Starliner: Freedom

School

The thing was hairy, she thought, looking at the hair sticking out of the plain pants and shirt that Ko'lar had put on it. The hair hung in large clumps off its head. There was a fine layer of hair on its arms. The worst was the hair on its face. It looked like a large chunk had fallen off its head and stopped at its chin. The hair was wiry and stuck out at odd angles. What is Ko'lar thinking? Bringing something that ugly to school? Shaking her head Tiy-sola took her seat. Instructor Brik entered and took one look at the hairy thing dominating the far corner. He tried and failed to hide his surprise. He pushed some pads off his desk and quickly bent down to get them. A moment later he reappeared, his face blank and unreadable. Pushing a button on his desk, the view-board at the front of the class changed to display a stellar chart.

"Ok class, we shall pick up from where we left off last time" Instructor Brik started his lecture. A low groan emanated from the class. It was quite clear that they wanted to hear Ko'lar's presentation. It was equally clear that Instructor Brik was not going to change his schedule. The presentations were not until the second half of the class and that’s where they were going to stay. It was one of the slowest classes they had ever had. No one was paying any attention to the lecture, who cares about what happened hundreds of cycles ago? But Instructor Brik was not to be persuaded otherwise.

"Now who can tell me how the Sh'akka were finally defeated?" Brik asked no one. Which was a good thing since no one was listening.

"Class?" There was the tell-tale sign that the instructor was getting tired of no one listening to him. This could mean a pop quiz later. Tiy-sola quickly pressed the button that would indicate she was ready to answer the instructor's question.

"H'Trae, would you like to answer the question at hand?" He picked one of the boys that had been staring at the hairy thing.

"Prime negative two hundred cycles?" H'Trae said timidly.

"You got the date right. Well, it would be right if I had asked 'What cycle did the arms treaty of Juppa become Core Law.' However, I did not ask that." Brik drew another breath. H'Trae is really going to get it this time. Tiy-sola thought to herself. Serves him right for not paying attention in class. Even H'Trae could tell what was coming. He squirmed in his large chair, six out of his eight arm-legs fidgeting. Luckily for H'Trae the end-of-class buzzer sounded.

"Don’t think you'll get off that easy H'Trae. I want a two hundred word pad on the Juppa treaty on my desk by the end of rotation." Instructor Brik called out over the growing din of students. "For the rest of you a one hundred word pad on the final battle of the Sh'akka" I don't think many heard him, oh well their loss for not paying attention. Tiy-sola picked up a pad and was about to start, when she realized that she wasn't going to be alone in the class room as she normally is. There was a fairly large group of students gathered around Ko'lar and her hairy thing. The hairy thing had crouched and was staring intently at the students. The intensity of the stare was making many of the onlookers nervous. Several had already backed off from it. Ko'lar, loving the attention that she was getting, had already started into her presentation.

"The species is very primitive. They have rudimentary knowledge of building things and have developed a semi-language." Ko'lar was saying as Tiy-sola walked over to the group.

"He looks like a person. I mean the general body seems to be at least close to us, or most of us any way." One boy from another class said, looking at some of the different races standing there.

"Yes the form is similar to the standard body." Ko'lar replied without hesitation. "But if you look you will see that the brain is a lot smaller then most and I've been told that they don't use even half of it."

"Where did you find it?" called out a girl from the back of the group.

"My father got him for me a few rotations ago. He was in the lab tests on the station, but they decided that he would make a better pet then test subject." Ko'lar was addressing all the students, not just the one that asked the question. At that moment the lighting flickered causing a few comments from the group. Ko'lar didn't seem to notice and continued with her inprompto presentation. "The species is quite aggressive and will spend most of their time fighting one another."

"And you think that fighting makes them good pets?" Tiy-sola asked. Ko'lar turned to look at her.

"Because the tendency towards aggression is strong in them, they are usually fiercely loyal to one person and one person only. That makes them good pets. All I have to do is make him loyal to me and teach him not to fight." Ko'lar said in a mater-of-fact voice.

