The walk down the red glowing hallway was long and suspenseful, walking over the corpses of the crew felt a tad bit disgusting with items impaled into parts of their body in grizzly ways and some were just barely hanging on. Struggling to get up to their feet, to move, to talk, and cover their injuries, and to live. It was one of the sorriest sights that Smith had seen in his career as a medical professional. Smith raised his head up keeping his eyes off the floor and the wall. It was difficult not to look around as it was searching for a corner to turn. There was a thud from beside him once entering a corridor that didn't have that many corpses.
Smith looked down to find the lieutenant on the floor face first breathing but bleeding badly. Prentiss was propped up to his feet and moved against the wall then turned in the direction of the doctor. Smith tore off his own sleeve then stripped off a section of it then repeated taking off another section, carefully folded then sliding them into layers underneath each other, until it were a thick rounded piece of cloth, and replaced the wad of crumbled wet fabric that was dropped to the floor.
"Leave me behind. . ." Prentiss said, weakly.
Smith's eyes grew big, clenching the cadet's hand, then shook his head.
"No," Smith said, pressing the replacement into the wound with a bloody hand. "I am not leaving you alone."
Prentiss briefly closed his eyes.
"I am fine," Prentiss said.
"Save your breath," Smith said.
"I am bleeding out," Prentiss said. "And dying."
"Are you certain that you want to die alone?" Smith asked.
"This ship may get attacked any moment by the army," Prentiss reasoned.
Smith briefly considered the thought then straightened his head.
"I accept that risk," Smith said, placing a hand on Prentiss's shoulder.
Prentiss briefly closed his eyes then looked over at the red text on the threshold frame.
"We are on deck fifty-six," Prentiss said. "You need to take four turns left, five turns right, go straight forward for three blocks, turn left, and then you're in the hangar bay." he looked up toward the concerned man.
"Don't want me to take you with?" Smith asked.
"No," Prentiss said. "I rather . . . I rather. . . I rather return to what I was made of."
"And what was that?" Smith asked.
"Space dust," Prentiss said. "To become one with the stardust."
Smith took the cadet's hand.
"You made your family proud serving the academy," Smith said.
Prentiss grew a smile.
"Not bad yourself, Colonel," Prentiss said, then the light went off from his eyes.
Smith used the tip of his fingers to close the cadet's eyes then got up to his feet and turned away. Smith made his walk down the corridor appearing to be lost while rubbing his shoulders. The temperature in the ship had drastically fallen around him keeping his gaze fixated ahead of him. He wiped off a tear from his cheek with his arm making his way down the corridor.
The only thought that comforted him was that the Robinsons had returned to the safety of the Jupiter 2. Smith stopped in his tracks. It couldn't be the Robinsons but it could be Don manning the space drill leading the attack on the dragonship. What kind of misunderstanding had the cadets gotten into with the Robinsons? The only feasible answer was that they had lied and they had been found out. He rubbed his forehead lowering his head with a sigh.
Why didn't they come to him about this matter?
Prentiss wouldn't be dead had they told the truth.
Smith made it to a corridor that was crowded by survivors.
All of whom ranged in the color of their fur and their faces.
Panic settled in observing the settled, resting group paying attention to each other rather than on him. It was a matter of time before one of them looked in his direction. Suddenly everyone was thrown to the side from the unexpected attacks focusing in on the dragonship. Figures were sent flying hitting the walls with cries and sent falling down the corridor on the repeated episode of attack. Smith dug his fingernails into the floor paneling leaving a long series of scars and looked over his shoulder with terrified eyes. Smith hit the wall then was out.
The screaming stopped and the crewmen got up to their feet, tense, terrified, and scared. One by one they checked the pulse of those who were laid around the scenery. Some were still pinned against the wall with a large thorn protruding out of their stomach that a mourner fell down to their knees loudly weeping. One of the crewmen took out a hidden device then fired at the body that became limp. They searched to find the ones who would not be able to make it to those who could make the trip. They tossed bodies into a pile then eventually found Smith. His improvised headband still wrapped around his head but in his black and silver outfit instead of the commander guise. They shifted him on to his back then watched his chest move. The wound was bleeding through the fabric.
"He is a human," Bahosky hissed.
"We have lost, Dragos has given up," Sachun said. "we must take this human with."
"The one who stopped Dragos from what was rightfully his?" Bahosky asked.
"Yes," Sachun said.
"Leave him behind," Bahosky said.
"It would be wrong to leave a survivor behind," Sachun said. "No matter what they did!"
"Dragos wouldn't want to see the face of the one who defeated him," Bahosky said. "The shame he feels right now is incomprehensible."
"You're mistaking that for bitterness," Sachun said.
"The least we can do is have one victory," Bahosky said.
