Page 2 of Hope Forged
“Did you hear that Mudya said I don’t have to study applied physics anymore?” She arched a hopeful brow.
“I did indeed, however, only after you’ve learned the basics.”
She slumped, having hoped, like a fool, that Oz hadn’t caught the full conversation when the A.I. was everywhere on the ship. “Yeah, do we need to start that soon?”
“According to your curriculum, we have nineteen weeks to complete—”
A sharp beep blared, piercing and persistent. Frantic taps and hushed instructions reached her. She leaped off the stool and padded to the head. Padya gripped the joystick, his knuckles white, matching his pinched lips. Mudya fired lasers at something ahead.
Odd that they were playing a tutorial. Although, Ziamee couldn’t recall there being a combat module. She slipped in amid the chaos and settled against the rear bulkhead to watch the fore-screens. Rocks, looking like pebbles, twirled, drifted, and knocked into each other, spiraling outward.
Asteroids.
Padya’s face was contorted with fear, his cheeks flushed. Mudya was stoic though determination hardened her chin. They were taking this far too seriously.
“What’s going on, Oz?” she asked, keeping her voice low. “Are they doing a simulation for—”
“Miscalculation on our trajectory. Unanticipated crossing of an asteroid belt.” The artificial intelligence powering their ship didn’t know how to whisper.
She cringed.
Mudya sucked in a sharp breath, glanced at her, then smacked the button. The laser struck the approaching boulder with no effect. Padya tried to avoid it, but its sheer size made that impossible. The shorter distance was starboard, but even then, they’d tear off half their ship.
She chewed her lip, seeing the worst scenario play out.
A screech of metal meeting jagged rock proved her suspicions correct when Padya angled the ship at the last second, causingit to scrape along the bottom of theHaile. Sirens added to the cacophony, and the console lit up, flickering colors in panic.
“Oz, find us a habitable planet,” he yelled.
“No, we can make it,” Mudya said, still aiming and shooting. The white beams struck true but didn’t deter its approach. Chunks broke off in an explosion of dust, peppering the ship’s hull.
“Kuck,” she muttered, stepping back.
“Oz,” Padya said, removing his hands from the lever. “Get us to safety.”
The ship banked, clipping its port side across the asteroid’s surface.
Mudya hugged Ziamee but stared at the fore-screens. The air thickened with tension. The alarms cut off, the deafening silence almost too much to bear. The lights still flickered, only serving as a visual distraction from imminent destruction.
She held her breath with each new obstacle Oz managed to swerve until they’d passed it. But another loomed, then more stretched out whenever the view cleared long enough for her to catch a glimpse of what lay in store for them.
A gap between colliding asteroids appeared, allowing a nearby star to illuminate a path ahead. They careened toward a tiny green planet. Two tiny moons orbited it.
“Scanning the surface for a suitable crash site,” Oz droned.
“What?” Mudya squeaked, then cleared her throat. “Where—”
“I suggest securing yourselves. I will attempt to protect the head.”
Padya leaped from the seat and hoisted Ziamee into his arms. He waited a second for the panels in the rear bulkhead to open, revealing the pods behind.
“Padya?” Ziamee pleaded with him while he strapped her in.
“Little one, we love you,” Mudya said from over his shoulder.
The pod shut, clunking as it sealed her in. With no windows, a structural weakness, Ziamee couldn’t know what was going on beyond this confined space.
In the cocoon, she listened, crying out when the ship shuddered and jerked. Tears slipped free, but she couldn’t wipe them away with her arms strapped down. Anything could’ve happened to her parents. Had they made it to their pods? Was she alone? Each noise was amplified in the cushioned stillness the enclosure provided.
