Crashing Down

The view of the sky becomes partially blocked by the appearance of a display screen Ezri has just opened up. I stand beside her chair grudgingly to be in view of the camera – only because she had threatened me at gunpoint when I didn’t comply at first, and when that didn’t work, she threatened Jasper and Shiloh instead.

I give the control board a once-over while Ezri prepares the call. Over half a tank of fuel, a hazard indicator in the clear-zone, a warning saying only 5 seconds of time are allocated to the ship’s shield… But there’s a few systems that are grayed out, with the word “DOWN” in big, red letters. That probably doesn’t signify anything good.

“Jamming this ship through the Racer, flying out HQ, all that combined with the battlefield… Did quite a number on it,” Ezri says, noticing the object of my focus.

“It just sounds like you were irresponsible to me.”

I hear a stifled chuckle from under her mask. “Do you think you could do better?”

“Absolutely.”

“Maybe I’ll let you be Admiral then, see how well you’d fare.”

She finally sends out the call, somehow already knowing where Dad was taken to. Was she spying on the evacuation? A few seconds of pinging, and the other end answers. But instead of Dad, it’s Lux, with a glare sharp enough to cut glass.

“Well, well, if it ain’t the bastard herself. Surprised you were so considerate enough to give us a call. Here to give your condolences?” Lux says.

“Maybe something like that, but as much as I’d love to talk to you, Secretary, I want to see the president. Where is he?”

“None of your concern. The president has given me authority, so if you have anything to say, you say it to me,” his eyes then dart to me, observing the armor I’m wearing. The air of hostility about him only intensifies as he asks, “Calla, have you gone nuts, kid?”

Before I can respond, Ezri interjects, “What, you think I persuaded her over to my side so easily? Don’t make me laugh,” she roughly grips my shoulder, pulling me down to her level. “But the ‘kid’ here is definitely a topic of importance in this matter. I’m running out of patience, though, so I suggest you go get him.”

“Like I said, I’m the one you will be speaking to, and that’s final.”

Ezri rolls her eyes and mumbles something unintelligible. I can’t believe she actually has the nerve to feel annoyed, and in an instant, my disbelief soon turns to horror as Ezri aims a turret on another section of the city. Before I can even blink, she fires it – out comes at least a dozen laser beams, striking below. Just like earlier today, the buildings are set ablaze and topple over, while any unfortunate citizen is obliterated.

“Did you hear that, Secretary? That was the sound of your civilians dying, while you decide to be stubborn. If you insist on being defiant, I won’t stop until only ashes remain – now, get the president.”

Lux’s anger mimics my own. If looks could kill, it’d be his. He stands up from his seat, his hand balled into a fist. “I see, so that’s how we’re playing this then,” he says as he momentarily leaves the room, slamming the door shut. When he returns, it’s with Dad – and gosh, he looks terrible. Hair disheveled, clothes ruffled, all while sweating buckets. He’s even worse than when I saw him last.

“Wow, do I really make you that nervous, Mr. President?” Ezri says with amusement. “I won’t bite – so long as you don’t resist the Liberation, that is.”

He leads Dad to the chair, helping him settle onto it as if he’s an old man in hospice – Lux seems beyond unimpressed, the side-look he’s giving him filled with nothing but judgement. “Here he is, happy?”

“Extremely.”

Lux’s presence gives me some hope. It’s not the way I ever wanted to go out, and I’m obviously not thrilled about it – but if I have to die for my country like this, then so be it.

“Mr. President, I’m going to make this short and simple – surrender the IPU, and your daughter lives. Refuse, and she dies. What is your choice?”

While Lux looks like he’s about to punch a hole through the monitor, Dad turns even paler, like all the life has just been sucked out of him. I know he’s dreading that he’s about to abandon his responsibility as a leader. Admittedly, there’s a part of me that feels comforted by his love, but the other side knows he should do what’s best for the IPU instead—

“No!” Dad shouts out, slamming his hands on the desk. “The IPU will not back down, it will not! You will be found and punished for your crimes against humanity, so count your luck, you piece of filth!”

Wait, huh?

Ezri holds my face in her hands and says pitifully, along with a subtle hint of enjoyment, “Not even for the sake of your precious little girl?”

“I will not be exploited!”

Even Lux is surprised. But, Dad did— the right thing. It’d be senseless to throw away the IPU for the sake of one person, even if… That person is your child.

…

Without even hesitating, too.

…

It's for the country. Yeah, he’s just being a good president. I mean, I was expecting for Lux to make the hard choice, not him, but— that doesn’t matter. At least this shows he’s finally stepping up. I’m proud of him.

….

Dang – he couldn’t at least take a minute to think about it, though?

Then, it hits me again – that deep, almost knowing sense of foreboding. Out of the blue, this scene playing out in the cockpit feels familiar.

“Blondie, duck down and hold onto something,” Ezri says, snapping me out of my trance. I hadn’t even realized the call was shut off as I stared out into space.

“What? —” She then suddenly grabs my arm and yanks me onto the floor. “Hey!”

“Grab onto something, now,” she says sternly as she flips up a switch, the one connected to the shield.

At the exact moment she does so – BOOM. The whole ship is now shaking violently, and it’s tipping over. Following Ezri’s instructions, I tightly wrap my arms around a lever stand. “Critical damage, critical damage, critical damage,” an automated voice repeats over and over. What the heck happened? Nothing even showed up on the hazard indicator!

“Alright, this is it,” Ezri says, more to herself than me.

“This is what!?”

“Just brace yourself.”

Staring up at the glass, the stars in the sky are moving rapidly – no, it’s the Spearhead moving. Falling, plummeting to the ground. Shiloh, Jasper – crap! Smoke from a spot of the ship pours into the outside air, and the city becomes less and less distant. Ezri, controlling the ship as much as she can, guides it beyond the Capital, beyond its border lines.

We now face a massive territory, its only feature being grounds of sand and rock, the Boundary. Already so soon, the Capital is diminished to a skyline in the distance. Getting closer to the surface, the Spearhead is about to land splat into the middle of nowhere, with civilization miles away.

Again, Ezri activates the shield, with only three seconds left on the timer. Briefly, a force field forms around the Spearhead, encapsulating us within a barrier of interconnected webs – but it isn’t strong to fully withstand the impact from crashing straight the earth.

The Spearhead clanks up and down against the hard soil, and I feel every single hit, my body being tossed like a ragdoll. A window cracks, a gust of cold, night wind blowing into the cockpit. The ship comes to a rough slide, causing it to shudder, the vibrations coursing through me. When it finally eases to a stop, one that’s far from graceful, Ezri and I are jerked forward, nearly smashing against the control board.

Panting loudly, my chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, I scramble onto my knees, checking my pulse. With the rate it’s going at, it might as well burst through my skin, but at least it means I’m still alive.

“What the— why are you laughing?” I ask Ezri, who’s holding her stomach as she giggles, once I can actually manage to say something. “We almost died, what’s wrong with you!”

“Almost? I already died, but this time, I lived,” she says triumphantly, yet not without some exhaustion.

I squint my eyes at her while attempting to recollect my bearings. “What are you even talking about?”

“This isn’t my first rodeo in your time, Calla. The both of us have lived through these same events before. Except now…” she slowly rises to a stand, walking to exit the cockpit.

Without a limp.

“ … Things are finally falling into my favor.”