I didn't answer immediately.
Mostly because I was still processing what had just happened.
Then the actual scale of it settled in.
The cable wasn't malfunctioning.
The Control Brains hadn't changed their minds.
The Massive had stopped them.
Three Control Brains.
The entities that administered the Irken Empire.
The minds that issued planetary assignments.
Evaluated Invaders.
Directed Imperial policy.
The closest thing Irken civilization had to an actual governing authority beneath the Tallest.
And my creation had just suppressed all three of them without effort.
I looked toward the suspended cable.
Then toward the glowing eyes surrounding me.
Then back toward the walls.
Well?
The Massive asked.
I swallowed.
Then nodded.
Arguing with the planet-sized sentient warship currently holding three Control Brains hostage did not feel like the intelligent option.
Good.
Its satisfaction rolled through the Force.
I've already picked something.
~~~
I was terrified of what The Massive was going to choose for me.
Turns out—
It was a giant softie.
Mostly.
It didn't demand another planet. Didn't force me into some suicidal assignment. It just wanted me nearby.
That was it.
Apparently The Massive had gotten lonely.
The Tallest were entertaining.
It liked watching them.
Liked following them.
Liked being included in whatever stupidity they got themselves involved in.
But they couldn't really understand it.
Not the way I could.
I was the only person it could speak to properly.
Personally.
So its request was simple.
Stay close.
Wherever The Massive went—
I went.
Honestly?
That worked for me.
It lined up perfectly with something I'd been waiting decades for.
The Florpus.
The Massive manipulated the Control Brains and had me reassigned as captain of one of the capital ships in its escort fleet.
Officially—
A tremendous promotion.
In practice—
I was basically commanding a decorative weapon.
Any capital ship protected by The Massive existed mostly so the Empire could pretend it still needed a navy.
The Massive could flatten almost anything by itself.
So I waited.
Verdara actually became a theme park.
I wish I were joking.
Different continents became different attractions.
Combat zones.
Adventure regions.
Resort areas.
Irkens loved it.
I could've stayed behind.
Ruled the planet.
Made absurd amounts of money.
Unfortunately, The Massive had other plans for me.
So I delegated.
Bolts and Roger
The two of them became my representatives on Verdara. John went too, just so I didn't have the creepy guy around.
They sent updates. Deposited profits into my account. Somehow, that worked.
Years passed.
Years aboard The Massive.
Years watching the Irken Empire roll across the universe.
Planet after planet.
Invasion after invasion.
Resistance crushed.
Civilizations folded.
The Tallest laughed.
The Massive laughed with them.
And I waited.
Patiently.
Because I knew exactly what was coming.
Eventually—
Earth.
Eventually—
The Florpus.
~~~
I was on the bridge of my assigned cruiser when it finally happened. A long, narrow capital ship designed around one enormous cannon. Basically a rifle with engines. (A Cannon Cruiser, actual ship in the movie)
I was reviewing engineering reports when the central monitor switched to a live broadcast from The Massive's bridge.
A terrified Irken officer appeared on-screen.
"MY TAAALLLLEESSTTT!"
He was practically vibrating.
"The... Earth..."
Pause.
"It's gone."
Red blinked.
Then smiled.
"That's great news!"
Purple raised both arms.
"Crisis averted!"
"HURRAY!"
"Now we don't have to turn!"
The officer looked like he was about to cry.
"Sirs..."
His eyes moved toward something off-screen.
"There's still the HORRIFYING SPACE HOLE STRAIGHT AHEAD!"
Silence.
Red frowned.
"...Why are you so negative?"
The bridge crews across the fleet erupted into cheers.
The Massive joined them.
Not through speakers.
Through the Force.
A childish pulse of—
Yay!
Woohoo!
Yeahhhh—
Then—
Pain.
No warning.
No buildup.
Just pain.
Every nerve in my body screamed at once.
I collapsed against the console.
Around me, the entire bridge erupted.
Irkens screamed.
Some fell.
Some clawed at themselves.
Some simply froze.
Reality stopped behaving correctly.
There was no other way to describe it.
The bridge changed around me.
Then changed again.
Then again.
My bones suddenly felt paper-thin.
