1g, 10g, … 30g … 65g … 90g. The spaceship kept accelerating crossing way beyond the average threshold that the crew regularly experience. Most of them have passed out, except for Kim and Aria. They have higher endurance than the typical humans. The spaceship blasted through the protective shields of the galactic station and headed towards the deep dark space. Onboard were seven of the crew. The hyperspace-dive activated and the spaceship soon vanished into the tunnel leaving behind a trail of debris and a flash of light.
The Colonel declared a state of emergency. People were asked to stay indoors. He took custody of the five crew members who were left behind. Gauss, Riki, Lana, Tisha, and Stein were lucky to have missed the hijacking. All spaceships that had the same GALOS program were evacuated. Broadcasts have been sent out to inform everyone out there.
This is the first time in ages that a GALOS was hacked and its spaceship hijacked. The last time it happened was about 966 years ago. A group of prisoners hijacked a spaceship and flew it to Alpha Centauri from Andromeda to escape a trial. It was a distance of 2.57 million light-years. The reached in about 3 years. Some say they found a wormhole that made their distance shorter, or they used hyperspace-dive. Or maybe a combination of both. Nevertheless, they later started a colony which became a safe haven for all galactic crooks and thugs. This incident was reminiscent of that legend. Was there a connection?
Lana and Tisha were detained in one room and Gauss and Riki in another. Stein was detained alone. They took away his notebook. He sat on the floor with his legs spread and leaned his head against the wall with eyes closed. He felt tired and it was difficult to keep his eyes open. He had been awake for about 5 days now. Idiots all around, he sighed.
Tisha was walking around anxiously. None of this made sense. She was jealous now that Su was on the spaceship with Ruk. She missed Ruk and everyone else. But him more. And that made her more anxious and more jealous. These repeating thoughts made her very distraught.
Lana looked at Tisha. She understood what was going on in her mind. Well, she herself was also worried but felt a bit better at the thought of Riki being with her. She tried to be remorseful. She wanted to tell Tisha something about calming down and not to worry. But decided against it. Let lovers be worried.
Gauss was the most upset. He could not accept this. He was supposed to lead the war. And here he is detained in a cell with one of the most useless person ever, an alien life expert. He looked at Riki with contempt. Although, deep down he slightly envied Riki. That man has seen nothing. Ignorance was indeed a bliss. Gauss clenched his fists and smacked down on the table. Riki looked at him. As soon as their eyes met, both of them quickly looked away.
Riki could not think of anything but Lana. Ever since that verbal fight, they did not talk. He badly wanted to make up. What's happening to me? He wondered. He never felt this way before. He should be seriously worried about the spaceship and the crew just like Gauss. He tried to blame himself for not being angry. Her short black hair and deep brown eyes. The cheeky smile. The thought of Lana was intoxicating. How was she now?
For what seemed like an eternity, Kim lay down on the floor of the spaceship. He tried to connect the dots. But it was going nowhere. Did the beacon have anything to do with it? How could GALOS be hacked? He tried to get up but was pinned down by the acceleration. Wow, hitting a 100g's. Luckily my bones are made of titanium alloy, he felt thankful.
Kim was checking the hyperspace-dive engines when the spaceship was hijacked. The engines are located at the front of the spaceship in level 2. He crawled out and reached the control deck. He found Lu and Kiri unconscious. They are still alive and breathing. He looked for Aria. They need the medical bots now.
Aria was already on her feet and tending to Niki. She was bruised badly. She activated the medical bots. They are putting her in the capsule now after treating her wounds. One after the next, she put Ruk, Kiri, Lu, and Su inside the capsules with the help of the bots. Gauss, Stein, Lana, Tisha, and Riki are not onboard. She let out a sigh of relief. At least some of us will be safe, hopefully.
Aria found Kim in the control deck. "What do we do now, Kim?"
"I think we wait. GALOS is not accessible. The whole system is locked. The spaceship is in Zombie mode." He chuckled.
Aria was impatient. "Who is doing this? Why? How?"
"I don't know. I don't understand. But by the looks of it, we are heading to Alpha Centauri."
"What? But why?" She was afraid, worried and shocked.
He looked at Aria. Her hazel eyes designed to mimic every human emotion in perfection. "For answers, Aria. Answers."
The Colonel finally resolved. The rebellion must be crushed at once and for all. After testing all the spaceships thoroughly for any malicious software, he lifted the state of emergency. He ordered the military to prepare for an expedition. But he was still unsure whether to head to K9 first or to Alpha Centauri. The intelligence department informed him of the resurgent of the infamous the Galactic Freedom Fighters (GFF) from the Alpha Centauri. Coupled with it is the threat of the rogue AI of the K9 constellation. This needs to be a well-coordinated and massive attack. There is no peace in the galaxy as long as people want freedom. And there will never be peace as long as the AI wants dominion. He could not even trust the humanoids in the military. What if they sympathize with the AIs? He preferred armies of bio-engineered humans over machines that could think. Non-intelligent robots were fine as long as they were hardwired to shoot at the enemies.
"I need your help, Dr. Stein." The Colonel spoke. His eyes as deep and dead as forever.
"I haven't finished my Ph.D. yet. I need my notebook. " Stein looked disinterested.
"I can help you finish your Ph.D." The Colonel offered.
Stein was trying to see where this was heading.
"Are you saying that you will go into the back hole?" Stein suggested.
"Me? Of course not, Mr. Stein. But you will. And you must come out alive. The Ph.D. will be waiting outside of the event horizon."
"What a cruel and idiotic joke." Stein tried not to lose his temper.
"Cruel it maybe. But idiotic not so much. I have seen your notes, Stein." The Colonel continued, "You don't understand, but the truth of your results have so significant implications that I would send a thousand Steins through the back-hole until I find the one that makes it out alive."
The words were spoken calmly but Stein could feel a wave of fear pass through his spine.
"Start building the machine. You don't have much time or choice. You are going to K9."