by Aeryn Jaden
Sam’s eager face turned to Than looking for reassurance. A sweet boy, if he could be still called that at his 28 years. Than should have an answer for him, it was part of his job to make plans and determine what needed to be done.
“You’re doing great on your own. As you said we need manoeuvrability of this ship and communications. I’m going to bring water, food and some blankets in the commanding centre. We’re probably not leaving that room until we figure this out. You’ll maybe want to cut off energy of all basic systems including life support, on the other segments of the ship. We need to concentrate on the medical bay and the cryo capsules and the commanding centre. Leave life support on from the commanding centre to the medical bay, cut the rest off.”
The engineer was already up and ready to start. Right. They needed to... send for help. “I’ll power up two or three of the bots to...”
“No!”
They both jumped at Than’ shout. He tried to calm down and think of a reason. Other that he
did not want him to have help doing this.
“We need to preserve energy. Regaining control of our trajectory is a priority. Activating
communications and the distress beacon is a second. Seal the other sectors. Deactivate
everything but the medial bay and the control room. We’ll use the elevator shaft if we need to
reach medical. Get the scanners back up, we need to see where we’re heading to.” Sam looked like he wanted to argue and as a superior officer he could order Than to stand
down and do as he pleased. Than wondered what he would do if it came to that. To his eternal
relief in the end Sam just nodded and left for the commanding centre, leaving Than to felt
restless and not himself. No, wait, that wasn’t true. He felt like Than Smith, the husband not the
lieutenant. What Than was doing on this ship? He... It was real, wasn’t it? Being on Ariadnawas
more real than his life on Arkana. Had he dreamt everything?
“No.”
He quickly got his breathing under control, not needing another panic attack, and started to
gather the stuff they would need. As he finished, he found himself looking at his reflection once
again. Nothing had changed. His human pupils were still black, his skin a golden hue. Than was
looking at a stranger he’d once knew. He resolutely turned his back on his reflection and took
another deep breath. Than had promised K’Aran he would be back and he always kept his
promises. There must be an explanation for everything. He remembered talking with K’Aran
about going somewhere. He remembered feeling that he needed to stop somebody from coming
to their planet. Not remembering the details was not a good sign. Not only Than’s appearance
was changed, his memories were fogged like they were part of a dream not reality. There were
becoming moreso with each passing minute. Not good. He reached the sector that held his
breached cryo capsule. The control panel seemed to still work and Than hesitantly tapped at the
menu. Did he want to know for sure that his time with K’Aran had been only a dream or worse,
an experiment?
Yes, he did.
He tapped frantically at the screen, passing his medical records and his cryo evolution. Than
did not know what he was looking for. Anything out of ordinary he supposes. But the files had
only numbers and medical values, result of the muscle stimulation sessions and some brain
waves scans. Than was not a doctor, but everything seemed to indicate a normal cryo stasis. No
experiment, no elevated brain waves to indicate dreaming or hallucinating or anything. Nothing. “That’s not right.”
Chapter Three
“Do you want the bad news or the really bad news?” Than raised his throbbing head from the datascreen he was tapping at. He may not be an engineer but he could put the ship’s computer to work with the best of them.
“Hit me.”
Sam looked at him funny and Than almost wanted to smile. The other officer was literal, Than had discovered. It made for humorous misunderstandings.
“Why would you want me to...? Never mind. We’re heading straight towards a planet. At current speed we’ll reach its atmosphere in five hours. ”
“Tell me that was the really bad news.” Sam nodded and almost bounced on his legs. It was exhausting just watching him and the energy he had. They had both been working at repairing at least something on this ship for the last two days with no luck so far.
“Yup. The bright side of that is that it seems the planet has an atmosphere.” “So we’ll burn when we pass through on our crash.”
“But the air may be breathable. If we survive the crash.”
Than clenched his teeth, refusing to lose his cool. It was getting harder and harder with each
passing moment to keep his nerves in check.
“We need navigational systems up and operating.”
Sam was shaking his head before he even finished the sentence.
“That’s part of the worse news. That part of the systems is totalled, Than. But I could probably
fix communications by the time we reach the planet’s atmosphere. ” He felt something going off in his brain. A warning of some kind. During the last day, Than had settled in the ‘new’ familiar environment and tried to banish any thought not related to immediate survival. Not that his kadush’ face didn’t haunt every moment he was either awake or asleep.
“What for?”
Sam looked at him weirdly but Than was beyond caring or trying to emulate normal behaviour. His words came slow and measured as if he was talking to a child. “To send a distress signal of course. We’ll need saving once we crash, Than.” No, we don’t.
