by Z D Dean
“Would you like assistance with your task?” Mur asked from behind him.
Axis had been so focused on the task at hand that the request startled him. Mur was now occupying the fire engine red frame it used to maintain a physical presence around the crew. The fact that the 1,000-pound robot had made it down the small crawlspace without detection showed that it was surprisingly nimble and quiet.
“Yes, open this door. I don’t care if you have to rip it off its track, the captain is stuck in there and she is hurt.”
“I must advise against this. Damage to this door will leave my AI core exposed.”
“If you don’t open this fucking door, I will go to the robotics lab, gather as many of Zade’s explosives as I can carry, and get in myself. And maybe, just maybe, I will be lucky enough to destroy you in the process.”
Axis’s patience was running thin; he was in mild disbelief that the AI who had caused the whole situation was now worried about its own safety. A tense moment of silence passed as Mur tried to determine if Axis was bluffing. The robot finally motioned for Axis to move out of the way so he could access the door. Axis slid down the hall and Mur moved into place in front of the jammed door. Mur, braced by the door frame began to strain against the stuck door. The sound of metal screaming as it failed signaled that the door was open. Axis quickly looked under the robot’s arm, into the AI core room, and sensed the lifeless body of his captain. He quickly pushed past the robot and began checking to see if Samix was still alive. She was stretched across the middle of the core room, hand still grasping the manual override handle. When she had put herself into stasis, her skin turned into a thick gray crystalline coating meant to protect the rest of her body from any inhospitable environment. Now, her stasis coating covered her whole body with the exception of her left foot. The foot could not properly seal because of the damage caused by the door and had been left exposed to the extremely low temperature inside the ship during the reset. During stasis her metabolic processes nearly ceased making it difficult for Axis to determine if she was still living.
“I can’t move her myself. Once I get out of here, bring her to the medical bay,” Axis ordered.
After nodding in acknowledgement, trying to ease Axis, Mur said, “if it makes you feel better, I can still sense her vital signs.”
Without hesitation Axis pushed into the crawlspace and headed to the medical bay. He had some very basic medical training before he attended the Academe, given to all settlers in case they were required to assist each other in the inhospitable terrains they faced. In addition to his training, he had seen Jorloss work many times and felt comfortable that he could at least keep Samix alive, a task of utmost importance since she was the only one with access to her personal drive, where the location of the stranded crewmen was.
On the way to the medical bay, he formulated a plan of attack. His biggest priority was to keep Samix alive. Second, he would try to make her comfortable enough to come out of stasis. Third, he would try to aid her nanites in repairing her foot. The hospital bed nearest the door was covered in some equipment boxes that Jorloss had been searching through prior to the mission. Axis headed to it and quickly pushed the boxes to the floor, making room for Samix. With a place to rest cleared he turned his attention to the tall piece of equipment near the head of the bed. It was a small computer with leads that ended in adhesive pads. He knew it was used to monitor vitals and prioritize nanite functions to bring the patient it was attached to back to optimal health. He flipped it on and quickly punched in Samix’s name. The computer displayed Samix’s medical file and confirmed that it had the appropriate code necessary to help her.
With a plan in place to keep Samix alive, Axis started to think through his second priority: how to get Samix out of stasis. Unsure if her body would react to any stimuli from outside of her crystalline shell, Axis began to think about what he could do to reinforce that she was once again in a hospitable environment. Remembering that the two things he needed to maintain his comfort were oxygen and warmth, he headed to a supply closet at the rear of the bay for an oxygen bottle and emergency blanket. With the blanket and oxygen staged next to the bed, Axis began trying to figure out how he could help save Samix’s foot. While he sat and pondered his new problem, Mur arrived carrying Samix. Axis instructed him to place her on the bed then leave the medical bay. After setting her down, Mur inquired about the ship’s destination.
“Shall I start a warp to Unity space where the captain can receive medical treatment?”
“Negative, we stay right where we are. When the captain recovers, we will head back and retrieve the crew you stranded.”
“How will the captain recover? You are not the medical officer.”
“Damn it, if you question me again, I will deactivate you. The ship stays where it is, and you stay the hell out of this bay.”
An almost comical look of confusion spread across the robot’s face before it exited the medical bay. Axis hooked Samix up to the vital machine, placed an oxygen mask on her face, covered her with the emergency blankets, and sat down near the entrance. The sight of Samix laying on the medical bed reminded Axis of all the times Farn was in the exact same spot. Farn was one of the clumsiest individuals Axis had ever met, regularly having accidents in his lab, which required recovery time in the medical bay. One particular incident stood out in Axis’s mind. Early in the trip, Farn had dropped a large masonry drill that he was using on his hand. The drill mangled his hand to a nearly unrecognizable pulp, and Jorloss had to put the injured limb inside a special device for recovery. Less than a day after the accident, Farn’s hand was completely recovered. Spinning to the nearest computer, Axis began searching through Jorloss’s medical logs for the incident.