"Y-you mean … he … s-still …" stammered one of the smaller boys, backing away from the large hairy beast.

"No. He will not try to hurt anyone because of the collar." Ko'lar pointed to the collar that sat around his neck, covered almost completely by the hair on his face. "If he tries anything all I have to do is press this button here on the controller and it the collar gives him a small zap. It is the only way to teach him anything."

"You use pain to teach him?" Everyone turned to see Instructor Brik standing at the front of the room. Ko'lar's frown matched Brik's.

"Yes, since he can barely understand Gal-basic, you just can't explain it to him and have him understand it like a person would. My father says that he is little more then an animal that looks like a person. That is also why I have named him B'garr. It means 'beast-animal' in my native language." The lights took the pause to flicker again. Brik looked up at them and muttered something under his breath. Brik seems worried about the lighting. Tiy-sola watched as a Brik nervously shuffled pads on his desk around. I guess I should be too, since the generator is on-campus there should be no interruption to the power. The start-of-class buzzer sounded and the group started to break up. Many of the students were from different classes. They headed towards the door, but before any of them got there the lighting cut out completely.

"Ok, no one move. The lighting should come back in a moment." Brik's voice carried in the dark. After a long time that seemed forever, the lighting came back but only at half power.

"Must be the converter, or it could be the transfer tube." H'Trae said, nervously looking around. Others were looking around in the eerie half light, their faces full of worry. In the distance, the hiss of a ship entering the atmosphere could be heard. It was quickly followed by another, and another. Soon all they could hear was hissing of many ships cutting through the air, falling through the clouds and racing towards the ground. The floor trembled and shook. The view-board shattered spraying the class room with glass, people screamed.

"Calm down and we will leave the school in an orderly fashion." Brik took charge and started directing the students towards the door. Promptly the hall outside the class room exploded in fire and debris. Through the dust and smoke the students started panicking. They ran. They collided with desks and walls as well as one another. Tiy-sola was hit by someone and fell down. Ko'lar lay on top of Tiy-sola, fear in her eyes. They both tried to get up and failed. Then Ko'lar was lifted into the air. B'garr had pulled Ko'lar off the ground. He looked at her, as if he wanted something.

"How … how dare you … you touched me!" Ko'lar screamed at the hairy beast-animal. She reached into her slim shirt and pulled out the controller. "You are not to touch me again!" She yelled as she pressed the button. B'garr gave a soul-wrenching cry and clawed at the collar. Ko'lar pressed the button again and again. Every time B'garr would cry out in pain.

"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Tiy-sola made a grab for the controller. Wrenching the little box from Ko'lar's tiny fingers, Tiy-sola turned to see where B'garr was. He was crouched under a desk. Hate burning in his eyes, as he stared at the box in her hands. Tiy-sola paused for a moment, then she took a few steps towards him stopping only an arm's reached from him. She turned the little box over in her hands. His dark little eyes watching her every movement.

"Here, you deserve to have this. It is not right for her to hurt you like that." She told him and then dropped the controller. He looked at the controller, he looked at her, then back to the controller. Picking up the box, he gave a low grunt. He looked at her again. Then, surprising her, he gave the little thing back to her. He grunted again as he closed her fingers around it. Cries of pain and confusion brought them back to the scene around them. Moving to see what was happening to the others, Tiy-sola put the controller into her pocket. If he wants me to hold on to it, I will. But I will never, ever use it. Hearing a soft moan she walked to where a desk had fallen over. H'Trae lay pinned under it. She knelt down to check to see if he was okay. H'Trae opened a few of his many eyes.

"Ouch. What hit me?" He asked.

"I think the desk did." She replied. She tried to lift the desk, but she couldn't budge it. Hearing a loud grunt, she spun around to see B'garr straining to lift the heavy desk. Slowly but surely the hairy fellow managed to lift the desk. Tiy-sola tugged and pulled H'Trae until he came free. She then saw that two of his arm-legs were broken and a large crack ran down the length of his hard-shelled back.

