"TALES FROM CHARTED SPACE" A Short Story by Rampage's Bradley Luczak

Episode 11: Vacation Cancellation

“Captain’s Log. It is Avril 14th, 2187. After several long days of adventuring, I’ve decided my crew deserves a good vacation, and where better than the famed resorts of Nesoi?”

Faintly, an angered voice can be heard in this recording, screaming out “is he seriously doing that thing again?! Just ‘cause you call yourself the captain doesn’t mean to you have to-”

“-it’s fine,” Schyler’s voice echoed through the cockpit, “ignore her. Please, continue.”

“Ahem. Right. While there may not be any devious criminals or marauders for us to bring to justice here, sir, I can assure you that we’ll be on our best behavior regardless. You know, like normal tourists...uh, this is Alden Connoly, signing off.”

Once the screen stopped recording, Alden slouched back out of his rigid sitting position and said, after a sigh, “Becket’s interruption aside, I think we did a pretty good job with that one. We’ll get past parole, no problem.”

“Sure, as long as they ignore the accidental casualties and questionable legality involved in our adventures.”

“Ah, I’m sure that won’t be an issue.” Alden sat up again, this time to look out at the planet in front of them. “So, that’s Nesoi, huh?”

“Yes. Why do you ask?”

“Take a look for yourself.” 

And with a tap of a button of Alden’s bracer, Schyler’s yellow-shaded body flickered into view, and her reaction to seeing the planet wasn’t one that eased Alden’s worry: “Oh. That doesn’t look right...”

Unlike countless travel advertisements, which depicted the planet as a vivid blue marble dotted by hundreds of island paradises, the Nesoi the crew had begun orbiting appeared dull and grey. Its surface appeared to be blanketed in smoke and fog.

“...obviously the planet would have some pollution,” Schyler continued, “but it looks a lot worse than I had expected.”

“Well, maybe it’ll clear up by the time we reach the surface. Let’s try to enjoy our vacation.”

Alden’s hope was shortly proven false once the ship landed on the planet’s surface. When the crew looked out the window, they had expected to see a perfect tropical sun, vibrant plants, crystal-clear oceans, and cheerful tourists. All of that was completely absent. There were only dusty skies and barren wastelands separated by murky water.

“...it’s not s’posed to look like that,” Becket spat, disappointed. “Is it?”

Schyler answered, “no. Some catastrophe must have wrecked the planet before we arrived here.”

Marcus, resting in the corner of the room, raised his voice to coldly say, “isn’t it clear what this ‘catastrophe’ was? Generations of industrialisation have poisoned the planet and turned it into what we see now.”

“Decent analysis,” Schyler replied, “but the planet shouldn’t be reduced to a wasteland already. It would take centuries, like you said, and the pollution wasn’t anywhere near this drastic just a few months ago...”

The crew sat in silence for a moment, before Becket asked, “what are we doin’, then? ‘Cause sitting ‘round here doing nothing ain’t gonna make us look good for the authorities.”

Though not a direct response, Schyler then pondered, “I wonder what happened to the planet...maybe it would be worth exploring, just for research purposes?”

Marcus grunted. “You say that as though we would learn anything new.”

“Well, surely there’s something worth seeing out there,” Alden decided. “Grab your hazard suits, everyone! We’re heading out.”

Unclear Skies

When the adventurers stepped out of their ship onto a desecrated vacation island, their attention was quickly drawn to a strange violet orb glowing through all the haze that filled the air. Alden was the first to vocalize this, asking, “what’s up with that thing?”

“It’s comin’ towards us,” Becket added. “Hope it’s friendly...”

What approached them was a floating, cylindrical automaton, coated in silver and peering down at its visitors with a glowing ‘eye’ sitting atop the body.

“Hello,” it said, “and welcome to Nesoi! My name is RSD-3497, and I will be acting as your tour guide today. What can I help you with?”

Schyler was the first to answer. “Why don’t you start by telling us what happened to this planet?”

RSD stopped talking, instead scanning each of the visitors carefully.

“You, uh...you good there, robot man?”

“Yes, Mr. Connoly. I was just wondering how I recognised each of you— it’s because I had assisted your group in the past! Oh, I should have recognised those orange jumpsuits.”

“Uh, hazard suits, for one. Two, I don’t remember that at all. When did this happen?”

“Let’s see...12, 46, 73, and 105 years ago. Do you not remember these instances?”

“I hardly remember what happened last week...”

Schyler interjected by saying, “I should make it clear that there’s absolutely no way any of us could have been here 105 years ago. Are you certain you’re not mistaking us for another group?”

Marcus sighed. “I’d assume exposure to the air has corroded the machine’s memory banks. There’s no use continuing to converse with it.”

“You truly are too quick to reach your conclusions, Mr. Tarant. I have not spent near enough time in this stage of the planet’s life for such internal damage to occur.”

Becket reached to scratch the back of her head— even though nothing itched under the hazard suit— and asked RSD, “how do ya know our names, anyway?”

“I’ve already said. I have met all of you before.”

Schyler added, “and I suppose when you talk about ‘stages of the planet’s life’, you’re referring to all the points in time you claim to have seen us.”