Than nodded, knowing it was expected of him and, frankly, he was right. Regroup and divert. “We need to reroute the power and prepare a protective shield around medical bay. If we seal
that sector, the capsules may survive the crash.”
“Already on it. I’ll activate it once we send the signal and we can even try to reach medical bay in time.” Sam’s measuring look disappeared and he hugged Than suddenly.
“Worst case scenario, you go and put yourself back in cryo while I finish here.” “No.”
Than pushed himself away from the other man, uncomfortable, but sure of his words. “I’m not leaving you here to die.”
“But...”
His expression made Sam close his mouth with an audible click. He was scaring the guy but
Than couldn’t find the energy to care. He couldn't find the energy for a lot of things except worrying and fretting about what looked more and more as a dream lover.
“Find a way.”
He thought he heard Sam mutter something insulting in regard to Than’s lineage as the other officer turned back to the main panel and his lightning fast tapping.
Than watched as the guy did something underneath the half torn panel, swearing as some sparks flew. Sam obviously knew what he was doing. Those sparks meant that he had power running through some of the wires. Soon he’ll manage to somewhat fix communications and they’ll be able to send a distress signal. Better they do it before they crashed or entered the planet’s atmosphere. Because it was a sure fact that they’ll crash. Than had checked the data and Sam was right. They will crash, there was no avoiding it. Now why was Than contemplating how to cut communications before Sam managed to run that distress signal?
He continued to tap at his terminal, checking the changes Sam was making and being impressed with the man’s brain. Than did not know how he was doing it but Than’s data was telling him that the shield around the medical bay was almost done, the energy rerouted. It was just waiting for them to activate it. As the ships’ engines were not working, Than knew they didn’t have a way to break their crash and zero chances of survival outside that protection
field. He was determined that both of them would reach medical in time even if he had to club Sam and carry him there.
The planet was visible to the naked eye, already getting bigger and bigger with each passing moment. They had minutes now, 57 minutes, to be precise, before their course will take them straight into the planet’s atmosphere. The ship’s already damaged systems will be beyond repair after that. Hell, Ariadnaitself could disintegrate around the protection shield. If the shield held. If anybody survived to even think about doing repairs.
The system they had entered was like nothing Than had seen before. He doubted any of the planets gravitating around the two suns were capable of sustaining intelligent life but he had seen weirder stuff in his travels. Than’s eyes kept drifting to the viewscreen and the sight on it. At least our cemetery was gorgeous. Deep green mingled with indigo. He was curious about how the surface looked. He wanted to survive and explore. Sam had been right, the planet had atmosphere and the green Than was seeing pointed at a luxuriant vegetation. Plants meant oxygen. Hopefully. Maybe even a breathable atmosphere composition suitable for humans too.
“We should head to medical bay. We only have half an hour.”
“I need more time. I’m almost there... If I just... Fuck! You go ahead.”
He glared at the back of Sam’s head, a non verbal threat totally lost on the other guy. Than’s eyes drifted once again to the marvellous sight on the viewscreen. He kept stopping to stare and got lost for seconds, minutes, ages in the colours. Sam continued to struggle with wires and systems, trying desperately to send a distress signal, bypass codes and protocols. It was a long shot and they both knew it. Even if he managed, they hadn’t seen any trace of prior space exploration in this system or the systems they had passed. They could be long dead - of old ageuntil someone picked up their distress signal. But then again, their scanners were barely working at all, so who knew what was out there?
“Yes! Yes, yes. That’s it!”
Than’s heart clenched and he had to hold still for a moment. What the fuck?
“You fixed it?”
Sam did not acknowledge him or his question. Sam continued to tap at the screen, tense and focused, while Than stepped closer, instinct battling with logic.
“Sam, the communications are...?”
“Don’t bug me.”
He practically had to squeeze the case of the terminal he had been working on to stop from going to Sam and forcibly stop what he was doing. Than’s eyes drifted once more to the planet getting bigger and bigger on the viewscreen. The tug in his chest became stronger. He looked at the back of Sam’s head once again before he released the terminal and took a deep breath.
