Tristan groaned, and his head throbbed. Something cut into his chest and shoulders making it hard to breathe. He attempted to shift position to ease the pressure but he couldn’t move. “What the fuck?” Full consciousness returned. He was hanging upside down from the straps of his seat! Without thinking, he reached for the strap release and punched it. The straps gave way and he fell with a grunt to what once had been the roof of the cabin.
He glanced round in the dim light of the emergency lamps; acrid smoke stung his eyes and caught his breath. Aesia hung above him, limp in her straps. He reached up, released her strap buckle and caught her as she fell. With the dim light, Tristan had difficulty seeing. A sudden flash and sparks from one of the consoles above him made him jump, flames started to flicker from it. They had to get out fast. The spreading flames gave him extra light. The ship was upside down with a slight tilt towards the stern. He picked his way carefully over the debris towards the main bulkhead. He slipped and sat down with a heavy jar. Aesia groaned. He lay her down and continued to the airlock.
He fumbled with trembling fingers until he located the airlock hatch emergency release panel. He pushed, and the panel sprung open, revealing a heavy red lever in the flickering light.
“Please God, open,” he prayed as he gripped it with both hands and pulled.
With a loud click and the door opened. Cool fresh air hit him in the face. The flames behind him flickered. The airlock hatch was at chest height as he stood on the roof of the cabin. The flames had taken hold, spreading quickly and filling the cabin with choking smoke. He turned and picked Aesia up. He had no choice but to push Aesia's limp form over the lip of the hatch then let her go. She fell to the airlock roof with a thud. “Sorry.” He hoped he had not hurt her further.
Tristan pulled himself up and dropped down the other side of the bulkhead, avoiding Aesia’s unconscious body. The outer door release panel was hanging open. Tristan pulled the lever but it was stuck solid.
“Fuck it!”
The smoke from the cabin was filling the airlock. Panic tightened across his chest. He swallowed “Idiot!” They must be interlocked. He turned to the inner door. His eyes stinging he blinked against the tears, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his hands searched for the inner door lever. He found it and pulled, the door moved then stopped. Tristan hit it with a clenched fist, the door started to move again and caught. He placed his hands flat against it and pushed, forcing it closed. He felt the door latch. Turning, he stepped over Aesia’s prone form, grasped the outer door lever and pulled. The door opened. He took a deep breath of cold, damp night air.
He pulled himself up and looked out. The faint glow from the fast cooling engine exhaust enabled him to see the edge of a forest, and that it happened to be pouring with rain. “Oh great. Light years of travel and I might as well be back in England.” The ship had dug itself into a grassy slope surrounded by trees. Tristan stooped down, picked Aesia up from the airlock roof, and lifted her over the edge of the outer lock. He heard her fall to the wet ground with a squelch. Tristan swung himself over the outer lock edge and jumped down.
He scooped Aesia up from the wet ground, threw her over his shoulder, and ran. He had just reached the edge of the small clearing when a loud explosion knocked him to the ground. He lay for a moment waiting for his head to clear before picking himself up. The force of the explosion had flung Aesia several yards in front, and she was lying in a heap in a puddle of water. Tristan stood, lifted her in his arms, and dived behind a large tree. He sat her down against the tree trunk, away from any blast if there should be further explosions. He slumped down beside her. “We have to stop doing this!” As he leaned over to check she was still breathing she groaned, her eyes flickered open, and she glanced around.
“Oh, I hurt everywhere!” She tried to move, winced then asked, “Where are we?”
Tristan shrugged. “On the ground in a very wet forest.”
“What about the ship?” she asked.
“It exploded, and is currently on fire.” He pointed at the flickering flames that could be seen through the trees.
“How did I get here?”
“I carried you,” Tristan replied. “Getting you out of burning ships seems to be becoming a habit.” He smiled attempting to relieve the tension.
Aesia ignored his attempt at humour. She sat quiet for a moment and then tried to stand. She immediately collapsed back down with a scream of pain. “My leg, I think it’s broken!”
Tristan pushed himself to his knees and ran his hands down each of her legs in turn. She cried out as he gently brushed her left leg and found the break; her leg was broken at the shin.
