It was the eighth day after their departure. The spacecraft never halted for once, but instead progressed towards its target. Within the command center was Alex who couldn't tear his gaze off Sarah. He kept staring at her, hands rested atop her hips as she focused her fiery gaze on a particular file. After a few minutes, he retracted his gaze, turned his head leftwards, and rested it upon Miguel. Just as soon as that happened, Miguel, whose head drooped down, raised his head and looked straight into his eyes.
His heart trembled in response and his gaze couldn't withstand the collision so he backed down. He stopped looking at him after which Miguel's gaze stormed off in another direction, deep into the holographic display projecting 3D images of the surrounding space. Alex stole a few glances, trying to decipher a few clues about his odd trait.
Besides being 6'3ft, he had shoulder length white hair that cascaded down his chiseled, angular face, framing his piercing bluish eyes. His sharp jawline and prominent cheekbones accentuated his austere features, giving him an air of unyielding authority. His pale skin, almost translucent in its clarity, added to his enigmatic presence. Despite his imposing stature, there was an undeniable elegance to his hand movements— he never stopped fiddling with the trigger of his gun, since the departure.
As if Sarah was also observing him, she broke the silence, and asked a question he wanted to. "Miguel, you've never stopped playing around with that gun ever since we departed. What's the problem? Are you nervous? If you are, I'm disappointed." There were about twenty soldiers in the command center, besides the trio, and they all couldn't help but focus their attention on Miguel, with the sole intention of awaiting his response.
Without even sparing Sarah a glance, he kept looking at the displayed images. Thirty seconds passed and whilst it seemed like no response was to be ejected from his mouth anytime soon, his husky voice rang out. "No, this isn't our first time making a trip to other planets. I'm just concerned about the lives that would be lost when we initiate a battle on Enceladus. I'm more concerned about you, Commander."
His tone was emotionless, even though the last sentence of his sounded romantic. Alex and the soldiers found it amusing, even a few thought they were in a secret relationship, but they soon got rid of that thought, for they knew she was in a relationship with Jordan, the Commander of the military affairs of the First Station. Sarah was the most surprised amongst them, for she knew he wasn't one to care about others, in such a way. "Why?"
"It's simple. You're not a super skilled combatant, like me." A soldier chuckled, he was probably amused by Miguel's straightforward attitude. Sarah's gaze landed on the soldier's face, pressuring him into lowering his head in apology. Shifting her gaze to Miguel, she spoke, with a tone laced with anger. "Miguel, what do you mean by that? Is that the right way of speaking to a senior official? And, what gives you the assurance that you can defeat me in a duel?"
Miguel rose to his feet, and walked towards Sarah. Maintaining a few paces from her, he spoke. "I'm not interested in dueling with you. I speak out of concern and if I pissed you off, forgive my manners, Commander." Alex wasn't very much familiar with Miguel's attitude, unlike the soldiers, so he laughed as soon as Miguel refused to duel with her. "You're all talk and no do, hehe."
"BANG!" A sound rang out instantly, and a smoke was regurgitated by the gun within Miguel's grasp. The ejected bullet whizzed past everyone's eyes to its target. It hit Alex squarely on his chest, and when everyone expected him to lose his life, they discovered it wasn't a bullet, but an empty shell.
Nonetheless, Alex winced in pain, solidifying the hint that he suffered a minor injury. "It won't be an empty shell next time, dear civilian. Just because you're Mr President's only son doesn't mean you should ride on his coattails." Miguel walked out of the command center, his destination unknown.
Sarah Jerkins knew about Miguel's personality. He feared nobody, not even the President. She had always been curious about why he was like that? Did he really like living a carefree life? She spared Alex no glance, as she walked out of the command center, leaving the bulk of the movement task to the rest. Her hurried pace finally brought her within Miguel's presence.
She saw him walk past the highly secured metallic doors of the laboratory, just after his eyeballs were scanned by the advanced Neuro-optic Retina Analyzer(NORA), which utilized quantum-dot enhanced optical coherence tomography to map his iridial patterns, and simultaneously, his fingerprints were read by the Subdermal Biometric Scanner(SBS), which employed high-frequency ultrasonic waves to capture detailed, 3D images of his dermal layers, verifying his identity with an accuracy of 99.9999%. She went through the same procedures, after which she gained entry into the laboratory. "Miguel, that was the President's son, as well as the Diplomatic Liaison. You shouldn't have done that, he would hold a grudge against you. And, you know a thing about political scums, they don't give a damn about rules." Sarah advised, cautioning him against such actions.
"Speaking of which, Commander, I've been reviewing the genetic data we retrieved from the last planetary survey." Miguel said, swiftly changing the subject. "I think I've found some intriguing patterns in the chromosomal structures of the indigenous flora. It's possible that these organisms have evolved unique mechanisms for adapting to the planet's harsh environment."
Miguel walked over to the console and began tapping on the screen, bringing up a complex display of genetic code. "If we can isolate and understand these mechanisms, it could have significant implications for our own genetic engineering projects. Perhaps even lead to breakthroughs in developing more resilient crops for Earth's rejuvenation efforts."
He turned to Sarah, his eyes shining with scientific curiosity. "I'd love to discuss this further with you, Commander. Your insight would be invaluable in helping me unravel the secrets hidden within this genetic data."
"Ah, Miguel. You're a master of deflection," Sarah said with a hint of amusement. "But, I'm not letting you off that easily. We'll discuss the incident with the President's son later."
She paused, her expression turning serious. When she was just about to delve deep into the genetic data, a sudden, deafening alarm pierced the air. The spacecraft's computer, S.A.R.A (Self-Aware Reasoning Algorithm), blared out an urgent warning. "Gravitational wave anomaly detected. Space time distortion is imminent!"
Miguel rushed out of the laboratory, accompanied by Sarah, and dashed into the command center. With his expertise in astrophysics and piloting, he rapidly accessed the situation. He quickly analyzed the ship's telemetry data, taking into account the gravitational wave patterns, ship's velocity, and orientation in space. He identified the turbulence as a localized anomaly. Squads of soldiers rushed into the command center to assist the main pilots of the Spacecraft; Captain Luke Xander, the chief pilot, and Captain Maya Singh, the Co-pilot.
Miguel ordered the ship's computer to adjust the thrust vectoring system, subtly adjusting the angle and power of the ship's engines. This compensatory maneuver countered the gravitational force effects, slowly stabilizing the ship's trajectory. To offset the gravitational force, Miguel instructed the ship's computer to generate a localized gravitational compensation field using the ship's exotic matter generators. The field manipulated space-time around the ship, effectively canceling out the turbulent gravitational forces.
As the ship responded to the compensatory maneuvers, Miguel monitored its wobbling motions. He fine-tuned the ship's inertial dampeners to minimize these oscillations, ensuring a smooth transition to stable flight. With the ship stabilized, Miguel ran a series of diagnostics to confirm its systems were functioning within nominal parameters. He verified the ship's velocity and gravitational compensation field were all stable.
Thanks to Miguel's technical prowess and quick thinking, Cygnus X-1 successfully navigated the gravitational turbulence, ensuring the crew's safety. Sarah nodded her head in approval, as she gazed into his eyes. "You're really a smart man. Miguel. We all appreciate your efforts."
"As long as humanity doesn't suffer, it's all worth it. Even at the last drop of my blood, I'll create a glorious path for humanity. That's what every soldier swore, I'm not an exception." Miguel responded calmly.