"Okay then, first we need to get this piece of junk out of the ground and in the air," Allen said. The cabin door refused to open, so Steve ripped it out of the frame. The interior of the shuttle was in complete disarray, but otherwise intact. The hatch controls didn't work, so Steve opened the hatch using the emergency override.

While Steve was outside looking at the shuttle, Allen went through the interior, checking the damage. He located the last of their storage containers and on a whim, opened it up. He didn't like what he saw.

Steve poked his head back inside and said, "Other than the busted window, the outside appears to be okay." He entered the rest of the way and peered over Allen's shoulder. "Is that all of it?" he asked.

Allen nodded. "We took the other two inside the relay station, remember? We left in a bit of a hurry."

"But they were empty anyway," Steve said with a shrug. Ten minutes later they had inventoried their meager supply.

"One battle rifle with 200 rounds, two SMGs with 100 rounds each, a magnum pistol with 50 rounds, and a dozen grenades," Allen noted. Steve reached for the battle rifle. "How do you want to split it up?"

Allen shrugged and said, "I figure you take the rifle and one SMG, I'll take the other and the pistol, and we split the grenades."

"Fair enough," Steve agreed and loaded the rifle. When he was done, he headed back to the cockpit. Isis looked up when Steve stepped in. "I've done everything I can to make the shuttle ready to fly, but I need help with the physical repairs," she said.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," Steve assured her. Isis told him what she needed and Steve set to work.

Meanwhile, Allen had stepped out to take a look around. The shuttle had landed in a large field dotted with trees. The leaves were starting to turn and the cool weather suggested it was late autumn. The sun was beginning to set in the sky, casting long shadows. Allen looked out as far as he could see and saw no trace of civilization. The lack of noise also began to gnaw at the back of his mind. Allen walked around the shuttle and saw no trace of wildlife. No birds in the sky or tracks in the ground. Unconsciously, Allen tightened the his grip on his weapon. He took one last look around and headed back to the shuttle.

"Hey Steve, something doesn't seem right about this place," Allen said upon entering the shuttle. He found Steve up to his shoulders in an access panel and covered in grease.

"One or two more quick repairs and this baby is ready to fly," Steve said. Allen nodded and made his way to their passenger. Dr. Chudnoffsky was still out cold. "Hey Doc, time to wake up," Allen said and gently slapped him on the face. The doctor sat up with a start and winced. "Where are we?" he asked.

"That's what we'd like to know," Allen said. Dr. Chudnoffsky looked around and frowned. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded and tried to free himself.

"Well, we had to beat it pretty quick from Omega 4 and didn't have time to strap you in all nice and pretty," Allen said. Dr. Chudnoffsky glared at him. "Anyway," Allen continued, "We crashed on this planet and we're currently trying to figure out how to get back to Reach."

"Why should I care?" Dr. Chudnoffsky asked. Allen shrugged. "Just keeping you informed sir," he said.

As the doctor continued to struggle against his bonds, Allen stood up and went to the cockpit. He sat down and started to think.

"Uh oh, I see the wheels turning," Isis said, slightly amused. "Something isn't right," he said finally.

"Like what?" Isis asked, crossing her arms.

"How much access did you have to the ONI databases?" Allen asked her. Isis spread her hands and said with a wink, "That depends on what you want to know."

Before Allen could ask, Steve returned. "All repairs are complete. Cross your fingers," he said and sat down. Allen got up and shut the shuttle hatch.

"Where are we going?" Dr. Chudnoffsky called after him.

"We detected a settlement not far from here," Allen said. "We're going to check it out." After Allen went back to the cockpit, Dr. Chudnoffsky waited several seconds, then wriggled his right arm free. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a slim data reader. He thumbed it on and his AI Reginald appeared. Reginald took a look around and turned to the doctor. "I say sir, this is quite a predicament," he said.

"Yes it is," Dr. Chudnoffsky agreed. "Those failed lab experiments pulled me from my work."

Reginald crossed his arms as he scrolled through his data. "It seems I still retain the data you recorded from the find." Dr. Chudnoffsky sighed with relief. "It appears we made a random jump from Omega 4 before heading back to Reach and crashed on some uncharted planet," he added. Reginald snorted and said, "That sorry excuse for a traffic controller they claim as their AI probably miscalculated the Slipspace coordinates."

Dr. Chudnoffsky thought for a moment and asked, "Can you figure out where we might be?"

"Since I obviously don't have access to the calculations, there is no guarantee, but give me a moment," Reginald said and his image flickered as he crunched the data. "Given my current limited capacity, there is a certain degree of error in my calculation, but I have narrowed down to several possibilities in descending order, starting with the most likely." Reginald displayed the list and Dr. Chudnoffsky scanned through them. He noticed the name at the bottom of the list and his face turned white. "What is that doing there?" he asked.

Reginald shrugged. "As I said, there were bound to be certain inaccuracies. I have merely accounted for all possibilities."

"I pray it is anything but that," Dr. Chudnoffsky said gravely. Reginald frowned. "I thought you didn't believe in God?" Dr. Chudnoffsky shot him a dirty look. "Well, for what it's worth, I hope this is the one time I am wrong," Reginald said in defense.