Storm World Ch. 01

"Evasive!" snapped the captain.

Too late, M'peth qHo reached for a handhold. Once again she was flung from her feet. In mid-fall she curled into a ball, intending to roll with the impact. It saved her life, though, only just. Her back slammed into the unyielding deck and stars danced in her eyes. Instinctively she tried to flatten out and come to a stop. Her attempt was futile. The pilot, quick on the stick, jinked hard to port and then back to starboard, giving the point defense cannons more time to destroy the incoming missiles. M'peth qHo paid heavily for this. Her body slid across the deck under high G until she fetched up hard against a bulkhead. With the breath knocked out of her she nevertheless tried to rise only to be thrown through the air again. Inertial dampers or no, she slammed hard into the opposite bulkhead. Her vision swam with dots and very slowly faded to black.

The next thing she knew was pain.

"Commander!" someone screamed in her ears, though the sound was terribly muted. "Wake up! Commander!"

M'peth qHo felt her shoulders shaken violently and more pain lanced through her neck and back. More than the screaming or the shaking this served to rouse her dulled wits. Her eyes opened groggily and she blinked into the frightened, scorched face of the tactical officer who's environment suit also showed signs of fire. Her right sleeve was blackened and there were scorch marks on her helmet as well. Fear scent was nearly overwhelmingly powerful in the confines of what M'peth qHo recognized as her cabin. How had she gotten here?

"Thank the Forger and the Builder!" said the female Thahn 'Den fervently. "Wake up, Commander! The ship is sinking!"

"Sinking?" M'peth qHo asked dully. How could the ship be sinking?

"We are on the planet!" the tactical officer all but screamed at her. "We crashed in water! Wake up! We have got to get out of here!"

"Water?" M'peth qHo asked, trying to sit up. "The planet?"

"We chased the enemy and brought them down, Commander," the tactical officer explained hurriedly. "There is no time! Come on! Come on!"

"Where is the captain?" M'peth qHo asked, finally rising from her acceleration couch.

"He is dead!"

"Just leave her!" called a male voice from the companionway. "It is pouring in from above! We have to move."

"Come on, Commander!" cried the tactical officer again and tried to drag her from the cabin.

"Wait!" snapped M'peth qHo. In spite of her pains she broke loose from the other's grip and tore open the small cabinet built into the bulkhead. From this she took her survival pack and a strange case marked 'medical kit' which she shoved into the pack before following the other Thahn'Den into the companionway.

"Which way?" demanded the tactical officer of the gunner who had been encouraging her to leave the commander behind.

"Main vertical shaft!" he responded immediately. "Liat 'del Qha is already going down to the hangar."

"Down?" asked M'peth qHo. "I thought the ship was sinking."

"It is inverted!" snapped the gunner.

"What?" she demanded incredulously.

"The artificial gravity is still functioning," the tactical officer explained. "You must follow us or stay and die!"

Water was creeping up the deck towards them from somewhere astern. It flowed around bodies and debris on the companionway's deck and rapidly passed their feet to flow onto the shattered bridge. Sparks arced and flashed as panels shorted out and M'peth qHo caught a glimpse of the captain's acceleration couch smashed against the forward bulkhead. A limp hand was all she saw of the captain himself. She turned from this gruesome scene to follow the pair of crew through the ankle deep flood. By the time they reached the hatch of the main vertical shaft the water was up to their calves and still rising. All around them they could hear the ship groan and creek as it settled. Suddenly it lurched to the right, throwing them off balance. M'peth qHo fell to her knees and looked up, frightened and wide-eyed.

"We hit something," said the gunner and pulled her back to her feet.

"Maybe it's the island!" the tactical officer said hopefully, following them through the hatch and down the ladder to the ventral side of the ship.

They came to a sudden, unexpected stop when they reached the bottom. The hatch was sealed.

"No!" screamed the tactical officer and slammed her fists on the smooth plasteel panel. "She sealed us in!"

"She sealed the water out!" snarled the gunner and shoved her aside. "I told her to close the hatch."

He tapped a code into the magnetic lock's control pad and the panel slid back into the bulkhead. Water poured through as they crossed into the corridor beyond, but the gunner had the presence of mind to seal the hatch behind them and the flood was cut off. Down the corridor an environment suited figure with engineering insignia on the shoulders stepped from an open hatchway. It reached up and opened its polarized visor, revealing the frightened face of a female dTel'Qohar.

"Pei'r aMa Lii?" said the tactical officer, surprised and pleased. She rushed forward and took the taller female by the hands, clutching them to her warmly in the jZav'Etch greeting of old friends. "You lived!"

"I was fortunate," replied Pei'r aMa Lii. "I am glad to see you, Vil tIIen Mi!"

"I thought you were in engineering," the tactical officer, Vil tIIen Mi, said.

"I was repairing a conduit on deck four when the capacitor exploded," replied the newcomer. "Liat 'del Qha and two hands of others are this way. She says we cannot deploy the launch with the ship on its back."

"How will we escape?" M'peth qHo asked, coldly terrified. She had known death was more likely during wartime, but to drown on an alien world was not a death she had ever contemplated and it froze her to the very core.

