“Private Fisher, I hear you believe that there are ‘aliens’...hahaha! The only other forms of life are the ones on this planet and that’s it, but I like your guts, kid. Standing up to me is something no one does.”
   I, strapped into my chair, ready and waited for launch, everything becomes silent due to the anticipation.
    “Command to Aurora, uh...are we looking green?” asks the communicator.
    Captain Price replies, “Everything is looking perfect on my end, how about you guys down there?”
    That was the last of their conversation and before I knew it we were already through Earth’s atmosphere. Traveling at 7.9 kilometers a second, we reached orbital velocity. Now it’s time for OJ 287 Primary, what lies on the other side…Alpha Centauri...our next home. I’ve heard rumors and I’ve seen it in video games but now it’s become a reality, my reality, but unlike Price, I know that there's something out there waiting to be discovered.
I spent months in the observatory looking out into the stars trying to gaze upon the vast openness of space but now it’s finally here. The AI on the ship alerts us that it’s time to warp before we arrive at the event horizon. Training never prepares you for what this kind of experience is like...it’s absolute bliss. Although I don’t like the sound of being cryogenically frozen for 23 years, but it’s necessary for the mission to be successful, also skipping through time to another part of the universe also doesn’t sound pleasing as well...well at least not to me.
   “Private! What are you still doing out of your chambers, son? Don’t you know what happens when we reach the singularity and you're still out?”
   I replied “No sir, I was just making my way there right now.” I could see Price looked a little uneasy; it was just as hard for him as it was for me.
   “Good. See you in 23 years...hopefully.” Silence filled the hallway in which we stood until Price yelled “Ha! Gotcha Private! You should have seen the look on your face. Don’t you worry bout a thing, we're gonna be alright, the Aurora was built to withstand anything that comes at it.” He laughed hysterically and proceeded to his chambers. I'm not sure whether I like Price or not, either way he’s still the captain and i'm the private, he gives the orders and I follow them. I enter my CryoGen pod, my body cools down and I begin to feel woozy, it is an uneasy feeling but after a couple of minutes the freezing cold temperatures take over my body and I begin my rest.
    “WARNING! WARNING! Unknown, unidentified objects! Multiple masses in proximity of Alpha Centauri, Unidentified objects nearing the vicinity of the Aurora!”
   Captain Price was the first one up and alert, his voice was louder and traveled farther than the AI’s, “Everyone up and to their stations! Sam, what are you reading?”
   Sam was the other Private on this ship, he was rather quiet but when things got out of hand he lost it. “I duh.., I don’t know sir! The scanners aren’t reading anything!”
   Captain Price was calm but furious “Damnit!”, he slammed his hand on the center console, “Get me some goddamn information, I want to know everything about what those ‘things’ are.”
   I stared off at what was ahead of us…the alarms still ringing and a whole armada of ships stay idle just above Alpha Centauri’s atmosphere. “Sir, may I speak freely?”
   “What did you say, Private?” I couldn’t tell if he actually meant it or if he was pissed.
   “May I speak freely, sir?” I replied
   “Permi…”.
   Before I knew it, there was a massive explosion in sector C of the Aurora, it was a big enough blast to knock the crew to their feet. My head was bleeding, I must have hit it on the console, it didn’t matter now, everything was fading to black. In those last moments of me being conscious I heard captain Price yell “Seal the airlocks! Seal the damn airlocks!” When I woke up the red lights were flashing, only the emergency lights remained on. The crew was nowhere to be found, I was alone and somehow I was in my OFS suit with 62% oxygen remaining. It was a pain to get up, but once I did I went to the panoramic window in the front of the ship, I saw a little figure to the bottom right of view… it was Sam. It was a horrifying sight to see his body frozen and drifting off to the never ending universe/,
I stumbled over to the communication coms. and sent out a message to the Command Center back on earth, “Mayday! Mayday! Aurora’s sector C has been breached, multiple unidentified masses boarding the ship!” Within seconds a message came back from Command
   “What is the status of the crew? How’s the hull integrity? What are the other masses you’re talking about?”
   “Sam is…dead, confirmed dead. Captain Price’s whereabouts are unknown. Hopkins and Theodore are unknown as well. The hull's integrity stands at… 34%, Sectors A and B have been breached as well, D only remains. And these masses…they’re inhuman, the system can't even get a read on them! Command what is going on? What are these things, is there something you're not telling me?” The coms remained silent, no one responded.
I had to find captain Price if there was any idea of getting of this ship, he held the master key. It isn’t easy to walk, my head was pounding and my ankle appeared to be strained almost broken. The only place I could go with this condition was the bed chambers and the gym. Hopefully Price was here somewhere.
   “Price!” I yelled out repeatedly, until I heard a moan unlike anything I’ve heard before. I stopped and waited, I knew this was not anyone on the ship, I couldn’t help myself and I ran as fast as I could. That thing made a screeching noise that rattled anyone’s ear, its footsteps sounded like huge thumps hitting the aluminum floors. I was trapped, nowhere else to go, whatever it was it appeared to vanish. My breath uneasy, I sat on the floor and waited. I heard Price, it sounded as if he was right there. I ran to him, and when I approached him he stopped and looked at me with his lifeless eyes just pure darkness. He made a terrible screech and his mouth opened up past the human limit, teeth protruded from the gaping hole, “PRICE! NO DON’T!
    I awake with my vision blurred and i'm being dragged by my collar, It is apparent that I was bleeding from my chest as I led a trail of blood in front of me. Hopkins was dragging me, I whispered to him “Hopkins…”
    “Jesus my god you're alive, I did what I could to stop him, he...he just turned and snapped on you...what am I going to tell command?”
    My voice was raspy and crisp, “Now’s not the time, get me to the bridge”
    Hopkins looked at me confused, “We need to get off the ship before it’s too late, whatever those things are they’re here and they're not leaving.”
    I yelled in pain as I tried standing up, “Get me to the bridge...NOW!”
    Hopkins listened to me and we reached the bridge with no trouble, “Hopkins...bring me to the command console on the right.”
    “Wait, what are you doing?”
“It’s only a matter of time,” I groan as the pain is too intense, “Whatever those things are they’re here and they’re not going back until we're dead, and after we’re gone they’ll find Earth and they’ll destroy everything and everyone. Your family, our children, gone in an instant. We must leave no trace,” I pulled out the master key that I managed to grab off of Price’s belt before I was attacked. I looked at Hopkins, his face was full of shock, disappointment, and fear.
    “No...no no no no...NO! You can’t do this, we can make it out of here. Let’s just use the escape pods we’ll be safe!”
    I stared at Hopkins and stated “Does it look like i’m going to make it Hopkins! You don’t understand do you!” I booted up the command console, and I unlocked the red latch that was sealed in a clear container. I twisted the latch, the AI yelled at us,
    “WARNING, Manual Self Detonation sequence activated! Commencing Self-Destructing protocols in 3...2...1! All personnel must evacuate the Aurora, please enter the escape pods immediately!”
    “What have you done?” Hopkins demanded
    “I did what had to be done...it doesn’t matter anymore...we’re dead men anyways.” I said leaning against the wall falling to the ground. I could hear the engines failing, the power cores were shutting down.
    “Manual Self-Detonation sequencing in 10...9...8…”
    Everything else was a blur, all I could was the count down inching its way closer to 0.
    “7...6...5…”
    All the colors were turning white, and my vision began to fade. I heard the Hopkins yelling at the console trying to get it to end
    “4...3...2…”
    This is the end.
    “1”
The End