Survivor

The first thing I remember after the crash was coming round in the suspended animation booth. The total system shutdown had triggered the re-animation sequence. I groggily stepped out of the booth to find a wrecked spaceship interior with drifts of snow starting to build up against the walls. I had been one of the five crew members in stasis when we had crashed. A quick glance was all I needed to tell me that the other four, the alternate flight crew of three and the second derelict recovery specialist (my current role in the crew too), were not going to be waking up; all their booths were broken in some way. I made my way carefully to the remains of the flight deck and found two more bodies; the pilot and the flight engineer. Of the last member of the team, Emalotte the navigator, there was no sign. I looked around the rest of the ship and found that the access hatch was open with snow blowing in.

Peering outside I saw vestiges of a trail leading away from the wreckage. It seemed that Emmy had decided to leave the wreck and try to find... what? I didn't know, Emalotte and I hadn't interacted much. I considered my choices: I could bury the rest of the crew, or I could go after Em. The decision wasn't difficult: the bodies, although they were my friends, weren't going anywhere. Emmy was a resourceful girl but totally unprepared for surviving in this harsh environment. I quickly threw on a warm coat, picked up some hard rations in a backpack and was about to plunge after Emalotte when I had another thought. I went to the gun locker and took out a pistol and the assault rifle with the night sight; both old friends from my military days in the Space Legion. The pistol I stuck in my pocket and the rifle I slung across my back. I pulled up the hood of the coat and set off down the just discernable trail left by my missing crewmate.

We had been on a deep space mission to clear a derelict cargo hauler that was drifting towards a major space lane. The long haul out meant that we were double-crewed, swapping active crewmembers every couple of weeks or so. The last time I had been on duty we had been more or less on schedule to rendezvous with the derelict in about two months. What had happened since was a complete and utter mystery to me. Obviously something had gone awry, but I wouldn't know what until I caught up with Emalotte. I pushed on through the snowy wastes as quickly as I could, occasionally checking ahead with the night scope for any sign of my errant crewmate. I could tell I was gaining on her as the tracks were becoming better defined. After three hours I saw something worrying: Another set of footprints running parallel to Emmy's. Someone else was following her! It was possible they were looking to help, but for some reason I didn't think so. That thought was reinforced when the second set of tracks veered off and began to follow the available cover in a way with which I was all too familiar.

As dusk became evening I came to the top of a rise and could see a small fire burning in the lee of some trees on the other side of this new valley. In this flickering light I also spotted two shadowy figures creeping closer to the campfire and my associate. Emalotte hadn't seen them and in my heart I knew they meant her harm so I began to run. I quickly realised I'd never get there in time as the two figures now struck. I stopped and unslung the rifle, turned on the night sight and knelt in a firing position. I peered through the scope and saw that Emmy was struggling with the two assailants. I knew that I couldn't attempt to shoot these two bushwhackers because of the risk of hitting Emmy, but maybe I could get close enough to scare them off. I put my eye to the scope again and located the grappling trio. I had been right all along; Samaritans aren't that rough. I squeezed the trigger and fired two shots over the heads of the melee. At the same time I called out loudly.

"Leave the girl alone!"

As they all looked towards the sound of my voice Emmy got a kick in on one of her attackers. The recipient let her go and crouched in pain, turning away from her. I fired twice more, hitting him with both shots, head and heart. The other one tried to use Emalotte as a shield but that just got her in closer to him. She stamped down hard on his foot and then used her elbow to his gut. He lost his grip on her and she began to run towards where she thought I was.

"Emmy, get down!" I shouted as she was masking my shot. She responded by diving into the snow and gave me a clear field of fire. I pulled the trigger once more. Two more shots. Two more hits. No more bad guys.

I walked toward where Emalotte was carefully getting to her feet. It took me a good five minutes as she made no move in my direction until presumably I was close enough for her to see the identity of her saviour. A big smile lit up her face when she recognised me and she ran to me, throwing her arms around me like I was a long lost brother.

"Dave! It is you. I thought you were all dead." She gabbled excitedly.

"I'm afraid the others are; their pods broke open in the crash. What happened with that anyway?" I said calmly, hoping she'd do the same.

