Ancient Astronauts

By Oscar A McCarthy

SPACE TRAVEL, NOW NOT JUST FOR THE LIVING....

The Admiral walked along the line of five, followed by some youngster who had the honor of carrying the palette of medals. Max listened as the old man quietly congratulated each of the crew members, pinned the medals to their chests with a shuffle of clothing, and moved on. Finally, the palette came around and landed in front of Max. She stared past the Admiral as he came to a halt in front of her, him being short enough that she could peek over the top of his bald head. He cleared his throat. She looked him in the eye, then looked at the last remaining medal. It was brilliant silver with the emblem of the S.A.G.E. engraved and lined with gold. Her name was in gold as well, Captain Max Faroe, circling the rim.

“You are…” the Admiral paused until she met his eyes again. “The bravest, brightest captain we have. It is a true honor to have you take command of this vessel.”

Max glanced over her shoulder at the looming shape of the Centurion, long, sleek, and blue. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll be back in no time.”

He chose his words slowly. “I know what you are thinking. I know you believe there is nothing left for you here. But when you return, you may have a big future ahead of you.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oscar A McCarthy
• Release date: Apr 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386848042

Book preview

Chapter One

The Admiral walked along the line of five, followed by some youngster who had the honor of carrying the palette of medals. Max listened as the old man quietly congratulated each of the crew members, pinned the medals to their chests with a shuffle of clothing, and moved on. Finally, the palette came around and landed in front of Max. She stared past the Admiral as he came to a halt in front of her, him being short enough that she could peek over the top of his bald head. He cleared his throat. She looked him in the eye, then looked at the last remaining medal. It was brilliant silver with the emblem of the S.A.G.E. engraved and lined with gold. Her name was in gold as well, Captain Max Faroe , circling the rim.

You are... the Admiral paused until she met his eyes again. The bravest, brightest captain we have. It is a true honor to have you take command of this vessel.

Max glanced over her shoulder at the looming shape of the Centurion, long, sleek, and blue. Don’t worry, she said. I’ll be back in no time.

He chose his words slowly. I know what you are thinking. I know you believe there is nothing left for you here. But when you return, you may have a big future ahead of you.

She nodded, gave a split-second smile, but refused to answer. The Admiral sighed and continued to the podium. Ladies and gentlemen, he said, looking over the small audience that shuffled restlessly on their plastic seats. I proudly proclaim these five brave souls the first crew to venture into interstellar space. Please bear witness, but hold your silence until the Sol Association of Galactic Exploration deems the public ready for the revelation of the Hyper Drive project.

Brave souls, he called them. Max clenched her fists behind her back.

These astronauts are hereby awarded the Medal for Extraordinary Devotion to the Cause of Exploration, specifically issued by the S.A.G.E. for this ceremony and this crew. Now, he said as he turned to the crew. Let us give them an appropriate farewell!

The little audience stood up at once, and they all clapped vigorously. Max looked down the line at her four crew members. Kidd waved nervously toward the crowd. Q smiled, as did Rafael. Kirill stood still as a statue. Max nodded to herself and started up the stairs to the pier, and the crew followed. Stopping at the Centurion’s open door, she looked around once more, took in the gray of the hangar and the gray of the faces in the crowd, then she stepped inside the ship.

The bridge was filled with the hum of machinery and the blue glow of the main viewscreen which filled out the whole front wall. Big, white letters marked it.

WELCOME ABOARD THE S.A.S. CENTURION, CAPTAIN MAX FAROE.

PLEASE ENTER AUTHORIZATION.

Max stepped forward along the ladder, strapped into her chair in front of the captain’s console, and waited patiently as the rest of the crew settled in. She tapped the numbers on her keypad, and the main viewer switched to frontal, showing the big gray doors of the airlock ahead with the number 05 painted on in white. The doors hissed and hummed and slowly opened, separating the two digits. She hit another key to retract the boarding platform.

Kidd, Max said. Push off. Take it slow.

Aye.

The Centurion rose up and drifted into the airlock. There it waited in silence as the doors shut behind them, and the airlock was depressurized. This was it.

Let’s wake up the beast, Max said. She entered the access code and the ship immediately hummed with a whole new spark. There was a slight vibration under her feet as the Hyper Drive sprang to life down on the engine deck.

Ready to go, said Q. Kidd confirmed as well.

Wait for my command, Max said.

The second set of doors opened, silently this time, and the vast blackness of space greeted them. They drifted out and away from the station until there was nothing else in view except the stars in the distance and the surface of Pluto far below them. The station’s artificial gravity let up, and Max