AWAKEN - HUMANITY: Book One

Chapter 8: Chasing Freedom

The two bubble shaped shuttle crafts emerged from the failing Galaxy One, its whole body now tilting at a sharp angle, the central wheel now stuttering as it moved altering the gravity inside. Small explosions could be seen erupting from different locations, little mushroom plumes of fire quickly dispersed as the vacuum of space and lack of oxygen put them out. Just the floating tendrils of smoke could be seen wrapping their fingers around the satellite.

Senior officer Shelly Kirby just sat and stared out the small window of the Galaxy one shuttle craft, tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched what had been her sanctuary, her home, start to self-destruct. She watched as another burst of blue light skimmed past the satellite thinning out into deep space as the planet below slowly moved, so did the blue light, soon it would touch the moon but hopefully, they will all be safely on board Starlight One.

A young technician wearing wired rimmed glasses with one eye lens cracked, spoke to her as he watched what had been his home since their journey from Earth. "You don't realise until its gone how beautiful that place was, staring down at the planet each day..."

She looked at him and replied sarcastically, "thanks just want I needed..." she stopped letting the words fade as she herself started to realise there was nothing left of what had been her home.

Captain West sat opposite, his red suite black and torn as they had only a couple of minute's spare to evacuate, the explosions were like dominos falling one after the other, chasing them towards the loading bays. The flames had licked his clothes and the smoke was a sudden thick cloud that engulfed them as they ran.

They had managed to evacuate just in time, everyone cramming into the two small crafts, pushing out just as the loading bay doors started to collapse. He remembered watching his own shuttle in the far distance already out of harms reach, he was at least relieved his own crew were out of any immediate danger.

He leaned back in the seat, "at least we are all safe." He tried to smile, to reassure everyone everything was going to be okay, he was Captain, it was his duty, his job to keep people safe, keep them from harm. In his head, his thoughts were less convinced, what do we do now? If Galaxy One has gone how will they communicate with JFK base 2? He closed his eyes for a second trying to calm his own nerves down.

A flash of blue light filled the shuttle, they all stared at each other, the Captain lulled himself up and pushed his face into the window, Shelly next to him as they both witnessed the blue light catch the rear of the other shuttle craft not too far behind them.

Shelly muttered quietly. "Oh shit no..."

The Captain didn't look at her, his vision fixed on the shuttle craft. "It may be okay, it only caught the back end, worse case the engines may have suffered a little damage but she is still moving." He turned to face Shelly. "Get your pilot to contact the shuttle, make sure they are okay..."

The sound of radio static filled the craft, then a male voice boomed over the system, "shuttle two this is shuttle three, we are experiencing engine malfunction, radiation levels rising, speed down by thirty percent, removing all none critical power to engines."

The Captain shouted down to the pilot. "Turn the damn speakers off!" he started to walk at a pace between all the bodies sitting or standing in the confined craft.

Another blue flash of light, this time drenching its rays across the whole shuttle craft behind them. Alarms sounded over the speakers, alarms being triggered on the other shuttle craft. The Captain cursed and pushed his way to the pilot and the small console area. One quick glance and he found the silent switch on the communications panel. "I said turn the fucking sound off!" he pressed the button and then entered a code touching his ear piece to link onto the communications signal from the other shuttle craft.

The Captain spoke quietly. "This is shuttle three, please respond with status report."

"Shuttle three we have lost all power, engines are overheating, electrical panel fires..." alarms sounded in the background, "...radiation levels spiking so quickly...all power lost, all systems down including life support..."

Senior Officer Kirby watched the shuttle slow down, smoke starting to filter out like faint mist from the rear of the engines. She stood up and shouted down to the Captain. "Captain we need to turn back...Now!"

He turned to face her, knowing all eyes were on him, a deathly quiet filled the air inside. "No..." he shook his head. "...we can't, otherwise we will be hit by the next one, or the one after that."

The pilot read his display screen, "two minutes to safety zone Captain."

The Captain looked down at the young pilot and spoke softly, "maintain course."

The room suddenly erupted around him, so many voices, so many opinions all together in one tidal wave of noise, he pushed through it, "listen all of you just listen!" He demanded. "That blue light whatever it is has destroyed your satellite, you home, now it has taken one of the shuttles, if we turn back we will most surely be next. I have a duty of care to everyone on board this ship, right here right now and my ship over there." He spat the words out pointing in the general direction of where Starlight One was positioned. "There is no way we are turning back and risking any more lives for what is quickly becoming a hopeless situation."

The small confined space of the shuttle craft erupted again into a band of noise, he turned away just as the explosion outside rocked their own space. They all stopped speaking, all stared at one another then at the Captain and their Senior Officer who slowly turned to face the window and reluctantly peered through the thickened glass composite.

The shuttle had gone, only large fragments remained floating where it once stood, particles had quickly formed dust clouds, swirling into deep space, sparks from loose electrical panels flickered with their last remnants of life, then the bodies appeared. The dead, ballooned bodies started floating past, hitting the side of the shuttle as they gained speed from the force of the explosion. Arms and legs sprayed out, some bodies spinning, some with their eyes and mouths open in fear, a snapshot of their expression at time of death.

Inside, the echoes of the bodies bouncing off the metal structure forced most to put their hands to their ears to block out the constant boom, like the chime of grandfather clock. The Captain just stared up at the ceiling then the sides as each impact was heard, he knew this day would never leave his memory, it will always be there and no doubt it will always remind him, haunt him, in his sleep and waking hours.

The shuttle pilot turned and looked upwards at the Captain, his young face bearing the scars of the day. "Captain, we have reached safety zone, ETA at Starlight One is twenty minutes at current speed."

"Thanks..." The Captain rested a hand on the young pilot's shoulder, "...increase speed let's get back as soon as possible." He tried but failed to give a reassuring smile.