Red lights flashed in sync with the wail of sirens. Metallic clangs quickly rang out in succession as your spaceship’s blast doors slammed shut to protect the crew. Too late. An enemy battle cruiser had rammed into yours. Both were going down. Escape pods fired off in all directions. Escape? Not now.
Your head spins as you attempt to stand. A flash of blinding pain reveals that it is not an option. You look down and realize that you used to have two legs. Don’t look at it. If you do, the adrenaline will wear off, and it could start to hurt. Your second realization is that the whole bridge crew is dead. Drag yourself. It’s the only way.
Sliding across the deck, you leave a thick trail of crimson behind. A blanket of exhaustion shrouds you. You must press on. There’s a body splayed across the control panel, the captain, his only contribution now is dripping blood onto another corpse.
The body is barely recognizable. What does the name tag say? It’s Lieutenant Manuel that the captain is so rudely dripping on. His little girls would be so upset if they could see him now. Strangely, you are glad he is here. He was always happy and willing to lend a hand. He’ll get one more chance.
Using his body, you crawl up to the panel in search of the self-destruct button. There it is, under the captain’s palm. You ascend the captain’s corpse and place your hand over his. With a breath, you think of home. Your muscles give out, and the world becomes black.
FREE LANCE 