben. I’m about two minutes out from the anomaly. I called early so we could talk for a bit before we have to focus on the missing drone.”

  Just as Ben was opening his mouth to say something, alarms started ringing all over the ship. The ship started shaking with turbulence, almost tossing Natalie onto the floor.

  “Report, Natalie,” Ben barked, thrown into Captain mode by the sudden danger.

  Natalie grabbed the back of her chair and made her way over to the control console.

  “Computer, damage report. What’s going on with the alarms? Why is there turbulence?” Natalie shouted.

  “According to sensors, nothing is damaged. An electromagnetic field has appeared, setting off a charge that has in turn set off alarms; meaning an electrical current has disrupted the settings. The ship is experiencing turbulence due to the force pulling the ship into the mass,” the computer intoned.

  “What? A mass? Are you telling me there is a wormhole that just appeared out of nowhere? Ben, are you getting the information? Computer, adjust engines to the maximum velocity and get us out of the gravitational pull. And silence those damn alarms!”

  Natalie grabbed the chair again as the shaking increased, almost tossing her to the floor.

  Ben was shouting curses while officers scrambled around him to get the information being transmitted from her shuttle and onto the screen on Alpha Station.

  “Somebody better tell me what the hell is going on. I want to know, now!” Ben shouted trying to figure out what was happening and how it had occurred so suddenly.

  The ships engines were working at maximum capacity and weren’t making even a slight difference in pulling away from the anomaly. A whining sound was starting to permeate the sudden silence that followed the alarms shutting off. Just as quickly as it started, the engines seemed to just shut off. As the engines failed, the gravitational force grabbed the shuttle and pulled even harder, sending Natalie flying into the console with bruising force.

  “Captain. Ben! The engines have just failed, I’m being pulled in and there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry. I hope to see you and Kayla again. I love you both and am so grateful for the time I had with you,” she said with tears streaming down her face.

  “Natalie, we will find you. We will come for you. You hold on, little sister. We will see you again,” Ben calmed significantly as a sense of determination and resolve shot through him. “I promise you that, Natalie. I vow it. We will see each other again.”

  “Babe, we love you, too. Don’t you worry you haven’t seen the last of us, honey. You just keep holding –,” the sound of Kayla’s last words cut off as she was pulled in.

  She looked out at the wormhole. There was no light, no distant stars, or planets, just an ominous blackness.

  Gosh, she really hoped that she wasn’t about to die. She might miss her family, but she was just starting to live again.

  She strapped herself in and prayed that she would make it out to the other side.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Natalie made her way from the cockpit to her bedroom. She had been sitting at the console for hours, straining her eyes to see if she could detect anything, anything at all, that could indicate the never-ending tunnel of black would cease.

  So far, there was nothing.

  Zip.

  Nada.

  Zilch.

  She had been watching that dang computer for so long, and yet nothing had changed. The sensors hadn’t picked up anything – not planets or mass of any kind – and no ending to the tunnel.

  She sighed, rubbing her aching eyes. According to her watch it had been about twenty-seven hours since she had been pulled in, and she hadn’t rested in over thirty-nine. She was ready for some sleep.

  She took a quick shower, ate a quick meal, and pulled on a sweatshirt. As she lay in her bed, she felt a wave of anxiety overcome her. How the hell was she supposed to live her life on this damn ship? What if she never got out and she was kept in this loop of perpetual darkness, lingering in this limbo?

  She started to hyperventilate, moaning as hysteria started to take over.

  She got off the bed, pacing the small length of the room over and over again, as she tried to calm herself.

  Shit. Pull yourself together! What would Ben and Kayla say if they saw you now?

  She drew peace from the thoughts about their would-be reactions, calming enough to focus. Even if she couldn’t go home, this would end somewhere, anywhere, and she had to hold onto that or she would probably have a psychotic break.

  She took a few deep breaths, did a few stretches, and grabbed her kimono. As she lay back down, she pillowed the kimono under her head, staring at the picture of her family. She could imagine her parents and brother would have loved to meet Kayla and Ben.

