Unarmed

1: Peril on Earth

"THIS PLANET IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE AND YOU ARE GETTING STARBUCKS?!?!"

"Well yeah, all the employees fled in terror so I don't have to pay for it"

Neil sighed and shook his head. "If you get yourself blown up because you took a coffee break, that's on you. I'm not coming back here after the fact to pick up all of your scattered pieces."

"Hey this stuff is expensive!" cried Izzy defensively. "We'll probably never get the chance to taste the foamy goodness of a caramel frappuccino or a mocha latte again. Plus we're gonna need the caffeine for the journey."

"OK OK! JUST LETS GO BEFORE THE BUILDING COLLAPSES" shouted Neil, looking warily at the crumbling brick building. The pair sprinted from the scene, Izzy prancing carefully on her toes as not to spill her precious drinks. No sooner had they gotten 100 meters then the building behind them had collapsed, burying all the blenders and coffee beans in a pile of brick and ash. All around them the world was in chaos. There were babies screaming, dogs howling, and grown men sobbing. The ground beneath their feet gave some thoughtful shudders as it's core temperature rose steadily, preparing for destruction. It was the end of the planet Earth. Izzy glanced behind her regrettably, wishing that they could save more people from this horrid fate, but their spaceship only carried a limited amount, and only trained astronauts knew how to operate it efficiently.

She dodged falling debris and scurrying creatures many a times, trying to keep up with Neil. The NASA headquarters was in sight, only a little farther and they would make it to the shuttle that was to carry them into outer space, far enough away to survive the blast from Earth's final hours.

The ancient planet had been slowly  breaking down over quadrillions and quadrillions of years from life treading on it's green, thriving surface. Global warming had seeped down towards the center of the Earth, causing it's core to heat uncontrollably. The human race had tried desperately to slow down the process by reducing their harmful emissions to near nothing, but all in vain. The damage had already been done and the inevitable was to come with time.

Izzy felt her heart heavy in her chest as she climbed into the rocket that NASA had been able to build for this occasion. It had taken over a hundred years to perfect and was the only one of it's kind. The kind that was capable of taking humans out into the universe farther and faster than they had ever gone before. There was enough oxygen to last 50 years and the highest technology gadgets to help the people on board to colonize a new Earth. It just didn't feel right to leave all these innocent people behind.

Izzy and Neil were greeted by the 13 other NASA astronauts that were fleeing the dying planet with them. The Final Fifteen they were called. Dubbed with the heavy responsibility of finding a suitable planet and keeping the human race alive.