"Think you can stand?"

"I might need help." H'Trae tried to stand, and fell back to the floor. Leaning on Tiy-sola, he managed to get his big bulk off the ground. The room shook and they both tumbled down. Tiy-sola felt a strong hand helping her up. B'garr was holding her carefully, looking into her eyes.

"Thanks" She said to him, patting his arm. Then she turned to aid H'Trae. With help from B'garr, the two of them got H'Trae off the ground once again. They moved him over to a clear area by the instructor's desk. Brik came over to them carrying the small boy that had asked Ko'lar some questions earlier. There was a cut on his head that bled a bluish colored blood. Several other students came or were carried over to the ever growing group of injured. Brik started to tend to those that he could. Tiy-sola went back into the cloudy, dust filled chaos that once was a nice clean class room. She didn't have to look behind her. She just knew that B'garr was there ready to help her. Okay, this helps lots. Having B'garr following me like Mimmu. Tiy-sola was lost in thoughts of her pet. The little furry thing she had found last cycle. It had followed her every where she went. She was ripped from her memories as a flash erupted from a near by wall. Bits of the building showered her, throwing her off balance. B'garr was there instantly to steady her. Before she could do anything else, a shadow covered them both. Three large muscled men stood in the hole that was a moment ago the back wall of the room. They carried nasty looking curved blades, and each had a look on their face that turned Tiy-sola's blood cold. The one in the lead put away an ugly looking blaster and started to advance on her.

"Lookie wat we finds 'eres." The lead one's voice was laden with cruelty. Tiy-sola tried to back away but she tripped over a broken chair. B'garr let out a low growl. Two of the cruel men just stood there letting the lead one advance alone. Grinning wickedly the man swung the curved blade, aiming for B'garr's head. But his head wasn't there. Ducking the swing, B'garr grabbed a chunk of wall and flung it at the attacker. Hitting the attacker square in the face, he took a step back. Not waiting for the cruel man to recover from the blow, B'garr picked up a piece of chair and used it like a club. He bashed it into the side of the attacker, the curved blade clattered to the ground.

"Git 'em!" the lead attacker yelled to his comrades. The other two started to move towards B'garr, but he was already charging them. Dodging past the first blade, B'garr smashed his makeshift club into the second. The hit was followed by a jab. The attacker was forced backwards where he fell over some debris. B'garr let out a pained yelp as the other attacker had struck the sharp edge of his weapon into B'garr's arm. B'garr turned quickly, tearing the weapon free of his arm and letting dark red blood seep through the light cloth of his shirt. As he turned he swung the club, crushing it into the face of the attacker. The attacker collapsed to the ground, twitching once. The leader of the group pulled out his blaster and was taking aim at B'garr's back. Before the man could deliver a killing blow, he was assaulted by a hail storm of debris. Tiy-sola had regained her footing, and had started throwing anything and everything she could find at the cruel man. The man gave a loud howl, and charged the girl. Tiy-sola spun out of the way. He charged her again. She didn't move this time. Instead she heaved a fist sized chuck of rubble at him. It rammed into his chest. The cruel man fell to the ground, wheezing and coughing. His ugly blaster spilled onto the floor. Tiy-sola grabbed the blaster. She was suddenly pushed onto the ground. Looking up she saw B'garr and the other attacker grappling. Each had one hand on the club and the other hand on the curved blade. Not knowing if she should intervene, Tiy-sola paused. The leader, back on his feet, pounced. Falling backwards Tiy-sola closed her eyes and fired. The zap-bang of the blaster and a scream of pain followed. A heavy weight fell on top of her, pinning her to the floor. She slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened. The leader lay on top of her. His eyes glossed over and fixed. The sound of B'garr and his attacker fighting continued in the background. Tiy-sola tried to move the body off her, but she couldn't budge it. She tried again and again. It was then that she saw the small boy moving slowly towards her. He had a bandage across the cut on his head. When he got to her, he simply bent down and lifted the heavy body off her. Not only off her but off the ground. He was holding the body over his little head as if it weighted no more then a pad. Thanking the small boy, Tiy-sola climbed to her feet. Looking for B'garr, she spied the two fighting figures on the grass outside. Rushing to B'garr's aid, Tiy-sola bounded through the hole in the wall. She didn't get more then a few steps before she stopped. B'garr pulled the curved blade from out of his adversary. Using the fallen man's clothes as a rag, B'garr cleaned the blood off his blade.

