thought they would. The engineers designed it to be impenetrable to anything they knew; especially with its double thick ebbed armor, including the window made out of more than a thousand long, thin strips of clear ebb. How the engineers accomplished that, she didn't know. If a crack in the window occurred, like it had on Crystal's Mech, it wouldn't matter, because the crack would usually be on one clear ebb strip. The rest would hold firm.
She took a deep breath, wondering when her last one would be. If her HCD was working, she'd be able to ask it how much oxygen she had left.
A shadow appeared over her window and Crystal looked away, arching toward the dome of the Mech. If the creature was going to take a peek inside, Crystal was going to force herself to look away. She had to, and in this moment that's all she wanted.
She slowly slid her body closer to the hatch, thinking she might have a chance to pop it open and run like a bad ass into an office she knew was only twenty steps away. If the creature peered at her, it would leave the hatch unguarded.
Out of the corner of her eye, the shadow grew larger. In truth, Crystal would have to look at the creature. She would have to pay attention, because she would need to know exactly when to pop the hatch. Seeing the creature was her best strategy.
Placing her finger lightly on the open hatch button, she looked down at the window, waiting for the right moment. The shadow became smaller, closing in on itself, which usually meant that someone was coming closer.
Holding her breath, she held her spot like a mannequin, unmoving and unflinching. She suddenly lightened her touch on the button as a thought entered her mind.
What if there are dozens of them outside of the Mech, waiting for me to attempt an escape?
Abruptly, escaping became a bad idea. She let go of the button and stared out of the window, watching as the creature got closer and closer. When something pressed against the window, Crystal screamed.
∞
“All remaining Thunderbirds are accounted for and in the nest, Admiral.” Brigger formed a big smile and wiped away the beads of sweat on his forehead. It was the moment they had all been waiting for, the jump countdown. It was something they had done many times, although always to coordinates less than a mile away. It was a common enough procedure, done once a month, and created long ago by weary and bored soldiers whom they had never met. But, they had never jumped out of their own system, to a new place entirely, potentially to new worlds, new moons, new suns. There had never been a need.
“I have to remind you, Admiral,” said the second in command, Captain Louise Stripe, who was sitting at the helm next to the admiral, “Starbase Matrona has not made a jump of this type in over 800 years.”
The admiral's face was firm and unwavering. “I have to trust the technology, Captain.”
“And if it doesn't work?”
A jostle of the ship from another blast caused a couple of crewmen to fall to the floor. Eden rushed over and helped them up, then quickly moved back to her post, looking back at the admiral, readying for the jump.
The admiral placed his hand on the Captain’s forearm, squeezing it gently. “I don't have an answer.”
Her blond eyebrows drew closer together and she clutched her uniform's collar. “All of those people on Matrona will die if it doesn't jump and meet with our coordinates. They will be blown to hell, sir!”
“There is nothing more I can do, Captain.” He looked at Brigger. “On my mark.” He took a deep breath. “Three...Two—”
“Starship Intrabus down, sir!” yelled Brigger, meeting eyes with the admiral. “Gone, Admiral!”
Still staring at Brigger, the admiral touched his chin as if he were going to scratch it. Hope and luck seemed to be turning tail, running from his fleet.
“All com links open?” he asked, and Brigger nodded. “All remaining fleet, jump at will!”
∞
Outside, a small, round device no bigger than the size of a fingernail, shot from one of the red pyramids looming around Planet Lumus. On it was a blinking, orange light. It sped through space, seeking its target, and spinning as it flew. The device, nearing its intended target, extended a suction device from its tiny belly. A moment later, it hit and forcefully suctioned itself to a large, gray ship, near the lettering Starship Brigantia.
A moment later, Brigantia, along with the small, round device, lit up like a star, and then vanished from space.
∞
Admiral Byrd stood on the bridge studying a large, green planet on the vid screen. “Where, exactly, are we, Brigger?”
Brigger looked at his HDC. “We picked coordinates zero-seven-nine. We're still in the Andarta System, Circinus Galaxy, more than three thousand light years away from Lumus, sir.” The last words fell off his tongue, as if he had just realized how far away from home they’d gone.
