Chapter 6: Shipwrecked

Tristan groaned, and his head throbbed. Something cut into his chest and shoulders making it hard to breathe. He attempted to shift position to ease the pressure but he couldn't move. "What the fuck?" Full consciousness returned. He was hanging upside down from the straps of his seat! Without thinking, he reached for the strap release and punched it. The straps gave way and he fell with a grunt to what once had been the roof of the cabin.

He glanced round in the dim light of the emergency lamps; acrid smoke stung his eyes and caught his breath. Aesia hung above him, limp in her straps. He reached up, released her strap buckle and caught her as she fell. With the dim light, Tristan had difficulty seeing. A sudden flash and sparks from one of the consoles above him made him jump, flames started to flicker from it. They had to get out fast. The spreading flames gave him extra light. The ship was upside down with a slight tilt towards the stern. He picked his way carefully over the debris towards the main bulkhead. He slipped and sat down with a heavy jar. Aesia groaned. He lay her down and continued to the airlock.

He fumbled with trembling fingers until he located the airlock hatch emergency release panel. He pushed, and the panel sprung open, revealing a heavy red lever in the flickering light.

"Please God, open," he prayed as he gripped it with both hands and pulled.

With a loud click and the door opened. Cool fresh air hit him in the face. The flames behind him flickered. The airlock hatch was at chest height as he stood on the roof of the cabin. The flames had taken hold, spreading quickly and filling the cabin with choking smoke. He turned and picked Aesia up. He had no choice but to push Aesia's limp form over the lip of the hatch then let her go. She fell to the airlock roof with a thud. "Sorry." He hoped he had not hurt her further.

Tristan pulled himself up and dropped down the other side of the bulkhead, avoiding Aesia's unconscious body. The outer door release panel was hanging open. Tristan pulled the lever but it was stuck solid.

"Fuck it!"

The smoke from the cabin was filling the airlock. Panic tightened across his chest. He swallowed "Idiot!" They must be interlocked. He turned to the inner door. His eyes stinging he blinked against the tears, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his hands searched for the inner door lever. He found it and pulled, the door moved then stopped. Tristan hit it with a clenched fist, the door started to move again and caught. He placed his hands flat against it and pushed, forcing it closed. He felt the door latch. Turning, he stepped over Aesia's prone form, grasped the outer door lever and pulled. The door opened. He took a deep breath of cold, damp night air.

He pulled himself up and looked out. The faint glow from the fast cooling engine exhaust enabled him to see the edge of a forest, and that it happened to be pouring with rain. "Oh great. Light years of travel and I might as well be back in England." The ship had dug itself into a grassy slope surrounded by trees. Tristan stooped down, picked Aesia up from the airlock roof, and lifted her over the edge of the outer lock. He heard her fall to the wet ground with a squelch. Tristan swung himself over the outer lock edge and jumped down.

He scooped Aesia up from the wet ground, threw her over his shoulder, and ran. He had just reached the edge of the small clearing when a loud explosion knocked him to the ground. He lay for a moment waiting for his head to clear before picking himself up. The force of the explosion had flung Aesia several yards in front, and she was lying in a heap in a puddle of water. Tristan stood, lifted her in his arms, and dived behind a large tree. He sat her down against the tree trunk, away from any blast if there should be further explosions. He slumped down beside her. "We have to stop doing this!" As he leaned over to check she was still breathing she groaned, her eyes flickered open, and she glanced around.

"Oh, I hurt everywhere!" She tried to move, winced then asked, "Where are we?"

Tristan shrugged. "On the ground in a very wet forest."

"What about the ship?" she asked.

"It exploded, and is currently on fire." He pointed at the flickering flames that could be seen through the trees.

"How did I get here?"

"I carried you," Tristan replied. "Getting you out of burning ships seems to be becoming a habit." He smiled attempting to relieve the tension.

Aesia ignored his attempt at humour. She sat quiet for a moment and then tried to stand. She immediately collapsed back down with a scream of pain. "My leg, I think it's broken!"

Tristan pushed himself to his knees and ran his hands down each of her legs in turn. She cried out as he gently brushed her left leg and found the break; her leg was broken at the shin.

She started to shiver. "I'm cold."

Unable to do anything in the darkness, he sat down beside her and pulled her close to keep her warm. She resisted for a moment and then snuggled up tight to him to get some of his warmth. They sat together until the dawn light started to filter through the trees.

The flames from their ship had died down, so Tristan stood and walked to the smouldering wreck. Only the forward section had burnt, but there was a gaping hole in the stern where the fuel cells had been located, obviously the source of last night's explosion. Raindrops sizzled and danced when they struck the smouldering forward section and the hatch, so Tristan had to leave his exploration until it had cooled.

He looked about the scorched ground and found some sharp shards of metal lying near where the hull had exploded outwards. He tore a small piece from his shirt and wrapped one end of the shard with it. Now he had a serviceable knife. Constructing a shelter from the rain before they both suffered from exposure had to be a priority. He cut a few branches and tied them together with vines that he found hanging from the trees. Thin leaf covered branches, he wove into the structure for cover and within an hour he had constructed a serviceable shelter between two trees.

Not in his wildest dreams did he ever think he would use his basic survival training on a strange alien planet. He examined his handiwork. It was not pretty but it would offer some protection for the time being.

