Tisis

Zero hour (N)

The hours pass ever so slowly.

I've checked every nook and cranny of the room, but there's no escaping.
And even if I knew how to repair the access panel, I am lacking the tools to do so.

My father was right.
We are completely screwed once we are stripped of our technology.

Tears are rolling down my cheeks, as the hopelessness of my situation hits me once again.
But that's not all I'm feeling.

I am angry...not so much at Thaxlamsho'm, actually, but more at myself.
For failing my father. For failing my people. For failing myself.

He had me completely fooled and despite all my cautiousness I didn't see it coming...no, that's wrong.
I was panicking.
I fled into my responsibilities...I clung to the familiar things.
And that made me blind...too blind to see the signs.

I get back up to my feet and mutter, "Alright girl...technology is not going to save you now and moping has never helped anyone either...I need to think now...if what he says is true, the vermin will soon break free and wreak havoc...he may be right. This is probably the safest place for me to be right now...a completely sealed room, where I can wait until their leader assumes...wait a second..."

A simple, yet powerful realization hits me.
Thaxlamsho'm said, that he counts on my father getting killed, so the leader of this uprising is passed the command of the ship...that means, that he must be second in command, otherwise the ship...

I lean against the nearby wall and start laughing.

Thaxlamsho'm's voice booms through the door, "Jom, are you feeling alright?"
I snap at him, "No, I am not feeling alright! Let me out of here already!"
"I am afraid, that I cannot do that, Jom...I have long since smashed the manual override on this side, so even if you somehow managed to convince me to, I am unable to open this door again. However rest assured, our leader will free you without fail."

I sigh and mutter, "Right...like Ede he will...Thaxlamsho'm! Your plan is flawed! Your leader will not gain control of the ship!"
"I assure you, everything has been taken into account. We will not fail."
I close my eyes.
I don't know if he's bluffing about smashing the control panel, but if I want any chance at getting out of here in time to make a difference, I need to do it.

I need to play out trump card.

"Listen, even if they slaughtered every single one on the bridge, your ever so glorious leader, who is probably hiding somewhere in block A will not assume control of the ship. Not as long as I live!"
"...Jom Lushomagans, I assure you..."
"...because I am second in command. I am the captain in training. If my father perishes, the ship will seek out me, not your leader."

Silence.

Clearly, this hit him. Good.
Following through with his plan means he'll have to kill me...which means he'll have to open the door. And I will be ready to give him a good piece of my mind, once he does.
I grab a steel pipe and prepare.

But the door doesn't open.
Instead, Thaxlamsho'm says, "That is...most unfortunate."
"Damn straight it is, now let me out of here so we can stop this madness before it is too late!"

But it already is too late as the speakers come to life, playing a song I had never heard before, which gets all but drowned out by the echoes of the vermin flooding from their cells.

Thaxlamsho'm says, "It has begun...the day of reckoning is upon us. I shall plead before Garkla for your safety, Jom Lushomagans...and that you will do the right thing, once the time comes and save our people."

I hear someone yell, "Don't leave any of them alive!", then multiple gunshots, some screams...and then I hear rattling on the door and someone shouts, "Hey, this thing here is locked!"

I brace myself for the door to get broken down any second and my swift and ultimate demise, but it never happens.
Instead someone else yells, "Leave it be. It's probably just a storage room."
"But...why did that guy stand guard before it? This might be an armory!"
"Yeah well, see that panel? It got smashed in the fight and I'm not wasting any time on trying to get that door open! Now get a move on!"

Hasty steps and then there's silence again.

Only this time, I am alone.