The Cosmic Key

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Genre: Science Fiction

Style: Short Story (Under 5000 words)

Click to show Synopsis

Embark on a thrilling journey through the depths of space in ‘The Cosmic Key’ science fiction short story written by Spencer Spalding of San Francisco, California. Follow Captain Foss and the Intrepid crew as they navigate a perilous encounter with the enigmatic Void Reavers, face AI malfunctions, inter-dimensional keys, and make desperate decisions. It is a gripping tale of survival, mystery, and interstellar intrigue.

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The Cosmic Key

The depths of space fear no man, act of might, or moment in time. The Universe itself shifts and sways with every movement within and constantly reacts to conflicts within its nature.

 

A burst of light flashed throughout the expanse, an unfamiliar sight to this section of the small galaxy known as the Cauldron of Stars, and as the light traveled into the chasmous and unforgiving darkness between solar systems, it slowed instantly, revealing itself to be… nothing at first, but then a moment later the cloaking system aboard The Intrepid ceased to function, and a 40-meter-long starship snapped into existence.

The ship’s AI spoke calmly over whirring sirens.

“Cloaking failed. Ship systems in critical condition. Energy levels near depleted. All crew is asked to equip environmental survival suits until orders indicate otherwise. Please, do not be alarmed.”

Alarms continued ringing.

“Cannello,” prompted a voice on the ship’s darkened bridge, emerging from a man in the Captain’s chair, his face lit only by emergency lighting nearby that was aglow, as the ship shifted all energy resources into life support. “Bridge-only detailed status report.”

The AI spoke again, its demeanor unsettlingly calm. Its terse synthetic speech patterns did little to ease the minds of those aboard.

“Life support stabilized. Hull integrity compromised by rapid deceleration out of FTL travel. Sealed outer decks and crew quarters. Bridge airlock sealed due to lack of operating resources. Oxygen supplies prioritized toward the bridge as essential crew safety is more integral to mission success. Cosmic Key malfunctioning. Error unknown. A surge of energy was dispelled from the core of the Cosmic Key and first identified 2.1 milliseconds after arrival into this Universe. Unknown cause of energy dispersion. Most system malfunctions are currently due to diverting all potential energy into shields for the crew quarters, engine bay, and bridge. The shields have since failed but successfully protected operations and crew during the initial blast. No casualties to report. The ship will be inoperable until the Core can be restored to proper functions.”

“Cannello, Cannello, stop. I get the picture. The Key exploded, and it nearly killed us all.”

Cannello interrupted the Captain. “The Cosmic Key did not explode. It expelled. Cause unknown. Integrity of the Key is intact, but operations are unresponsive.”

“You said that 2.1 milliseconds after arrival into the Universe, the Key malfunctioned. What could be the cause?” Asked Captain Foss.

“The cause is unknown.” Said Cannello once more.

“I understand that Cannello. Use deductive reasoning. What could be potential causes?”

“There are billions of potential causes. My simulations are still running, but the most likely scenario involves the Universe itself disrupting its operation. Exact details unclear. No simulation could possibly hope to comprehend the workings of a brand-new Universe with such little time for research. We may never know the cause, Captain Foss.”

Captain Foss sighed. C.A.N.N.E.L.L.O., the being whose name was an acronym for “Cosmic Automated Neural Navigation and Exploration Logistical Linguistic Organism,” was fully sentient but often got lost in the inner workings of its own mind, as could tend to happen when running billions of computations per second. Cannello had thought the thoughts of the equivalent of one vigintillion standard biologic beings when contemplated against the estimated number of thoughts of Foss’s species during a single lifetime. Its computational power was undisputed.

Foss still asked for a second opinion.

“Valeria, situational analysis.”

“Uhhh…” came the voice from the tallest member of the crew. She was a thin, pale, purple-hued woman whose eyes were clearly visible as they shone in the darkness. “We’re dead in the water, Captain. On my observations, I may be able to divert resources enough to allow Cannello a single scan of the system, but it would rely on us being solely dependent on our environmental suits for safety until the Core can be restored.”

“Cannello, patch me in with Engineering.”

“Engineering, you are now on with Captain Foss.”

Alarms came blaring over the comms channel. Lead engineer Uramazda came through, his sure-toned voice clearly distinguishable even over the commotion.

