Claiming Dias (book 1 of Alpha claiming series)

Asteroids and Comets

Chapter 6

Leon

“I’m going to kill Morgan once we land!” Kaden sneers as he holds onto the arm of the chair with all his might. His knuckles turned white with the strain of his muscles coiling tighter. The ship rumbles as it shakes violently from small asteroids hitting the ship's shield. The ship's gravity keeps pulling the space rocks into the shield.

Batair's deep laugh rumbled out of his wide-open mouth. I know it is in Kaden’s misery, the sick f**k has a twisted sense of humor. Anything that makes a normal Alpha clench his jaws tight in anger makes Jax laugh, uncontrollably. I am fairly sure all the battles he has been in have caused a few bolts to come unscrewed, but he is damn knowledgeable about explosives. So much so, that he is irreplaceable.

“We will be passed the Astro belt momentarily, but please remain seated and firmly strapped in as we will be coming to planet Dias’s gravity belt and will begin descending.” Morgan's voice echoes through the ship comms.

Grumbling, Kaden double checks his seat belts, tightening them further. “F*cking Morgan is going to wreck us Capt.”

I rolled my eyes before checking the fastenings on my harness to make sure it was all tight and secure. “Check and make sure the harnesses are fastened tightly and hold on!” I bellowed out to my team, hearing a few shouts back in confirmation. I close my eyes, resting my head back against the chair while I wait for the ship to pass the asteroid belt and start descending onto Dias.

An alarm starts sounding off just moments later, as the ship’s emergency lights start flashing in a warning. Morgan's voice comes back over comms as he addresses the crew. “We have a large comet that is blazing towards us, things are going to get rocky. Remain seated we are going to try to maneuver around it.” His voice is shaky, which tells me that he is uncertain if this is going to work.

Where the f**k did this comet come from? How did the co-pilot miss this f*****g issue?

It is not like comets just appear out of nowhere in space. The sheer mass of the flying f*cking rocks that shows up on the monitor can be the size of a small ship.

I glance back at my team, keeping a composed mask on while trying to remain calm. I noticed Batair's eyes lightening up as his eyebrows arched in what seemed to me like amusement. He bumps elbows with Cade, tossing his head in Kaden's direction. The chuckle that erupts out of this man's throat causes me to pause long enough to wonder if anyone got hurt. Would he readily help them or just get his rocks off?

At that thought, the transport ship shifts in space as the thrusters start propelling the ship in a spiral accent to sweep around the comet. The gravity must have been cut off within the transport ship because the personal belongings of my crew members started floating amongst us.

Shit, this must be more serious than Morgan is letting onto. I grab the harness’s clasps, un-lodging the safety mechanism, thrusting myself out of the seat. Gliding in the air towards the corridor that leads to the pilot's chamber at the end of the hall.

The ship shakes violently around me, random items come loose from overhanging compartments flying through the air. Kaden starts shouting out a warning for the men to grab onto anything that is floating around and secure them immediately. “Leon, I’m going to kill that damn pilot! You let him know that!!” He growls out after me.

I spare a glance back at him while grasping onto a swinging door within the corridor. His face is almost as white as the standard bed sheets they give us when we go on the mission's landside. The poor man is afraid, deathly so, of space travel, let alone of “turbulence.” All Batair can manage to do is snag some rations out of the air that is floating by before he erupts into more unsettling laughter. Handing the ration bars to Cade so he could stuff them into his pack for safekeeping.

I quickly propel myself further down the corridor, reaching the pilot's cabin in no time thanks to practically flying through the air. Space has its advantages, but many more disadvantages than I care to think about. Placing my hand on the black screen of the hand sensory plate, I waited for the door to slide open. The lights shut off suddenly, leaving only the red emergency lights blinking in the corridor. The door slides open swiftly to reveal a cabin of panic. The scent of their fear slams into me, pausing my advance into the cabin momentarily.

F*ck me, this is not going to end well.

“Report” is all I manage to growl out before grasping onto the same cold metal rails I did earlier that day when I dared to enjoy the view. The ship is being thrust up over the top of a f*****g mountainous comet. The sharp formations of the rock thrust outwards at every turn making navigating around it nearly impossible.