"B'garr" she called out. He looked up. We need to get out of here before more men come. Tiy-sola was about to express her thought to B'garr when a scream reached her ears. Running down the slight slope and coming around to the front of the school, Tiy-sola saw three more cruel men. The men were advancing on a large group of students. Tiy-sola took aim at the closest of the three. The zap-bang of the blaster sounded the death of the man. The other two men turned to see who had killed their comrade. Zap-bang, zap-bang. The second man fell to the ground but the third had dodged the shot meant for him. Drawing his blade, he charged. He only covered half the distance before B'garr crashed into him. The two men tumbled onto the ground. Rolling and yelling the two thrashed about. After a fierce struggle, B'garr got up. The other man lay still, his own blade protruding from his chest. Sighing in relief, Tiy-sola walked over to B'garr. She looked down to where the body lay. Resting on the man's hip was another blaster. Ti-sola quickly bent down and with a little help from B'garr managed to get the man's belt off him. She buckled it around herself. B'garr removed and cleaned the man's blade. He offered the blade to Tiy-sola.

"Thanks." She said taking the weapon and placing it in its sheath. B'garr saw the sheath and smiled. He then ran over to one of the other men and took off his belt.

"He seems to be learning quickly." The small boy said walking over to where Tiy-sola was standing. Tiy-sola noticed that the boy was holding one of the blades in one hand. In the other was a belt. In fact it was a belt with a blaster holster.

"I thought you might need this." The boy said, shaking the belt. "But I see you got one already."

"Thanks, maybe you can use the belt and this blaster." Tiy-sola offered the blaster she was holding to the boy.

"I … I don't … I don't know h-how to use one of those." The boy stammered.

"Tok si bree-tuk" spoke a voice from behind them. It took Tiy-sola a moment to recognize her native language. 'I will take it' is what it translated to in Gal-basic.

"Bree-tuu ni yat." Tiy-sola replied, turning to see the speaker. An older girl stood there. Yellow-brown hair cascading down her back and a slight sliver tan on her blue skin.

"I thought I was the only one of our people here. It's nice to see a blue face for a change. There are way too many green or red or … or … what is that?" the girl pointed at B'garr.

Laughing, Tiy-sola answered. "That's B'garr. He likes to follow me around. I'm Tiy-sola, and this is …" She paused. The boy had never offered his name.

"Marnok. My name is Marnok." The boy said with a slight bow.

"Well now, it's nice to meet you Marnok. My friends call me Fay-ru."

"Fay-ru? As in the fable?" Tiy-sola asked.

"Yes. My mother really likes that story. My real name is the same as the girl's. Do you really know how hard that name is to pronounce? It might be easy for you and me, but with all the other races here, some can't even grasp the spelling of it let alone to say it. That's why I ask people to call me Fay-ru."