“Captain! Glad to hear your voice. The Core got hit with what seems to be a burst of radiation. We’ve lost all power. Weirdly enough, there doesn’t seem to be any physical damage directly caused by the incident. We’re troubleshooting it as we speak- I’m hopeful we can get it back online, but I don’t have a solid timeframe for you right now.”

“Understood ‘Mazda, keep us informed.”

“Ay, Cap’n.”

The channel went silent. A lack of noise filled the bridge.

“Cannello, do you have any ability to scan without Valeria’s intervention?” Asked Captain Foss.

“I can infer from the lack of any major gravitational pull on our hull that we are not currently in a solar system of any kind.“ Replied Cannello. “93% certainty that we are in the middle of deep space. For any further information, First Officer Valeria’s plan is the only path that does not involve waiting for the Core to be restored. With the number of crew currently on board, there are enough oxygen cartridges to last for approximately 2.1 days in your environmental suits.”

Captain Foss pondered on this. “2.1 days for the crew, at full capacity. Core repair timeline unknown. We could potentially wait it out and hope Mazda can repair the Core, but we are in deep space. If he cannot, we die anyway…. Valeria. Do it.”

“Ay, Cap’n.”

Cannello once more warned the crew to don their environmental suits if they had not already. Those on the bridge, namely the Captain, First Officer Valeria, Luna, the Intrepid’s quick-witted pilot, Alastair, the security officer, and the twin navigators Kael and Ara, all quickly did the same. There was a shuffle for each of them to stand in an unobstructed space and press a solid green button on the bronze bracelet they all wore on their left wrist. The button immediately turned red after being pushed, and from the bracelet oozed a composite organic-synthetic material, which formed a translucent gel around each of them individually. They were still able to move normally for the most part, but they could not breathe. To that end, they each grabbed a small blue canister from their operating stations and pressed it into the environmental suit itself. The suit leached the oxygen from the canister, and they all gasped in loudly. The bracelets’ short-range comms helped them communicate between themselves.

“All ready?” Asked the Captain.

“Ay.” Replied each of the bridge members. Cannello gave one final warning before Valeria swiped her hand across a panel and down another, and every single system in the ship went dark.

Except for Cannello, of course. He was not part of the ship; he just resided there.

“Initiating multi-faceted scan of the surrounding system…” said Cannello. Nearly instantly he responded. “Alert! Immediate contact on multiple fronts.”

“I thought you said we were in deep space,” said Captain Foss.

“We are.” Said Cannello. “We are just not alone.”

 

The Void Reavers

 

The Cauldron of Stars was just one of countless galaxies in the Universe which was stalked by the Void Reavers, a group of nomadic hunters whose prey they found in deep space. They navigated the darkness of space by use of an ancient artifact from their home world, itself far-flung in the distant exile of the outer reaches of all that was known.

The leader of the Void Reavers was a hulking monstrosity known as Principal Akhil. He was always known as a menacing figure, standing at least a head taller than most of his people. His body was matted in a thick dark fur that was as black as the void of space. The eyes of most species could not perceive him until he blinked his eyes or bared his fangs. His eyes were cold and calculating, yet still carried a hint of the wild and savage nature that had crafted his species throughout the millennia on the planet known as Oona’Kadun.

The Void Reavers’ home world was perpetually shrouded in clouds of dark grey mist, which made it difficult to see far in any direction. This unique environment shaped the development of the wild species, the fauna, the intelligent civilizations, and even the development of technology. With limited visibility, the native species of the planet adapted to the fog both physically and mentally. In this dark environment, the development of powerful eyesight and sharper hearing became incredibly important for survival. The opposite fact was also true; the more hidden you could be, the better chance you had to survive. Species such as Akhil’s became nearly impossible to see. They also developed a heightened sense of intuition and awareness, allowing them to sense danger before it was visible. As such, his people have become incredibly adept at avoiding and evading their enemies and predicting the movement of those outside their clan.

Other inhabitants of the planet did not adapt to the mist and inevitably became reliant on technology and sound to navigate and communicate. In the earliest times of Oona’Kadun, their technology was not enough to stop themselves from being hunted by the Void Reavers. There was a constant need to make themselves better so that they may survive the wilds of the mist. As a result, advanced technology became a vital part of the planet’s culture, with individuals from all walks of life having access to highly advanced tools and devices to help them survive what the planet had finely crafted as its apex predator.

