Data file 5: Power crystals

  Type: Mineral

  [The planet Aljia is filled to its brim with these bizarre crystals, which have baffled scientists since the day humans first landed there. Power crystals grow nearly everywhere on Aljia, and when melted down, make a quite durable substitute for glass. But their strangest aspect is in their energy output.

  Power crystals naturally create electrical energy, which is used for almost every single technological function on the planet. They are used to create reactors for cities, dropships, and excavation equipment. They are also used in the production of weapons, as they possess the frightening ability to launch a bolt of energy when “ordered to” mentally. Pistols and rifles powered by these crystals require no ammunition and rarely overheat, making them an ideal and mass-produced personal weapon.]

  ***

  If you’ve ever been in space, you’ll very quickly notice the silence. Beyond comlinks, there is no sound in space at all. I enjoy silence. It helps me think, because it’s easy to think when there’s no talking.

  “Hurry up, Rasil!”

  And there’s usually no childhood friends yelling at you through the aforementioned comlink. One o'clock in the morning and he still has to micromanage.

  “I’m almost finished, Gears,” I replied with a smile. I emphasized his nickname as I spoke to imply he was worrying too much. Gears and I had known each other since we were kids, and we work together on a daily basis. Yet, he can be somewhat... passionate about deadlines. And also his job. And also everything else. It had always been a bit of a gap between our points of view, you could say. I mean, literally no one strays further from protocol than me. In fact, he was lucky I showed up for this, even if I enjoy space.

  I was trying to repair a busted satellite orbiting the planet. This planet, Aljia, happens to have a lot of spots for orbital satellites. So we use them to bounce energy blasts around the settlements on the surface. Our power crystals need somewhere to vent their excess energy, after all.

  These satellites were pretty vulnerable to meteors, though, and this one was no different. The cylindrical body of the relay satellite was cracked, and the side panel floated away when I pulled on it. So much for that piece. I paused to admire the panel gracefully fading into the darkness.

  Activating the light on my helmet, I looked inside. The wires were in great condition, but the core had a meteor chunk the size of a fist sticking out of it. I gave the chunk a sharp yank and it popped out. With my other hand, I linked a replacement core to the motherboard and unplugged the broken core. Then, I sealed a new panel into place over the opening. The repair was complete.

  “Job’s done Gears,” I gloated, “And they said that was a four-person op.”

  “How is that significant?” he retorted.

  “See anyone else here?”

  Gears had no answer, but he wasn’t amused either. He groaned and asked me, “Did you link the new core?”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Yes, and it was awesome. Fire it up.”

  “Okay,” he said. The satellite got the signal and roared to life. The lights turned back on. The beam charged up to release the energy it absorbed from its last use. It was unexpected that it would have stored energy, but it was alright. Maybe. The lights turned yellow, a malfunction alert!

  Something wasn’t right. I realized. The motherboard! There must have been shrapnel from the asteroid chunk in one of the circuits. “Gears! You have to turn it off before—” Before I could finish, the compressed power blasted towards the planet. It also destroyed the satellite, sending shrapnel and circuits flying.

  “Rasil!” Gears cried as I was knocked back by the shockwave. I turned towards the dropship I had come in. It was on autopilot and would take me back if I could reach it. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the debris field, the debris field full of dangerous metal shrapnel. “Dang it,” I said.

  My jetpack was undamaged, but the debris was obviously an unexpected problem. “Here goes,” I said as if it provided assurance, and flew towards the ship. A shard of metal whizzed by me, leaving a trail of dust. Gears said, “Rasil, are you doing what I think you’re doing?!”

  “Navigating through debris without a worry? Yes.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Mildly, what’s your point?”

  “The point is—”

  “Nothing.”

  “If you hurt yourself...”

  “You sound like Sophia.”

  “Your sister told me to watch you for a reason!”

  “An overprotective reason, Gears,” I said before turning off the comms. Then, I considered he may have had a good point. The parts were floating directly into my path as if I were a magnet. Plus, I didn’t even have my antigravity boots, since they’d have too much kick in zero gravity.

  I ducked under a debris piece just in time and grabbed my dagger. “Let's hope this works,” I said self-reassuringly.

  I kicked away from the metal plate into another. Wincing with pain from the impact, I stabbed into the surface. It worked as expected, and I began riding the plate towards the ship. “Rasil!” Gears said. He had reopened the comms channel.

  “Not now, Gears. I’m busy being awesome,” I answered. But, caught up in my momentary celebration, I didn’t notice the meteor chunk I pulled out of the core heading towards my face. It clipped the helmet and knocked me off the plate. “Come on!” I cried. The dagger was still attached, so I thrust forward and grabbed it.

  Immediately after, I bounced into a spherical engine component. My head spun as I tried to come to my senses. The ship. It was right there. I recovered as best I could with my thrusters and began to fly towards the location. I was almost at the hatch when another plate slammed into my left hand. “Aah!” I cried. My left hand was pinned between the ship’s hull and the plate. I jammed the dagger between the two and wrenched it off. Pain went through my arm, but quickly subsided, and the suit wasn’t torn. I climbed into the open hatch and sealed it shut, briefly sighting a purple mist exiting the dashboard.

  ***

  After setting the autopilot to take me home, I leaned back and took off my helmet. And as I saw the wound on my left hand, I was again relieved that the suit hadn’t broken. But then I remembered that weird mist. What was that?

  Pushing that question to the back of my mind to figure out later, I brushed back my blond hair and thought about what had just happened. The beam of energy blasted from the satellite and caused an explosion. That seemed like all it was. “But the beam didn’t stop,” I said aloud. The beams are powerful enough to slice through titanium. That beam could hit anything and infuse it with all the stored energy. Which meant that I had to find out what it had struck. I sighed briefly, realizing I had just made another mess that I had to clean up.

  I grabbed the joystick on the dashboard. Autopilot would have to wait. My hands eased down and forward, causing the small ship to nosedive. I pulled sharply and brought the ship to a level below the cloud barrier. I pressed the button that extended the afterburners out the side. “I always wanted to try this,” I said with a barely contained chuckle. The jungle was growing denser, but I never was very cautious. I shifted the dropship into gear, and the afterburners rumbled as I flew towards the city of Embershard.