middle of what could be called a living room, except the room was the size of an average family's house. A huge HDC screen covered his walls, and a large HDC sat near the red couch on a large and intricately designed desk.
The man wore glasses, was balding, and had a long beard.
“Welcome,” said the man. He adjusted his glasses and spoke ominously. “I'm Shadow—and you will never, ever speak my name. And you will never tell anyone about this place.” Then he stood and briskly walked over to Connor and pumped his hand enthusiastically. “I'm glad you volunteered.”
Connor pinched his lip and looked up at Admiral Byrd.
“Mr. Watt, our friend here is not volunteering. I pay him for his services,” said the admiral.
Shadow grinned, cocking his head to the side. “I like you even more now, Connor.” He put his arm around Connor's shoulders and led him to the HDC in the middle of the room. “Sit.”
Connor sat at the HDC desk as Shadow pressed various holographic buttons.
The vid screen that circled the room lit up and displayed a vid shot of a black starfighter covered with shimmering mirrors. The starfighter had a very long, streamlined nose and small wings with two rounded ion thrusters underneath each one. It was larger than the Thunderbird RR7 he used to fly, though the cockpit looked much smaller. The mid section, on the other hand, looked a lot roomier.
“What you see in front of you is called Black. No other craft exists like it. I created this years after my friend Revel Sune passed away on Starship Hathor. We were designing this thing together, rest his soul, and since I'm wealthier than shit, I decided to finish it myself.”
“What do you mean, by yourself?” asked Connor.
“The only help I received were from my trusted machines that welded, lifted, and put the pieces in place for me. Other than that, I did the rest. It's built with love. You, the admiral, and I are the only ones who know this exists.”
“And,” added Admiral Byrd, “this is the ship you'll take to run your missions for me.”
Connor eyed the starfighter for some time. “How do we know it will even fly?”
“I've been flying it for years, my friend,” responded Shadow.
Connor's smirked. “If you've been flying it for that long, then all of Star Guild would know about your special starfighter here.”
Shadow Watt leaned in, quietly saying, “Do you see those mirrors?”
Connor nodded.
“They cloak the starfighter. The design reflects any transmitted radar energy waves at angles that are unlikely to include a track back to the radar. However, that doesn't matter so much, because the radar energy wave, or signal, simply gets absorbed into those mirrors as well, not bouncing any signal back to the radar. We are essentially invisible, even from the naked eye, as the mirrors also reflect space around it. So, if you're flying out there, such as in the SGAGs, and let's say for example that I had flown only ten meters from you during your last dogfight against that Sirona pilot, then you'd only see my ship as the black space and stars that were reflected off of those mirrors.”
“But how do you get past any Star Guild personnel to launch this? You would have to have incredible security clearance to get into Sphere 1.”
Shadow eyed the admiral. They both gave each other a knowing look. “Follow us, Connor. We start our mission today,” announced Shadow.
“Today?”
Shadow gave a short laugh. “You got it, buddy. Today.” He pressed another button on the HDC and a small hole opened up in the floor by the kitchen.
“Get in,” said Admiral Byrd. “That will take you to Black. Once you get into Black, it flies like a Thunderbird, so you won't have any issues there. Though, it is a lot faster.”
Connor looked himself up and down, patting his clothes. “This is all I have to wear. How long am I going to be on this mission?”
Admiral Byrd puffed out his lips, exhaling and thinking. “Maybe a week or two. Maybe three. I don't know for sure.”
“And my clothes? I'll be smelling like sweat and old dust by the time I get back here.”
Shadow waved his hand in the air. “No worries, my friend. We took care of that. You're a large shirt, 34 pants length, 34 waistline, large socks, and size 11 boots. It's all there for you—a few weeks worth. You should be fine with that.”
Connor wiped his brow. “Uh, okay.” He pointed to the hole in the ground. “I get into that? What is that, exactly?”
“It's an ebb glass capsule and nearly unbreakable. It's inside a very long tube. You'll be propelled at a hundred or so miles per hour to the docking bay below where Black is located.”
“Okay, so how close is that docking bay to Sphere 1's launch tubes?”