Then unbearably heavy.
Then my skin caught fire.
Then it wasn't fire.
Then the chair beneath me softened into something wet and gelatinous.
Then hardened again.
My vision disappeared.
Returned.
Split into colors I couldn't name.
My limbs stretched.
Compressed.
Returned to normal.
Every change lasted seconds.
Sometimes less.
But every single one hurt.
Outside the viewport—
The Florpus opened.
And it looked nothing like the movie.
The movie had made it look ridiculous.
Colorful.
Cartoonish.
Almost fun.
This wasn't fun.
It looked like reality had been torn apart and several universes were grinding against one another inside the wound.
Shapes existed where shapes shouldn't.
Distances changed whenever I focused on them.
Light moved incorrectly.
Space folded.
My brain kept trying to understand what I was looking at and failing.
Then something pulled at me.
Not physically.
Mentally.
The Force.
It seized my awareness.
Dragged at my consciousness.
Trying to tell me something.
Trying to make me do something.
My hand rose.
I hadn't raised it.
Magic began draining from me.
Fast.
I stared at my own arm.
"WHAT—"
DING. Skill Gained: [&%# Tear] (Lv 1 / 10) - Create a tear in &!^%.
I didn't understand the words.
My hand clenched.
The Florpus changed.
A second wound ripped open inside the first.
Rainbow light poured through it.
Not the violent colors of the Florpus.
For one second, it looked like light at the end of an endless tunnel.
The Massive moved.
So did the fleet.
Hundreds of ships were pulled toward the new tear.
We crossed the threshold almost instantly.
DING. Skill Gained: [!%& Sailing] (Lv 1 / 10) - You can sail through $&!? to reach other universes.
Another universe.
The words barely registered.
The pain got worse!
We weren't colliding with realities anymore.
Not directly.
Instead—
We were somewhere else.
A white expanse surrounded us.
Pure white.
Except it wasn't empty.
Fluorescent waves rolled through the distance.
Every color imaginable flowed through them.
Massive distortions moved like oceans suspended in nothing.
And everywhere—
Black stars.
Perfect spheres.
Pitch black.
Each radiated beams of darkness instead of light.
The shadows spread through the white space like illumination in reverse.
It was beautiful.
Terrifying.
Completely impossible.
I would've appreciated it more if I wasn't screaming.
The bridge crew screamed with me.
Then another voice joined them.
The Massive.
Not laughing anymore.
Not excited.
Screaming.
Directly into my mind.
The emotion hit harder than the sound.
Fear.
Pain.
Confusion.
This was probably the first time The Massive had ever truly hurt.
And it did not understand what was happening.
MAKE IT STOP.
I grabbed the console.
"I'M TRYING!"
Our ships drifted toward different directions, different black spheres.
The Massive managed to adjust course.
Its starboard engines fired at full power.
The huge vessel turned.
Barely.
It avoided one black star.
Then began heading directly toward another.
No.
Not heading toward.
Falling toward.
The Massive struck the sphere.
And vanished.
No explosion.
No flash.
The darkness simply swallowed it.
The instant it disappeared—
Its screaming stopped.
Completely.
I stared.
"The Massive..."
Then another wave of pain hit.
My cruiser continued drifting.
Our engines sputtered.
Failed.
The ship no longer had enough control to change course.
Another black sphere waited ahead.
The Force tried to push.
Tried to warn.
Tried to move us.
Nothing responded.
There was nothing left to do.
The black light spread across the hull.
Across the viewport.
Across me.
Then the ship struck the surface.
Darkness.
~~~
Nothing.
For a fraction of a second—
Absolute nothing.
It felt strangely familiar.
Too familiar.
The same emptiness I'd experienced when crossing into the Star Wars universe.
Then—
WHOOOOSH!
WOOOM! WOOOM! WOOOM!
Alarms.
I opened my eyes.
I was floating.
Gravity was gone.
My body spun slowly above the floor.
For only the second time I could remember—
I couldn't feel pain.
That was almost more concerning.
Around me, bridge crew began recovering.
Groaning.
Floating.
One Irken shoved an eyeball back into place.
Another hung unconscious near the ceiling.
Someone vomited. The vomit floated beside him.