"We will have to swim for the island, Commander," said the gunner and strode purposefully toward the open hatch.

They followed him into the hangar and found the little Pah'Tht pilot, presumably Liat 'del Qha, crouching over a survival pack on the deck. Other crew, a mix of engineers and weapons personnel with a lone marine in battle armor, were inspecting other packs taken from several lockers along the walls. Liat 'del Qha was rifling the contents of hers and shoving more items from a locker into it. Mostly she was packing spare rations, but M'peth qHo saw three small jeq'istle sidearms go into it along with a large knife. Without a word the gunner stepped up behind her, took another pack from the locker and followed her example.

"We have not much time," said Pei'r aMa Lii, picking up her own pack and slinging it over her shoulder.

"And you cannot overload those packs," warned M'peth qHo in a voice that sounded far more calm than she felt. From one of the lockers she took a weapons belt with its jeq'istle and spare magazines and buckled it around her waist. She would have preferred the larger deq'istle, but there were none in evidence. As a precaution she clipped a survival knife on the belt next to the magazines. "Even if your suit is buoyant enough to swim in," she continued, "the packs could sink you."

"She is right," agreed Vil tIIen Mi.

"I know," said Liat 'del Qha, addressing the tactical officer. She stood up, hefting her pack. "You and I will carry this between us. With both of our suits, we should be able to get it to shore. And if it is too heavy, we can let it go."

From somewhere a deep, ominous groan sounded as the ship continued to settle. The jZav'Etch all froze and looked around with fear. Several prayed and a few swore quiet, frightened oaths. The groan went on and on, gradually rising in pitch until finally it became a shriek. The lighting flickered and for just an instant the gravity failed and they all lurched and stumbled.

"We need to get out of here!" Pei'r aMa Lii said breathlessly.

"This way!" Liat 'del Qha said and pulled Vil tIIen Mi after her.

They crossed from the small service bay into the hangar proper where the ship's launch hung in its cradle. A broad hatch slightly longer than the launch covered the deck below it. Next to this was a much smaller hatch normally used by repair crews needing to work on the exterior of the ship. The pilot opened a small cover, exposing a keypad.

"Seal your suits," said the gunner as he folded his faceplate down.

"We will have to wait for the hangar to fill with water before we can escape," said Liat 'del Qha, clipping her safety line onto a stanchion in the floor. "All of you need to tie off or you could be swept away."

M'peth qHo was the first to snap her line to a stanchion, not wishing to risk further injury. The Pah'Tht waited for the others to tie off as well and then punched in her code. It was a bizarre sight when the water geysered into the air and then succumbed to the artificial gravity. It rapidly spread over the deck covering their feet and then their ankles. In less than a taq'a* the hangar was filled with sea water and the crew was floating, tethered to the deck.

"Follow me," said the gunner over the com net in their suits. He disconnected his tether and swam hard for the open hatch. The pilot was right behind him followed closely by Vil t'IIen Mi and Pei'r aMa Lii.

M'peth qHo hesitated, watching as the others swam clear of the ship. Thahn 'Den, of the three breeds of jZav'Etch, did not swim unless necessary. Their home had always been the high forests and deep jungles of jZav or whatever colony world they were born on. To them, swimming was unnatural and a thing to be avoided. Yet it was her only means of escape. She screwed up her courage and swam through the hatch. Her injuries screamed lightning agony through her neck and back, but she fought on until she was clear of the sinking ship.

To her utter bewilderment M'peth qHo found herself submerged in a roiling cauldron of dark water. Currents, violent and strong, spun her head over heels, completely disorienting her until she remembered to activate the heads up display, or HUD, in her helmet. It had an artificial horizon and using this she was able to right herself and make her way to the surface. She had hoped getting her head above water would reveal something less fearsome and disorienting than swells and currents. It did not. Rain lashed the surface of the ocean and lightning forked across low, angry clouds that were driven mad by gale-force winds. In spite of the polarizing of her visor which filtered light to make the greatest possible use of the naturally acute lowlight vision of jZav'Etch, had it not been for her HUD she would not have been able to see her companions. They appeared as warm splotches against a chill background of night shrouded waves.

"Which way is the land?" she demanded over the com net.

"This way!" called someone. "Follow the beam of my hand lamp."

M'peth qHo saw the light and struck out towards it. Waves carried her up and down and she frequently lost sight of her companions, but thankfully she always found them again. At least, until she didn't. Once more panic set in. Desperately she called over the com and discovered they all were calling in panic to each other. They'd become separated by a swirling wave and none could see any of the others except for the pilot and the tactical officer who each held a strap of their pack.

"We must calm down!" she cried, immediately realizing her warning only added to the confusion.

"My leg!" screamed a female.

"What is that?" demanded a panicked male.

"Help me!" cried someone else.