Taking in the full view of what is outside the window. I notice that it is not just the asteroid belt that is the problem, but somehow, we have entered the path of a group of incoming comets coming straight for us at incredulous speeds. The co-pilot's face is drained of color as he holds on for dear life, ignoring the blazing alarm calls from around him. The dashboard is lit up with red warnings no matter where I look, and dread fills the pit of my stomach.

Unsure of what to do, I just stand there frozen in time watching as Morgan twists the ship around the comet’s jutting rock formations. My body shakes and twists in the air as I hold myself anchored to the ship. We barely miss the tip of another peak; he twists the controls to turn the ship back to correct our path before we crash into a solid wall of rock. I swear the co-pilot stopped breathing; all is deathly silent in the cabin as I tighten my grasp on the handle I’m grasping.

Kaden's panicked voice reached down the hall. I cannot manage to make out a single word he is shouting except his words of death, lots of death. Small asteroids beat against the weak shield, rattling the ship. I watch the small rocks burst into dust as they collide with the shield, causing it to flicker briefly. It will not last much longer. The shields on the transports are not as powerful as battlecruisers. The thrusters are not made to maneuver around comets; their sole purpose is to transport settlers and troops to destinations.

Morgan's quick movements brought my attention back to the screen between him and the co-pilot. The screen shows the mass of the comet we are flying along. It could easily be a small planet that was knocked off its axis. If it wasn't for the almost black mountainous tips of rock jutting from the surface and peaks of ice formed around its outer extremities. The size of it is astonishing, but only for the briefest of moments as reality kicks in. We are going to hit it. Cursing out loud, I try to open the cabin door to alert my crew, but before the door fully slides open, I hear the groan of the ship's wing before the metal screeches while being torn off. The warning alarm turns into a full angry blaring alert as the computerized systems start sectioning off the damaged areas of the ship, sealing in the oxygen.

The oxygen level in the ship drops so quickly that I feel as if my lungs are going to explode from the lack of air in them. I push myself back down the corridor grasping at anything to propel myself faster through the air down the corridor. My lungs burn as if they are on fire and my head starts to spin as the lack of air affects my body. Finally reaching the haul where my crew is located, I see my crew mostly intact, and the oxygen preservation masks being sealed around their faces. Grasping onto the one meant for me out of the opened compartment, I quickly sealed it around my face. Taking in several deep gulps of air, I felt the oxygen rush to my starved lungs. My head begins to swim through the mental fog as I get light-headed from the rush of oxygen to my body.

Kaden had all but broken off the arms to his chair. His knuckles are straining to retain a bit of color from the tight clasp he is holding around the arms of the chair. I swear he is going to have a heart attack if he can't calm his heart down. I can hear it beating in his chest so loudly it almost drowns out the alarms. He might need a sedative after we land, I mused before launching myself towards the broken wing of the ship. It's my duty to make sure we land safely even if I am not the one piloting the ship.

Reaching the control panel, I examined the damage that had been done. Part of the screen is black and will not flicker to life, several nods on the typing pads are busted, and a crack is running vertically across the screen entirely. My main objective is to start identifying the damage. Keying into the reports screen, I hope to hell I can read the majority of it. Reports start lining up down the page and, thankfully, I can read the major part of each report summary. The major reports are lower on the screen and parts are blocked by the black screen.

Thankfully, the most important report and protocol have been initiated. Glad the corresponding computerized protocol has started to seal off the damaged areas of the ship. The last thing we need is a computer failure during an emergency. Once I finish confirming protocol has been followed as much as possible, I slip back into the crew's haul to check on my team.

Making sure all injured personnel are buckled down and have their masks in place, I take mental notes to check back on my crew who have minor injuries after we land. I headed back down the hall, gliding towards the pilot's cabin. Unlocking the door, I floated at the entrance gazing out the window at Planet Dias.

How the hell are we going to land this tank of metal?

Is the only thought that enters my mind and is expelled through my lips.