Project Unity: Search and Recovery, Chapter Three

Chapter 3

"Captain Hunt is dead," Freya said, unable to look directly at the camera. "To whoever finds this log – I am sorry to be so blunt but I needed to hear it – and to say it. You see..." she glanced back toward his still body and gulped. "You see, the truth is, he died on impact. That may not seem so shocking to you but it sure as hell shocked me." Unable to hold back the tears, she jumped to her feet and then groaned as she unintentionally put her weight on her leg. Falling back into the chair, she allowed herself to sob quietly for several minutes before swiping the tears away and twisting back toward the computer.

"I guess I should start at the beginning. According to the computer and my chron, we've been here for four days and sixteen hours – Unity standard of course. That was another surprise seeing as I've taken at least nineteen days worth of antibiotics in that time. But I digress...

Following the crash, we – yes we! - made camp in an oasis. Weapons platforms had targeted the shuttle and alarms were sounding throughout, driving us away from the only shelter on the planet. We had enough e-rations to last one week between us and we'd found a water source. Trapped with a broken leg, I was pretty useless and the captain disappeared for hours every day to return to the shuttle pod to make repairs. He returned around nightfall with the same report everyday – pod is pretty toasted and the communications array was destroyed in the crash.

By the time the first week ended, I figured Unity had to know we'd gone down by then. A rescue op would be underway and we could only hope they'd evade the weapons platforms long enough to retrieve us. Assuming, of course, that they could find us. And, with careful portion controls – we still had some food. By the end of the second week, my leg felt well enough to walk with support. Robert crafted a walking stick out of a tree branch and spent hours supervising my rehabilitation efforts. Without him, I don't think I would have been able to hobble around for another few weeks.

Without him I would never have gotten out of that pod actually. I was pinned under a console and smoke was filling the space faster than it could be expelled. The smoke had to come from somewhere – presumably a fire. Then there was the gaping abdominal wound. There were a half dozen ways I could have died that day. But Robert Hunt was there! And he saved me...

Except he wasn't. And he didn't. Because he was dead. Science and medicine tells me he died four and a half days ago as a result of high impact trauma during the crash. He never got out of his seat. That's what my medicine tells me anyway...

My memories, which I've always counted on to be true, tell me we crashed twenty days ago and that Robert Hunt saved my life." Freya closed her eyes tightly and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Computer, pause and save log." Spinning around, Freya snatched the walking stick – more physical proof of her memories – and limped with her crutch toward the bathroom at the back of the pod.

Upon returning to the pod, she'd found it quite charred from the fire but relatively intact as far as shelters go. It still lay on its side but she'd unhinged one of the chairs and freed a mattress from the bunk before stowing it, Murphy bed style, to set up her new little house. Unable to stand the sight of Robert dangling from his pilot's chair, she'd released his straps and nearly collapsed under his weight as she dragged him away from the cockpit. She'd covered his still form with one of the blankets and tried to figure out what to do with him next.

As she passed him once more, she paused and stooped to pull back the blanket. He looked surprisingly well considering he was dead. They – she – must have sealed that hatch when she left after the crash, sealing him into the hot, arid pod. With little oxygen and no insect activity, decomposition had been delayed.

At least until she'd opened the hatch back up a few hours ago. The smell accosted her first, and despite having seen bodies decompose before, she felt a wave of nausea and and hobbled away, dropping the blanket back over him in the process. Unable to unhinge the entire bathroom structure, she'd emptied a crate and ran tubing from the sink faucet to create a wash basin. She splashed water over her face and slid slowly down the bulkhead as the nausea faded.

With a short glance at the captain, she closed her eyes to consider the options. "Burial seems the most obvious," she said out loud. "I wonder how you'd feel about that? Usually you'd be cremated but I don't think I could get a fire hot enough to do the job." She shook her head, cursing under her breath. She was ready to limp her way into the dry sand to attempt to dig a hole when the answer came to her. Crawling across the floor, Freya pried open the bottom panel of the synthesizer and shoved her hand in, fumbling for the latch. In a moment, she heard the long, slow hiss and the front (now top) part of the machine opened. Every synthesizer came equipped with a freezer – which stored all the building blocks of the things it created. The bigger the freezer, the longer the synthesizer lasted without needing to be restocked. A pod's synthesizer was compact, intending to save valuable square footage, and was meant to be restocked from Unity on a regular basis. The freezer would have to be completely empty to store a body – which was just as well as Freya didn't intend to synthesize anything from the machine once the body was inside it.