She started to shiver. “I’m cold.”
Unable to do anything in the darkness, he sat down beside her and pulled her close to keep her warm. She resisted for a moment and then snuggled up tight to him to get some of his warmth. They sat together until the dawn light started to filter through the trees.
The flames from their ship had died down, so Tristan stood and walked to the smouldering wreck. Only the forward section had burnt, but there was a gaping hole in the stern where the fuel cells had been located, obviously the source of last night’s explosion. Raindrops sizzled and danced when they struck the smouldering forward section and the hatch, so Tristan had to leave his exploration until it had cooled.
He looked about the scorched ground and found some sharp shards of metal lying near where the hull had exploded outwards. He tore a small piece from his shirt and wrapped one end of the shard with it. Now he had a serviceable knife. Constructing a shelter from the rain before they both suffered from exposure had to be a priority. He cut a few branches and tied them together with vines that he found hanging from the trees. Thin leaf covered branches, he wove into the structure for cover and within an hour he had constructed a serviceable shelter between two trees.
Not in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would use his basic survival training on a strange alien planet. He examined his handiwork. It was not pretty but it would offer some protection for the time being.
He walked back to Aesia, her head lolled to one side. A knot twisted in his stomach as he bent down and touched her neck. He sighed; her pulse, strong and regular, beat against his fingers, she had only lost consciousness. He picked her up, and laid her under the shelter. He then examined her leg in the daylight; it seemed to be a clean break on her tibia. Her lower leg had tibia and fibula bones, much the same as a human leg. Tristan pulled some small straight branches from one of the trees and cut them into splints. He used the sleeves of his shirt and tore them into strips. As he set her leg, she regained consciousness and cried out in pain.
“Sorry, but I have to do this.” She nodded at him, her mouth set in a hard line. He carefully applied the splints to both sides of the break and tied them up with the strips of cloth. When he had finished, he checked she was comfortable, stood and walked back to the ship.
The rain had cooled the hull, making it just warm to the touch. Tristan climbed in through the open hatch. Most of the interior had been destroyed, and it stank of burnt plastic and cables. The forward section had been burnt and the rear severely damaged by the explosion. Looking round he found a serviceable laser pistol and one spare power pack. Most of the food had burnt, however some sealed emergency rations had survived. He located a few useable clothes – which smelt of burning, and a long knife that was probably the most useful item. He found a bag similar to a small rucksack and there were two waterproof sheets, one burnt on the corner. He also managed to salvage the bedding from one of the bunks, which he left in the ship to keep dry. The lingering fumes caught in his throat and he started to cough; time to get out.
He walked back to Aesia. She was shivering again. Tristan wrapped her in the waterproof sheet.
She groaned and blinked at him with her strange blue eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to keep you warm.”
She pushed him away and tried to get up, then fell back, tears of pain running down her cheeks.
“Stay put, Aesia!” He spoke roughly to her. “You will move the splints holding your leg and it won’t heal properly.”
She glared at him and said nothing, wiping her face with the back of her hand.
Now that he had a proper knife, he was able to construct a better hut by weaving small branches into a pitched roof, closed at one end. He made it large enough for him to stand up in.
He regularly checked on Aesia. She had stopped shivering and was asleep. He finished the hut by throwing the undamaged waterproof sheet over the roof to ensure it was as watertight as possible. He went over to Aesia, woke her and took the waterproof sheet, telling her he needed it. He laid the sheet on the floor of the new hut. He then went to her and picked her up carefully. As he did so he sensed her anger and, something else she covered with the anger.
He carried her over to the new hut and laid her on the waterproof sheet. He went back to the ship and picked up the bedding and the spare clothes. He carried them over to her and made her as comfortable as possible. She accepted his help with a sullen expression on her face. He dismantled the lean-to he had hastily made and used the material to make a small porch structure over the open end of the hut, to protect the entrance from wind and driving rain. Aesia had propped herself up on the bedding and just sat watching him. When he had finished, he judged it was about mid-afternoon. He squatted down next to her.
He looked up at the grey sky. “Doesn’t it ever stop raining in this bloody place, it’s just like home.” He smiled at her trying to break the tension between them.