"Revenge?" Sachun asked.
"Yes," Bahosky said.
"Does it benefit anyone other than you?" There was silence as they locked eyes. "One of you, get the human, and go to the hangar bay. There must be some lifeboats in there. If there isn't, we can use the academy seekers and improvise a solar sail." Sachun scanned the crowd of survivors. "Are there any engineers in here?"
Several hands raised.
"That's enough to cover the other survivors who didn't make it to the life boats," Sachun said.
Bahosky turned toward the brown crewmember.
"And it has to be done quickly," Bahosky said, as one of the crew member placed Smith over their shoulder.
"Let's move out!" Sachun said, then turned away from the group leading the way. "Now which deck are we on now?"
Sachun looked up toward the doorway frames searching for the distinctive gold symbols.
"Spent years in this ship," Baktok commented. "It's hard to believe. . ."
"That it will be destroyed?" Dragos asked. "Not hard."
"It has been near utter destruction itself," Baktok said. "Many times in your conquest."
"She has given it her all," Dragos said. "In our last conquests, she has been showing signs of faltering."
"She is old," Baktok agreed, while the allies boarded the lifeboat. "You had this the longest."
Dragos looked toward the corridor.
"The longest. . " Dragos said, stroking the wall with a fond smile. "You have been the greatest ally," he patted on the wall. "Rest easy. . ." he looked up with pride taking his hand off the wall visualizing the golden reconstruction of the loyal starship with decorations of dragons ranging in style seen about the corridor with a few alterations. "Dragonship."
"Evil," Baktok called. "The lifeboat is ready."
Dragos turned away to face his loyal allies.
"To the next chapter," Dragos said, sporting a evil grin.
Dragos seated down into the seat that had a window view then Baktok waved his hand in front of the panel then the door slid open. He applied his hand on to the device then moved toward Dragos seating beside him. The two crewmembers piloted the lifeboat away from the falling apart starship making way toward Priplanus up into one of the starships forming a group with he surviving members of the army. In one of the arms of the crewmembers was a unique device that was rounded like a egg with a clasped structure around it hooked into a larger machine that was in the arms of another that was connected to a series of other devices in other allies arms.
Dragos was watching the dragonship flicker on and off observing how damaged that she was. His hands rolled into fists. The scarring, the burns, and the holes that made the starship a shadow of herself once proud and powerful appealing. The large dish fell off floating away. The architecture resembling a destroyed city that had suffered a rather unique but devastating war. The rounded heart of the ship breaking apart before Dragos's eyes. The support beam to the dish was destroyed in a fury of lasers summoning flames that ate up the hull. Dragos appeared to be very confident as the camera backtracked to reveal the lifeboat resembled a egg heading toward the underbelly of the other starship.
I will rise again!, Dragos thought.
The scene changed into the hangar bay where there were were a few drones scattered about. The additional parts were being ripped out of the cockpit by several of the crew members tossing away material to the floor. With each drop of tech, the ship gently rocked from side to side. The red lighting turned on and off above their heads. The sound of familiar groaning was heard once a series of figures entered the hangar bay. The groaning belonged to Smith who was coming to, his eyes opening to see that ahead of him were strange creatures in dark robes.
The creatures squeezed into Space Academy undercover vessel.
Smith was laid in the back then dropped slowly opening his eyes.
There was a series of brown and black tall humanoid monsters fitting in the escape pod. The escape pod had a circular frame with wide space. Notably, there was no chairs. Had the undercover seeker really been that long and spacious? The crewmembers were feeling around on the wall searching for what was undoubtedly the button to close the door. Smith let out a terrified scream raising himself up observing the door to the escape pod close feeling panicked. The escape pod was now full of crewmembers taking up all the space that turned in his direction. He slid down in horror to the floor.
The floor beneath the craft fell apart letting go of several drones and the escape pod falling without direction. The escape pod twirled as a wail echoed loudly in everyone's ears. Smith was thrown away from the back end to the floor then looked up to see the others were on the cieling making a dark mass that nearly was mistaken for a void. There were beeping coming from the front end as a creature was hanging on making strange noises that sounded frantic. Was it screaming? Smith couldn't be sure as he shielded himself from the expected crowd. But it had to be screaming.
No one knew how to operate the console, it became apparent, as the horror solidified in his mind. It was as though the level of technology that the Space Academy had packed in wasn't the kind the crewmembers were familiar to. Dying in a fierce, blazing crash landing on the surface of Priplanus rather than in his golden years surrounded by wealth and at the most beautiful scene on Earth. Perhaps in front of a peaceful lake in his rocker looking on back at his career for the united states and for his patients as the sun set over the trees. Not resting his head against a rock with clasped hands listening to the Robot droning on about his daily chores enlisted to him earlier while Will was doing Smith a favor by doing them.