“There will be a launch tube of sorts there,” replied Admiral Byrd. “The glass capsule will descend you rather quickly to an old underground facility. The facility sits right at the side of Starbase Matrona's outer shell.” He pointed a thumb at Shadow. “He and his machines built a rather neat launching bay there—if that's what you want to call it.”
“Well, what do I want to call it?” asked Connor.
“You'll see,” replied Admiral Byrd.
“Alight—I think.” Connor made his way to the hole and looked into it, seeing the capsule and few steps down to it. “Here goes nothing.” He took a half a dozen steps down and wiggled himself into the capsule, then laid on a soft pad bolted inside.
Connor looked up at Shadow staring down at him. “Hold on to the bars on each side of you, just in case. Also, the shoulder straps are a must. Strap those on.”
Connor buckled in and grasped the bars, squeezing tightly. He was lying down as if on a bed. The top of the capsule closed, then hissed as it sealed, much like a starfighter cockpit did just before launch. Connor looked up again. This time Shadow was waving as the hole started closing. When it shut, darkness came.
I don't know if I like this, thought Connor.
Suddenly, he felt the capsule move. It was slow at first, then it shot forth, pushing his shoulders hard into the restraints. He grit his teeth, tightened his grip on the bars, and closed his eyes.
I hate this! I hate this!
If he could see, if there were lights in this tube, then he'd be fine, and perhaps this roller coaster ride would be fun. But not knowing and not seeing was far from fun.
Taking a sharp turn, Connor's body slipped off the bed-like cushion and over the bar, hugging the side of the capsule. A moment later, he fell back onto the cushion, then bounced to the opposite side of the capsule, as it took an opposite turn.
This sucks. So, so sucks.
Then it bucked forward and descended into a free fall.
Besides his shoulder and his head—held down by the restraints—his entire body lifted in the air and he felt weightless for a few seconds, until he slammed back onto the cushion, feeling grateful it was soft. Finally, the capsule stopped.
Connor didn't move as everything was still dark. He glanced around, trying to see something, but no glimpse of light shone anywhere. After a few minutes, he pushed against the capsule and felt the glass upon his fingertips. He unclipped his shoulder buckles, then slid the capsule window open, and cool air rushed in, swirling around him.
“Hello?” he said, hearing his voice echo.
A light turned on. Then another. And, another.
“Connor. Welcome to my domain.”
“Who is this?”
“You don't remember my voice? It's Shadow. I was just talking to you less than a minute ago.”
A minute? To Connor it felt like ten minutes, no, maybe five. But, less than a minute seemed...impossible.
Connor pushed himself up and out of the capsule, taking in the room around him. It was painted black. All black. He took a step back, eyes widening when he saw it—the most beautiful specimen he'd ever seen, and it was twice the size of a usual starfighter. “Black is gorgeous.”
“Yes she is.” Shadow's confident voice pierced the room through a speaker that
sounded as if it was somewhere on the starfighter.
“What do I do?” asked Connor.
A sound came from underneath Black's underbelly, then steam rose from beneath her and a staircase lowered from her midsection.
“Check her out. You'll be living in her for some time.”
Connor noticed how smooth Black's body was and he could see that the mirrors were part of the ships exoskeleton, and not just built on top of it—they were, in fact, built into it.
He extended his arm and stood on his toes, running his fingers against Black's nose as he continued to move forward. A beautiful specimen.
Connor touched his heart. “I never believed in true love. But I do now.”
He made his way to the steps leading into Black's belly. “This starfighter is huge. It could hold a dozen crew members. It's a little much, don't you think?”
“Nah. It's roomie for a reason,” responded Shadow.
Connor took his first step on the staircase and slowly ascended into Black, grinning as he did. “This is amazing.”
His mouth gaped open as he stared at his surroundings. It was like a one-bedroom studio apartment, with a bed in the back, a kitchen, tools secured tightly in ebb glass compartments on the wall just above workbenches, and a bathroom with a shower and a sink.
Turning, he saw a small room with the door closed. The only door on the ship.
“Whats the deal with the door?” asked Connor.
Black's HDC turned on and Connor spun around. In front of the HDC was a plush chair. He could sleep in that chair if he wished. Next to the HDC was an instrument panel, all lit up in an assortment