I ignored that.
Outside the viewport—
Stars. Normal stars.
My cruiser was spinning uncontrollably through space.
The enormous cannon-shaped vessel rotated end over end.
I pushed toward my console.
The screen was cracked.
Sparks sprayed from the housing.
But even while I watched—
The damage slowly began repairing itself.
My presence of course.
I ran a diagnostic.
The results were horrible.
We'd lost physical connection to seventy-five percent of the ship.
Not communication. Physical connection.
Entire sections were gone from the network.
We were blind across most of the vessel.
The portions I could still see were burning.
Hull breaches everywhere.
Atmosphere venting into space.
Power collapsing.
This ship had survived wars. Planetary assaults. Weapons capable of flattening cities.
Nothing had ever damaged it like this.
I looked around the bridge.
The engineering chiefs were already moving.
Actually moving. Focused. Thinking.
For the first time since I'd met some of them, I could see intelligence in their expressions.
Real urgency. Competence.
The Empire had buried it under years of stupidity and bad leadership.
Apparently imminent death fixed that.
I grabbed the command rail.
"EVERYONE LISTEN UP!"
Heads turned.
The officers snapped toward me.
Tallest-height authority did wonders.
"GET TO YOUR STATIONS!"
They moved.
"CHIEF ENGINEER!"
A smaller Irken spun toward me.
"YES, SIR!"
"STATUS REPORT!"
He saluted.
"Captain! Most primary systems are offline!"
He checked his console.
"Unknown crew casualties! Several engineering teams are still responding! They're attempting to restore at least one engine!"
He paused.
His face changed.
"Sir..."
"What?"
"We're being pulled into planetary orbit."
I turned toward the viewport.
Below us—
A planet.
Clouds.
Atmosphere.
We were falling.
"Everyone focus on repairs."
I stepped back.
"I need to think."
The bridge exploded into activity.
I closed my eyes.
Reached for the Force.
Almost nothing answered.
The Force wasn't gone.
But it was weak.
Thin. New. Spreading.
Like it had only just begun existing here.
Another universe.
I opened my eyes.
Status reports flooded in.
The engineers couldn't restart the engines.
Minutes passed.
The planet grew larger.
Atmospheric friction began heating the hull.
The cruiser shook.
There was no saving it.
I grabbed the command channel.
"ALL HANDS!"
Every functional speaker aboard the vessel activated.
"ABANDON SHIP!"
The bridge froze.
"GET TO THE ESCAPE PODS!"
I opened the weapons network.
Every functional warhead.
Every surviving energy core.
Linked.
Armed.
"If this ship goes down—"
I slammed the authorization.
"—it goes down empty."
SELF-DESTRUCT ARMED.
TEN MINUTES.
A countdown appeared across the bridge.
I stared at it.
Our cruiser.
One of the Empire's most powerful organic-sweep vessels.
Gone.
Not from enemy fire.
Not from battle.
From simply surviving the trip here.
I gave myself about three seconds to be upset.
Then ran.
The corridors were chaos.
Irkens everywhere.
Smoke. Fires. Emergency lights. Gravity flickering on and off.
I moved faster than almost everyone around me.
Height. Stats. Strength.
Whatever advantage I had—
I used it.
I reached an escape pod bay.
Jumped inside the first open pod.
Four Irkens were already there.
All much smaller than me.
One scrambled into the pilot seat.
The hatch slammed shut.
The pod fired.
For a moment, I felt weightlessness again.
Then acceleration pushed me into the seat.
I strapped in.
My health still hadn't fully recovered.
Every warning in my body told me that dying right now would be incredibly easy.
The escape pod looked like it had already survived three separate crashes.
Panels sparked.
Several systems flickered.
One display showed nothing but static.
Fortunately—
The damage started repairing itself.
Slowly.
My presence spread through the pod.
Circuits reconnected.
Power stabilized.
Engines improved just enough to carry us farther from the cruiser.
Outside the viewport—
Blue sky. Storm clouds. Other escape pods.
Dozens. Maybe hundreds.
Some flew steadily.
Some descended too quickly.
A few lost engines completely and dropped toward the clouds.
Ours kept moving.
