Chapter 46: Astroguardian Commendation Star
Aria turned to the corridor intending to run in, to save her brother herself, but all her tensions vanished as she saw her brother emerge, running In front of another man carrying an unconscious pilot.
Jake ran to pass his sister who felt sadness as she thought he ignored her, but it changed as Jake grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him towards the Cockpit.
"J-jake, what are you doing?" Aria asked with embarrassment and a slight blush as her brother had essentially led her across the entire ship, never once letting her go.
Jake ignored it for now and made his way to the pilot's seat, quickly sitting down and maximised the thrusters.
The ship took off with speed as Jake aimed as far as fast as possible.
Jake knew some people would be having a terrible time on his ship but it was still better than death.
Jake made it to a planet a distance away in the system, Celis IV, the most dense in the system.
Jake pushed the ship into the other side of the planet hopefully putting a planet between him and the engine would be enough. Jake flew as low as he could towards the planet's surface.
When he had reached a certain depth, the Atlas had advised him to stop there.
(This is close enough Jake we can't go any closer or the pressure might affect the ship's systems. By my calculations, most of the effects of the explosion should be negated but still get down.)
'Alright Atlas.' Jake said before broadcasting to the rest of the ship.
"All passengers please strap yourselves in or hold on tight, it will get a little bumpy now." Jake spoke as he grabbed Aria and Lyra pulling them to the floor.
"The explosion will go off soon, don't look at the glass." Jake spoke to the two girls, who listened attentively before holding on to each other.
The wreckage of the Harris McAllister:
The engine let out a bright flash, the dampeners finally failing as it slowly increased in power.
The nuclear engine, its job to regulate power and efficiency at slower speeds to support the main engine, suddenly increased.
In less than a second, the power increased high enough that it forced the main engine to switch on.
The moment it did that a ginormous flash spread throughout the entire system.
The flash was so powerful even Jake noticed it with his eyes closed.
The flash beamed for a few seconds before it disappeared. What replaced it was a world-shattering explosion. Shockwaves instantly reached every corner of the system.
After the flash, Jake felt a massive shockwave hit the ship, with the stabilisers working in overdrive.
The ship shook for a few minutes, Jake could hear the two girls' heartbeats and tried his best to calm them down.
After a few more minutes, the Explosion stopped.
Jake let out a sigh of relief as he realised they had made it out alive.
"It's over girls." Jake spoke to the two as he stood up.
"All passengers, it is over, if there are any injuries please head to the medical bay immediately. I will be taking us to Celis Station, where all passengers will then be in the care of the GOE. Thank you." Jake spoke as he sat in his chair.
The ordeal was scary, but he was getting used to these types of situations.
Aria and Lyra headed out to help the others before they reached Celis and Jake could finally relax.
"Haaaah." He sighed as the ship automatically flew, heading in the direction of Celis Station.
Jake reached the station and noticed the many ships outside the station, some were repairing certain sections, while others seemed to be reinforcements that the GOE sent.
"That's a decent-sized fleet." Jake commented as he gazed at the large warships docked outside the station.
"And they came quickly too, I think there might already be teams investigating the blast site." Aria added as she sat down next to Jake.
"We won't be in trouble right?" Lyra spoke nervously as she stood next to them.
"No, it's actually the opposite, we might even get rewarded." Jake reassured Lyra.
The ship soon entered and landed in Celis station.
Jake could see all the medical personnel prepared and waiting for Jake's ship to land.
The moment it did, Jake lowered the ramp as personnel rushed in.
Aria and Lyra went to go help as well but we're stopped by Jake, telling them to take a break.
Around an hour later, Jake and the girls had finished a quick medical check and we're making their way back to the ship.
"Jake!" A man's voice was heard as the three turned around.
Jake recognised the man, it was the station commander's second in charge, the one in charge of Logistics, Paul Hartwell.
Paul quickly walked up to Jake and greeted him.
"It's nice to see you too Lieutenant Hartwell, what's wrong?" Jake asked Paul.
"Station Commander Harrington has requested your presence." Paul stated.
"Why is that?" Jake asked.
"Do not worry, it is nothing bad. Commander Harrington just wanted to speak to the three of you before you leave." Paul spoke.
Jake paused for a second, he knew what Marcus was going to do. A reward was coming so he wasn't all that worried.
"Alright, we will see him now." Jake spoke and called upon Paul to lead them on.
The group made their way to the Station Commander's HQ. Paul knocked before he gestured for Jake and the girls to follow him.
Marcus was sitting in his chair smoking however when he saw Jake, he quickly put out his cigarette before walking over and shaking Jake's hand.
"Jake Avalon, it's good to see you." Marcus spoke with a smile.
"It's good to see you too Station Commander."
"Come now Jake, did I not tell you to call me Marcus? Also, this must be your sister Aria and you must be Lyra." Marcus spoke and greeted the girls.
"You know us?" Lyra asked questioningly.
"Of course, sure we have not met in person but the Communications and Logistics Team are always full of praise for you too. I wanted to see for myself, the other IS Exam takers and I am not disappointed." Marcus praised them.
"Now, please take a seat, Paul." Marcus gestured for them to sit while Paul saluted before leaving the office.
"What is it, Marcus?" Jake asked as he took a seat.
"You know as well as I do Jake, that if it were not for you, many more people would have died without your actions. Had you not warned us to lock down the station and system space, we would have probably sent many rescue ships without a clue." Marcus thanked Jake.
"It wasn't only me, these two played as much of a role as I did." Jake spoke gesturing to the girls sitting next to him.
Both blushed but we're happy to be complimented by Jake.
"I see, well the Government has informed me that you should be rewarded and I completely agree with their statement."
"Jake, you and your crew will be awarded the Astroguardian Commendation Star for your brave and noble acts of valour in saving and protecting humanity in the cold clutches of space. The next time you come I will personally hand over your medals but I also have another gift for you."
Marcus' words shocked the three as the Astroguardian Commendation Star was a prestigious award, one of the earliest ones created by the GOE when humanity first started to explore and colonise systems.
(This is better than I thought, to receive a government award is a very important thing, especially when building your status in the GOE.)
'I know, looks like it was worth taking that risk after all.'
(I told you so.)
"Thank you, Marcus, it is an honour to serve our people." Jake spoke and gave a short bow.
"Haha, a young kid like you has already achieved a lot huh? You guys deserve it anyway so don't feel embarrassed." Marcus spoke as he saw it on Aria and Lyra's faces.
"Yes, thank you." The girls spoke in unison.
"Ah right, here Jake." Marcus handed over a black card to Jake.
"What's this?" Jake asked as he had a closer look at the metallic card with the symbols of the Navy on it.
"It's an access card, you can use it to purchase supplies from the military warehouse. Usually, only the GOE or Trading ships under the GOE can access them, but since you're working on a DTG licence I figured it would be useful for you. There might be a few other things you can do with it, but I won't spoil it for you." Marcus smiled and spoke.
(This is better than I expected.)
'I know right, it's good we know someone like Marcus.'
"Thank you, Marcus, I appreciate this." Jake spoke earnestly.
"It's the least I could do, your ship's prepped and waiting. I'm sure the rest of your family would like to see you again." Marcus spoke.
"Yes." Jake and the girls woke up and headed towards the door.
"See you later Jake."
"You too Marcus."
Jake and the girls were on their way home after departing Celis station.
Marcus had taken Jake's cargo and would organise the delivery of it to the SRB station and paid Jake his dues.
"That station commander is a nice man." Lyra spoke to Jake.
"That he is." Jake spoke to Lyra.
"All right girls, let's go home."