  Now that she was feeling calm enough, she closed her eyes and imagined what it would have been like to be surrounded by them all. She could get through this, regardless if she had to live the rest of her life alone.

  Chapter Three

  It had been three days since she had been lost, and three days of nothing but black.

  She had nothing to do.

  She had rewashed all of her clothing, watched movies, and monitored the computer sensors for anything. She couldn’t fly because the engines were completely compromised and she didn’t have the tools necessary to fix them, so she was just coasting along, waiting to see what would happen.

  The only thing going for her was the fact that the rest of the ship was in working order. Only the engines had been wrecked.

  Natalie was sitting at the console when the computer sensors alerted her that there was a break in the dark matter. It was registering a light source, multiple planets, and a star system.

  Natalie tried the communication system again, trying to connect with Alpha Station, and only got static back.

  She sighed, feeling a slight sense of defeat blanket her excitement of the moment before. She was getting out, thank God, but she was going into some new place blind, and it wasn’t the most comfortable feeling. She had no idea what to expect, but the multitude of alien species from Star Trek kept running on a loop in her head.

  Maybe she was about to become the first human to have contact with aliens.

  According to the computer, she would be finding out for certain in just under an hour. She decided to take a quick nap so she was ready to go and alert when she made her escape.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The endless darkness of the wormhole had finally given way to light. Apparently she had been spit out into another galaxy.

  Natalie looked to the computer screen, counting sixteen planets of varying sizes and colours. Three of the smaller planets appeared to be gaseous and were neon colours of green, yellow, and orange. There were four darker planets, seemingly black or grey in colour. The one sun was a massive ball of fire that looked about ten times larger than the one near Earth and was smack in the middle of the planets. The other planets were beautiful and unique, as there was a combination of pink and reds on some, and yellow and green on others. It was amazing and disconcerting, all in one instant.

  The third closest planet to where she had come out of the wormhole looked suspiciously similar to Earth. There was blue water, green landmasses, and white clouds, except it was so much larger.

  Natalie sat at the console, watching the computer screen in stunned silence at what she was seeing. As she watched the swirling clouds, she caught a glimpse of something above the surface.

  All at once she realized spacecrafts were whizzing through space, above the planet, attacking each other. She had been spit out far enough away that she could only see them on the computer screen; she could only hope that she wasn’t spotted, and that if she was, that they were peaceful aliens.

  It seemed like the aliens in th
e black spacecrafts were trying, unsuccessfully, to evade the silver crafts and get around them. She would bet the black ships were trying to invade. Dang, those movies had made her suspicious, but it did make sense, considering what was happening.

  The silver crafts were twirling and spinning in a dizzying, yet mesmerizing display of acrobatics while destroying the black ships. If any of those ships saw her, she was a sitting duck. It was only a matter of time before one of them noticed she was there.

  As another couple of the black ships were destroyed, it obviously became apparent to them that they weren’t going to win the fight and they started to retreat.

  As Natalie watched the black ships, they broke apart from each other, about seven ships in each group, going in ten different directions. It seemed like the black ships were going to get away while the silver ships just floated there, watching. She sat there, vigilantly watching the screen for about ten minutes before about fifty of the silver ships broke off in pursuit of the black ships. As the black ships seemed to realize they were being pursued, they further broke into teams of three or four ships. It didn’t look like the silver ships would be catching all of the black ships they were hoping to.

  Natalie let out a gusty sigh and thought, Well, that was definitely an intense introduction to extraterrestrial life. But hey, at least I wasn’t attacked or anything, so there is that. Stay positive.

  The only problem was that if the thought was out there in the universe, it could be jinxed.

  And jinxed it was, she thought as she realized a group of four black ships were on their way to her location.

  According to the computer, she had roughly thirty minutes before they would descend on her position. She really hoped they were good aliens, but evidence to the contrary was causing her to have doubts.