More cries of panic crackled over the com net and more screams of pain. Something was in the water! Predators attracted by the crash must be hunting her companions. M'peth qHo could see none of them on the surface so she ducked under and wished she had not. Sleek shapes highlighted by her HUD darted through her vision. She saw one jZav'Etch thrashing wildly, entangled by rope-like tentacles. With a shudder she swam to the struggling figure. Reaching the embattled jZav'Etch she drew the combat knife from her belt. The instant she attacked the tentacled beast darted deep, dragging the helpless jZav'Etch with it. M'peth qHo stared helplessly for an instant and then fought her way to the surface, shaking with terror. Was she the only one left? She could still hear screams and cries over the com net, but that only meant people were still alive.

Suddenly she felt a hard concussion wave through the water followed instantly by a low boom. It was some sort of explosion from under the surface, but not deep and not powerful. It could not have been a grenade or even something on the ship exploding. Another concussion and boom rolled over her and as suddenly as they had come, the creatures were gone. Most of the panicked screams stopped, replaced by cries of alarm and confusion. M'peth qHo was about to dive under again and search for survivors when she felt something grab her survival pack. Instantly she spun, lashing out blindly with her knife.

"Hey now!" snapped a strange voice in a language she understood, though it was not a jZav'Etch dialect. "Knock that off! I've got you! Come on!"

Shocked, she stopped fighting and allowed herself to be pulled from the ocean. Strong arms lifted her clear of the water and laid her on what appeared to be a large raft of tightly bundled reeds. Astonished she looked up and saw a naked Human male with long, shaggy hair and bristling beard grinning down on her. Rain streamed down his body and lightning split the sky behind him, giving a surreal feeling to the scene.

"I'll get you to shore in a minute," he shouted over the storm and turned back to look out across the tossing waves. "Let's see who else I can save."

With powerful strokes of a long oar the Human propelled the strange raft over the water. He seemed able to ignore the violently churning surf, keeping his feet no matter what the sea threw at him. M'peth qHo put away her knife and held on with both hands. She was out of the water and relatively safe, but Humans were unpredictable and dangerous, and their largest government, the Conglomerated Planets, was currently at war with the Hegemony. Was this Human taking her prisoner? She decided it did not matter at the moment and cast about for the other survivors.

"Help is on the way!" she called over the com net, hoping to encourage her companions. "There is a raft. Keep your heads above water. I will find you!"

The first they found was Liat 'del Qha, still holding fast to the pack she had shared with Vil t'IIen Mi.

"She's gone," the small Pah'Tht said in a hushed, shocked voice once she was safely on the raft. "It took her. I tried to save her. I tried to save her!"

M'peth qHo wrapped her arms around the pilot and held her. There was little comfort she could provide, but a hug was better than nothing.

Soon they found the gunner. He was supporting a female M'peth qHo did not know. They dragged them aboard the raft and she saw blood seeping from a tear in the leg of the unknown crewmember's suit. Liat 'del Qha, shaking off her shock, took out a medical kit and began working on the wound. The gunner helped steady her against the rolling of the raft as she cut open the suit and applied a dressing.

"It's a Human!" he snarled.

"Yes," replied M'peth qHo. "And he is helping us. Look for others! They still call for aid."

Four more jZav'Etch were pulled from the storm tossed sea. Two were wounded and one of these was quite badly off with a crushed pelvis and many internal injuries. The raft was crowded, but now that they were out of the water the jZav'Etch were no longer panicking. They did what they could for the wounded while the Human continued to row.

"I think that's all of them," said the Human to M'peth qHo. "Sorry I didn't get here sooner. Goddamn! I am so glad to see you folks! It'll be great to have some company! Just great! I wasn't expecting company, though. I'm sure we'll find room for everybody. Don't worry about that! I've got plenty of food. Just made a kill the other day, you know. And I've got a good fire going. I stocked up on wood. Never know when the sky will clear up, see? Got to get wood in and dry it out whenever I can. Hey! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ben. That is, Benjamin... Um... Benjamin what? Oh, hell. I'm Ben."

The Human extended his hand in what M'peth qHo recognized as their most common form of greeting. She hesitated only an instant before extending her own and clasping his as she had been taught to do.

"Great to meet you all," he said and released her hand. "Better get us back to shore before those tanglefish come back. Nasty little fuckers. Don't like me much, either. I eat them. I figure that's only fair. They try to eat me all the time. Some of the big ones are really dangerous. Got old Dr. Saito the first week we were here. Never even saw the sonofabitch. It just snatched him off the rocks and all we heard was his screaming. Poor bastard. He was good at checkers too. Do you play checkers? I've still got a set. Well, most of a set. I'm sure we can find something to substitute for the missing pieces."

The whole time the Human spoke he rowed the raft. His muscles bulged under the strain and he fought against every swell, but he never ceased his flow of words. M'peth qHo only stared at him, bewildered by his strangeness.

"What does he say, Commander?" asked the gunner, still helping the wounded.

"Many things," she replied and looked at the young dTel'Qohar male. "I do not know your name. What are you called?"

"I am Chep 'Urt vEss, Chief Weapons Officer," he said. "Has the Human taken us prisoner?"

"I do not think so," she said and looked back at the tall, naked figure. "I do not know if he even realizes we are not Human."

*****

Note:

*taq'a - A jZav'Etch minute equal to .9375 Earth Standard minutes.