By E.J. Hammon
The tiny spaceship sputtered to a slow crawl as it hovered close to the outer ring of the planet some races called Saturn. Lumara snapped to attention as she checked the power gauge, only to realize an immediate recharge would be necessary if the crew was to land on Mimas, a nearby moon.
As she attempted to navigate through the upper atmosphere of the ring, the yellowish hue surrounding the ship made it difficult to locate her target. Her attention was drawn to the sound of Colonel Xubiak shifting his weight as he came to ascertain the cause of the ship's deceleration.
Looking out the upper bay's window, his iridescent scales shimmering against the night sky, the ship's chief engineer turned toward his inferior officer and barked, “Why are we slowing?” His booming voice could be heard throughout the inner core of the navigation room. Lumara adjusted her seating and stood her ground.
“The ship needs to be recharged or we won't make it to Mimas.” She braced herself for a tirade of astronomical proportions over the unforeseen situation. His eyes darted from the power gauge panel to her face and back again.
“You couldn't have let me know before we entered the galaxy proper?” His eyes glazed over and Lumara shifted herself away from her desk in an attempt to avoid further conflict.
“It appears the gauge hasn't been showing the accurate amount of energy, Sir. It has been showing over 80% full since we arrived in this area—“
“Enough! If I wanted to hear your excuses I would have said so, but as things stand, I'm tired of your incompetence.” His oily tail pushed a series of buttons and Lumara was thrust out of a hatch, into an atmosphere where she could not survive.
The last thing she saw before expiring was the ship's taillights illuminating the night sky.
E.J. Hammon is a Greensboro, NC based writer specializing in the true crime genre. Find her blog at www.bundyphile.wordpress.com & reach out to her via Twitter @rosedysfunction