Nano Bytes - A Collection of Short SciFi Stories

Mayday, By ADifferentStory3

     "Welcome to the Inter-Galactic Survival Stories exclusive podcast series! I'm your host, Joe Harlingen! Today, we have a very special story about a man who survived the Malum attack on Odyssée! That's right, folks, this is Rayner Robson Jr!"

"Thanks for having me here, Joe."

"Yes, yes, and a huge thanks to Planetary Network for funding Harlingen Podcast Series! Also, big thanks to the Republic of Terra for allowing us to proceed with this broadcast! Let's give a round of applause to our sponsors!"

"Now for the real reason we're here. Rayner, you traveled to the exiled planet of Odyssée about 3 years ago. Who sent you there?"

"Well, Joe, that used to be classified information, but now I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I worked for the Anti-Pirate Unit in the outer-galaxy. They had received reports of a secret pirate gang that settled on Odyssée. I was the lucky man that was sent out there."

"So I assume that all civilians had already been evacuated from Odyssée at that point?"

"It was a blast-list planet. Odyssée had been vacant for years up to that point. Centra was gonna blow the thing up once they confirmed there were no pirates."

"So why did they just send you out there? Why couldn't they have sent a scout team? I've heard of some of their past blast-list inspections being conducted by dozens at a time."

"The truth is the Anti-Pirate Unit was dissolving. Before the Terra Reforms, pirates just weren't as active as they used to be. No planet or system really had any use for them. Not even Centra. Hundreds of us got laid just a few months prior. I was really the only available guy they had."

"Alright. What happened when you got to Odyssée? Was it a massacre? A seige?"

"It was nothing at first. The Malum Gang had been inactive for decades. There were no known registered members living on Odyssée at the time of the evacuations. When I landed on the planet, it was abandoned as far as I could see. I searched all quadrants, but there were no signs of life."

"How could the Malum Gang hide from you for that long without being noticed? Were there places you weren't checking?"

"What I didn't know when I arrived was that they had built entire cities under the hard surface, underground. It wasn't until I checked under a storm drain out of curiosity that I noticed something."

"What was the reaction when they saw you?"

"That was when the siege began. I ran as far as I could, but they were hundreds strong. I sent a mayday signal to Centra headquarters immediately."

"What happened to that signal?"

"What I wasn't aware of was that all communication lines between Centra and Odyssée had been disabled, including emergency lines. My mayday signal quite literally got lost in space. This became somewhat of a suicide mission. I was only armed with an industrial-grade laser blade and a handgun."

"How, then, did you commission the Central Army Force to assist you?"

"I realized while hiding out in the highlands that the privately-owned communication towers were still active. There were three on the whole planet, so the nearest to me was 400 miles west. It was the only way I could successfully send my mayday signal."

"If my research is correct, that would take around 5 days to walk. Did you stay on Odyssée for 5 days?"

"It was much longer than that, I assure you! It was 400 miles through the Luna Crest Mountain Range and Nebula Lake! Plus, there were hoards of pirates waiting to chop my head off along the way! It was more like 18 days for me, not including the battle that ensued when Centra showed up."

I see. How did you manage to survive those 18 days? Odyssée was almost inhospitable at that point!"

"It was almost inhospitable. These ghastly creatures, called Knee-Swampers, who lived around Nebula Lake. They would nearly bite my legs off every time I tried stepping in the water. I used my laser blade and the old power lines to electrocute the whole lake. I ate like a king for the rest of the days."

"That's very innovative. I doubt I would've thought of that in that situation."

"When you're desperate to survive, there's a certain type of ingenuity that kicks in. You can have a bunch of insights all at once just from pure necessity. It certainly helped me survive that nightmare of a planet."

"And what about the pirates? How did you fight them off along the way."

"It wasn't a matter of fighting them off. It was a matter of trying to hide from them. It was easy in the Valley of the Holy Cave, but it became harder along the plains and the Daughtry Coast. I trembled in fear some nights, thinking I heard pirates in the distance. It was truly miserable, and I would wish it on no man."

"Couldn't you have just gone back to your ship and left for a neighboring planet? I can't quite seem to fathom why this situation was as hard as it was for you."

"Oh, that hunk of junk was torn apart and robbed of all the good stuff before I even got back. You must remember that Odyssée was infested with pirates at that point. Ruthless pirates. They knew exactly what I was gonna do if i made it out of that planet alive."

"It must've been traumatic. How did you manage mentally?"

"Oh, will you shut up! Do you know how many sleepless nights I endured after I left that cursed planet? Were you there? Did you struggle as I did? Did you have to spend every day hiding from monsters that wanted to eat your every limb? No, you didn't, Joe! You are a son of Terra, the most pampered planet in the whole galaxy! Stop pointing your nose up at me like a hypocrite!"

"Rayner, I need you to calm yourself and come back. We can't use this footage if you-"

"If I what, Joe? If I expose you? If I tell my real story? Not the one Terra assigned to me? Well, I'll go right ahead, Joe, because you can't seem to care about a thing in the world, can you? It was Terra's Anti-Pirate squad that I joined. They knew exactly what they were doing when they sent me out! I still have night terrors about my desperate mayday call! 'Mayday, mayday. Rescue immediately!' They left me for dead out there! Centra had nothing to do with this. They were just the ones that had to clean up Terra's mess! At least SOMEONE had pity on my soul!"

"Rayner? Rayner! Someone call security! Arrest him! Do something! Rodney, don't let him get away! He's a fugitive, a maniac! Why is the camera still going? We can't use this footage! I'm gonna get executed! Just crop it, Lara! Crop it! Terra can't see what we've done!"