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They left the Docking Bay behind and passed through the invisible atmosphere barrier which covered the top of it, keeping the air and atmosphere inside the Mother Ship while allowing smaller vessels to pass back and forth.
Once they were in the blackness of space, Seline felt a sense of awe. The Mother Ship orbited the Earth’s moon and it was always amazing to her to see her home planet spinning like a big blue marble out in space.
“Are you admiring your home planet?” Nox asked her, seeing where her eyes were fixed.
“I am.” Seline nodded. “It’s so different than it would have been if…”
“If what?” Nox prompted. One good thing about her huge stoic Protector was he seemed to enjoy listening to what she had to say. They often had lively conversations—she got the idea he was trying to get a better understanding of humans through talking to her.
“Oh, I was just thinking how different things would have been if the Kindred had never come to Earth in the first place,” Seline remarked.
In front of them, a red, horizontal gash suddenly appeared in the blackness. Seline knew this was the “fold” as the Kindred called it—the portal that would take them from their part of space directly into orbit around the Beselex Station. But it still unnerved her to fly into what looked like a fiery, open wound.
Nox, however, seemed completely unfazed—probably because he had folded space many, many times. Seline envied his calm.
“I believe the Scourge were attacking your planet when the Kindred of the Mother Ship arrived,” he remarked, as he piloted the ship into the red void.
“Yes, they were—the Mother Ship got here just in time.” Seline clutched the Far Box tighter and tried not to let her nerves take over. “But just think if the Kindred hadn’t come!” she went on, talking faster, as she tended to do when she was anxious. “I mean, the Scourge would have taken over the whole planet! Humans would probably be their slaves and we would never, ever…”
She trailed off because something strange had happened. As they flew into the gash in space, it suddenly changed colors, going from red to bright, poison green in an instant.
“Hey—did you see that?” she demanded, turning her head to look at Nox.
“I did. I have never seen that particular phenomenon before.” He was frowning grimly which seemed like a bad sign.
They came out of the fold more quickly than usual which should have been a relief, but Seline couldn’t help thinking that something felt wrong.
“This is strange,” Nox murmured, looking at the ship’s glowing instrument panel.
“What? What’s strange?” Seline was feeling jumpy and somehow out of place—which didn’t make any sense. “What’s wrong?” she asked again, since he hadn’t answered her.
“Well…according to my navigation panel, we are still in the exact same location in space that we were before we flew through the fold,” Nox said. “Which cannot be correct—we ought to be millions of light years away, on the other side of the galaxy—that is where Beselex is located.”
“We’re in the same place? What can—wait—look!” Seline pointed at the viewscreen. “What’s that? It’s not…Earth, is it?”
Nox frowned.
“Let me fly closer and we’ll take a look.”
He pulled on the steering yoke and the long-range shuttle zipped forward, bringing them closer to the big blue marble of her home world.
Only it was no longer blue. It was more gray and brown—as though it had been dried up by some malevolent force. And there were ships orbiting around it—one in particular stood out. It was an enormous ship, as big as the Mother Ship, but it was dead black. It looked like an ominous shadow being cast on the Earth.
“What’s that?” Seline asked, pointing to it.
“I do not know but it doesn’t seem to be a force for good—not if the people inside it have anything to do with the state of the Earth,” Nox said grimly.
“So…that is Earth.” Seline pointed to the sere, dried up planet.
“I’m afraid so.” Nox nodded. “Though it is in considerably worse condition than it was before we folded space.”
Suddenly the ship’s com-link crackled to life.
“Unidentified ship,” a menacing robotic voice boomed through the speakers. “You are ordered to identify yourself at once.”
“This is Kindred long range shuttle V-12479,” Nox replied.
“Who are you and what have you done to the Earth?” Seline exclaimed.
“This planet, once called the Earth, is now the property of the Scourge. You will report to the Father Ship at once and give yourselves up, Kindred vessel,” the cold voice informed them. “You are to be interrogated by the AllFather—he will know if you are spies who have come to seek out our position.”
“Spies?” Seline blurted. “What are you talking about?”
“Enough chatter,” the cold voice informed them. “Fly directly to the Father Ship. You are ordered to land now.”
