Stellar

Chapter 12: Are We Home?

The next morning, Robert heard chirping of animals. It was very peaceful. It was a nice sunny, no clouds in the sky kind of day. He noticed that the ship had been completed overnight and the drones laid limp on the ground, deactivated. He picked up the radio and called out, "We are on our way up to the station!"

The voice on the other end responded with, "Copy that! We have medical and food on standby in the hanger. Over!"

Robert smiled with joy as he dragged Livy's limp body to the ship. He set her up in the seat in the back, tied her up to the floor to make sure she doesn't fall. After he finishes tying her up, he walked his way down the small hallway to the cockpit where he found the original pilot dead. Ew, he thought to himself as he slowly dragged the body and any other bodies he found and threw them off the ship and into the soft damp grass. He sat back in the pilot seat and booted up the ship. A loud rumble and shake goes about the entire ship until finally it lifts off with a roar. The trees surrounding the ship were blown away by the thrusters and the small creatures within the forest scampered, ran, and flew away from the scene. Robert grabbed the throttle, looked back at Livy's unconscious body and said, "We're getting out of here." He smirked as he pulled the throttle all the way. The ship then set off with an enormous woosh, leaving Robert plastered to the pilot seat.

They got closer and closer to the ship as Robert realized that the ship he was headed towards was a newer model of the same ship he was on when main ship had gone down. As he got even closer, a radio static began and a person over the radio said, "Pull into Hangar 7. It is the one closest to the hull."

Robert steered the ship closer to the starship and pulled into the hangar. He looked over to his right and saw the one ship that escaped. He looked to his left and saw a small crowd of 5 doctors, 5 crew, and 5 captains.

As he exited the ship, he was greeted by a man. "How are you? What was it like down there?" The man asked.

"Well if you really must know, it was beautiful but terrible at the same time. The creatures down there are so evil. They don't have any kind of mind other than kill eat sleep kill!" The man looked at Robert concerned. "Is my friend going to be okay?" Robert asked looking over to the 5 doctors putting her on a hovering table and taking her up to the medical wing.

"She's going to be fine" the man assured Robert. "Now, come with me. I have a very important thing to tell you." The man led Robert down some hallways as they talked. "You remember when your ship crashed on that planet right?"

"Of course I remember. Yeah, Livy and I were the only survivors." Robert said with the utmost confidence.

The man looked at him and said, "Well, I've got a surprise for you." They stopped at a door with the letter T on it. "Why are we in the training sector?" asked Robert with a confused look on his face. "I'm glad you asked actually because, well..."

In that moment, the door opened and a man was standing in the doorway. Robert suddenly remembered him very well, although he now has a scar over his eye, probably from the crash. "Mike! How did- When did- I have so many questions!" Robert explained.

Mike looked at him as a friend instead of a cadet trainee. "Hey there, Cadet." Mike smiled and hugged Robert.

"How did you survive?" Asked Robert.

"You do know there was more than one escape pod right, Cadet?" Mike asked in a kind of teasing way. "Unfortunately, all the pods were destroyed. Except for one empty slot and one more escape pod in the back that people usually forget to clean, which was nasty, but it helped me survive, so I'm not complaining." Mike explained. He then walked away and got back to work. "It was great seeing you again, Robert!" he shouted as he walked away.

Robert then asked the man next to him if he could visit Livy in the medical wing. The man agreed and before they knew it, they were at the door of Livy's medical room.

Robert walked in. He looked at Livy with tears in his eyes and hugged her. She was still asleep as Robert whispered in her ear, "I always liked you too." He smiled and held her hand.

A couple hours pass and Livy finally woke up. "Robert!" She looked at Robert with tears in her eyes and before Robert could even say a word, she passionately kissed him. They both closed their eyes, knowing that they have finally found a home for themselves together.

The ship itself took them off to another galaxy but first, the captain himself held a ceremony. "I've gathered you all here today in our lovely ship cafeteria to reward two fearless cadets that went above and beyond." The captain said while two crew members put medals around Robert and Livy's necks. "I reward you both with the highest Medal of Honor for bravery and strength in those desperate dangerous days you spent on that planet." The crowd claps and cheers.

Robert and Livy look at each other and kiss again. They hold their hands up together as if they won a wrestling match and gave off huge smiles.

All is well. All is good.