She frowned at him.
“You don’t like being dependant on me, do you?” he asked.
“No, it is shameful that I have to rely on a creature such as you!”
“Well the feeling is mutual! I certainly don’t want to be stranded here for the rest of my life, and you are the only one who knows how to get us out of here.” He glanced back at the ruined craft. “We are stuck with one another I’m afraid.” He rocked back on his heels. “God knows what got into me agreeing to come with you in the first place.”
Aesia snorted then shifted her position as the pain made her grimace. “I’m hungry.”
“OK.”
Tristan rummaged for the emergency rations in the rucksack, handed some to Aesia, and sat and ate some himself. Once he had finished, he went to search for a tree with thin, pliable bark. He found one close to the ship. He pulled the bark off in strips. He made a depression in the ground under the porch and laid the bark, followed by some twigs. Using the laser on low power, he dried then lit the small pile, making a good fire. He piled on thicker branches. Even though they were wet, they soon dried and caught. He had rescued some pots from the galley so he arranged them about the site to catch water.
He settled down by the fire and glanced at Aesia. She had been getting fidgety. He noticed tears welling in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She flushed and put her head in her hands “I ... I need to pee.”
“Oh.” He turned his head away for a moment to compose his features. Best not make things worse by smiling Tristan. “Right, come on then.” He lifted and carried her into the trees a short way, her discomfort and embarrassment plain as he supported her while she attended to her toilet. Tristan made no comment and shut his mind, lest she get angry.
He carried her back to the shelter. He collected more firewood before darkness fell and he piled up the fire. They ate more of the rations.
“Right, we should get some sleep.” Tristan announced. He ensured Aesia was comfortable, lay down beside her, and promptly fell into a dreamless sleep. She woke during the night, shivering.
“I’m cold.”
It was too wet and dark to find more firewood for the fire so he put his arms round her. She drew close to share his warmth. Her hair smelt of wood smoke and the delicate faint sent he had smelt before. Her shivering subsided and she quickly fell back to sleep.
Tristan lay listening to her soft regular breathing. What the hell am I doing here? On an unknown alien planet with this strange, difficult and unpredictable creature! The events of the last few days had not given him time to think. With everything spinning round in his head sleep would be a long time coming. His mind relaxed on the edge of sleep when Aesia shifted in his arms and groaned. For a brief moment he had a vision of a barrier she was holding, behind it something he could not quite see, something, something…. he drifted back to sleep.
The next morning, he woke to sunlight streaming through the trees. It had stopped raining. Aesia was still sound asleep, her head propped upon his arm, and one of her arms thrown over him. He lay still for a while so as not to wake her. When she woke she immediately pulled away from him. Tristan sighed, got up and prepared the rations for breakfast.
There were sufficient glowing embers in the fire to restart it without having to use precious laser power, so he built it up and soon had a good fire going. He had seen signs of small animals in the forest, and due to the shortage of rations they needed to eat what he could hunt and forage for. He spent most of the morning stripping wire from the ship and making traps. He had not seen any sign of large animals, so he hoped there were none about.
He asked Aesia, “Do you know anything about this planet, and are we going to face any large predators?”
She shook her head. “No I don’t, all I know is it has a navigation beacon and there is no intelligent life.” She shrugged.
“What about your computer, has that any information?”
She fumbled at her belt and checked the screen. After a few seconds she shook her head. “No nothing.” She moved her leg and winced.
“Let me check your leg.”
She nodded. “All right.”
Tristan carefully unwrapped the splint and checked. He was relieved to find no infection. He had expected there to be problems in this damp climate.
“How long does it take for your species to mend a broken bone?” he asked as he carefully rebound her leg with clean bandages from the crashed ship.
“I should be able to walk short distances with support in about five days. With luck it will be completely healed ten to twelve days after that.”
“Wow, that’s quick!” Tristan exclaimed.
“Well we are superior.” She tilted her head slightly and smiled, taking the edge off her arrogant tone.
The rest of the day he explored their surroundings and set his traps.
The following morning he was woken by Aesia sitting up. She smiled at him. “Hello.”
