Marooned on Giri Minor
"Low planetary orbit," you say.
Warning! Energy levels insufficient for controlled reentry. Crashing your second vessel in as many days is the last thing you want to do, but you tell yourself you'll figure out a way to sustain an orbit once you successfully transmit your emergency message. No one will survive Giri Minor if you don't manage to call for help.
The main hangar door slides open to reveal the vast desert, and the ship glides out of its hiding spot into the light of day. You hardly have to do a thing as the autopilot follows your command, swooping over the plain before abruptly launching upward through the atmosphere. You watch with interest the power level indicator, hoping that your hasty calculation was correct, and that the ship will still have enough energy left over to transmit a signal once you reach outer space.
Within a matter of minutes, the brown atmosphere fades away, revealing the same starry sky you observed from the EWR210819 just two days ago. There are no signs of asteroids, but to be safe you decide to shoot further out away from the planet than you originally planned. By doing so you will be burning through more power, eliminating any hope of returning to the surface. But there will be enough energy to transmit your signal, and right now that's the most important thing.
You cut the thrusters and activate the hyperspace transmitter. Rather than a voice message, you send a very basic signal, knowing that if Ishtria or any nearby starships pick it up, they will be able to trace it back to its source. And then you sit back, using the miniscule amount of remaining energy for life support.
Now your fate is out of your hands. With the deed done, and with nothing left to do but wait, you can't help but feel as if you've just made a big gamble. To help fill this empty time as you wait for a response, you go in back to the passenger compartment to check on the commander. It appears that your stun beam has really done a number. Rather than sleeping restlessly as she did early this morning, she seems to finally be at ease, as if the neurotoxins in her body are starting to break down. You no longer feel the need to fear her.
Andrade was such an inspiring presence down on the planet, before the beetle-crab attack, that it felt wrong to be running from her. You hope the end of this bizarre day brings a more positive result for her. For both of you, actually.
Then a proximity alarm sounds from the pilot's station. Your first reaction is one of terror, thinking that another asteroid is bearing down on the ship and is ready to knock you out of space once more.
But that's not what set off the alarm. A starship is closing on your position, and someone is trying to make contact on the comm unit. Because of the depleted power cell, the message is incoherent.
But even without voice contact you can see the source of the signal: a starship with a spherical main hull speeding in your direction. It's the Orion!
When you fail to make voice contact, the Orion sends a small ship to guide your powerless antique into its suttle bay. After a gentle touchdown, you see a team of stern-looking security personnel and curious engineers encircling your craft. They probably have no idea who would be piloting such an old ship! There is only one thing to do.
You lift up Commander Andrade and lower the landing stairs. When you emerge from your ship, you find yourself surrounded by the security team. At first their plasguns are all trained on you, but when they see your uniforms the team leader gestures for the others to stand down.
"We're from the EWR210819, which crashed on Giri Minor a day ago," you say. "This is Lieutenant Commander Dionysya Andrade. She was bit by some native wildlife and infected with neurotoxins, I believe."
The security team leader holsters her plasgun. She is a tall woman with a distinctive pink tinge to her skin tone, telling you without a doubt that she is Tyuuan. "Call Med Bay!" she orders. "We need a medical team down here."
"There are other survivors still on the planet," you say.
"We'll find them!" she says.
Soon you and Andrade are ushered to the Orion's Med Bay for evaluation and treatment. While you are awaiting the results of your medical tests, as well as word on Commander Andrade, additional patients are rushed into the Med Bay. You recognize Ander Dyo and several of the other injured passengers from the EWR210819, as well as Dr. Munro.
Then a broad-shouldered man, with a dark complexion as if earned from a life lived outdoors, strides in. One of the doctors points him in your direction. "I am Captain Javid Ynthramanni," he says, shaking your hand. "I'm told we have you to thank for all this."
"All this?" you ask.
"My new Comm Officer, Commander Andrade, says it was you who got the distress signal through to us," the captain says. "She sounded very impressed."
"The commander is all right?" you ask.
"She will be. The doctors had to consult the historical library to figure out what was wrong, but based on your description of events they identified the creatures that attacked her as jyuga. Same as infected the colony two centuries ago."
"That's good to hear," you say.
"She mentioned that you demonstrated strong command potential down on the planet," Captain Ynthramanni continues. "That's a rather surprising statement to hear for someone with your rank. But I wanted to make sure I came down here and congratulated you for a job well done."
