Fight for the StarSmasher: The Voyage of the StarSmasher, #1

By Aksel Erzinclioglu

The StarSmasher was on a intergalactic peace mission when an 'Incident' rendered it useless, stranding it in the darkest depths of space with only one surviving crewmember: the fifty-fourth and final Captain of the StarSmasher. With little to no hope, Captain Kaquina Bempin must guard the secrets of the ship with her life and pray that one day, rescue arrives. But when a small, unknown ship approaches, can Kaquina trust them to help her off this ship or will she find herself in a scrap to defend it? This is the Fight for the StarSmasher!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aksel Erzinclioglu
• Release date: Dec 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393196730

Book preview

Written by

Aksel Erzinclioglu

Published by Aksel Erzinçlioğlu

©2020 Cambridge

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or modified in any form, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Part 1

Fight for

the StarSmasher

And there, floating aimlessly in the distant and unknown reaches of space, was The StarSmasher. It sat alone in the endless void with no mission, no purpose and now, virtually no crew. Isolated from all forms of life, totally detached from the rest of the world, it hung in the infinite nothingness and no one even knew it... If it had the capacity, it would have felt incredibly lonely, unloved and completely forgotten. But as it was, the StarSmasher was just a ship.

Had it been capable of sentient thought it may well have wondered why it was named such a peculiar name. After all, the StarSmasher did precisely the opposite of what its name would suggest. It navigated around the stars while ensuring the safety of all planets, as its crew attempted to build relationships with alien civilisations.

The missions of the StarSmasher were always harmless with the intention of one day uniting the entire universe and creating peace throughout every galaxy in all the far reaches of space. An almost never-ending mission carried out by thousands of millions of other vessels, all identical to the StarSmasher, united under the banner of the Universal Alliance and Strategic Support – or U.A.S.S as it was amusingly known.

Roughly four hundred metres in length, the exterior of the StarSmasher resembled the submarines of Earth in days gone by with its long and cylindrical design. This made travelling from one end to the other very simple with only four levels, connected humbly by intermittent lifts and small ladders. Anything anyone could ever need was in one of two directions. This way... or that way.

Manning the StarSmasher was often seen as a lifetime occupation with families and loved ones living on-board alongside crew members, growing into roles of their own. For many, the StarSmasher was home. Born and raised in the depths of space, there were those who knew nothing outside its dull metallic interior. But knowing nothing of the outside meant they did not miss the comfort and safety that only a planet could truly provide.

The StarSmasher had seen a lot in her time. A journey that had taken just under two thousand, four hundred and sixty-one years. Twenty-nine generations had lived out their lives on-board, with the Captaincy changing hands a total of fifty-four times. It had made contact with nearly four thousand planets, successfully negotiating terms with around eighty-three per cent of them. And as for individual crew members, well... the StarSmasher had seen two million, four hundred thousand, eight hundred and forty-three different crew members enter this world, grow up and die during its epic voyage.

But now, after the incident, there was only one remaining crew member on-board the mighty vessel. One singular crew member with whom the task fell of guarding its secrets. One crew member who had survived when all others could not. One crew member cursed to live out her days stranded in the depths of space without so much as a thank you for her service. One crew member... the fifty-fourth and final Captain to ever lead the StarSmasher.

***

Captain’s Log #2190

This is... El Capitan... hahaha... ahhh... Capitan–shut up. Oh, I’m drunk, who cares! Star date is whatever... where does it say the date? I saw the thing with it on. Where’s the thing!

Oh here... 

The date– oh, I don’t care, no one’s gonna find this. Although... you did, didn’t you! No...

Or did you...

No!

Or did you?! If you found this... I hate you. Because, I’m probably dead! Unless I’m not dead? If you found me when I’m alive, helloooooooo. I hope you are most well...and of good health? Well, of health.

So, what happened today? Nothing. Still stuck in the middle of space and I’m gonna die here. I had a drink. And a few more. And that’s my day. Bye.

***

With her cheek firmly squashed into her left palm and her elbow planted on the arm of the chair, she sat at the helm, completely alone. Captain Kaquina Bempin. Her skin was hauntingly pale. It was so white, she could have been mistaken for a corpse, and she often felt like one. Her piercing green eyes had grown dull and listless while her fiery red hair was now straggly and greasy. It clumped together in an unwashed matted mess as it sprouted out of the top of her head and spilled over her shoulders. The years of solitude had thrust personal hygiene lower and lower down her list of priorities until it had finally found itself nestled at the very bottom.

Kaquina stared through the huge window in front of her, looking at the stars as they sat still, twinkling before her eyes. These same eyes almost glazed over with a look of disinterested melancholy as she appeared to zone out altogether. The hours had passed, and she had been sat in the exact same position, failing to notice all the droplets of drool that had begun to seep out of her mouth and onto her palm.

Every so often, her eyes would