Weekly Expression #9 ~ BK

Kate took a deep breath as she pressed her jacket with her hands, flattening the wrinkles. She was nervous. And that was an oddity for her. A strong, independent woman, overcoming every obstacle thrown at her, raising the bar for the men around her and here she was, quaking in her boots at the thought of meeting the most powerful man in the world.

Why they wanted her to wait on him was ridiculous. She had other, more important duties to perform. Maybe she should look at it more as a personal escort, private security type job. After all, he was the most important man and many people were on the watch list of very aggressive blokes.

She knocked and heard him say “Enter.” She walked in and shut the door behind her. He smiled.

“Commander.” He nodded as they walked towards each other. He held out his hand and she shook it. “It’s my privilege to be on board with you.”

“The honor is all ours, Mr.President.” She placed her hands behind her back as she took her stance. He walked over to the table and picked up his small cup of coffee and walked across the room to the open window. The view overlooked the clouds.

“This is fine ship. May I call it a ship?”

“Yes, Sir. She’s the finest ship in the fleet. The first of her kind.”

“But newer ones have been made, with newer updates...so to speak?”
“Yes, but in my personal opinion, the original is always the best. We can count on her to get the job done.”

He smiled and nodded and turned his attention back on the clouds. “How long have you been aboard, Commander?”

“Three months. This ship belongs to Commander Harris who regrets that he cannot meet with you until later. You did get to visit the bridge, correct?”

“Yes, it was magnificent. And complicated!” He laughed and she couldn’t help but smile.

“Commander Harris was gracious enough to offer me his second in command position for this mission. Sir, I have been wondering.” She looked over her shoulder to make sure the door was shut. This was stepping out of line on so many levels. “What is the mission?”

“I was hoping you would ask!” He turned around so fast, it startled her. He quickly put down the coffee mug on the small end table to free both his hands. He pulled out a small flash drive out of the inside pocket in his suit. “This, Commander, this is the future of U.S.Global.”

“What is on it?”

“That,” He pointed into the air. “Unfortunately is classified.” He replaced the flash drive into his pocket.

He picked back up the mug and sipped at it. Suddenly he looked depressed and she wondered why his mood had quickly shifted.

“How old are you, Commander, if I may ask?”

She smiled. “I am twenty nine.”

“I am only twenty four and already I have the world’s burdens on my shoulders. I don’t know how to handle it all. If it were up to me, I would tell you everything that is on that drive but my advisors advise against it. I see their points but this is something I am so excited about. This literally contains all future knowledge. And it is hard to not explain it to you.”

He took another sip as he paused. “You and I are similar. We conquered society’s list of “don’ts”. I will bet you were the first and youngest female Commander.”

She couldn’t hide her pride in that fact. She nodded. “Right on both accounts. Youngest and first female.”

“And I am the world’s youngest President. But I am also a genius.” He tapped his head with his forefinger. “It is truly amazing what you can accomplish when you really want something. Why, just the other…”

A loud explosion made the ship jolt. She fell to her knees. She looked up and the President was just getting to his feet. Coffee was spilt all over him. She ran to the communicator and hailed the bridge.

“Bridge, what just happened?” She yelled into the speaker.

The foggy voice came back just enough for her to hear. “We lost engine one.”

There were three engines on this ship. They could still stay in the air with two. “Stay here!” She ordered as she ran to the door. The ship jolted suddenly from another explosion and she fell forward into the door. She could hear more explosions and felt another jolt.

Her mind was racing. What was happening to the ship? It was as if it were being blown from the inside out!

Suddenly the floor underneath the president began to crack. Their eyes met after both watching the floor. Both eyes went wide. His face went white as he remained motionless. She quickly pulled herself up and ran to the center of the room just as it began to fall out from under him. She dove then, grabbing onto the table’s leg that was secured to the floor and caught his arm just as he began falling out of sight.

They both grunted as she stopped his fall. Below him was broken levels of the ship. She thought for a moment she could see even the ocean they were drifting above. She grunted as she tried to pull him up, which was difficult to do with one arm. She could feel him beginning to slip.

He reached into his pocket with his free arm and pulled out the flash drive. “You have to make sure this gets to Markovich. Do you understand?”

“No, I’ll get you up.”

“No, there isn’t any time. Get this to Markovitch or all is lost!” He reached up and held out the flash drive. Not wanting to let go of the table leg, she reached down and took hold of it with her teeth. The ship jolted again and she lost her grip on his hand. She watched him fall. She opened her mouth to scream her anger at losing him. The flashdrive began to follow him to his death. She let go of the leg then and began to slide down slightly. She grabbed onto the drive and a cord hanging out of the floor simultaneously. She put the drive safely in a pocket and climbed up out of the hollow floor.

