The sample of titanium boiled under the intesnse heat, instantly liquifying and filling the container with a silver substance. Dr. Stephen Akston increased the heat and watched as the titanium fluid turned to gas, becoming invisible to the naked eye. He shifted his seat over, placing himself infront of the gleaming high-power microscope, leaning over and placing an eye over the black rubber view piece. The atoms grew in size as he twisted a notched knob, zooming in further. The balls of matter surrounded by electron clouds bounced around the container, slamming into each other and the walls. Stephen grunted softly, satisfied with the results.
Removing himself from the microscope he slid his chair across the laboratory, passing walls of computers and screens, adjacent to workbenches and cupboards. The entire room was washed a gleaming white, the knobs and buttons the only source of colour in the room.
Bending over a sample of his special titanium-steel alloy, a sharp grey compared to the silver sheen of the pure titanium. He sealed the sample in a heating chamber and turned up the heat. He set it to the melting point of regular titanium and watched, waiting. The metal sample did nothing so he upped the heat. Still nothing happened as he continued to twist the heating knob, sending the temperature way past that of anything natural. He continued until the metal was under the same conditions as that of the sun. Only then did it start to bubble.
"So we can't fly through any stars," he mumbled, satisfied with his creation. Not that there was any room for doubt at this point, the ships had already been built, he just needed to clear his mind and set himself at ease.
The man in his mid-thirties shrugged out of his labcoat, hanging it on a hook in the lab. That would be the last time he put on the white cloth it was his last day of work too. He slipped into his enviro-suit, the reflective outer layer crinkling as he did so. As he sealed the full body jumpsuit he grabbed the visored hemlet, completely white aside from the mirrored visor. He brought it down over his head, covering the shaggy brown hair that lay atop his brow. He heard the click of the suit sealing to the helmet and the respirator hummed on, pulling air into and pushing it out of the suit.
Stepping into the air-lock, the door to the lab closed shut with a loud snap, sealing him off. The door to the outside slowly opened, harsh sunlight blinding him for a few moments. Even with the visor, it was extremely bright.
Stephen walked out onto the cracked pavement, the soles of his enviro-boots quickly growing very warm. He dared a nervous glance up into the sky, trying to get a glimpse of how close the sun was. The great glowing ball of fire sneered down at him, seemingly amused at their impending doom. In only a decade the sun would grow even larger and consume the Earth before it finally exploded, disappearing from the universe forever.
The man trudged on, headed for the giant dome in the centre of the city. It was the size of a suburb and as taller than a seventy floor apartment building, you couldn't miss it. He passed housing complexes, resting in the shade they provided under their massive reflectors. He spotted a tiny shriveled speck of green poking out from a tiny fissure in the old and weathered pavement. Stephen stooped, examining the little plant, amazed anything could grow in the intense heat the giant sun provided. He felt a little sad, longing for the days when forests still existed.
Hurrying on, his pace quickened when the great dome entered his line of sight, the giant metal structure completely mirrored on the outside. The reflected light was harsh, burning his eyes through the visor.
Soon the whoosh of the airlock filled the air as he stepped through, entering the facility. When he was safely sealed off from the trecherous outside world he removed his helmet and enviro-suit, exchanging them for Navy fatigues. He took the bundle of clothing from a security officer and headed for the armoury. he needed to outfit himself before his final mission.
Entering the armoury, he greeted the staffer inside and headed to his locker. It was one among a row of many, opposite a wall of guns, armour and spare uniforms. He twisted the lock, rolling over each number necessary. There was a soft click and the door was open, revealing the meager possessions he deemed important. He slipped into the Navy uniform, brushing his fingers over the metal eagle pin indicating his rank.
"Captain Akston, sir. Are you ready?" the voice of ensign Samuels was solemn from behind him.
"Give me a moment more," Stephen replied, doing up the final buttons of his collar.
"Of course sir," Samuels stepped back, giving Akston a bit more space.
The Captain collected his belongings and filled a duffel bag, finding a spot for each one. He zipped up the blue canvas bag and slung it over his shoulder.
"Let's go," he said gruffly. There was a huge lump in his throat and fear permeated his thoughts. Failure was not an option and timing was of the essence. They had to proceed now or all would be lost and all efforts would have been in vain.
