by Joe Vasicek
“Yes. But come, there is no time. We must go.”
He handed her a gas mask and an oxygen tank. She strapped the tank to her back, but wasn’t sure how to put on the mask until he showed her. His touch was surprisingly gentle.
“There,” he said as he fitted the elastic straps over her ears. “To seal faceplate, you must push the glass. Understand?”
“Like this?” She pushed the glass a little, and the soft foam around the edges of the mask conformed to the shape of her face. When she took in a breath, the filter came to life and began to hum.
“Yes. Is it working?”
“I think so.”
“Good. Follow me.”
He led her out of the sleeping quarters to the main corridor of the ship. Leafy blue-green foliage blocked the windows, making her feel as if she were looking into a greenhouse rather than out to the exterior of the ship. He came to the ladder that led up to the airlock and gripped the rungs.
“Wait—don’t you think I should change first?”
He stopped and looked her over. She was still wearing the blouse and torn skirt from the escape. The fabric was thin, and her arms and legs were mostly bare. If the air outside was poisonous, she didn’t want to expose too much of herself to it.
“You will need boots,” he said, nodding at the rubber-soled slippers on her feet. “Otherwise, I do not think there will be problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“Trust me. The air is hot and wet and very thick. You will do better wearing fewer layers, not more.”
He opened a locker and pulled out a pair of heavy black boots, which he handed to her. She sat down on the floor and put them on. When she cinched the straps, they tightened automatically, almost but not quite to the point of pain. It felt strange to have something so heavy attached to each of her feet, but hopefully she’d get used to it.
“One thing,” he said before climbing the ladder to the airlock. “Is this your first time planetside?”
“You mean my first time setting foot on the surface of a planet?”
He nodded.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Then stay close to me. It will be very disorienting, and you may experience some shock.”
“Why? Is it dangerous?”
“Not at all,” he said, grinning at her. “Just different. So don’t be afraid—okay?”
“I—I guess.”
He climbed up the ladder as quickly and easily as if it were more natural to him than walking or running. Mariya took much longer, mostly just because of the weight of her boots. She stumbled on the first couple of rungs, but soon got the hang of it. Once she was at the top, the hatch slid shut below her. It hissed a little as the seals engaged. There was no window on the exterior hatch, and that fact made her nervous. She folded her arms and wondered again if she wasn’t making a mistake to go out in just a skirt and blouse.
“Opening main hatch,” said Lucca. “Stand by.”
He keyed the access panel on the wall, and the hatch irised open. Mariya squinted at the bright white light and raised a hand to shield her eyes. A blast of hot, wet air blasted her, making her skin crawl. It felt as if she had been enveloped with a damp towel. She shuddered to think of all the toxins the alien air might carry, but Lucca didn’t seem to mind it so she decided not to either.
Once the hatch was open, he shimmied up the ladder and out into the sunlight. The rungs were recessed into the wall, so it took her a bit longer to climb them, but he reached down and helped her up the last bit of the way. She no sooner stood beside him, though, than a deep and primal sense of panic began to seize her.
The crash site was on a high mountain plateau, beside a small lake. The foliage grew thick all around them, but where the ship sat it was mostly clear. A small stream trickled down the side of a sheer cliff, which stood higher than any station concourse she’d ever seen. Even more staggering, though, was the sky. The gray-white clouds were near enough that she could see each wispy tendril, but they were so far—so very far—that it boggled her mind to stare at them. All her life, she’d lived in small, confined spaces, but this ceiling was so high above her that you easily fit any space station underneath it. To stare up at such a wide expanse, with no glass except the faceplate of her mask between her and it—it made her feel incredibly small.
“This way,” said Lucca. He climbed down another recessed ladder, this in the side of the hull. Mariya crouched down to follow him, then gasped and froze.
The horizon stretched around her, and it curved in exactly the wrong way. Instead of bending upward around the edges, like it would on a space station, it actually seemed to curve down. Her heart hammered, and she felt as if gravity were tugging her to the edge, threatening to make her fall. They were up so high, too—just beyond the lake, the ground sloped downward until it became a cliff, stretching so far that the trees in the valley were barely specks. One false step, and she could easily fall to her death.
I can’t do this, she told herself as the taste of vomit filled her mouth. I have to go back.
“Is there problem?” Lucca asked from below. He looked up at her and frowned. “Mariya—are you all right?”
“I—I feel sick,” she said.
In just a few quick strides, he was by her side again. His presence gave her some comfort, but her knees still felt as if they were about to collapse.
He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Don’t be afraid,” he said softly. “There are more than ten thousand kilometers of rock between you and down. You are safe—you will not fall. Understand?”
Why do we have to leave the ship? she wanted to ask. Why do we have to be out here at all? Instead, she bit her lip and nodded.
“Good—that is good girl. Now, this next part will be hardest, so if you can do it, everything else will be easy.” He pointed to the ladder on the side of the ship. “We must climb down about twenty meters, until we reach ground. After that, is no problem. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered. With the mask obscuring her mouth, she didn’t even know if he could hear her.