“Morning.” Tristan sighed, stretched, and then got up to check his traps. Two of them contained small animals similar to rabbits. He quickly killed and skinned them and hung them on a stout twig. He then reset the traps. Then he made Aesia some crutches. She hobbled about a little after he had shown her how to use them. That evening Tristan cooked the animals he had caught. Aesia waited while he worked since she had never been taught to do such a menial task as cook.
Tristan questioned her, “Don’t they teach you survival skills in your military?”
She wiped some gravy that had run down her chin and shook her head. “No.”
Tristan regarded her eating for a moment, relishing the cooked meat. “That’s a bit short sighted isn’t it?”
She paused and looked at him with her strange eyes. “No, we are never defeated, so why train for something that never happens?”
Tristan wanted to ask her if that was true, why had she crashed behind his cottage, but thought better of it and just said, “Oh I see.”
She quickly devoured the remainder of the food. Tristan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand; at least they would not starve on this planet, and the meat tasted good after days of ship’s rations.
The next four days passed quickly, and Aesia was getting stronger. Tristan insisted she not push herself too hard, as he didn’t want to have to reset her leg. To make sure she was strong enough, he decided to wait until the sixth day before starting their journey. He half expected her to argue, throw a tantrum, or try to hit him; but, she agreed readily. He even wondered if she was plotting something unpleasant, but he could not imagine what. Her thoughts were a jumbled turmoil. He sensed the barrier hiding he knew not what, so he blocked off his mind and tried to ignore her.
During the fifth night, he was woken by Aesia shaking him. “Tristan,” she hissed. “There is something big out there moving around. Can you see it?”
Tristan slowly sat up. “I can’t see anything, it’s too dark,” he whispered back. He heard her frustrated sigh.
“Pass me the gun, quickly, it’s coming closer!”
Tristan reached to the side and felt for the gun. He had positioned it so it would fall to hand easily. He passed it to Aesia. Just at that moment a snuffling noise came from the general direction of their ruined ship. He heard Aesia flick off the safety catch. He felt her tense beside him; she fired the laser in one quick burst. The flash of light, an unearthly scream, and all was silent again.
“Got it!” Aesia exclaimed. “Now we can get back to sleep.” She lay back down.
Tristan listened for a while, then lay back down himself.
The following morning, he remembered the creature she had shot in the night. He rolled over so he could get to his knees without disturbing her, crawled forward out of the shelter, stood, and went to investigate.
He found a creature about the size of a small bear with grey, mottled fur. Vicious looking teeth protruded from its half open mouth. Tristan wrinkled his nose, a foul smell emanated from the dead creature.
He walked away from the stinking corpse. If there was one there will be others. The smell would probably soon start to attract them. He made a decision; now would be a good time to start their journey. He turned back to the shelter. Aesia had emerged and tried to pull herself up with her crutches. Tristan hurried over to help her.
“No I can do it myself!”
“OK.” He stood back and watched her struggle to her feet. He waited until she was standing straight and steady. “The animal you shot is large and from the looks of its teeth a meat eater. It stinks to high heaven.”
“I can smell it from here.” She wrinkled her nose.
“I think it is time we moved off.”
She nodded. “I agree, I’m ready to go as long as you don’t push me too hard.”
“We will go the pace you can manage, OK?”
“Yes, thank you.” She hesitated and frowned at him.
“What?”
She took a deep breath. “Why are you doing this?”
“What do you mean, doing what?”
“A Sicceian would have left me.” She paused. “Perhaps given me a gun with one power cell. If I could recover and catch up well and good otherwise….” She left the sentence hanging and shrugged.
“Well that is not the way we do things!” he said shaking his head. “The only time I would leave you is if you were dead, and even then I would make sure you had a decent burial!” He regretted the way he had spoken to her then, as it was harsh. He moderated his tone. “We would never leave a comrade even a dying one.”
“That is inefficient.”
“No it’s not. For an effective fighting unit to operate at its best you have to rely on each other, to know that your comrades will watch your back whatever happens.”
She shook her head. “You are strange.”
He stared at her for a moment then shrugged. “Well we are going together or not at all.”
“As you wish.”
