Chapter 09

A small vibration pulled him out of sleep. Mark was lying in James's bed facing the wall. James was snoring away on the opposite end. They had kept their suits on; it wasn't mandatory to put them away every night. He answered the call without looking at the screen.

"Hello?" He answered quietly.

"Mark! It's me!"

It was his dad.

"Dad? Why are—"

"Listen. I need you to get up here to the Command Center immediately. Bring your friends, and be quick."

The call ended. He sounded worried. He had to get up there.

"James, wake up!"

He shook him. He bolted upright.

"What?"

"Dad needs us in the Command Center. Like, right now."

He nodded. "I think we're about to find our answers."

"Me, too."

He woke Blaez and told him to be quiet. Slowly, they tiptoed out of James's room and out the door of their home. He dialed Sara's number as they ran down to the Hub. She answered.

"Mark?" She said groggily.

"Sara! My dad needs us in the Command Center now!"

Her response was immediate.

"Consider me there."

She hung up. Mark and James made it to the Hub. They located the security door. It was guarded by two officers on either side. They saw them come running and unfolded their hilts.

"Mark O'Connor, son of Captain O'Connor," he said gasping.

"James Tanner, son of Officer Tanner!"

They immediately relaxed and moved.

"Sara is on the way," Mark said as they let them through. "Make sure she gets here!"

They huffed as they bolted between rushing officers until they made it to the Central Command Center. Marks' dad was looking at a large screen hundreds of feet long. An image of space was portrayed on it. Rows of screens lay below it with people analyzing data.

"Dad!"

He turned to look at him.

"Mark, come look at this."

It was eerie the way he said it, but Mark followed. He walked up next to him and looked at the giant screen. A small, gray dot moved slowly across space.

"What is that?" Mark asked.

"That is TransArk 49."

"What? How?"

"About ten minutes ago, the officers guarding TA forty-nine were missing. About fifteen minutes ago, the ship was jettisoned into space."

"No way..." James whispered.

"James!" Mr. Tanner came up behind them.

"Dad! Are you okay?" James asked.

"I'm fine. Is your mother alright?"

"She's asleep. I thought you were back at home?"

"I was investigating a disturbance. There were gunshots and some blood, but there are no bodies. They were just... gone."

"Is the DCS still out there?" Mark asked.

"It hasn't moved position since we found it," Jason said.

"Something's happening!" One of the other officers said.

Everyone watched the screen. The DCS gave off ripples on the screen as it came into view. It was black with light-grayish pale streaks going across it like scratches or lightning bolts, which was a marking of the Drax. It looked like an old American submarine with jagged spikes on the sides like wings.

It started to move.

"DCS has made course for the TransArk," the officer said.

There was a bright flash of white. TA forty-nine was gone.

"DCS has changed course," she said.

It was now looking directly at Pluto. Mark crossed his fingers, hoping they wouldn't figure it out.

Two bright orange beams were fired from the ship.

"Plasma shots fired. Brace for impact!" Mark's dad said.

The floor rocked. The faint sound of an explosion rumbled through the ground.

"Minimal damage," the officer said.

"They're coming closer," James said.

"How long until they reach our vicinity?" Jason asked.

"Approximately six minutes. They're preparing for another shot."

More orange beams collided with Pluto, shaking the giant rock. Mark fell over onto Blaez. He pushed him back up.

"They're burrowing into the planet!" Mr. Tanner said.

"Send a message to everyone. Raise the alarm," Mark's dad said. "We're evacuating."

Those words made everyone stop and stand in place. Everything shook again.

"Dad..." Mark begged.

"It's too late, Mark. They found us. We have to run again. Live to fight another day. Cue the evacuation, officer."

The man tapped something a few times on his console. He gave Jason a nod.

"Computer," he said. "Initiate Evacuation Procedure."

"Are you sure you want to proceed?" VAL asked.

He looked at Mark.

"Yes."

Red light filled the room, followed by a buzzing sound. It was something right out of Mark's nightmares. It was the Evacuation Procedure. Every screen, from the comms to the consoles, flashed red and said to evacuate to the TransArks.

"Every officer, make sure citizens have—"

The ground shook much more violently than before. Everyone lost their balance and fell.

"Multiple impacts to the colony!" The officer said.

"Everyone, get to the TAs! GO!"

He grabbed Mark's arm and pushed him after James and his father. Blaez held back his pace and stayed by Mark's side. The ground shook again. All he could bear was that stupid buzzing as he got lost within the Hub full of panicking people struggling to get to the ships. He immediately lost sight of the other as he hit the wave of bodies. He was helpless to the flow of the current of people and wolves trying to get away.

Someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into a passageway. When they cleared the horde, he saw it was his dad and Edon next to him.

"I know where they went," he said. "If we hurry, we can intercept them."

Mark didn't question how he knew that. They ran down the passageway as fast as they could. The two wolves and Mark ran ahead of Jason as it was only a single tunnel.

"Right!" Jason said.

They took a right, which led them down a winding path that went on a downward slope. The ground shook again. Mark could see one of the paths that had to lead to a TA.

"Intercept in three... two... one..."

They came onto the path just as James and Dominic went by.

"Guys!" Mark called.

They looked back at them.

"Hurry!" James said. "This one is almost full!"

It was a race against time and capacity. There were not enough ships for everyone to evacuate.

"Four minutes!" Dominic exclaimed.

They ran faster. Blaez and Edon ran ahead of them. Another explosion rocked the ground, throwing Mark forward onto the floor and rolling into Edon. He collected himself quickly and saw everyone had fallen. His dad was just a few feet behind. Mark could see the entrance to the TransArk. An officer was rushing everyone inside.

"Come on, Dad!" Mark said and started running for the door.

No one else was moving. He stopped.

"Mark," James said over the buzzer.

He looked back at Mark. Mark turned around to see what he was looking at. His dad, Jason, was standing still. He looked at him with sadness.

"Dad? What's wrong?"

He walked up to him and bumped into something. Ripples of blue spread where his body made contact like a rock hitting water. The invisible barrier didn't move. He put his hands on it, wondering where it had come from. His dad spoke calmly.

"Whenever the TAs from a certain sector of the colony have reached maximum capacity, the computer activates a field to prevent people from getting through," he said. "We had it installed a few years ago. Nothing can get through it."

Mark moved his hands across the field, looking for a gap in the invisible barrier. Edon ran over and started scratching the barrier, trying to reach his master.

"No. No no no. I'm not leaving you behind. VAL, override the barrier leading to TransArk thirteen."

"Mark, it can't be overridden. It is a one-time activation that can't be undone."

"Damn it!" He shouted.

He beat on the barrier in defeat and anger with his fists. The reality finally hit him, and he fell to the floor.

"I can't do this without you!" He sobbed. "I don't want you to die!"

"I know, champ," he tried to soothe him, but it wasn't working. "But you can do this. It's what you've been preparing for."

"You were supposed to be there," he sobbed. "You were supposed to teach me!"

"I know. I'm sorry."

"Mark, we've got to go," Dominic said.

"Mark, look at me," his dad said.

He looked into his eyes.

"Whatever you do, trust your instincts. Don't let logic get in the way of your judgment. You don't need to see the answer. You have to feel it."

The ground shook.

"Now, go. Save the human race as our ancestors before us did."

Mark swallowed the tears and nodded. He turned and ran, following James and his father to the TransArk. He gave his father one final glance, the last time he would see him. He had tears in his eyes, but he had a small smile on his face.

He had just watched his son grow up.

When they were through, the officer sealed the door off. They were inside. People had taken seats in the walls and were strapped in. James noticed one of the occupants was wearing what he thought were handcuffs. He ignored it and climbed into an empty seat near the front. Mark did the same. The wolves sat in position as a brace strapped over their chests in an "X" form.

"Both of you stay here and stay strapped in," Dominic said. "I'm going to make sure everything is checked out and get us out of here."

James was freaking out.

"No. Don't leave. Please don't leave me."

"Hey!" Dominic shouted, cupping his son's face in his hands. "You're gonna be fine, okay? We all are. I'll be back in a bit."

He left in a hurry. Mark looked around at the occupants. Most of them were young, about his age. Some were even younger.

"Do you notice something weird?" James said.

"What?"

"Where are the adults?" He asked.

Mark looked again. He was right. If there were any adults at all, they had to be pretty young. Otherwise... the crew was full of children.

"Hey," Mark said to a guy sitting across from him. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties. "How old are you?"

"What do you care?" The guy said smartly.

"Just answer the damn question."

"I'm seventeen."

Mark looked around. What kind of ship are we on? He looked around and saw the guy wearing handcuffs.

"James. I don't think this is a normal TransArk."

"What do you mean?"

He looked around closer. Some of the teenagers had tattoos on their faces. There were no wolves. They didn't even have on Silver Suits like himself and James. He suddenly realized where they were.

