Sorgi stood on deck already, one hand resting lightly on the main mast. He turned as Sparhawk approached him.
"She lost all her sails, but her masts are still in tact," he said reverently. "It's a miracle really that we weren't pulled apart." Excited shouts came from the bow of the ship. Sparhawk and Sorgi raced to see what had been discovered. Sorgi took out his periscope and then after looking through it a moment, passed it to Sparhawk.
"Look to shore," he said.
Sparhawk trained his sight along the tidal wave-damaged shore. Several miles down, the earth seemed to have exploded, great crests of shining sand surrounded whatever had fallen from the sky. The object still glowed red. "What do you think it is?" he asked.
Sorgi shrugged his shoulders. "Rocks have fallen out of the sky before, but I've never heard of something that large. It must be huge to have left such a path."
"I guess we'd better check it out," Sparhawk suggested.
It took two days to find a port that had not been completely-damaged by the tidal wave. When Sorgi's vessel pulled in, his sailors manning the giant oars, the curious townspeople came out to greet them. Sorgi became an instant hero, and told tales of a days long struggle to save his ship in the storm. Sea monsters and a notion of being lashed to the main mast, determined to stay on deck found their ways into the story after the third or fourth retelling. His passengers were happy to leave the ship and took shelter in a comfortable inn. Danae spoke privately with her father as he prepared to lead a small group to investigate the falling star.
"I don't think you should bring Kalten. Sometimes he's just a little too rash. This may need a little more delicacy." She pondered.
"Why does this need delicacy? If there is any danger out there, I'd feel more assured having Kalten with me." Sparhawk disagreed.
"Take Berit. He's as good. And take Talen."
"What? Not at all. Talen stays behind."
"Hmph." Danae seemed ready to fight his refusal, then shrugged her shoulders and went on. "Then take Khalad. You need someone smart, although…"
"You seem to know what we're going to need. What exactly landed there Danae, what's going on. "
Danae shrugged. "How should I know, it's not like I'm omnipresent or some thing." She gave her father a wink.
Sparhawk sighed. "Fine I'll take Berit and Khalad. Someone should stay behind anyway to help the ladies. Talen stays behind too though. He's far too curious for his own good."
"Whatever you think is best father," Danae flashed Sparhawk a winsome smile then wandered back into the inn to find her mother.
The next morning, Sparhawk, Khalad and Berit started out on their expedition. It wouldn't take them long to get to the crash site, as they could take a more direct route over land. When they set up for their first night beside the road Berit, who had been sent out to scout the area came back with a grinning Talen ridding at his side.
"Chance meeting you on the road Sparhawk. I was just out for a little fresh air, and must have lost my way."
"Sorry Sparhawk, I don't know he managed to stay behind us without me noticing."
Sparhawk had a good idea how Talen was able to follow them unobserved, and not thanks to his natural stealthlike abilities. "It's allright Berit, I wasn't whollefy unexpecting him anyway."
Talen's grin faded at that, to be replaced by a slightly suspicious look.
"Well younger brother," Khalad called "might as well start making yourself useful. Set up the fire."
The next afternoon the four men reached the crash site. The track of destruction went several 100 meters into land. Crests of baked earth rose up like frozen waves. At the apex, the earth ridge was a good 10 meters high. Sparhawk and the others tied up their horses and began the climb. Before they had gotten very far a high voice called down to them.
"What took you so long?"
"Aphrael!" Talen called, smiling. Berit and Khalad smiled as well.
Sparhawk Aphrael murmured in his head. Tell Khalad not to come up here. He shouldn't see this.
Sparhawk cocked his eyebrow at that, then turned to Khalad.
"Stay down here with the horses and our equipment, let us know if someone comes," he said.
Khalad looked suspiciously at Sparhawk but shrugged his shoulders and climbed back down.
Sparhawk, Berit and Talen continued their climb to join Aphrael at the summit. What they saw there took their breath away.
"Is it safe to get out?" Samuel asked pulling the oxygen mask from his face. The air had finally cooled to an acceptable level. The past two days had been hell, she and the remaining members of the crew had awoken from their cryogenic sleep to searing air and a crashed ship. The well insulated chambers had luckiy kept them alive though just barely. A few chambers had smashed in the crash, and the occupants had been burned to death on the inside. There were only a few occupied chambers however, most of the crew having died in the numerous explosions that had rocked the ship during their escape from (don't know yet). Only four crew members remained out of an original 21. Samuel now held the highest ranking status, putting him in charge.
