A/N: Am desperately begging for reviews here ( down on my knees pleading, but it's probably just the sugar talking. Oh well....) Also, thanks to RaevenMoon for giving me my 3rd review! ( I love you SO much!)
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Rick climbed onto the roof of the skiff and surveyed the damages.
Most of the passengers had woken from cryo sleep by now and were crowded around him, pressing him for answers.
He held up his hands for silence and then spoke.
"Listen. I don't know how long we might be on this planet, because even though the fuel cells are all right, the ship is too damaged to go any further. I need volunteers to scout the area and check for supplies. Is there anyone willing to do this ?"
A few hands went up, including the husband and wife grifters, the tough looking weapons dealer and the Native American woman.
"All right. Make sure you all have weapons and don't go so far that you can't see the ship anymore, okay ?"
They all nodded and disappeared down the side of the ship.
"The rest of you, I want you to take inventory on what supplies we have left. You'll find the storerooms at the back of the ship."
Everyone went back into the ship, except for the pompous old guy, who remained standing not to far from Rick.
"Why should we scout the area ? All we need to know is if there are others on this planet who can help us."
Rick glanced at him, before scanning the horizon. The old guy was starting to get on his nerves, but he didn't let it show.
Spotting a dark shape in the south, he pulled his binoculars from his pocket and studied the shape intently.
It was a mass cluster of buildings, all of them looking like homes or resource centres, where people could work processing natural materials found on the planet.
Apparently, Teke saw the same thing he did, because he let out a small derisive snort and turned back to Rick.
"You see ! There are other people inhabiting this godforsaken place. I say, we catch up with the scout and get them to check out the buildings, see if there's anyone willing to help!"
"It won't do you any good."
Rick turned to see the young girl Cassandra standing a little ways away from them.
She was facing in the opposite direction, but he had the feeling she was watching him anyway.
"Why won't it do any good ?"
"Because," she said turning around to face them, goggles firmly in place over her eyes. "There's no one left. They're all dead."
He was intrigued. She had been inside the ship the whole time, yet her statement made him feel she knew something he didn't.
"How do you know this ?"
"I saw it."
Her words were as plain as day and mixed with her soft, British accent, they completely entranced him.
They had just the opposite effect on Teke, though.
Every time she spoke, his face had grown darker and more angry.
Now, he practically ran to her side and roughly grabbed her arm, attempting to force her back inside the ship.
"Be quiet. We've been over this before. You are never to tell anyone about IT !" He hissed.
Rick grabbed him by the collar, pulling him off of the girl.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't aware that you had been invited to join the conversation."
Teke spluttered and turned several shades of red, but Rick ignored him and turned back to Cassandra.
"So what is IT, exactly ?"
Teke brushed Rick's hand off and hurriedly pushed Cassandra behind himself.
"It's nothing, really. Some say she has the gift of foresight, but that is all horribly obsolete and dated ....."
Getting frustrated with this arrogant little man, Rick pushed him to the side and looked at Cassandra, who seemed horribly disinterested with everything that was going on.
"What do you think ? Do you have foresight ? Can you see things ?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know."
"Well, if you can't, then how did you know about the meteor ?"
A startled look slid across her face, but she replaced it just as quickly with the same disinterested one as before.
"I never said I can't see things. I just said I don't know."
"Well, what did you see that told you everyone else on this planet is dead ?"
She dropped her head and muttered something that was completely unintelligible.
He cupped one large hand under her chin and tilted her face up, so she was looking at him.
"What did you see ?"
He could see the panicked look in her eyes, even behind the dark lenses of her goggles.
"I-I saw a pit." Her voice dropped low again, but he could actually hear her this time. "A pit of bodies."
"Where is it ?"
"About four miles away, just to the north."
He nodded and raised his binoculars to his eyes. Looking in the direction she had told him, he could just make out a jagged dark shape, upon the dry surface of the planet.
"C'mon," he motioned to her. "We're going to go check it out."
Teke had remained silent throughout their entire conversation, but now he spoke again.
"I really must protest! This girl is my ward and I think I should decide what she is going to do."
Rick rolled his eyes and looked at Cassandra.
"How old are you ?"
"I'm sixteen."
"Well, on most planets that means you are considered a legal adult by law and so free to make your own decisions. Do you want to stay here with him," he jerked his finger at Teke. "Or do you want to check out the pit ?"
Her eyes flicked from him to Teke and then back again.
"I'll go."
Teke spluttered again. "Hold on a minute......"
Rick grabbed him roughly by the front of his shirt and hauled him off the ground, bringing their faces close together.
"Listen. You better go down into the ship and help the others check supplies or I will hurt you so badly, you'd wish you'd never been born. Do we have an understanding ?"
The older man nodded meekly and Rick let go of his shirt, causing him to stumble backwards slightly.
Motioning to Cassandra to follow him, he leapt over the side of the skiff, onto the hot desert sands .....
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