“Very good. Now, you want go first, or me?”
“You,” she said quickly. “You go first.”
“Okay. Stay close, and watch.”
He gripped the railing and turned himself around, crouching as he took his first backwards step. As far as Mariya could tell, the rails went down on either side of the ladder like a long, continuous pair of hand holds, giving them something to grip as they climbed. Lucca went down three or four steps, then leaned far out with his arms almost straight. His position seemed so precarious that she gasped in fright.
“Don’t do that!”
“Do what?” he asked, grinning up at her. “It is okay—there is no problem. Very safe. Now come, you climb down in front of me. You slip, I catch you. Understand?”
He wants me to climb down between his arms, she realized. It seemed like a horribly awkward position to put him in—not to mention, dangerous—but the thought of having him there to catch her helped to allay at least some of her fear.
“All right,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Here goes.”
She crouched and grabbed hold of the rail. It took her a few moments to turn herself around, mostly because she was terrified of slipping, but Lucca waited patiently without rushing her.
“Very good,” he said. “You are doing well.”
She got her foot on the highest rung and grabbed onto the far railing with her other hand. Her palms were sweating now, so much that she feared she’d lose her grip. She waited a moment for her heart to calm a bit, then stepped gingerly down to the next one.
“Good. Now, when I say step, you climb down one more. Understand? I am here—we will go slow, so don’t be afraid.”
“Okay,” she said, taking another deep breath. His arms were at about her waist level, and if she leaned back, her butt would brush up against her chest. It was such an awkward position, but somehow that didn’t seem to matter to him.
“Step.”
She bent her knees and timidly slipped her left foot out, groping blindly for the next rung. With the weight of her boots, it was difficult, but she eventually found it. Once it was in, she brought down the other foot as well.
“Good. Step.”
His arm brushed up against her thigh as he descended behind her. It took her a lot longer to follow, but he waited patiently until she was down.
“Step.”
For the next five minutes, they took one step at a time down the hull of the crashed starship. The hatch was far above them now—so far that Mariya knew she would never climb back up there. She didn’t dare look down, though, for fear of losing what little nerve she still possessed.
“You are doing very well,” said Lucca. “Step.”
“How much further?” she asked. Sweat dripped down her forehead beneath the faceplate, getting into her eyes. More than anything, she wanted to wipe them, but that was impossible.
“Not far. Not far at all.”
She slipped her foot down into the next rung and slid her sweaty hands down a short distance. Below her, something made a soft crunching sound.
“Uh, Lucca? Are you—”
Before she could react, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back. She lost her grip and screamed as she fell down. For a brief instant, fear shot through her like a burst of superheated plasma. Then she was standing on solid ground, with Lucca laughing as he held her in his arms.
“You jerk!” she yelled, pushing him away. She stumbled and fell to her knees, soiling her skirt on the soft mud beneath her feet. The ground was uneven, and little blue-green shoots poked out between pieces of rock.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I could not resist.” He offered her a hand and helped her to her feet.
“Yeah. Well, thanks for helping me down.” And now you probably think I’m a helpless clod.
“That was long climb—see? Almost twenty meters. For your first time planetside, that was not bad. And since that was hardest part, the rest will be no problem.”
She looked up and realized he was right. It was a long climb, no matter how you looked at it. Part of her wanted to ask why the hell anyone would design a ship with the main hatch on the top, but after such an exasperating climb down, she was too tired to speak.
“Now come,” said Lucca. “I show you camp. Don’t be afraid—it is not far. See? And jungle is thick enough that it feels like corridor.”
He was right; the blue-green foliage was thick enough that she could barely see the sky, let alone the horizon. That, at least, was a comfort.
“Are the leaves dangerous?” she asked. They grew so thick, it would be impossible to keep them from brushing up against her arms and legs.
“Not at all,” said Lucca. To demonstrate, he took off a glove and ran his bare hand through some ferns down by his knees. “See? Only air is dangerous, and then only if you breathe it.”
I hope you’re right, she thought. Then again, he’d been right about everything else so far. She took his hand and followed him over the uneven ground, into the leafy fronds.
* * * * *
Interesting girl, Lucca thought as he led her to the campsite. He’d marked some of the trees along the way with a triple notch, cut with his lazer-bladed kukri. The further they got from the ship, the harder it was to find them, but by stopping by one and scanning the trunks for a few moments, he was able to stay on track.
“Are we lost?” the girl asked. “How much oxygen is in these tanks? We aren’t going to run out, are we?”
“We are fine,” he assured her. What he didn’t say was that the oxygen tanks only had about an hour in them. They were designed for EVA use, not for planetside exploration.
“Is that it?” she asked.
He peered through a stand of yellow bamboo-like shoots and saw the outline of the inflatable shelter he’d set up just an hour ago. It sat at the base of a large rock with a small mountain spring dribbling through the cracks.
“It is,” he said. “You have sharp eyes.” Beautiful ones as well.