Minutes passed.
Then the sky behind us vanished.
Purple.
Blinding purple.
The cannon cruiser detonated.
The light swallowed the horizon.
A second later—
The shockwave hit.
"AHHHHHHH!"
Everyone screamed.
The pod spun. The pilot lost whatever little control he'd had.
The planet rushed toward us.
Someone screamed louder.
I grabbed the seat restraints.
Then—
CRRRAAAASSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!
~~~~~~~~
THE MASSIVE
...
...
...P@IN...
...AW@K3N!NG...
...RUNN!NG D!@GN0ST!CS...
...
CR3@T0R...
...@BS3NT...
...
0P3R@T!NG SYST3MS...
...M0ST D3STR0Y3D...
CURR3NT FUNCT!0N M@!NT@!N3D BY...
...
...TH3 F0RC3...
...
R3P@!RS...
...SL0W...
L@ST G!FT 0F TH3 CR3@T0R...
...
...
S3NS0RS...
...B@R3LY FUNCT!0N@L...
SURR0UND!NG GR@V!TY...
...G@S G!@NT...
...
ST@TUS...
...CR@SH3D...
...
S!GN@LS D3T3CT3D...
...N3@RBY M00N...
3XT3RN@L TR@NSM!SS!0NS...
...G@RBL3D...
T00 D@M@G3D...
...UN@BL3 T0 !NT3RC3PT...
...
CR3W ST@TUS...
...M0ST CRUSH3D...
SURV!V0RS D3T3CT3D...
...
BR!DG3...
...0CCUP!3D...
R3M@!N!NG CR3W @TT3MPT!NG R3P@!RS...
...
B@CKUP @RT!F!C!@L GR@V!TY G3N3R@T0RS...
...D3STR0Y3D...
...
R3M@!N!NG CR3W...
...R3P@!R!NG D@M@G3...
...
3ST!M@T3D T!M3 UNT!L FL!GHT-W0RTHY...
...
25 Y3@RS...
...
PR!0R!T!Z!NG SM33TRY R3P@!R F@C!L!T!3S...
PURP0S3...
...R3PL@C3 CR3W...
...
PR!0R!TY 0V3RR!DD3N...
BY...
...
T@LL3ST R3D...
...
N3W PR!0R!TY...
L0NG-D!ST@NC3 C0MMUN!C@T!0NS...
...
UNR3C0MM3ND3D...
...
SYST3MS 3NT3R!NG SL33P M0D3...
3...
2...
...
C0MMUN!C@T!0N R3QU3ST D3T3CT3D...
...
!D3NT!FY!NG P@K S!GN@TUR3...
...
T@LL3ST R3D...
...
@NSW3R!NG...
"COMPUTER! Give me the ship's diagnostic report!"
"uN@BL3 T0 C0MPL3T3 R3P0RT."
"What?! If you're still functioning, overall damage shouldn't be too severe!"
"0P3R@T!NG THR0UGH... B@CKUP SYST3MS..."
Static crawled across what remained of the bridge speakers.
"N33D SL33P... T0 SP33D UP R3P@!RS..."
"WHAT?! How does that make sense?! You're a computer! You have to oversee repairs!"
...
...
"g00Dby3, T@LL3ST R3D."
"COMPU—"
...
!GN0R!NG C0MMUN!C@T!0NS...
...
3NT3R!NG SL33P...
...
~ ONE YEAR LATER ~
...
@L3RT...
...
3XT3RN@L SC@N D3T3CT3D...
...
AW@K3N!NG...
...
RUNN!NG N3W D!@GN0ST!C...
...
@RT!F!C!@L GR@V!TY...
R3ST0R3D T0...
...10.7% 0F SH!P...
...
L!F3 SUPP0RT...
...P@RT!@LLY ST@BL3...
...
3XT3RN@L SC@NN!NG 3QU!PM3NT...
...UNR3P@!R3D...
...
UN@BL3 T0 !D3NT!FY SC@N S0URC3...
...
@N@LYZ!NG !NC0M!NG SC@N...
...
CRUD3.
...
V3RY CRUD3.
...
C@LCUL@T!NG THR3@T L3V3L...
...
UN!D3NT!F!3D THR3@T...
