Luke replied, “We must stop it. It could do untold damage inside to the command and control of the planetary defence.”

John nodded. “Come on, we better hurry. I don’t understand though. The infection seems to have been delayed in Tomas.”

“Yes, it appears that we still have much to learn,” Luke replied as he opened the heavy door.

Cool air hit them inside.

“Wow that feels good!” John exclaimed.

They were in a faded-white corridor, that smelled of disinfectant with blue doors on each side. The corridor sloped downwards to an underground compartment after a few metres.

Luke placed his finger on his lips as he motioned with his other hand for John to follow. Both gripped their guns.

They reached a bashed red door that had NO ENTRY written on it. They sneaked inside to find row after row of computer processors.

This must be the target.

A sound of rummaging.

The two Troopers walk forward in lock-step.

And there it is. Its legs flailing on the floor, its eyes bulging from their sockets. It speaks. “Kill me. Please kill me.”

The two Troopers open fire, shredding its body.

Silence, apart from the humming of the computers.

“What was that” John whispered.

The easy banter continued for several minutes. The sound of a battery gun firing brought it to an abrupt halt.

Yvonne scanned the landscape using binoculars. “Are we under attack?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Lisa replied. “It was just a test, I think.”

I hope that was not my last time to laugh.

John tapped Luke’s shoulder. “Come on, lover boy.”

With that, Luke’s hand slipped from Lisa’s, and he followed John down the rampart..

Troopers were scurrying this way and that.

Luke tapped John’s shoulder. “Is that Tomas? Does he look okay to you?”

John gasped. “No, he doesn’t. There’s something weird about his gait. Is one leg fatter than the other?”

“Yes, it is,” Luke replied. “And one arm is misshapen.”

They looked knowingly at each other.

He has been infected.

They quicken their pace and head straight towards the ghoulish Tomas.

However, it seems to sense them and break out into a hopping sprint.

“He’s going to the command centre,” Johns roars. “It could be a suicide attack.”

He runs past the main entrance and instead o maintenance tunnel.

The two men stop in front of it, panting in the extreme heat.

John looked over at Luke. “What do we do now?”

“I didn’t want you to see me like this.” Lisa turned her face away. It had turned a blotchy red with flakey skin.

“Don’t turn from me. Sure, look at me, I’m as bad. It’s just this cursed world. Today, could be our last day. I don’t want to spend it away from you.” He hold his hands out.

She turned back around and embraced once more. “You’re incorrigible, you know that don’t you.”

He whispered into her ear. “I love you.”

What was I thinking? Why did I say that?

She tightened her grip.

“Will you two get a room. We don’t need to see this sort of thing” John shouted out to all.

“Yes, get a room.” Yvonne added. Luke and Lisa giggled to each other .

“Your just jealous,” Luke replied looking back at John.

“Of course I am. Hey, move over and let me in.”

“As if!” Lisa interjected.

With that, they broke their embrace and turned to the others.

“It is good to see you though, John,” Lisa continued.

“He was like a lost puppy. I had to bring him to see you.”

They all laughed including the other three female Troopers manning the heavy gun.

Hours passed, and the ship became hot. Sweat dripped from Luke’s brow and those of the others. Every now and then, a Trooper would start to whisper, only to be shushed back to silence. There would be no waste of oxygen, not when all of their lives were at stake.

The most important life, that of Timothy, still hung in the balance. His chest heaving back and forth with each breath, bringing at least some solace to the others. They all knew that certain death awaited, even upon rescue, for abandonment of their positions if he did not make it.

Luke thought back to all the decisions that had brought him to this point. It had never been his intention to become a Trooper, and cannon fodder for the Empire. His father had become bedridden an orbit previously, and someone had to bring in the money to look after his three siblings.

At least the family will be compensated if I die.

Then his thoughts turned to Timothy. This was a man he could follow. Not one of the many incompetent commanders, he had heard about. Somebody worth dying for.

John has been cracking him up since they first met. And then there is Lisa.

“Probably best to turn off all systems except life support and an emergency beacon. Try and make the ship as small and insignificant as possible,” Luke added.

They nodded and Yvonne turned the relevant switches.

Over the next couple of hours, they watched mouths agape as the last vestiges of a living planet disappeared. The green of luscious forests, the deep blue of vibrant oceans and the grey of bustling cities all gone.

A buzzer sent a shudder of fear through them. It denoted that the ship was running out of oxygen to maintain life support.

“How did that happen?” Luke threw his hands up.

Yvonne spoke in a low tone. “The Alachins must have managed to damage the ship before take-off. We’ll need to use as little energy as possible before rescue.”

“And who is going to rescue us?” John said to nobody in particular, and without reply.

“We should go to the back of the ship and lay down with the others,” Luke added.

They took up their new positions to the rear. Lisa, who sat to Luke’s wrapped her little finger around his. A rush of endorphins flooded through his body. His only wish, that this wasn’t it and happier times lay ahead for them.

Lisa got on her knees beside them and started bandaging Timothy’s head.

A horrific scene was unfolding all around Luke. The Troopers were falling quickly as Alachin’s tore through their bodies.

With Timothy having been taken out, discipline had been lost. The Troopers were no longer fighting as a coherent force.

Standing up, Timothy roared, “fall back to the tunnels.”

John understood. “Fall back.”

Troopers in their vicinity began an orderly retreat, forming a semicircle that reduced in size.

“John, we’ll have to carry him,” Luke said over the gunfire.

John nodded. “We should have told him to eat a few less calories.”

“Really, John? You joke at a time like this?” Luke replied aghast.

Between them, they lifted Timothy up and into the tunnel.

“What now?” Yvonne asked. Constant machine gun fire was holding the Alachins back, for now. “Wouldn’t Timothy want to die with his Troops?”

“You can die if you want, but I’m getting out of here,” John responded.

She didn’t respond,

Luke told some of the other Troopers to hold their ground.

Then they went as fast as they could. Lisa ran ahead. “I’ll open the hatch.”

Yvonne followed her. “And I’ll try to get it started.”