In the vaccum of space, the humpback makes its way towards Barrus for an emergency pit stop. As the ship enters the planets atmosphere, Jack looks in awe at the shear scale of the planet. While Barrus is a desert planet, small towns set up shop in the pockets of the planet where water is plentiful. The humpback lands on the barren planet sending grains of sand away from the ship. As the ship opens its doors, Sierra proceeds to get into the drivers seat of the EMU(an avian class mech meant for terrestrial travel). Sierra is tasked with getting powercells for the ships power generators. Jack joins Sierra in the mech and they exits the humpback in search for the power cells.
The EMU runs across the desert, kicking up sand with every step. Sensing the quietness in the drivers seat, Sierra decides to start a conversation.
"You know... You should really consider learning to drive, Jack." Sierra says in a smug tone.
"Yeah right. Do you know hard it is to drive one these things? Hell, at least a starfighter handles well. Can't say the same with a mech." Says Jack disagreeing strongly.
"Oh really? At least a mech doesn't require so much start up to get running. Also, thanks to biometeric scanning, random strangers can't steal a mech." Replied Sierra.
"Tell me, how long does maintenance on a mech take? I can guarantee you, it's longer than maintenance on a starfighter." Jack says with spite in his voice.
The conversation continued until they arrived at the nearest supply market. Jack decides to stay in the EMU while Sierra goes and gets the powercells. Sierra exits the mech and enters the supply market. As she steps in, she sees the sheer scale of the market. From food to clothing to tools, the supply market is designed for any occasion. She searches the market for the energy section where the powercells are. Sierra find the aisle in question and with it the powercells. With the powercells in cart, Sierra makes her was out of the market and back to the EMU.
On her way out, Sierra runs into a couple of human crooks who see Sierra with the powercells. They attempt to coerce Sierra in exchange for the cells but she doesn't fall for their attempts. One of the crooks try to grab Sierra only for her to grab the crooks arm and snap it like a twig. The crook screams in pain from the injury, his bone protruding out of the arm. The other crooks run away from the scene and Sierra leaves with the powercells.
Back at the EMU, Jack waits for Sierras return. During the wait, Jack fell asleep in the passenger seat of the mech. Just then, Jack jolts awake after hearing the storage compartment of the mech open. He looks outside and sees Sierra putting the powercells away before closing the storage compartment. Sierra enters the EMU and prepares to drive back to the humpback. During the drive, Jack tries to start a conversation.
"So, how did your trip to the market go?" Jack asks.
"It went smoothly for the most part. Had to break a pricks arm on the way here but otherwise, standard procedure." Sierra replied.
"Seriously?! People don't know when to keep to themselves do they." Say Jack angrily.
"I know right! What is this the twenty hundreds?" Sierra says with a chuckle.
Before the conversation could continue, Sierra begins to remember when she got the news of Jacks "death". She thinks Jack might know what happened back then and why he disappeared for many years.
"Say Jack. Its been so long since you left Earth. What happened when you were out there?" Sierra asks with a concerned tone.
"If I knew, I would have told you. To be honest, I don't recall much of what happened after leaving Earth. Its all blur to me." Says Jack.
"I tell because of the official report. We all thought you were dead. It was public knowledge that a team of pilots were killed. You were among them." Sierra says with solemn in her voice.
"I don't recall being part of a team. Whatever happened, I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere." Jack says reassuring Sierra.
The EMU returns to the humpback. As the doors to the ship close, Jack and Sierra exit the mech and prepare to deliver the powercells. They enter the generator room and see as the engineers remove the old powercells. The engineers take the powercells from Jack and Sierra and place them in the generator, powering the ship back to full power. With the humpback running at full power, the ship leaves the desert planet to continue its voyage.
YOU ARE READING
Voyage: Journey to Earth
Science FictionIn the year 48XX, the United galactic republic and the Imperial galactic federation are at stalemate after decades of fighting. With no end in sight, the conflict has become a cold war. That is until an ancient technology was discover by the crew of...
