The firestorm killed the lights and knocked the ship deep into space. Somehow, the instruments were still alive, but there was no crew to read them. Far below a red crescent shone, the edge of the burning planet silhouetted by the curve of a wing. It would be a lonely trip. She gazed through the porthole at the wavering stars.

She was one of the lucky few out of the chosen 4mil who actually made it to the ships. She was meant to share this ship with four others, four seniors, all of whom had died so she could make it to where she was. 

They'd died protecting her, making sure she got the future they wouldn't. She still remembered the last few moments of their stay on Earth, when all plans had gone to hell. The terrorists had made it impossible for all of the 4mil chosen to go to space and let the Human race survive. 

"Go Tasha, run, we'll cover you" 

The commander's voice echoed in her mind. 

Why had she obeyed? They all knew that it was impossible for them to follow. 

"Start up the engines. If we're not there in 10 mins, take off." 

They'd told the youngest member of the crew. 

She shouldn't have listened... At least she should have tried to help... maybe things would've been different.. maybe someone else would have survived...

The guilt weighed deeply on her mind, their last screams echoing as she'd watched them die, one by one, helpless, from the ship. From the same porthole she was using to gaze at the stars right now. 

Even their last plan had not worked as they wanted it to... They'd died before they could reach the ship. 7 minutes after they'd told Tasha to wait. Eventually, it was the storm that sent her into space, not the engines.

She took a deep breath, gathering her courage. As the rest of this ship's crew was dead, it meant she was now the captain. And this ship was the head of the fleet... She was the commander of the last of the human race... 

Suddenly, she realised she was in way over her head. She was meant to be a phycological expert, not the commander! A bout of nervousness overtook her... how was she supposed to lead a legion of ships and find a habitable planet? How was she supposed to be responsible for the remnants of the human race? 

"You can do it, go"

 Calder's voice echoed in her ears. They were his last words to her, he'd been encouraging her with his dying breath. Just like her father would. 

She squared her shoulders, putting aside the fear. She'd do this, for them, they'd died believing in her. She wasn't about to let her whole team down. 

For Calder, Annie, Mac and Rhett.

It was like they were with her this very moment.

She whirled around, speed walking to the Command Centre. The Command Centre they'd never get to use...

No, stop it. She commanded herself. She had to be strong, there would be plenty of time for grieving later.

She turned on the speaker system, broadcasting a video to the fleet.

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Tasha Hernandez, your commander for the journey and beyond.

Today, we were meant to be four million but we are lucky if we make even half of that amount. The terrorists back on our dying home planet sought to destroy the entire species out of resentment and anger that they hadn't been chosen. 

So many people lost their lives, trying to get us to this very point. 

Our commander, Annie Charleston is one of many such people. We have lost the entire command crew, I am the only surviving member. 

I think you should know just how grave our situation is. 

But we have to overcome this, get beyond all these difficulties. We have to make every single one of their deaths count. We have to do this, to survive, to salvage the human race- for them, for all those who gave up their everything for us to breathe in this air. So that we could still live. 

We have to make it, and we will, but not without working together. 

We need to help each other. We need to survive. 

For them." 

She stepped away from the mic, overcome with emotion as their faces flashed in front of her eyes. 

Tears pooling in her eyes, she turned off the broadcasting, but none of the assembled moved. She could see all of them standing still on the monitors, likely remembering their near and dear ones. 

She was just turning away when movement on the feed caught her eye. 

First one, then two, then every single person on all the ships. They were saluting. Saluting her. Accepting her as their commander. 

She smiled through the tears. 

And in this moment, she knew that they would succeed. 

They had been through a lot,  but it made them stronger, brought them closer together. 

Yes, they would face problems. But they would work them out. 

And humanity would persevere once more.