Intergalactic Affairs [FINAL CHAPTER OUT NOW!!]

Shipwrecked

She was just under an hour away from the base when the red light on the dashboard began to flash, illuminating the cockpit in irritatingly regular intervals, warning Michelle that the fuel was running low. She was half an hour from the base when she began to noticeably lose altitude, the ship dropping foot by foot through the chocolate-colored cloud cover that prevented her from using solar power. The ship's scanners informed her that a large group of life-forms was gathered below her, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were military.

Michelle cursed under her breath, knowing that if she dropped much lower she'd be visible to the army beneath and then it'd only be a matter of time until she was blown out of the sky. Thrusting all her weight against the throttle, she reached across the dashboard and flipped a switch. Immediately, a warning popped onto the small display screen.

Power diversion may result in reduced flight stability and control. Continue?

She jabbed her thumb against the check button, confirming the action.

Diverting lighting and cooling power to engines.

There was a whirring noise as the lights in the rest of the ship shut down, and a noticeable increase in the temperature. The remainder of Michelle's flight wouldn't be comfortable, but she figured it wouldn't be very long either way. The ship shuddered with the small increase of power, the engine working hard to keep her in flight. Michelle supposed she could also divert the cockpit's power to the engines too, but that would mean she would have no control over the ship. A last resort, then, when she was out of options. Until then, she would just have to do her best to stay above the clouds.

There were less than twenty minutes left until she would reach the base when the ship rocked jarringly as it sunk below the recommended altitude, the engine no longer able to keep flying. The cloud cover was nearly gone.

When the militant group on the planet's surface saw her ship, they would certainly be ordered to shoot her down, and there was nothing Michelle could do about it. The best she could hope for was that she would survive the crash and be able to make her way to the base on foot.

In the meantime, Michelle concentrated on maintaining as much control as she could over the ship. She wouldn't be able to keep from crashing, but she could at least try to minimize the damage. The ship began to flash warnings which Michelle ignored as best she could. Only when an irritating grinding noise began deep in the hull of the ship and rather than flying it seemed to just be falling at a sort of forward velocity did Michelle begin to implement her plan. She unbuckled her safety harness and was immediately thrown off balance as the ship rocked harshly to the side. She growled at the ship, planting her feet as she held the throttle down and wrested her port-comm out of her belt. As best she could with only one hand, she quickly typed in a program that would allow the ship to send messages to the hand-held device once she sent the remaining power to the engine. She set the port-comm down as it finished loading and flipped a switch on the controls.

Action not recommend. Diversion of cockpit power may...

Michelle didn't bother to read the warning as she hit the continue button. There was a high pitched keening noise and suddenly the cockpit went dark. No more flashing lights, no more warnings, no noise. No control. Michelle pulled her hand off the lifeless throttle and wiped the gathering sweat off the back of her neck.

"Okay," she muttered. "Out of my hands now."

There was a sickening plunge forward as the engines re-engaged, and without anything controlling the momentum of the ship it banked starboard, once again causing Michelle to stumble against the chair. She steadied herself, then, as the small army below her became just visible through the starboard window, she grabbed her port-comm and pulled herself towards the back of the ship.