Gaia Lost

Chapter 9-Launch

“Sir, your needed on the bridge, we are ready to launch.”

“I will be right there.” Sateros said. He got up and walked out of his quarters into the halls. Two heavily armed guards stood outside his door, ensuring protection for the most important man on the ship. They accompanied him as he walked.

“Sir, when are we going to launch the ship?” one of the guards asked. He was young, inexperienced. An experienced guard wouldnt even talk to someone as high up as Sateros. He was so high up the ladder no one would ever want to upset or annoy him, unless they wanted to lose everything they had built up over their many years.

“As soon as I get to the bridge and give the order.”

They continued to walk in silence for several minutes, until the young guard once again broke it.

“Sir, may I ask you something?”

“Make it quick.”

“Do you think we will find Earth?” the young man asked nervously.

“I hope so, its the only chance for happiness we have.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, a puzzled look on his face.

“Its nothing that you should be concerned about.”

They continued to walk through the halls, passing by several people on the way to the bridge. Everyone seemed to cower in Sateros' presence. He liked that, he always did like having power over others.

Soon they reached the bridge. Sateros used the biometric and retinal scanners then quickly entered in the code for the door. The bridge was only open to a very select few. Sateros personally chose who could enter.

The door slowly opened, its bulky frame difficult for even the most advanced motors to move. Soon it was open, and Sateros slipped through, leaving the two guards behind.

“Is the ship ready to launch?” Sateros asked one of the men on the bridge.

“Yes, we can launch any time now. We still have a few tests to run on the engines though.”

“Forget the tests, launch immediately.”

“Yes sir.” the man quickly responded. He turned around and typed something into the control panel.

“Beginning launch sequence. Launch will occur in approximately one minute.” said one of the other men on the bridge. All three men currently on the bridge were furiously typing, trying to get the code programmed in as quick as they could. Every one of them wanted to impress Sateros.

Sateros began pacing back and forth. He knew they didnt have much time. They had to get the convoy moving, and fast.

A minute passed and the ship was ready to launch. All that Sateros had to do was give the word.

“Launch the ship.”

The three men typed in the final code. The ships engines roared into life. Pure plasma was being vented through the engine nozzles, propelling the ship up the guide rail. Within seconds it had cleared the rail, and was soaring high above the city. It wouldnt be long now until it would join up with the rest of the convoy.

“Tell the hanger bay to prepare my personal shuttle, I need to get over to the Delnorian as quickly as possible.” Sateros said to one of the three men.

“I've already told them sir.”

Sateros walked off of the bridge back into the halls, the two guards waiting for him.

“How long until we get to the convoy?” Sateros asked one of the guards. The guard got out a typed something into the computer on his wrist and a holographic display appeared.

“We should reach them in about ten minutes, they are still in orbit over Tunare. I guess they decided to wait for you sir.” the guard said.

“That gives us plenty of time to get to the hanger.” Sateros said, his face emotionless. He had nothing to say to these two guards, they were not the best company.

They continued to walk until they reached the hanger. The hanger was bustling with activity. Maintenance workers were busy doing any last minute work on the shuttle. The rest of the workers were working on the larger shuttles designed to transport the other passengers to their ships.

Sateros walked up the ramp of his shuttle, once again leaving behind his two guards. He knew it was probably the last time he would ever see them, but he felt nothing. Very little stirred his emotions these days.

The shuttle was very small. It merely consisted of a three seats with an engine and escape pod on the back. Two seats for pilots and one for a passenger. What it lacked in comfort it made up in armor and speed, neccesities for a passenger as important as himself. He sat down in the third seat, which was located behind the main pilot seat.

“We are ready to leave any time sir, just give the word.” said the pilot.

“Get us out of here, now.”

“Right now sir?”

“I gave you an order.”

“Yes sir.” the pilot said, his voice shaking.

The pilot pushed a small button and the shuttle engines started up.

“Engines started, now undocking from the landing dock.” the co pilot said as he pushed a series of buttons. The shuttle broke free of the dock and floated in the hanger bay. The large doors of the bay opened, revealing the openness of space. The openining was covered with a force field in order to protect the workers still inside. The shuttle turned and faced the opening, not moving an inch form its place.

“Engaging engines, now” The pilot pushed a small lever in and the ship began to inch forward. It passed through the shield and into space, headed for the Delnorian, which was nothing more than small spec in the distance.