"Well, we came across this uncharted planetoid. The skipper decided we'd make a few orbits to enable me to map it a little. Then, I don't know, some sort of missile strike on us I think, and we were going down. The skipper made me strap myself in while he and Scottie tried to control our descent. They nearly managed it, but it cost them their lives. I might have been able to help if they'd let me." Her eyes began to tear up as she told me what had occurred.

"If they thought you could have helped they would have asked." I said comfortingly. "It was a missile attack then? That makes me think I'd like a closer look at your two friends." My mind was racing. "Coming?"

"I'm not sure I want to see them again." Emmy was dubious.

"I won't make you, but two pairs of eyes are better than one."

Emalotte paused to think for a moment.

"All right, I'll come with you. As long as it isn't too icky."

I held out my hand and she took it and followed me back towards the now dying campfire. Her two attackers lay either side of the dwindling light source. I knelt beside the first one, twitching open his coat. What I saw made me hmmm.

"What is it?" Emmy asked from a couple of feet behind me.

"Come and tell me what you see." I replied.

" A dead man." She said after coming and looking over my shoulder.

"Accurate, but not what I meant. What is he wearing?"

"Some sort of military uniform isn't it?"

"And that implies he's military or ex-military maybe?"

"I wouldn't know Dave."

I sighed, wondering if she really didn't see the point I was trying to make, or if she was being obtuse on purpose. I moved to the second body and again opened his overcoat.

"That one's got a different uniform on." Emmy said, now trying to be helpful.

"Yes, he does." I said thoughtfully. It seemed to confirm my thinking. "What do you think that means?" I asked.

"Honestly Dave, I don't have a clue about what you're getting at." She said sorrowfully.

"At least you're honest." I smiled. "What I'm thinking is that these two are either deserters or pirates or both. The ship must have passed over their secret hideaway or something."

"So they shot us down and then came to finish us off?"

"That's my guess."

"But that's horrible."

"They're not nice people Emmy." I patted her on the shoulder.

"So what are we going to do now?" She asked.

"I reckon we go back to the ship and initiate the distress beacon."

"Won't they hear it too?"

"They probably will, but I never said we were going to stay there. It's possible they'll abandon the base if they think it's been compromised, but they probably won't yet. So we are going to find it and cause them some problems."

"Just the two of us?" Emalotte was incredulous.

"Don't you want payback?"

"Yes, but I'd like to be alive to enjoy it."

"Then I'll see what I can do." I grinned.

"What was it you did in the military anyway?" Emmy asked.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." I smirked.

Emmy grinned back. Just knowing that she wasn't alone in a situation she wasn't prepared for seemed to be cheering her up.

"Are we going straight back? They might have found the crash by now."

"They might." I conceded. "But let's stick to the plan for now. The sooner we get back, the sooner we'll know."

"Makes sense I suppose. Okay then, I'm ready, lets go."

I was fairly sure we wouldn't get back in one trip: Emalotte had been on the move for a good twelve hours already. But I was quite surprised how long she did keep going. We had been travelling back towards the crash for seven hours before she finally gave in and asked if we could stop for a rest. I found a sheltered spot and we settled down. I told her 'no fires' or we'd be spotted and she asked how we would keep warm.

"We'll have to share our body heat." I told her.

"If I wasn't so tired that sounds like it might be fun." She replied with a weary grin.

"Not what you're thinking cheeky." I grinned back and settled down. "Put your right arm around me under my coat." I said, slipping my left arm out of the coat and wrapping it round her left shoulder, giving her an extra layer of clothing.

"Will this work?" Emmy asked as she wriggled into place.

"For a good few hours." I said. "By then the sun will be up."

"Have you done this before?"

"Loads of times in the military; But never with a young lady strangely. They seemed to prefer the younger troopers."

"Oh come on! You've never cuddled a girl before?"

"Of course I have, but usually it was a lot warmer and they had a lot less clothing on!" I laughed.

She giggled and snuggled up closer.

"You know you make me feel so much safer Dave." She said wearily yawning.

"I'm glad. Now try and get some sleep."

"Kay." She mumbled and closed her eyes.