Smith found it difficult to breathe during the fall that felt like it lasted forever as it tumbled through coming into the atmosphere. A thought entered Smith's mind. At least, the space cadets were going to be let to breathe. The escape pod rolled, twisted, swayed moving in different directions moving further and further away from the dragonship. The escape pod soared past the space drill in making the entrance to the atmosphere. It wasn't his first crash landing; the space pod and the Jupiter 2 came to mind. But it was all the more terrifying being surrounded by strangers who didn't know what to do.
The craft came closer and closer toward the ground full of screaming, panic, and terror then had a hard crash landing breaking into two pieces sending figures flying to the dirt and the back half did numerous flips until it landed on its back end into a pile of sand. The view went into the half where the hot sun was beating down into. Smith was pinned down by a pile of crewmen. There was unique blood that decorated the interior. Groans were coming from the figures on the top that were struggling to lift themselves up. Smith's turned his head, feeling a heavy weight on his chest, then turned to face the familiar blue sky. Smith grew relieved, his muscles relaxing, a smile spreading on his face. Hysterical laughter came from the man then rested against the floor to regain his strength.
His entire body ached.
It had been a long time since he ached.
Ached from being thrown around and hitting hard surfaces.
Too many to count, anyhow. It felt like Smith had survived a vicious tidal wave, a powerful cosmic wind thrown him in his sleeping bag inside the tent into a sand dune, and a fall from a cliff that should have killed him on impact. If Smith had told Aunt Maude about what he had gone through in the last few hours then she might have patted him on the shoulder and said, "Sure, sure, it did," in a way that sounded condescending. Her skepticism about it all was forgivable. Smith would have been the same way if told everything that had occurred in the last . . . .
Smith's smile began to fade as the seconds ticked by.
He placed a hand above his eyebrow gently rubbing it in a circle.
In the last what?
More specifically, when?
Smith found himself struggling to remember what exactly that he was proud of. His eyebrows knit together for a moment looking back at the chain of events that brought him here. Something about a Space Academy that gave him a opportunity to return to Earth. What did he just do in the last few hours? It was night the last that he recalled tending to his dying fire before calling it a night. And suddenly it was morning when it should be the twin moons staring back down on him.
Smith placed a hand on the side of his forehead head to feel a hard, unexpected wrapping on it. He found the section that had been taped on then unrolled it from around his head. When Smith finished unwrapping it then looked down to ward his hand, the gauze was gone. What there was on his hand was some blood that surely came from his head. He reached his hand out feeling around to feel a square item then peeled it off and once it was off to see the dressing, there was nothing in his hand only a little more blood. Smith stared at his hand as the ground rumbled beneath.
Smith looked up to see the sun growing smaller before his eyes.
"Huh?" Smith said, as the groaning crewmembers began to climb out of the escape pod with shrieks.
Like they were running for their lives.
He couldn't see any smoke rising in the sky from the crash landing.
The sun was getting smaller than before. The reason why it was getting small was mainly because the crashed craft was falling away from it. His mind came to a stop once the only way that it was plausible stood out. The transport had crash landed into a cosmic sand pit. He struggled to slide himself out from underneath the pile of empty shells that were heavily weighing down on him. Smith reached his hand out for a visible crack in the wall paneling catching on to the edge stretching his fingers out to catch the edge grasping on to it then tugged himself forward only instead he tugged the wall paneling off sending it falling to the floor.
Sand began to trickle into the seeker through the sides pouring over the signs of visible disaster as the escape pod trembled from side to side unsettled from being sucked into the cosmic sand pit. It made Smith even more uneasy while struggling to lift up one of the crewmember's bodies up off him. He was only able to slide up the corpse a inch then let it fall back. Smith looked up, helplessly, trapped watching the golden sand pour over the mangled corpses.
Smith grasped his hands on to the wall paneling that was still there digging his fingernails into them reaching for the crevices that he could tug himself out of the trap. He looked up hearing a humming as the crashed craft was trembling dipping sideways allowing in a influx of sand. His fingernails left long curved scratches into the wall. Smith could see saucers in the sky bearing strong resemblances to the Jupiter 2 chasing after spacecrafts and some that were just fleeting by.
"Help me!" Smith shouted. "Please, help me!"
Smith watched the sand pouring in from the other side.
"Someone," Smith called. "Help! I am here!"
Smith grew panicked as the sand reached to the back.
"I AM RIGHT HERE!" Smith began to scream. "HELP! HELP! HEELLLPPPP MEEEE!"
A lone silver dot in the distance came to a halt from above the crashed vessel but the hum was distinctively loud and watched the crashed craft continue sinking into the cosmic sand pit. The camera came closer to reveal that saucer was part of a cone shaped ship.