It took Freya an hour to clear enough space in the cold storage to house a body but eventually she'd gutted the freezer of everything but the bare necessities to keep it safely below zero degrees. Her leg throbbed as she pushed to her feet but the longer he stayed out, the worse the decomposition would get. The smell was already permeating throughout the pod. Steadying herself on the wall, she inched toward the cockpit, where she'd left the medical bag, and pulled out the injector. She silently prayed for one more use as she inputted the code for pain killers and then pressed it into her thigh. The tell-tale hiss was followed by instant relief. "It should last long enough to get the job done," she said, turning back toward her task. "Sorry about this Captain."

------

"So just audio today. You see it's possible that all the exertions of yesterday have really fracked up my recovery and now I can't sit in the chair and face the screen – well I could, but I don't want to. It's either day five or day twenty-one on this planet. Either way, still here. I found a second stash of e-rations and since it's just me..." Freya trailed off, sucking in a deep breath as she pictured Robert's body laid out in the freezer behind her head.. "Since it's just me, they'll probably last me another week on the long end. Long term, the sooner I can get up and walk again, the better. The water coming from the faucet has turned a rusty red color. I think I'm scraping the bottom of the reserves now and I'll need to return to the oasis to fill the canteens. That's assuming that oasis was real and not some delusion.... it could be a delusion," Freya paused, truly considering that possibility for the first time. "That would be bad. Very bad.

According to the computer, power is down to thirty-two percent – just what it can garner from the emergency solar panels on the exposed part of the hull. It's barely enough to run minimum systems right now. I may be able to expose a few more panels but not with my leg swollen to twice its usual size. I'm out of juice in the injectors and down to a few pills that take at least an hour to reach maximum efficiency and still barely make a dent in the pain. Tomorrow, I venture out to look at the panels and the communication dish. Wish me luck."

------

As Freya stepped through the doors, she felt the warm sand squish between her bare toes and giggled. It was still an odd sensation to go from the cold, metal corridors of the ship to the warm, serene beach of Paradiso. "There you are! We've been waiting for hours!" Andy cried, jogging easily across the beach toward her. She immediately hooked her arm with Freya's and pulled her along toward their usual spot. Three beach chairs, each adorned with a colorful towel, sat under a massive umbrella. "Julian's just gone to get drinks again... we've been drinking yours while waiting," Andy said with a tipsy giggle.

Freya turned her gaze toward the bar and, as anticipated, spied Julian juggling a tray full of umbrella'd drinks. Catching her gaze, he started to wave excitedly, nearly toppling the glasses and then grinned sheepishly as he steadied the tray once more.

"How that man is an ace pilot is beyond me," Andy teased. "Is he so clumsy in all that he does?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows at Freya suggestively.

"Andy!" Freya had the grace to look appalled but felt a familiar creep of warmth on her cheeks as she surely blushed. By now Julian had reached them and set the tray down on the table between the chairs. "Sorry I'm late... Finn had me updating charts on pretty much everyone on board."

"Didn't he make you do that last week too?" Julian protested, twisting around to glare at the aforementioned Dr. Harold Finn.

Freya merely shrugged, "I didn't get everyone done last week and, of course, he decided he wanted vaccinations notated a completely different way..."

"And everyone gets vaccines...." Andy concluded.

Julian grumbled but his mood eased quickly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Well you're here now at least." Freya relaxed in his arms, all her tension from the medical ward slipping away. "Come on, let's hit the water before sunset."

The trio ran for the shoreline, their drinks forgotten, laughing as the chilly waves splashed against their legs. For hours they alternated between the water and the comfort of their chairs. Soon the holographic sun would set and the sky would be filled with stars. Andy had taken special pains to program the evening sky particularly – using Earth based constellations and stellar movement – and she always stayed until nightfall to enjoy her handiwork.

"Fireworks are about to start," Captain Hunt's voice jarred Freya and she whipped around toward him in surprise. He'd settled down on the sand beside them and grinned. "How is it y'all always have the perfect spot for this?"

"That's a perk of being the creator," Andy teased. "Reserved seating." While the others chuckled, Freya couldn't tear her eyes off the Captain, feeling as if something were wrong. Andy must have noticed, as she felt her friend move closer. "Freya? You alright?"

