Post by Chris E on Sept 3, 2018 18:45:24 GMT
Abandon ship.
That was the last thing he had ever wanted to say. And yet, he had just uttered the words. The crew had loaded torpedoes by hand because he ordered it, partly in jest, partly in fury and frustration, all in desperation.
His eyes picked out Ethan at the helm, silently grateful to Jonathan to let them face this battle on the same bridge. Lt Cmdr Ederan just finished the announcement and set the ship condition. The unfamiliar alarm sounded through the Beta Module, and he died a little inside with the ship’s demise. Calmly he got up from his chair, walked the few paces to the helm and put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
“Set a collision course with one of the bastards if you can, then we have a pod with our names on it.” His voice remained steady, but barely. It was scratchy with fatigue and he dearly wanted to have a drink of water. He watched his husband’s hands fly across the console, the cracked control surface flickering but still functioning.
“Done,” reported Ethan, his voice dulled with tiredness. Rojer turned to Ederan. “Get to your escape pod, and we will meet you at the rendezvous point.” The man turned away and hurried off the bridge. He held out his hand and Ethan grasped it, rising to his feet. “Come, babes, we just destroyed another home, time to flee. Again.” His voice cracked then, a tear sliding down his grimy cheek. Ethan’s hand tightened on his.
“This one was different, Rojer. We were being officers, not operatives.”
They picked their way across the littered deck, the CO's escape pod waiting on this level. It was ready, the auto pre-flight activated the moment the abandon ship was ordered. As the door whooshed shut behind them, Rojer sank into the nearest seat, Ethan across from him. Sudden pressure pushed them into the seats for a moment, then the inertial dampners compensated and they were away from the ship.
Day 1
Rojer groaned as his eyes finally obeyed the order from his brain to open, immediately sorry at the stabbing lights assailing him. “Ethan,” he croaked, his hand groping around to find some part of his husband to touch.
“Oooo-ooo-oooowww,” came the muffled groan from his left. “What the hell happened?”
Rojer bit down on the sarcastic remark that sprang to his lips. “I don’t know, babe. Maybe we crashed on the planet.” He released the belt and dropped the short distance to the deck, nearly landing on his face. “Careful when you undo the belt,” he added as he heaved to his feet.
His eyes sought Ethan, still belted in and, like him, dangling from the straps. He moved closer and carefully they managed to get the pilot down without serious incident. He grabbed his husband close and held on tight, shivering with reaction and fatigue.
A quick kiss to reassure himself that they are both ok, they turn to the business at hand. “Babe, check the computers, see if you can glean anything to indicate what happened. I’m going to eyeball it outside, if the atmosphere allows it,” Rojer says as he moves towards the hatch and the readout in the angled bulkhead. Luckily, they had not landed on the door, trapping them inside. To his surprise, it was Earth standard. In fact, exactly like Earth.
“Ok,” Ethan said as he made his way over to the main console and activated the distress beacon.
The hatch swung open, letting in fresh air. Rojer climbed the slight incline and popped his head out.
Day 55
Rojer watched Ethan walking back along the beach, both of their uniform pants long ago making the transition from trousers to shorts, when they bothered with wearing any.
They had crashed on an island, the computer having aided in the descent, so they didn’t drop in the ocean. Some archipelago in the middle of the ocean. Analysis of the star placement had them somewhere close to three thousand years in the past. Paradise when it wasn’t rainy season, which it was right now. Today was a break between storms, so they were collecting as much food as possible, though it still rained heavily each night. Ethan had been fishing in the lagoon, while he had been collecting edible plants. Next time they would swop chores.
Year 4
It was a rest day and he had nothing to do, lying in the hammock to catch the breeze coming off the water. Survival had been their focus at first. Then came despair that they would never get out of there. Then anger at everything, including each other which had resulted in a spectacular fight. It would have been impressive to witness if there had been anyone else around.
They eventually made up, after a few weeks apart – the loneliest he had ever been, while nursing bruises and a broken wrist, and never wanted to experience again. Their reunion was rather passionate after both admitting they had been stupid.