"The pressure in the infirmary is a little higher than normal, but has remained constant, considering the damage that means we've equilibrated with the outside. As well, the oxygen levels have remained constant though again, higher than normal, we're breathing the planet's atmosphere." Kay responded checking the instrument panel beside her chamber.
"that was pure luck then, seeing that planet, which I'm guessing we successfully managed to land on. Not logged, didn't show up on our scans for days, except one brief blink…" Samuel shook his head, it didn't make sense, but they were alive, wasn't much use to argue the point. "How long was the trip?"
"impossible to tell" Davidson said from his own chamber. "not as long as we expected though. It was the crash that began our resurrection, not our pretimed schedule. That means we're somewhere within the first 1000 hours. We shouldn't have reached the planet, if it was there, for a few earth months at the rate we were going. Maybe we've landed somewhere else."
"That's too unlikely. One planet not showing up on sensors is enough of an anomaly having one in visual distance not show up would be nearly impossible." We'll worry about that later though. We're going to have to get out of here soon. There aren't many emergency rations left in tact, and we're nearly out of water. The air you say is breathable?" Samuel questioned Kay.
Kay nodded her head in the affirmative, though her oxygen mask was still firmly secured to her face.
Davidson and the fourth crew member, Lilith removed their oxygen masks as well. Sniffing tentatively. Lilith stepped from her chamber and hot stepped across the floor.
"ooch, ouch… it's not too bad, if you move quickly enough it doesn't burn much." She called before she stepped out of the infirmary.
Davidson and Samuel followed her out of their chambers and began to survery the supplies available to them in the room. "Collect what you can," Samuel told Davidson and Kay, "I'm going to check on what's left of the ship."
Samuel quickly started piling things together in his abandoned chamber. Med kits, data devices, emergency rations, etc. Kay watched him from her chamber still fidgeting with the instrumentation beside her chamber. Samuel and Lilith returned sometime later with their own parcels of salvaged parts. "Are you ready?" he asked the two.
Davidson nodded in the affirmative, grabbing the things he had bound together. Kay adjusted her own parcel of portable solar collectors and a data mine that had somehow been left behind, probably by a bored patient sometime in the past.
"I found a hatchway that appears to be operational, with a manual opening device. If we're lucky, it's not blocked from the outside, but right now it's the only way I see of getting out, short of cutting through the bulk heads." Lilith reported.
"Well then," Samuel sighed "why don't we take a look at this planet we've crashed on."
"She lost all her sails, but her masts are still in tact," he said reverently. "It's a miracle really that we weren't pulled apart." Excited shouts came from the bow of the ship. Sparhawk and Sorgi raced to see what had been discovered. Sorgi took out his periscope and then after looking through it a moment, passed it to Sparhawk.
"Look to shore," he said.
Sparhawk trained his sight along the tidal wave-damaged shore. Several miles down, the earth seemed to have exploded, great crests of shining sand surrounded whatever had fallen from the sky. The object still glowed red. "What do you think it is?" he asked.
Sorgi shrugged his shoulders. "Rocks have fallen out of the sky before, but I've never heard of something that large. It must be huge to have left such a path."
"I guess we'd better check it out," Sparhawk suggested.
It took two days to find a port that had not been completely-damaged by the tidal wave. When Sorgi's vessel pulled in, his sailors manning the giant oars, the curious townspeople came out to greet them. Sorgi became an instant hero, and told tales of a days long struggle to save his ship in the storm. Sea monsters and a notion of being lashed to the main mast, determined to stay on deck found their ways into the story after the third or fourth retelling. His passengers were happy to leave the ship and took shelter in a comfortable inn. Danae spoke privately with her father as he prepared to lead a small group to investigate the falling star.
"I don't think you should bring Kalten. Sometimes he's just a little too rash. This may need a little more delicacy." She pondered.
"Why does this need delicacy? If there is any danger out there, I'd feel more assured having Kalten with me." Sparhawk disagreed.
"Take Berit. He's as good. And take Talen."
"What? Not at all. Talen stays behind."
"Hmph." Danae seemed ready to fight his refusal, then shrugged her shoulders and went on. "Then take Khalad. You need someone smart, although…"
"You seem to know what we're going to need. What exactly landed there Danae, what's going on. "
Danae shrugged. "How should I know, it's not like I'm omnipresent or some thing." She gave her father a wink.
Sparhawk sighed. "Fine I'll take Berit and Khalad. Someone should stay behind anyway to help the ladies. Talen stays behind too though. He's far too curious for his own good."
"Whatever you think is best father," Danae flashed Sparhawk a winsome smile then wandered back into the inn to find her mother.
