To the Stars Beyond - Part 3

Rosie

All my systems are blaring at me, warnings in every colour flashing across my visor.

“Fuck, shit!” I swear, as I rapidly type out commands, trying everything in my arsenal to escape whatever has trapped me to the alien vessel looming on my viewscreen.

The elation I had felt earlier at seeing the strange craft had come crashing down when all my attempts at communication had failed.

Then, out of nowhere, a sort of tractor beam had extended from the ship, locking onto my pod and pulling me in close to its starboard aft.

I’m effectively trapped. Sacrificial lamb indeed.

“No! This is not how my first contact is supposed to go. I don’t want to end up some dumb cliché, straight out of an old sci-fi movie,” I whisper as my fingers fly over my controls.

“Sincla…*static*…pping…*static*…disenga…” Virgil’s words cut off abruptly when, yet another warning light, appears on my screen.

This warning has nothing to do with the large alien ship hovering alongside my pod. This is something different altogether.

The energy readings of the phenomena approaching our two vessels are off the charts.

My restraints automatically tighten, and my visor extends to protect the rest of my head as the impact from the wave hits me. It all happens so fast that I don’t have time to wonder why my sensors didn’t detect it.

Even with the state-of-the-art restraints, I’m tossed around like the proverbial rag doll. My head is moving so much I can’t even focus on the readings flying across my screen.

I shift my eyes to the viewport and quickly wish I hadn’t. The kaleidoscope of colours that streams past is dizzying, and I squeeze my eyes shut, praying my ship holds together long enough to survive.

It feels like hours pass, but I know it’s only been a minute or two at most, before my pod is violently spit out of the strange slipstream.

My stomach lurches at the sudden change in motion as the inertial dampeners can't keep up. I open my eyes to discover that many of my systems are down, but thankfully the most essential ones, like life support, seem to be intact.

I reach out with a shaky hand, trying to bring up anything that will tell me how far I flew. Correction, how far I’m still flying as my craft is still in motion.

“Come on!” I growl as I try to engage the engines, more exactly, the brakes. Nothing is responding to my commands.

A large shape catches my eye out of the viewport, and I gasp. The alien vessel is still neck and neck with me. I can only assume I’m still caught in its hold. Looks like the wave thingy wasn’t enough to shake it loose.

I slam my fists down on the console in frustration. Could things get any worse? I think, then immediately regret it…because of course they can.

A planet suddenly fills my view screen and I scream. It's much too close, and I know, even without sensors, that I'm on a collision course with it.

Apparently, in space no one really can hear you scream. Huh, iconic tagline of Ridley Scott’s 'Alien'. A hysterical laugh burst from me as my brain finally remembers that long ago movie.

Well dad, at least if I go out, I go out making you proud. I think, as I grit my teeth and grab onto my seat’s restraints. Not much I can do now but hold on and hope that whoever is on that alien ship knows what they're doing.

Arrova

“What am I doing?” I snarl. My trajectory is off course, and if I can’t correct it, my ship, as well as the alien craft, will surely crash into the planet.

“Easy Arrova, you can do this. Like my vogal always says, calm in the face of chaos rules the day.” It wasn’t one of her more eloquent sayings, but it still helps to steady me.

Knowing the second wave was coming, I’d had shields at full strength, so the repairs I had made were still intact, thankfully.

The ship, still locked onto mine, also seems to have fared well. I just hope its occupant is also in good shape.

The planet is coming up fast, and my hands fly over my controls. Thankfully, I’m able to make the corrections before we hit atmosphere.

The landing will be rough, but my ship's shields should protect us both from the worst of the landing.

I quickly re-tighten the tethers on my seat before sending a hasty prayer to my people’s maker. I add the unknown alien to my prayers. It would be a shame to make it this far only to discover a mangled carcase within the strange craft.

The hull shakes as we break through the planet’s exosphere, but shields hold. I’ve plotted a course to a relatively clear piece of land, and I grip the straps protecting me as the image looms on my viewscreen.

I grunt but hold my gaze as steady as I can as my ship ‘lands’. Okay, not so much as lands as skids along the ground.

We slide for several moments, leaving a deep furrow in the earth behind us.

I jerk painfully against my straps as my ship finally comes to a stop, dust and debris obscuring the view.

Taking several deep breaths, I quickly remove my restraints and check the systems. A few minor errors, but nothing a couple day's work won’t fix. And hopefully, I’ll finally be able to repair the engines.

My thoughts fly to the other ship, and I check on its status. A low rumbling growl leaves me as I note several dings in its hull, but thankfully it seems to have held up.

Excitement grips me at the thought of meeting a new species. As dire as our situation might be, I never thought I would make first contact with an essentially unknown alien race.

I grab several crucial items before making my way to the exit, tucking one of those crucial items into a pocket on my vest. It’s a blaster and I’m really hoping I won’t have to use it.

My hasty skim of information on this species mentioned they were aggressive, so I was taking no chances. Besides that, the local wildlife could also pose a threat. Shaking out my scales, I step onto the exit ramp as it deploys and into the humid air of the alien planet.