Event Horizon

Into the Fire

Alarms blared through the Event Horizon's corridors, the ship's AI broadcasting urgent warnings to all decks. The moment of triumph—humanity's first successful faster-than-light jump—had collapsed into chaos.

On the bridge, Captain Elias Vance gripped the armrests of his chair as the holographic tactical display flared red. Two massive war cruisers, their hulls lined with glowing amber etchings, peeled away from the battle and locked onto Event Horizon.

"Confirmed," Lieutenant Adrienne Cormac, the tactical officer, called out. "They've targeted us, Captain. Weapon signatures are active."

"Helm!" Vance barked. "Get us out of here! Full burn away from the combat zone!"

Pilot Commander Raj Patel's hands flew over the controls. "Bringing us around—initiating emergency trajectory shift!"

The Event Horizon's engines roared to life, straining against the sudden pull of multiple gravitational forces. The singularity drive required precise calculations before another jump—an instant escape was impossible. Right now, all they could do was run.

The war cruisers accelerated in pursuit.

Vance turned to Dr. Alexandra Pryce. "How long before we can activate the singularity drive again?"

"At least two minutes!" Pryce snapped. "The gravitational stabilizers need to recalibrate, or we'll tear ourselves apart!"

Two minutes. In a battlefield where warships exchanged fire at near-relativistic speeds, two minutes might as well have been an eternity.

The reptilian war cruisers weren't waiting. The lead ship unleashed a volley of energy lances—fiery streaks of plasma that cut through the vacuum of space, aimed directly at Event Horizon.

"Incoming fire!" Cormac yelled.

"Brace!" Vance ordered.

The ship's automated defense systems engaged, diverting power to shielding. The first plasma bolt slammed against their hull, shaking the vessel with violent force. The second blast scorched across the deflector screens, overloading circuits in the lower decks.

"Shields at forty percent!" Patel shouted. "We can't take much more of that!"

A third bolt was charging—this one much larger.

Vance's mind raced. The Event Horizon was a scientific vessel. Its shields were designed to withstand space debris, not direct weapons fire. Their one advantage was speed and maneuverability, but even that wouldn't save them if they were locked down.

"We need countermeasures!" Vance snapped.

Chief Engineer Vasquez, her voice tight with tension, responded over comms from Engineering. "We've got nothing, Captain! Our defensive turrets weren't built for capital-ship combat!"

Before Vance could issue another order, a new energy signature flared on the tactical display.

"Unknown vessel approaching!" Cormac called out. "It's fast!"

A sleek, angular ship broke away from the chaos of battle. Unlike the reptilian cruisers, this vessel shimmered with a strange metallic alloy, its engines pulsing with a golden-blue light. It moved unlike any ship the crew had ever seen—fluid, almost organic in the way it adjusted its trajectory.

Then, without warning, it fired.

Two streams of concentrated energy lanced through the void, striking the reptilian war cruiser mid-charge. The enemy ship's shields flared, then shattered. A secondary blast from the unknown vessel cut through its hull, sending debris scattering into space.

The second reptilian cruiser hesitated—just long enough for Event Horizon to break its targeting lock.

"They're distracted! Now's our chance!" Patel yelled.

"Singularity drive status?" Vance asked.

"Ready!" Pryce confirmed.

"Initiate jump—now!"

Patel slammed the controls. The ship vibrated violently as the singularity drive spun up, folding space around them. A moment later, Event Horizon vanished into the abyss.

---

Chapter 2 - Part 2: The Future They Never Knew

When the ship re-emerged, silence filled the bridge. No alarms. No enemy signatures. Just an eerie stillness.

The viewscreen flickered, revealing their destination.

Instead of the Earth they had left behind, they were looking at something… different.

Earth's orbital network had expanded dramatically. Gigantic stations, some nearly the size of small moons, floated among the stars. Defense platforms surrounded the planet in intricate formations, each one armed with weapons far beyond anything Event Horizon had ever seen.

And then there were the ships.

Sleek, black warships hovered in defensive formations. Their hulls gleamed with a metallic sheen, and the markings on their sides bore no resemblance to the flags of the old world nations. These were not the ships they had left behind.

"Scanning…" Pryce muttered, running a systems check. "Captain… I'm detecting gravitational manipulation technology embedded in those ships."

Vance's stomach dropped. "You're saying they have singularity drives?"

"Not just singularity drives. They've refined them."

Before Vance could fully process the implications, an incoming transmission lit up the communications panel.

A face appeared on the screen—a man, older but ageless in appearance. His uniform was crisp, his expression unreadable. His eyes, however, held something deeper.

Recognition.

"This is Admiral Dominic Kain of the United Earth Directorate," the man said, his voice steady. "You are an unauthorized vessel entering restricted space. Identify yourselves immediately."

Vance stared at him, then at the Earth behind him—an Earth that had changed beyond recognition.

He took a slow breath before responding.

"This is Captain Elias Vance of the Event Horizon." He paused. "We've returned home."

For a moment, there was only silence.

Then, Kain exhaled.

"My god," he murmured. "It's true."

The transmission cut off abruptly.

Outside, the defensive warships began moving into formation—toward Event Horizon.

---