Part II: The First Mistake

Three weeks passed. No one in the hibernation chambers stirred. The cruisers were moving through space. It was a smooth journey. A week till the hibernation ended and the cruisers be manned for the entrance of the sector’s only planet. Patriotic Saints.

Captain Nova awoke before the others, along with his officers on varying cruisers. They were to do one final check before the last warp jump.

It was then that they realized the flaw.

‘All men awaken! Your lives depend on the success of this journey! And now its all in jeopardy!’

The Captain’s message swam through the unconscious minds of all those in slumber.

The fleet were six sectors away from their target, missing by four. They should only be two sectors away. The situation was bad. It could never get worse.

‘Men. Head for the only planet in this sector. We set up our communications here to contact Control to rectify the mistake. We shall make no error. But reckless fools we are not. Incarius Piriote and Dawn IIV shall follow me and we shall enter the atmosphere first. The rest of the fleet, wait for twelve hours.’

The command was passed. The fleet waited in orbit.

The three ships descended. As the Darkday passed through the atmosphere, a large ruby red beam seared into the void of space, cutting a cruiser in half. And more red beams soon followed.

‘WHAT WAS THAT?!’ a frantic Kara screamed through the RADIO

‘It seems to be a naval laser. Fired from what now seems to be a platform in the ocean below. Careful Arteloc, we need to eliminate the ship but it seems at this height, we would get shot easily. Alright Kara and Arteloc, we move to the landmass eastwards to the laser.’

‘But what about the others in orbit?’

‘It is one which we can’t assist anymore. Every second we talk, more and more beams destroy our fleet. We are going to be the only survivors. The creatures down there seem to be human. Or at least sentient. Careful men.’

And they spiraled downwards.

The remnants of Kronus Alpha landed in a sand dune, where life was inexistent.

‘Captain, it is safe here, no life detected and the atmosphere is suitable for our survival. We could camp here and send out a distress call.’

‘That’s the problem Arteloc, the Generator is fried. And all we have is sand and sand stretching out towards the distant sun for the sector. Not to mention the amount of corpses scattered and damage the landing did to our cruisers. We are left with only twelve people. And such, only one Techmaster. This sucks big time.

‘What’s your name Techmaster?’

‘Johan, Captain.’

‘I need you to establish one defensible room in the Darkday. We camp there. After today, we check out the damage. And try to fix that Generator.
‘Mark my words men, this would only be the first mistake…’

And the remnants of Kronus Alpha trudged into the Darkday, where the would spend nights and days.