“Attention, students, please, attention!” Master Ten’s voice was precise, well-modulated, betraying no hint of alarm. He sounded just as calm if he were about to tell us of an interesting new planet discovered in the Corvo system. “Please gather all essential belongings and proceed to your assigned transport points. Remember: do not engage your emergency point-to-point transports at this time; we are proceeding with our manned evacuation plan. Proceed hastily, please!”
“Just once I wanna hit the button,” I said, looking longingly at it.
“Well, he did say we shouldn’t,” my bunkmate Arnie said, gathering his books into his bag. “I really don’t think-”
flash
“Attention, students, please, attention!” Master Ten’s voice was precise, well-modulated, betraying no hint of alarm. “Please proceed to the nearest transport points immediately; disregard all prior assignments. Do not gather your things: this is an emergency situation, please go now!”
The academy shook under our feet. “The stabilizers are gone,” my bunkmate gasped, “We’ve got to hit-”
Then our room walls collapsed in tearing light and-
flash
“Attention, students, please, attention!” Master Ten’s voice was precise, well-modulated, betraying no hint of alarm. “Our scheduled manned evacuation drill begins now; please proceed to your assigned transport points. No need to gather your belongings; this is a drill only. Repeating: the drill begins now; please proceed as instructed.”
“Aw,” Arnie grumbled to himself as he closed the book, “I was just getting to the good part-”
flash
“You sure all those are essential?” I said, gesturing at the books Arnie was trying to cram in his bag. I already had mine packed and was waiting by the door.
“I’m sure,” Arnie said, pushing the last one in stubbornly, “You never know-”
He paused. “Did you… “
“What?” I said.
Arnie was staring at the wall. “Something’s not right.”
flash
Nothing was left, neither books nor robot teachers nor students of any species not even the academy itself. All that remained was a swirling void of dark, reaching out forever into the endless night of space itself.
flash
Arnie actually dropped his book, and he never did that. He dove for his comlink. “Professor!” he said, his voice cracking with urgency.
“I’m sorry,” Master Ten’s auto-response system replied, “but as we are undergoing a scheduled drill, please do not contact me unless a true emergency has arisen-”
flash
“What’s going on?” I said. Arnie looked like he was going to fall over.
“We’ve got to get everyone out, now!” he practically screamed. “Where’s the emergency teleport? Hit it hit it hit it!”
Arnie was the ultimate rule-follower. I knew the guy. I’d grown up in the same station as him. If he was saying to hit the emergency teleport button in spite of everything he’d said before, he meant it. I hit that button as hard as I could.
flash
“I’m sorry,” the auto-response system repeated, “As we are undergoing a scheduled drill,please do not-”
The academy shook. Then there was a terrific boom. The walls shattered.
flash
Once the emergency teleport was engaged, everything was clear after that. Students and professors materialized in escape pods, which detached and launched on preset courses the microsecond they were full. Arnie and I stared out the window of our pod as the star we’d spent so many terms around reached out and devoured our home away from home.
Our pod radio chirped. “Excuse me,” Master Ten’s voice said. “Whichever one of you pushed the teleport button, I’d like to have a word.”
Arnie looked down at where his bag had been. The teleport was strictly emergency: it didn’t do bags, just lifeforms and clothes.
He tried to shrug carelessly, couldn’t quite do it. “Sure,” he managed. “Whenever you’d like, sir.”
This story was written for
Prompt Quest #3:
I was torn between sci-fi and fantasy and then the professor started talking in my head, and the rest wrote itself.
this was really clever. I can see how with an idea like this you could just write it in one go... there was me agonising and then having to slash 1000 words out of the guts of it... and you can really tell. your story is like a perfect little gem by comparison. hats off to you!
Loved this!