Fireball XL5

Fireball XL5: The Silent Sector

Chapter One – Whispers in the Static

The deep black of Sector 49 was usually as quiet as the dead of space could get — just the gentle hum of Fireball XL5’s engines and the occasional ping from radar. But tonight, there was something… different.

Lieutenant Ninety’s voice crackled over the comm from Space City.

“Steve, I’m getting an odd transmission on an unused frequency. It’s faint… almost like it’s hiding.”

Colonel Steve Zodiac leaned forward in his pilot’s chair, narrowing his eyes at the control panel. “Let’s hear it, Ninety.”

A hiss of static filled the cabin, and then, almost too faint to catch, came a whisper. Not words exactly — more like a voice trying to speak through water, full of distortion, almost like someone… or something… was calling their names.

Dr. Venus glanced up from her medical station, her expression unusually tense. “Steve… I swear that sounded like it said Fireball.”

Robert the Robot gave a mechanical shiver. “O-o-o-oh dear, I don’t like the sound of that.”

Professor Matthew Matic, brow furrowed, adjusted the audio filters. “The signal’s coming from the edge of the mapped galaxy, in the Silent Sector. No ships ever go there — nothing comes back.”

Steve’s jaw tightened. “Well, looks like we’re going to find out why. Venus, Matt — prepare for a long haul. Robert, check all systems for full readiness.”

As Fireball XL5 altered course, the whisper returned, slightly louder this time.

“…come closer… we’ve been waiting…”

Venus’s hand froze on the console.
“Steve… I’ve heard that voice before.”

But before she could explain, the starfield ahead began to… dim. Not like an eclipse — more as if the light of entire constellations was being swallowed by something vast and invisible.

And deep within that darkness, a shape was moving.

CONTD

Chapter Two – Into the Dark

The stars were fading.
Not because of any cloud or nebula — the Silent Sector was swallowing them like ink dropped in water.

From the pilot’s seat, Steve Zodiac kept his eyes locked on the dark shape ahead. It wasn’t showing up on radar. It wasn’t showing up on anything. And yet, there it was — shifting, almost breathing.

“Steve,” Matt Matic said quietly, “I’ve been checking every frequency we have. That voice… it’s not coming from one place. It’s coming from everywhere.”

Venus frowned, leaning over the comm panel. “And it’s… learning. Listen.”

The whisper returned, clearer this time. It was still strange, still distorted, but now there was no mistaking the words:

“Welcome… crew of Fireball… you have travelled far…”

Robert gave a metallic gulp. “M-m-maybe we should go back…?”

Steve didn’t answer. His hand hovered over the thruster controls. “Matt, I need a heading to that signal source.”

“There isn’t one,” Matt replied. “But if we keep on this trajectory, we’ll cross the event horizon of whatever’s causing the light to vanish in…” He glanced at the chronometer. “Three minutes.”

A sudden jolt shook the ship, as if something had brushed against the hull. The temperature dropped sharply. Frost began to form on the inside of the cockpit windows.

Venus’s breath clouded in front of her face. “Steve… something’s outside.”

Through the canopy, shapes began to form in the darkness — not ships, not asteroids… faces. Pale, drifting, impossibly huge faces, their eyes shut tight as though in sleep.

And then, one of them opened its eyes.

“We’ve been dreaming of you,” the voice said, now crystal clear.

Steve reached for the controls to reverse course — but the ship wasn’t responding. Fireball XL5 was being pulled in, its engines screaming against an invisible grip.

Matt slammed a hand on the console. “We’ve lost all manual control!”

And then the forward viewscreen went black, save for a single, pulsing point of light — a doorway in the void, opening wider.

“Come in,” the voice said.
“We’re ready to wake up.”

Chapter Three – The Doorway in the Void

The black shape on the viewscreen widened until it filled the frame. It was no longer a point of light but a perfect circle, its edges rippling like the surface of a pond.

Steve Zodiac gripped the controls, though they still refused to respond. “Matt, tell me we’ve got something—maneuvering thrusters, retro rockets, anything.”

Matt shook his head. “Dead as a doornail. Whatever’s pulling us in… it’s overriding every system we’ve got.”

Venus leaned toward the screen. Her voice was quiet, almost awed. “It’s not a doorway… it’s an eye.”

Sure enough, as the ship drew closer, the rippling surface shifted, revealing a dark pupil surrounded by a shimmering blue iris the size of a city. It stared at them without blinking.

Robert gave a metallic shudder. “W-w-well, I think it’s rude to stare!”

The whisper returned — no, not a whisper this time, but a deep, resonant tone that vibrated in their bones:

“You are entering the Waking Place. All that sleeps will rise.”

The Fireball crossed the rim of the “eye” and instantly the cockpit lights flickered. Outside, the familiar starfield was gone. Instead, vast structures hung suspended in a green-black haze — towers of impossible geometry, their surfaces shifting and folding like origami. Some looked like they had been here for eons, others as if they were still forming.