"You were named after her? Good thinking on the name change." Tiy-sola said, suppressing a chuckle. The roar of an engine reminded them where they were. Seeing a small craft landing almost on top of them, the three students scattered. Oh no. Tiy-sola's eyes went wide as seven or eight men jumped out of the craft. They wore armor and carried blaster rifles. Uttering a defiant howl, B'garr rushed into the group of men with his blade swinging. Wasting no time, the men fired upon B'garr. Tiy-sola fire at the men again and again. Cries of pain and the sounds of weapon fire filled the school grounds. Fire, duck, dodge, fire and fire again. Tiy-sola's world started to narrow until all she could see was the battle. She had both blasters out and was firing for all she was worth. Then it was over and silence filled the battle ground. The dust settled and Tiy-sola could see what had happened to the once green field. Fay-ru was holding a blaster rifle and was sitting weakly on the ground. Marnok was holding the bandage on his head. Fresh blue blood covered one side of his pale green face. B'garr stood in the middle of the field. His hair soaked with blood, most of which was not his. He also held onto the side of his chest with one hand, his own blood seeped through his fingers. Rushing over to him, Tiy-sola tried to think of what to do to stop the blood. Flashbacks of that short class from the Medi-aid came thrusting to the front of her mind. Ok, bandage and pressure should slow blood flowing out of a body. Elevate the wound to above the heart … where is B'garr's heart? Reaching B'garr at a dead run, Tiy-sola nearly collided with him. She quickly ripped his ruined shirt and rolled it into a simple bandage. She placed the makeshift bandage over the fist sized hole in B'garr's chest. Giving into the administrations of Tiy-sola, B'garr slowly lowered himself to the ground. Tiy-sola could hear a large number of people behind her, but she was too focused on trying to save B'garr to care. Suddenly someone stuck a skin bonder in her face. Tiy-sola looked up to see the school Medi-aid.

"This should help." The Medi-aid said. Tiy-sola moved out of the way so he could get at B'garr's wound. He said nothing as he worked. Tiy-sola dared not go far for fear that B'garr may need her. Need me for what? The Medi-aid is here, so what could I be needed for? Still not venturing far, Tiy-sola went to see how the other two fared. The cut on Marnok's head had been reopened. Brik was there placing a new bandage over it. Other then being a little dazed, Marnok seemed to be fine. He smiled at Tiy-sola.

"It's nothing but a little scrape." He called out to her. She stood over Brik, not wanting to say anything. I got them into this battle. We should have left when we had the chance. Thoughts of running away and hiding flooded her mind; but what of the other students? Don't we have a responsibility to them too? Thoughts of the men and their weapons pointed at the students, her friends, her rivals, collided with running and hiding leaving her confused. Fear of what the men could and would do to them, along with fear of what she had done to the men to stop them made her want to curl into a ball and never come out. A hand shook her out of her thoughts.

"Hay, you should get that looked at." Fay-ru said, pointing at Tiy-sola's arm.

"What?"

"Here, sit down." Fay-ru slowly helped Tiy-sola into a sitting position. Tiy-sola saw for the first time that there was a charred hole in her tunic. Fay-ru carefully ripped the sleeve and exposed the wound. A slight burn mark was all it was.

"You're lucky, it's just a graze." The Medi-aid said as he walked over. "I'll look at it in a moment." Passing them, the Medi-aid went to see what he could do for Marnok.

"How is B'garr?" Tiy-sola asked, looking around. Spying him laying on the ground, she got up and moved over to him. He looked up weakly as she approached. She took his hand in hers. Sitting there next to B'garr, she felt as if the world had dropped away. She didn't think of what had happened. She didn't care about the men, or even the other students. She only knew of her and the wounded B'garr, sitting there on the once green field of the school grounds. She lost track of time. It might have only been an instant, or it could have been cycles. It didn't matter. She felt safe here, next to B'garr. Someone spoke. She didn't hear. They spoke again. She slowly came back to life. Shaking her head, she saw the speaker for the first time. Fay-ru had a look of concern on her lovely face.

"I thought we lost you."

"What? I never went anywhere. I was just sitting here with B'garr." Tiy-sola said slowly, trying to clear the fog that had settled in her mind.

"That's what I mean. There are more then a few students like that." The other girl spoke carefully, making sure that what she was saying was getting through to Tiy-sola.

"Like what?" Confused Tiy-sola glanced around. Bodies littered the battle field, and small whiffs of smoke lifted into the air from miniature craters. There was only about six or so students and staff that walked among the chaos. Over by the front doors there was a large gathering. Looking closely, Tiy-sola only saw about half the people there moving about.

"See? Many of the students and even a few staff have gone away inside themselves. They say nothing. They don't move unless you make them. They just sit there." Fay-ru's voice broke as a tear made its way down her cheek. "It's really sad to see them like that." The quiet words were barely heard.