The next morning, Sparhawk, Khalad and Berit started out on their expedition. It wouldn't take them long to get to the crash site, as they could take a more direct route over land. When they set up for their first night beside the road Berit, who had been sent out to scout the area came back with a grinning Talen ridding at his side.
"Chance meeting you on the road Sparhawk. I was just out for a little fresh air, and must have lost my way."
"Sorry Sparhawk, I don't know he managed to stay behind us without me noticing."
Sparhawk had a good idea how Talen was able to follow them unobserved, and not thanks to his natural stealthlike abilities. "It's allright Berit, I wasn't whollefy unexpecting him anyway."
Talen's grin faded at that, to be replaced by a slightly suspicious look.
"Well younger brother," Khalad called "might as well start making yourself useful. Set up the fire."
The next afternoon the four men reached the crash site. The track of destruction went several 100 meters into land. Crests of baked earth rose up like frozen waves. At the apex, the earth ridge was a good 10 meters high. Sparhawk and the others tied up their horses and began the climb. Before they had gotten very far a high voice called down to them.
"What took you so long?"
"Aphrael!" Talen called, smiling. Berit and Khalad smiled as well.
Sparhawk Aphrael murmured in his head. Tell Khalad not to come up here. He shouldn't see this.
Sparhawk cocked his eyebrow at that, then turned to Khalad.
"Stay down here with the horses and our equipment, let us know if someone comes," he said.
Khalad looked suspiciously at Sparhawk but shrugged his shoulders and climbed back down.
Sparhawk, Berit and Talen continued their climb to join Aphrael at the summit. What they saw there took their breath away.
"Is it safe to get out?" Samuel asked pulling the oxygen mask from his face. The air had finally cooled to an acceptable level. The past two days had been hell, she and the remaining members of the crew had awoken from their cryogenic sleep to searing air and a crashed ship. The well insulated chambers had luckiy kept them alive though just barely. A few chambers had smashed in the crash, and the occupants had been burned to death on the inside. There were only a few occupied chambers however, most of the crew having died in the numerous explosions that had rocked the ship during their escape from (don't know yet). Only four crew members remained out of an original 21. Samuel now held the highest ranking status, putting him in charge.
"The pressure in the infirmary is a little higher than normal, but has remained constant, considering the damage that means we've equilibrated with the outside. As well, the oxygen levels have remained constant though again, higher than normal, we're breathing the planet's atmosphere." Kay responded checking the instrument panel beside her chamber.
"that was pure luck then, seeing that planet, which I'm guessing we successfully managed to land on. Not logged, didn't show up on our scans for days, except one brief blink…" Samuel shook his head, it didn't make sense, but they were alive, wasn't much use to argue the point. "How long was the trip?"
"impossible to tell" Davidson said from his own chamber. "not as long as we expected though. It was the crash that began our resurrection, not our pretimed schedule. That means we're somewhere within the first 1000 hours. We shouldn't have reached the planet, if it was there, for a few earth months at the rate we were going. Maybe we've landed somewhere else."
"That's too unlikely. One planet not showing up on sensors is enough of an anomaly having one in visual distance not show up would be nearly impossible." We'll worry about that later though. We're going to have to get out of here soon. There aren't many emergency rations left in tact, and we're nearly out of water. The air you say is breathable?" Samuel questioned Kay.
Kay nodded her head in the affirmative, though her oxygen mask was still firmly secured to her face.
Davidson and the fourth crew member, Lilith removed their oxygen masks as well. Sniffing tentatively. Lilith stepped from her chamber and hot stepped across the floor.
"ooch, ouch… it's not too bad, if you move quickly enough it doesn't burn much." She called before she stepped out of the infirmary.
Davidson and Samuel followed her out of their chambers and began to survery the supplies available to them in the room. "Collect what you can," Samuel told Davidson and Kay, "I'm going to check on what's left of the ship."
Samuel quickly started piling things together in his abandoned chamber. Med kits, data devices, emergency rations, etc. Kay watched him from her chamber still fidgeting with the instrumentation beside her chamber. Samuel and Lilith returned sometime later with their own parcels of salvaged parts. "Are you ready?" he asked the two.
Davidson nodded in the affirmative, grabbing the things he had bound together. Kay adjusted her own parcel of portable solar collectors and a data mine that had somehow been left behind, probably by a bored patient sometime in the past.
"I found a hatchway that appears to be operational, with a manual opening device. If we're lucky, it's not blocked from the outside, but right now it's the only way I see of getting out, short of cutting through the bulk heads." Lilith reported.
"Well then," Samuel sighed "why don't we take a look at this planet we've crashed on."