“It will be about an hour until we get to the Delnorian sir.” the pilot said.

“Thats fine, I need some time to think.”

“May I ask what about sir?”

“Its nothing, nothing at all.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Tell me another story Joseph, how about the one when you were on Delnos and you ended up breaking both knees playing poker. I still don't understand how you managed that.” Takeshi said with a chuckle.Joseph and Takeshi were sitting in a shuttle on their way to the Victoria. Catherine was sitting in the corner, trying to ignore the two men.

“Aww, thats a good one. Well, I had just gotten back from inspecting some mines with some work buddies. Anyways, it was a long day and we decided to play some poker to alleviate some of the stress. So we start playing and I'm doing pretty bad right from the start. I never could bluff worth a damn.” Joseph said.

“Come on, get to the good part already.” Takeshi said eagerly.

“Ok already, relax. So, one of the guys, I think his name was Daniel, or something like that, gets a royal flush. I had already lost a bunch of money so I fly off the handle and and pound my fists against the table. Well, the table collapses. Problem is the table was solid metal and it fell on my legs. Broke both legs and knees. Only plus was that I got artificial ones, they work better anyways.” Joseph said, letting loose a small laugh. It was the first time Takeshi had seen him happy in a long time.

“Men are such idiots.” Catherine said, a look of disgust on her face as she shook her head.

“Give me a break, you cant say you havent ever done anything stupid before in your life. Everyone has atleast one stupid story.” Joseph said, trying to get her to open up a bit.

“Of course I do, I'm just not willing to share any of them with you two.”

“Oh come on, tell one atleast.” Takeshi said.

“Fine, only one. I was about twenty three, fresh out of college. Me and a couple of friends headed to a club in the Penri district of Tunare city. Well when we get there its packed, so we just sit down at the bar and order a few drinks. Well, some scumbag starts hitting on one of my friends, saying really nasty things to her. So I ask him to leave, and he refuses. So he keeps at it for another ten minutes and eventually I get pissed. So I threw my glass at him. It hits him in the head and knocks him out.”

“Then what happened?” Takeshi asked.

“Nothing, we just left.”

“Thats it? Thats your story?” Joseph said.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Kinda a lousy story.” Takeshi said dissapointed.

“Hey. Not all of us live as exciting lives as you two. And by the way, the poker story wasent all that good either.” Catherine barked back.

“Relax, just trying to make conversation.” Takeshi said.

“Then talk with each other and leave me out of it.” she said as she turned away from the two men.

A voice soon came over the speaker.

“Attention passengers, we are now docking with the Victioria. Please prepare to depart.”

“Guess were here.” Takeshi said.

“Finally.” Joseph said, leaning back in his chair, eyes glued on the ceiling.

The door to the outside opened up slowly, a thin ramp extending out onto the floor of the hanger. The three of them slowly walked out into the hanger. Joseph was glad to be out of the cramped confines of the transport. He never did like small spaces.

The Victoria's hanger was massive. Even more impressive was that there was four of them. Ships of all types filled the hanger. Fighters, scout ships, probes, bombers, they were all there. Joseph walked up to one of the fighters, looking it over intently. It was sleek and white, a large black cockpit near the back. Two long, white pods sat on the ground nearby, one on each side.

“Hey what are you doing over there?” yelled someone from behind Joseph.

“What?” Joseph said, a puzzled look on his face.

“What are you doing with my fighter?”

“I'm just looking at it.” Joseph said nervously.

“Haha, dont worry about it, I'm just kidding. Its a great little ship, isn't it?” said the fighter pilot, a big grin on his face.

“Yeah, it sure is. Quite different from the model used in the first war.” Joseph said as he walked the length of the ship, still looking it over.

“Did you fly in the war?”

“You could say that.”

“Well, it was nice talking to you, I need to get going. The names Jack.”

“Joseph.”

“Nice to meet you, I hope to see you around the ship sometime.” Jack said as he walked away. He gave one last wave before walking into the halls.

“Joseph, get over here.” Takeshi yelled from over by the shuttle. Catherine was standing next to him, glaring at both men. Joseph walked over to see what Takeshi wanted.

“We need to get to our quarters, we are all on the third deck.” Takeshi said, handing Joseph the key card for the door. The three of them walked into the halls, eager to end the long day with some rest and relaxation.