Species XD-63

Collision Course

"Siblings?" Egris suddenly pondered. For once it wasn't Lola asking all the questions.

They had just passed the front of the ship and its control module before taking a u-turn and heading back. The occasional burst of turbulence propelled them back to the docking bay.

"A brother but he moved to Canada about a year ago. You?" She turned her head fully to face him and watched as there was a satellite delay for a reply.

"I have no siblings."

"I see." She muttered and cast her eyes to the beautiful painting that is Earths garden.

A sudden metallic glint by the seal of the window caught her attention and she followed it like a hawk.

For a few seconds, it would disappear, then it would catch the light again. Each time it went through the cycle, Lola swore the objects grew in size.

"Umm, Egris?"

"Yes?"

"Can you see that?"

He slowed down the engines and they floated underneath the loading bay for a few seconds. Egris followed Lola's outstretched hand towards the offending objects.

It indeed was getting closer.

It looked like (to Egris' untrained eye) a piece of debris, most likely from a spacecraft. The area surrounding the planet Xyon was free of waste or discarded material so he had never had to train for such an incident.

"Is it coming closer?" Lola's voice just became background noise as Egris took control of the sphere again. 

They were forced back into their seats as the craft shot forward; dodging the poles jutting from the bottom of the grand station. Lola's heart rate burst through the roof and she forced her eyes shut.

The space debris had its course set to pass under the ship - straight through the sphere with little mercy. They were fast, but it was faster.

Egris set his sites on the loading bay and contacted the Xyon on control that day. 

"Grand Sation pod 76 contact control." He ordered, summoning as much courage which could be prohibited at that moment.

All noise from Lola had seized and Egris was thankful for the silence so he could think. The debris was still speeding towards them and he couldn't board safely until the bay was opened. He needed an answer from control.

"Contacting control. Please hold." The autonomous female voice calmly spoke from the speakers.

"Contact faster!" He growled and bared his teeth, which pulled at the scared tissue running crookedly across his face.

Egris was hovering over the bay and waited impatiently for the bay to open. They had minutes - if that.

Lola peeled open her eyes and blinked a few seconds to adjust to the blaring purple light on the dashboard. They had stalled completely, the engines were just a gentle thrum and they bobbed like a buoy on choppy seas. She had heard Egris' aggravated tone and shrunk even lower into her seats. If they were to die by being hit by scrap from a ship, at least it would be a story to tell.

"Contacting. Please wait." The serenity in the voice of the computer caused Egris to boil over in animosity.

"Now! Contact, now!" He seethed and jolted the sphere a few meters up.

Lola turned her head to spot the glinting object. It had doubled in size and a fiery blaze streaked behind it like a ribbon. If her heart rate could exceed further, it did.

There was still no reply from the bay and Egris decided to take matters into his own hands. Space debris never travelled on its own. Following closely behind this burning piece, a whole convoy would soon be following. The Grand Station was built to be resistant to all attacks by inanimate objects found floating in space. The sphere, however, wasn't.

"Hold on." He commanded and Lola nodded furiously.

He started the engines again and surged towards the edge of the tail on the Grand Station. If they could seek cover from the cloud of debris, that seemed like a better option than waiting.  

They hovered by the edge of the tail and in front of the window in one of the rooms. Only a few feet separated the sphere from the glass and Egris managed to keep the craft still. 

"It'll be passing soon."

"Okay." She wheezed and placed a sweaty palm above her heaving chest. 

The curtain behind the window was suddenly drawn and a gobsmacked Julie stared at the couple in the craft, her eyes as wide as saucers. She turned around and hollered to someone in the adjacent room. A few seconds later, Sestru bounded up to the window and furrowed his indigo brows at the sight of Egris and Lola cramped inside. 

Their mouths moved animately and Lola and Egris watched with confusion as the couple conversed. 

"What -"

Her sentence was cut abruptly short when a metal rod rammed itself onto the top of the tail and bounced off, barely skimming the off of the craft.

Egris lowered themselves further down and a thin sheen of sweat formed on his brows. He waited for the bombardment of blows to ensue.

One...

Two...

Three....

BAM!

And then eight more continuous thuds as debris ricocheted off the surface of the station and grazed the metal skin of the pod. As it was such a small craft, each bump caused them to shift a few feet in the opposing direction. It was like being in the teacup ride, but far more deadly. 

Lola could feel bile rising in her chest as the constant movement and dread of their current situations sunk in. Julie just watched with her jaw grazing the floor and Sestru had left the room in a rush. 

Another large shard hit them from Lola's side and she was rammed to the right. She landed on Egris lap and put her hands out to lift her disorientated body from his, pressing in between his legs as she did so.

He let out a strained breath and her face flushed a deep crimson.

"I'm so sorry.." she muttered and quickly diverted her attention to another skyrocketing panel. 

"It's fine." he breathed but the tightening of his face said otherwise.

"This is the control bay. Please wait in a safe area until the debris has passed. The bay is ready for your docking - sorry for the delay."

"Finally." She heaved and let go off the railing but quickly regretted it when the bounced another few meters to the side. 

^Lolas outfit^