Scream in the Stars Part 1

[Valadius† 0]

Out the window, anyone could look out and find the vastness of space. The twinkling of the stars, the empty quiet of the void in between and in front of the eyes as they look out. Inside the station, the constant sounds of the scientists' hustle and bustle could be heard, as well as their chatter over the new minerals they have found in new worlds discovered and colonized for workers. Earth's resources have fallen so drasticly that a new space program was introduced: the Lewis-Clark Mission.

The program was meant so that Earth can replenish some of the missing resources, including water and valuable minerals. And recently, there was one planet that they found that they found plenty of both those resources, water being in the form of ice but still able to be heated and melted to make liquid H2O. No signs of life, which most of the scientists were honestly disappointed, but still colonizable by Earthlings.

Jacob sat down on the driver's seat of his trucker, a rod-shaped vehicle made specifically for quick entry into the atmosphere and quick exit into outer space to where he can reach the station known as the Exodus. He leaned forward, grabbing his radio to speak with the individuals loading the back, "Hey, guys, do please hurry up. I do have a schedule to keep, yeah?"

A cat's head peeked around to where he could see it in a rear-view mirror on the inside of the cabin of the trucker, "Don't worry, Jake, we'll get you off the ground in a second, okay? This package is freaking huge!"

The German sheperd's ears perked as he tilted his head, looking past the cat to see a good twenty others easing a gigantic crate inside before he spoke again into the radio, "Holy crap. What the heck is that thing?"

The cat shrugged in Jacob's point of view, "You got me, Jake. They just said that this is top priority and needs to be seen to the big man up in the Exodus. No questions asked. We guessed that it might be some sort of new mineral or something."

Jacob shook his head. He hated it when they did stuff like this. Never telling him what's in the package. What is the object in question was volatile, or would have a heavy chemical reaction when shook from exit into outer space? Could cause permenent damage, or immediate, and blow him right out of the sky. He needed to talk to somebody about that. It's really raking on his nerves. He may be paid a great paycheck every month, but he wasn't paid enough to deal with the thought of dying every time someone says that they don't know what's in the crate.

 

It didn't take long for the package to be secured and soon Jacob was ready to go. The cat from out back slipped in beside him in the passenger seat, securing the many seatbelts, "Ah...yeesh, I hate these things."

The sheperd chuckled and replied, "What is it about this job you don't like, Tye?"

"Good question, Jake. Maybe the paycheck," the cat chuckled.

They both got prepared, flipping switches and preparing for take-off. Jacob looked up, into the stars in the sky, "You know...it's odd being so far away from home."

Tye looked over to his friend, "Miss Melissa, don't you?"

"Yeah," the sheperd replied, "We were expecting our firstborn three months after I got deployed on this assignment. I kills me..." he says softly.

The cat reached over, patting the sheperd on the shoulder, "Hey, hey. At least you got a family, huh? Someone you can see over the monitor of your computer when you get back to the station. What have I got?" Tye grinned, "A single, handsome devil like me? I got a freakin' mirror," he chuckled.

Jacob playfully shoved the cat on his shoulder, "Eh, knock it off with the sob-story!"

"You first!"

They laughed before leaning back in their seats, preparing for take-off.

 

Inside the back of the trucker, inside that rod-like vehicle, the lone giant crate lay. Stamped on the side was "Dangerous Material, Handle With Care". A soft hissing could be heard. A careful, quiet sound. As the trucker launched, the crate lurched. For a moment, it was quiet. No sound came from the crate. But something new was occuring. Smoke in light, white, curling threads in between the boards.