GRAVITY
Metal sunk into thick flesh.
The creature crashed into her, slamming her down onto the control panel. A roar of pain ripped into her ears, deafening her. The alien rose, a mixture of disbelief and disgust clenching its face as it looked down at the crude weapon lodged into its chest. Adira lay back, cursing as she realized that her strike hadn't been enough to kill it.
With a low growl, it pulled the metal shard out, neon blood dripping down its spotted, bluish-grey torso. The woman froze even though her mind screamed at her to run. Run? Run where? There was nowhere left to go.
The creature raised the metal shard overhead.
Adira remained frozen in place, eyes locked on the blade. Fear paralyzed her. She wouldn't be fast enough to escape.
Hissing guttural clicks emanated from the back of its throat as the grotesque alien leered over her.
"No," she begged, bound hands raised to shield herself. A small part of her hated how pathetic she sounded. "No, no, no, please! You bastar—"
Shrieking plasma smashed into the creature's head, causing it to explode in a hail of green gore. Scorching blood and bone fragments spattered Adira. She yelped and rubbed at her stinging face, nausea welling up inside her throat at the copper scent.
The body collapsed onto the deck, shard still in hand.
Adira panted as her skin cooled, looking over at where the smaller alien knelt. It held some sort of malevolent plated pistol, wavering strands of heat spilling from the wide barrel. The creature glanced at her, its face bloody and swollen. It seemed to be weighing whether or not she was a threat. Then it lowered the gun.
Adira breathed a sigh of relief and laid back against the control panel once more. She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. But most of all, she wanted to rest.
Alarm klaxons blared once more.
"Fraaack, what now?" she groaned, sitting up.
The craft shuddered in response. Light flashed through the viewport in periodic bursts. Adira stood and peered through the large window, eyes widening as a purple and blue planet spun by, then disappeared from view. They'd made the jump. They were already at the planet she'd chosen. The speed with which they'd traversed through space would have overwhelmed her mind were it not for the panic beginning to bubble up. They were falling. The ship had been severely damaged, either due to the fighting, the jump, or both. They were spinning toward the planet, caught in its gravity, helpless unless there was a way to fix the engines.
Adira remained rooted to the spot. She was a mechanic. Ship engines, piping, wires, all of it was second nature to her. But this was an alien ship. How the hell was she supposed to fix it in time before they reached atmo?
She turned back to the smaller alien — "smaller" being a relative term since they were head and shoulders above her and she was a respectable 181 cm. Would it —he?— know how to operate the ship?
Adira ran up to him, pointing frantically at the controls. Through rivulets of blood, his one good orange eye seemed to stare through her for a moment, blinking slowly. She could practically hear Qillian, the Archduchess' doctor, muttering something about repetitive trauma and shock. What had happened to the ship she'd served on? To the crew? Adira blinked back tears. She didn't have time to think about such things.
The woman shook one of the alien's thick shoulders, jarring him alert. Recognition returned within his deep-set gaze. He rubbed at his blood-caked eye, wiping away the neon ichor as he unsteadily rose to his feet. With slow, limping steps the alien made his way to the control panel, falling back into the chair with a rasping sigh. Adira made her way beside him, gaze flickering over the numerous buttons and levers whose purposes were completely lost on her.
With ponderous movements, the alien tapped the panel, claws sliding over the controls. Sigils appeared and darted aside. In the middle of the viewport, a countdown appeared, not that she could read it.
Her "ally," such that he was, grabbed her by the arm and shoved her toward the other chair. Adira fell into it with a yelp. While adjusting to a more comfortable position, she gave him a dirty look.
Metal straps with thick padding unfurled from the shoulders and sides of their seats, cinching across their chests and waists. Adira gasped as it squeezed her ribs and bladder. Of course, now that she was trapped on the ride to certain doom, she needed to pee.
The ship jolted, Adira's stomach jumping up into her throat. "Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick," she moaned.
The alien rasped something. The purple forests and plains of the planet now filled the viewport. They'd stabilized, but they were coming in fast. Way too fast.
Flames licked the hull. Metal shrieked. Something ripped off the port side. The vessel careened into a tailspin. G forces slammed into Adira, crushing her against the seat. Warning alarms bleated.
Her vision turned red. She heard the alien snarl something and slam his fist down on the panel. The deck lurched forward and everything went black.
Author's Note: I don't think falling unconscious so many times is good for your health, Adira.