And the Universe Opened Up: A Short Story from Ray M. Holler Universe

by Martin Lochman

Half a century before Ray M. Holler sets off for the stars for the first time, a chance encounter near Neptune forever changes not only the course of human history but that of the entire Galaxy.

Colonel Milan Pavel is a highly decorated officer in the Visegrád Union Navy, serving his last few months in command of the Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the flagship of the VU’s Third Fleet. When an alien ship appears near Neptune, he initially dismisses it as an elaborate pre-retirement prank by his crew, but he is quickly proven wrong. The situation escalates rapidly as it turns out that the ship is on the run from a powerful enemy who is not far behind. Colonel Pavel has a decision to Either follow protocol and leave the aliens to their cruel fate, or risk his ship and crew in an attempt to save them.

29 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 30, 2024

Reviews

[Ryan Scicluna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterclass of workd world building in just a few pages. Having already read Martin Lochman's anthology, which this story is a prequel to, I can say that the world Martin built feels exciting and well thought out. The battleship scenario was an exciting way to show humanity's first contact with an alien race. The morals and ethics this implies are fully acknowledged during the course of the fight. The practical joke angle was also very fresh. I hope Martin writes more stories like this.