Guardian Awakening

by C. Osborne Rapley

  They ran back to the ship. A small cabin at the rear of the craft contained two bunk beds. Aesia ordered Tristan to throw everything in there for the moment and shut the door. She ran to the pilot’s chair. She waited while Tristan walked across to the empty seat at her side and clipped on the harness. Her hands moved swiftly and surely over the controls. The craft rose quickly, and they were soon in the darkness of space.

  She carefully watched the sensors, hoping to avoid detection from whatever larger spacecraft there may be around. The small craft accelerated. There was nothing on the sensors. The scout ship was self contained and faster than light capable, so the main ship might be several light years away. Aesia sighed, flexing her shoulders letting the stress flow from her body. With a final sensor check she set the controls and checked the artificial gravity system before releasing her harness; time to explore the craft and take stock of what they had.

  To the rear of the ship, behind the airlock hatch, was a small galley, behind that, a washroom. Opposite the galley a storage area full of ration packs.

  “Can we eat that?” Tristan asked.

  Aesia nodded. “Yes. So far, all the species we have discovered have the same biological make up with only minor differences.”

  Tristan looked at her “Don’t you find that strange?”

  “What?”

  “That species evolving on different worlds through a different set of circumstances and chance events should be so similar.”

  She shrugged. “I’ve never thought about it. I’m just a simple soldier.”

  Tristan checked the number of packs. “It looks as though we could have about six weeks supply if we are careful. What about water and air?”

  “The recycling systems are efficient on ships of this type, even if it was built by Mylians!”

  “Well how long?”

  “We should have enough for about three months, but I can check with the ships systems.”

  She led Tristan back to the front of the ship and sat back in the pilot’s chair. He stood for a little while, watching the stars out of the view port.

  “Why is there no telepathic interface to the computer like there is on your ship?”

  “Because other than you, we are the only species that has that ability.”

  Tristan nodded and turned back to the view port.

  Over the next five days or so, Aesia taught Tristan her language. It was OK using the translator, but it was imprecise, and the computer sometimes got the translation wrong. Due to the telepathic connection, which seemed to strengthen between them as the days passed, she found that Tristan picked up the language quickly.

  As the week wore on he became quite fluent and could hold a conversation with her. One evening she decided to tell him a little about the war her people were fighting.

  The Mylians were one of the species her people had found during their exploration of nearby systems many years ago. They were little more than ignorant savages, but they made useful and obedient slaves.

  Unfortunately, while the Sicceian military was distracted fighting another species they had discovered, the Mylian’s rebelled, and having stolen Sicceian technology they were proving difficult to subdue. But, it was only a matter of time. Once they were defeated, they would be punished for trying to break away from Sicceian dominance.

  Tristan had questioned her when she had mentioned punishment, which had puzzled her. Surely, slaves should be punished for rebelling against their masters? Especially as the Sicceians were far superior to any other species yet discovered. She told him that families would be split up, most of the adult males killed and a forced breeding program on the remaining females to replace the missing males, a long term project.

  Tristan glared at her then sulked, and had not spoken with her since.

  A couple of mornings later, as Aesia busied herself with a routine system check, Tristan walked past her to the galley. She sighed; he was nothing more than an ignorant savage himself. She should be indifferent, she bit her lower lip but it troubled her that he had been shocked at what she had said.

  She turned back to her task, noting a minor fluctuation on one of the engines. She queried it, and the system reported the thrust was within normal tolerance. She stood and made her way back to the galley. Tristan had just washed a cup so she stood to one side to let him out first.

  The ship suddenly lurched, just as he was opposite her. She lost her balance and pitched forward. Tristan caught her and held her momentarily. Her body tingled where he touched her. She looked into his eyes. Her heart missed a beat, and a burning sensation started at the nape of her neck and quickly reached her cheeks. She balled her fists angrily. Her body had betrayed her. To her consternation, he smiled.

