Sebastian can’t see anything in front of him. He’s driving blind. The sunlight dances through the sandstorm, creating magnificent colors through the finely-ground glass. The tadpole is immersed within a vibrate aura of shimmering light. It’s breathtaking. And ear-shattering. The enormous warship creates a thunderous roar as it touches down. Wind howls all around, causing the cabin of the tadpole to shutter violently. Dusty tightly grips the back of Sebastian’s seat. She scans the horizon ahead. She holds a bulky GPS device forward. They’re getting close to a set of pinned coordinates.
"We’re closing in! Tell them to flash the beacon lights!" She says.
June packs away the rifles and explosives while yelling at the radio:
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" The voice on the radio responds.
"We’re here! Flash the beacons!" June yells.
A pair of red lights flash once in the distance—though not far from the tadpole. The lights appear high in the air. Sebastian turns the tadpole towards the lights. The tadpole is still traveling above a hundred miles an hour. Dusty leans down closer to him.
"Okay you can slow down now—whoa!" She braces herself on the back of his seat.
A large metal structure appears from out of the blinding dust. Sebastian slams on the brakes. The tadpole’s hover engines rapidly toggle on and off as the vehicle comes to a smooth and sudden stop. Both Sebastian and Dusty are pushed forward as the tadpole stops. June is launched forward, tumbling on the floor until she hits the back of the passenger seat. She looks up at Dusty.
"Good job!" She says.
Sebastian is shaken. It’s been a long drive. Now he’s made it to the intended destination. He sighs, relieved that he has even made it this far. As he breathes, Sebastian gets a clearer picture of the structure in front of him.
It’s very tall and has an odd shape to it. Overall, it’s a large metal mass held aloft by two enormous bases and two much smaller… fins? Its surface is painted green with dark blue tiger stripes all over—or is it the other way around? Bulbous extrusions are molded along its form with precise dime welds. He notices a thruster, then two, then three. Many, many thrusters cover the structure’s surface.
This is a ship.
Suddenly, a large platform begins to lower down from the main mass.
"Come on in." A relaxed voice says over the radio.
Sebastian looks higher and higher. Overarching the entire ship is a massive rotor. This is unlike any other ship he's seen before. The platform finishes lowering to the ground.
"Alright! Drive us onto that!" Dusty points forward.
He does as he’s told, maneuvering the vehicle around one of the enormous bases to get closer to the platform. He examines the base as he drives past it. The longer Sebastian looks at it, the more peculiar it looks. The base begins to resemble a massive, folded, bird leg.
The second the tadpole is over the platform, it is lifted upward. His stomach sinks as the ground beneath him gets further and further away. The ramp reaches its apex and locks into place. He looks around and sees the commotion of crew members surrounding him. Then, Sebastian feels a sudden lifting sensation. The dust that has floated inside quickly falls to the floor. He realizes that the entire structure is rising rapidly. June remains tangled on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Dusty steps up and stands over her.
"Alright. We’re here. Get up." Dusty offers her hand.
June looks at it for a moment. Then she takes Dusty’s hand and is lifted off the ground with ease. Sebastian takes a moment to breathe. Suddenly, the driver’s side door is pulled open.
"Alright, rotate this thing so we can connect it to the tank—" A gruff, tanned man with a thick salt and pepper beard stops mid-sentence as he holds the door open, staring at Sebastian with an intense look of shock. He wears a light blue beret with a little Earth embroidered on the front—similar to those worn by Earth Restoration rebels—and an olive green jumpsuit. This is Ringo.
"Who the hell are ye?" He asks.
"I’m uh… a hostage?" Sebastian replies.