Kyra stood on the bridge, watching as an imperial cruiser approached. “They found me,” she thought, “How did they find me? We were so careful about everything!” If they captured her, everything she had worked so hard for would be over. She watched as the cruiser launched a barrage of missiles. “It’s not over. I can still get away.” The lights went off as the missiles hit their target. It took a moment for the emergency lighting to turn on, but it did. The captain came rushing into the bridge.

“Kyra, you have to get to the shuttle! It’s our only chance. Go!”

Kyra nodded. She turned and ran off the bridge, running past the crew scrambling to defend their ship. More missiles hit, and the whole ship shook. Kyra managed to brace herself on the wall. She kept moving. It wouldn’t be long before they boarded the ship. She had to get to the shuttle.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

After a few minutes, Kyra found the shuttle. She frantically tapped at the control panel, trying to get the airlock to open. The ship shook again. “Those must be the boarding pods,” she thought, “I’m running out of time!” Suddenly the door in front of her slid open. She scrambled inside, and it slammed shut behind her. She sat in the pilot’s seat and started frantically pressing the controls to disconnect the shuttle from the main ship. She felt the shuttle fall from the belly of the ship as the artificial gravity turned off. The shuttle rocketed forward, away from both ships. She didn’t know where to go, so she set the autopilot for the nearest inhabited planet. The computer acknowledged the command and changed the shuttle’s course. Kyra felt herself getting pushed back into her seat. As the shuttle turned, a large gas giant and its tiny moons came into view.

Soon enough, the shuttle entered the atmosphere of one of the moons. The bow burst into flames as the shuttle cut through the thick atmosphere. The whole ship started shaking violently. Kyra could see metal sheets flying off the hull. The shuttle wasn’t meant for atmospheric entry. She hoped that it would hold together. The shuttle flew closer to the ground. The g-forces were getting too intense for Kyra, and she found herself starting to blackout.