Cosmic (18+)

┉┈◈Ⲋ𐌴ⱱ𐌴𐍀◈┈┉

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Pieces of the spaceship had started raining from the sky in flames, like falling stars. It was eerily beautiful and equally devastating. Archie and Mariah were already outside, staring above them in shock. Eli came out soon after, his face pale. Time seemed to stop for a moment before the heavy realization eventually set in.

The burly German man fell to his knees with an anguished, wounded cry, "Frederick!"

Mariah was embraced by the lean mechanic as she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. A few tears slipped down Eli's cheeks, his lips wobbling as he tried to hold back the full force of his grief while giving comfort to his girlfriend.

At first Charlie was numb, her thoughts a jumbled mess as she watched the debris scattering far across the forest. It was lucky none of it seemed to be headed in their direction, but that was as far as their luck went. It was gone—their home, their only way back to Earth, their mission.

No. Their mission was still not lost. As long as they still had the cargo crafts.

As hard as it was, Charlie tried to push aside her feelings of panic and loss; she had to be a pillar of support for her team. She wiped away her tears and knelt beside Archie, resting a hand on his shoulder as the man wept, beating the ground with his big fists. The chittering tree piranha, Darling, crooned worriedly into his neck, still perched on his back.

"All the shuttles were launched, Frederick could've been on one of them," she reassured him softly. "Until we know for sure that he's dead, we must assume he is alive so we can look for him. We have to look for all of them."

Archie nodded with a sniffle. It took him a moment to compose himself but he managed to do it, standing up and putting on a brave face. They all looked to her, waiting for guidance. She would not stumble under the weight of this responsibility the Captain had entrusted to her. The worst had happened and now it was time to act.

"We have to hurry or else whatever hunts in the night will get to them first," Charlie said, looking towards the cliff side. "It's unlikely the people on that shuttle survived, but if there's a chance someone did, they will need immediate medical attention. That's where we'll go first. Tük'hala?"

The big lizard grunted, all his attention on her.

"Would you help me find the survivors?"

"Yesss," he replied without hesitation. "Must stay close. It is not sssafe."

"What do we do?" Mariah asked tremulously after she was able to stop her uncontrollable sobs.

Charlie looked between them. "Mariah, you set up the medical equipment in the shelter. Eli, you continue working on the replacement part. We might not have a ship to go back to, but we can still use the shuttle for transportation if needed."

The couple nodded, Mariah with tears running down her face and Eli trying his best not to cry.

Archie shuffled his feet. "What about me?"

"Protect them and set up the beacon so that if anyone from our ship is out there and able to walk, they'll know where to go."

"What is a beacon?" the creature rumbled.

"Our beacon is a bright, flashing red light that goes on the top of the dome," she answered, pointing to the top of the temporary structure

The team started moving to accomplish their assigned roles as Charlie began to walk in the direction of the cliff with Tük'hala following closely. The alien suddenly moved in front of her, dropping to his knees.