Brothers in Stars

     “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” Vega repeated after Fenlix filled her, Elise and Pyxis in on the message the hacker sent while they were asleep. “Could it be a clue, or is the hacker baiting us?”

     “No reason why it can’t be both,” said Fenlix in a matter-of-fact tone. “It’s even more important that we figure out who our mystery hacker is, now that we know they’ve inserted a virus into the Gemini’s systems.”

     The pink Aisha groaned, stretching her arms. “What do we have so far about our hacker? We don’t know who they are, we haven’t picked up any identifying marks or lines in the code or anywhere in the simulation’s or the Gemini’s systems. But we do know that they’re able to break into the training simulation we put together, as if they also know the code to it. They also know about the Stellar Ray…”

     “Could they be working for Sloth or Garoo?” Pyxis commented. “Or the team that ambushed Team Alpha and General Reynold?”

     “It’s possible,” said Reuben. The monitor showing Team Alpha’s progress through the Lost Desert was working normally again, without any more cryptic messages. The white Blumaroo took this time to hurriedly begin typing into a text box. He frowned grimly. “Here’s hoping the sentinel program can lend me a hand in sending this to LFRA.”

     “And then can you take a break? Please?” Vega pleaded.

     “We have Rohane and the others working from within the simulation to get to the bottom of this mystery,” said Fenlix. “We’ll be fine while you’re asleep.”

     Pyxis raised a hand. “Yeah, we’ll just wake you up if things get really bad.”

     “Don’t jinx it!”

     “Sorry, Vega!” the orange Grundo apologized, rubbing his shoulder where the Aisha had swatted him with her notepad. “The Gemini is headed for the nearest star, we still don’t know who our hacker is, and we haven’t beaten them in this game of hacking into our own training simulation. What else could possibly go wrong?”

     * * *

     “Out of Terror Mountain…and into the Lost Desert.” Mipsy fanned herself as the three of them walked through the streets of Sakhmet in sand-coloured burnooses. Though the city was crowded, nobody went out of their way to greet the three newcomers. “Seriously? What’s next after this? Maraqua?”

     “Going to Maraqua sounds really appealing right now,” said Talinia wistfully in response to the blue Acara, hefting her bow. “I wonder if whoever locked us in the simulation booths has a sick sense of humour.”

     Rohane, not wanting to bake in full armour, had resorted to carrying all the pieces and the helm in a bag slung over his shoulder. “The sooner we find the librarian, the sooner we can get out of here. But more importantly, we need to find Velm. We haven’t seen him since we were trapped.”

     The green Eyrie shaded her eyes as she looked ahead at the outskirts of the city, which was an endless sea of sand dunes constantly buffeted by wind. Dust and grit swirled in the air. “I hope he’s around here. Reuben doesn’t seem to know where he is.”

     “Let’s listen for the sound of a Techo arguing with food vendors about selling more vegetables,” Mipsy suggested.

     “Aside from that and our mysterious librarian, we have to find the Celestial Talisman, which in turn will help us find the Medallion of Wind and stop the sandstorms. Our first destination is the Temple of the Sky, to the east. And again, there are monsters along the way.” The white Blumaroo groaned. “Reuben, why did you have to fill your training simulation with so many monsters and quests? Now would be a good time for you to show us the quickest way to this temple!”

     “He really should’ve added shops that sold maps,” said Mipsy.

     “I know what he would have said. ‘But where’s the fun in that?’”

     Talinia shook her head in amusement. “Your older brother really is something. He can build simulations like this, and even though we’re trapped, he’s been able to slip in hints that have helped us finish our quests. No wonder he was promoted to IT Chief.”

     There was a pensive glint in Rohane’s eyes as he paused to gaze skyward as though searching for a sign that his brother was about to give them another hint.

     “Yeah. I bet he’s giving it his all to get us out of here, he and his team. Which means we have to pull our weight, too, while waiting for him. Let’s go find that temple.”

     * * *

     “Send, send!” Reuben cried, punching the Enter key as hard as he could. “Fenlix, your stupid sentinel program isn’t cooperating! I thought Team Alpha freed it from the virus!”

     The alien Aisha rushed over to the Blumaroo’s side. “Sweet Fyora, looks like our hacker is pushing back. It doesn’t help that our data lines are still clogged.” He reached out and began furiously typing several strings of commands before looking up and calling, “Vega! I need you and Pyxis to brute force your way into the simulation and open a path for Reuben to send this message! They still don’t know they’re headed for the nearest star!”

