Fatal Discovery

Chapter 10

Section Ten

Mess Hall

1915 Hours

April 12th, 2167

Alyssa was buffeted back and forth as she fought the crowd of people filing down the stairway that lead to the underground bunker. There were enough food and supplies for a crew of three hundred to survive for three months.

Of course this did not allow enough time for a rescue attempt to be made. All it really did was give the crew a sense of hope.

Right now all it did was give the crew a sense of dread.

Alyssa saw Derek being escorted down the stairs by Dr. Trinneer. He was actually doing fine by himself, but the doctor insisted that he was not well enough to walk on his own.

Alyssa stood at the entrance, directing people. Although Alyssa had no official rank, her contract with the Division of Off Planet Mining stipulated that in the event of an emergency, she was to be temporarily given the rank of commander. This rank came with the responsibility of making sure all crew members reported to the designated emergency gathering point, which was in this case, the bunker.

She pulled her scanner from the holster on her belt and accessed a map of the base. She spoke to her scanner, "Locate all non-security personnel outside of this room and display. The screen zoomed out to display a map of the entire base, and then zoomed in to the room that housed the base's computer core. A red dot began flashing in the top, righthand corner of the room and a name appeared above the dot.

Tom! What the heck is he doing in the computer core, she thought as she ran up the stairs. She almost knocked Dr. Trinneer over as she ran through the doors.

"Doctor, are you on the security team?" She wondered why he hadn't shown up on the computer scan.

"I am in the event of an emergency of this scale. I never thought I would have have to use my security skills. The captain instructed me to set up a medical station in the bunker."

Alyssa tensed, "Is he expecting casualties?"

"I surly hope not."

Alyssa looked at her scanner, Tom had not moved. "I'm leaving you in charge for the time being, the computer located one person that hasn't reported here yet. I'll contact you when I've found him."

"Be careful," he said as she rounded the corner and ran toward the computer room.

* * *

Commander Garrett gripped the steering controls to tightly that his knuckles turned white.

No, I must not let fear weaken me, he thought. He closed his eyes briefly, thinking calming thoughts.

A shrill chirp snapped him back to reality.

Enemy vessels detected, the computer stated flatly. The screen lit up. A schematic flashed on the screen, showing him and the fourteen other pods moving toward a group of ten, slightly smaller objects. One kilometer to incept point.

"Alright men, this is it. Keep your heads clear. No one is to fire unless fired upon." Garrett tapped the communication icon at the bottom of the screen. "Pod Leader to Excelsior, we have the probes on display, we will intercept in five minutes."

"Excelsior acknowledging. Good luck."

That sounds ominous, Garrett thought. He placed his hands firmly on the flight controls and and gathered his thoughts.