Emerald

Dray

A near endless string of Carlos' Spanish curses is heard even upstairs in ops. Resigned, Mil leans back in her chair. Andrej enters the room, his face and clothes smeared with soot. The skin of his hands is blistered and badly burnt. Mil hurries to pick up the first aid kit.

"Dray? Something went obviously wrong. Please be patient for a moment. I have to care for Andrej's burns, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"How's Andrej? Is he badly hurt?"

"No, girl, I'm fine, just got my hands blistered. But the secondary engine burnt out completely. Carlos tries saving what's possible. Do you think you can stand waiting a bit longer out there?"

Mil throws Andrej an angry glance. His words seem too harsh to her. He presses his lips together and looks away, clearly not happy with the situation. Dray takes some time to mull over the truth.

"Doesn't look as if I get a taxi very soon, does it?"

"We give it our best. With the rations from of the shuttle you should be fine for a while."

Mil manages to dress up Andrej's wounds without shaking too much herself. She understands that Dray's chances are small, alone out there. As soon as she is finished, the astrophysicist thanks her and stands up with a decisive nod. His usual smile is gone.

"I'll get back down to Carlos now. Mil stays with you, Dray. You should check how much of your equipment survived the impact. Wish you luck and see you later, we keep in contact."

In spite of his harsh words, Mil realises Andrej is near tears. He leaves ops with a final glance to the screen showing the wreck of the shuttle. Mil struggles for something to say to break the uncomfortable silence. But Dray takes over before she finds her voice.

«Okay, Mil, you can give me a hand with the inventory. Let's see what still works after the crash."

Two hours later, the women know there is food for at least two weeks and water for maybe two days. The main tank as well as the recycler of the shuttle are destroyed.

"Can you see one of these channels somewhere near you? The water may look like ink but it should be okay when filtered. You can remove the active carbon filter of the water recycler."

"Good idea. The unit is small enough to carry with me, as soon as I leave. Are there edible plants?"

Dray's hoarse voice sounds composed. She starts to disassemble the recycler. Mil is shocked.

"You want to leave the shuttle? Where do you want to go? It's a jungle out there!"

"Believe me, I know. But how big is the chance Carlos can repair the engine in good time? I'll start walking, and you come pick me up as soon as possible on the way."

"I don't like you crossing this forest alone. We could send an emergency call to Spacecorp."

The pilot's laughter is dry and lacks humour. The transmission suddenly shows Koshi's body.

"Spacecorp? You know the contracts: 'no rescue mission without guaranteed success.' I doubt this situation qualifies. Besides, it will take them at least two months to prepare a rescue mission."

Mil massages her temples. Suddenly she is not sure if Dray's fate is worse than the one of the rest of the crew. It's improbable Carlos will manage to start the ship without either the secondary engine or the one of the shuttle. One more time Dray seems to read her thoughts.

"Hey, Carlos is a brilliant tech. If someone works out a solution, it's him. In the meantime, I'll try to reach you by foot. I told you I always liked the fore..."

She is interrupted by a tremor running through the shuttle. Misused metal screeches. On screen Mil can see a wall caving in and Koshi's body slips further down into a corner.

"Get out of there, Dray! The wreck is caving in. Hurry up, do you hear me?"

Dray doesn't hesitate. She picks up a package with rations and the water filter and skilfully slips through the crack in the outer hull. The clearing seems as peaceful as ever. But in the reddish evening light, Mil recognises a giant root laying above the body of the shuttle now. It slowly compresses the wreck further.

Dray turns away and starts walking without a word. On screen, Mil follows her moving through the field of knee-high saplings. Finally she reaches the forest's edge and turns around to study the shuttle. The weight of the root compressed it to half its volume. Without comment Dray resumes walking and enters the forest itself. Suddenly she stops.

"Mil, can you see this? Aren't they beautiful? All these colours!"

"What are you talking about? I can't see anything, it's almost dark where you are. What's up?"

Dray doesn't acknowledge her concern. She sits down on the protruding root of a giant tree and leans back against its trunk. Her voice sounds relaxed, almost dreamy.

"The lights, can't you see them? I think I'll take a rest. Just a little while ..."