Shipwreck
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: I feel wrecked not owning Castle. Rating: K Time: Far in the future.
"If the station is surrounded by a force field, how do we get in?" Castle asked.
"The station will recognize our lifeboat and let us in. We also can contact the station and identify ourselves if we have to land outside the station for some reason, but that's unlikely."
"It sounds awful." Janice said.
"Let's think of it as a camping trip." Matilda said. "You like camping."
That got a small smile from Janice.
The next day Kate had worse news.
"We have another, more serious problem. Even though our sub-space radio is out, the station should have picked up our transponder and given us a beacon to home in on. There's nothing. I checked the transponder and it's functioning properly which means it's the station's equipment that's faulty."
"What exactly does that mean for us?" Castle asked, having a feeling he knew that he meant.
"We have no way to locate the station. Our sensors aren't good enough to locate the station from orbit and we have too little fuel to just fly around at low level until we find it."
"Do we have any idea where it is?" Sister Alexis said.
"The lifeboat's records indicate it's by a river since there's a notation that plenty of fresh water is available near where a river runs into the ocean."
"Maybe it's a desert planet?" Castle said hopefully.
"It seems to be fairly Earth-like, if a bit cooler."
"So we just have to land near some river and hope we're not on the wrong side of the planet?" Walter asked.
"I'm afraid so."
"And in two months we'll run out of food and water." Matilda added.
"If humans can live there, the planet will have potable water and plants and animals that humans can survive on." Castle said. "I have a water purifying unit with my stuff and I can hunt for meat. As far as edible plants go, we'll have to be careful. Some might be poisonous or not have everything humans need to survive, but we'll make it."
Kate was glad he acted so confidently, but she wasn't at all sure it wasn't just for show.
Kate jumped as an alarm went off in the cockpit. She ran to the cockpit.
"It's the proximity detector. There's a lifeboat not fifty kilometers from us and closing on us, but they don't seem to be under power. When it gets close enough, I can dock with it, airlock to airlock. Maybe they can help us."
She tried to contact the lifeboat with their short range communicator with no luck.
"I'll get in a space suit and check them out." She said.
"Bad idea." Rick replied. "You're our only pilot. I've been trained in zero gravity and vacuum combat. I'll go."
Kate thought about arguing, but decided he had a point.
"Shit." Kate said, once they had docked. "The sensor shows no air in the other boat."
"They'll still have things we need." Rick said, now wearing a spacesuit.
"You might wish to collect the identities of the dead." Sister Alexis said. "It will make their families feel better."
Rick grunted.
Once through the airlock and into the dead lifeboat, Rick looked around.
"There's a big tear in the hull by the cockpit. No one survived. I'm gathering food, water, medicine and weapons." When he was done, he called Kate again. "We're in luck. All of their food, water and other supplies survived and they have forty stun guns aboard."
"Rick, check and see if they have a sub-space radio and if it's intact. It should be mounted on the rear hull like ours was."
Rick went to the rear and checked the machine there.
"Fuck. There's no sub-space radio. This thing is an entertainment console, of all things. Why take up valuable space with this thing?"
"Rick, remember, it's been over a hundred years since a ship from a major space line has been lost. They figured that if something happened, everyone would leave in an orderly manner and head for the station in a convoy. Some boats carried sub-space radios, some carried automated medical stations and some carried entertainment modules."
"I'm sure they thought it was important that paying customers didn't have to watch old entertainment vids." Rick said sarcastically. "I'm getting the feeling that the Hermes Line didn't take safety of the passengers very seriously."
"Right now, I'm the senior surviving Hermes Line officer and I take caring for my passengers very seriously." Kate shot back. But she had to admit that Rick had a point.
"Sorry, Kate. Look, I have about half of the stuff in this side of the airlock. Cycle it through and I'll load the rest, then I'll come back. Okay."
"Did you get the IDs of the passenger and crew?" Sister Alexis called.
"I will."
Once Rick was back inside and the supplies were stowed, they looked at the IDs. Kate recognized one.
"Sarah Jane Mcelhenny. I knew her. She was an engineer too. She worked in life support."
They went past other parts of the ship and parts of lifeboats, but there was nothing useful in any of them. They might have been the only lifeboat to escape successfully.
Kate guided them into a polar orbit over the planet and they looked for any sign of the station.
"The Blue Wave carried thirty thousand passengers and half that many crew. How could you not see a station that large from space?" Castle said angrily.
"I don't know." Kate said. "Perhaps they built most of it underground, or it's in a forest surrounded by gigantic trees. I just don't know."
"Sorry. I shouldn't take out my frustrations on you." Rick put his hand on her shoulder. She put her hand on top of his.
"Don't worry about it, Rick. We're lucky to have you. You've done so much to get us ready."
