Short story I wrote a while ago.

Jacob awakened to the buzzing of his alarm clock. The neon-red numbers blinked 6:00am. “Just another day in Paradise,” he sighed as he shoved an arm through his sweat-stained shirt.

Yawning, he ambled to the cockpit. The cold, lifeless steel sent a shiver up his spine. He looked out the window and witnessed a peach-cream flash. His heart started thumping.

“Computer, what was that? Was it the Golem?” He shouted and the metal vibrated an echo.

“I do not know, Captain. I shall run scans on the engine residues left by the ship,” his AI said back to him in a lifelike voice. He’s never gotten used to how, alive, she seems.

It must have been hiding here, and jumped to hyperspace as soon as it saw us, Jacob thought as he strapped on his graying boots. “I’ve been hunting this damn ship for too long.” He muttered.

Jacob entered the cockpit; the smell of stale air comforted him. “Computer, where did the ship go?”

“It appears that it has arrived in the Vltava Sector. I can set a course and engage the Faster Than Light drives.”

“Yes Computer, do that, now.” Jacob said as he locked himself into his chair.

It’s the same chair he’d sat in for the past 13 years of his life. First, when he was a Prague Space Marshal, now, as a bounty hunter.

During the early years of the Expanse, a glorified word for invading smaller sectors, Jacob was fighting for Prague. The army just seemed like the best place for a poor boy from the ghetto. He was dishonorably discharged after not firing upon an enemy ship full of evacuating women and children.

So, he did what any poor boy from the ghetto would do. He stole the Starship Bezalel. The rust-bucket coffin he’s now in.

Each year his past became blurrier, more dreamlike. His memories had shattered like glass, and in each piece he picked up, he found a part of himself, while running the risk of getting cut.

Let’s go over the mission brief one more time, Jacob thought as he opened up his operations log: S-Class ship, no crew, AI mainframe, morphable, stealth fighter, he murmured to himself. Ships with no crew were illegal in the Prague Empire. In fact, they were thought to have been eradicated after the Expanse. Then, why on Earth am I chasing one down? he pondered.

“Captain,” the smooth voice snapped Jacob out of his thoughts. “The FTL drives are warmed up. Are you ready for the jump?”

“Do it.”

And so, he jumped to hyperspace. Moments later, he was in an unfamiliar part of the Prague Sector. His scanners read that he was somewhere in the Vltava Belt, near the planet Genizah. The Golem was near. Jacob never got used to space jumps. He was still taking his time to get used to the idea of the universe popping around him, and ending up in a different place only seconds later.

Jacob poured some coffee into his dented tin cup. It tasted more like decaying water, but, at least something was in his stomach. He smashed his finger onto the control panel. Immediately, the ship’s scanners flickered to life. The search for the Golem had begun.

This hunt was personal. As a boy, Golem had saved Jacob’s home planet many times: from pirates, other empires, and anyone who would try to do harm. It was common for impoverished planets to hire AI ships to protect them from harm. Even though it was illegal, it saved a ton of money. No need to feed and pay a fleet. Hunting down the Golem wasn’t what Jacob wanted to do, but, this was a big fish.

He knew the risk. From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash, and Jacob braced himself against the grating metal as the impact of the blast hit his ship. Suddenly, he realized that he fell for Golem’s trap. Suddenly, he understood why the bounty on the Golem was so large. Suddenly, he felt his heart thumping, vibrating into his marrow. He was afraid.

“Computer: damage report!” He shouted, as his body stood alert. “And get the forward-mounted guns on manual.”

“It appears that the hull and FTL drives have been disabled by the impact,” the computer said with the same eerie calmness as always. “I can send the drones out to fix it, but, not until we’re safe. Estimated repair time is two hours,” she said.

Two hours… Jacob repeated in his head as the gun’s cross hairs locked into position.

“Computer, control the starboard and port guns. Aim for the Golem’s FTL drive. The ship is worth nothing if it’s destroyed.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“And, remember, we need to…”The second blast cut him off. He was a sitting duck out here. And he knew that.

“Computer, begin evasive maneuvers, head into Genizah’s asteroid belt. He’ll have to chase us.”

“I’m sorry, Captain, but, I cannot. The autopilot is malfunctioning.” “Fine, control all guns, I’ll fly the ship,” Jacob said as he wiped the sweat off his palms.

“Captain, I advise against–”

“I don’t have time for your advice, just do it.”

“Yes, Captain,” the computer said with what sounded like a grudge.

Jacob dashed into the asteroid belt. Like clockwork, the sensors picked up an object trailing behind him. He could not see the phantom, but, he knew that the blackness of space enveloped Golem’s unshapely form.

How did a man fight a demon? Jacob mused. Did David really win? Or, did Goliath leave his corpse on the blood-caked dirt for the crows and beasts to gnaw on? Just then his ship started to jitter. Jacob knew that one more blast would be his doom. With his death, the contract would be over, his signature signed. He knew he was dead. His heart skipped as an idea churned in his head, and Jacob darted around a large asteroid.

“Computer: power off the ship.”

“Captain, once the ship is powered down. Oxygen within the cockpit will only last for three minutes.”

“Understood. Power down.”

And, everything went dark. In the quiet blackness of space, the pounding of his heart sounded more like a symphony than a solitary thud. His pulse was the only sound for millions of miles. Genizah was an empty place of Holy solitude. One minute had passed.

The sweat dripped from his nose to the chair. He searched the black void. Looking into the nothingness of space, at more nothingness. Two minutes passed, then three. A light flickered in front of him.

“Computer! Turn on the front high beams now!” Jacob bellowed. “Fire everything we’ve got at twelve o’clock.”

Jacob was blinded as the lights shone like a single angelic entity in front of him. He saw nothing, just a blur—just fire and smoke and debris. The blackness returned, and, the phantom was gone. He killed the Golem. His childhood hero. His paycheck.

“Just another day in Paradise.”

Here are some parts of the original story I included in my narrative.

Jacob –Name of Rabbi who built the Golem

Bezalel –Last name of Jacob, the Rabbi

Vltava –Name of the river in which they clay was used to build the Golem.

Golem –An amorphous construction created from clay by Jacob ben Bezalel. He was originally created to protect the jews living in the Ghettos of Prague. This was during the reign of Rudolf II (1575-1612) of the Holy Roman Empire. He rescinded a lot of his father, Emperor Maximillian’s laws. (This is because his mother, Maria of Spain, forced Rudolf and his brother to study with their uncle in Spain. History doesn’t like this woman very much.)

Genizah –Synagogue where the Golem perished and his remains were placed in the attic.