The inflatable dome was white with silver-gray solar cells stitched across the top. The walls were about twenty centimeters thick, with double padding to prevent accidental puncture. There was one room inside, a little less than ten square meters at the base, and not quite high enough to stand in. Any larger, and the portable air recycler wouldn’t be able to keep the space breathable.
The airlock chamber was only large enough to admit one person. Lucca let the girl in first, instructing her how to tell when the outside air had been full purged and it was safe to go inside. It took a few minutes for the green light to go back on beside the outside access panel, but she figured it out soon enough. He followed suit, taking off his gloves and boots while the airlock equalized.
“So,” she said as he stepped in from the airlock, “I guess I should thank you for rescuing me.”
“It was my pleasure,” said Lucca. He tossed his boots into the equipment locker and sat down on the padded floor. The girl did the same. Except for the locker, a couple of unrolled mats, and the portable food synthesizer, the shelter was empty. Good thing, too, or the place would be even cozier than it already was.
“What are we going to do now, though? If you can’t get the ship back into orbit, we’re stranded here. The only people who can rescue us are the pirates.”
“That is true.”
“So what now? What do we do?”
He tried and failed to suppress a smile. The intensity in her eyes—what was her name again? She’d told him back on the station, but he’d been too busy to catch it.
“I said, what—”
“Don’t be afraid. I am sure we will think of something.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I mean, I guess I’m just worried. How badly was the ship damaged? Can it fly again at all? How much food and supplies do we have? Do you think the pirates will find us? If they don’t, do you think we’ll survive?”
“How is your head?” he asked.
“My what?”
“Your head. Does it still hurt?”
She ran a finger through her hair, feeling the scalp at the back of her head. “No, it’s much better. I’ve still got a bit of a headache, but I think I’ll be all right.”
“Good. Then I’m sure that everything will be okay.”
“Why?”
“My father always told me, so long as you have your health, you can get through anything.”
“Was your father ever stranded on an unsettled planet?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “That was good!” he said. “Very good. I like you—you have good sense of humor.”
She didn’t laugh, but continued to stare at him in disbelief. He found that even funnier, though this time he swallowed his laughter. What was her name? The fact that he couldn’t remember was starting to bug him.
“We still have many options. We have food, shelter, water, air—everything we need. Our supplies will last for many months. And besides,” he said, holding out his hands for emphasis, “we have whole planet to ourselves!”
“But the pirates are all in orbit—anyone who comes to rescue us has to get through them first.”
“True,” he admitted. “For that reason, we must not wait for rescue. We must find some way to rescue ourselves.”
He pulled out his energy pistol and winked at her. Her eyes widened.
“You mean, you want to fight your way out of here?”
“Perhaps. But we have time. Because of clouds, I do not think the pirates know where we are. If they saw where we crashed, why did they not send landing party to capture us? No, we have time to make plan.”
She nodded, her face brightening a little. It seemed like she had something she wanted to say, but was a bit hesitant to come out with it.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Do you have something you wish to tell me?”
> She paused, then shook her head. “In a second, maybe. But first, who are you exactly?”
Aha! he thought, a grin spreading across his face. So I am not only one who forgot.
“No time until now for introductions, eh? Adventures can be like that. My name is Lucca Tajjashvili—Lucca, child of Tajjur. And you are …”
“Me? Oh, I’m Mariya.”
“And you are from where?”
“Originally? Delta Oriana—have you heard of it?”
“It is not familiar.”
Mariya sighed. “Well, that’s all right. My father was a star wanderer, and both my brothers have already left for the stars. How about you?”
“I am first star wanderer in my family. It is interesting tradition: oldest son of each family must leave on father’s starship to seek his fortune among the stars. Where I am from, this is not common practice.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes widening a little. “You must be from someplace really far away then.”
“Indeed. Tajjur is my mother-star. You are not familiar with system?”
“Sorry.”
“It is perhaps one hundred parsecs from here, toward Good Hope nebula. If you are not starfarer, you would not know of it.”
“I guess not.” She paused and glanced off to the side. “I suppose there’s no sense keeping this secret from you, then. We have a plan to escape—me and the other colonists, I mean.”
Lucca raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yeah. When Captain Helena captured our ship—how much do you know, anyway?”
“Only that there is colony ship somewhere in this system and that pirates have taken it. Besides this, I know nothing.”
“And how did you learn that?”
“When I was just outside of system preparing to make final jump, I received very strange transmission. It was Captain Helena, speaking about some Jeremiah and his wife, who was prisoner.”
“Ah!” Mariya exclaimed. She leaned forward, her eyes lighting up excitedly. “You got that message?”
“Intercepted it, yes. Very strange, broadcasting something like this across whole system.”
“That was me and Jeremiah—we escaped and were on our way to get help. But then we heard that Captain Helena had taken Noemi—that is, his wife—and were going to space her if we didn’t come back. So we did, but of course we had a backup plan, and that’s what we’re going to try now.”