Time To Leave

Oscar managed to dock to the Chariot and was slowly brought into the massive 1500 meter warship. Only once he was inside the warship was he finally able to calm down. His heart had been pounding the entire time. Normally when piloting, Oscar would not be as nervous as he was during this last mission. The reason why he had become so nervous was due to the fact that his mother, father and little sister were in the cargo hold of his small vessel and his piloting skills would determine if he would get to spend any more time with them.

As he was about to leave his seat, commander Harris's voice came on over the radio.

"Oscar I need you to report to the bridge once you are docked. Bring the lieutenant along with you as well".

It would seem that Oscar would not get a second to rest. Quickly getting out of his seat, he moved for the cargo bay where the survivors and his family were being escorted out.

He could see is parents and his sister gathered with the other survivors as a crew man was giving out instructions on where they would be staying as well as answering any questions they might have.

Walking down the long corridors to the ships bridge, Oscar could not help but guess why the commander wanted to see him as soon as he landed. When or he was confident in his piloting skills, he felt like there were many more experienced pilots that the commander could ask for, yet for some unbeknownst reason to himself, commander Harris continued to give Oscar missions that were very important.

After several minutes, he finally made it to the ships bridge. Walking up the doors opened up automatically, allowing Oscar to enter the room where the ships most important crew members were gathered.

With a quick look around the room, he saw the commander sitting in his captains chair, giving off instructions to the others in the room. Beside him was a tall, middle aged man with a serious demeanor on his face. He was conversing with the commander until he noticed Oscar walking up.

When the man noticed Oscar he stopped talking, taking it as a sign, Harris got up from his seat and turned around to face Oscar.

"Welcome back cadet. It seems like you had a successful mission" Harris said with a smile on his face.

The noise around the ship died down as the commander got up and acknowledged Oscar. Unknown to him, commander Harris had a reputation. He was a man who always stood at the front of any conflict-first one in and last one out. He inspired those around him, a true leader worth the admiration of his crew.

Seeing that their commander got up from his seat to acknowledge a young cadet, everyone in the bridge became curious of who this young man was.

Oscar gave a salute and responded "Thank you sir. There were no complications during the mission and the research material was secured."

"That's good news. With the last of the research material secured we can now leave the system" the smile on his face disappeared as he said those words. A pained expression took hold as he said those words.

Before the conversation could continue, the ship started shaking, sparks from consoles ignited, alarms started blasting, as the crew braised themselves. Commander Harris returned to his seat, as did the other officers on the bridge, their hands moving frantically assessing the situation.

"Whats the situation?" Commander Harris barked.

"Sir, the ship has just exited the atmosphere. We have twenty enemy warships off our starboard side. " An officer sitting on the far left answered the commander without looking up from his screen. "We are currently under attack from the enemy ships."

"We must leave the system! Prepare to jump out!"

Commander Harris continued to give out orders to the rest of the crew. each and every member did as they were told, without hesitation. it was clear to see that they all had faith in their commanding officer. The enemy warships continued to fire their energy weapons at the Chariot, however it's shields managed to absorb most of the damage.

"Sir our shields are down to 60% we can not continue to sustain this much fire" A single officer yelled out.

"Fire anti energy discharge shells. They will help provide cover from the enemies attack. Then fire our high impact rail guns at the closest enemy vessel! What's the statues on the jump drive?"

The Chariot began firing frantically at the nearest enemy vessel. It's many gun emplacements began dishing out massive damaged. While the Chariot was an older ship, it was armed to the teeth with weapons, along with it's thick hull and powerful shields, the Chariot was a grim reaper on the battlefield. Many ships fell at the might of the old warship.

"Sir we are ready to jump out!"

With a sign Commander Harris gave the order to leave the system. Oscar could see the sadness in the commanders eyes. This sadness was soon replaced by anger as he began giving out more orders. Oscar felt out of place on the bridge, feeling that he would just be in the way he turned around and was ready to leave, but before he could Commander Harris put his hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

Turing around Oscar saw Harris looking right at him. "You have done an outstanding job so far Oscar. Go to the crew quarters, your family will be waiting for you and make sure to get some rest."

With one final salute Oscar turned and left the bridge. There was chaos all around him, sparks from exposed wires, papers and other random items scattered around the corridors. The ship had taken a massive beating but still managed to get out safely.