CHAPTER 15 - Help From Within
Burton and Johnson stood on each side of the opening with their backs against the hull of the alien object. Burton held the detonator in his right hand. He breathed deeply and said, “Are you ready, Johnson?”
She replied with as much steady coolness as she could, “As ready as I’ll ever be!” She looked over at the ISRS and noticed that it was moving downward from their position. “What are they doing?”
Burton replied, “They’re making it easier and faster for us to get back to the ship when we blow this door open! The magnetic force will draw us back to the ship at a much higher rate of speed than we could ever achieve during a standard spacewalk.”
The weapons expert refocused his attention on the device in his hands. “I’m going to count down from three…no, let’s make it five! I’ll denote the explosives on one! Understood?”
Johnson replied quickly, “Could we please just do this and get it over with?”
Burton smiled with anticipation and yelled, “Here I go!”
Before he could even start the countdown a shaft of light appeared, startling himself and Johnson. He blinked his eyes in surprise and because he didn’t believe it.
Johnson shouted, “Commander! Adeena!”
Gates assessed the situation quickly and said, “You were going to blow the door off? What if we were standing on the other side?”
Burton rolled his eyes as Johnson laughed joyfully and embraced the reappearing crewmates with glee.
“Burton, disarm these explosives and pack them up! We need to get back to Redemption as soon as possible! It’s very likely we will have some unwanted company very soon!”
Burton did as he was ordered and packed up the explosives as quickly and carefully as he could. “Commander, I don’t mean to press you but..”
Gates shook his head and replied, “There’s a lot to brief everyone on but now is not the time. I want to get the ISRS back to Redemption and get as far from this planet as we can.”
“Understood, sir!”
Adeena was the first to attach back onto the tether. She was significantly braver about going back as she was going towards the alien object. The engineer immediately felt the magnetic force of the tether sweep her off the platform as she glided towards the ISRS.
Burton was next and then Johnson. Before Gates clipped on, he paused and touched the hull of the object. He said in a faint voice, “Thank you, Cheryl. Thanks for giving us a shot at living longer.”
He clipped onto the tether and slid behind the others as they descended down into the ISRS.
Fox was there to help them get their footing on the floor of the small cylindrical ship. “Welcome back!” he exuberantly shouted. One by one the returning crew entered the craft and sat down, getting out of the way of the next crewmate behind them. They were all breathing hard, but they had an urgency to their expressions.
As Gates entered last, Fox closed up the hatch. Gates did not sit down but rushed towards the pilot station at the front of the ship. He said, “Mr. Wright, take us back to Redemption as fast as you can! We may only have minutes left to spare.”
Wright complied and fired the thrusters immediately. The ship began to pull away from its position near the alien object. Gates began to breathe a bit easier, but they were not free and clear yet. There was still the matter of getting Redemption free from whatever force was drawing it closer to the planet.
He instructed everyone to buckle into their seats as he sat beside Wright at the pilot station. Gates looked intently at the Redemption and said, “Let’s set the ISRS on top of Redemption. I’ll engage the magnetic field once we land. That should hold us in place and save some time with making our escape. If we try to land in the launch bay, we’ll lose our window.”
Wright responded, “Yes, Commander! But what window are you talking about?”
Gates smiled, “We’re about to get some help from an old friend!”
Onboard the Redemption, Brooks shouted, “Get ready to receive the ISRS back into the launch bay! Moore, stay ready with that torpedo, but I want to check with Commander Gates before we fire!”
Sensor Officer James Miller jumped into the fray and said, “Mr. Brooks! They’re sending us a signal!”
Brooks and Moore peered out the main viewport and gasped almost in unison. Moore was the first to interpret the Morse Code being sent their way, “They’re going to attach to our hull magnetically…do not fire any weapons towards the alien object…once the ISRS is attached, fire engines and fly away from the planet!”
Moore looked at Brooks with a pinch of disappointment. He and Burton were cut from the same cloth. He wanted to inflict some kind of wound on those alien cowards hiding behind that massive object for what they had done to Redemption and to their crewmate, Cheryl Atkinson. But he would follow orders as he always did.
They could hear the thud of the ISRS landing on the ship’s hull. A deep humming sound informed them that the magnetic field was active.
Brooks tapped the pilot on the shoulder. “Start your engines, pilot! Take us out of here on my mark!”
Brooks sat in the command chair and looked around the command center. Everyone was anticipating his next order and were at the ready. He shouted his order, “Take us away from the planet as fast as you can! When we’re clear, push the petal to the floor!”
The Redemption began vibrating ever so gently as the engines came to life. For the briefest of seconds, the force holding them in place fought to maintain its grip on their vessel. In the next moment, it was like it simply chose to release them from its grasp.
The crew on board Redemption shouted with excitement and relief.
Aboard the ISRS, the crew echoed the excitement of their crewmates on the Redemption. There was a significant feeling of safety just being attached to her hull. They all seemed to relax just enough to smile until a blast from the alien object hit below their ship.
The blast separated the ISRS from the hull of the Redemption and sent them hurling into open space away from the planet.
Wright shouted, “No, no, no! Trying to initialize stabilizers!”
“Do your best!” shouted back Gates.
Wright proved why he was the best as he soon regained control of the ISRS and turned her back towards the planet in order to get eyes on the Redemption. Their mother ship was moving away from the planet and seemed like it had minimal damage from the blast that separated the ISRS from its hull.
Gates was relieved to see this and was also happy that his ship was still making an escape. Cheryl had come through for them! As he watched Redemption move farther away from the planet, he made a decision. “Mr. Wright, do not try and get back to our ship. Let’s give them two targets to shoot at. Keep us a good distance away from Redemption.”
Wright acknowledged the order. “Aye, Commander!”
Gates turned to see his other crewmembers seated in their chairs. They were anxious, but still relieved to be back aboard the ISRS.
A bright flash illuminated the cabin from outside.
Gates turned around to see Redemption exploding from midship. It was set ablaze by another round of torpedoes. Then, to the shock of the crew inside the ISRS, it was cut apart by lasers emanating from the alien object. Three red hot looking laser beams sliced through the center of Redemption like a razorblade through a thin sheet of paper.
“My God!” said Adeena as they all looked on in disbelief.
“No!” said Burton.
Gates lifted a hand to settle his crew. His heart was beating faster than it had while he was inside the alien object. He wanted to lash out in anger but controlled his emotions for the sake of his remaining crew. He stared blankly at the scene of destruction before his eyes.
Silence filled the cabin of the ISRS as they watched their ship get blown to bits right before their eyes.
Stay tuned for CHAPTER 16 - “The Message” coming soon!
Also, stay tuned for the fourth and final instalment from The BIG Sci-Fi Podcast’s series of original science fiction flash stories! This week we are featuring the original story of Adeena Mignogna called “Alien in Amsterdam: Candy Crisis!”