     “Got it, Dad!”

     “Vega and I got this!” The orange Grundo cracked his knuckles, closed his eyes briefly, and let his fingers fly across two keyboards. “Come on, it should be easier to send something bigger than hints and directions now!”

     As the IT team worked feverishly to connect to the LFRA, their screens began to flicker with static. Elise yelped from where she had been trying to jimmy the simulation booth doors open once more. “Not again,” she muttered.

     The strange robotic voice, smoother and silkier than they remembered, filled their speakers as everyone fell silent.

     “This will all be over if you send me the Stellar Ray of Precision plans. Why go through all this trouble? Team Alpha’s lives are on the line, aren’t they?”

     “Who are you?” Reuben demanded, grabbing the speaker from his computer. “You coward, show yourself!”

     He was answered by crackling laughter. ”But where’s the fun in that? Our little Kadoatie and Miamouse game is fun for the whole family.” At that last word, the monitors returned to normal, with Pyxis being the first to snap into action in order to perform the requisite virus scan. Everyone else soon followed suit, except Reuben, who remained speechless at his station, his message still in the box waiting to be sent to Rohane deep in the simulation, his mouth hanging open.

     “Chief?” asked Elise, standing up to look at him. “Chief, the message to the captain!”

     “Reuben!” Fenlix placed his hands on his shoulders and shook him. “Your message! Come on, we have to try now before the hacker tries anything else!”

     “What?” The white Blumaroo blinked and shook his head, returning to reality. He glanced from the alien Aisha to the rest of his team, and back to the task at hand. Bouncing a little in his seat, he started hitting the Enter key again. “Right, right! I need to reach LFRA!”

     “The virus has multiplied throughout the Gemini’s computers!” Pyxis announced. “But I can finally disable these rogue programs long enough for you to get to LFRA! On my count! One…”

     Reuben pulled his finger away from his keyboard and waited with bated breath.

     “Two…”

     “Come on, Team Nerd!” Fenlix cheered.

     “Three!”

     The message vanished with a blip, and a “Message Sent Successfully” window popped up on Reuben’s screen.

     “We did it!” He jumped up from his seat, only for his world to spin and cause him to stagger, clutching his head. Reuben leaned against his chair as his vision whirled. “Ow…”

     “There’s no question now. It’s time for you to rest,” said the alien Aisha coolly as he reached out to support his superior. “Believe in us. Believe in your brother.”

     * * *

     Team Alpha sat in stunned silence in the tent at Waset Village, staring slack-jawed at the red Uni that had delivered the grim news while the sandstorms continued to howl and rage outside.

     “What?!” was all Mipsy could say.

     “Did we hear her right?” asked Velm, his grip tightening on his staff.

     They traded looks ranging from confusion, to disbelief, to shock, until Rohane finally stood up and approached her again.

     “Lifira, did you really say we’re headed for a star?”

     Lifira, the Uni, did not say anything more. Instead, she had turned her attention toward the little Cybunny whose name was Amoti, leaving the team to talk – and react among themselves.

     “That’s…probably a yes,” said Talinia steadily, but her amber eyes were wide, and she had tensed in her seat as though already bracing herself for impact with the star.

     “This can’t be happening,” whispered Mipsy. “If we’re all trapped in the simulation booths…”

     “There’s no one to steer our ship, and unless Reuben and the others can reverse its course or break into the system to save us, we’re done for,” said Rohane grimly, clutching his head in his hands.

     “A star. We’re headed for a star.” Velm chuckled nervously.

     Mipsy grabbed Velm by the front of his chain armour and screamed, “What do we do? I don’t want to die!”

     “No one wants to die,” said Talinia, keeping her voice cool, even though her expression was gradually becoming more disconcerted. “We’re not going to die. Right, Captain?”

     The three of them looked to their captain, who was standing up, breathing hard, with his hands balled into fists. He touched the hilt of the old sword that was at his belt, right next to the newer, stronger one. Then he turned back to face them, setting his jaw resolutely.

     “No. We’re going to do everything we can to get out of this simulation. I know Reuben and his team are also working to save us, but we have to lend them a hand however we can. Dad went down fighting, and if we’re going down, we won’t go down without a fight.”

     Velm raised his hand tentatively. “I’d rather not go down at all, if it’s all the same.”

     “Hear, hear!” Mipsy chimed in, waving her own hand in the air.