* * *
Sam was heavier that he looked. And carrying an unconscious adult male through the elevator shaft and under a countdown was more difficult that Than had anticipated. Not that he’d thought this through beforehand. He could barely remember applying pressure to the engineer’s neck and cutting his air supply to make him faint. Than just knew he had done it and now he needed to live with his choice. He had activated a small portable terminal so he could bring up the shield from inside the medical bay. Sam had not expected to survive this. He had not told Than that the shield would disintegrate any live matter trying to pass through it to try and reach the medical bay. Than shouldn’t have known that, but he puzzled it out from shadowing Sam’s moves on the terminal he’d been working at. He may be just a glorified soldier but Than was not stupid. He’d also made sure to hide the fact that he had found a working portable terminal in his search of the ship. It was like some part of him had planned everything from the start. With the energy put into establishing communications not needed anymore, Than could activate a couple of systems to take his shield activation order from the portable terminal while they were inside the medical bay. He could activate the shield from inside the medical sector easily enough. He had saved Sam’s life for the moment but he may have killed any hope for any of them surviving after the crash. Of ever being rescued. Nobody would be coming. There was no distress signal, no trace of them in this system.
Than was strangely... glad.
Now that everything was finished and Than couldn’t do anything to change how things will end up for his ship and his colleagues, he felt... happy, yes alright? He was happy. And probably psychotic. He knew that he wasn’t thinking clearly but letting go of the struggle and just accepting that his fate was in the hands of a higher power was calming. He was clearly crazy as he’d never trusted no higher power, be it divine or human.
He reached the officers’ cryo room and searched for the spare cryo capsules. The room was not wide but long, with a seemingly endless row of capsules turned to a similarly long series of screens that were showing our final destination, calculations and warnings. Good, that meant the systems necessary remotely activating the protection shield were online and functioning. Ariadna was so close to the planet now that Than could see only a part of its surface. He had a couple of minutes at most before Ariadnaentered its atmosphere and they all burned alive without that shield in place. He quickly settled Sam, secured the lid and activated cryo mode. He took the next empty capsule just as Ariadna’s almost dead engines unsuccessfully tried to break the increasing speed. The rumble and vibrations made Than almost drop the portable terminal that he was frantically tapping at. The shield came up not a moment too soon- he could already feel Ariadna struggling to keep her hull intact under the pull of increasing gravity. Than’s right hand pressed on the capsule’s pad and the lid slowly closed as the gas that would put him under activated. A special stasis field kept him still, unable to move for the procedure to start.
Than tried to imagine his kadush’s face smiling at him as he had last done it. His image was hazy and slow in coming, his face a hole in Than’s memory and he should panic at that. Fortunately it was not possible as the body paralysis had already set, cryo program activated and stage two of it beginning. Than didn’t really care at this point. He knew he was not making a mistake. His mate was waiting for Than. His husband was there. Be it dream or reality, it didn’t matter. Than could feel it in his gut, he knew that everything will be okay. It didn’t matter that he was going to cryo sleep in a ship rapidly crashing on an unknown planet. He felt that he was returning to K’Aran regardless of what will happen. This delusion made him happier than any reality could. He blinked lazily, feeling the warmth of a sun shining through the bay’s viewscreen. How fitting. Than was going into the light. He coughed weakly instead of laughingthe decreasing oxygen level making him want to get more air in his lungs but his body was almost completely paralyzed by now, not leaving him sketching any movement. It always felt like suffocating when you entered the stasis. Or came out of it. Than smiled lazily. If he found K’Aran and his beloved home on the other side so be it. He could die here in this metal cage flying through space and he could care less. One more flutter of lashes, his eyes unfocused, his brain fogged already and Than was halfway in second stage, cryo almost complete. He saw the planet jumping at them, the ship dropping through atmosphere on its way to the planet’s surface, the damaged engine weakly trying once more to break the fall. Beautiful. Shiny. He saw his drunken face reflected back at him in the capsule lid and his human eyes stared incomprehensibly for one moment at the dark violet of his pupils. Than didn’t get to smile again but a last truth buzzed through his failing consciousness.
I’m coming home K’Aran.
