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"Quick, into the pod!" Emmett shouted, shoving his two children in. 

The space ship they occupied groaned and rumbled. Red lights flashed around every corner of the room, blaring an ear drum shattering alarm. The fluorescent lights dimmed before flashing off for a second, reverting back to it's illuminating purpose again a moment later.

Emmett had barely managed to fit both of his children inside the single escape pod there, although this left no room for himself. 

"Father, what about you?!" His daughter cried out, as he strapped her harness together. 

"Children, there is no time! Wherever you land, locate a Peacekeeper and tell them your identity!" Emmett shouted, clicking the last belt into place. "Keep this, and do not lose it!" He grabbed her hand and hastily deposited what looked to be a pendant into her palm.

He closed her fist and pushed her arm back towards her body. 

The ship shook again, more violently than the last, forcing the children against their harnesses. Emmett lost his balance and fell backwards, tripping over the pod threshold and onto the metal floor. 

He groaned while he lifted his head and sat up as quickly as he could manage. His eyes widened with surprise as he heard shouting and yelling behind the doors of the private room they were in. A cacophony of angry fists banging against the door sent Emmett into a panick. He jumped up to his feet and started for the door, desperate to lower the latch, hoping to buy himself more time. Unfortunately for Emmett, the single lock that was in place proved to be no match for the dozen or so angry people behind it. 

The doors were flung open, slamming into the wall. A crowd of angry people stormed in, clearly showing no regard for anybody's safety but themselves. They all sported expensive looking jewelry, which clanged and ringed against each other as they charged towards the last escape pod, which now housed Emmett's children. The people fought each other as they raced to get to the escape pod. Some were pushed down to the ground and some flew out from the sides. They all shouted and yelled out to Emmett, clearly furious at the situation they happened to find themselves in and desperate to get into the pod. 

Emmett realized he had only a few feet between himself and the angry mob. His plan changed as he skidded to a stop and spun on his heels, racing back to the escape pods control panel. 

Just as the people were a mere few inches away from him, he grabbed onto the control panel to stop himself. His eyes glanced to his children, savoring the last the time he'd ever see them. There was no time for goodbyes. He slammed his fist down on the eject button as a tear slid down his cheek. 

The doors slammed shut immediately. The children could hardly hear the people yelling through the pod door porthole, as both of them watched their father get dragged into the crowd.

The girl screamed and reached out, hopelessly watching. She knew couldn't do a thing but watch in horror. 

The pod slightly rotated, tilting them both at an angle. It detached with a hiss, and blasted off into the vacuum of space. 

Though she didn't want to, the girl couldn't help but glance up to the porthole of the pod door again. She peered through it and saw the great S.S. Farlan getting farther and farther away. 

One by one, small flashes of light occurred on all sides of the ship. She quickly noticed that they were explosions, which were tearing the ship apart, piece by piece. Her mouth dropped open as she watched in complete silence.

Through the small glass window, she witnessed the complete obliteration of the ship. The bright explosion of light reflected the green colored irises of her eyes, as tears endlessly flowed over her cheeks. 

The reactor that powered the great and powerful ship had exploded, cracking the entire vessel straight down the middle. Debris was sent flying in every direction. Furniture and metal chunks of what used to be the ship flew past the pod. 

The girl narrowed her tear-filled eyes and blinked to clear them, allowing her to notice a small metal ball zooming straight toward them. She jumped up to the controls, attempting to move out of the way before it had the opportunity to strike the pod. Unfortunately, she wasn't nearly as fast as the object. It crashed straight into the pod, shaking the passengers inside, and then it bounced off, diverting its course elsewhere.

"Navigation Systems damaged. Beginning emergency landing at planet most suitable to sustain life." The cold female robotic voice of the pod stated. 

The girl was rocked back into her seat, along with her brother, as they started descending to whatever planet was nearest. 

"Suitable life-bearing planet found. Unable to identify planet." The voice spoke again. 

The pod thrusters activated, pushing them to their destination. 

"Hold on tight Wesley!" The older sister shouted, instilling even more fear and confusion into her child brother. 

 As they entered the atmosphere, the pod began to heat up and shake violently. Screws could be heard rattling around, as some bolts had begun falling out of place, likely loosened from the hit they just sustained. 

The girl clenched the pendant in her fist and held on tightly to the harness with her free hand. Wesley closed his eyes and brought all of his limbs closer together, in a makeshift fetus form.

They broke through the atmosphere and continued their descent to the planet's surface. 

The girl quickly brought her attention to a different porthole. She stared out through the glass down below. From their altitude, all she could see was a dust storm of red dirt. 

Once their altitude had lowered some, she looked again and noticed the streets were all abandoned. Strangely, there appeared to be only luxury hover cars, which sat on the street, forgotten and rusted. She looked to the other porthole, on the opposite side of the pod, and saw a few buildings completely crumbled down to nothing but rubble. Others still stood, albeit barely. She felt a bad feeling in her stomach. 

"Isabel, I'm scared!" Wesley blubbered, his face still flush with tears. 

Isabel noticed the ground getting ever closer and she started to panic. Her head turned back to the control panel, where many lights had started to blink. She extended her right arm and reached out, desperate to activate anything that could slow their descent. 

Without having even touched anything though, a parachute activated. The sudden deceleration slammed the pod into a short stop, bashing both the kids tightly against their seat harnesses. 

"Just hold on tight!" She managed to wheeze out, having lost her breath from the blow. 

The parachute wasn't as effective as she hoped, and the pod began to gain speed again, only slightly slowed down. Isabel peered out through the porthole again and found herself looking directly at the street. Her stomach dropped. They were about to crash. 

Both Isabel and Wesley were almost launched out of their seats, had it not been for their harnesses, as the pod finally made contact with something. They slammed back against the leather seats, their heads protected from the potential deadly blow by the headrest pads. They were shaken about for a few more seconds, then finally stopped, when the pod had finally lodged itself into whatever crevice it was now resting in. The parachute slowly descended back on top of the pod, covering the hole in the building it had made. This left only a single bulb inside the pod as a light source. Metal pangs rang out as rubble fell around the pod. 

As everything settled, the two siblings exchanged their terrified faces. Isabel faced the control panel. A single button was on, flashing an orange light. Between flashes of light, Isabel was able to read the words "Door Detach" above it. 

She brought her attention back to her little brother. Wesley was sobbing uncontrollably, his child brain was unable to handle the events that had just transpired. Isabel lifted her hands up to her face, and used her fingers to wipe away the tears that had streaked down her cheeks. 

Isabel closed her eyes and attempted to wish everything away. She wished that she would be back home, with her family, safe and sound. Her face scrunched up and she closed her eyes even harder. When they opened, nothing was different. 

They were alone and stranded. 
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