--- /dev/null
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2022 Jason Self <j@jxself.org>
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later
+#
+# You can redistribute and/or modify this story under the terms of the
+# GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software
+# Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any
+# later version.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public
+# License along with this story. If not, see
+# <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+==== The Escape ====
+
+"I'll go first," Eldar said as he moved past me. "Follow right
+behind."
+
+Eldar and I hustled down a corridor of the Chyufõũ̯ in our stolen
+flight suits, hoping against hope that this crazy plan might work out.
+All that was left was to get through the ship's hold and onto the
+flight deck. We had no choice but to take this route; any other would
+have too much risk of detection. But, unfortunately, we couldn't just
+get into one of their fighters and take off. The Xẽĩians would detect
+our unauthorized launch and send fighters to recapture us. Or worse.
+
+We were both armed with small hand weapons, which probably weren't
+much use against the Xẽĩian soldiers but were better than nothing. Our
+only advantage was surprise and speed. Eldar turned at the next
+intersection and sprinted down another passage. I followed him,
+keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of movement or activity but
+nothing seemed amiss.
+
+Finally, after several minutes of running without incident, Eldar
+stopped abruptly and gestured ahead. A group of four Xẽĩian soldiers
+walked by at the end of the corridor, each carrying a weapon. Two of
+them were chatting about something, while the other two appeared to be
+scanning the walls with a device. They didn't notice either of us as
+they passed. It looked like it was all clear.
+
+We hurried down the corridor until we reached a ladder leading up to
+an open hatchway. Eldar took a quick look around before climbing up
+and disappearing inside. I followed him, moving quickly to keep from
+being noticed.
+
+I found myself standing in a large room filled with equipment and
+supplies when I heard Xẽĩian voices coming from somewhere deeper
+within the compartment.
+
+"Stay low and keep your eyes open," Eldar warned. "The hatch to the
+hold is not far from here."
+
+Eldar's expression became grim when the voices started moving in our
+direction. He frantically gestured to a large storage crate near the
+back wall. "Over there!" he whispered. We climbed into the storage
+crate, huddled together in the dark space, breathing heavily. "Stay
+quiet and don't move," he whispered. His voice sounded strained.
+
+"What are you doing?" I asked. "We can't stay here. If they find us--"
+"I know what I'm doing," he hissed angrily. I felt foolish for
+interrupting him. He had seemed so confident and calm when he had
+suggested this crazy idea at the beginning. Now, though, I could see
+that he was nervous. It made my heart sink.
+
+I wanted to say something to reassure him but wasn't sure what. So
+instead, I pulled Eldar close. I could feel his body trembling
+violently and realized that he was terrified. "It's okay," I
+whispered. "I'm right here." He took a deep breath and nodded. "If
+they find us, they'll kill us," he whispered.
+
+I knew that even if we could make it to the flight deck without being
+found, the chances of escaping were slim. But, still, it was better
+than staying aboard the ship. "This is the best chance we've got," I
+tried to reassure him. "This will give us a chance to escape."
+
+After several long moments, the Xẽĩians approached the storage crate.
+I remained silent and tried to relax but thought I recognized one of
+the soldiers from earlier.
+
+They walked by without even slowing down as they continued their
+conversation. I exhaled slowly and let out a sigh of relief. I looked
+over at Eldar, whose face was tense. He nodded and gave me a
+thumbs-up. "Good," I replied. "Let's get out of here." Eldar nodded.
+"Okay," he said. "Here goes nothing." He opened the crate, and we
+scrambled out.
+
+We ran forward and around a corner, making sure to keep quiet. At the
+far end of the corridor, there was a large hatch with a control panel
+on the side. We ran up to the hatch, and Eldar punched the control
+panel beside the door. There was a click, and the door slid open.
+Eldar rushed inside. I followed close behind.
+
+We were on the upper level of the ship's hold. The first thing I
+noticed when entering was the smell. The stink of unwashed bodies,
+unwashed clothes, and unwashed hair, along with the tang of vomit and
+urine, hung in a heavy cloud over the hold like an old friend that had
+not seen me for years.
+
+The room was dark, illuminated only by dull red lighting. It was full
+of people, but there didn't seem to be any order to their positions. I
+could see them shuffling around, huddled together in little groups, or
+else sitting alone on the deck plates as if they were afraid to touch
+anyone lest they catch something.
+
+"Come on," said Eldar, tugging at my sleeve. "Let's keep going. We're
+almost there." He walked towards one of the airlocks that would take
+us onto the flight deck.
+
+He went through the airlock ahead of me, then turned back and waited
+for me to follow. I looked down into the hold again. A man sat by
+himself against one wall, his head buried in his hands. Two women sat
+close together on another flooring section, whispering between
+themselves. One was crying softly.
+
+"How many?" I asked. Eldar shrugged.
+
+"A few hundred? More than a few."
+
+I stood in silence for a moment, watching the people below me. The
+wounded had gone to the medical bays. Those who weren't hurt, or at
+least not severely, made their way here. Some were moving slowly about
+the hold. Others were sitting still, staring blankly at nothing. I
+imagined how it must feel when you've lost everything as the world's
+destroyed. When the only home you knew was gone, and everyone you
+loved died.
+
+I saw a man move away from the group and turn towards the far end of
+the hold. As he moved closer to the bulkhead, the light caught his
+face, turning it gray, and his skin seemed loose on his skull, sagging
+under the weight of age.
+
+He reached the corner and disappeared from view.
+
+"Samnang!" Eldar whispered loudly, standing at the airlock. "Over
+here! Come on."
+
+I followed him through the airlock, stepping out onto the flight deck,
+and Eldar closed the hatch behind us. We both looked around, taking in
+our new surroundings.
+
+We were standing on an expansive flight deck with four massive wings
+jutting out either side of the hull to my left and right. Each held
+eight hangars, each hangar holding up to six fighters. I looked down
+at the deck. The metal plating was torn and buckled in places,
+scorched and covered in soot. I could see the starfield beyond the
+ship's hull directly ahead at the front of the flight deck. Behind me,
+at the rear of the flight deck, a ramp led up to the ship's main body.
+I could hear faint sounds from inside, echoing off the walls, but
+otherwise, the flight deck was silent.
+
+"Where are the pilots?" I asked.
+
+Eldar shook his head. "Not here yet. They'll come soon enough."
+
+"So, what do we do now?"
+
+"Now we wait."
\ No newline at end of file
projects / universe.git / commitdiff