  She pushed away from him and stepped back. Her chest tightened. She wanted to punch, kick, scratch, and gouge him. Clenching her fists tighter she swung at him. He caught her fist in his hand, his smile broadening. She wanted to wipe the smile away, and with her other hand she tried to scratch him with her fingernails, to gouge his cheek. He grabbed her other wrist, and she struggled trying to pull away, but his grip held her like iron.

  Tears of frustration stung her eyes as she tried to free her arms. “I hate you, I hate you, loathsome creature!” She tried to kick, but he side stepped easily.

  She wrenched her arms, struggling to be free from his vice like grip. It overbalanced him and they fell together onto the deck. He had fallen on top of her; she twisted to get free from him. He ended up pinning her arms to the floor, kneeling over her. She stopped struggling and looked up at him. His strange eyes held hers. Aesia swallowed, her throat dry, and she turned her face away and pushed against him with all her strength, but he held her fast. She suddenly relaxed.

  “Please get off me, Tristan.”

  “As long as you calm down! Take a swing at me again and I will lock you in the bunk room.”

  She shook her head. Some of her hair caught in the floor plates making her wince. “I won’t.”

  He cautiously let go of her wrists and stood up. She slowly sat up, making no further attempt to attack him. He held out his hand to help her up. She ignored it, stood and smoothed her hair with her hands to cover her confusion. She turned, walked into the bunk room, and shut the door.

  Aesia sat down on one of the bunks and put her head in her hands. She was shaking, her heart was racing, so she took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself. She shook her head. There is no way this is going to happen! She spoke out loud, “I am a Sicceian warrior, and I must act as such, act as I have been trained to do.” She had managed to hold her barrier, divert what she felt to anger, but it had become difficult … so difficult.

  I hope we find a fleet soon, too much longer and I will fail. She took another deep breath and exhaled, slowly regaining control.

  She had just gathered herself together and calmed her churning emotions when the ship lurched again. She gripped the edge of the bunk to steady herself. “What?”

  Aesia stood, opened the door and ran to the pilot’s seat. The ship shuddered again. Lights started to flash on the console; something was wrong. Tristan ran to the seat next to Aesia and strapped himself in as he had noticed she had done when the indicators started flashing an angry red. Aesia turned to Tristan and the blood drained from her face, pulsing red lights reflecting on the white of her hair.

  “It seems we have suffered engine failure for some reason. I knew we were taking a risk using this inferior Mylian rubbish!”

  “What can we do?” Tristan asked.

  “Nothing while we’re in space, we have to find somewhere to land so we can repair the problem.”

  She searched the local systems with the ship’s sensors. Her training had taken over, her movements swift and sure. She found a system within easy reach with an uninhabited planet that she quickly identified. It had a Sicceian navigation beacon on the surface. If she could get to the beacon, she could quickly set it for sending a distress signal. She adjusted their course. Even with the
crippled engine, they would make planet fall in less than five hours.

  Aesia had to fight the bucking ship all the way, so when they reached the planet she was almost at the end of her tether. The useless alien next to her was no help as he, was incapable of flying the ship to give her some relief. They entered the planet’s atmosphere. She tried to head towards the beacon, but with the failed engine, the ship became almost impossible to control once she started the decent. The thickening atmosphere screeched across the hull. After a while; they found themselves flying over a thick forest. Rain lashed at the ship and obscured the front ports.

  She tried in vain to kill their forward speed; they were still travelling too fast when they hit the first trees. The treetops, instead of causing too much damage to the craft, helped to reduce its speed. By the time they were among the lower branches, the speed was sufficiently reduced to prevent total destruction. The craft pitched and bucked. One side hit a substantial trunk, and they spun round, the rear of the craft dug into the ground. It pitched end over end a few times before coming to rest against the trunk of a large tree. Her last thought before everything went blank was at last I can rest.

  Chapter Six: Shipwrecked

  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 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, 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, blinking against the tears, 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 sounded 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 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 started 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 for 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. Rain drops 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 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 handy work. 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 - but they smelt of burning, and a long knife, which 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.