Chapter Four

“Ok, Nell! Don’t give him or me a heart attack before the mission even starts!” Helena exclaimed in discomfort. The whole crew started laughing, eventually Sorn jumped in shaking his head, a huge smile plastered to his lips. The whole cabin was jovial and none of you knew what you were walking into.

The sound of steam escaping hissed as the door separating the hold from the cockpit, swooshed open. The Captain walked out and with him a commanding aura that demanded obedience, that stemmed only from his battle hardened experiences.

The Captain’s voice boomed, radiating off every corner, “Listen up! We’re approaching Port side, Rodriguez, I need you to hack into the hangar bay doors. We’re close enough that you should get a connection. Get it done!”

Rodriguez pulls out a computer device attached to his wristlet, his fingers moved deftly across the screen so fast that it was all a big blur. Helena leaned in, her lips ghosting the shell of your ear, sending a shiver roiling down your spine, settling in the pit of your stomach. Her eyes trained on Rodriguez and his rapid fingers moving at increasing speeds.

“Imagine what he could do with those fingers” Helena wiggled her eye-brows and you nudged her back playfully, and you’re positive a deep shade of red most likely has taken permanent residence on your face. You whisper back through the burning sensation in your cheeks, “You’re so bad sometimes, you know that?”

“Helena blows you a cherry kiss and winks. “That’s why you love me!”

“And sometimes I wonder why.” You say teasingly.

“Hey!” Your playful banter ends when Rodriguez acknowledged that the doors are opening and safe to land.

“Alright! This is it! Remember, we don’t know what went down there, so stay on your toes! Once we touch down, we will determine the situation and investigate. I take the reins on Team 1.” The Captain’s ice silver eyes scanned over to Harry the Engineer and Rodriguez.

“Rodriguez and Harry, on me.” Rodriguez and Harry both nod. The Captain’s eyes land on, Helena next.

“Helena! Lead Team 2 and head for the Engine bay. I want Nell and Sorn to go with you. Gary and Joe, stay with the Pilot and secure the bay.” Joe and Gary, the last two to make up the team, fist bump each other before nodding.

“Yes, Sir!” Everyone shouts in unison, through the it you could faintly hear, Sorn’s stuttering breath as he squeaks out, “Yesss--ss, S--sir!”

The Ferrin groaned and rattled as it descended into the hangar bay. Finally, the Ferrin touched down with a sudden jolt, shaking you around in your seat like a marble in a can.

The Captain pokes his head into the cockpit, “Pilot, do a perimeter scan.” All of you waited with bated breath. The perimeter scan is a deep scan that can detect nearby life forms. It’s range can be temper-mental but at least, it’s close to 60% reliable. You reached down between you and Helena’s seat and unbuckled a rifle blaster from it’s deck harness. Helena glances at you from the corner of her eye.

“Remember what I said earlier, listen to my directions and stay close.” You nod solemnly. Never would you ever think about disregarding any directions she’d give. You know deep down that she’ll always look out for you. Even now, the look in her crystal blues, sparkle with such intensity that you heart thumped ever bit louder. You both trust each other wholeheartedly and know each other’s deepest thoughts.

You trust her to keep you safe. You’re not helpless by any means, but Helena has had extensive combat training. Though, with the training your Father taught you, you’d bet you’d be able to give Helena a run for her money. The Ferrin door lowered, the hydraulics hissing, breaking your thoughts to the task at hand. The Captain led us out quietly, billowing hot steam shot up along the sides of the ramp leading to the bay floor. Your face felt like a smelting pot as the heat blasted across your skin.

Everyone spread out and took positions. It was dark and empty, not a sound, not a soul. It did look like something happened here. In the flight space next to the Ferrin, was a damaged shuttle, flames licked out from the cockpit. Blaster burns splattered the entire bay, must have been one hell of a firefight, you mused, ignoring the cold chill crawling down your spine.

“Alright Team Two, move out. The rest on me!” He signaled Helena with his hands, she nodded and turned towards her Team.

“Flashlights on, keep close, watch your surroundings and for fucks sake, stay quiet.” Everyone nodded and followed Helena through a corridor hanging off the far wall to the left. The Captain led Team One through a corridor on the other side of the room. Each step that took you further from the other team became more nerve wracking than the last. Occasionally something would bang, pipes would groan overhead; It’s playing havoc with your senses. Team Two passed some offices and lounges, nothing showed any clue as to what took place. Not yet at least.

“Nel, where are we right now?” At Helena’s question, you raise your arm and turn your wrist over. Strapped to your wrist is a small PDA that’s been uploaded with the ships schematics.

“ We are 50 meters out. Keep heading straight, then turn right at the next corner. Should be the engineering district. From the readings, it should be at the end of the next hall.”

“Good. Sorn, you doing ok back there?” Helena glances at Sorn briefly.

“I’m doing ok, better than I thought, to be honest.” Sorn replies but then stops suddenly. His head swiveled to look over at the ajar door. “Hold up a minute. I think I see something…” Helena comes over and aims over Sorn’s shoulder, with you taking up position to watch the end of the hall. Don’t want to get caught unaware.

Sorn opened up the door and quickly flashed his flashlight inside. He turned shaking his head, turns out it was a small utility closet. Shadows playing tricks with his mind, a common occurence up in deep space. Things tend to make people paranoid.

“I thought I heard something.” He says.Helena nods and takes up point. “Let’s keep moving.” The Team turned at the corner and moved to the end of the hall. Most of the doors passed were locked and can’t be accessed without an ID card. Fortunately, your little make PDA has modifications that you made to better enhance its capabilities. At the end of the Hall you finally find the door marked, Engine Room. You follow Helena into the room, sweeping left while Sorn moved right.

The Engine Room should never be this silent. Everything felt like it was holding its breath. You could feel the tension radiating off the team in waves. The hair on the back of your neck stood on end.

“Alright, Nel, do your thing. Sorn, check in with the Captain. Provide a situational update.” Helena orders as she investigates the rest of the room.

“I’ll tell you what she has to say.” You promised. Moving straight to the Ion batteries, you checked for any contamination or pressure changes in the batteries, if there was, it would be catastrophic.

“Good news is we aren’t at risk of randomly exploding and becoming space fodder.” From the corner of your eye you watch Sorn move to the opposite wall, his voice raising as his frustration escalated. Looks like reception is hazy, at best.