Author's Note: This story was written before the airing of "The Cloister".
Words between --are thoughts heard through the Commonality. Words in italics are internal thoughts.
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For Those Who Remember
Chapter 4
Escape and Loss
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The number of Taelon survivors had grown. Nearly a day had passed, and the search parties had gathered all those who were left. Small groups had formed in the hanger, each discussing the events of the past few days.
Da'an once again took stock of the survivors, making sure no one had left the safety of the hanger. A few had tried, wanting to search for friends or family who had not been brought in. A concentrated effort in scanning the Commonality had confirmed there were no more to find.
The shock caused by the attack was beginning to wear off and the first tricklings of panic were circulating.
Sa'der positioned himself in front of the shuttles and called for the attention of the survivors.
"Fellow Taelons," he began, "the joyous occasion of the launch has become instead a tragedy. We all experienced a terrible loss. But now is not the time to grieve. We must put away our emotion and concentrate on survival."
Murmurs of consent filled the hanger. Da'an listened with interest to Sa'der's words.
"Those of you who have training or knowledge of piloting a shuttle have already been briefed on our plans. Everyone else has been assigned to a shuttle. Please speak with myself, or Da'an to receive your instructions."
The survivors broke into two groups, one reporting to Sa'der and the other to Da'an. Da'an informed each Taelon of their shuttle assignment and insured they understood the importance of calm during this crisis.
After all had reported to their shuttles, Da'an gave the hanger one last sweep. He then hurried to his own shuttle.
Da'an settled himself in the pilot's chair and turned to face his passengers.
Zo'or sat expressionless, not even the vaguest hint of apprehension emanating from him. Sa'der sat in the other seat and nodded to Da'an.
Da'an faced his controls and opened communication channels to the other shuttles.
"It is time," Sa'der stated.
The hanger filled with the whine and hum of engines starting. Shuttles lifted from the ground and the hanger bay doors opened.
Da'an's shuttle took the lead, clearing the doors and bursting into the dusky sky. In seconds, the rest of the shuttles had followed.
Da'an scanned the surrounding area. He knew the Jaridian ship would intercept them if it was anywhere nearby.
A small blip on his viewscreen confirmed the presence of the alien vessel.
Da'an activated the shuttle's shields. He initiated evasive maneuvers to avoid the oncoming ship.
The Jaridian vessel came at the small shuttle from the side. Something dropped from the belly of the ship.
Da'an put the shuttle into a dive and barely cleared the underside of the Jaridian ship. The alien ship flew past them and kept on going.
Da'an watched unbelieving as the enemy ship never even slowed. The ship shrank quickly on the horizon.
Da'an frowned. Perhaps the Jaridians considered one shuttle to be of little importance. But surely it detected the others as well.
He wasn't given much time to ponder the question. A fiery shock wave engulfed the shuttle, sending it reeling.
Da'an struggled to keep control of the shuttle. The occupants were tumbled as it rolled in the air. Finally, he managed to set it down in a very rough landing.
Dust obscured Da'an's vision. Dark, whirling clouds filled the viewscreen, preventing him from seeing what was around them.
The dust began to settle and for the second time, Da'an witnessed the destruction of his world.
Both Zo'or and Sa'der rose from their seats. They stood beside Da'an in silence.
They watched as the last remaining plants disintegrated into dust. The stately Traos were gone, the Shazaaj bushes, which had just recently begun to bloom, were destroyed. Not even the carcasses of animals were to be seen.
Everything, all life, had been wiped away. There was nothing left but the barren ground.
"Please return to your seats," Da'an said calmly. He could do nothing to change what had just happened, but he could still preserve the life within this shuttle.
Zo'or and Sa'der obeyed him wordlessly. When they were secured, Da'an restarted the shuttle engines. Thankfully, it appeared the shuttle had suffered little damage.
Da'an plotted his course carefully, steering his shuttle away from where the Jaridian ship had gone.
He glanced at the surface of the planet as he gained altitude. His heart sank as he saw the shock waves ripping the life from his homeworld. He turned away, unable to watch any more.
Da'an moved his shuttle to join the others above the planet. He was informed that four shuttles had been lost, destroyed by the shock waves or by the Jaridian vessel itself.
As the group rounded the planet, a ship came into view.
Da'an started with surprise. It was the Taelon vessel! It had somehow managed to escape the surface.
Da'an quickly made contact with the ship.
"Requesting permission to enter the shuttle bay," said Da'an to the Taelon on his viewscreen.
"It is not possible," stated the other Taelon.
Da'an was speechless for a moment, then said, "Please explain."
"To permit entry to the shuttle bay, we would need to lower our shields. With the presence of the Jaridian vessel, this is not possible."
"Then give us the coordinates we can use to rendezvous with the ship later," Da'an demanded.
The Taelon thought for a moment and said, "That is acceptable. Transmitting coordinates now."