Axis found the incident reports and began reading them. Jorloss had placed Farn’s hand inside a soft tissue regeneration matrix. The matrix, a thick blue gelatinous liquid, worked in concert with the nanites. It provided all of the materials required to repair a severely damaged appendage which the nanites could not repair on their own. With hope renewed, Axis began scouring the bay for the matrix. He found it, with accompanying containment bags, in a storage unit filled with temperature sensitive compounds. Axis quickly grabbed a containment bag and filled it, nearly overflowing, with the matrix. With the bag full, he gently slid Samix’s brutally crushed and frostbitten foot into the matrix and sealed the bag around the undamaged part of her leg.
With nothing more he could do for Samix, he turned his attention to security. Axis knew the once homicidal AI had been completely reset, but he couldn’t get himself to trust it. Now roaming around the ship in its frame, it could dispatch the remaining organic crewmembers easily. Although Axis wanted to stay at Samix’s side, he knew he needed insurance against the AI. After doing one final check on Samix, he headed out of the medical bay towards the robotics lab, ensuring the bay door would only open when his interface was near. Since their mission together, Zade and Axis had become friends, and Axis learned that Zade had amassed a small arsenal in the robotics lab. There were two pieces of hardware he was interested in: a copy of the earth firearm Zade regularly carried, and one of the multifunctionality replica breaching charges Zade had created.
After finding the cache, Axis strapped on a thigh holster so he could carry the sidearm which was loaded with Zade’s highly effective Excalibur rounds. Zade had been experimenting with different sizes. Axis chose the largest one; he believed Zade had said it was a .50 caliber. As both royalty and a scientist, Axis felt ridiculous carrying around the cannon, but he was currently dealing with a situation that fell well outside the realm of either science or the royal court. The charge, Axis found, was incredibly easy to use. After connecting to it with his interface he encrypted the connection and programmed it to be remotely detonated. Now armed, he headed back down to the subdeck. After firmly attaching the charge to the AI core, he shot a message to Mur. The failsafe almost guaranteed that the ship would never return to civilized space, but he would on
ly use it if Mur turned again and the crewmen’s deaths were imminent.
I am giving you this order as the acting captain. You are not to enter the medical bay at any time or remain on the same deck as either myself or Samix while in your frame. If you violate this order you will be deemed a threat to this ship, and I will be forced to neutralize you through direct means. In the event I cannot neutralize you directly, I will do so indirectly.
Roger, Mur responded sadly, realizing that he must have done something horrible earlier, the emotion in his response sounding eerily human.
With everything in place, Axis headed back to the medical bay where he positioned a chair facing the door, laid his sidearm across his lap, and pulled security. At some point after the ship went into night cycle, Axis dozed off. Two days passed before Samix stirred. He returned to the medical bay after a meal to see Samix struggling to sit up in her bed. Axis dropped the cup of sloop he had gotten and ran to her side. The day prior her foot had healed enough to remove the recovery matrix, and aside from being slightly pale and underweight, she looked perfectly healthy.
“What’s going on?” she croaked through parched lips.
“Woah, take it easy. You’re in the medical bay recovering,” Axis said as he handed her a small cup of water.
Samix couldn’t remember anything after she opened the door to the AI core, so Axis filled her in on the events that transpired after she reset the AI. He started with how Mur had tried to prevent her from tampering with its core and finishing with how he had set up a means of protection from Mur. Samix sat quietly listening to the story before she spoke again.
“We need to go back for the others. With the time dilation of our warp, we have no idea as to how long they have been stranded.”
“I know, but you were the only one with access to the planet’s location,” Axis said sadly.
With a look of forced concentration, Samix sent a copy of the location’s image to his interface. Axis quickly opened the message to examine it, and when he turned his attention back to Samix, he saw that she had fallen asleep. Axis quickly instructed the AI to travel to the location, and within seconds he felt the ship drop into warp. Axis sat down hard, almost overtaken by the feeling of hope that Samix’s recovery stirred. It was hope that everything might turn out okay. Axis knew that even though the ship was moving in the right direction, there was no way he could recover the lost crew on his own. He sat silently, willing Samix to recover before they reached their destination.
Chapter 12
Days passed on the strange planet; Jorloss seldom moved. Zade had been keeping watch and scavenging for supplies, but to no avail. Having only one person to feed and hydrate helped stretch the trivial amount of rations and water brought on mission in his assault pack. Not expecting a prolonged stay off the ship, Zade had only packed three bottles of water, a small bag of trail mix, and a small package of jerky, the staples of combat soldiers’ diet. By night three there was only one bottle of water and a handful of trail mix left. Zade fell into an uneasy sleep, his body aching from the limited nutritional intake. It was the unrestful sleep and stress associated with being on high alert constantly.
Slowly returning to consciousness, Zade noted that the previous night had been the best sleep he had gotten since he arrived on the planet. Upon opening his eyes, he was greeted by a pair of large green eyes, inches from his face, staring back at him. The unexpectedness of seeing Jorloss recovered startled Zade into a hyper alert state and he surveyed the cave around him.
