Author comments: I apologize for the delay in posting the conclusion of this fiction: events of the last few days have left me a little strapped for time.

Chapter 12

-That can't be good.- No-Tongue said, now even more concerned.

"Some of the system functions have gone offline." Arthur said through gritted teeth. "And controlling this thing has become harder all of a sudden."

No-Tongue once again looked over where Switcher's blood had eaten through the floor. -I have a feeling Switcher's blood had hand in that...- He said grimly.

"Gods I hope it doesn't eat through the fuel lines or life-support systems before we reach safety." Arthur grumbled darkly.

No-Tongue grunted in agreement. While being without life-support was no problem for a Xeno, he knew Arthur could not and nether of them would deal too well with being blown up or crushed if the pod imploded.

-Where are we going?- No-Tongue asked.

"While I was waiting for you I checked the star charts, there's a habitable planet close by. Hopefully it's close enough..."

No-Tongue remained quiet as a blue and green planet came into view and steadily grew larger in the viewscreen. Red hot flames started licking the edges of the viewscreen when they entered the atmosphere and it was then a more serious problem occurred.

"Damn! Now I have no control at all!" Arthur said, No-Tongue both hearing and smelling his fear.

-And this means...- He asked, a part of him not really wanting to know the answer.

"We're going to crash."

-Lovely...seems we're going to be blown to bits anyway. Maybe we should have stayed on the big ship.- No-Tongue grumbled at the news.

"Well, unlike the mother ship, we actually have a chance to survive this." Arthur said, trying to reassure his Alien friend. "A slim one, but a chance none the less."

-So basically we just need to win the lotto...we're doomed.-

"Oh quit being a pessimist and strap yourself in..." Arthur groaned as he secured himself to the seat.

­-How?- Came an honest question.

Arthur looked at No-Tongue, then at the remaining seat in the pod. "Uh...improvise..."

No-Tongue ended up not having time to try to improvise the straps, as violent turbulence suddenly overtook the pod, sending the Alien bouncing along the floor. With a bit of effort, No-Tongue crawled his way back to the spare seat and grabbed on, wrapping his legs, arms and tail around it to secure himself.

"Brace for impact!" Arthur warned as a forest seemed to rush up to meet them.

The noise was unlike anything No-Tongue had heard before: an unnatural symphony consisting of snapping tree limbs and screeching metal. The ride was extremely rough and No-Tongue, despite his strength, lost his grip on the seat and was thrown to the back of the pod, where everything went dark...

Awareness returned slowly and the first thing No-Tongue became aware of was the pain in his body from the battering it took from the crash. After testing his limbs he determined nothing was severely damaged and shakily rose to his feet. It was then he looked around to see just how lucky he was to be alive.

Seat he attempted to keep himself secure to was no longer there, having been ripped from it's place on the floor and impaled on a massive tree branch, which had shattered the viewscreen on impact. Debris consisting of broking tree limbs, torn pieces of metal, and bits of the material that once formed the viewscreen littered the pod floor. On top of that, the whole front was smashed in, a massive trunk taking it's place. Seeing this, a frightening question arose: how did Arthur fare? The metallic smell of blood was already telling...

He found his human friend where he last saw him: strapped into the seat that his seat used to be next to. He was the source of he blood, No-Tongue now seeing the gradually widening pool of it on the floor. No-Tongue whined and nudged his friend with his head, but Arthur was still, slumped in his seat with a telling jagged shard of viewscreen impaled in his chest.

No-Tongue didn't want to believe his friend was gone, taken by the endless sleep that was death. He nudged the body several more times, getting as much of a response as the first: none. His friend, his only friend, was dead.

Unbeknownest to No-Tongue, the pods flight path had caught the attention of more then one resident of the planet.

A fishing village stopped working to watch it's descent, wondering if it was a sign...

A self proclaimed protector took notice and started preparing for a hunt...

An ancient being stirred for the first time after decades of slumber at the sound of an intruder in it's terratory...

sniffs Smells like a sequel in the making doesn't it? Of course...after an ending like that (I hate sad endings myself), you guys would probably demand one anyway ;).

So put away the pitchforks and torches, there will be a sequel! Stay tuned!