"They're not just kids," Mark said. "They're juveniles!"

"You've got to be kidding me," James said. "I've got to get out of this."

He tried undoing the straps, but Mark smacked his hand away.

"Don't do that. You'll die when the ship launches!" Mark said.

"One minute," VAL said on the speakers.

"My dad. I need to get to my dad," James said.

"He'll be fine," Mark assured. "He knows what he's doing."

"Hey, I know you," the guy said. "You're Mark, right?"

"Yeah. Don't worry. Everything is—"

The guy spat at him. He wiped his face.

"That's for your dad putting me in jail," he said. "Name's Aiden, by the way."

"Well, that was unnecessary," Mark said. He tried not to get angry.

There was a jolt, and the teens all screamed. Mark looked back at the screen over the back door. He watched the planet shrink for a few seconds before a bright, white flash covered the screen. It blinded him a little bit. He shielded his eyes with his hand. When the light faded away, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Large pieces of other TransArks flew past them. Bodies of people and wolves moved around like frozen puppets on strings. The scene was gory. Blood and organs drifted in anti-gravitational puddles. One of the teens threw up.

"No..." Mark heard James say.

Mark undid his straps and ran for the bridge. James and their wolves followed behind them.

"Hey, where are you going?" Aiden asked. "Assholes."

Just as soon as they got to the bridge, they heard Dominic shouting orders.

"Drax drones incoming! Evasive action!" He shouted from the chair.

The guy at the helm held the controls tightly as he twisted the ship out into space. Mark and James fell to the floor.

"Kids!" Dominic shouted. "What are you doing here?"

Before they could respond, the ships fired on the TA. It shook from the blast.

"Damage report," Dom said.

"Minimal."

"Mark, take my seat," Dom said.

He got up and walked over to the weapons console behind the captain's chair. Mark got up and took a seat. The straps held him in place. Blaez and Edon took a seat on either side of him. Two seats rose out of the floor and strapped them tightly.

"James, go to the back. Wait until I tell you to come out!"

He looked between Mark and his father, stunned.

"Go!"

He and his wolf ran back to the other passengers. Another blast hit the side of the ship. This one felt much stronger than the last.

"That was the command ship," Dominic said. "Mark! You need to get us out of here!"

"Me? I've never flown a ship before!"

"No! You're in charge now, remember?"

That's right. His dad was absent, possibly deceased.

He was the heir.

"Get us out of here," he said.

The person at the helm put in coordinates.

"Initiating Space Fragmentation Drive," she said.

"Everyone hold on!" Dominic shouted.

Mark's nails clawed into the chair. He wished he had something to hold onto. He could see the command ship in the camera preparing another fiery blast. It was glowing white at the tip of the laser focuses. He watched the image and the stars stretch. There was a big lurch.

Suddenly, there were no ships. No lasers fired. The rumbling of the ship stopped. The ship was spinning in space.

"Please steady the ship," Dominic said. He sounded like he was about to vomit.

The ship slowed and stopped. Mark relaxed in his seat, but only slightly.

"Scan for hostiles," Mark said.

"Scans show no other ships," he said.

"Phew," he said. "It worked."

"Damage is minimal."

"Where are we?" Mark asked.

"Scanners are picking up a large body mass approximately two million kilometers away. It's a terrestrial planet registered in our system. It's a T-5, sir."

A T-5? There are no planets with a level that high. Except...

An image came up on the screen. The planet was covered in large amounts of blue with continents of green, aside from the ones located at the poles. He knew what it was. He saw too many pictures to not know.

"Earth," Mark said. "It looks so... normal."

"It's not frozen," Dominic said. "Our predictions must have been wrong."

"It wasn't supposed to thaw for three hundred more years," Mark continued. "We were way off."

"What are we waiting for?" The pilot said excitedly. "Let's go to the ground."

Mark looked at the officer.

"You said there were no ships on the scanner?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

He finally relaxed in his seat. The ship moved steadily toward the planet. He felt a little giddy with excitement. He opened a channel from the controller on his seat to the ship's speaker system.

"Attention, passengers," he said. "We are nearing our destination. Please remain seated and prepare for some turbulence as we enter the atmosphere. We're finally home. We made it to Earth."

He could almost hear the cheering from the chair. The crew on the bridge gave high-fives and cheered themselves. Everyone was excited. He watched as the moon got closer and bigger. It was a beautiful ball of craters. Mr. Tanner left his station and went to take an empty seat at a console in the front. Just as he passed Mark, there was a distinct low rumble. The screens shut off. The lights went dark. He felt his arms and legs float. The ship was quiet. No one spoke for a moment.

