The Star Captain

The Star Captain

The great push to explore further into space, back when the first solar powered ship made the trip, started the great expansion to other worlds. Human colonies slowly spread throughout the solar system, and then throughout the galaxy. The great expansion also allowed for new technology to take hold in the world of mankind. Fossil fuels no longer had the capacity to fulfill all of the travel needs across the universe. So a new form of fuel needed to be utilized; an abundant, never ending source: stars.

Ports and harbors sprung up on every planet’s moons to allow for the importation and exportation of goods, for people to travel across the galaxy, and for catcher’s to bring in their haul. This new fuel source created a new industry of star catchers, and it quickly took off as one that brought glory and adventure.

Riff had been waiting months for this opportunity, others had been waiting years. The biggest shower to come through the Milky Way, the Stella Cecidit Shower, only came every 200 years, many catchers lived and died without even having the chance to participate. Stories of the incredible beauty and fantastic experiences while being involved in the dangers of the shower were passed down from generations of those who lived through it to those who wouldn’t have the chance. Those catchers who participated were like heroes, the haul they brought in could power an entire city for years, or over a thousand ships across the galaxy. And anyone who wanted to be anyone strived to live long enough or stay strong enough to join in come the Shower’s return. Riff had only been captain of the Sun Flare for six months, but was confident that his crew would pull in the heftiest catch of all of the ships casting off from Mars’ moon Phobos that evening. The Shower started at 1am, but the Sun Flare was off before midnight, to try and get a head start on the other ships.

As the ship prepared to leave Phobos’ harbor, the sail’s solar panels glistened in the star light as they powered up. An ethereal breeze blew across the deck of the ship as it cast off, and rose higher and higher into the sky, bringing with it a sense of anxiousness and excitement. This was everyone’s only chance to participate in the Stella Cecidit Shower. Some members of the crew were seasoned sailors, like Riff’s uncle Jim, who taught him everything he knew and was his first mate. But most of the men were new like their captain. Riff was the rookie; he was young for a star captain, and the other captains on the docks and moon ports never let him forget it. But he worked hard to earn his ship and position, and he was going to work hard to prove that with this catching trip. With a final check of the artificial gravity shields and the air purifiers in place, they set sail for deeper, more open space, getting the prime position for star catching.

The first star that went soaring across the ship’s starboard side was a fierce blue, its tail stretching behind it for eternity. It was early, the other ships from the outposts on the moons just barely entering their vision, but Riff saw the opportunity to get ahead, so he took it. “Looks like the Shower is starting early for us boys. Let’s get those nets out there!” Star ships were massive because the cargo they had to haul in was massive. Giant hulls, with four or five masts with enormous solar sails to power the powerful jet engines that steered and moved the great ship. They also had huge crews of thousands of men, who all looked to the captain for commands. The immense size and grandeur of the Sun Flare was greater than other sun ships, and it allowed for a very heavy load, so it had room for plenty of nets to be thrown out all at once. Giant nets that glistened with silvers, golds, blues, and reds were thrown over the sides and down around the giant hull of the ship, floating in the void. The nets were made from other galactic matter, like stars and comets, the only material known to stop and catch falling stars. Before the full Shower had even started, the Sun Flare’s crew already had quite a few stars pulled in and stored in the cargo hold, but they couldn’t have been prepared for what the full Shower brought with it.

The Shower exploded into life as suddenly the entire open stretch of space was filled with stars zipping by. Everything was bright and blurry as the stars in every color imaginable filled the expanse blinding those who hadn’t come prepared with star shades. It was so powerfully beautiful and rare that the crew just took it in at first, until Riff snapped to his senses and started spewing commands left and right. More than half the crew were to just focus on pulling in the stars that came into the nets, but the rest had to stay sharp in order to keep the ship and crew safe. Pulling up the sails and tying them down and manning the cannons to shoot out any star that could potentially hit the masts or the hull of the ship.

The Shower grew more and more intense as the evening wore on, becoming more of a storm. There were so many stars flying around them that it wasn’t hard to fill their cargo hold, but it was also hard for his crew to keep track of all of the stars flying by. Riff maintained control though, keeping his crew as together as possible. All he could think about were the amazing stories he had been told by his grandfather growing up. “There are too many stars!” His uncle Jim interrupted him, having witnessed half the crew get knocked down with star dust from a shot down star. It was overwhelming and Riff’s crew was inexperienced. After the first couple hours, no one was catching stars anymore, regardless of how much room they still had on the ship. Instead just trying to keep the ship from being destroyed and losing their lives. “You need to tell them to head back to harbor, come on man!” Jim yelled again, “This isn’t worth it!”

Riff was torn between his vision of the glory and adventure of the Shower that he had believed in all his life, and the safety of his ship and crew. This was all he ever wanted, to participate and prove himself in this great shower, how could he turn back now? Be the first one to give up? A rogue star came flying through the foremast, blasting it out of commission. The ship lurched with the hit, and a couple crew men were pushed overboard by the debris. Riff was forced into reality. “All men to stations! Head back to Phobos, snap to it!”

Every cannon was employed at attempting to clear a path as they slowly moved back towards Lunar Harbor. The ship was constantly shaking and vibrating from the plethora or stars zooming so close to it and the shrapnel of shot down stars ramming into the hull. Most of the men took blows from the fragments surrounding them, many of them with cuts and streams of blood running down their face or arms, they tried not to focus on the men they had already lost. The ship rattled violently as it took a heavy hit from a stray star that was overlooked by the gunmen. Riff held stubbornly to the ship’s wheel, keeping her steady on their path to safety. They were so close, as he begged the Sun Flare to hold on just a bit longer, promising an unknown god that he’d set the record straight about this suicide mission if he made it safely home, that he’d never let his idealistic dreams get the best of him again. The barrage of stars lessened as they left the expanse of open space, and finally made it out without too many casualties; a couple may not ever see again, or use one of their hands, but most of them survived. Other ships weren’t so lucky, as Riff turned to look behind him at the explosion of lights, stars, and wrecked ships: wooden splinters and bodies now littering the expanse with the star’s sparkling, burning shrapnel. Instead of returning in glory, he was returning broken. All he felt was empty as his ship barely held on while crawling back to the harbor, tired and falling apart, just like his crew and his dream.