“I was worried about you,” Jorloss said, the look of worry slowly dissolving from his face. “After I woke, I shook you to try and wake you up but you didn’t move. After closer examination I noticed that you were cold and had taken on a faint blue shade. Figuring it was from sleeping on the cave floor unprotected, I gave you the makeshift blanket that I’m assuming you put on me.”
“Worried about me?” Zade exclaimed. “I was worried about you. You almost bled out when the SSILF turned on us.”
“Thank you for patching me up, by the way. I do have some questions once you fully wake up and get moving,” Jorloss said. “Why aren’t we back on the ship?”
“Well, that’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” Zade replied, before informing Jorloss about the events that took place since the conflict.
Zade explained that he had carried Jorloss from the objective towards the ship, only to find that it had left before they reached the landing zone. Afraid that the melee may have sparked the interest of the locals, Zade had created some false trails then went to ground in the cave they now occupied. Jorloss stood, listening intently as Zade spoke. For Jorloss the story raised as many questions as it answered. Zade finished his explanation as he began digging through his assault pack, looking for something before Jorloss finally spoke up.
“So, I guess the question now is why did the ship leave and what are the odds it will come back?”
After realizing that, while he slept, Jorloss had finished off the remaining food and water Zade began thinking aloud.
“I’m sure it’s a matter of when the ship returns, not if. If you and Samix are friends from childhood, I don’t think she would leave you behind. Something must have malfunctioned on the ship. Since you finished off the last of our supplies, we need to focus on getting water and food until they come back.”
Assuming correctly that he was the only one out of the pair who had any type of survival training, Zade began to strategize and plan for their survival. The objective of any survival situation was to make it to a populated, friendly area. In the event that there is no nearby friendly populated area, it is best to stay near the spot where you were lost, Zade explained. As for food, while Jorloss was recovering Zade had seen plentiful game in the jungle but was unsure if it was edible. Jorloss confirmed that the nanites in both their bloodstreams would prevent any sickness, so Zade started explaining the most detrimental problem the landing team currently faced. While Jorloss rested, Zade had scoured the map of the area for any kind of water source. Unable to find any streams, ponds, or creeks, Zade recognized that the nearest water source was the well in the village to their north. Sensing where Zade was heading, Jorloss spoke up.
“No, no, no. We cannot be seen by the locals. You said it yourself, your species couldn’t grasp the concept of alien life, how do you think this species will react?”
“I don’t know how they will react. But I do know that without water, in this heat, I will be gone in three days.”
Zade began disassembling the litter so he could put his uniform top back on. Jorloss just sat pondering a solution, the enormity of his situation finally impressed upon him. Zade stuffed the extra uniform top in his assault pack, and while heading to the mouth of the cave, he motioned for Jorloss to follow him.
“Do you really think it is wise for us to approach the village?” Jorloss asked as he stood to follow Zade.
“We will not approach the village. I will approach the village, alone, after night has fallen to reduce the chance of being caught.”
Zade and Jorloss were currently headed out to scavenge for food. Since this planet was similar enough to Jorloss’s home world to have the plant of interest at the objective, Zade figured that Jorloss would be able to identify things to eat. Zade was confident that he could harvest game, but without the vitamins from fruits and vegetables, feared that he would become ill. The two wandered through the jungle following a rough north west heading.
“You can thank this guy for the blanket,” Zade joked as they passed the carcass, he had skinned days earlier. Clearly, there were predators and scavengers in the area. The skinned animal had been reduced to nothing more than a red spot on the ground with bones sticking out of it. The two men meandered for hours with Jorloss occasionally identifying plants that resembled those from his home world which were edible. The most promising for Zade was a small purple and red seed filled berry that Jorloss identified as having many vitamins. Removing the empty trail mix bag from his
pack, Zade filled it with the strange berries. Jorloss informed him that he should, under no circumstances, swallow the berry’s seeds. The plant thrived in an acidic dark environment in its adolescence and could easily rupture an individual’s abdominal wall if it took root in the digestive tract.
As dusk set in, the two men agreed that a small fire in the cave would be low risk and agreed that if they ran across game, they would attempt to kill it for a food source. As the men were returning to the cave, rustling vegetation caught Zade’s attention. Quickly motioning for Jorloss to stop, Zade crouched and waited to see what was making the noise. The creature that emerged from the brush was almost identical to a wild boar on Earth. The thought of fresh bacon almost made Zade spring into action without thinking. After restraining his urge, Zade motioned for Jorloss to retreat back far enough to talk while still able to keep the pig within sight.
Zade had gone boar hunting countless times on earth, so he knew that the animal could use it’s 12-inch-long, razor sharp tusks with lethal efficiency when threatened. He also knew that pigs relied heavily on their sense of smell, meaning Zade could dispatch it if he could stay down wind of it. The plan Zade laid out was simple. The area they were in was rimmed with rock outcroppings, and luckily the wind was blowing towards the only traversable exit. Knowing that a gunshot could raise suspicion and give away their position, Zade would wait atop the outcropping near the exit with his combat knife. Jorloss would circle around upwind of the animal, and drive it towards Zade, a feat most likely accomplished as soon as the pig caught Jorloss’s scent. He hoped that by the time the pig caught his scent it would be within striking range.