Before too long she nodded off. Carefully I eased her onto my lap for the added warmth she could get from our proximity. She stirred but didn't wake. I found myself looking at her, properly looking, for the first time. Asleep, Emalotte looked younger than the mid-twenties I knew her to be. She had curves in all the right places; sparkling brown eyes when they were open; a perky little nose; and very kissable lips. I clamped down on that thought. We were going to attempt something extremely dangerous and I couldn't allow myself to think of her as anything but a resource until we were done. Afterwards perhaps... Well, afterwards would be up to her in any case.

I must have dozed off myself, something I had tried to avoid, because Emmy woke me by moving around on my lap. Her shifting brought me back to consciousness. Suddenly fully alert, I glanced around at our surroundings but everything seemed in order. It was now daylight and the sun was out, melting the snow. I altered my position slightly and that disturbed Emalotte. She wriggled her bum a little and rubbed her face against my chest where it was resting. I reached across and brushed a wisp of hair away from her eyes.

"What are you doing Dave?" She asked, her eyes still closed.

"Wondering how to wake you." I replied, not entirely convincingly. "We need to get moving again." That was true.

Emalotte sat up and looked me in the eye.

"How long was I asleep." She asked.

"Not a clue." I told her honestly. "I fell asleep too. I woke up a minute or two before you."

"And that's why we need to get going?"

"Partly I suppose." I said guiltily. "And partly because the sooner we reach the ship, the sooner we can get started on our search."

"Then let's get out of here military man." She jumped to her feet and began to march off.

"Em?" I called out.

"Yes?" She stopped and turned around.

"Some navigator you are. It's the other way." I pointed.

"Just testing." She replied, but blushed deeply.

I stood slowly, my back aching somewhat from the cold, hard ground. Emmy came over as I groaned and straightened my spine.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"Just stuff."

"Old age?"

"Cold, hard ground, and you on my lap, you cheeky young madam." I felt the pistol in my pocket bump my hip, reminding me of its presence. "Here, you might need this." I said, handing her the weapon.

She took it nervously.

"I've never fired a gun before." She told me apologetically.

"I'll show you." I said taking it back. "This is the safety catch. On. Off." I pointed out. "You arm it like this." I demonstrated. "Then you just point and squeeze the trigger."

"Okay, seems simple. Let me try." I disarmed the pistol and handed it back. She looked at it for a moment and then in quick succession, armed it, raised it, and fired it. A nearby tree took a hit.

"That what you were aiming for?" I asked sceptically.

"Nearly." She replied sheepishly. "I was going for the rock next to it."

"Close enough to scare it to death at least." I grinned. "Come on sureshot, let's go." I said, leading the way back to the crashed ship.

It took us just over three hours to get back to the wreck. We made the final approach furtively, just in case the pirates had already found the ship and had it staked out. I could see no sign of this so Emalotte and I carefully entered the broken airlock.

"Okay then Em," I said as we entered the cockpit, "I want you to get the maps you made of this planetoid together."

"Why?" She was puzzled.

"Because like I said before, the ship must have passed over or close to the pirate base. So I'm hoping that we may catch a glimpse of it."

"Oh. Okay, I understand."

"And the spatial co-ordinates of this planetoid might come in handy too." I added. Emmy nodded and scuttled off to her workstation. I began collecting things I knew we'd be needing; food and water, spare clothing, ammunition and explosives. I also picked up a second pistol and the automatic shotgun; even Em couldn't miss with that. I put all the gear into two packs and left them by the airlock, and then set to work to booby-trap the ship. I rigged it to explode when the distress beacon was turned off. Emalotte came to where I was making the final connection clutching her map case and asked me what I was doing. When I told her she made a face.

"What about our crewmates?" She asked.

"We can't help them anymore Em." I told her.

"Not even bury them?"

"A Viking funeral pyre when the pirates turn up is the best we can do." I told her kindly.

"I suppose." She said quietly.

"If we survive we can honour them then." I offered. Although this perked her up a little, she still looked incredibly sad. I hugged her and kissed her forehead. "Lets deal with our immediate problems first. I'm sure they won't mind." I said softly.

"I know you're right, but it still feels wrong." She said.

