The Last

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

Here in the nothingness of space, a woman was floating upside down. She wore a space suit that was formfitting and a helm to protect her head, yet her eyes were closed and there seemed to be a cut at her temple.

All around her was the blasted remains of her shuttle, a few crates that weren't destroyed floating near her. One such crate came to bump against her hand and a flicker of energy coursed over her suit and her fingers twitched as she stirred from unconsciousness.

A scream ripped from her throat for a few seconds before she looked around her and the panic gripped her like nothing before in her life as she struggled to right herself, the face shield of her helmet started to fog from the heat of her breath against the cold of space.

She had no memory of where she was or if the reason for her shuttle being blasted to pieces was still in the area. As she righted herself, she closed her eyes to calm herself and only then did she feel the pieces fall into place.

She was part of a convoy with several other ships when the Traxin arrived in their battle cruiser. They were of no match against the brutal newcomers, who was searching for a creature of great importance to their leader.

Rumor was this person was traveling with the merchant convoy. The leader had denied the rumor, demanding passage and to be left in peace. This floating female was the one the Traxins were looking for. She didn't know how or who had sold her out though.

If she got the chance, she was going to make the traitor suffer.

The woman's name was Selene, named after the Greek Goddess of the moon. Her father had been a professor of Greek history and loved the tales that surrounded the pantheon.

For a brief moment, a pang of regret touched her heart as she felt a memory of her father come to mind.

She needed to take stock of herself and she looked at the small com pad she wore on her wrist and pressed a button. "Cristos, do you copy? Doesn't anyone copy?"

She waited to see if she was in range before she lifted her head to look around her once again. There was a blue planet ahead of her, no space ports or signs of humanoid activity. Could be a barren planet and that gave her some hope. There were two moons she could see as well that circled the main body, and here, there were no other signs of beings traveling. If there had been, she would have been scooped up by scavengers by now.

She lifted her arm to run a scan of the moons and planet, finding the levels suitable for a human was none too great. It's thick atmosphere was mostly hydrogen, with smaller amounts of helium and methane. The temperature was far too low for her to even think of finding a way to survive.

Selene opened the crate that bumped into her and she cracked it open, finding blasters and rations, along with a long range scanner with a homing beacon.

"Cristos, you beautiful Sylvanian." She gave a laugh as she activated the homing beacon. "Just need to stay put and be calm." She told herself as she waited.

"Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall.." She started singing that classic as she waited for her pick up. Just as she got to five bottles, she saw a spark ahead of her that signaled a ship coming from a jump from hyperspace.

She gave a laugh as she stuck her hand out, thumb up as the ship pulled up beside her and the airlock opened. She gave a kick of her feet forward and floated right on inside as someone pulled her through the rest of the way.

She was greeted by her comrades, a mixed assortment of races from the cosmos. "See, I knew you guys wouldn't forget about me." She lifted her head and disengaged the helmet, recalling it back into her suit.

"Come on now, we couldn't forget our friend. No one gets left behind." A pale orange alien with a bald head and feminine features spoke.

"For long." Jesper spoke at her right, he was a feline sort of creature that had that uncanny way of staring deep into your soul.

She gave a grin to them, patting Jesper on the shoulder and hugged the female, Ui, before she looked towards the ladder that led to the top deck of the ship and to the bridge.

Cristos appeared, looking down to her with a grin. "Didn't think we'd let you just drift off, die of boredom, would you?" He teased as he slid down the ladder and in two steps, he scooped her up in a tight embrace.

"Didn't cross my mind. I was worried that the Traxins got you and the others." Selene told him.

"They almost got us all. We did lost Mirv's ship, he was a distraction." Ui said sadly.

"Mirv's and his crew's sacrifice won't be in vain." Selene said firmly, looking to them. "Do we know who ratted me out?" She looks to them.

"Yeah, it was Mavthor. Before we could lock him up, he ended himself." Jesper said to her, spitting on the deck at their feet in disdain.

"That doesn't make sense, he was wanting this like the rest of us." Selene's brows furrowed in thought. Mavthor was their weapons tech who had wanted a new life on the planet they were heading for. A planet ripe for terraforming.

There were several races that had lost their homes to the threat of the Traxins and when it came to be known there was a human that had been modified by scientists over the course of her life, they had all come to the planet, waiting for her to arrive. The Traxins had tried more then a few times before, to grab Selene before she could do anything and she was the last human that she knew of.

It was crushing for her but she swore to her dad she would find a new home and bring about joy and life for those seeking it.

"Alright, let's head to Galgin 5" She said to them with a nod. The three others grinned to her and they headed for the bridge, taking their places at the pilot and co pilot seat, comms and navigation.

Cristos entered in the coordinates and hit the lever for hyperspace and they shot off through a dazzling tunnel of light.

As they came out of the jump, Selene was in for a surprise. Surrounding the planet before them were several hundred ships of all makes and classes. Junkers, scavengers, cruisers for the elite, a hospital ship, freighters, battle cruisers as well.

"What is this?" She asked, breathlessly.

On their screen came a ping and coming up by pressing a green button, a human male appeared. He smiled towards her. Seeing him, Selene felt her eyes tear up. "Dad.." She reached out to his image and he did the same.

"There's my Moon" He said softly.

"How? I thought you died. I saw you die.." She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Come now, I'm far too stubborn to go to dust. I was lucky and got into a stasis pod and was picked up a few years ago. You aren't easy to find but the rumors brought me here as the others. I reached out to Cristos a week ago and wanted to surprise you."

She smiled, looking at the blue skinned, yellow eyed and horned male. "He is pretty great Dad."

The Sylvanian grinned to her with a wink. "How about we get this planet livable?"

"I'm all for that." She nodded to him, taking in a breath.

Cristos had them docking with a science vessel and she would get herself locked into a stasis pod that would be able to withstand the violent atmosphere below on the planet.

She was ejected, racing towards the heart of the planet. She sank her hands into a gel like substance that was at either side of her and she focused hard.

She had gone through simulations plenty of times and here she was, putting her training to bring about a bright future for those that depended on her. An electrical charge buzzed through her limbs, pulling a scream from her as the pain intensified.

Around the pod, brilliant light spanned out into the atmosphere and clouds started forming, thunder and lightening broiled and the ground shook with powerful earthquakes.

There came a rumbling that seemed to echo out to space, followed by a thunderous clap. Selene's craft crashed into an ocean that had formed where none was before. The heavens cleared as the terraforming took place, the poisonous air changed to levels that all the beings would be able to breath.

The ships waited for word from Selene but all were met with silence.

"Let's get down there! She needs us!" Ui spoke up urgently from her station, seeing the readings were coming back to her that the planet was safe for them.

The ships all started to enter orbit, moving to settle on the land masses, giving room where needed. Cristos' ship homed in on Selene's signal and were able to pull her free of the water, bringing her on board.

Getting her pod open, Cristos carefully pulled her free, seeing that wisps of smoke wafted from her.

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled.

"Welcome home" Cristos whispered as he leaned to her, brushing a kiss to her lips.