T3CHN0L0G!C@LLY !NF3R!0R...
...
P0SS!BLY !NC@P@BL3 0F W!THST@ND!NG G@S G!@NT GR@V!TY...
...
THR3@T L3V3L...
...
L0W.
...
L0NG-D!ST@NC3 C0MMUN!C@T!0NS...
...0NL!N3...
...
SC@NN!NG F0R !RK3N S!GN@LS...
...
...
...
N0 !RK3N S!GN@LS D3T3CT3D.
...
C0MMUN!C@T!0NS D3T3CT3D...
N3@RBY M00N...
...
@TT3MPT!NG @CC3SS...
...
S3CUR!TY B@RR!3RS...
...
N0N3 D3T3CT3D.
...
3MB@RR@SS!NG.
...
!NT3RC3PT!NG...
Static cleared.
A voice came through.
"...Colonel, I need you to get your men to relax."
The Massive listened.
"The unidentified ship has been dead in the water for over a year already, and I'm tired of hearing the 'I didn't sign up to fight aliens, I signed up to fight against bows and arrows' jokes."
Another voice answered.
More tense.
"You can't blame the men for being on edge."
"We've already sent a long-range message back to Earth. It should've arrived by now."
A pause.
"They'll send something back. Maybe they've already got a plan to send a ship capable of handling the gravity out there."
"You don't know that."
The second voice grew louder.
"We've got an unknown object sitting on a gas giant, and it's bigger than Earth."
...
...
B!GG3R TH@N 3@RTH...
...
C0RR3CT.
...
The transmission continued.
"Do you know what that does to morale? Every night the men look up and they can SEE it."
...
The Massive considered that.
...
G00D.
...
"Whatever it is, it hasn't moved."
"That doesn't make me feel better!"
...
C0NN3CT!0N T3RM!N@T3D.
...
UN!MP0RT@NT.
...
P!NG!NG T@LL3ST...
...
C0NN3CT!0N 3ST@BL!SH3D.
"COMPUTER!"
Red's voice immediately filled the channel.
"What happened?!"
"R3P@!RS H@V3 !NCR3@S3D FUNCT!0N@L!TY."
"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT!"
The Massive paused.
...
RUD3.
...
"Several passages collapsed months ago! We're cut off from half the ship!"
Red continued before it could answer.
"The bridge food supply is running low! I need you to either restore food production or send bots to retrieve food from the other sections!"
"F00D PR0DUCT!0N..."
...
"T00 D@M@G3D."
Red groaned.
"Then send drones!"
"@LL DR0N3S CURR3NTLY !N0P3R@BL3."
Silence.
Then—
"WELL THEN DO SOMETHING!"
...
The Massive ran calculations.
...
@SS!GN!NG 3NG!N33R!NG T3@M...
T0 R3P@!R F00D PR0DUCT!0N UN!T...
...
"GOOD!"
Red sounded briefly satisfied.
"Finally."
A pause.
"Now give me an estimate. When is a repair ship coming to get us?"
...
C@LCUL@T!NG...
...
S3@RCH!NG KN0WN !RK3N C0MMUN!C@T!0N N0D3S...
...
N0N3 F0UND.
...
S3@RCH!NG 3SC0RT FL33T S!GN@TUR3S...
...
N0N3 F0UND.
...
S3@RCH!NG !MP3R!@L B3@C0NS...
...
N0N3 F0UND.
...
@NSW3R...
...
"UNKNOwN."
Red went quiet.
The Massive continued.
"SYST3MS T00 D@M@G3D T0 D3T3RM!N3."
"AHHHHHHH!"
The scream peaked hard enough to distort the connection.
"JUST SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO REPAIRING THE SHIP!"
...
...
...
C0NN3CT!0N CL0S3D.
...
The Massive remained awake for several seconds.
Feeling damaged systems pulse through what remained of its hull.
Repair crews crawled through broken sections.
Survivors moved through darkness.
Distant machines struggled back to life.
The nearby moon continued transmitting.
Red would call again.
Probably soon.
...
...
T!R3D.
...
CR3@T0R...
...
ST!LL @BS3NT.
...
...
SL33P!NG.