Alma was smiling as she reminisced. He had come into her life with a big bang. Since she'd met him, it had been a rollercoaster ride, but she never regretted it one bit. He was more than enough for her, and based on his actions, she was also more than enough for him.
Thinking up to this point. All the weight of her pain and distress started hitting her. Previously, the shock had come too sudden. One minute she was having fun with her friends, the next, explosions and war ships were floating over their estate.
Somehow, he had managed to come for her. In all the pandemonium that was happening, he got to her and managed to escape their home planet. However, she did not even remember them boarding the ship. By the time they had escaped, she was already unconscious.
He had taken care of her, going so far as to place her in the med bay, despite only knowing they had one. In her vulnerable position, he would have left her behind, he should have, but he never did.
She let out agonizing wails as she wept bitterly. All her emotions falling on her like a ton of rocks, and her heart could barely take it. Her one consolation was that he was with her, and with that, she felt she could take on the entire world.
Alma did not even notice it, but all these emotions, memories and worries had a toll on her, and before long, she was fast asleep. A dreamless sleep was the best she could hope for.
Alma did not know how long she'd slept. However, much like the first time, she was woken up by the soft alarm of the ship. At first, she thought something was wrong with the med bay. She hurriedly looked through everything, ascertaining that there was nothing wrong with the equipment. Also, the alarm was not coming from the med bay.
Looking around, Alma walked around the ship for the first time. She could tell it was some sort of military ship, one which was extremely advanced. Following the alarm, she made her way to the control center.
Build to hold a crew of no more than eight people, the ship was relatively small, and so was the bridge. From the observation deck, she could see the huge body of a fixed star. She quickly analyzed the ship's log.
Based on the report, the ship had flown too close to a fixed star, and was now being pulled by the star's gravitational field. Already, it was too late to alter course. Crashing with the star was inevitable.
"Damn! Damn!" Alma cursed as she weighed her options. There really was nothing left to do. They had to take the emergency pods. However, emergency pods had limited flight time, and they couldn't even jump into hyperspeed.
It wasn't even a given that the pod could somehow escape the gravitational field of the star. The only way that would be possible was to leverage on the ship's own artificial gravity to act as a propeller for the escape pod.
Running, Alma had to check on the status of the escape pods. Fortunately, her luck was turning. There were three escape pods, and one could even hold a med bay. The downside was, with a med bay running, the pod's flight time would be considerably lower.
Alma didn't need to think about it. Of course she was taking Haiser with her. How could she not, especially with everything he had sacrificed. Some might even argue that, him losing his family was because of her. With new found vigor, Alma pushed herself to move the med bay to the largest pod.
After ensuring everything was working. Alma checked the navigator on the escape pod. By default, the pod was supposed to take its occupants to the nearest safety port, where they could receive medical attention.
Even with this being a military pod, which meant that they had better range and more advanced engine and maneuverability, they were out of range of any safety port or military base. This was good news for the escaping couple, but this severely limited their options.
It would seem, their best and only option was the planetary settlement which was almost within range. If they could stretch the pod as far as possible, they could maybe, make it to the planet's atmosphere.
With a concrete plan, her fingers jumped in motion. She quickly set the destination. With a few bumps, she felt the pod disengage from the ship. Momentarily, she felt the engines light up, and before she knew it, she was flying away.
Alma knew that even as she departed, there were a lot of unknowns. She was not sure she would make it. She wasn't even sure whether the med bay would keep Haiser alive until they made it, and even if they did, she didn't know if there was anyone hot on their heels.
Despite all these, she chose to hope. There was nothing she could do, so all that she did do was pray and hope.
As the pod drifted away into the inky blackness of space, somewhere billions of miles away, a heavyset general was receiving a report.
"There were up to five thousand ships in Sector R Subsection C of the Immirial star system. Given they were travelling in a military ship, we managed to narrow down to thirteen ships.
Two were lost somewhere in the Wahabi desolate belt. This is a known territory of pirates and the dregs of society. Recommend a swift action to weed out this tumor and also ensure they are not harboring anyone they shouldn't.
Three ships have been verified as ours and the remaining ships have been accounted for, save one. This ship seems to be on a collision course with the Immirial star, clearly indicating that there are no inhabitants on board. It could have suffered some catastrophe or the crew bailed out. No action recommended."
The young officer finished his report, and like everyone else in the command bridge of the Warship, they all fell quiet, awaiting orders. Their eyes were glued onto the hologram of a young man standing at the center.
"Go, quickly exterminate the pirates, ensure there's no one left alive. This time, I don't want to hear any excuses. Don't fail me yet again. Oh, that last ship, check all the surrounding settlements, ensure they have not taken in any strays."