* * *
Alyssa ran as fast as she could with a man over her shoulder. She was still at least five minutes from the bunker doors. She checked her watch. The doors would seal in three minutes.
She tried to pick up the pace, but it didn't really help.
She had never really given much thought to how would spend her last few minutes of life. All she could think about now was Fletcher. She knew that the captain always went down with the ship, but she couldn't help but cling to the hope that he could get out somehow.
She wished she had expressed her feelings for him. She wished that this was all a bad dream and that she would wake up and find Fletcher so she could tell him how she felt.
Alyssa rounded a corner and found herself in a domed hallway made of glass, the Martian landscape sprawled out in every direction. She looked up, and what she saw shocked her.
In the sky was an enormous ball of orange flame. It had to be the size of one of Mars' moons, looking like a colossal flower blooming in the upper atmosphere. Then she saw a wave of dust moving at an incredible speed towards the base. The shockwave.
She turned around and ran back to the last doorway she had come through. The doorways were reinforced slightly more than the open hallway, and she prayed it would be enough to save them.
She laid Tom down on the floor, face first and braced herself for the impact.
I love you Avery Fletcher, was the last thing that went through her head before the explosion shook the very foundation of the planet.
* * *
Alyssa awoke suddenly. Everything was blurry and her head was pounding. She tasted her own blood and felt her head. There was a gash across her forehead and her left arm was pinned under a piece of metal that she couldn't identify.
She could hear a rasping sound that she at first thought was her own breathing, but she soon realized that it was Tom.
He lay on his back, a jagged piece of blood covered metal protruding from his stomach.
"Tom!" She shrieked, her voice cracking badly. She could feel the dust in her throat. Pulling with all of her might, she managed to get her arm free.
"You're going to be okay, don't worry," She whispered, knowing it was a lie.
Tom coughed, spitting up blood. "Tell..." he coughed again, violently, "Tell her I love... her." His head fell back as he let out his last breath.
Alyssa closed Tom's eyes, and then, assuming the fetal position, she cried. She cried harder than she ever had in her life.
Just as she felt she was about to drift into unconsciousness, she heard metal shifting. She looked around and saw that an emergency bulkhead had comedown to seal off the side of the room were the glass hallway had been. The other side was blocked by a pile of fallen metal.
She watched as the metal moved. Piece by piece, the metal fell away until she saw a face looking at her from the hole that had been cleared. A pair of blue eyes peered at her.
Fletcher, she thought, and then she passed out.
Section Twelve
Emergency Bunker
0234 Hours
April 13th, 2167
Fletcher looked at Alyssa as she slept.
She looked perfectly peaceful. The doctor had completely healed the gash on her forehead in a matter of moments, thanks to modern medical technology.
"Captain, I would really like for you to get some rest, you've been through a lot today." Doctor Trinneer placed his hand on the captain's shoulder.
"Sorry Doc, I'm not leaving until she wakes up."
"Well it might be awhile." The doctor sat down in the chair beside the captain. "How did you manage to escape that blast. I saw it all from the security monitors. That was some explosion."
"Honestly, I don't know," He looked at the doctor, blinked several times and continued, "The last thing remember, I was staring at the countdown screen. It said thirty seconds. I remember thinking about what it would feel like to die; what would happen. Then there was some kind of explosion behind me and... I woke up in an escape pod in the room next to Alyssa and Tom. I was using a scanner to determine where I was, and their biosigns showed up on the other side of a pile of metal."
"Your basic instinct for self preservation must have kicked in, causing you to seek a way out. The shock from the blast and the impact of the escape pod probably caused some memory loss. It will most likely come back with time, but one can never tell. The mind is a tricky thing."
"If you ask me, I think it was more than just basic survival instinct. Someone up there was looking out for me," Fletcher said, winking.
Doctor Trinneer was about to respond when Alyssa started mumbling and Fletcher grabbed her hand.
"Alyssa? Can you hear me?"
She opened her eyes and looked into Fletcher's.
"Your inside the bunker. I..."
He was cut off as Alyssa lifted herself up slightly and kissed him. "I love you," she said, and then she fell back against the pillow returning to a comatose state.
Fletcher looked at the doctor, who was smiling. "I think she'll be fine."
Epilogue
United Earth Headquarters, New Switzerland
0900 Hours
November 17th, 2167
Captain Fletcher looked out over the crowd of people sitting in the huge room. Rows and rows of dignitaries from every country murmured. There was even a row filled with Russian defectors that had come to help United Earth with the cold war that was taking shape. He and his senior staff stood in a row across the stage, each one with a smile on his face.
The rescue ship had come, just as they had depleted their supply of emergency rations. All two-hundred-eighty-four remaining crew members had been crammed onto the relieve ship and taken home.
When they had made it safely back to earth, they had all received the highest commendation from the Governing Counsel.
The captain stepped up to the podium and a hush fell over the crowd.
"Seven month ago, sixteen men gave their lives for the protection of my crew. Our lives are forever in their debt." His voice echoed though out the silent room. Someone coughed and Fletcher continued.
"Their sacrifice must not be forgotten." The captain looked over at the counsel members sitting at a table on the right side of the stage, then back to the crowd.
"Word has spread of what was discovered on Mars; of the alien ruins that were uncovered. We now know that we are not alone in the universe. Today, mankind takes it's first step towards a bigger future. A future that my crew and I would not be a part of if not for those brave men."
The crowd erupted in an applause as captain Fletcher stepped away from the podium and took his place beside Alyssa.
She looked him in the eyes.
"We might have survived the first part, but I have a feeling that this is just beginning."
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