He walked back to Aesia, her head lolled to one side. A knot twisted in his stomach as he bent down and touched her neck. He sighed; her pulse, strong and regular, beat against his fingers, she had only lost consciousness. He picked her up, and laid her under the shelter. He then examined her leg in the daylight; it seemed to be a clean break on her tibia. Her lower leg had tibia and fibula bones, much the same as a human leg. Tristan pulled some small straight branches from one of the trees and cut them into splints. He used the sleeves of his shirt and tore them into strips. As he set her leg, she regained consciousness and cried out in pain.

"Sorry, but I have to do this." She nodded at him, her mouth set in a hard line. He carefully applied the splints to both sides of the break and tied them up with the strips of cloth. When he had finished, he checked she was comfortable, stood and walked back to the ship.

The rain had cooled the hull, making it just warm to the touch. Tristan climbed in through the open hatch. Most of the interior had been destroyed, and it stank of burnt plastic and cables. The forward section had been burnt and the rear severely damaged by the explosion. Looking round he found a serviceable laser pistol and one spare power pack. Most of the food had burnt, however some sealed emergency rations had survived. He located a few useable clothes – which smelt of burning, and a long knife that was probably the most useful item. He found a bag similar to a small rucksack and there were two waterproof sheets, one burnt on the corner. He also managed to salvage the bedding from one of the bunks, which he left in the ship to keep dry. The lingering fumes caught in his throat and he started to cough; time to get out.

He walked back to Aesia. She was shivering again. Tristan wrapped her in the waterproof sheet.

She groaned and blinked at him with her strange blue eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to keep you warm."

She pushed him away and tried to get up, then fell back, tears of pain running down her cheeks.

"Stay put, Aesia!" He spoke roughly to her. "You will move the splints holding your leg and it won't heal properly."

She glared at him and said nothing, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

Now that he had a proper knife, he was able to construct a better hut by weaving small branches into a pitched roof, closed at one end. He made it large enough for him to stand up in.

He regularly checked on Aesia. She had stopped shivering and was asleep. He finished the hut by throwing the undamaged waterproof sheet over the roof to ensure it was as watertight as possible. He went over to Aesia, woke her and took the waterproof sheet, telling her he needed it. He laid the sheet on the floor of the new hut. He then went to her and picked her up carefully. As he did so he sensed her anger and, something else she covered with the anger.

He carried her over to the new hut and laid her on the waterproof sheet. He went back to the ship and picked up the bedding and the spare clothes. He carried them over to her and made her as comfortable as possible. She accepted his help with a sullen expression on her face. He dismantled the lean-to he had hastily made and used the material to make a small porch structure over the open end of the hut, to protect the entrance from wind and driving rain. Aesia had propped herself up on the bedding and just sat watching him. When he had finished, he judged it was about mid-afternoon. He squatted down next to her.

He looked up at the grey sky. "Doesn't it ever stop raining in this bloody place, it's just like home." He smiled at her trying to break the tension between them.

She frowned at him.

"You don't like being dependant on me, do you?" he asked.

"No, it is shameful that I have to rely on a creature such as you!"

"Well the feeling is mutual! I certainly don't want to be stranded here for the rest of my life, and you are the only one who knows how to get us out of here." He glanced back at the ruined craft. "We are stuck with one another I'm afraid." He rocked back on his heels. "God knows what got into me agreeing to come with you in the first place."

Aesia snorted then shifted her position as the pain made her grimace. "I'm hungry."

"OK."

Tristan rummaged for the emergency rations in the rucksack, handed some to Aesia, and sat and ate some himself. Once he had finished, he went to search for a tree with thin, pliable bark. He found one close to the ship. He pulled the bark off in strips. He made a depression in the ground under the porch and laid the bark, followed by some twigs. Using the laser on low power, he dried then lit the small pile, making a good fire. He piled on thicker branches. Even though they were wet, they soon dried and caught. He had rescued some pots from the galley so he arranged them about the site to catch water.

He settled down by the fire and glanced at Aesia. She had been getting fidgety. He noticed tears welling in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

She flushed and put her head in her hands "I ... I need to pee."

"Oh." He turned his head away for a moment to compose his features. Best not make things worse by smiling Tristan. "Right, come on then." He lifted and carried her into the trees a short way, her discomfort and embarrassment plain as he supported her while she attended to her toilet. Tristan made no comment and shut his mind, lest she get angry.

He carried her back to the shelter. He collected more firewood before darkness fell and he piled up the fire. They ate more of the rations.

"Right, we should get some sleep." Tristan announced. He ensured Aesia was comfortable, lay down beside her, and promptly fell into a dreamless sleep. She woke during the night, shivering.

"I'm cold."

It was too wet and dark to find more firewood for the fire so he put his arms round her. She drew close to share his warmth. Her hair smelt of wood smoke and the delicate faint sent he had smelt before. Her shivering subsided and she quickly fell back to sleep.

Tristan lay listening to her soft regular breathing. What the hell am I doing here? On an unknown alien planet with this strange, difficult and unpredictable creature! The events of the last few days had not given him time to think. With everything spinning round in his head sleep would be a long time coming. His mind relaxed on the edge of sleep when Aesia shifted in his arms and groaned. For a brief moment he had a vision of a barrier she was holding, behind it something he could not quite see, something, something ... he drifted back to sleep.