Year 5
“Babe,” he called to Ethan who was doing something in their house. The hut had grown into a house - kitchen, lounge, bedroom, with the escape pod forming one side of the building. “Yeah?” came the response and the dark-haired man poked his head out the doorway. “You wanted something? I was busy making something for lunch.”
“Nope, just missed you,” he said. Struggling a moment to get out of the hammock, he gained his feet and walked inside, stealing a kiss on his way past. “Water?” he asked as he went to the shelf they kept supplies. Ethan returned to preparing the fish for cooking over the fire just getting going outside. “No thanks, I have some here,” jerking his chin at the container scavenged from the escape pod.
“Want to go to the lookout later?” he asked as he sipped from his own “cup”. The lookout was up on the mountain in the middle of the lagoon, the waterfall that was their source of water. That waterfall would probably be gone by their personal time period came around in a few thousand years.
They had given up on figuring out how they got there. At first it was just about survival, now it’s resignation and acceptance. The beacon was switched off and they stopped the mayday message after the first month, knowing they were alone in that area of space and no-one would come and rescue them. The Vulcans were still a thousand years from Surak’s teachings.
“Sounds good.” He didn’t have to say anything about collecting water for their use, that had become habit early on. They were still on the beach, the area around the waterfall was not big enough to settle.
Year 6
“If we never take a vacation again, I will be happy.”
Year 7
The beeping from the PADD reached them as they were heading back from their early morning swim and run along the beach. The pod’s power supply was supposed to last for 6 months at full operation, including propulsion. They didn’t use it for anything other than scanning for the anomaly, something they did on the anniversary of their crash landing and could continue to do it until they no longer have hope. These phenomena were cyclic, and they had the readings from that first flight.
For six years the PADD didn’t beep.
Rojer stopped dead, unable to move forward. Ethan continued for a few steps before turning around. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Rojer swallowed hard. “What if that is a false alarm?”
Ethan walked back over to him and enfolded his husband in his arms. “It won’t be, there has never been any signs before.” He took Rojer’s hand and tugged him towards the house. “Let’s go see.”
That was the last thing he had ever wanted to say. And yet, he had just uttered the words. The crew had loaded torpedoes by hand because he ordered it, partly in jest, partly in fury and frustration, all in desperation.
His eyes picked out Ethan at the helm, silently grateful to Jonathan to let them face this battle on the same bridge. Lt Cmdr Ederan just finished the announcement and set the ship condition. The unfamiliar alarm sounded through the Beta Module, and he died a little inside with the ship’s demise. Calmly he got up from his chair, walked the few paces to the helm and put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
“Set a collision course with one of the bastards if you can, then we have a pod with our names on it.” His voice remained steady, but barely. It was scratchy with fatigue and he dearly wanted to have a drink of water. He watched his husband’s hands fly across the console, the cracked control surface flickering but still functioning.
“Done,” reported Ethan, his voice dulled with tiredness. Rojer turned to Ederan. “Get to your escape pod, and we will meet you at the rendezvous point.” The man turned away and hurried off the bridge. He held out his hand and Ethan grasped it, rising to his feet. “Come, babes, we just destroyed another home, time to flee. Again.” His voice cracked then, a tear sliding down his grimy cheek. Ethan’s hand tightened on his.
“This one was different, Rojer. We were being officers, not operatives.”
They picked their way across the littered deck, the CO's escape pod waiting on this level. It was ready, the auto pre-flight activated the moment the abandon ship was ordered. As the door whooshed shut behind them, Rojer sank into the nearest seat, Ethan across from him. Sudden pressure pushed them into the seats for a moment, then the inertial dampners compensated and they were away from the ship.
Day 1
Rojer groaned as his eyes finally obeyed the order from his brain to open, immediately sorry at the stabbing lights assailing him. “Ethan,” he croaked, his hand groping around to find some part of his husband to touch.
“Oooo-ooo-oooowww,” came the muffled groan from his left. “What the hell happened?”
