Beeping, thundering, shaking. The rocket was in chaos.
Jamie hurriedly clicked buttons on the panel in front of her, trying to counteract the warnings blinking back at her. The rocket they were in was taking hits that it wouldn't be able to manage without the astronauts help. But, the damage wasn't slowing, and they were only prolonging what life it had left.
The situation was drastic and Jamie knew they had a slim chance of making it; but she had to. She was going to do all she could to see this mission through, for her, or else everything that brought her to this moment was for naught, and that wasn't an option.
"Captain we need to change course!" Jamie shouted over the screeching alarms and her pounding heart that had placed itself beside her eardrums. If it weren't for the audio connection between their space helmets she wouldn't have had any hope that she was heard as she was having a difficult time even hearing herself.
But perhaps those worries were warranted. There was no response.
The captain sat frozen in disbelief, while most things wouldn't have shaken him, this did. Quickly becoming a deer in headlights, an instance that he would say was brought on by an inability to adapt; a fatal flaw that destroyed many, and would destroy everyone if he didn't snap out of it.
"Captain!" Jamie shouted again, fear creeping in. The situation would only become worse if they truly couldn't communicate. Met with no response in the short time she called out, she could feel herself start to panic, even though that too would only lesson their chances of survival. "Captain!" Still nothing. Jamie turned to face her captain, to ease her stress. She could try to read his lips if she really needed to, it would be better than nothing at all. But she saw him still and unmoving. "We need to get out of here!" She yelled, trying to snap him out of it.
The ship shook violently as another bang sounded off, the power flickering. "Captain, the ship can't keep getting hit like this." Marcus the engineer yelled from behind. "The engine is at risk of going out, then we'll all be dead in the water."
Jamie's eyes widened a little. She could hear him. It may have been a small thing, but it gave her much needed relief.
Another loud bang rang through Jamie's ears before the ship shook more violently. Metal crashed against metal, finally snapping the captain out of his trance. As the ship continued to rattle the three crew mates felt that the ship was going to fall apart at any moment.
"Change the ship's course by 50 degrees." The captain hurriedly said, hoping that he could get his crew out of the mess they were in.
Jamie clicked a configuration of buttons on the panel and could feel the ship adjust slowly. But she wasn't certain it would be enough to get away. No, she knew it wouldn't be enough. They were already sitting ducks, and a good hunter wouldn't wait for their pray to run off.
"Danials strap down, I'm going to put the rocket to her limits!" The captain yelled back at Marcus, who was tending to the ruptures that had been made in the ship. Marcus quickly sat down and looped the seats straps around his arms. He knew there wouldn't be enough time for a proper strap in, so it would have to be enough.
The captain pulled the lever almost immediately, he knew they didn't have a lot of time. As the ship flew forward, Jamie could feel the dread lift off her. Maybe they would survive this. Maybe they would all make it back to Earth.
