Marooned on Giri Minor
You set Yiggy and Easa down where the other survivors have gathered, about 20 meters from the ship. But something is wrong; there were sixteen passengers on the manifest, but only ten have made it off the ship. Others are still on board!
You look around. Everyone is still pretty dazed, and Andrade looks exhausted. One woman, an ensign, sits on the ground, tired and with a broken arm at her side.
You feel electric, though, like there's no time to waste. You run back toward the smoking wreck and climb back up through the cockeyed hatch. There are indeed people still in their seats, and for a moment you freeze, not sure if they're dead or gravely injured. Then two other people join you from outside, one of them a lieutenant. Together you go through the cabin, checking on each remaining person. Three of the people are indeed dead, but you help the remaining survivors out of their restraints and one by one lift them down to the ground and carry them to the others.
Your next impulse is to check the flight deck, but you are quickly stopped in your tracks when you see the crumpled mass that used to be the forward part of the ship. You don't need a closer look to know that Siggo did not survive. You are the last surviving member of the crew.
That's when the fire you have been smelling takes light, engulfing the remains of the bridge in tall flames. The fire quickly spreads aftward to the passenger cabin, casting all of the survivors gathered in this alien desert in a warm but dispiriting glow. You sit for the first time since the crash.
"Starman, you don't look so good," Andrade says. The comment prompts you to check your own wounds: a scrape across your forehead, and what you're pretty sure is a cracked rib. But you look around at your companions and realize your situation is about average.
"I'll be OK," you say.
Just then someone emerges from the darkness, and as he steps into the light you recognize the lieutenant who helped you with the other survivors. Lieutenant Nimjey, you remember. "I found the aft part of the ship back about 150 meters," he says. "It didn't catch fire and should give us some shelter."
Not only is he correct, but this turns out to be the best break of the day so far, because the part of the ship that broke off included the cargo hold. It's a mess, and it was mostly filled with personal equipment and belongings, but the hold can be used as shelter from the elements, and the baggage might contain items useful for your survival.
After making a quick inspection of the hold with Nimjey, you return to the group gathered on the desert. Your mind has been racing. Even though you're hardly the most experienced or highest ranking service member present, you clearly see that you have two priorities before you: the survival of all thirteen people, and contacting the fleet.
You explain your thoughts to the group.
"I can agree with the first priority," Andrade says, "but how do we contact the fleet from here?"
So then you tell how Siggo was going to try and land the ship near the site of the long-abandoned colony. "Hmm, could that be?" she says. She activates the WristComp on her left arm and scans the horizon in a long arc, returning her focus to one point.
"Indeed," she says. "I detect what looks like structures about 8 kilometers in that direction."
You are torn about what to do. It's critical that someone contacts the fleet, but are you that person? What experience have you had with hyperspace comm systems? Of course, someone also has to stay behind and help ensure the survival of everyone here. That role is equally important.
You look around. Everyone is still pretty dazed, and Andrade looks exhausted. One woman, an ensign, sits on the ground, tired and with a broken arm at her side.
You feel electric, though, like there's no time to waste. You run back toward the smoking wreck and climb back up through the cockeyed hatch. There are indeed people still in their seats, and for a moment you freeze, not sure if they're dead or gravely injured. Then two other people join you from outside, one of them a lieutenant. Together you go through the cabin, checking on each remaining person. Three of the people are indeed dead, but you help the remaining survivors out of their restraints and one by one lift them down to the ground and carry them to the others.
Your next impulse is to check the flight deck, but you are quickly stopped in your tracks when you see the crumpled mass that used to be the forward part of the ship. You don't need a closer look to know that Siggo did not survive. You are the last surviving member of the crew.
That's when the fire you have been smelling takes light, engulfing the remains of the bridge in tall flames. The fire quickly spreads aftward to the passenger cabin, casting all of the survivors gathered in this alien desert in a warm but dispiriting glow. You sit for the first time since the crash.
"Starman, you don't look so good," Andrade says. The comment prompts you to check your own wounds: a scrape across your forehead, and what you're pretty sure is a cracked rib. But you look around at your companions and realize your situation is about average.
"I'll be OK," you say.
Just then someone emerges from the darkness, and as he steps into the light you recognize the lieutenant who helped you with the other survivors. Lieutenant Nimjey, you remember. "I found the aft part of the ship back about 150 meters," he says. "It didn't catch fire and should give us some shelter."
Not only is he correct, but this turns out to be the best break of the day so far, because the part of the ship that broke off included the cargo hold. It's a mess, and it was mostly filled with personal equipment and belongings, but the hold can be used as shelter from the elements, and the baggage might contain items useful for your survival.
After making a quick inspection of the hold with Nimjey, you return to the group gathered on the desert. Your mind has been racing. Even though you're hardly the most experienced or highest ranking service member present, you clearly see that you have two priorities before you: the survival of all thirteen people, and contacting the fleet.
You explain your thoughts to the group.
"I can agree with the first priority," Andrade says, "but how do we contact the fleet from here?"
So then you tell how Siggo was going to try and land the ship near the site of the long-abandoned colony. "Hmm, could that be?" she says. She activates the WristComp on her left arm and scans the horizon in a long arc, returning her focus to one point.
"Indeed," she says. "I detect what looks like structures about 8 kilometers in that direction."
You are torn about what to do. It's critical that someone contacts the fleet, but are you that person? What experience have you had with hyperspace comm systems? Of course, someone also has to stay behind and help ensure the survival of everyone here. That role is equally important.