(AN - Fanfic written for the videogame Starbound, at http://playstarbound.com/)
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“Repeat last, over.”
Scraps of metal emblazoned with the yellow squadron insignia sailed past the reinforced windows of the little space shuttle. Fragments of wiring trailed from smashed hulls, spitting the last sparks of their ebbing energy into the black ocean of space. A fighter exploded just behind the starboard window and a quick burst of light filled the shuttle’s cockpit for the second it took the oxygen in the now-dead vessel to be burned up.
Izola Shu furiously punched buttons and flipped switches on the dashboard in front of her. Stabilisers: check. Port thrusters: check. Shield: holding.
“Lieutenant Commader Shu; please repeat last, over.” The distant voice pleaded in her ear again.
“It’s lost, do you hear me? It’s lost!” She yelled into her headset and winced at the crackling static that came back. She gritted her teeth, made sure the shuttle wasn’t on an intercept path with any junked ships, and tried again. “Multiple disruptions escalating on planet surface. Core damage imminent. Abort mission. Dammit, Jim, the planet is lost. We’re lost. We’re not going home.”
There was a long pause. “... Acknowledged. What’s your location, Lieutenant Commander? We’ll send a convoy.”
Izola glanced down at the dash. A sea of LEDs blinked green, orange, an abundance of red. Her display was flickering. She tapped it with a gloved finger and it cleared briefly.
“Flying through sector seven. It’s rough out here - don’t send anyone until the air is clear.”
“But Lieutenant -”
“That’s an order! We’ve just lost our home - I’m not risking anyone else! Do not pursue until the air is clear!”
“Aye aye, Lieutenant Commander. We’ll hold position in sector twelve.”
A crackle, then radio silence. Shu pushed a button to the side of her display and the navigation grid was replaced by a real-time image of her home planet from the shuttle’s top-side camera. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Whatever weapons the enemy were using were disrupting the planet’s core; orange veins of lava decorated the little glimpses of surface she was awarded through thick, black clouds. Ravines big enough to be visible from this distance, far beyond the atmosphere, were snaking through the crust. It wouldn’t be long, now.
Something behind her started beeping. She swung around, found the source of the noise - the Guidance System was having trouble locking to a signal. She fiddled with the dials, honed in on sector 12 where she knew the carrier fleet was busy reassembling, but the damned device just wouldn’t lock on. She slammed the side of her fist into the console. The beeping continued, the nav screen flashed a repeated message;
ERROR 404 - SIGNAL NOT FOUND
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Starbound - Fan Fiction
Fanfiction"Multiple disruptions escalating on planet surface. Core damage imminent. Abort mission. Dammit, Jim, the planet is lost. We're lost. We're not going home."