"Yeah, I guess." Freya shook her head and forced her attention back toward the horizon line, where the nightly firework show was about to begin. Around her, she heard everyone begin to settle down – all expecting the magnificent show. Doctor Finn was seated a few yards away near Commander Bonwick and another security officer. The Lee twins had settled into their parents' laps rather reluctantly. While they enjoyed the fireworks, they found playing in the water more fun and would have stayed in Paradiso all the time if they could.

As the first cluster of explosions blossomed across the sky, Freya shuddered. An errant memory, without context, flashed in her mind as vividly as the fireworks. Beside her, Andy tensed and nudged Julian. He hopped up from his own chair and settled himself behind her. Wrapping a firm arm around Freya's shoulders, he pulled her closer and the flashes of memories faded. And when he whispered, "love you," into her ear, they disappeared completely.

It was nearly two hours later that the last stragglers left the hologrid, leaving only the trio sprawled in the sand. They could have left anytime, but none of them were ready to return to the cold, sterile halls that waited for them outside of paradise. "Back to real life I guess," Andy moaned. She was the first to push to her feet. Julian followed suit, extending his arm for to help Freya up in the process. Reluctantly, she took his hand and trailed behind them toward the invisible grid door.

------

"Well that was a bust. As soon as I stepped outside the pod, all thought of the solar panels disappeared completely! In fact..." Freya recorded her very distinct memories of their day on the beach for the log for nearly half an hour. "At the time, it didn't even phase me that Doctor Finn was there – he died several months before Paradiso was created. And Andy..." she trailed off, playing through the manufactured memory piece by piece. "Everyone there is dead now... except Julian. I wonder..."

Freya growled and shook her head, trying to dislodge the horrifying thoughts as they came to her. With a long sigh, she got to her feet and started pacing awkwardly. "That's not really the problem though is it? My own delusions are rather irrelevant at the moment. The fact that I can't exit the pod without falling into one such delusion IS relevant however. I appear to be lucid – I assume anyway – while inside the pod suggesting that the problem is external. One might assume then that something about the planet – probably in the air – is causing the hallucinations. That is, of course, operating under the assumption that I am not currently in a hallucination right now. Let's hope not."

Maneuvering into the environmental suit with a broken leg proved to be easier than Freya had anticipated. By its nature, the suit made bending at the joints more difficult, so she only needed a tightly wound wrap to keep her leg mostly immobilized. As she slipped on the thick gloves, she tried to imagine doing any delicate work on the pod with them – she could only hope anything broken could be brought back inside for repairs. Finally securing the helmet, she heard the tell-tale hiss of clean air filling the space and mentally crossed her fingers.

As she stepped out of the pod, Freya paused to survey her surroundings. Behind her, the sunlight glared off the crashed pod. There was desert and sand in every direction, as far as she could see; there was no sign of her oasis – though it's possible it was beyond her field of vision. Peering up toward the sky, she spied one of the weapons platforms buzzing toward her. Just as she ducked low behind the cover of the pod, it careened away intent on a new course. Freya waited a few more minutes before hobbling toward the solar panels on the other side of the ship. As expected, sand had buried most of the panels in the crash (or sometime after) so she began the slow and tedious process of clearing it away. While a few were merely "dusty", most were covered in several inches of fine sand. After two hours, and only a half dozen cleared panels, Freya cursed and pushed herself to her feet. To her left, under even more sand, lay the heart of her communications system but she didn't have the energy to dig for it.

Back inside and free of the environmental suit, Freya popped open another e-ration pack from her dwindling supply. She ripped open the hydration tube and sucked down the electrolyte rich water and leaned back against the bulkhead. "Computer, record log." As she waited for the beep of acknowledgment, she nibbled at her protein bar. "The environmental suit appears to have provided the necessary protection from the unknown hallucinations of the planet. The computer indicates that power supply is now rising – albeit slowly – as it uses the newly cleaned panels to pull in more energy. Provided the panels remain clear enough to soak up the energy from this system's star – I might have bought enough power to transmit a steady signal. Of course to do that, the communications array would have to be functional and – I'm fairly certain it's not. Still, I've turned it on and the light is blinking red. Red is usually bad. It also occurred to me that every time I breech the hatch to exit or enter the pod – I'm letting in more of the atmosphere that may or may not be responsible for my delusions. Still, that can't be avoided and I don't plan to live in the environmental suit for the next week." Her meager meal finished, Freya pushed the remnants aside and dug into her medical bag.

It only took a minute to find his heartbeat with the scanner. Freya smiled as she leaned back on her pallet. "Hang in there kid – we'll get out of this. Somehow."

End Chapter