J McKenna - Slave Planet

Dipping down, the pod came in on its final approach. It would be exhilarating , Jorja thought, if I wasn’t so terrified .

Greta tested the forward thruster, just to make sure it was out. The computer had not lied to her. Side thrusters showed green, but she didn’t need them now. Her speed was still a bit too high. She thought she might be able to raise the nose one more time to cut speed before she had to lock in on the glide plane. Greta pulled back on the stick and heard the glide alarm sound, even as the speed dropped below 115 knots.

Above, Kate was alarmed see her display indicate the pod was porpoising, but she wisely did not call Greta. The mission commander did not need to hear from her captain right now. She needed to fly.

Greta punched the intercom. “Team, we’re coming in a little hot. I’ll let you know when to brace.”

Jorja and Beth felt their hearts race at the news. They put their trust in Greta’s skill—after all, what else could they do?

The ground loomed up at them. Greta flew this crate like she used to fly jump jets through the canyons of Utah. She found herself actually grinning as the pod raced through the night. She loved control and this small emergency would make her even more heroic once they landed safely. And she had no doubt that they would.

“ Letanya , Eagle One making final approach. Hang on.”

“Roger.” Kate didn’t want to say anything else. Unconsciously, she crossed her fingers.

“Brace yourselves,” Greta said calmly, just before the pod touched down. Initially, the landing was textbook, a beautiful display of skill and grace. The commander put it down right where she had to in order to slide to a stop safely short of the treeline. If there had been any problem, she could have fired her front thrusters to slow the craft, but that was impossible now. The craft landed softly and began its slide and it looked as if Greta had pulled it off.

Then the craft hit a partially submerged boulder and was bounced up into the air for a few dozen feet. The sudden lack of resistance changed the friction coefficient. Instead of coasting to a stop, the pod slid fifty feet further, into the tree line. There was nothing Greta could do. The nose of the pod thudded hard against a tree, cracking the trunk and causing it to topple over slowly onto the pod.

Silence settled over the scene.

“ Letanya , calling Eagle One, Letanya , calling Eagle One.” Kate was frantic. Telemetry was cut off within seconds of touching down and now she couldn’t raise them. Did they crash? It couldn’t be. Not them, not now. She repeated her radio call.

Ally came over to stand next the captain. “Tracking devices show them to be right where they should be.”

Kate nodded. The devices would work whether the team was dead or alive, so it was small comfort.

“Should I prepare the second pod?”

“No, not yet. We’ll follow regs on this.” NASA wisely didn’t want rescue missions being taken prematurely. Give the away team a chance to radio in. They had plenty of back-ups, after all, Kate thought.

Unless they’re all dead.

She pushed the thought out of her mind. Shit! Everything was going so well, too.

Down on the planet, Beth groaned and opened her eyes. When the pod hit the tree, her helmet had rocked forward, causing her to black out momentarily. Fortunately, the seat straps had protected her from being flung into Jorja’s seat.

She keyed the intercom. “Jorja? Commander?” Beth reached up and touched Jorja’s shoulder. The woman stirred. Beth saw her fumble for her mic switch. “Doc? You OK?”

“Yeah, you?”

“Yes, just a little groggy. Hang on, I’ll check on the commander.” Beth watched as Jorja leaned forward and shook the inert form ahead of her. Greta didn’t move.

“OK, I need to get out and check on her. Help me raise the canopy.”

The tree branches made it impossible to use the internal hydraulics to raise the glass. Jorja and Beth pushed together and managed to open it about eighteen inches before it fell back into place. “Shit,” Beth said. “I need something to prop it open with.” She looked around. There was nothing, of course.

Wait! Their helmets! Beth unstrapped herself from the seat, then twisted the helmet off. “Jorja,” she tapped on her shoulder. “Take your helmet off and we’ll use them.”

Jorja nodded and soon they were both able to talk freely. “OK, raise it up and slide them into place.” They strained to push back against the branches. Then, with their left hands, they pushed the helmets into position. The canopy gaped open just enough for Beth to squeeze through.

Standing next to the crippled pod, Beth shrugged out of her bulky spacesuit. Even in the middle of the night it was too hot. Beth unzipped the NASA coveralls down to her navel, then went to the front of the pod and checked on Greta. The commander was unconscious, her faceplate shattered. Blood dripped from her face.

“We’ve got to get her out of there,” she told Jorja. “Hang on, I’m going to phase some of these branches.”

Jorja nodded. The emergency the captain had warned them about had already arrived. The phasers would be necessary. Beth found a couple of branches that pressed down on the canopy and cut them away. The blue-white light lit up the night like a welding torch. Beth hated to use it. She carefully reset the phaser on stun when she was finished.

With the canopy clear, Jorja was able to scramble out. She immediately stripped off her hot suit, but she didn’t stop there. “I’m burning up,” she explained as she unzipped her coveralls and stepped clear. Now she was just dressed in a tee-shirt, bra and panties. Beth thought she looked much more comfortable. Her own coveralls were hot too. She wanted to take them off, but first she had to attend to Greta. Beth got the medical kit from the rear of the pod.

“Hang on, I’ll scan her.” Both women approached the commander. Beth waved the device over Greta’s inert body. “Broken nose, concussion and a sprained left knee. Shit.” The concussion could be a problem, depending on how severe it was. “We’re going to have to protect that knee when we get her out,” she told the engineer.

They left her helmet on to protect Greta’s head. Beth got an inflate-cast from the kit. She reached down and carefully placed it around the woman’s knee. It was an awkward reach. She inflated the cast, pulled back and nodded to Jorja.

The larger woman was a tremendous help in pulling Greta free. Beth supported her legs. Soon they had her on the ground. Beth removed the helmet and examined her wounds. She had a gash between her eyebrows where she had been cut by the faceplate. The bridge of her nose appeared slightly discolored and askew. Her nose bled. Beth gingerly pulled it back into position. Greta groaned but did not wake up.

Beth checked out her leg. The scan showed no tears to the ligaments, for which she was grateful. It would be stiff and sore for a few days, maybe longer. The concussion was another matter. Greta shouldn’t be unconscious this long. Quickly, she used a clean cloth from her kit and water from her canteen to wash Greta’s wounds.

Turning to Jorja, Beth said, “We have to get her back to the ship.”

Jorja nodded. “I’ll check out the damage to the pod.”

“I’ll try to raise the captain.” Beth took the back-up radio out of her coveralls. “ Letanya, this is Eagle One. Letanaya, this is Eagle One. Come in, please.”

Aboard the Letanya , Kate and Ally were pacing, hoping that the crew survived whatever had happened down there. When the radio crackled to life, they both jumped for the controls. Kate got there first.