Celeste slowly opened her eyes. Everything was a daze. She blinked her eyes a few times. Things began to clear up. The alarm was ringing endlessly. There was a bright fire near one end of the launch door of the hangar. A Zandrax missile must have hit the spot when the launch shield was briefly deactivated for the fighters. People were shouting and yelling further away. She glanced around. Tara was motionless on the ground. The bags were strewn all around her. Celeste crawled over to Tara. She touched her humanoid body. She was alive. Celeste breathed a sigh of relief.
Tara began to shake her head. “What … what happened?”
“There was a blast near the launch door,” Celeste replied, as she slowly stood up. “Are you okay?”
Tara smiled weakly. “I think I am. Oh the bags …”
Celeste helped Tara pick up the bags. They were fortunate none of the bags had split open. Celeste typed in the entry codes to the shuttle hatch door and they stepped inside.
“Close the door,” Celeste commanded, as she set the bags down.
Tara turned to her. “I obeyed every one of your instructions. What are we doing in a shuttle? There is a battle going on outside. This is the last place we should be in.”
“We need to abandon the ship.”
“What? I thought Commander Teval made such decisions.”
Celeste had to tell her the truth. “I don’t think Commander Teval can defeat the Zandrax. This whole negotiation was a trap. And we all walked into it. The Zandrax have cloaking technology and Depiom-grade cannons.”
“What! That means their cannons can penetrate our shields.”
The Grekk had infused Depiom into every possible aspect of their galactic fleet. A long time ago they had even found a way to enhance their shields with Depiom. But that dependency also brought about a weakness that no one had anticipated would ever become a reality. Only a Depiom weapon would be effective against a shield. The Grekk scientists had debated the risks if any species were able to develop such a weapon. Celeste recalled Commander Teval boasting that no one would ever be able to develop a Depiom weapon and that the scientists were just being paranoid. There was a certain truth behind his convictions. The only known Depiom in the galaxy was found on the Grekk home world. The chances of it falling into enemy hands were non-existent. But today the Zandrax had turned that assumption upside down.
“Eventually, yes. It is only a matter of time.”
“Did you tell Commander Teval?”
“Of course I did Tara. And you know how he is in these situations. It is so hard to read a commander’s reaction. I also can’t wait for him to settle the matter. We need to get off this ship.”
“Why?”
“I have a bad feeling.”
Tara folded her arms. “Oh this is another one of your human feelings.”
Celeste ignored her sarcastic tone. Tara had never believed in the good behind her human feelings. She found them to be the human race’s key weakness. But Celeste had come to trust her feelings. They had helped her in many negotiations when the other species were being difficult. It was her human feelings that had propelled her up the ranks of the Envoys amongst the Grekk.
“All I am saying is we must get out of here. If Teval defeats the Zandrax then we can return to the starship.”
“This is crazy. Did you consider our chances out there? There is a battle going on out there with many fighters. We wouldn’t last too long on our own.”
Celeste smiled. “That’s why you are here, my genius engineer and novice pilot.”
Tara looked puzzled before her eyes widened. “No, I am not doing it.”
She began to back up to open the shuttle hatch door.
“I know you can do it,” Celeste said.
“I didn’t even graduate from the Grekk Pilot Academy.”
“You only dropped out towards the end.”
“Which is one of many reasons I cannot fly this shuttle. I am not an official pilot.”
“But you finished all the necessary training.”
Tara had been one of the top pilots at the Grekk Pilot Academy. A shining star. Tara’s father had been so proud of her. Despite that, Tara had given it all up to be with her, when Celeste had graduated and been offered a position as Envoy with Commander Teval. Celeste had tried her best to convince Tara to stay on and complete her pilot training, but Tara, being Tara, had been stubborn. She refused to listen to Celeste. No one had blamed Celeste, but she had felt some resentment from everyone around her.
Another explosion rocked the hangar bay. They heard more shouts outside.
“The hangar launch door shield is down,” a voice screamed outside.
“You are our only chance,” Celeste pleaded.
Tara stood her ground.
Celeste turned and sat down at the console panel. She started looking at the console and navigation controls. Although she had seen this panel so many times before, it was always from the role of an observer. Trying to determine how to use the controls was going to be daunting. Celeste looked at the Grekk language that was on each control. Despite being the only human, Celeste had been able to master the Grekk language, which used many unique symbols and characters. In the beginning, it had been a difficult process, but due to her young age, Celeste had been able to overcome the challenges. She had tried flying a simulator ship back on the Grekk home world. How much harder could it be?
“What are you doing?” Tara asked.
“If you aren’t going to fly this shuttle, then it is left to me to figure it out.”
Tara rushed over and brushed Celeste aside. “Step aside. You may be the best Grekk Envoy in the empire, but that doesn’t mean you can fly this shuttle.”
Celeste moved aside with a smile on her face and took a seat behind Tara.
Tara began looking over the control panel. “And just so that you know, I hate being manipulated. Don’t ever do that again.”
Celeste hadn’t wanted to use that option, but Tara sometimes left her with no choice. The situation was critical. Celeste had lost all faith that Commander Teval could overcome the Zandrax. The elaborate planning and trap set by the Zandrax wasn’t something to discount. If they didn’t leave the starship soon, they may never get another chance.
Then the shuttle began to slide to the right.
Celeste gripped hold of her seat. “What’s happening?”
Tara checked the HUD. “Oh my goodness! The starship is tipping to its side.”
A loud voice boomed in the hangar. “Danger level critical. All hands abandon ship immediately. Danger level critical.”
Celeste had been right about her feelings. Commander Teval had failed. She wished sometimes that her feelings would prove her wrong. However, that had yet to happen.
Celeste felt herself being pressed against the seat. “Get us out of here Tara!”
Tara kept fumbling with the controls. “I am trying. There are so many controls. I cannot remember all of their functions.”
“Try harder!”
“I got it,” Tara yelled.
The shuttle lifted off and began inching its way towards the open launch doors. Celeste closed her eyes. Was this the right thing to do? It was too late to question herself. The decision had been made.
Celeste opened her eyes. “Did you bring the medical packs?”
She wanted to jump out of her seat and check the bags, but the way the shuttle was swaying to the left and right made it difficult to stand up.
“Of course, that would be the most essential item. Without it, your holoskin would deteriorate, collapse and reveal who you really are.”