Author's Note
I do not own the Sarah Jane Adventures.
The sky stretched out above them through the patchy glass roof. Zairitheisean worked across the console, pausing momentarily to look at one of the displays. "She's rising well, all things considered! Subtafare, status report?"
"Drag is now reduced by seventy eight point nine percent, readings are good, but we're still losing altitude."
Zairitheisean tipped her head back, staring through the roof. "She's not going to make it."
"What?" Maria shrieked, panic and horror burning through her.
Zairitheisean reached over her to hit something else on the console. "She won't make it! Not unless-"
She hesitated and looked up again, where Maria could now see a distinct rectangular shape above them.
"Luthanisia, are you aware you've got inbound missiles on your starboard side?"
"No, I was not aware of that! Why does no one ever tell me that? Where in tevach is Persephone when you need her? Where'd they come from?"
"UNIT," Maria muttered.
"The Luthanisia's unarmed, and if she blows here she'll take out most of the continent!"
"Subtafare intercepting."
"Thank you Subtafare. Wait, are you armed? Why?" Zairitheisean leaned over and slid something from underneath a panel by Maria's left hand.
"Pirates."
She passed the object, a round black disk with a glowing blue button, to Maria and pressed the button. "Map to the escape pods on deck two. You and Jamson take one, get back to your planet."
"What about you?"
"There's a chance I might be able to make emergency launch corrections to stop her slamming headlong into Subtafare. I have to try."
"Do or do not, there is no try."
"Exactly."
"Doesn't this thing have an autopilot?" Jamson asked.
"Nav and guidance systems are blown. If it works I can take another pod or hope Subtafare has a teleport access; if it doesn't we're all dead anyway so it doesn't matter."
There was a horrific crash and what sounded like an explosion, the ship lurching to the right.
"What was that?"
"Missile clip. Go, Maria."
Maria clutched the disk tight and nodded. "Thank you for everything."
Zairitheisean turned back to the console.
Maria grabbed Jamson's arm and pulled him away towards the door.
"Do you know how to read that thing?"
Maria checked the map she'd been given. "I think so. It looks pretty straightforward. This way."
They set off at a run (again with the running, she'd missed this), sprinting down the mirrored corridor. The ship shuddered and screeched around them.
"We're going to die!" Jamson shouted.
"Look on the bright side! We're aboard an alien spaceship!"
"And about to die! If she doesn't pull off whatever stunt, half of America is history!"
"Yes, I got that bit thanks!"
They arrived at the pod hall and the map directed them to a door to its left that Maria hadn't noticed before. She touched it and it slid open. There was another bang and the entire ship shook. Her phone began to ring. She fumbled with it. "Dad?"
"Maria, where are you? You need to get home! There's a massive spaceship abo-"
"Yes; I am on that spaceship!"
"What?"
"I'm on the spaceship! The one that launched, not the one that's crashing!"
"I can't believe you just had to clarify that," muttered Jamson. The map shuddered in her hand, another arrow flashing up, and Maria dragged him through another door.
"How?"
They reached a set of stairs, plunging down into darkness. Maria hesitated for a moment as another shudder came and then started down them. Her dad gave a yell and there was some sort of scuffle at the other end of the line before the call cut out. No signal. She shoved her phone back into her pocket. The map buzzed, telling them to continue down into the darkness.
"You sure this is safe?"
"That's what the map says."
That didn't mean it was safe of course. Any moment now they could turn a corner and be met with a hole in the hull to drag them out into empty air-
But Maria was hoping.
They kept moving, through the eerily lit corridors and darkness. There had been one more strike and shudder, but no more came after that. Either UNIT had stopped firing or the Subtafare was holding them at bay.
Maria wasn't sure which one was the better option.
They passed what looked like a large doorway and the map gave a blue 'bleeep.' Maria skidded to a halt and Jamson hesitated.
"That's what she calls an escape pod?"
Maria peered inside. It almost looked closer to a small ship, half-filled with dirt and earth. There was a large dint in the roof and holes in its sides.
"We can't use that one." She moved along to the next, which, if anything, looked in worse condition. "I wonder if the ship came down on top of them."
The next one was missing altogether. Had members of the crew managed to escape? The Captain they'd seen put out one last desperate transmission? The next was filled with dirt, and the next, but finally they reached one that looked untouched. Maria took a firm hold of the bannister on the other side of the corridor and reached out to press the button, half-expecting to be sucked into space by unseen damage.
No such force came.
She and Jamson climbed into the pod. There was a switch on the inside to seal it behind them.
The Luthanisia gave another great shake.
Maria climbed into what looked like the control seat and pulled the straps over her shoulder. Jamson climbed into the seat behind her. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"
"No."
The panel in front of her consisted of what looked like an old fashioned ship's wheel, one lever, a small dial to her left and a black screen to the right of the wheel.
"So here goes nothing," she said, and pulled the lever.
A moment later they were in freefall.