Part 4
"Whoa! Did you feel that?" exclaimed Robert.
"I'm guessing that was the weapon Steve worked on..." said Adrian.
"Long range communications are back online! Steve did it! He wiped out the enemy strike force!" said an excited Robert.
Adrian hit a button on the comms panel nearest to him. "Computer, open a channel to the IPV Waxer."
"There is no response. The IPV Waxer appears to have been destroyed in the explosion."
"What?!?!?" exclaimed Adrian and Robert in unison.
"That's absurd! This must be some kind of mistake. Computer, run a complete scan on the battle area!" said Adrian.
"Beginning scan. Estimated time for complete analysis is ten minutes." responded the computer.
"This is very strange, Adrian. Hopefully we'll find out what happened when the scan is complete." said Robert.
"ALERT! INCOMING ESCAPE PODS FROM THE IPV WAXER!" blared the computer.
"Escape pods!" cried Robert. "That means... the Waxer really may have been..."
"We still don't know anything yet." Adrian interrupted. "Wait for the scan results. In the meantime, let's get those pods safely inside!"
"Right!"
The facility's huge hangar doors slowly opened to accommodate the arriving escape pods. Dr. Sar observed the Waxer's crew as they exited the pods, searching for Dr. Waxer. He was nowhere to be found. Dr. Sar went to the hangar area to find out what had happened.
"Are there any bridge staff present?" Dr. Sar asked loudly, for everyone to hear.
After a few moments, a young man spoke up. "I'm one, sir!"
"What's your name, young man?" asked Dr. Sar.
"Alexander Allbrad, sir."
"Please tell me what happened on the Waxer, Alexander."
Alexander explained the events leading up to the evacuation order issued by Dr. Waxer. He then turned over the data recorder and explained the potential importance of the data it contained. He also told of the massive shockwave that shook the escape pods and how terrifying it was.
"Thank you, Alexander. Please, go and get some rest."
"Yes sir, I'll do that. Thank you sir."
Dr. Sar was disappointed to hear that Dr. Waxer and his bridge staff were still aboard their ship, but understood the necessity of their actions. He started pondering the worst...
"Stop thinking like that! There is still a good chance that they're okay!" he thought as he started to make his way back to Dr. Walcott.
"Adrian, Steve and some of his crew were still on the ship. What are the scan results?" asked Dr. Sar.
Dr. Walcott sighed. "It doesn't look good, Robert. I'll replay the scan results for you."
Adrian hit a button on the console and the computer started speaking...
"Scan of the battle area is complete. Destruction of the IPV Waxer is confirmed to ninety percent probability based on detection of debris matching the Waxer's hull. The detected debris makes up approximately forty five percent of the ship's hull."
"That means that there is still a ten percent chance that Steve is okay..." said Robert.
"Yeah, but... that's almost half of the ship that's destroyed..." replied Adrian.
"What do we do now?" asked Robert.
"There's not much we can do at this point. Our ships are still being upgraded, but even if they weren't, it would take weeks to conduct a thorough search. The scan searched the entire battle area, plus surrounding areas. It would have detected any life signs..."
"...Crap."
"My thought exactly. We should finish the work on our vessels, and then develop a plan for retaking our world. That's what Steve would have wanted..."
Robert sighed. "Sounds good, I guess. Damn. Oh, Steve wanted us to have this data recorder. It must be very important. I'll get to work on analyzing the data."
"I'll help you with that. But, well, I need some time first. I'll be back in a bit."
"Okay, Adrian."
Robert sighed again. "Steve has got to be okay, he must out there somewhere. He must..."
Dr. Walcott walked over to a secluded area to be alone with his thoughts.
"Dammit, Steve. We need your help. Why did you have to be so reckless! You could have survived this! You fool!" However, Adrian knew full well that there was most likely no other way. Dr. Waxer was no fool, and would not have given up his life recklessly.
He stood silent for a few minutes.
"Damn. There's no time to mourn anyway, so I won't just yet. We will continue fighting until we have saved our home. Then..." his voice trailed off.
"I hope you made use of that 10% chance, Steve. You better have..."
Then he went back to Dr. Sar, wondering what kind of information the data recorder held.
To be continued...