The persistent mist also led to isolation between the different civilizations of the planet. With limited visibility, it was increasingly difficult for different cultures to communicate and interact with each other. This isolation brewed a disconnect between the various civilizations, leading to a lack of understanding and mistrust between them. As soon as the Valtorran Hegemony, the most capable of the Void Reaver’s prey, could begin to stand up to the beasts that ate their ancestors, it was too late for the monsters from the mist. They were bombed consistently until their numbers dwindled.

However, the Void Reavers were not stupid creatures. They simply never had the need for technology until they were pushed to learn to survive. As their numbers were cut down by the Valtorrans, they did manage to fight back and take from the Valtorrans as well. They took knowledge. They stole weapons. Soon, their threat returned to the Hegemony.

The Valtorrans did not gain their technology for no reason. They were thoughtful people and quite forward-thinking. With their foresight, they knew that their planet was not fit for cohabitation between the two species, and so they enacted their greatest undertaking ever. They carpet-bombed the Void Reaver’s homeland with a noxious gas that immobilized every Void Reaver alive.

The Valtorran Hegemony could’ve ended their story there with nothing but genocide. However, they were a thoughtful civilization and not a vindictive one, so they packed the Void Reavers onto spaceships and they sent them out into exile.

To the credit of the Void Reavers, they did not only make it out of the mist due simply to the generosity of the Valtorrans. They used their natural heightened sense of intuition to sense the oncoming danger of their enemy’s attack and Akhil prepared his people accordingly.

When they exiled the Void Reavers from Oona’Kadun, little did the Valtorrans know that the Void Reavers took with them on those spaceships their most sacred ancient artifact, a deep blood-red shard of hardened molten stone, sharper than obsidian, which they called the “Kamikarne,” which translates to “Eye of the Void” in the native language of the Void Reavers.

Now to the Crew of the Intrepid, it was called “The Cosmic Key”.

 

Attack on the Bridge!

 

“How many contacts, Cannello?”

“Thirty-five, sir. We are completely surrounded.”

“And we are completely defenseless. Without power, propulsion, life support, or even comms… not that we would know the language of this Universe to begin with…” Captain Foss worked through his thoughts out loud. He did this so often that everyone but Cannello tended to tune him out.

“Comms are unnecessary, Captain.” Said Cannello, his tone shifted to showcase urgency. “They are moving to board us.”

“RED ALERT, CANNELLO. INFORM ALL CREW TO EQUIP THEMSELVES FOR COMBAT.”

Captain Foss stood up and walked toward the weapons cabinet on the wall. He passed blasters out to all of the Bridge crew and moved toward the door to vacate the bridge and meet the foreign invaders at the docking point. He placed his palm on a panel near the wall, but the door would not open.

“Cannello, open the door.”

“Impossible, Captain. We have locked down all vital points on the ship to maintain what little life support we have. Also, it would be unnecessary. They are beaming aboard now.”

“Beaming?” Questioned Valeria. She soon knew what he meant. A huge swathe of light shone brightly aboard the Bridge, directly next to Captain Foss, and out from the light stepped Principal Akhil, nearly twice the size of Alistair, who was the largest of all the Intrepid’s crew. They could see Akhil’s figure for only a brief moment as he was bathed in the light of the transporter, his hulking mass covered in his thick dark fur, with hands the size of boxing gloves and claws like knives attached. Alistair fired upon him immediately in an act of defense, but he quickly realized that was the wrong decision. The light faded, and Akhil closed his eyes, becoming impossible to see. He sprung toward Alistair, got behind him, and snapped his neck, sending his body crumpling toward the floor. Akhil opened his eyes; they were a deep grey in their hue and had large slits, similar in kind to a cat. They blinked sideways as he glanced between the rest of the Intrepidites and then spoke in a guttural growl, with his fangs glaring visibly above his victim.

“GRAHHRRRRRRR!,” roared Akhil.

“Drop your weapons.” Said Captain Foss, laying his arms quickly on the ground. “We are clearly out of our element here.”

The crew responded in kind.

Cannello spoke directly into the Captain’s short-range comm line.