“Have they all made it?” asked the admiral, more concerned about his fleet than anything else.
The admiral held his breath as Brigger stared at his console, hesitated, and then replied with a doubting, “Yes, sir.”
The admiral exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Wait—Admiral.” Brigger brought his forehead to his hand. “No.”
The admiral quickly moved around his command chair and stood over Brigger. “What do you mean no? Where are they?”
Brigger nodded his head up and down. “Yes and no, sir. Starship Taranis made it.” His voice started trailing off, dismay overcoming him. “As we knew before the jump, Starship Sirona chose to stay, but Starbase Matrona is nowhere in sight, Admiral.”
Captain Stripe looked up at the admiral, fear in her eyes as worry lines crinkled across her forehead. “Orders, sir?”
“We stand fast.” He walked to his chair and sat, looking up at the vid screen, narrowing his eyes in search for any possible spark that might be the starbase. “She will come.” His mind was full of doubt, though. It was full of the chaos he had seen on Matrona's flight deck while en route to his own ship. He figured that they probably hadn’t been able to pull it together for the jump, and may not have even heard the coordinates in the first place. There was no leader, no sense of anyone taking charge on Matrona, and no one was stepping up when it was needed the most. Although he hadn't seen Matrona become a ball of flame, he figured they didn't have a chance, now that they had been left to fend for themselves.
His mind turned to the destruction that he had watched taking place before the jump. Six starships lost, one left behind, and only two, including his, made the jump. Over two thousand Thunderbird pilots dead and Starbase Matrona missing.
For nearly ten minutes, all was silent on the bridge as they waited for their home, their mother ship, to join them. “Systems check, Brigger,” stated Admiral Byrd, disrupting the quiet.
Brigger had to swallow hard over the lump in his throat. There was a long pause; he couldn't take his eyes off the HDC.
“Brigger!” called Admiral Byrd.
Brigger jumped, startled by the admiral’s sudden bark. He tore his eyes away from the HDC and turned to see the admiral's stern face. “Yes, sir?”
“What is the status of our ship, Lieutenant?”
Brigger looked back at the HDC, and then gazed in the admiral's direction. He didn't know why this order was necessary at the moment.
“Speak, Brigger!” snapped Captain Stripe, swiping blond hair out of her eyes.
Brigger jumped again, looking around the bridge. All eyes were upon him, as if the information he was about to give was the most important information in the universe. He placed his finger on the HDC, watching it change from Sonar to Status Check. “We're not looking good, Admiral. Two percent shields, 19 percent ion blasters remaining, 23 percent ion photons left, 98 percent engine functioning, 99 percent hangar deck functioning, hyper drives 50 percent, almost all long and short range sensors off line, aquaponics—” He gasped, lifting his hand to his chest and shaking his head. He had stopped mid-sentence, even though there were more systems remaining on the checklist.
Eden walked over to Brigger, tapped him on the shoulder and whispered into his ear. He nodded and stood up, walked over to Eden's station, trading places with her. Eden sat down in Brigger's station ready to continue where Brigger had failed, but then she froze, eyes wide and staring at the HDC. “We need Matrona here, sir.”
The admiral crinkled his nose, a little annoyed. He knew what they needed. They all knew what they needed. Eden pointed to the HDC, showing the admiral what Brigger had just seen, and the admiral's eyes widened for a moment, and then he scanned the room, checking to see if anyone saw his tell. Any chance of survival had just decreased tenfold. He nodded his head, stating the obvious, “Yes, we need Matrona.”
The admiral sat in his command chair, having fallen into deep thought, until he said, “Open com link to Starship Taranis.”
Eden pressed a button on the HDC. A low voice sounded through, his image appearing on the holostage. “Admiral Jenkyns here.”
“How's your ship?” asked Admiral Byrd.
“Our ship has sustained heavy damage. Do you want me to go through the systems check with you?”
“No,” responded Admiral Byrd.
“I hope Starship Brigantia has faired significantly better than ours.”
“Negative, Admiral Jenkyns. Our ship is barely online. We have at least a week of repairs to complete.”
Eden lifted her brows, shaking
Star Guild: Episodes 1 - 3 (Star Guild Saga) Page 6