Intro..                                                                               ...Back
Draw...                                                                               ..Along
Poems..                                                                               ...More

       "Starship Hydron: this is Life Support Technician 6918 Alia    - according to the dire
necessity protocol:  I request voice and biometric identification and subsequent scans of the
ship's surroundings:"  I said tensely and clearly with my hands on the pilot desk and my eyes
wide open: so that my old friend could have a good look at me.
       "Identity confirmed. Scans done:"        he said out in his rough ringing voice: after
hugging me several times with his blue-green flashing arms:   "attention! the ship will reach
the Roche limit of Earth in two minutes and twenty-eight seconds. The probability of the ship
maintaining its integrity is negligible. The crew's life is in danger.    Autopilot reqesting
the command for permission to close the entrance and start the launch processes."
       "Request for scans of all the ship interiors: and the subsequent granting of captain's
powers." I continued our conversation emphatically.
       "Scans completed. Captain's authority granted to Life Support Technician:      Reserve
Lieutenant 6918 Alia."
       "Close the entrance to the ship and initiate launch processes:" I ordered: reading the
list of people on board: glowing on the holographic screen:      which emerged from the desk.
       Eight civilians. Five cadets. Two officers.
       "Pier unresponsive.  Anchors down and inactive.  Leaks detected in entry room.   Dents
detected in outer shell:" Hydron said: showing me his wounds from all possible angles.
       "Close all passages to affected places.    Continue the launch processes regardless of
the condition of the hull: pier and anchors:   "I said and realized:    that I have no idea -
where we are going.
       "Enter target coordinates:"  came the relentlessly metallic voice of Hydron:  as if he
was peering into my head: and spread before my eyes map of the solar system.
       I pointed my finger to Uranus: involuntarily: somewhere there:   to the place where my
heart resides.
       The ship shook silently    and the holo-map turned into four detailed windows directly
into armageddon itself.
       Lyra's right arm no longer existed.     Its splintering pieces was disappearing in the
fiery atmosphere. My acquaintances. My friends. My colleagues. Whole families. My greenhouses
my plants: my green world - everything was gone or dying before my eyes.
       The engines started running at full power.
       The ship made a short powerful jump and broke away from the crumbling pier.
       The interior lights and the intensity of the holograms dimmed for a moment.
       A large piece of the mooring structure:   which remained attached to the bottom of the
hull: came off violently and moved away in crazy somersaults.
       "Someone really fucked up something:" Butterfly said dryly from behind me.