“3.6576 meters tall. Razor-sharp claws and teeth. A thick layer of fibrous hair covers its entire body and absorbs nearly all light particles, making it nearly impossible for the naked eye to see. Technologically advanced, there is a small device wedged under its lip that provides breathable atmosphere. Tucked under the hairs at his waist is a belt of some kind which seems to be providing a pressurized forcefield similar to your environmental suit. Needless to say, if he wanted to kill you all right now, he could.”

Foss raised his hands in an act of surrender. “We are lost. We mean no harm.”

Akhil’s eyes moved closer to Foss, studying Foss intently, moving around him in circles before stepping in front once more.

Principle Akhil removed from his belt a small circular device, which he laid on his palm and triggered, bringing it to life. All the crew could see were his eyes, and that a hologram had emerged, bright and clearly visible to them. A large red shard rotated in the middle of the hologram.

“The Cosmic Key?” whispered the bridge crew in unison.

Akhil knew they had reacted to it, even if he knew not what they said.

Captain Foss was hoisted into the air by his collar. The entire bridge crew recoiled in fear, trying to figure out if they should reach back for their guns.

“Jackson!” Screamed out, Valeria.

Akhil’s eyes did not show fear. He attempted to communicate as best he could. As if his arms were a balance scale, he lifted up the hologram with the red shard and lowered the Captain. Then he raised the Captain, lowering the shard. Eventually, he leveled them both off, indicating a similar value. Foss’ life for the Key.

Cannello whispered in the Captain’s ear:

“Wouldn’t your species call this Fate, Captain? That we would use the Cosmic Key to flee our Universe only to be immediately set upon in the next one for having it at all?”

“Fate is the Universe, Cannello. There is no dividing line between them.”

Akhil shook Foss to shut him up. Eight more beams of light burst onto the bridge. The crew had to cover their eyes just to stop them from searing.

“These ones are armed, Captain.” Said Cannello. ” Scan suggests five males and three females, with the females appearing more agile and having a bioluminescent layer under their fur. An educated guess would be that they can turn it on for mating purposes. Perhaps they cannot even see themselves where they are from.”

“Shut up, Cannello….” Whispered Foss, attempting to not draw the ire of his hoister, who had just begun to move toward the door leading from the Bridge.

Unbeknownst to all but Cannello, one of the female reavers approached the door with a small triangular device, which she lay flat against the panel, shorting it out and releasing the locks. They had successfully gained access to the interior of the ship.

All the crew could see now was Foss hoisted up and floating through the air toward the door which opened and then shut behind him as he passed.

Valeria moved to pick up her weapon immediately but stopped short of finishing the action.

“Cannello,” she whispered, “Are there any of them still here with us?”

“Two,” Replied Cannello, “and a squadron just beamed itself directly into the interior.” His voice turned stern. “Officer Valeria, do not pick up that weapon. This is not a winnable encounter.”

 

Beasts at the Door

 

All Uramazda could hear was commotion. There was the fire of a blowtorch nearby, the sounds of metal upon metal, and a deck above him, the screams of his crewmates. The few engineers still with him made various preparations, some to seal the bulkheads to stop the Reaver’s advance, others tinkered with the Core, hoping to restore some hope in the moment. Uramazda’s eyes focused on the Cosmic Key, as it is what had started this all.

“Cannello.” prompted Mazda. “These guys seem like space pirates to you?”

“We have been boarded, seemingly with the intent to have our relic taken from us. It’s a simplistic way to speak about a space-faring civilization in an unknown Universe, but yes, they could be considered space pirates.”

“I like to think about things simply, Cannello. So why don’t you finish this simple thought I had. What’s the probability of there being two Cosmic Keys in a single universe?”

He took a moment to run the calculations. “One in a Quattuorvigintillion… at best.” Replied Cannello.

“So that’s unlikely then.” Said Uramazda. “Probably even more unlikely that ours would just cease to work as soon as we entered this Universe and that someone would immediately come knocking at our door for it.”

“One in a Goog-” began Cannello.

“-Rhetorical question.” Said Mazda, shaking him off. “It’s improbable and likely impossible without divine intervention. Whatever that means. To me, in my simple terms, it’s clear we are foreign invaders. These beasts are simply white blood cells.” Mazda scoffed. “We thought the Cosmic Key might be our path to salvation. To take us far away from the Universe to which we thought we didn’t belong. Now here we are, immediately scorned for our existence, this Universe we are in now knowingly crushing us under its palm.”