     “Then we better get going. The other parts of the Medallion of Wind aren’t going to find themselves.” Rohane started walking out of the tent and beckoned the others to follow.

     * * *

     ”Are you sure about this, Reuben?”

     “Come on. If you have any hope of becoming commander, you have to learn to steer a starship.” The older white Blumaroo patted the empty seat beside him – the pilot’s seat – and grinned, tossing a pen with his free hand while he clutched a clipboard in his other hand.

     Rohane shuddered, gaping at the pilot’s seat as though a monster would suddenly rear up from the upholstery and devour him. “I don’t know…wait, you said this was still only a simulation, right?”

     “I rigged the ship with a program that will simulate a flight path from here to the Auriga Sector,” said Reuben confidently, puffing out his chest. “The nearest sector, the smoothest route. And I’ll be beside you all the way.”

     “Wait, is that even allowed? Messing with the ship’s programs?”

     “Let’s just say I got a little permission from Dad.” Reuben winked. “Uh, while he was reviewing some important paperwork. Well, what are you waiting for? You’re not going to learn how to steer standing there.”

     “Fine. All right.” Steeling himself, Rohane cautiously climbed into the cockpit and onto the pilot’s seat, fastening his seatbelt and looking around nervously. Below them were the other ships and rockets of the Perseus Sector. No one else was around, and he reached out to turn the ignition key to start up the ship. At the sound of the engine being activated, he jumped, but managed to remember what to do next with the controls.

     As he pressed the pedal below the control panel and clutched the wheel, the ship began to glide down its path toward the exit portal of the hangar.

     “Wait.” Rohane’s jaw dropped as he hurriedly pulled a lever to navigate a corner in the covered passage. “This doesn’t feel like a simulation! Reuben!” He yelled as the portion of the wall before them opened to admit them into the exit bay.

     But while Rohane was yelling, Reuben was laughing uproariously, punching the air with his fist.

     “You lied to me, Reuben!”

     “Did I? I never said it was still a simulation.” He winked as the exit bay opened to a view of the stars. “I just said I charted an easy path to Auriga, which I did.”

     “But…” Rohane screamed as the ship was launched from the runway and into space. His scream died in his throat when he felt a solid hand on his shoulder.

     “Hey, I didn’t lie when I said I would be with you. You can do this. I believe in you.”

     * * *

     Reuben came awake. His world was no longer wobbly, his head was clear, and he was back in the control room of the Perseus Sector. More importantly, he was lying on top of a table, with a blanket hastily thrown over him, and he was on the side opposite to the coffee machine. The white Blumaroo pulled himself into a sitting position, rubbed his eyes, and turned around to find the rest of his team.

     “We’ve got some good news, Chief,” said Fenlix, walking over to him and handing him a slice of bread and a glass of water. “Team Alpha put together the ‘Medallion of Wind’, or rather, the program that helped clear the data lines. We should be able to get through to them more easily.”

     In response, Reuben breathed a sigh of relief before taking a bite of his bread. “Thanks.”

     “Status update: all members of Team Alpha are now in the Haunted Woods,” Vega announced. “With the data lines clear, hopefully we can try our luck again with changing the Gemini’s course or breaking down the simulation booth doors.”

     “Who knew we had a Haunted Woods simulation?” Elise mused.

     “We don’t,” was Vega’s simple reply. “More of this hacker’s shenanigans, no doubt.”

     Reuben sighed, his gaze flicking upward. “How long was I asleep?”

     “Six hours. Sorry, but none of us had the heart to wake you after you put in so much work for Team Alpha,” the pink Aisha apologized.

     Reuben opened his mouth as though he wanted to object but closed it after some thought. “It’s all right. I actually feel really good.” He stretched his arms. “Any word from our hacker friend?”

     “Just one line. He interrupted us as Captain Rohane and the others finished their quest through the Lost Desert,” Pyxis reported.

     “What did he say?”

     The orange Grundo held up a printout of the screenshot of the words and read them aloud. “Perhaps this mission is too big for your Captain.”

     “Too big for your Captain,” Reuben repeated to himself while seated on the table. As he continued talking, he raised his voice to be heard throughout the entire room. “The Stellar Ray plans…keep your friends close and your enemies closer…fun for the whole family…that’s it!” He jumped off the table, startling his teammates.

     “What? What’s it?” asked Elise. The cloud Poogle let out a little shriek when she bumped into a swivel chair as she passed a book over to Fenlix.

     “Hal. It’s Hal.”

     To be continued…