Lost in Magadan: Extraterrestrials on Earth

“Life support and ship functions are still online. Everyone board the elevator to the shuttle bay,” Cordatus commanded, stepping up to lead the evocation efforts.

Forte knew that life support, lights, ships artificial gravity, communications, radar, LTS chambers, hanger bay doors, and the Jump Shuttles all ran off a different power source and would continue to function for hours after loss of the reactors. Still, it did not seem prudent to take the elevator. “Are you sure about the elevators?”

Cordatus replied, “We don’t have time to run down twelve flights of stairs and launch the shuttles. We have to risk it.”

Forte knew he was right. They had to risk it. As the elevator whizzed down twelve levels to the hanger bay, Forte thought to himself, “Well, this really changes my plans - for the rest of my life.”

No time for mourning the death of his future dreams of constructing an annex Moon Base, work had to be done. As he entered the hanger bay, it was complete pandemonium. Crewmen were rushing back and forth between the jump shuttles making sure they were all ready for launch. Others were running around trying to load up equipment and boarding shuttles. Commander Furier was directing her crew to load important cargo onto the jump shuttle’s small cargo holds.

“All command officers on jump shuttle 135, we are two minutes to launch,” yelled Forte into the crowd of crew frantically running from place-to-place. “Everyone else, get into a jump shuttle now. Now, now!”

Forte ran up to quartermaster Furier and shouted above the deafening sound of the ship tearing through Earth’s atmosphere, “What are you doing?”

“I’m the quartermaster, and the ship is going to be obliterated! I’m trying to salvage as much of the cargo as possible!”

“You have forty seconds to secure your cargo on the jump shuttles; then they all launch!” Forte screamed over the roaring noise ripping through the ship.

Forte ran through the center aisle, shouting the count down and telling people to secure themselves in the jump shuttles. As he reached shuttle 135, he climbed aboard from the rear, all command officers were present except Furier. “Everyone buckle up, this is going to be a bumpy ride. Transfer control of the helm to me, Pilosus.”

“Yes Sir,” Pilosus complied with the order. “Ship’s command is on your display.”

Forte made the appropriate adjustments and brought up the helm and hanger bay on his handheld display tablet. Looking across the hanger bay through the open rear hatch, he saw most everyone was settled in to their shuttles. Furier had just secured the last load in shuttle 135 and was climbing in to sit next to Captain Stella. Forte peered out the hanger and all the shuttles’ entry hatches were closed. Forte slammed the lever that brought the hatch down on the rear compartment of his shuttle.

Taking a deep breath, he entered the command code to open all the hanger bay doors. What if they did not open? What if there was a power failure right at this moment? It would not be hard to fathom such a failure, seeing that the ship was plummeting to Earth at over 10,000 miles per hour. All twelve hanger bay doors slid open; Earth’s atmosphere crashed into the hanger bay with a deafening roar.

Forte did not want to launch all the jump shuttles at once, for fear that they would slam into one another upon exiting the hanger bay. They were not designed to be ejected while free falling through atmosphere. Forte pressed the button on his display screen that would launch two shuttles that were on opposite sides of the ship. Immediately, his hand-held display monitor flashed an ominous read caution light. He looked around and noticed the shuttle next to his only partially launched and was stuck halfway out. The wind was exerting tremendous pressure on the front portion of the shuttle that was extended beyond the super structure of the Impegi. Immediately, Forte remembered the Chief’s words: ‘I don’t think we can fix them before we arrive at Earth.’

Forte had a sinking feeling in his stomach, there were two more shuttles full of people that were going to fail to launch. Forte looked over at the shuttle next to him, they were freaking out. He saw though one of the portal windows, it was the eager young officer, he was sitting still as a stone with a blank stare on is face. Forte knew this was his fault. In the pandemonium, he had forgotten that three shuttles had malfunctioning tracks. Thirty people would die for his carelessness.

“We have to launch the other ships now! there is nothing we can do; five minutes to impact,” Cordatus urged him.

Forte knew Cordatus was right. What if launching his own shuttle was futile? Maybe the next button he pushed would be killing him and the others in his shuttle. It would be what he deserved, punishment for his sin of neglect. Forte launched two more shuttles from opposite sides of the ship. No red lights. Both successfully launched.