Chapter 15: Darkness Continues

Dark Star brandished one of his guns and opened the door cautiously. Much to his confusion, he found himself within the control room of the Minchivan war ship "Victory Arrow."

Looking to his feet, he realized the distance to the floor was much too short. He dropped his gun and looked at his hands. He was no longer the cybernetic monstrosity he once thought he was. Now, he was his old self, before the war that tore apart his planet.

"How can this be?" was Dark Star’s only thought.

The pilot turned to a co-pilot. "Time for a test run."

"All right, I’ll warm up the weapon systems" the co-pilot replied.

After a few moments, the pilot spoke again. "That’s odd, the flight controls don’t feel like they’ve been properly calibrated."

The co-pilot shrugged in disappointment. "I’d better shut down the weapon systems until we can get the problem corrected. I’m sure it’s just a minor one anyway."

A moment later an engineer made his way into the control room. "Guys, something’s jamming up the system. I’ve checked all the computer systems, whatever it is has to be a mechanical problem."

"Run a triple check" the pilot responded.

The engineer shook his head is disappointment. "All right."

"That is impossible," Dark Star thought. "Minchivan mechanics are nearly flawless."

Dark Star walked down the hall after the engineer. "Look, there is absolutely no way the problem is in the mechanics."

The engineer seemed not to hear Dark Star. He continued down the hallway mumbling to himself. "Run a triple check, yeah right."

Walking up to an open panel in the wall with a few stray tools next to it, the engineer stopped. He picked up the tools and crawled into the small opening. Dark Star followed him.

"Are you not listening to me?" Dark Star yelled. "A computer problem is almost certain."

To Dark Star’s dismay, the engineer crawled into a narrow shaft with a light in hand. Stopping in front of a computer console, he began removing it to check connections.

Dark Star backed out of the shaft and headed back for the control room.

Once inside, he began pleading with the pilots. "Look, your engineer is about to foul up the whole damn engine system if you do not get him out of there!"

The pilots did not respond. It was obvious to Dark Star at this point that he was a mere ghost, only an observer to the situation.

"Check this out. I found the problem," the co-pilot said happily.

The pilot then rebooted the ship’s control system. "Well, that should take care of it."

"This does not make sense," Dark Star thought as he ran back to the shaft the engineer was working in.

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Manually re-calibrating the system, the engineer was turning flight control gears with his hand tools. He continued his work without knowing the real problem had been solved. Quite some time later, the ship engineer emerged back in one of the main halls.

"That outta do it" he said satisfied.

Dark Star thought for a moment and realized what the engineer had been doing. "The fool! Manual manipulation of any of the ship’s systems is only for emergency situations!" Dark Star then ran back to the control room.

"Well, shall we kick’r into high gear?" the co-pilot asked.

"Lets" the pilot responded. The ship’s engines started up, and the ship slowly began gaining speed.

All though he knew they could not hear them, Dark Star felt the need to plead with them. "You must land the ship! In a few minutes it will be too late!"

The co-pilot looked at his monitor strangely. "Sir, the ship seems to be accelerating a bit to fast, take a look."

The pilot was unshaken. "Ah, it’s running fine. It’s her first flight anyhow."

Slowly gaining speed, the ship seemed to be in top condition. Seconds later, two loud explosions where heard.

"What the hell were those?" the pilot shouted.

The co-pilot looked down at his console. "Two of the main engines just blew!"