A science ship shuddered as it was hit again by laser artillery rounds. The lights in the cabin flickered, went off and were replaced by ominous red lights.
Colonel Lyn gripped the hand of her chair until her knuckles turned white.
Eventually, the black sea of stars surrounding the ship's transparent steel windows turned to a stream of white lines as the Hermes entered hyperspace.
After a few hours of waiting, Colonel Lyn began to drift into a dreamless sleep. After being awoken for the fourth time by a violent shaking of the ship's hull, she stabbed her right thigh with a dose of synthetic adrenaline.
By this point, the thigh of her flight suit had a dozen similar holes in them. She exhaled sharply as the drug coursed through her body.
The bags around her eyes were heavy and she had to hold her left hand with her right to stop it from shaking.
She could only defer sleep for so long before her body began to fight her.
She had been volunteering to go on back-to-back missions for months on end to avoid being alone with her thoughts.
Colonel Lyn glanced at the woman sleeping opposite her with blue skin and wore a somewhat disheveled but brightly colored traditional Quinian garb on her head as well as a standard maroon military-issued flight suit.
The sleeping alien looked young by human standards and had an athletic build.
The Colonel eyed her for a moment before walking up to the cockpit of the ship.
"Status report," the Colonel said to the pilot.
"The status is that we're fucked," the pilot said. "Navigation, communication, sensors, telemetry… it's all down."
"Do we have enough to reach the station at Lorax?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Frank said. "We'll have to wait and see."
"Colonel, may I ask that you accompany the Captain in my place while I attempt to survey the hull damage?" Link the co-pilot asked.
"Do whatever you can," she said as he got up to leave.
Colonel Lyn slid into the copilot's chair in his place.
Once the cyborg was out of the cockpit, Captain Frank took a deep breath and relaxed into his seat.
"I think I'm going to retire after this mission," Frank said.
"Is it because of a Kreel attack?"
"Not entirely but it certainly didn't help," Frank said. "We've been chasing demons after what Masako did and I'm not sure that I can keep up with you anymore."
"I understand," she said calmly. "You've been a good pilot and a loyal friend."
"You're taking this more calmly than I thought," Captain Frank said. "I thought at least you'd call me a bastard for abandoning you."
"I've changed," Lyn replied. "I wouldn't expect you to throw your life away for me if you don't feel like going on. You still have a wife and a kid. The least I can do is get you home in one piece-"
Before she could finish speaking, a kaleidoscope of lights and alarms blew up on the dashboard of her flight controls.
"Our hyperdrive just failed and we're entering regular space," she said as the view from the ship's main display changed from a stream of white back to a sea of black.
Before them, was a red planet with two moons and a Skyforge in its orbit.
The heavy metal feet of Link the cyborg copilot were barely heard as he ran full speed into the cockpit.
"Captain, I was unable to bring any of the systems back online and I'm afraid that the damage to the hull is extensive. Critical failure is imminent," Link said.
"How long till she can no longer fly? A few hours?" Captain Frank asked.
"A few minutes," Link said.
"We have no choice but to land then," Lyn said. "I'm picking up adequate levels of oxygen but not a lot of water down there."
"It doesn't even look civilized," Frank replied. "We'll just land and try and radio for help. Hopefully, we survive long enough before whatever is down there notices us."
Colonel Lyn didn't respond and merely set her gaze on the Skyforge in the planet's orbit.
"The last time I saw the Skyforge, I was a little girl and it was only a ruin in the Caladas system," Lyn said. "Something that didn't work and took up space."
"That thing looks like it works just fine," Frank said. "Look at these readings, It's giving off massive amounts of electromagnetic energy."
***
The Hermes made a hasty descent past the nearly cloudless atmosphere of the red planet and touched down gently on desert sand.
"I'm going to try and survey the damage to the antennas from the outside," Link said as he opened the cockpit door and left.
"I'll come with you," Lyn said as she got up to follow.
The Quinian woman stood and trailed Colonel Lyn
"Can I come with?" the blue-skinned girl asked.
"Ensign Alita, you wait here till we get back," Lyn replied.
"Yes, ma'am," she replied with a hint of disappointment. "May I ask you something, ma'am?"
Colonel Lyn rolled her eyes and turned around to stand facing Alita.
"If you must," Colonel Lyn replied without stopping as she exited the Hermes.
"Have I done something wrong?" Alita asked. "You treat me with a poorly veiled contempt and I have no idea what I did wrong."
"There's no time for this," Lyn said sternly. "We can discuss it later."
"Um... Colonel?" Link said.
Lyn and Alita turned around to find Link with his arms held up high and a dark-skinned, white-haired man wielding a dark curved blade to his throat. They hadn't noticed his presence until Link spoke.
"He was waiting here when we arrived," Link said motioning to his assailant.
Suddenly Alita and Lyn realized that they were surrounded. Every direction had a robed and hooded figure wielding dark curved blades. Again, Alita and Lyn didn't notice their presence until they were too close.
"We human people. With me come. We cannot stay come. Go must," he said in garbled basic. "You will be not harmed in any ways two. You are all of you visitor guests of the desert fox."
"We are scientists of the United Nations of Earth," Lyn asked. "We are covered by the Inter-Galactic convention for unarmed civilians. I demand that you identify yourselves."
"No more talk too much," he said. "We must run reach me and my village before night come fast."
Most of the aliens that surrounded them had flowing hair that ran down their bodies to their lower backs except the one who spoke, his was short and close to his cheeks.
***
The dark-skinned man brought the crew of the Hermes to a tall black tower built with red granite that resembled a medieval sceptre. It had no windows that Colonel Lyn could make out and it sat at an awkward 30-degree angle to the ground, giving the impression that it was falling.