The ships gravitational system was failing and she climbed up the once flat floor to the door and into the hall.

She finally made it to the bridge. Everyone was scrambling to hold onto something or locking themselves into their seats. It was utter chaos. Commander Harris climbed up to her.

“Where is the President? Is he secure?”

She shook her head solemnly. “No. The floor beneath him fell out. I tried..”

He immediately grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, a crazy look in his eyes. A look also of desperation. “Did he say anything to you? Did he give anything to you?” He emphasized the word ‘give’.

“Yes.” She pulled out the flash drive, confused at her Commanding officer’s actions. He forcibly pulled her out of the bridge, into the main hall. It was a downward walk this time. They nearly ran to the escape shuttle. He threw her in there. “Get that to safety. Whatever it takes. Goodluck.” He nodded and shut the door. Panic filled her. She quickly got into the only seat and strapped in. This was more of an escape pod. It was meant for only one.

For the only who would escape certain death.

She felt her body shift upwards as the pod went down from the inside of the ship. A spark flew past her, followed by several more. The pod’s system was failing. The lights began flickering off and she could hear the small engine fail.

And then it was silence in dead air.

The pod shook as it fell through the air. She held onto the straps and closed her eyes. Her heart was racing. Fear finally wedged into the spot where adrenaline now failed her.

She gasped as the horrifying ride was finally over. She could hardly breathe as smoke began filling the pod. She reached down and pulled out her knife and cut the straps off. She held with a firm grip the handlebar above the exit latch and with all her might, kicked out the door. She swung out and rolled onto the ground. She breathed in the clean air as she relaxed for just a second. A strange sound pulled her out of this feeling. She pushed herself to her hands and knees and looked up to the sky.  Falling quickly was the maiden ship of the Eagle class. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she pushed herself to her feet and sprinted down the coastline. The sound of creaking and crunching metal ripped through the air behind her. The loud screech felt like a stab to her brain but she pushed forward. Finally, the large ship met the earth. The ground shook as it pushed her into the air. She rolled onto the ground as the earth rumbled. She dared not look behind her but covered her head with her arms and let the dirt and dust wave flow past her. She waited until the air settled before she picked herself up and slowly turned around to see the damage. The ship, her ship, was destroyed. Several large pieces of the ship had broken apart and were buried half in the sand. Not wanting to face the reality and the carnage of the crash, she screamed into the air. Grief washed over her and she could not help but allow several tears to escape. Who was there to watch? No one could have survived that crash. Survivors guilt already began to plague her heart. Why had it been her? Why not the President? Or Harris? Why her?

She shook her head as she began to trudge along the coast, heading straight for the wreckage. As much as she wished to run away, she had to go back. She would need supplies and a weapon if she were to brave the forest beyond.

Time seemed to drag on as she picked her way through the wreckage. She had climbed through one of the large pieces of the ship and found what was left of the arsenal. She picked up the long bow. How many years had it been since she used one of these? It seemed more like an ancient relic rather than an actual weapon. It was then, as she lifted the bow over her head she saw it. It was a trophy of Commander Harris. To the naked eye, it was just a piece of metal. But as she pressed the button, dust spewed out as it folded out to create a longer metal knife over a foot long, with ragged edges on both side. Used in the Great War of the new millennium, Commander Harris, in his younger days had killed hundreds of rebel scum in hand to hand combat. It was honor to hold it. She clutched it tightly, knowing she needed it to survive but felt guilty for taking such a trophy as this.

She found a satchel and buckled it around her body. That was enough scavenging she had the strength for. She walked over to what was left of a doorway which led down to a narrow hole that would lead her out of the wreckage. She found her footing and began to climb down.

Without warning, the wreckage shifted. Her hands slipped from their grip on the broken metal. She fell through the narrow passageway, shards of metal sticking out ripped her flesh as she fell. She screamed as she finally fell the last five feet to the ground. She could hear the wreckage shift more and she pulled herself out from under it. Just as soon as she was clear, it fell. She was breathing hard after her narrow escape. Her arms stung from the wounds she received. She walked down the coast, mentally exhausted. She pulled off her uniform jacket and used the small tears to rip off bandages for her arm. She pulled them tight around her arm to stop the bleeding. As she tore the last of the jacket, a small metal shard fell to the sand. She almost paid it no mind, until she realized what it was.

The flash drive.

Her heart sank as she realized she nearly lost it. Not wanting to lose it again, she did what she knew she needed to do to keep it safe. With luck, she would make it to the nearest outpost by nightfall. Enough time to keep it safely hidden where no one could find. She took a deep breath and forced the small flash drive down her through. She keeled over and tried not to throw it up. Her gag reflexes made it nearly impossible.

There.

It was safe.

It was time to get answers.