“Correct. If you still disbelieve me, I’d be happy to show you this world at another point in time.”

“What, like time travel?” Alden scoffed. “Yeah, maybe you really are busted.”

“Yes, now you understand! We’ll start 105 years in the past.”

Blinding flashes of violet light surrounded the visitors, dazing them until they collapsed.

(Nothing But) Flowers

Without the omnipresent grey haze that filled the planet’s atmosphere before, the beauty of these islands became much more apparent. There was healthy foliage lining the ground that was previously only dirt, and at the end of the islands’ beaches, the oceans were as clear and blue as the sky it reflected. A few small, plastic homes following an identical layout rested atop this island, but otherwise, there was no disruption of nature.

“...W- What just happened?” Alden rose from the ground and hesitantly removed his helmet to take in the natural air. “We didn’t actually just get thrown back in time, did we?!”

Schyler, whose voice now only spoke through the yellow light on Alden’s bracer, warned that “we may have...I can’t imagine how, though. That sort of technology shouldn’t be possible.”

“Such innovative technology was developed out of necessity.”  RSD floated by, appearing identical to his supposed future self. “The planet fell into disarray, and so, our greatest minds discovered a way to bring people back to any point in our past. That way, no one has to live in the wastes of the future!”

Marcus groaned. “When faced with the destruction of your planet, you chose to utilize groundbreaking technology to avoid the problem instead of fixing it...”

“Ah, yes. ‘Fixing the problem’, as you say, was what your group aspired to do when we met.”

“Really?” Alden turned his head to face each of his crew members and asked, “what do you say, guys? Going back in time to save Nesoi would sound pretty great to the parole officers, wouldn’t it?”

Becket laughed. “Sure would, assumin’ they believe us.”

“It’d be a fantastic opportunity for research either way,” Schyler stated.

Marcus only offered a shrug. “I suppose we don’t have much of a choice in the matter. We may as well.”

“Excellent! So, you’re all in agreement. You’ll go through time to ‘fix our problem’?”

“Absolutely,” Alden said while straightening his posture. “And you’re going to help us out, right?”

“Not quite. Unfortunately, I’m not programmed to protect you from them.”

“Them? Who’s the—”

“— police,” Becket answered. “Chargin’ right at us.”

But before they could get much closer, Schyler gave a quick announcement to the crew: “Whatever you felt last time that robot jumped us back in time, get ready for another round of that. I think I know how he does it.”

Sold Out, Freak Out

In a flash, the adventurers found themselves inside a small home, this one built with more traditional materials than the pre-fabricated plastic models seen before. The house was dimly lit, currently lacking any residents, and showed a more developed town through the windows.

“...I- Is everyone here?” Alden looked over at each of his crew members, initially pleased to see they had all made it. To his annoyance, however, someone else was brought in with them.

“They have the same capabilities as us, you realise. The authorities can and will chase you through time.”

“Uh-huh, thanks. Why exactly can’t you tell the cops to leave us alone?!”

“I am programmed to abide by the law. The authorities have deemed you criminals, and so you must serve your time. That won’t hinder your mission too much, will it?”

Becket, who was still woozy from the jump, attempted to say that “j- jail time kinda...kills our desire to h- help, y’know.”

“With time travel at your disposal, you’ll quite literally have all the time in the world to complete your mission. A little time in prison shouldn’t hinder your results.”

Instead of arguing any further, Alden chose to dash out of the house and onto the gravel streets that ran through the now bustling beachside settlement. The rest of the crew followed shortly after. So did the police, once they came in their own violet streak of light.

With a hint of pride to their voice, Becket told the crew, “stand back,” while preparing a small, metallic pyramid. She tossed it toward the cops in the distance, watching as it hit the floor and burst open, each face reaching the ground. It was a magnetic device, and since the officers were all decked in metal armor, they slammed into the gravel.

“Nice,” Alden smirked. “That ought to buy us some time.”

The crew rushed through an alleyway, into the backdoor of a stone tower. After sitting down under the open window sill and waiting for the police to storm past the tower, Alden let out a sigh of relief.

“Alright, Schyler, could you jump us ahead one more time? We might have lost them, but we better be extra careful.”

“Of course. We should be off their trail after this...”

“...oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

A bearded man with heavy wrinkles across his forehead gave a mocking wave to the crew from the other side of their prison cell. Inside the cell, two prison guards stared down their new inmates with cold gazes.

“Yep, that paid off real well,” the man outside the cage said, seemingly only to congratulate himself. “Oh, and take his little bracelet, too. That thing’s got his AI pal in it. That’s how they’re jumping from time to time.”

Once the guards confiscated Alden’s bracer, they tapped a button on their chestplates to move elsewhere in time.

“Get comfortable,” the bearded man continued, “because you’re gonna be stuck in there for a long, long time.”

And he stepped into another room, leaving his prisoners alone and powerless to escape.

A sharp exhale from Marcus filled the air. “So, we’re back in prison. All that time we poured into ‘adventures’ was for absolutely nothing.”

“Relax,” Alden groaned, “we’ll find a way out of this. We always do.”

Becket shook her head. “Only with Schyler’s help.”

“We’ll totally find a way out of this...”

TO BE CONTINUED…