"It happens to some, after a terrible disaster." The Medi-aid startled Tiy-sola. Looking down she saw a small patch on her arm where the burn was.

"There you go." The Medi-aid said putting the skin bonder into the kit he carried.

"Will B'garr be okay?" Tiy-sola looked at B'garr. Squeezing his hand, she felt him squeeze back.

"He has lost a lot of blood. If we can find a proper medical infirmary, he will recover much more quickly. As it stands right now …" He trailed off, looking worried. Marnok wandered over to them, half carrying H'Trae. H'Trae had his broken arm-legs in bone regenerators and a knitting pack had been placed on his shell.

"Are you okay? Do you want to sit down?" Tiy-sola started to get up when B'garr's hand, still holding hers, pulled her back to the ground.

"I'm fine. Linro here did a good job on me." H'Trae nodded towards the Medi-aid.

"It's was nothing. H'Trae has had worse. Remember that game of Jentoo?" Linro replied with a little chuckle. Jentoo was the most violent game that the students were allowed to play, providing that the parents had signed a note. The staffs they use are padded instead of metal. Still the students can and do stuffer bruises as well as the odd broken bone.

"You know …" H'Trae looked thoughtfully at the small craft that the men had come out of. "This is only a short ranged atmospheric craft. It can't go any further then say the station."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there has to be a bigger ship out there somewhere. Something along the lines of one of those new stellar jump ships, or maybe an older model freighter. It has to have the space to carry this little craft and it must be able to refuel it as well." H'Trae looked at the little group, making a point to stare each one of them in the eyes. If we're all going to get out of here we're going to need something bigger then this little craft. Wait! We can go to the star port and maybe, just maybe, find something we can use. Tiy-sola looked towards the city, in the distance just within sight was the star port. Smoke issued from many places in the city but the star port seems from this distance to be untouched.

"We need to get out of here, that's for sure. Waiting here until more men come is not something I want to do. There should be larger ships at the star port in the city." Tiy-sola pointed to the smoke clouds and lights. "If these men are here then that means that the guards in the city have fallen." She spoke for the first time the fear that was in the back of all their minds. "We need to get everyone we can off the planet. If we're lucky we will find someone to help us. We should head towards the central planets. Alert the central guards as to what has happened here." Tiy-sola spoke it all in one breath. Sitting there, she looked up at the others. No one said anything. Moments crawled by. Brik was the first to speak.

"She's right. Something has gone wrong, terribly wrong. Maybe even war. The first thing we need to do is get out of here. If it is war then the central guards may already know about this. If not then we have to tell them. We'll have to get a ship that will hold all of us." Brik paused to look down at the large group in front of the school. "We might even be able to find others in the city to help us."

"We can use this craft to get to the star port." H'Trae indicated the little ship sitting next to them. "Does anyone know how to work it?"

"That’s a Port Hopper. They are made to go from star port to star port on a central planet." Everyone turned to see Ko'lar making her way to them. She did not look at the devastation that she was walking through. Her eyes never wavered from staring at the little group. Tiy-sola felt B'garr's hand start to shake. Rage seared his eyes as he glared at the girl approaching them. Tiy-sola patted his hand.

"She is not going to hurt you. She will never hurt you. Not while I'm here." She whispered.

"A Port Hopper is almost the same as the Skimmer my father got me while we were living on Preka. That’s a central planet you know." Ko'lar said with a sneer directed at Tiy-sola.

"So you're saying that you can fly this thing?" Brik interjected, trying to ignore the looks the two girls were giving each other. Never taking her eyes off Tiy-sola, Ko'lar replied.

"Yes, I think I should be able to. Well …" Ko'lar finally looked up. "That is if it hasn't been locked out." With a pat on B'garr's hand, Tiy-sola let go and got up.