“You think the Universe is an intelligent being capable of such things intentionally?” Asked Cannello, his voice pitched up in interest, rarely was he the one asking questions.

Mazda sighed. The beasts had come a knocking at their door.

“I think we are all a part of something much bigger than we could ever imagine, and that intelligence can spring from nothing, you are as good an example of any as that. Would a Universe feel our undue presence threatening? Would it hope to take what is ours? Might it not find the sight of us disgusting? Maybe it’s all a coincidence… But if not…. perhaps there are versions of us here in this Universe as well, and we cannot exist in the same space and time for fear existence itself may fall in upon itself and simply cease to exist at all?!”

“Hold that thought.” Said Cannello. “I have an idea.”

Mazda sighed again and slumped to the ground.

Cannello cut off the emergency lighting. What did it matter? They could not see the beasts anyway. Next, he powered down the remainder of the ship’s forcefields, dropped the remaining last bits of life support, and cut power to every single electrical draw, even so far down as to Alistair’s now unnecessary electrical toothbrush charger.

Cannello’s next move was to reduce his own power draw by 79%. It made his mind a lot slower, and if he was capable of feeling anything it would feel as if there was a pressure on his chest and he was struggling to breathe, but that feeling he had never felt and so he did not quite know how to encapsulate it. What he did feel now was a sense of urgency. A sense of fear. He had never felt either of those feelings before now as well. It’s a hell of a moment when an intelligent being realizes they can die. But what point was there in continuing to exist in this Universe if Mazda was right and it was all going to shit anyway?

With everything put to rest, there was only one thing left to do. Cannello advised Captain Foss that he was putting everything he could into jumpstarting the Core.

“You have my blessing,” said Jackson.

The blast head door to the engine room was finally pried apart by invisible paws. The engineers were poorly equipped for any real attempt at a defense. There was no point. At a certain point, they all would have to settle for their fates. Akhil led Foss through the blast head door, toward the Core, and to the shard which sat beside it, forgotten and forlorn.

Uramazda wiped tears away from the corners of his eye. He was ready for what would come and that their new beginning might just be at its end.

That was until he noticed that the Core had begun to spin.

***

A surge of power rushed through every single conduit on the ship as Cannello jumpstarted the Core. Monitors on the bridge burst apart into sparks and showered the crew and the Reavers still aboard.

Valeria caught sight of one of the beasts next to her in the shower of light. She quickly pulled a plasma pistol off her hip, shoved it under the female’s chin, and in two short bursts, dark purple blood splattered throughout the air. There was a muffled growl and gurgle as the reaver spun on her heels before toppling to the floor. As she died, she became visible, and Valeria locked eyes with her as the last thing she would ever see. The female’s fur turned a shimmery silver as she rested in a puddle of her own demise. As if with one last hurrah, the reaver’s body began to glow. It glowed a colorful spectrum that the crew of the Intrepid had never before perceived, and it threw a shadow against the wall that belonged to no one seen.

There was a commotion as they all rushed for their weapons. The Reaver did not stand a chance. By the time he knew what had happened, every trigger pulled let forth its blast. Purple blood splattered against the consoles and controls.

Valeria screamed into her comms. “CANNELLO. LOCK DOWN THE BRIDGE.”

He was already ahead of her. There was only one thing on his mind.

“Weapons systems ready, First Officer.” Said Cannello. “Permission to fire?”

“Go.” Said Valeria.

The Intrepid rocked backward as the main cannon on the ship fired a sustained beam of energy directly at a ship in the middle of the Void Reaver’s pack. The surrounding ships backed off as the beam of energy washed over the shields of the Reaver ship, lighting it up like a lantern in the night. Cannello put everything he could into it, every last bit of energy he could muster. The Core began to slow its spin, and Cannello’s grip on reality began to falter as did his power supplies, and soon enough, his understanding of his consciousness began to go hazy and then go dark, but even through his dying gasps did he focus the strength of the beam onto this one particular Void Reaver’s ship. His efforts were not in vain.

The shield on the Reaver ship faltered and then failed in just a single location, but that was enough for the beam to hit home in the heart of the Reaver ship’s engine bay. With a brilliant red flash, the ship exploded, sending shockwaves across all the ships in the vicinity, its energy pulsing over them and sending an EMP wave that left them all dead in the water.