Warning! Energy levels insufficient for controlled reentry. Crashing your second vessel in as many days is the last thing you want to do, but you tell yourself you'll figure out a way to sustain an orbit once you successfully transmit your emergency message. No one will survive Giri Minor if you don't manage to call for help.
The main hangar door slides open to reveal the vast desert, and the ship glides out of its hiding spot into the light of day. You hardly have to do a thing as the autopilot follows your command, swooping over the plain before abruptly launching upward through the atmosphere. You watch with interest the power level indicator, hoping that your hasty calculation was correct, and that the ship will still have enough energy left over to transmit a signal once you reach outer space.
Within a matter of minutes, the brown atmosphere fades away, revealing the same starry sky you observed from the EWR210819 just two days ago. There are no signs of asteroids, but to be safe you decide to shoot further out away from the planet than you originally planned. By doing so you will be burning through more power, eliminating any hope of returning to the surface. But there will be enough energy to transmit your signal, and right now that's the most important thing.
You cut the thrusters and activate the hyperspace transmitter. Rather than a voice message, you send a very basic signal, knowing that if Ishtria or any nearby starships pick it up, they will be able to trace it back to its source. And then you sit back, using the miniscule amount of remaining energy for life support.
Now your fate is out of your hands. With the deed done, and with nothing left to do but wait, you can't help but feel as if you've just made a big gamble. To help fill this empty time as you wait for a response, you go in back to the passenger compartment to check on the commander. It appears that your stun beam has really done a number. Rather than sleeping restlessly as she did early this morning, she seems to finally be at ease, as if the neurotoxins in her body are starting to break down. You no longer feel the need to fear her.
Andrade was such an inspiring presence down on the planet, before the beetle-crab attack, that it felt wrong to be running from her. You hope the end of this bizarre day brings a more positive result for her. For both of you, actually.
Then a proximity alarm sounds from the pilot's station. Your first reaction is one of terror, thinking that another asteroid is bearing down on the ship and is ready to knock you out of space once more.
But that's not what set off the alarm. A starship is closing on your position, and someone is trying to make contact on the comm unit. Because of the depleted power cell, the message is incoherent.
But even without voice contact you can see the source of the signal: a starship with a spherical main hull speeding in your direction. It's the Orion!
When you fail to make voice contact, the Orion sends a small ship to guide your powerless antique into its suttle bay. After a gentle touchdown, you see a team of stern-looking security personnel and curious engineers encircling your craft. They probably have no idea who would be piloting such an old ship! There is only one thing to do.
You lift up Commander Andrade and lower the landing stairs. When you emerge from your ship, you find yourself surrounded by the security team. At first their plasguns are all trained on you, but when they see your uniforms the team leader gestures for the others to stand down.
"We're from the EWR210819, which crashed on Giri Minor a day ago," you say. "This is Lieutenant Commander Dionysya Andrade. She was bit by some native wildlife and infected with neurotoxins, I believe."
The security team leader holsters her plasgun. She is a tall woman with a distinctive pink tinge to her skin tone, telling you without a doubt that she is Tyuuan. "Call Med Bay!" she orders. "We need a medical team down here."
"There are other survivors still on the planet," you say.
"We'll find them!" she says.
Soon you and Andrade are ushered to the Orion's Med Bay for evaluation and treatment. While you are awaiting the results of your medical tests, as well as word on Commander Andrade, additional patients are rushed into the Med Bay. You recognize Ander Dyo and several of the other injured passengers from the EWR210819, as well as Dr. Munro.
Then a broad-shouldered man, with a dark complexion as if earned from a life lived outdoors, strides in. One of the doctors points him in your direction. "I am Captain Javid Ynthramanni," he says, shaking your hand. "I'm told we have you to thank for all this."
"All this?" you ask.
"My new Comm Officer, Commander Andrade, says it was you who got the distress signal through to us," the captain says. "She sounded very impressed."
"The commander is all right?" you ask.
"She will be. The doctors had to consult the historical library to figure out what was wrong, but based on your description of events they identified the creatures that attacked her as jyuga. Same as infected the colony two centuries ago."
"That's good to hear," you say.
"She mentioned that you demonstrated strong command potential down on the planet," Captain Ynthramanni continues. "That's a rather surprising statement to hear for someone with your rank. But I wanted to make sure I came down here and congratulated you for a job well done."
END OF PART I