"Incoming missiles, brace for impact," Rayleen informed them nervously. When they hit it was like being in a rock tumbler as the heavy ordinance pounded the shielding so hard, it sent Kestral spiraling into the ground. The inertial dampers screamed as they fought to maintain a safe gravity point inside the ship, and the wrenching of carbon panels splitting at their seams was deafening. Shards of black death flew across the cabin like shrapnel, but Kato was able to regain control after they skipped off the forest floor a few times.

"Excuse me, Miss," Purline's voice was up a couple octaves as he fought to remove a knife like piece of carbon from his leg. "You should ask me a question, I dare say."

"How are we going to get out of this mess?" was all she could think of.

"John-mark says you should leave the planet's surface and fly into space at the exact location you came down."

"That's suicide, Purline, just tell me what to do!" Ketty screamed.

"Negativity and violence will get you nowhere Miss Ketty. It's a wonder Boondock can put up with you at all. In fact, I prefer your brother's temperament to yours quite handily. If I tell you what to do it would be revealing the future and we all know that is impossible, therefore my programming doesn't permit me to show you an exact course of action."

"I'm sorry, Purline, but you know what's going to happen to us yet you are unable to tell us what we need to know."

"There are variables of course, subtle variances which can alter the course of future history. I cannot account for every contingency," said Purline.

"Now you're telling me it's just a guess? That's great, Purline." Then she turned to Kato. "You heard the man, take us out of here."

"Course already plotted," said Kato as they came to a dead stop and reversed direction, causing Alderom to overshoot their position and giving them a few second reprieve. Up till now they had been operating under the planetary defense system so it only made sense to go to the one place where a tower was destroyed, but Captain French was aware of that possibility as well and he had two fighters waiting when they arrived.

"We're trapped," Kato informed them as he brought the ship in close. Status report?"

"Shields are at twenty percent," said Rayleen.

"Make a run for it," ordered Ketty, going against everything her gut was telling her.

"It's suicide," said Lindy.

"That's not a request, it's an order." The light tapping of Kato's fingers was the only sound as he manipulated the controls in a frantic effort to evade their enemy. They could see the fighters unleashing a torrent of destruction before the weapons hit, and in her heart Ketty knew they were going to take some damage. As the ship responded, the low moan of the Collapse-core vibrated in her chest and they accelerated through a full broadside from the two fighters. Rayleen tried to get off a few shots as the cabin filled with acrid smoke and the shields failed, but it was an exercise in futility. The fighters were well proportioned in every aspect, bred for one purpose, they served their masters well. Kestral clawed for her freedom with every ounce of willpower, but the limits of man and machine were met and the protective cocoon they had enjoyed disintegrated with the concussive force of a nuclear bomb. Their momentum carried them far into space where they waited for the end that would inevitably come.

Don't forget to vote!

Please feel free to comment!