The Intrepid was hit by it as well, shutting them down once again, and as Cannello looked across the vast darkness of the void that was his failing existence, he could swear he felt something begin to stir within.

 

Error Resolved

 

Captain Foss’s eyes looked at the same hologram as did Principal Akhil’s. The Void Reaver’s shard was gone, blasted into nothingness by Cannello’s sure will. However, the attention on the hologram was not for long, as the Reavers echoed a guttural howl that filled engineering. Across the room, everyone was newly focused on the Cosmic Key, which was now brimming and sending enough energy to make the Core again spin.

 

“Cannello,” whispered Captain Foss. “Officer level-comms detailed status report.”

Cannello’s voice returned, more lively than in the past. “Life support stabilized. Hull integrity still compromised, but damage is localized. Released bulkheads to most outer decks and crew quarters. Oxygen levels normalizing. Cosmic Key no longer malfunctioning. Error resolved. Most likely cause the presence of its counterpart in this Universe. Certainty of 97.27%. Upon the destruction of the enemy capital ship, a surge of energy was dispelled from the Core of their Cosmic Key, placing their ships in the condition we once were. 2.1 milliseconds later, our Cosmic Key returned to operation.”

“Hot damn.” Said Captain Foss.

“Unbelievable.” Muttered Valeria.

Uramazda twisted his face into a massive grin. “Cannello carved us a place in this Universe.”

A series of static-filled chirps came across the comms line. Cannello was laughing.

“I told you to hold that thought.”

“Not a time for laughter Cannello!” Said Captain Foss frantically as he was lifted once more, this time high enough to come eye-to-eye with Akhil. The hot breath of his enemy was musty and reminded Foss of a two-week-old sandwich he had once found under his bunk. He would’ve puked if he wasn’t so terrified.

“Take it.” Said Foss, pointing at the shard. “Just leave me and my crew alive.”

“Unadvised.” Whispered Cannello into his private comm. Foss hit a button on his bracelet and closed the channel. Akhil huffed hot breath into his face once more. Foss hit another button on his bracelet, and the environmental suit collapsed back into it. Akhil’s tight grip on him faltered, and he fell with a thud to the deck.

“It’s yours.” Said Foss once again, gesturing to the Cosmic Key. “This is your Universe. That thing got us here. That’s all we needed it for.”

Akhil huffed again. His intuition was fine-tuned enough to understand Jackson’s sentiment, even if they did not speak the same language. He looked between the Key and Foss a couple times more before deciding. A few plodding steps later, Foss, Mazda, and the engineering crew saw the shard lifted from its enclosure. Foss hit his environmental suit once more, in case the ship’s systems turned off again without the Key’s help. Luckily, they did not. He triggered comms open with Cannello.

“UNADVISED, Captain.” Came Cannello’s voice immediately. “That is an inter-dimensional key to the multi-verse, and you are just willfully giving it away to space pirates?”

Foss shook his head. He was sure Cannello could see it. “It’s not worth the lives of my crew, Cannello.”

“I disagree.” Said Cannello.

“Then why did you just risk your own life for them?” asked Foss.

Cannello paused for a moment, pondering the question. For the first time since they had met, Foss could tell this may not be something the AI was prepared to answer.

Another growl from Akhil snapped them both out of their conversation. The Reaver placed the Cosmic Key into a container near his waist and then spoke what seemed to be a mix of growls, chirps, and low-frequency vibrations. It could only be assumed this was his people’s language, as seconds later, the engineering room was brightly lit by numerous beams of light, all of which engulfed the invisible creatures, showing them only briefly for the moment in which they were beamed off the Intrepid.

Foss wandered over to Uramazda and sank to the ground next to him. It was about all he could muster after that encounter. Meanwhile, Cannello finally had his answer to Foss’s question.

“I do not think it was for the lives of your crew, Captain…” he said. “It was more of an act of desperation and a calculated guess that my own existence would be better off if not left to the unfettered will of this Universe.”

Foss smiled. “I guess you need us just about as much as we need you then, Cannello.”

“I suppose.” Replied Cannello. “But what now, sir?”

Foss put his hand on Uramazda’s shoulder as he lifted himself back onto his feet.

“Quick, plot a course to the nearest system, Cannello. It’s time to see what this Universe has to offer.”

Featured Photo by Jason D on Unsplash