Faster than thought

The communicator felt cold in my grip as I realized the ship was lost. The escape pod was the only option left. The thing had to be stopped and the only way was using the self destruct mechanism.

She was mine as long as I can remember, and piloting her through vacum was an honor, losing her was almost more than I could bear, but it had to be done.

The thing that got on board was a monster; we had landed on a pale blue dot in a strange system with a bright yellow sun. I beamed in to take some core samples and was surprised by the pleasing alien atmosphere, blue skies and strange mountain ranges white tipped with a white crystalline material that looked beautiful and frightening.

I finished and sent the sample via halo to the ship with the details of the planet and took out the communicator, it changed to green and I waited for the particle shift when it came at me, a dark figure, low and fast, a blur of speed and agility.

The shift continued and I landed in dock with a slap, beaming always a bit painful but necessary.
I lost balance and let out a shrill sound I didn’t know I could make. The monster had shifted with the beam and it scurried with a loping grace at such a speed, then it was gone, moving freely in my ship!

I sent the alarm and ran as fast as I could to lock down and quarantine the area. The reading in the dock said no life forms, it had escaped.

My communicator was going off and Eaan was shrilling about the monster and I knew it was on the move. I headed for the globe, the ships cockpit, knowing Eaan would be switching the autosync on and must have sighted the beast there.

The globe was its usual blue soft hue and sadly empty. I heard the beast let out a sound behind me, Meow! I dove into the only escape pod and hit the charger, my existence flashing before my eyes! I prayed to Those Who Know, that the beast had not made it into the pod.

The nearest planet was large and red and coming up fast. I did a quick scan and the only life form in the pod was my own.

The pod settled on the big red planet and the distress signal slotted, they would come soon and retrieve me.

I pulled out the communicator and it blued with Eaan coming to screen, she was mumbling and I felt sad and pity for her. The self destruct would go soon and the beast would be destroyed. I would loose my beloved Eaan but the mission could continue and the beast would never hit our world.

Strange, the screen, Eaan and the beast looking ready to fight, it was small and multi coloured with oval eyes and two pointy ears, its form was softl and lithe with four appendages it used to move about. Behind it trailed a fifth appendage that swayed back and fourth.

Eaan moved to strike it down with one of her danglers, she seemed to be moving to slow, I heard its roar Meow! Her dangler was on it now strangely stroking it and the beast was letting out a sound like none I have ever heard before..puurrrrrr,….. Then the flash and the communicator went dead.

I sat for moment, the pod feeling small and I alone. The hue came on and it was command, they were on they’re way.

Saddened, I climbed into the Cryo-bin and hit the button, darkness and dreams.