Rojer bit down on the sarcastic remark that sprang to his lips. “I don’t know, babe. Maybe we crashed on the planet.” He released the belt and dropped the short distance to the deck, nearly landing on his face. “Careful when you undo the belt,” he added as he heaved to his feet.
His eyes sought Ethan, still belted in and, like him, dangling from the straps. He moved closer and carefully they managed to get the pilot down without serious incident. He grabbed his husband close and held on tight, shivering with reaction and fatigue.
A quick kiss to reassure himself that they are both ok, they turn to the business at hand. “Babe, check the computers, see if you can glean anything to indicate what happened. I’m going to eyeball it outside, if the atmosphere allows it,” Rojer says as he moves towards the hatch and the readout in the angled bulkhead. Luckily, they had not landed on the door, trapping them inside. To his surprise, it was Earth standard. In fact, exactly like Earth.
“Ok,” Ethan said as he made his way over to the main console and activated the distress beacon.
The hatch swung open, letting in fresh air. Rojer climbed the slight incline and popped his head out.
Day 55
Rojer watched Ethan walking back along the beach, both of their uniform pants long ago making the transition from trousers to shorts, when they bothered with wearing any.
They had crashed on an island, the computer having aided in the descent, so they didn’t drop in the ocean. Some archipelago in the middle of the ocean. Analysis of the star placement had them somewhere close to three thousand years in the past. Paradise when it wasn’t rainy season, which it was right now. Today was a break between storms, so they were collecting as much food as possible, though it still rained heavily each night. Ethan had been fishing in the lagoon, while he had been collecting edible plants. Next time they would swop chores.
Year 4
It was a rest day and he had nothing to do, lying in the hammock to catch the breeze coming off the water. Survival had been their focus at first. Then came despair that they would never get out of there. Then anger at everything, including each other which had resulted in a spectacular fight. It would have been impressive to witness if there had been anyone else around.
They eventually made up, after a few weeks apart – the loneliest he had ever been, while nursing bruises and a broken wrist, and never wanted to experience again. Their reunion was rather passionate after both admitting they had been stupid.
Year 5
“Babe,” he called to Ethan who was doing something in their house. The hut had grown into a house - kitchen, lounge, bedroom, with the escape pod forming one side of the building. “Yeah?” came the response and the dark-haired man poked his head out the doorway. “You wanted something? I was busy making something for lunch.”
“Nope, just missed you,” he said. Struggling a moment to get out of the hammock, he gained his feet and walked inside, stealing a kiss on his way past. “Water?” he asked as he went to the shelf they kept supplies. Ethan returned to preparing the fish for cooking over the fire just getting going outside. “No thanks, I have some here,” jerking his chin at the container scavenged from the escape pod.
“Want to go to the lookout later?” he asked as he sipped from his own “cup”. The lookout was up on the mountain in the middle of the lagoon, the waterfall that was their source of water. That waterfall would probably be gone by their personal time period came around in a few thousand years.
They had given up on figuring out how they got there. At first it was just about survival, now it’s resignation and acceptance. The beacon was switched off and they stopped the mayday message after the first month, knowing they were alone in that area of space and no-one would come and rescue them. The Vulcans were still a thousand years from Surak’s teachings.
“Sounds good.” He didn’t have to say anything about collecting water for their use, that had become habit early on. They were still on the beach, the area around the waterfall was not big enough to settle.
Year 6
“If we never take a vacation again, I will be happy.”
Year 7
The beeping from the PADD reached them as they were heading back from their early morning swim and run along the beach. The pod’s power supply was supposed to last for 6 months at full operation, including propulsion. They didn’t use it for anything other than scanning for the anomaly, something they did on the anniversary of their crash landing and could continue to do it until they no longer have hope. These phenomena were cyclic, and they had the readings from that first flight.
For six years the PADD didn’t beep.
Rojer stopped dead, unable to move forward. Ethan continued for a few steps before turning around. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Rojer swallowed hard. “What if that is a false alarm?”
Ethan walked back over to him and enfolded his husband in his arms. “It won’t be, there has never been any signs before.” He took Rojer’s hand and tugged him towards the house. “Let’s go see.”