Venus’s console beeped, but the readings made no sense. “Steve, I’m detecting—well, I think I’m detecting—life signs the size of small planets.”

Before Steve could answer, a flash of movement caught his eye. Something was gliding between the towers — long, sleek, metallic. At first he thought it was a ship. Then it turned, and he saw it was alive.

Its skin shimmered with scales of liquid metal, and its many eyes burned like dying stars. In the space between them, arcs of green energy crackled, as if the creature itself was generating power.

It stopped in front of Fireball XL5 and opened a mouth lined with fractal teeth. The voice boomed once again:

“Choose your allegiance. Dreamer… or Waker?”

And then, behind the creature, dozens more emerged from the haze — and one of them was carrying a ship. Not just any ship… another Fireball-class vessel.

Venus gasped. “Steve… that’s impossible. There’s only one Fireball XL5.”

Matt’s face was pale. “Then who’s flying that one?”

Chapter Four – The Other Fireball

The green-black haze shifted as the enormous, many-eyed creature moved aside. In its shadow drifted another ship — long, sleek, unmistakable. The same three blue stripes on the forward fuselage. The same red and yellow fins.

Another Fireball XL5.

Venus stared. “It’s identical… right down to the scorch marks on the tailplane. But—how?”

Matt leaned forward, adjusting the magnification. “Hold on… no. Not identical.” He tapped the screen. “Look — the markings. It’s not XL5. It’s marked XL5-A.”

The other ship floated closer, its nose canopy tinted black. Through the haze of the glass, shadowy figures moved. Steve tried the comms.

“This is Colonel Steve Zodiac of the World Space Patrol. Identify yourself.”

No reply.

Instead, the canopy on the mystery Fireball slid open — and a figure stepped out, in full space armour. The faceplate was mirrored, but the body language was wrong. Too stiff. Too… deliberate.

The voice that came over the comm was cold, metallic.

“Zodiac. You’ve brought us home.”

Steve frowned. “Who are you?”

The figure’s head tilted, as if amused.

“We are what you left behind. The Dreamers who were abandoned when the Wakers fled. And now…”

A second figure emerged, this one carrying something that made Steve’s stomach twist — Robert. Or rather, a perfect duplicate. Its eyes glowed a sickly green.

Robert in the cockpit let out a tinny scream. “Th-th-that’s me! But it’s not me! It’s a me that’s not me!”

The creature with the many eyes drifted closer, its voice booming in their heads.

“The Wakers have returned. The Dream is ending.”

Before Steve could react, the alien Fireball’s forward bay opened, revealing a cannon unlike anything they’d seen. Energy began to build, the colour of molten silver.

Matt slammed his fist on the console. “Steve — they’re going to fire!”

And then, the entire haze lit up as the shot came straight at them.

CONTD

Chapter Five – The Wakers’ Strike

The blast from XL5-A’s cannon flared like liquid lightning, a streak of silver that lit the green haze from within.

Steve threw his weight on the controls even though he knew they were dead — instinct refusing to give up.

“Matt, tell me you’ve got something!”

Matt’s hands danced over the panels, trying manual overrides, auxiliary routing — anything.

“I can give you a half-second burst from the port thrusters… but it won’t be much.”

“It’ll have to do,” Steve snapped. “On my mark.”

Venus gripped the edge of her console. “Steve, if that beam hits us—”

“It won’t,” Steve said, with more confidence than he felt.

“Three… two… one… now!” Matt hit the controls. Fireball lurched sideways just as the beam roared past, grazing the starboard tail fin. Warning klaxons blared.

Robert’s voice cracked. “We’ve got s-s-scorching! The paintwork will never be the same!”

On the viewscreen, XL5-A banked sharply, coming in for another pass. Through its tinted canopy, the mirrored helmets of its crew turned in perfect unison, like puppets on invisible strings.

The many-eyed serpent loomed behind, its voice filling the cockpit without sound.

“The Wakers are impatient. The Dreamers’ time is short.”

Venus’s console beeped again — different this time. “Steve… I’m getting another signal. It’s faint, but… it’s coming from inside XL5-A.”

Matt’s head jerked up. “Inside? What is it?”

Venus turned to them, eyes wide. “It’s a distress call.”

Steve’s knuckles whitened on the yoke. “From who?”

Before Venus could answer, the comm crackled with a thin, trembling voice.

“…Zodiac… if you can hear this… they’re not what they seem…”

Static swallowed the rest, replaced by a sound that made every hair on Steve’s neck rise — the low, steady hum of something charging to fire again.

Matt checked the readings. “Steve… they’re not aiming at us this time.”

On the screen, XL5-A swung its nose toward the colossal, many-eyed serpent.

And fired.

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