HELIX: A SciFi Short Story (2 page)

“I need your help, Grant. Take your position at flight controls while I maneuver the pulsar thrusters.”

Grant stared at Ben a moment more, nervous, afraid.

“Now!”

Finally snapping out of his daze Grant ran over to the flight control console, placing his hands on the control stick. “What do I do?” he asked, his fear hanging in the air around him.

“I want you to pull back on the control stick lightly. The Helix is too big for High-G maneuvering, so a light and steady pull will have to work.”

Grant pulled the control stick back, barely applying any pressure to it.

“You need to give it a little more, you are only applying a few percent of pitch control right now,” Ben said, turning around to read the altimeter indication behind him, the numbers dropping at a slightly slower pace.

Grant pulled back more. “It’s really heavy, I don’t know how much longer I can hold it,” he said. The control stick required forty pounds of force to move in order to prevent jerky movements at high speed. The increased control came at a cost of tired muscles for the pilots.

“You’re doing great,” Ben called out. “Keep it up.”

Ben eased up on the throttle lightly until the pitch of the Helix was where he wanted it to be.

“We are leveling out! Don’t ease up yet!” Ben cried.

Grant winced as his arms grew more and more fatigued by the weight required to maintain the position of the control stick. He wanted to cry out, he wanted to give in to weakness and let go of his burden, but as he looked over to make eye contact with Ben he could see that their lives were in each other’s hands. Grant did not want to die and he sure did not want to be the reason his best friend would not live to see another day.

Through grimace and groans Grant kept the control stick pulled back. The indication on the altimeter finally began moving in the opposite direction, the direction that pointed them on a course away from the moon KG894. With that position Ben increased the throttles and the Helix lurched slightly as the engines powered up to propel them away from the gravitational pull of the moon.

Now, with the threat of doom behind them, Ben stepped back from the console. “You can ease off now,” he said to his best friend as he walked towards him.

Grant’s arm muscles were beyond the point of wanting to let go, but between adrenaline and self- control he eased the control stick back into the neutral position. Turning to look at his friend he spoke, “we did it.”

“That we did,” Ben replied, wrapping his arms around his friend and pulling him close. Desperation fueled their need to survive, to fight for the future of not only themselves, but the Helix as well.

“Congratulation, nephew!” Captain Lancier said, stepping out from a faux wall behind a line of control consoles in the bridge.

Both boys looked at him, shock in their eyes.

“I don’t understand,” Grant said, one arm still clinging to Ben.

More officers filed out from the same shadows as Captain Lancier and soon the bridge was full of the team responsible for the livelihood of the people onboard. “This was a test, not only for you, Grant, but also for your friend Ben.”

“A test?” both boys asked simultaneously.

A smile curled the captain’s lips. “Yes! You see, each member of my staff is chosen based on their interest. We raise our replacements because humanity can only survive using the knowledge of previous generations. It is my job as captain to ensure that future generations are taught how to deal with high-stress situations in order to preserve our species. That’s what this was, the final test to determine if you two were ready.”

Ben looked down at his friend questioningly. Before either of them could speak Captain Lancier placed a caring hand on each of their shoulders.

“Both of you passed with flying colors. You were put in a position where you had to rely on each other. You were forced to solve a problem in order to survive even though you were concerned for the safety and wellbeing of your families. Both of you took action and focused on saving the ship. For that I am most proud of both of you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ben said, lifting his hand in a salute to his captain. Grant saluted as well.

Lancier returned the salute with a smile.

“Thank you, Ensign Benjamin Borden and Ensign Grant Lancier.”

“Ensign?” Ben asked; his eyes wide.

With a coy smile Captain Lancier replied, “Of course, only commissioned officers are allowed to pilot my ship.”

And with those words the bridge filled with cheers.

The End

Thank you for taking the time to read my short story HELIX! I hope you enjoyed the story and will leave a review to let others know how you liked it. If you want to catch up on other books/stories I’ve published, or to learn more about me, then check out my website at
www.drewavera.wordpress.com

Thanks again!

For generations pockets of humanity have been floating through space in search for a new planet to call home. Scattered like sand in the wind, the travel throughout the universe in spindle-shaped ships, living in confined spaces, and witnessing the spread of humanity to every inhabitable planet and moon they can find. Not every ship lands to colonize, though. Instead, they continue their drift outward to the expanses of the universe in hopes of colonizing the next Earth.

Ben and Grant are teenage boys. Having lived their entire young lives on the Helix, they have grown accustomed to life where they are nurtured by adults and live in their own dreams. What happens when that is all taken away and they find themselves alone and on a collision course with certain death? Do they have what it takes to survive?

HELIX is a science fiction short story about two friends coming together to save one another…if they can.