Aesia configured her pocket computer to a direction finder. She had set it to receive the beacon’s location signal so they would know in which direction they had to walk. “Can you see the direction if you access the computer?” she asked.
Tristan opened his mind to the small device, and superimposed on his vision were coordinates, and as he moved his head they changed. She had set the system so if they were facing the correct direction and the system showed zero degrees and a distance. Tristan had not yet learnt their unit of distance, but from the high number they had a long way to go.
“Yes.” He checked the direction then closed the link with the computer, the image was distracting.
Tristan gathered up everything he could carry in the rucksack. He also carried a couple of the rabbit-like creatures so they would have something to eat at the end of the day. He carried a bow, arrows, and a spear he had made while waiting for Aesia to get fit enough to travel. With only one spare power charge, he wanted to leave the gun for special emergencies only, such as meeting another of those bear things, or whatever other large predator they might find on their route.
Once he had packed all the essentials that he could carry they started their marathon journey. Aesia made slow progress through the thick undergrowth on her crutches. Tristan had done some scouting during the past few days and found that the wood continued as far as he could see. After several hours struggle, Aesia needed to rest. They found a small clearing and sat down together. Tristan had packed cold meat, left over from the previous night’s cooking efforts. Aesia ate and drank the food and water Tristan offered her. After a short rest, she declared herself ready to continue their journey. A few hours later, she collapsed, exhausted.
Tristan estimated they had travelled no more than four or five miles for the day’s effort. While Aesia rested, he made a quick camp using the waterproof sheets he had brought with them. He set the traps, built a fire, and then cooked the meat he had kept from the previous night. Once they had eaten, he took the bow, arrows, and spear and went to see what he could find. After an hour or so, he located a small deer-like creature grazing on a small bush. It was nervous, so he made sure he was downwind, and crept carefully towards it. When he was in range, he carefully raised his bow, took aim. The arrow hit the animal squarely in the side. It jumped and ran for a little way before falling to its knees. Tristan finished it with a thrust from his spear. He lifted it over his shoulders and walked back to their camp.
Aesia was sitting with the laser on her lap. As Tristan approached she pointed it in his direction. “Careful where you point that!”
As soon as she saw it was Tristan she lowered the weapon with a sigh of relief.
“What happened, why are you so jumpy?”
Aesia looked past him into the trees “I heard a noise, there seemed to be a large animal nearby.”
“Did you see anything?” Tristan asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“I will go and check.”
She looked nervous. Please don’t go far.”
Tristan turned and looked at her. “What happened to the fearless Sicceian warrior?”
She glared at him. “Things like that give me the creeps OK? They are the stuff nightmares are made off.”
“Ah, a chink in the armour.”
“Just go and check quickly please.”
Tristan did not find a trace of any large animal, so he butchered the creature he had brought back and carefully buried the remains away from their camp. He built up the fire, sat up for a while, and let Aesia sleep.
The next morning, he looked around before they left. Something had dug up the remains he had buried the night before, but otherwise he found nothing. Once they had packed up they set off again. They continued this way for several days. Each day Aesia managed a little further distance.
They had glimpsed one of the bear-like creatures only once in the distance. It did not take any notice of them and after shuffling around it disappeared into the trees.
By the end of the fifth day, the wood started to thin out and it gave way to smaller trees and bushes. It had rained only once since they had started, and they had remained dry. It was also warming up a little.
On the sixth day, as usual at first light, Tristan packed up and prepared everything for their day’s journey. As the day wore on the going got easier. The wood gave way to flat plain. Tristan shaded his eyes from the sunlight. The plain stretched flat and featureless for as far as the eye could see. He checked the direction with the computer automatically. He could now gain access to it without thinking.
While the plain made easy going for Aesia, game was scarce, and hunting difficult. At least there were enough small streams and pools to keep their water supplies topped up.
Aesia’s leg improved quickly. With the constant exercise she was now walking with just a stick, having abandoned the crutches.
The featureless and boring landscape seemed to go on forever. They trudged onward, thankful that the direction capability of Aesia’s computer prevented them from stumbling round in circles. The lack of food however had begun to tell on their strength. Some evenings they did not bother setting up camp. Suffering from exhaustion and hunger they would sleep where they fell.