'Sacmis' (formerly 'Alien Abduction')

Chapter 57: No winners

Nobody said a word as the shuttle sped away from the ship.

Cymon and Matias sat up front at the controls while, behind them, Laura and Amisha hugged Kate close.

Leaving the ship while the fight still continued had not been easy. 

Moments after the death of Juln, Matias had arrived on the bridge accompanied by another alien. He had found Kate sobbing in the arms of the other two women and made to step forward, but a warning shake of the head from Laura held him back.

“You must go - now - all of you,” said the alien who had accompanied Matias.

“No,” Cymon had said, “we’ll stay and fight with you.”

“The battle is not won,” said the other fearfully. “And may not be. You must leave while you and the females are alive and safe,” he paused, then added, “and while the secret of their planet’s location remains so.”

Still Cymon and Matias hesitated.

“Go,” hissed the other alien, his golden eyes flaring red. “Not just for their sake, but for the honour of our people, too.”

He turned to two of the crewmen: “You two, escort them to the shuttle dock, as fast as you can. Make sure they get away.”

Now, safe in the shuttle that seemed almost silent compared to the raging conflict they had left behind, the adrenalin that had fuelled the women through the last hours gradually ebbed and exhaustion began to take over.

A shout from Cymon grabbed their attention. Fears that had started to ebb now took hold of the women again: were they being pursued?

Leaving Laura with Kate, Amisha moved to the front of the shuttle to stand behind the two aliens. They were both staring at one of the monitors. It showed a view of the ship growing gradually smaller behind them - and the sight was terrible. Spurts of flame and gasses were erupting from parts of the larger wheel and, in places, the smooth outer fabric of the ship had been torn away to reveal the framework of ribs that held it together. Even as they watched a large explosion rippled along the central core towards the rear.

“Oh, no,” said Matias.

An instant later, a second, much larger explosion tore through the point where the larger wheel met the central axis. The ship slowly separated into two parts and the larger wheel broke free, still revolving slowly as it drifted away. Cymon magnified the view and they could clearly see fire raging through the structure and bodies floating through gaps in the hull. An instant later, a blinding flash of light overwhelmed the monitor and a rapidly expanding ball of fire engulfed everything.

“The energy banks,” whispered Matias, “the ship is gone. They - our people - all are gone.”

© Adriana Nicolas 2015