PRDS. 4413 Part 1 - Chapter 1. The Indestructible.

“It’s been awhile to the P4R4D1S3, eh?”

“Yes, sir. I think it has been almost 4 years. The duty kept me away from it for sure.”

“Well, I’m very proud of you all for saving thousands of people. It must’ve been pretty tougher for a guy who just joined the rescue team. You deserve your vacation more than anyone. Your next duty call won’t be as soon as a month. Take your time, have yourself be prepared for the next duty. Get on some dates, too. Already got over that girl in your COM.device, okay? Haha”

“Yes, yes sir. I’ll try.” I responded as if I ever tried hard enough. I appreciate your concern, Captain. But the romance of my life seems not in control of mine.

“Oh come on, I know you’re just saying that to dodge the issue. I’m serious. It’s really different to have someone important in your life. You’ll be needing somewhere to go back, Eric. You can’t always have yourself roll around. Just think about it, while enjoying your ‘Free time’.”

The way he mentioned ‘Free time’ reminded me about those times he tried to drag me into socializing events. I kept evading him saying that I’ll be fine with my own, but I guessed there were not many things I can refute.

‘Someone, somewhere to go back…’

A gigantic spacecraft that is labeled hugely ‘P4R4D1S3’ on the outside comes into sight through a relatively small window of an approaching spaceship. Discharging light from the far west edge of the earth briefly warned me to apply sun coating on windows.

‘Harbor 31, this is rescue team ALPHA. Requesting for docking.’

‘Team ALPHA, your request is granted. Your dock is 50, be ready in 20 seconds. Welcome back to the P4R4D1S3’

“Alright team, we are almost at the P4R4D1S3. I understand your excitement to be on it for once in a while. Get yourself prepared and well rested, and your next task will be arranged in about a month. (Crews complaining) I also do understand your disappointment of this short break, but keep it mind that it is still chaotic under there. Our vacation should be good enough for a month.”

Behind all the small complaining noises, I was keeping my eyes through the window to take a casual view of the P4R4D1S3. Quiet, peaceful, with many people moving here and there. That was right. That is how it feels like to be in the P4R4D1S3. Sweet scent of vitality in silence.

“I will see you all in a month.”

Captain said as he gladly got off the ship for the first of the crew.

I had no idea what to do in the P4R4D1S3. A month… Visiting and spending time with loved ones like most of my teammates is not an option for me. Get on some dates...? Maybe. I started to wrap my head to come up with something to kill a month.

At the same time, warning alarm sounds, loud shouts and screams suddenly cut my non-accomplishable plans. People were running away in one direction in terror.

“Stay back!”

“Get out of there right now!”

My instinct warned me that something bad was happening. Something serious to break the serenity of lives.

“Captain, hold on a second!” I hurried to call the captain back to the ship.

I stepped out of my seat to chase the origin of the breakage. Through the front window of the ship, I could clearly see the smoothly cut hole on the floor of the dock area. I did not get to see the entire hole behind some cargos, but it seemed large enough to endanger everyone. Everything was being sucked out of the hole to dark space. Starting from the air, cargos, and small vehicles. An evacuation of the whole dock was happening. Luckily, it seemed all the staff members made it out of the dock. Some of the big and small cargos temporarily sealed the hole. The screams had stopped, yet the situation was too unstable to be loosen up.

‘This is an emergency situation. This is not a drill. Every staff member must evacuate out of Dock 50 right now. Repeat….’

“What the hell is going on…”

Everyone on the ship was trying to understand how this situation escalated.

“It is going to take a long time to get that hole perfectly fixed. So, let’s move on to the next dock, shall we? ”

Captain ordered as soon as he quickly came back to the ship. With his order, the cabin became a bit arranged.

“Also, thank you for stopping me, Eric. That was close.”

“The team needs you captain. Just say you owe me lunch.”

While checking nobody is out in the dock, our ship was preparing to leave for another dock. I remember the clear cut hole in the floor of the P4R4D1S3. How did that happen? How can the cut be so smooth and be there the whole time? I had no clue about what happened in Dock 50, while an unpleasant feeling had me think about that accident over and over again.

“... Eric! Are you listening?”

“Hmm? Sorry sir. I did not. Can you repeat for once please?”

“I thought you fell asleep again. Other than that, the control tower seems very busy. The response is taking too long.”

“Sir, do you remember what happened back in Dock 50? How did it happen?”

“Yes, it seemed there was a collision with an asteroid. It happens occasionally. Does it bother you that much?”

“No, sir. It wasn’t a hole formed in a collision with an asteroid. The hole was clear cut. Something sharp smoothly cut out the hole. Plus, there was no sound of a collision.”

“Hmm, I did not see the hole for myself. But I did not hear the sound either. Surely it sounds very… very strange.”

“Sir, the response came in! It says the whole P4R4D1S3 is getting ready for an... emergency landing?!”

“Hold on… The whole P4R4D1S3? Did I hear this correct?”

“Yes, sir. They did not tell us the reason. But that is all it says in the response from the control tower.”

The ship was getting loud. Is this really happening?

“Silence! We are the ALPHA rescue team. If something is happening there, we are the one who rescue people. We are going into the P4R4D1S3.”

“But sir! We have no…”

The ship suddenly started to fail. A loud warning siren began.

“Sir! The pilot system is failing! This ship needs an emergency landing right now!”

“Can we make it to the P4R4D1S3?”

Then the team could clearly see the P4R4D1S3 from a distance with thousands, thousands of escaping pods coming out of the P4R4D1S3. The P4R4D1S3 started to execute an emergency landing. The giant anti gravitational engine had been turned off and the P4R4D1S3 was getting out of its orbit as it started to descend slowly towards the earth. The emergency landing was not a joke. It was happening right in front of my eyes.

“Gotta go back on earth. God damn it. Alright team, be prepared for the emergency landing. As long as you can survive this…”

Captain jokingly ordered a preparation for occasional death. But everyone knew that it wasn’t a joke at all. As much as we know our captain, his fake smile which was supposed to loosen up the tension was actually working the opposite way.

While the P4R4D1S3 was making its landing, countless amounts of escaping pods were following the P4R4D1S3. That moment I did not realize why those escaping pods had to get out of the P4R4D1S3 for emergency landing. But that moment was purely, genuinely impressive. The P4R4D1S3, built on the essence of technology across 30 nations, as large as east Europe, took almost 30 years and cost 85% of Earth’s natural resources. This giant and indestructible fortress of humanity was falling after its 20 years of duty. Nobody had imagined this would happen. Nobody. There was not even a single crisis, not even a single accident was anticipated in the P4R4D1S3. Everything was in control. Dangerless 20 years had not been spent based on nothing. But how did this happen? I was a part of the worst scenario that no one had ever thought or imagined about. It was too unrealistic for me to think rationally or even take the situation more seriously.

Nobody in that ship seemed prepared or able to keep themselves calm. Right, the ship was making its landing to the earth. I had to hold on to something. Both mentally and physically. I held as hard as possible onto the harness on my seat as well as my weakened mind. As the ship entered the atmosphere, all I could think was to survive the quake and the impact of the ship during the emergency landing. The teammates started to shout out loud as if they wanted to beat the quake noise. The noise got louder, I later noticed that I was already shouting from the depth of my soul.