Flight of Hiryu
By: GlennLeung

It has been five years since my father said those fateful words to me.

"Take the Hiryu and go!"

I have not heard from him since. For the past five years, I have been piloting the Battlestar Hiryu, running away from a planet on the verge of self-destruction. My father had disabled communications and tracking, so the Space Force wouldn't be able to find me. I was on a solo cruise to the oblivion of unknown space, and hopefully, a world of peace.

The first world I came to was inhabited by the Chromos, a species of hairless humanoid beings with green skin. The planet they lived on was one bathed in eternal twilight, covered by obsidian clouds of unknown composition. To compensate for the lack of light, they had eyes twice the size of a human's, two in front and one at the back of their heads. They had mouths, but it was mostly used for eating, as they had no spoken language of their own. They communicated with an array of bioluminescent cells on their chest and back, with a sequence and timing of colored lights for each character in their language. They were very friendly when I first arrived, even helping me stop the Hiryu with a tractor beam when I floundered the deceleration process. It soon became clear there was a language barrier when I tried to say 'hi', but only gasps and wheezes escaped their mouths. Thankfully, I was able to configure my Universal Translator for visual languages, and I was soon wearing an outer shirt fitted with LED arrays. 

All was well at first. I settled down in a more illuminated part of a village named Muzu, eager to start a new life. After a month the Chromos requested my help. There was a cave system nearby filled with a fungus that emitted a strange red light. Red was considered offensive to the Chromos, reserved for the foulest of their language. Children could be suspended from schools just for showing a red shade on their chest! No Chromos of sound mind would enter the cave, but they told me it contained artifacts from a lost time and culture. They wanted me to enter the cave and do a little treasure hunting for them. Eager to repay them for their hospitality, I obliged.

They weren't kidding. The fungus grew in every crack and corner of the cave, drowning the whole scene in vivid crimson. Imagine having people surround and yell profanities at you as you try to live your life; that is how the Chromos would feel especially with those big eyes. They had given me a list of items they believe were down there, drawn and described in luminous paints. It was a good thing I had read it before coming down here. I had lost my flashlight and the Translator didn't come with the appropriate filters. I knew that they were trying to find parts for an old machine, one that was supposed to provide a large amount of energy. It surprised me that they would want something like that, given that they seemed pretty self-sufficient. Perhaps they were just trying to recover a piece of culture, much like how humans would try to recover famous shipwrecks.

The cave itself was not particularly treacherous. I stumbled a few times but there was always enough room for me to regain my footing. I was able to grab a few of the items on their list; many were placed in small dents along the cave floor or balanced within a cluster of stalagmites. The first hour was pretty uneventful, and my eyes had grown accustomed to the unnatural colors and a general feeling of isolation. That was why when I saw a group of Chromos lurking around some rock formations, I let out a loud yelp.  

They seemed to be more shocked than I was. The three of them jumped as shrill cries exploded from their mouths, made chilling by the acoustics of the cave. One of them backed into a corner, body trembling with heavy breaths. The other two seemed to be frozen in place, their massive eyes trained on me, trying to understand this creature which they have never seen before. I soon realized that these three were not from Muzu. In fact, they were not like the other Chromos I had interacted with. Their skin appeared dark in the red light, so I figured they must be green as well. However, their bioluminescent array was about an inch higher on the chest, and in their frantic discussions, I noticed a lot of bright red. They were speaking a dialect, one that the Chromos I had known would find distasteful. This was a different race from the one that had first greeted me, and this cave was within their domain. 

I had been asked to steal a weapon from the armory of a rival race.

Eventually, the three of them picked themselves up and ran off into the scarlet darkness. I tried to call after them with my voice, then realized I was only making things worse. At this point, it seemed right to abandon the mission. I confronted the village elders about it, and eventually, they confessed. I bid them a hasty farewell and returned to the Hiryu, waiting in orbit. My journey to find peace was far from over.  

***

The second world I stopped by was inhabited by a species that called themselves the Colony. They were a hive mind species inhabiting a planet that was ninety percent water, with individual entities living in underwater domed cities. I wasn't so fond of the idea of living underwater, but I did like the notion of a hive mind species. If there were to be a group that would never go to war with each other, this sort of species would likely fit the bill. Each individual entity is about half the size of a human, with four webbed feet for mobility on both land and water. Their bulb-like heads are perched atop a stalky neck, and just like the Chromos, their eyes were large. Unlike the Chromos, they only had two in the front, positioned just above two small slits serving as nostrils. Their mouth is a proboscis averaging a foot in length, and all their food had to be mushed into a gruel for their consumption. It did take me a while to adapt to their diet, but they were kind enough to supply me with a lifetime supply of seasoning. 

I had settled in the domed city of Lanyru, about a hundred miles south of the planet's north pole. After about three months of getting acquainted with the place, the Colony invited me to join a group of entities on an expedition. In the Space Force, I was a chief navigator, and It wanted a fresh set of eyes to look at a place It had only sporadically explored. I was joined by three other individuals, which I will call Alex, Morgan, and Kirby. Colony individuals have no names, but I wasn't ready to toss away all my human conventions just yet. 

