Axel ran to the internal control system and pulled it open. There had to be a way to get the AI overridden. He looked at Marcella. "Do you think you could rewire it?"

Marcella shook her head. "I only know the way the physical tech works. If you want to get an AI to change loyalty, you'll need to access the loyalty settings but I don't have a clue."

"One more chance Cain," came the voice of Rutan Kaarzee. "I really don't want to waste my plasma on you."

"Ship evacuation in twenty seconds."

"Get out of my way," snapped the young Ivarozzan. She pushed past them and knelt in front of the console. Then pulled out the keypad and her trim claws got to work tapping.

Axel glanced over her. "What are you doing?"

Cain placed a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me. Jessca's got this."

"Ship evacuation in ten seconds."

"Alright boys, light them up," said Rutan.

Cain pressed a button on the console. "Ok, ok. I'm coming out. We can speak." He walked out of the room and they saw the steps of the Homesteader come down on the monitor as Cain presented himself to Rutan with his hands up.

Jessca pushed something into Axel's hands. "Reckon you can make heads or tails of this?"

Axel checked out the book and was surprised to see that he was holding a copy of the Homesteader's logbook. "I didn't know you had the logbook."

The Ivarozzan called Jessca shrugged. "My brother took it when he stole the keys."

"Five seconds to ship evacuation."

Axel flipped through the pages and stopped on the AI build settings. He ran over to one of the consoles and pulled out his pistol. He shot the console. The laser caused it to spark and the monitor with the Ivarozzan AI flipped off taking the countdown with it.

The two sighed in relief. Then Jessca's eyes widened as she spotted the Vaxorian guards stomping towards Cain.

"We need to get this thing moving," she said. She pressed the communications button. "Cain, get back inside."

Now they had access to the logbook, Axel was able to tell what each of the controls did. He led the way over to the area described in it and Jessca shot him a cheeky grin. "Leave this to me," she said and took out a square device from her backpack which she hooked up to the ship's console.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Her trimmed claw fingers worked fast as a bunch of zeros and ones shot across the screen. Her face scrunched up in focus as she pressed buttons and digits that Axel couldn't make heads or tails of. "Where did you learn to do all this?"

"Self-taught," replied Jessca and she grinned as the loyalty settings clicked into place and the AI appeared on one of the monitors.

"AI settings completed," said the robotic voice. "Hello Captain Jessca, my name is DeeDee. I am the sentinel interface connected with the Homesteader ship. My functions include self flight, security and navigation and intellectual support. What may I do for you today?"

Jessca glanced over to the screen and saw that her brother had managed to get the upper hand on Rutan's men and was running over to the plasma cannon. Axel's mouth dropped in awe as Cain dismantled the Vaxorians from their Hyper-Titan mech suits.

"He's awesome," said Marcella and Axel felt his cheeks flush.

"Bet his cybernetics did most of the work."

Jessca shushed them and pressed the communications button. "Cain! Now!"

She turned to the controls. "I'd like to initiate a take off please DeeDee."

The AI whirred. "Take off protocol initiated."

The power of the engines kicked in below their feet. She looked at the monitor. Cain was now running towards them. The Homesteader began to climb. The ground hummed as the engines engaged and the Homesteader pulled upwards.

Jessca breathed a sigh of relief as Cain landed onto the platform. "DeeDee close the entrance shaft," she said. The entrance closed on command.

An angry beep rang out. The plasma aimed straight at them. It blew a purple blast.

"Activate phasing," hissed Axel.

Jessca nodded. "You heard the man!"

The ship just about managed to phase through the roof.

The Homesteader's three engines kicked into flight mode as it zoomed up and crashed through the atmospheric barrier. Axel was uncomfortably aware of the fact that the Engen'ozus ships could come out and attack them at any point.

Cain walked through the doors. "What's going on?"

"I'm trying to pilot a ship which was designed for a crew of eight by myself," said Axel and he ran across to another one of the seats.

The Homesteader juddered and groaned as they broke into space. The four of them held onto the side as something cracked into an engine at the back of them. They were left floating through space.

Axel's heart sank when the controls became unresponsive. "DeeDee, why can't I use the controls?"

"Error, unknown passenger. Please state your identity," said the AI.

"DeeDee please give Axel Ford, my brother Cain and," she looked over to Marcella. "What's your name?"

"Marcella Henderson."

Jessca nodded and turned back to the AI unit. "Marcella Henderson access to all controls.”

"Noted," said DeeDee.

They'd escaped safely. Axel looked up at the big round planet of Displincia. Even from up in space, you could see the fire burning all around. What was once a vibrant beautiful place to live had been brought to the ground. He swallowed the sadness back. They were alive and that was all that mattered right now.

"The transdimensional drive is fried," said Marcella. "It's going to need fixing if we want to move."

"Better make it fast," said Cain. "Otherwise those attackers might come after us."

Axel shook his head. "They're too busy invading. Rutan might send one of his men though."

Cain smirked. "I don't think so. That's not their style. They have a handle on every planet in the galaxy. They'll probably just bide their time."

So as long as they were cautious, they could get out of this alive. If Marcella fixed the drive they had an entire spaceship to themselves. All they had to do now was figure out where his father was. Quentin Ford could deal with the Kaarzee clan when they found him.

He looked at the make-shift crew he'd accidentally acquired. It was going to be an interesting ride.