Stephen followed the ensign into the large chamber that made up most of the dome. When he entered he felt a strong sense of pride. He stopped in his tracks for a moment, looking upon the massive spacecraft that rested in the centre of dome. His own design, his success or failure. It was a giant lifeboat, a lifeboat for the entire human race. There were domes just like that one in every major city around the world, one last-ditch effort to save humanity since reversing the Sun's decay was impossible.
The craft was nearly as large as the dome itself, and was the same grey colour as his titanium alloy. The hull was a mixture of that and heat resistant ceramics, nearly guaranteeing it would survive exit of the atmoshpere. The massive contruct looked like an amalgamation of many apartment builings and aircraft carriers but Akston knew it was one solid structure, the thrusters on the bottom and in the back, with large cannons and missile bays on both the starboard and port sides. He wished they had not put those on, it was a civillian transport, not a warship but he could not argue with the admiralty and the UN. It was what they had wanted.
Akston followed the ensign to a hatch near the bridge of the ship and climbed up a ramp into an airlock. The grey colour of the craft's insides was broken by a strip of navy blue that lined the bottom of the bulkheads. Each section was colour coded for ease of navigation. The military component of the ship was blue, civillian was green and so forth.
All of the soldiers posted around the halls were grim and stony faced. Not one looked Stephen in the eye. He guessed they were sad and fearful. They had every right to be, nothing like this had ever happened before.
The hallways passed by and Stephen's stomach filled with butterflies as the bridge neared, it's giant glass windows providing a wide view of the dome, and the many workers scrambling on the ground. Some were rushing people into the housing compartments. It was a little late for that, but better late then never, Stephen thought.
A man in a black uniform with a collection fo stars pinned to his vest approached Akston as he walked into the centre of the bridge, admiring the fantastic work.
"A beauty, isn't she?" Admiral Cole said, gazing at the plethera of consoles and controls. "You did good work designing her, I'm glad it was you on the job,"
"Honoured sir," Stephen said, raising a hand in salute. Cole returned the gesture and turned to the captain's chair. "It's all yours,"
Stephen nodded and took his place in the seat, the leather both comforting and daunting. Being in that chair meant one of the most significant events in human history was about to begin. It was time to evacuate the Earth.
The Admiral moved to a console and picked up a microphone. "Get everyone aboard the Shepherd, we are preparing for launch," the words sent a chill down Stephen's spine. It was truly happening.
Lights began to flash in the bridge and ensigns and officers scrambled to their places. Akston watched as the staffers on the ground began boarding the ship. His heart rate quickened, his hands shaking slightly.
"At your command, Captain," Cole's voice sounded distant, even though he was right behind Stephen. The Captain nodded, readying himself.
"Begin launch sequence," Akston nearly sighed.
"Beginning launch," Samuels' voice echoes behin Stephen.
"10 . . . 9," Stephen heard the great groan of steel as the dome's roof slid open.
" . . . 8 . . . 7," The thrusters kicked in, causing the ship the vibrate slightly.
" . . . 6 . . . 5," The rumbling became more violent, the sound deafening.
" . . . 4 . . . 3 . . . 2 . . ." Stephen's heart was going at a blistering pace, a lump in his throat.
". . . 1 . . . and we have liftoff!" The walls of the dome began to pass by the window as the spacecraft began to rise, speeding into the sky, tons of fuel already spent.
Akston watched as other domes opened and identical craft began to rise into the sky, carrying humanity to a percieved safety.
His eyes caught a small orange flicker on one of the ships in the distance. It had looked like flame but, no, that was impossible. Stephen's heart sank as his fears were affirmed and another plume of fire erupted from the starboard side of the ship, black smoke billowing. There was another explosion and the ship began to fall, now a raging fireball.
"God damn it . . ." Akston heard from behind him. It could have been anyone, he knew that's what everyone was thinking.
He shook his head, there would be time to grieve later, they had to get to space first. He flipped open the control panel fitted into the Captain's chair. He pressed buttons and slid his fingers along the touch screen, changing the trajectory of the ship, angling it towards the predetermined course.
It was about a half hour before the spacecraft was in space, joined by the other ships from all over the world. It was a huge fleet, headed by the Shepherd. They rocketed off further into space, leaving the Solar System, fleeing the impending explosion of the Sun.
Looking out into the vast expanse of space, Stephen no longer felt opposed to the heavy cannons and missile bays installed on the ships, they were strangely comforting.