Chapter Four
Everything hurt. Then it didn't. He felt like he was floating. Crashing back into his body more than hurt and Than thought he screamed. Every part of him was shouting with the agony and it took a while to realise that he could hear things happening around his writhing body. The flutter of leaves, the static of clothes when one moved, the dredging of feet on stone pebbled ground. He went under again, a welcome respite from the bruising pain wrecking his body. It didn't last long as he woke up with a gasp, shaken awake by the jarring way he got dumped on the cold
, hard ground. The silence surrounding him was ominous and Than almost made the mistake of holding his breath. He continued to pretend he was unconscious, feeling eyes on him, lots of eyes. His instincts were shouting warnings and after half his life spent in the military, Than had learned to listen to his gut more often than the conclusions data provided. After a couple of tense minutes, just about when Than's muscles were starting to tense up, ready to spring and fight his way out of whenever he was, the screeching chattering around him started again. This time Than was aware enough to realize that the annoying sound was coming from at least three different sources and that it was in fact, a language he'd not encountered before. His language implant was struggling to make sense of it with no luck and Than regretted more than ever that he'd refused the latest series of tech augmentations. Most of them had been bling more than anything useful but the communications implant had included a direct interface to whatever AI one programmed it to link to, including ship avatars and mainframe ship AI. Would have been more than useful to be able to check his exact situation with just one thought. Than almost sighed and the chattering around him got annoying enough that his head was throbbing in rhythm. He slowly and carefully cracked his eyes open, just enough to take in his surroundings. At first, everything was hazy and Than thought maybe he'd hit his head, well hit it harder than he'd reckoned. He kept still, blinked minutely as to not alert anybody that he was awake. After a couple of minutes, nothing had changed and Than started to realize that he was staring straight at a wall of glass. And there were...creatures staring back at him from behind the wall. He couldn't stop his visceral reaction as he jerked back just to hit another wall. His hands raised, or tried to as they were held fast by a restrain, wrapped around them and his upper body. Covert movements were pointless now and Than quickly glanced around just to see more glass walls, more creatures staring at him from behind the glass, all around him and his helpless position. The chattering had stopped and Than looked up just in time to see six humanoid shaped aliens, short of stature with pointy ears and even pointier teeth, their little weird shaped hands holding Than up in the air. They had just finished fastening the material holding him prisoner to a weird looking manacle, it's metal gleaming in the purple sunset light, before attaching it to a lid that was dropped and Than was as sure as hell not ready to become a vegetable in a jar or whatever these creatures intended. The manacles were holding him up and hanging from that weird hook in the ceiling lid with no strain and Than had a bad feeling that they were quite resistant despite not looking like much. He tested again the give of the material and found it slightly elastic. Not good, as it was also quite difficult to cut. He stopped trying to tear it with his small blade hidden in his ring and looked up again at the sudden noise blaring all around him. Shit, that most likely wasn't a good sign. He couldn't reverse his position upside down and kick the top open. He couldn't see any niche at the bottom and the jar-like capsule was sitting on some stone platform anyway. The space was really narrow, barely enough to fit his wide shoulders and just when he thought he was kinda screwed, it got worse. Water started pouring from above, almost making it impossible to breathe from the volume. His glass prison was filling up fast and Than was out of ideas. As the level rose to his chest, the creatures outside his glass prison gathered closer around him, wide eyes focused on him, talking, pointing. Laughing. The diversity was astonishing and Than would have paid them more attention if he wasn't in quite the predicament. As it was, he needed to not drown first and after that think about how he'll escape winged demons, satyr-like humanoids, what seemed to be centaurs and who knew what else- those were just the biggest of them. He had just his nose above level and a second later not even that. The water stung his eyes, colored his vision purple as he was completely submerged in the violet liquid. He tried leaning back and pushing his boots on the wall, managed to lift himself a bit just to fall back as he didn't have enough space to get good traction and climb up to free himself from that manacle stringing him up. He studied his observers. The satyrs had wandered off somewhere, the centaurs seemed to be fighting among themselves. The winged alabaster creatures had averted their eyes, all but one male that was staring straight at Than, purple eyes shining brightly even from a distance. Than shook his head slightly, eyes almost blind except for a strange tunnel-like vision that connected him to the alien. His chest hurt, his head felt like ready to explode. He had maximum a minute before he lost his consciousness again. Soon it got too difficult to hold his breath and Than struggled feebly in a last attempt to get loose. He will not die here, His struggles were not a spectacle for some savage aliens to enjoy. His mouth stll opened and he drank in the liquid, lungs pushed over their limit. He could feel himself losing it, not painful anymore, terrifying in the quiet of it all. It was almost a peaceful sensation, the liquid velvet soft against his skin and Than started closing his eyes. His body was numb, his mind silent as Than started drowning. He didn't want to die. His eyes jumped open one last time, staring straight at the alien, now the only one left and so close to the glass that he was almost touching it. The human jerked back, his boots hitting hard the glass at his back, hard enough that he could feel it crack. He was weak, it was a miracle that Than was still conscious but he couldn’t give up. He refused to die. Than tried again. His second hit was softer, luckily he hit the same spot and everything rushed around him as the glass shattered and the water gushed out.