"Fine, Ko'lar you'll fly us to the star port. Linro you stay with B'garr and the others, you're skills are more needed here with them." Tiy-sola swung her arm in the direction of the school and the group in front of it. "H'Trae if you think you're able to, I would like you to come and help us find a suitable craft. Something large I think. Marnok, you can help H'Trae. Fay-ru seems to be able to handle these weapons. We might need such people if we run into anymore of those men." Tiy-sola paused to take a breath. Spying a blaster rifle laying not too far from her, Tiy-sola bent down to pick it up.

"Who died and made you ruler?" Ko'lar hissed. Not bothering to answer, Tiy-sola continued on.

"Brik, you'll have to stay here. Try to keep the other students calm." Exhaling, Tiy-sola looked from one to the other. Stopping at each to see if they knew what they were to do. Five of the little group nodded when she looked at them. Ko'lar did not however. Sighing, Tiy-sola explained.

"Look Ko'lar, you can fly this thing, so you'll be needed to go. H'Trae can find us the ship we need, so he needs to go. Marnok can help H'Trae in moving about so he's going too. Fay-ru and I know how to use these rifles, which might be needed if we run into any more men, so we're going. B'garr is hurt so he's staying. Linro can tend to B'garr as well as anyone else that’s injured. Brik is an instructor, so he can keep order among the students, which means that the two of them need to stay." Tiy-sola looked Ko'lar in the eyes, "now tell me, who would you send to find a ship and who would you have stay here with the students?"

"I … I would …" Looking fluster, Ko'lar bent her head in defeat. "You're right. I would have us go and those two stay." She pointed at Brik and Linro.

"And what of B'garr?"

"Stays." Ko'lar replied to the ground.

"Then it's settled. We should be going quickly." Tiy-sola slapped her hands together ending the discussion. She spared a look at B'garr before she hoisted the rifle into her arms. The others had already started to pile into the little craft. She climbed in after them. The hatch shut and they were sealed in. Tiy-sola took a seat between Marnok and Fay-ru. She saw that both had a belt with a blade in its sheath. Fay-ru also had a blaster holstered to one side. Tiy-sola started to inspect her blaster rifle, and Fay-ru did the same to her own rifle. Marnok got up and opened one of the panels lining the side of the craft. Ko'lar was fiddling with the controls. H'Trae just looked worried.

"Hey look at these." Marnok's voice was muffled because he had his head berried in the panel. Pulling his head out, he drew a piece of armor from the depths of the panel.

"Good thinking." Fay-ru said jumping up and grabbing the armor. She quickly donned it as Marnok handed Tiy-sola another set of armor. Seeing that there was more then one piece to the armor, Fay-ru dived into the panel to get the rest of hers. Suddenly the engines roared to life.

"Here we go!" Shouted Ko'lar from where she was sitting at he controls. The craft lifted into the air a bit unsteadily. Shaking and rocking, Fay-ru was tossed to the floor. Muttering to herself, she climbed into a seat to finish tightening the straps on her armor. The ride was not smooth. The floor rattled and shook. The metal benches they sat on shriek and groaned in protest. Tiy-sola felt as if she was on some sort of cheap ride at the park. It wasn't the best trip she ever had. Her bones and muscles started to ache from trying to keep her in her seat. An explosion rocked the little craft.

"Someone is shooting at us" Screamed Ko'lar in a panic. The craft dropped violently, plastering the passengers to the ceiling. As quickly as the descent was, it was over just as quickly. Ko'lar had managed to level the craft off. The passengers flopped into their seats.

"This can't be good for my shell." H'Trae spoke, rubbing the pack on his shell with two of his arm-legs.

"Getting blasted out of the sky can't be good for any of us either." Ko'lar said, not looking up from the controls. "Hang on, they're not done yet." Ko'lar quickly pressed a number of buttons. The craft pitched to one side then veered to the other. It dove and twisted. Turned and banked. Two more explosions where felt by the crew of the little craft. Ko'lar franticly manipulated the little knobs and dials. A flare of light could be seen out the front of the craft. It was followed by an explosion.