Rick didn't feel he'd done that much. He had found some tarps and fashioned them into knapsacks so they could carry more food, water, medicines and other supplies. He'd also turned some containers of this and that into canteens. Lastly, he'd checked out Kate on a blaster and decided she should carry one. He'd given training on the use of stun guns to Walter and Matilda, not being sure they were ready to use lethal weapons. He'd offered the same training to Sister Alexis, but she declined, saying she wouldn't commit violence against anyone.
"We've looked over the whole planet. We can eliminate the polar regions, deserts, mountains and anything not near a river. Anyone have any good ideas?"
The rest of the passengers were crowded into the door to the cockpit. No one said anything.
"That's a fairly big city, for this planet, anyway, there at the mouth of the river. Even if it's not the right place, maybe they'll know where the station is."
"Any objections?" There being none, they headed down.
"Oh, shit!" Kate yelled. "We're running out of fuel. We're not going to make it to the city. I have to put her down or we'll crash. Get in your seats and strap in."
They landed and ran out of fuel almost simultaneously.
"We're down." Kate said. "Everyone okay?"
That was followed by a chorus of yesses.
"How far are we from the river and the city?" Walter asked.
"About two hundred and fifty kilometers from the city and a bit upstream." Kate said, unhappily.
"I'm going to put on my armor and take a look around." Castle said. "Shut and lock the airlock and keep it locked. I'll be back in maybe an hour."
"Do you really have to go?" Now that they were on the ground, Kate knew they had to depend on Castle more than ever. He was their leader now.
"I'm a reconnaissance expert. I'll be fine, and yes, I have to do this."
Kate helped him on with his armor and helped him check the weapons he'd take. They were a heavy blaster rifle, a blaster pistol, a stun gun, and a vibro-sword. Once he was ready, he turned on the chameleon function of his armor. For a moment they saw a vague outline of an armored man, and then nothing.
Kate opened the airlock and saw foot prints appear where he had to jump down. Then nothing. She closed and locked the airlock.
"Why is Mr. Castle going?" Janice asked.
"He'll just be gone a bit to look around." Matilda said. "He'll be back soon."
"But suppose he doesn't come back? I'm scared." Janice began to cry.
Everyone assured her that she'd be all right, but she kept crying.
When Castle had been gone an hour, Kate was a bit anxious. After an hour and a half, she was worried. After two hours, she was terrified. She was just about to go out and look for him when he called on the radio.
"Hey, open the airlock and let me in."
As soon as he was inside, she yelled at him.
"Where the hell were you? You were gone for two freaking hours."
"I was reconning the area. If I remember correctly, I mentioned that."
"You said you'd be gone for an hour."
"Okay, I misjudged the time this would take. This is an unfamiliar planet, after all. But, I found a stream with potable water and I caught some fish. I think they're some kind of miniature trout. I'll eat them tonight and if they're okay, we can all eat some. We can use some fresh food after the survival rations we've been eating."
Kate glared at him and went to the cockpit.
Once he had taken off his armor and inspected all the gear he'd taken with him, Castle went to the cockpit.
"I'm sorry." The said together.
"You first." They said, again together.
When Kate giggled, Rick spoke.
"I'm sorry. I'm used to working with people like me who know what to expect in situations like this. And, I didn't contact you on the radio because on an unknown planet, there might be enemies out there who'll listen in on your comms. That won't happen here, obviously, but I was operating in full combat mode."
"I'm sorry, too." Kate said. "I'm an engineer and I'm used to space. I have no idea what to do on a dangerous planet. If something happened to you, we'd probably all die here. That terrifies me. And now that were down, you should be in command."
He nodded.
"I think that would be best."
Kate told the passengers that Rick was now in charge. No one argued. Rick decided that they'd get a good night's rest and start out for the river and the city the next day.
That didn't happen.
"There's a cloud of dust headed this way." Kate said, looking at the viewscreen.
"Windstorm?" Rick asked.
"I don't see any trees or anything blowing and if it is a windstorm, it's a very narrowly focused one.
Rick went outside and used his binoculars.
"People coming. I make it about twenty riders on horseback with maybe fifty packhorses. I'd better get ready."
He put on his armor, went outside and took up a position near the lifeboat.
"Kate, they may be friendly and they may not be. It would be better if we could make friends with them. They have to know more about this planet than we do. Just to be safe, I'm outside in the chameleon armor. You stay in the hatchway with my short range blaster rifle. It's got a really wide beam, but don't start shooting. If they shoot, you shoot. Okay?"
She nodded.
It took an hour for them to get to the lifeboat and when they did only four men rode up to the boat.
"Looks like you off-worlders have a problem. Hand over your weapons and we'll take care of you. Agreed?"
Before Kate could reply, Rick fired. He didn't shoot at the men, but fired at a large nearby tree. The sap in the tree was super-heated and the tree exploded. Rick turned off the chameleon function of his armor and stood before the four mounted men.
TBC