"Captain, there is an incoming transmission", reported lieutenant Tanaka at communications.
"Is it Space command", asked captain Maguire.
"The transmission appears to be originating locally", announced liuetenant Tanaka
"But who would want to contact us on this planet?", remarked captain Lucinda expressing the question which was everybody's mind.
"The other side", Gomalux mentioned there was another faction on Draichas whose existence is not known about beyond the planet. He assured me that they would anxious to make contact with any entity hostile to the authorities that might reach the planet. I suspect they are the ones behind the transmission", declared captain Maguire in response to captain Lucinda.
"On screen", captain Maguire ordered and the image of a Drachalian appeared speaking urgently. It appeared to be in some kind of vehicle whose bumpy motion over an uneven surface was shaking it bodily. The Drachalian appeared to be saying something, speaking urgently in its Drachalian language which no one could understand.
"Lieutenant, what is taking so long to translate the Drachalian words?", asked captain Maguire impatiently.
"I am working as fast as I can", reported lieutenant Tanaka. "However there has been no previous contact with Drachalian. I am therefore inputting different logarithm combinations of the known alien languages into the interspecies translator", explained, lieutenant Tanaka at communications. His fingers flying over the instrument panel before him.
The Drachalian kept shouting frantically the same meaningless jibberish . It seemed with a ever increasing sense of urgency in its voice. There was something in its tone which convinced Captain Maguire that the Drachalian was attempting to communicate some kind of warning. He just need to understand what it was saying.
"Lieutenant how much longer until we can understand what the Drachalian is saying", captain Maguire asked impatiently.
"I 've almost got it, I am imputing the last variable of the logarithm", lieutenant Tanaka confirmed.
"About time", captain Maguire remarked impatiently.
"There!", lieutenant Tanaka announced excitedly as the Drachalian's voice came across clearly for all to hear".
"Ambush!!!, Drachalian subterranean forces approaching the starship from several directions. Take off immediately!", screamed the Drachalian in the translation.
"Pilot initiate emergency take off!!!, shouted captain Maguire with a sense of urgency.
"Already on it", reported lieutenant Tashinga his fingers flying over the flight control console before him.
"Captain, the Sandawana is unable to lift off", reporter lieutenant Tashinga with a sense of alarm in the tone of his voice.
"What?", exclaimed captain Maguire In disbelief.
"Something has clamped the Sandawana's landing pods", explained lieutenant Tashinga. "We are being pulled under the surface!", reported lieutenant Tashinga speakiing with sense of urgency.
As he spoke the ground underneath the Sandawana gave way, powerful tendrlis clamped around the starship's landing pods pulling it below the surface, to an enormous underground cavity where it was brought down hard against the cavity's floor. It's landing pods retracting slightly to absorb the impact.
Even then the impact was far from being gentle and sent a powerful shudder through the superstructure, knocking crew to the Sandawana's floor.
Quickly recovering and getting up on his feet, captain wiped out the communicator attached to his utility belt and brought it up to his mouth.
"This is a priority one alert. All hands to your battle stations!", captain Maguire announced his voice coming over the Sandawana's public address system. Crewmen recovering from the hard landing promptly obeyed rushing to their various work stations .
Projectiles rained from all directions going off
all around the Sandawana in massive explosions
Lieutenant Alex Bara promptly deployed the eltromagnetic pulse shield. The force of the shield struck the attackers deployed around the starship knocking them away from the Sandawana.
"Engine room!, full power to engines!", ordered captain Maguire speaking into his hand held communicator.
"Pilot get us out of here!", captain Maguire ordered lieutenant Tashinga Bara.
"Captain, landing pods still attached to hooks", liuetenant Tashinga reported. Sandawana is unable to take off. The landing pods will have to released manually".
Drachalian ground vehicles were charging at the Sandawana and firing a mixture of explosive projectiles at the starship.
The scene appearing on the giant computer monitor's big screen, showed an apocalyptic image of giant flames sprouting up from the numerous explosions taking place around the starship.
"I don't see how we are going to get out of this mess", remarked captain Lucinda.
"Lieutenant, prepare to fire all weapons system on my command", captain Maguire ordered lieutenant Alex Bara at the weapons console.
"Done!", lieutenant Alex Bara reported ,his fingers moving swiftly over the console before him.
"I need a team of armed security and engineers equipped with cutting torchs to report to holding bays 2, 4, 6 and 8", said captain Maguire speaking over his hand held communicator.
"Captain, you are in command", he announced to captain Lucinda.
"Whoa!, where are you going?", captain Lucinda exclaimed.
"You heard the lieutenant, the landing pods have to be manually released. I will lead the away team that is going to cut the tendrils Once the Sandawana is free, if anything happens to me. You have my permission to lift off and abort the mission", said captain Maguire.
"How arrogant of you to assume that I will take off without you and abort the mission just like that", retorted captain Lucinda.
"I 'm only saying you do not have to face punishment for my disobedience of orders. This mission was my idea against direct orders to return to Earth. You can tell Space command that it was all my idea and you had nothing to do with it".
"I can't do that", said captain Lucinda.
"What is it that you can't do, lift off without me or tell Space command that I am solely responsible for this mission?", asked captain Maguire looking at captain Lucinda's face.
"Both, we have come so far together, I don't want to try to imagine a universe without you. It would be such an empty place", said captain Lucinda looking straight into captain Maguire's eyes.
"Are we still talking about this mission or ...he began but there was something in captain Lucinda's eyes which spoke more to his heart than what her words conveyed.