Short Story: The Moon
I’ve really enjoyed practicing the art of the short story. It’s definitely different from normal writing, in that I’m constricted to only about a thousand words to tell an entire story, introduce all the characters, give the appropriate setting, and attempt to build some tension. Not an easy task for sure, and one which really stretches my capabilities as a writer. That is truly why I need to continue doing this at least twice a week, probably every other day just to make sure I keep growing.
On that note, here is today’s offering. Please let me know what you think via comments, twitter, or email.
The Moon
“Engines failing Captain!” yelled the young Midshipman Kenneth, almost unnecessarily as another explosion rocked the rear of the ship. “We can’t escape the gravity of the moon now, Cap’n” grunted her pilot Jimms without rancor. “No chance of avoiding an up close visit now.” he stated almost conversationally. Sixty two souls on board, Captain Juarez thought sadly. I’ll be lucky if even half of them survive such a haphazard emergency landing. And that’s if the Kithlaren’s bought the decoy beacon in the scrum of exiting the hyper-loop and don’t come and steal my survivors.
Steel filled her spine with that last thought. If it comes to that, I’ll do the mercy of killing them myself. She nodded once, firmly, as she made up her mind. These were her men and women, and she couldn’t bear the thought of facing her Ancestors if she let them fall into the clutches of the Kithlaren’s to die a horribly slow death as they were tortured over several excruciating months. She had seen the holovids shown to every single Captain before they were asked if they could take responsibility, full responsibility, for their ships and their crew. No one, in almost three hundred years of constant warfare, had ever been captured by the Kithlarens and returned alive. Hundreds of thousands of souls, not one spared. No exceptions. Mothers, fathers, children, all given over to the horrible and inexplicable barbarism of humanities most hated enemies.
The screech of the proximity alarms brought her back from her momentary reverie. “Com, open a ship-wide channel.” she barked at her Communications officer, and then proceeded to speak to her crew once the tone in her indicated she was live. “Men and Women of the IGNS Silverbolt, we are about to crash into the moon of an uninhabited sector of space. The hyperloop here is firmly in the hands of the enemy. We have one shot, if any of us should survive the crash, of rescue. Know that I am proud to have been your Captain. We’ve done remarkable work scouting new worlds for colonization. You’ve been like a family to me, and your Ancestors will be proud to welcome you to their tables. Secure yourself in your emergency suits at once, and find your nearest gravchair and prepare for all Hell to break loose. Captain Juarez out.”
“Sound collision Jimms” she stated remarkably calmly to Jimms as the moon in the viewscreen grew larger and larger. Jimms broke the glass surrounding the collision alarm, and immediately emergency lighting went on throughout the ship as the men and women on the doomed picket were frantically putting on emergency envirosuits in the harsh red and yellow lighting. “Put her down as gently as you’re able Jimms. We’re all counting on you.” Captain Juarez said softly to herself as the distance closed between the ship and the moon. Her baby had taken on a slightly dangerous spin as she was caught up further into the moons gravity, and that boded ill for her crew. IGNS ships could take a pounding, but crashing upside down was a horrible prospect no matter how hard the engineers worked to design warships.
Jimms was doing admirable work with no primary engine at his disposal, using timing and the meager landing thrusters to try and correct the roll of the ship as she approached her destiny. Captain Juarez had done enough emergency landings and crash protocol simulations to know that her ships crew was doomed. The ship was going too fast, it was out of alignment for a straight landing, and it’s going to impact upside down, where the ship was weakest. All that quick thinking with the decoy beacon, and the Kithlaren’s slagged us anyway, Captain Juarez thought acidly. Nothing for it now, she thought as her chair tried to prevent the worst of the shaking as the moon rushed up to meet them. She gave a grim smile as she rocketed towards her fate. It would find her fighting to survive till the bitter end.
Fin
Justin