"I understand Em," I told her, ruffling her hair playfully, "but we have to make tough decisions and then stick by them. It's all the only way."

"Sure." She mumbled, giving me a watery smile. "I came to tell you I think I've found something on my mapping equipment."

"Then lets get going madam navigator."

We went to the airlock for the last time. I handed Emmy one of the packs and the shotgun. Then without another backward glance we set off.

What Emalotte had spotted on the mapping camera was a flare moments before the ship was hit. She thought that maybe it was a missile launching. I agreed with her assessment, and that it was worth looking at, especially as the site corresponded roughly with the direction her pursuers had come from. We went by a route that was as direct as possible, keeping to cover as much as we could. Emmy proved to be excellent at interpreting the part formed maps and as the sun began to set once more she announced that we were in the area that the flash originated from.

"We'll wait here," I said, "and when it gets dark enough I'll use the night scope and see if it can pick anything out."

"All right." Em agreed. "I could use some more rest." She did look tired. I looked around for a place to hide for a while. As I was doing that we heard a muffled 'crump' from where we had come from. Turning we saw a cloud of smoke rising from where I judged our crashed ship to be.

"Find peace amongst the stars." I muttered. It was an old military farewell.

"Light, truth and justice." Emmy whispered sadly. The two of us faced each other.

"They appear to have found the wreck." I suggested mildly.

"Yes." She replied, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hopefully that'll mean a couple less pirates to deal with." I said, happier than the moment called for.

"They were our crew, our friends!" Emmy shouted. "Don't you care they're dead?"

"Of course I care. But we're alive. I couldn't help them, so all I can do now is avenge them." I snapped back angrily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so harsh." Emalotte said, tears now flowing.

"I'm sorry too Em. I've seen a lot of people die; too many. And it's made me hard. I've had to bury my feelings because it was the only way to survive; and I always survive. It's like I have a charmed life. Charmed? Pah! Cursed more like."

"Perhaps you are kept alive to serve a greater purpose?"

"Em, I never poor cold water over the beliefs of others, but the only thing I believe is that you stand or fall by your decisions. Our lives are just an infinitesimal speck in the vastness of the universe, so we must make the most of what we have and take the responsibility for our actions. It's all we can do."

Emalotte stared at me following my outburst. She took my hand gently.

"That sounds like rather a lonely philosophy, a lonely life." She said.

"Only when I lose my friends." I smiled weakly. I set my shoulders. "Come on, we've bad guys to find."

I led her to a wooded ridge that overlooked the area we wanted to survey and sat down with my back to a tree. I began to disengage the scope from the rifle.

"Still too light to use this." I muttered, carefully placing it to one side. "How about something to eat?"

"Good idea; I'm starving."

"I put rations in both packs."

We ate a little, waiting for it to darken enough for the sight to work properly, and Emmy asked me to explain my plan.

"Depends on what we find." I told her. "If we spot some outpost we keep on looking for the main base; if it's the base itself we find a way in."

"Not very detailed, your masterplan." She grinned.

"Short of intell at the moment."

"Well, there is something I've noticed: It might be nothing of course."

"Shoot."

"None of the trees we've seen are more than seven years old."

"So the planetoid might be terraformed?" I asked.

Emmy nodded.

"Possibly. But that's really costly."

"Not if you are a pirate who's just hijacked a colony ship." I pointed out.

"Has one ever gone missing?" She asked.

"Not officially, but I have heard rumours." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "It would explain a lot. An uncharted planetoid, not just a big rock floating free."

"What would they have done with everyone aboard a colony ship? No, don't tell me. I don't want to think about it." She shivered. I shrugged and said nothing, but was quietly impressed with her botanical observation. It was a possible clue at least.

Soon it was dark enough that I could use the scope properly. I scanned the area for a while; all I could see at first were trees and bushes. Then I caught sight of a more solid line amongst the foliage. Closer examination revealed the outline of a building well hidden, and to one side was something that looked suspiciously like a missile launcher also well disguised. I called Emalotte to take a look as well.

"You were right Em, this is the place we want." I complimented her.

"So now what do we do?" she asked, looking up from the scope.

"We gather some more intell. Using that we formulate a plan to get in."