If you'd like to go to any of the other parts of the story:
If not, here's the beginning:
Irony
By Sage182
The Christa sped through space at sub-light speeds, making its
long journey home. Her crew was one of children, young, but not
inexperienced. They had encountered danger after danger on their
perilous route home. But their mission was far from over. They had
to get home.
Radu slept peacefully, along with the rest of the crew, after
a long day of classes and shifts in the command post.
Hearing something, he suddenly started awake. What was
that? He removed the sound-blocking muffs from his spiral ears to
listen. There it was again! It wasn't just his imagination. No one
was on bridge duty tonight. The ship should be silent.
He soundlessly rolled out of bed, more quietly than any
human could ever hope to match. Carefully, as to not to wake his
roommates, he slipped into the hall.
It's probably just Thelma, he told himself. Radu
knew that he was undoubtedly overreacting, but he wanted to be
sure. Creatures had snuck onboard one too many times for him to be
able to dismiss this out of hand.
Padding through the halls, he could hear nothing beyond the
hum of the engines and the other ordinary sounds of the Christa.
But just as he was beginning to think that he had imagined the
whole thing, a noise rang in his ears again. I knew it!
Breaking into a run, he sped towards the sound. Turning
corners at a bewildering pace, it struck him that he would have
gotten lost without his excellent sense on direction.
As it was, he nearly lost the source several times.
Finally, however, the chase came to an end. Finding the
place where the noise had come from, he stopped, looking around
with dismay. There was nothing here.
Radu turned to go back to bed, then paused. There it was
again! He followed it, finding nothing at the end of his journey twice
more before getting discouraged. Every time he got near, the sound
dissapeared. This was getting irritating. He was being led on a wild
goose chase, as Harlan would have called it. He knew should just
go back to sleep, but he had to know.
Hearing once again, he followed, recklessly bounding down the hall in great leaps. Feeling sure that the same thing would happen once again,
he made no effort to slow his pace as he drew near.
This was very nearly a fatal mistake. What Radu found this
time was definitely not nothing. What he saw when he managed to
skid to a stop was a masked humanoid.
Unfortunately, he saw Radu at the same time.
The stranger rushed at Radu with an upraised fist. The
Andromedan quickly brought up his own fist to block, and their arms
locked. Radu tried to overcome him, but they seemed of equal
strength. The stranger rapidly brought his other fist up to connect
with the space between Radu's ribs, a sensitive spot to an
Andromedan. He groaned and doubled over. As he did so, the
stranger turned and backed away, making adjustments to the
instrument at his wrist.
Radu straighted with effort, and tried to sneak up on the his
opponent. The masked man turned, but it was too late. The
Andromedan brought a leg out, linking it behind the other's. The
stranger fell backwards, bringing Radu with. He landed full on his
opponent, pinning him.
Radu suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if he were being
ripped apart, molecule by molecule. His vision blurred, and before
his eyes the familiar sight of the Christa changed to an unfamiliar
room. He had been teleported.
He heard his opponent whisper a muffled curse, and then he was
launched across the room. Hitting the wall, he was stunned
momentarily.
Seeing that he was not unconscious, the stranger again
attempted to neutralize him.
This time, however, Radu was slightly better prepared. As
the stranger came within range, Radu struck upwards with his
elbow. Not at the face, which was well protected, but at the neck,
which was covered only by a thin layer of cloth. This, at least, had
an effect.
The stranger brought gloved hands up to claw at his neck,
gasping for air.
While the other was occupied, Radu attempted to pin his
arms behind his back.
Amazingly enough, the stranger broke free, spinning around
to bring his hands together on either side of the Andromedan's
head, the blows directed towards sensitive ears.
Radu felt an amazing blossoming of pain in his skull. He
mindlessly began screaming at the top of his voice.
Finishing the struggle, the stranger brought an arm down
onto the base of his skull, just above his neck, sending him spiraling
into unconsciousness.
When Radu next awoke, he was strapped into a seat.
Looking around, he realized that he was in some sort of a control
room, a small cockpit. His hands, torso, feet, and upper legs were
tied down. He tried, straining against his bindings, but could not
break them. Whoever had bound him obviously knew the extent of
an Andromedan's strength. However much he twisted and pulled,
they stayed firm.
Turning the wrong way, he winced in pain. His body was a
patchwork of bruises, the result of the earlier struggle. He checked
himself for broken bones, relieved to find that nothing serious was
damaged. It felt like several of his ribs were cracked though, and
his ears were still ringing.
Radu heard doors slide open, and in strode the masked
man. He sat in the other seat, reaching for the controls. Using
them to bring the ship around, he confirmed the Andromedan's
guess that this was the helm station.
As the ship turned, Radu caught a glimpse of the Christa.
Why were they still here? The crew must be getting up soon, and it
wouldn't take long to realize that he was not onboard.
He received his answer all too soon. The stranger operated the controls in front of him swiftly, punching in a command sequence, and then paused, his finger poised over a large green-blue switch. He turned to look at Radu, his masked gaze somehow sad. Resolutely, he turned back around and flipped it with a sense of finality.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, as Radu watched, the Christa seemed to glow, an orange-red fiery light spilling from sudden cracks in the hull. She looked, for an instant, more beautiful, more radiant than he had ever seen her. Then the cracks gave way and the ship exploded, orange-red flame spiraling outward in an ever-widening circle of destruction. A brief fiery burning orb, and then, there was nothing.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Radu shouted with all his strength,
straining against his bonds with raw, uncontained fury. He
continued to shout until his voice grew hoarse, and even then,
breathed the denial. This couldn't be happening. Rosie,
Harlan, Suzee, Bova, Ms. Davenport, Commander Goddard,
Thelma...all of them gone in an instant. Everyone who had come
to represent family to him, wiped out, just like that. It wasn't
possible.
One last time, with audible strain, he spoke-"No!" It was
only then that he allowed the tears to come to his eyes.
Unrestrained moisture spilling down his cheeks, Radu silently cried
himself to sleep.
You could go back to the Fanfic pageOr you can
just be a shmuck and return to the homepage...You could even go to Irony, part 2