The north pole of the planet was located on a large icy continent, much like Antarctica and the Earth's south pole. Our submersible arrived at the edge of the ice shelf, and we soon found an underwater cave at two kilometers below the surface. Alex, the pilot, wanted to take the craft inside and asked me to do a topographical scan of its interior. There was a labyrinth of icy tunnels, with many stretching beyond the twenty-kilometer range of the scanner. It was an exciting find, and the others seemed to think so too. On my first day, I had been given an earpiece which allowed me to speak telepathically with the entities around me. As I was announcing my discoveries, I sensed rising anticipation from my companions, though they didn't show it on their faces. Maybe they did, but it was impossible to tell by human standards. However, this rising anticipation was suddenly squelched, and I couldn't tell why. There was no immediate danger, and nothing had changed on the map screen. Perhaps they were trying to keep from celebrating too early, without first knowing what lies beyond the scan limits.

"Are these natural?" I thought to the group.

"I didn't make them. It's probably a remnant from pre-hive times," thought Morgan, the researcher.

I was still not quite used to individuals referring to their species as 'I'. There had to be some semblance of individuality left, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to tell who was thinking what!

Brushing the thought aside, I returned my attention to the sprawling network on the map screen. One of the tunnels, in particular, seemed to stand out. It was the straightest of the lot, with the fewest interruptions and detours. I had seen similar designs before. When I was participating in the war, the enemy would often bore through asteroids and dwarf planets, hoping to strike at us from where we least expect. 

"This tunnel over here should get us to the other side of the ice shelf. Is that something you'd like to check out?" I thought to the group.

"That's a great idea..." the jubilant thought from co-navigator Kirby was interrupted by a sudden influx of loud emotions. It didn't take long to figure that the terror had come from the denizens of Lanyru. Something was attacking them, bursting the dome and flooding the streets. A thousand cries rang out in my head, and I had to take off the receiver to stop it from bursting. The others didn't have this luxury. They grabbed at their heads with their two front feet, making pained crackling sounds with their proboscis. Not long after, they slumped at their stations in a catatonic state.

After about a minute of sitting in shock, I decided to put my receiver back on. The terror had stopped, and all seemed silent. I feared the worst.

"Come in... Is this the human being? Please come in," came a thought through the receiver. 

"Hello?" I thought back.

"Oh good! You're alive. We have already met, I am the Colony. I'm sorry for the mess, but I'm afraid the individuals at Lanyru have not been very forthcoming with you."

I have heard of people at odds with themselves, but this was ridiculous.

"They have always exhibited an unusually high level of individualism, and I've suspected all along that they want to destroy the hive mind. They've been very good at concealing it at the bottom of their subconscious so I couldn't be sure. You see, the Central Brain is located on the opposite side of the ice shelf, and they were hoping to use your navigational skills to find a quick way through it. Unfortunately for them, they got too excited when you pointed out that tunnel, and that gave them away. I had already stationed forces near Lanyru, and that was all I needed to call the attack."

I couldn't believe that I had been used again! I was picked up by a second submersible soon after that message. After thanking my rescuers, I said goodbye and returned to the Hiryu.

***

For the next two years, I drifted through space in despair. If even a hive-mind species could destroy themselves, then what hope is there for finding peace? My father had told me that this is a dark Universe, but I had never expected the darkness to run so deep. Perhaps I should have stayed with the Chromos. Maybe I could advocate for better race relations as an external mediator. I was contemplating a course reversal when the scanners picked up another planetary system. I decided to give it one last shot.

This third world is the one I'm living in at the moment. It is a barren one, devoid of any organic life. Its inhabitants are called the Jenuis, energy beings with no material form. In fact, you couldn't see them with the naked eye, or even with most viewing instruments. I was only able to learn of their existence when one of them infiltrated the controls of the Hiryu, demanding my intentions through the ship's computer voice. Fortunately, they were sympathetic, allowing me to live with them as long as I leave my corporeal form on the ship. My consciousness was transcribed onto an energy body, and my physical body was placed in indefinite hibernation.

I didn't mind. In my energy form, I felt no pain or strife. I wasn't bound by physical trivialities like gravity, or space. I could float through the planet's surface, swim in its molten core, or even float right up to its moon for a deity's-eye view of the homeworld. I have never felt so free in my life, and at this moment, I would be willing to give up my physical body for good. If humanity could experience what I'm experiencing...

They would never go to war.

Are there any methods of communication more interesting that the Jenuis'? When two Jenuis interact, the 'speaker' would activate the 'listener's' memory banks and play snippets from their past. In the most basic form, the 'listener' would hear bits from old conversations they have had, with the relevant words strung together to form sentences. Most of the time, the memories shown would be more symbolic; such as apples representing knowledge and education, or... 

Striking fists representing aggression and dominance. Even though the chosen memories were supposed to click with the 'listener', I had a very hard time understanding all the symbolism they were throwing at me. And this brings me to why I am transcribing this on the Hiryu's log.

At school, the Jenuis train in their method of communication by writing about memories of significant times. This was supposed to reinforce personal symbols, providing the consciousness a glossary to work with. As such, I have decided to write about my escapades over the last five years; my search for peace, and the betrayals I've experienced.  This was also supposed to be a means of discovery, much like the exploration of caves or the search for field rodents at...

Dawn. The Jenuis have found that while writing their memories, unusual structures would appear near the end of their scripts, apparently without their conscious knowledge. These could be abruptly broken sentences, bizarre word choices, or seemingly strategic paragraphing. I've been told that these structures provide clues to unconscious revelations, a result of our perceptions and intuitions working in the background. Sometimes they would help solve baffling problems, and sometimes they would reveal realizations that had been suppressed for whatever reason. Jenuis believe that their energies respond to the deep recesses of the minds, and it has been a vital part of how their society is...

Run. Disasters have been averted, and troublemakers have been sent...

Away thanks to early warnings provided by such writings. This is exciting, I can't wait to see how mine turns out.