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“Some are still waking up,” Tess says. She helps Gwen tie a sling around her neck. “Judd and Dean are setting up more of the tents. It’s pouring out there.”
Rowan proves her point when she bursts through the flap dripping wet. A gust of rain follows her inside, spraying all of us before she can close the canvas behind her. She flips her hood down, and her beaded braids cascade down her shoulders. She scans the interior.
Thank goodness she’s okay. Rowan’s a pediatrician, and in an emergency, any type of doctor will do. “Good,” she nods when she spots me sitting up. “I’m not happy that Rick’s not awake yet.” She kneels at the man’s side. “Shit. I can’t access the medlab until we can roll the ship upright.”
“Do we know what went wrong?” I ask. I examine the towel I’ve been holding to my head. Blood. Bright red. I press the towel back to the cut.
“We won’t know until we can analyze the black box,” Tess says. She steps aside to let Rowan examine Gwen’s injured arm. “We know that the landing sucked. The ship didn’t wake us up. No clue why, it was supposed to once we reached this galaxy. Maybe there was interference?” She shrugs. “I’m a computer specialist, not a pilot.”
I’m not a pilot or an astronaut, or anything else that can help with this, either. I’m just an anthropologist. And a bit of a historian. Not the most useful skill-set for this situation.
I’m supposed to be useful. I’m supposed to be our researcher, our record keeper. We’re the second wave of settlers in Mission: Expand Humanity. The first wave was supposed to choose a safe spot on this planet for an experimental human settlement. They were soldiers and survivalists, and they were successful - they sent maps, coordinates, videos and photos back to earth. They included a plea for some farmers, some entertainment, and some “single ladies.”
So we flew out next, in a frozen sleep in stasis pods, ready to start a whole new community and a whole new life on a planet green enough to grow and thrive upon. We come with a wider range of skills and, yes, we’re mostly single women. That was one requirement for being chosen - a willingness to “start a family,” as they politely put it.
It sounded like a great deal to me. Better to start a family on a healthy planet than to remain on our dried and crumbling rock of a home. I get to be a major part of human history, build something new, continue the species. It’s scary but so, so exciting!
I foolishly hadn’t considered what could go wrong. So much could. Hell, I could have died falling out of my pod less than an hour ago.
But we’re here. We did make it, even if we botched the landing.
Another figure slips into the tent, bringing another gust of wind and rain from the darkness outside. Viv, our team biologist. She shakes rain out of her dark hair, then wipes the water from her glasses with her sleeves before speaking. “We lost four.”
I cover my mouth. Lost? Dead? Four of our crew dead? Tess drops to her knees. Stella doubles over on herself, Skye and Kit hug each other.
“Four of the pods were badly damaged when we landed on our side,” Viv says. She sighs heavily. “Everyone else is out now. In tents. No clue how safe we are but...” She lifts a duffle bag I didn’t notice her carrying until just now. “Water and rations. Faith and Arjun decided we should sit tight until the rain stops. Or until daylight, at least.”
Daylight. Sunrise on a new planet. Four of our crew are dead. I hug my knees to my chest.
“Everyone take a water,” Rowan says. “Everyone else is okay?” she asks Viv. “Justine and Nikos...” Another doctor, a nurse...
“Yeah,” Viv says. “They’re both good.”
“I’ll stay here,” she says, gesturing at the prone man. “Someone’s got to monitor the head injuries. I hate that Rick hasn’t woken up. I should keep Macie awake, too.”
“I’m okay,” I squeak, shrinking beneath everyone’s sudden attention. I pull the towel from my head again. More blood. “Mostly okay,” I mumble.
Viv presses a water pouch into my hands. “Hydrate,” she says. “Try to rest.” She puts a comforting hand on Stella’s back. “Everything will look better in the morning.”
