Public Domain - authored by Dee Dreslough
The four ships swung into orbit above the western continent, Tara's Golden Hinde
taking the lead ahead of the Dark Hope and Singularity II with the diminutive scoutship Arralla's Pride following
behind.
"I'll take the helm, Ir'est. I'd like to land this bird personally." Tara
shot a stern glance at the bristling Rakal. She was still reeling from his disobedience. He had no right to risk
himself or any other Alphas in this dangerous landing, but refused to transfer to any of the other ships. He argued
long for the honor of landing the first ship on the new home world, but she would do the landing. On the new homeworld,
he would far outrank her as a regent of his hive, but for now, she was Captain. If she'd had the time, she would
have thrown him in the brig, but they had to start the mission, and she did need him. At least the seven other
Alphas remained safe on board the other ships. His ego be damned - he'd have his place in the history of his people.
This was her landing.
You'll take a more important place in the songs, my friend - as the head of the
first free hive since Gate Five on Earth, she thought to herself, holding back a pang of worry for the Arrallin
she had come to respect so much. He was sensitive, and after all he'd been through at the hands of humans, she
didn't really want to hurt him now. He took the second seat, and strapped in, slamming the buckle shut with an
annoyed clack. Tara allowed not a trace of emotion to flicker across her face, and set her own buckle and adjusted
the straps for her larger frame.
The ship reacted sluggishly to her adjustments as she expected. "This is your
last flight, you poor old tub - make it a good one." She whispered reverently to the controls. "This
will be bumpy... she was never designed to make more than an emergency landing in atmosphere. Sound general quarters
and get everyone ready for the worst."
The metal screens slowly lowered to cover the windows, shutting out the yellow glow
that had begun as the ship dropped lower into the atmosphere. They swept in from over the smaller of the two continents,
passing over the wider of the two oceans, dubbed 'Sea of Kayev' by the survey crew. Extending the braking fans,
the ship lunged and bucked as it approached the large continent. Her goal was to splash down right near the coast,
and pull up to shore to make a basecamp, but the ship had other ideas. Tara compensated for the turbulence, pulling
up the nose and extending the splashdown pads. "1000, 800, 700, 600, 450 meters". Suddenly, a radiation
scale went red as a warning siren sounded.
A ripping blast shook the ship, punctuated by a scream from Harmon. Frantically,
Tara tried to keep the nose up as the ship pitched and caught the ground with a wing. The last thing she remembered
was Rakal, his fur on end, grabbing her jumpsuit in his teeth, dragging her along with wicked feral strength and
muttering "Next time I land..."