"What was that?" Mark asked finally.

"Our engines are down," someone said. "Everything just went dead."

"Someone help me open the forward windows," Dominic said.

Comms lit up with their flashlights. A few people went to the front with him and turned the wheel in the wall. The sun peaked through the crack as it got bigger and bigger. The screen was moved away to open up the window. The Earth was getting closer quickly.

"We're getting a little close, aren't we?" Mark questioned.

"Get those engines back online," Mr. Tanner said quickly. "We need to slow our descent before the ship burns up."

People started messing with the consoles, trying to get them to respond.

"Nothing is working!"

"We can't access anything!"

"Damn it," Dom said. "I'm going to check the engine."

"Let me help," Mark said.

"No. You stay here in case anything happens. I need to check on James and the others."

He pushed off the wall through the doorway. He climbed through the weightlessness. After a few seconds, the ship shook. Dominic moved as fast as he could. He made it to James.

"What's going on?" Aiden asked.

"The ship's power is out. I have to manually shut it back on. Everyone stay in your seats!"

He looked at James. Worry painted his face.

"Don't worry," he said. "Everything is going to be alright."

He left in a hurry down the maintenance shaft. He crawled, propelling himself through the small tunnel. It was getting hot. There wasn't much time. When he reached the ship's core, space opened up. Tesla coils sat dead in the open air. Even the static that should have been in the air was gone. The water swirled around the chamber, which was working to keep it cool without the pumps going. Space was heating up quickly. He went down the ladder and found the three levers. He was supposed to be wearing a protective suit, but he didn't know where one was.

He pulled the first one down. Sparks of electricity flew above his head as the engines tried to start. They puttered like an old car but didn't give. He turned the knob on the second one and pulled it down. Stronger volts surged in the room. He felt the hair on his neck rise. Still, the engines didn't catch. He didn't understand. The second one was supposed to guarantee a jumpstart. He was starting to sweat from the heat. The weightlessness was from the lack of space. They were entering the atmosphere. He didn't want to do it, but he had no choice.

He grabbed both knobs over the third lever and turned them, opening all of the electrical channels in the room. He took a deep breath and pulled the last lever down. All of the juice that was stored in the batteries discharged into the room. He felt the waves of electricity run over his body. It was like being struck by lightning over and over again. There was a loud hum. The engines started spinning.

His body convulsed from the constant waves of energy. The descent moved his body backward back into the tunnel. It was now melting hot. He felt like he was being tortured from the electrical shocks and the burning he felt on his skin like a turkey in an oven. He hit the back of the tunnel and screamed in pain. He could feel the skin of his back melting off onto the metal walls.

Something pulled him up out of the shaft, peeling his skin off in the process. At this point, Dom was passed out. James, out of his seat, stood over his father. He looked in horror at the burns on his father's back. They were illuminated from the flames outside of the ship and the emergency lights in the cabin.

"Dad!" He shouted.

"Dude, get back in your seat!" Someone yelled.

"He's hurt!" He pleaded.

"He's a goner," someone else said. "You should save yourself."

"I... I can't..."

There was a grunt. A girl with short, brown hair unbuckled her seat. She got down at James's level and made him look at her.

"Get him in a seat," she said, "or you both die."

He nodded quickly. Both of them put his limp body into her seat. When he was secured, they both went toward the front to sit in the open seats. They sat down and started strapping in when the ship's parachutes released. The girl was nearly thrown out of her seat, but James grabbed her arm. If he was a second late, she would have hit the far wall. The impact of air lasted only for a short second. She settled back onto the floor. She quickly secured herself in the seat.

"Thanks," she said.

Before another word was said, the ship lurched again. James looked back out the back window. One of the parachutes had broken off. The ship started spinning out of control.

"Everyone brace for impact!" Mark shouted over the intercom.

Mark held on for dear life as he watched the ship quickly get closer and closer to the green of the ground. He couldn't see the ocean anymore. He didn't want to see the Earth anymore. He wanted to be back at Pluto. He wanted to be in bed sleeping in late. He wanted to talk to his dad again. He wanted another drink.

He wanted to live.

The ship finally hit the ground. The concussive wave hit Mark like a truck. He heard shattering and metal bending and tearing. The impact was too much for him. Before he could see or feel anything else, everything immediately went dark.