"Ha! Take that!" Ko'lar's voice was filled with excitement. Another flare of light flashed in front of the craft. Okay, so Ko'lar has found the weapons on this thing.

"Uh oh … Hold on to something!" Ko'lar yelled back to them. Before any of them could move the far side of the craft was ripped away as fire consumed it. Then the four of them were staring at the void that was a moment ago one half of their craft. The remaining half plummeted down. With a quick twist of a knob and a timely press of a few buttons, the craft's landing thrusters fired slowing the rapid fall from the sky. It was over before any of them knew it. Tiy-sola opened her eyes to see grass and trees. Sitting up, she looked around in a daze. Tree, tree, grass, upturned dirt, wing, more dirt, debris, Marnok. Seeing her friend lying in a pile, Tiy-sola got up and moved over to him. Before she got over to him, he sat up quickly.

"W-what happened?"

"I think we crashed." Replied Tiy-sola, helping him get to his feet. A few small fires burned slowly. Debris and dirt littered the area around the crash site. The two friends looked for their comrades. They found Ko'lar under what used to be the control panel.

"Okay, that wasn't the best landing I've ever done. But still, we're all right, right?" She asked, shaking the dust from her shoulder length white hair. While Ko'lar dusted her ebony skin off, the other two were busy looking for H'Trae. They found him buried under one chunk of wing. He remained unconscious as they dug him out. The knitting pack had ripped and they could see the crack on his shell was mostly healed. They sat him down in a relatively debris-free spot. Marnok had found a bottle of water. Tiy-sola ripped a piece of cloth from the leg of her pants and soaked it in the water. Placing it on H'Trae's head, she glanced around.

"Ko'lar, you and Marnok need to find Fay-ru."

"No they don't." Fay-ru's voice called out from under a pile of dirt and metal. Marnok ran over and quickly removed the metal from off her. Getting up, Fay-ru used two rifles as support.

"Here, I think you dropped your rifle." Fay-ru said handing over the weapon to Tiy-sola.

"Are you okay?" Taking the offered rifle, Tiy-sola slung it over her shoulder.

"I'm fine. It's just a little sprain. I'll walk it off." The other girl said with a smile.

"Well, umm, is anyone going to help me up?" H'Trae spoke, scaring the other four students.

"Don't do that!" Ko'lar slapped him lightly. Marnok bent down and lifted his friend up with one hand.

"Are you sure you're ready to go on?" Tiy-sola asked the group. With nods of agreement all around, the five students started to walk away from the crash site. After a short walk they came to the edge of the forest. The sight that greeted them was one of utter dismay. They stood at the edge of the city. Most of the buildings lay in ruin, the rest were either burning or nearly collapsed. They could see the star port from their vantage point. The tower and surrounding buildings were ablaze. What few ships there were had men in armor crawling all over them. Seeing this, the students' hearts sank. Tiy-sola stared at the scene, hoping beyond hope that what she was seeing was not happening. The others looked away. Tears filled Fay-ru's eyes. Marnok and H'Trae sat down, defeat hung heavily on their faces. Ko'lar kicked a rock and sighed in disappointment. Suddenly H'Trae looked up.

"Wait a moment! What about the scrap yard?" H'Trae looked excitedly from one face to the next.

"Scrap yard?" Ko'lar was the first to respond.

"Yes the scrap yard. There was the really cool old ship there a few rotations ago. With all this going on, I bet those men haven't had a chance to get to the scrap yard." H'Trae's excitement started to spread to the rest of the group.

"Do you think that ship still works? It is in the scrap yard for a reason." Tiy-sola spoke with care, trying not to let the excitement into her words.

"It should, I think … well I did watch them bring it in. They were flying it. I think it should still work. They wouldn't have had the time to take it apart too much." The excitement started to fade as H'Trae started to think about the ship and what could have happened to it.

"Well lets go see if its still there. It beats just standing here." Tiy-sola looked at the others to see if they were coming. Quick nods confirmed it and they were off. Walking away from the devastation, the five lone figures faded into the trees.