The wolf at the gate

Posted on 03 Apr 2017 @ 3:14am by Lieutenant Colonel Cassandra Blackburn

1,280 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Errand of Mercy
Location: Moon of Hadronus II
Timeline: ED5

Blackburn woke suddenly with a start. In truth she had barely been asleep - the cold had penetrated her bones and they ached in complaint. Her clothing was still damp and the foil blanket had done little to keep what warmth she did have from being drained away by the cold, thin atmosphere of the moon.

She rubbed at her eyes with her dirty hands, trying to focus her mind. She had slept in an almost sitting position nestled between two rocks, and her neck ached from where her head had rested on her chest. After a few moments, she lifted her head enough to look around. Dawn had broken and the light of the morning lit up the forest tundra surrounding her. Still perched on the rocks in front of her was the tricorder, still passively scanning for threats, and the meagre pile of supplies that she had managed to salvage from the ruined survival pack.

In took her a few minutes to bring her mind fully back into focus. With a concerted effort, she pushed off the foil blanket and stood up, forcing her aching muscles to move her resistant joints. She spent a few moments jogging on the spot, waving her arms around in front of her as she did so in an attempt to warm herself up. Feeling only slightly better, she packed the equipment away into the intact compartment of the survival pack and slung it across her using the one good shoulder strap as a sling.

She could still feel a strange, light tingling sensation from the small wound on her left upper arm. Examining it, she noticed that the edges of the cut were inflamed. Probing it with a finger, she discovered it was oddly painful to the touch, but not bleeding. Frowning, she used her only field dressing to cover it, but the sensation remained. She dismissed it from her mind - the wound was small and she’d had far worse in the past.

Closing the tricorder and putting it into a pocket, she slowly scrambled up the rocky outcrop. The thin air caused her to gulp for breath and the heavy gravity literally weighed down her progress. She was incredibly thirsty – her thirst far outweighed her hunger – and she knew that water was by far her most pressing and immediate problem.

She reached a natural perch in the rocks and edged out onto it, squatting down. She could see the valley below her, with the rest of the mountain looming behind her. She could see the river winding its way through the bottom of the valley, with black scorch marks where the fires caused by the exploding space craft had been. The tall, thin trees penetrated the sky from both sides of the valley, the rocky tundra that formed the surface of the moon could be seen in all directions. There was no animal life at all; the only noise was the gentle movement of the trees in the slight wind. Above, the enormous disc that was the planet Hadronus II dominated the sky.

Her water situation was becoming urgent. Her throat was bone dry and her lips were chapped, and her headache was quickly becoming a migraine. The river below was an option of last resort – its acidic water would likely be toxic to her. She thumbed her comm badge, resisting the temptation to press it – any transmission would likely be picked up by whomever had shot her down before the Redemption received it, and she didn’t have enough tactical information to make a decision if she could risk it.

She weighed up the options in her mind, turning her face to warm slightly in the light of the sun as she did so. It had already risen halfway to its zenith – she deducted that the day and night cycle on the moon must be fast – and so she suspected that she might not have a long period of daylight in which to move.

She reached her decision. She was going to find a nearby location to hide and observe the crash site, in case the Redemption sent down a search team. Her fear was that the enemy would do the same, however, hence the need to conceal herself. Tapping the controls of the tricorder, she attempted to program it to scramble her life signature, but her mind was hazy and her fingers clumsy. When she had achieved something like what she wanted, she edged herself off the rocky platform and started moving slowly and in parallel with the river, taking small steps on the loose surface so as to not loose her footing.

After a short time she found a tree which was larger than the others around it, and erosion had exposed the top of the root network. Exhausted, she threw the pack down against it, slumping down between two large roots at the base of the tree. She ran her hands through her filthy hair, sighing as she felt her heart rate slow down. She could still the river a kilometre or so away, far below in the bottom of the valley. The sight of the water was unbearable. She looked away, but as she did so she noticed a pool of rainwater nestled between the roots.

Scrambling forward, she dipped her finger into it. It cannot have been more than a few litres, but it would be enough. She put the finger into her mouth slowly to taste it, and immediately felt the tingling sensation of a weak acid.

“God, damn it.” She grunted in extreme disappointment, rolling onto her back and facing the sky, obscured by the branches of the tree. A wave of hopelessness fell across her and she started thumbing the comm badge again, trying to force her mind to weigh up the risks of using it.

Sighing, she raised her hand to activate it when she suddenly heard the deep growl of impulse engines in atmosphere. She sat bolt upright, all thought of water pushed out of her mind. Listening hard, she heard the noise growing louder. She rolled onto her feet and jumped over a root, pushing up against the tree as close as she could and putting the root between her and the landing site, just as a shuttlecraft roared directly overhead at a low altitude. She patted her hand phaser to make sure it was still there as she watched the shuttle circle above her crash site, before it hovered for a moment. It then slowly approached a flat piece of land a short distance away from the crash before landing.

She quickly glanced at her tricorder to make sure it was still scrambling her life signs. She edged to the root and raised her head just enough to see over it, straining her tired eyes to make out what was happening – she wished she had field optics with her. The shuttle was definitely Federation in origin, but it did not match the configuration of any she had seen on the Redemption.

The ramp of the shuttle lowered and she saw three humanoids walk out, carrying weapons. She was at least six hundred metres away and she struggled to make out their uniforms. After a short conversation, two of them walked over to the little wreckage of the Antler that had landed on the shingle, whilst the third pushed further out, towards her. The uniform became clearer as the distance reduced between them. After a few moments, her heart sank with realisation. Sixth Fleet. She sat down with her back against the root and rapped her forehead hard with her hands in frustration. The enemy was here.

 

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