Chapter Text
-ENTERPRISE-
Ship systems: stable.
Hull integrity: 100%
Welcome, admin_locria!
Enter password:**********************
Initiate emergency ejection?
>Yes
No.
Initializing...
Switch to manual ejection system?
>Yes
No.
Manual ejection system activatee.
Have a great day!
***
The fire emergency alert caught Kumatora in the cafeteria for high-valued employers. It all suddenly turned red and loud.
"Attention, hull failure imminent! All personell, abandon ship!"
Enterprise was a rather small ship intended for something of 50 people. Yet the way from cafeteria to the lifepod bay was a long one. She darted out of the cafeteria room and ran towards the main corridor. The long hallway with large mechanical doors on both sides had the same bright red glow as the cafeteria. Kumatora scanned her surroundings as she ran through the glowing corridor but it was almost futile with the light turning on and off constantly.
"Mechanic... Admin... Engines... Lifepods... A-ha!"
Swiftly she ran inside the room, but quickly froze. It was nothing like the lifepod bay after all. It was wider, but shorter, with only single lifepod being placed on its side, held in some sort of odd contraption.
"sh*t."
With eyes wide open, Kumatora backed out of this strange room. "Lifepod maintenance" said the tag above it. She swore and turned her head to the hallway again and sighed, relieved. Some people were joining her too. This mission wasn't a big one, so ship wasn't full. There were around 20 people, herself and Locria. More people were going out of their rooms, workshops and offices. Besides, she saw a small luminescent path at the right side of the hallway, indicating where to go. She cursed again and followed it.
The lifepod was empty as the emergency alert system had begun its final warning and the doors of her lifepod we're locked from inside. Kumatora smirked to herself. Of course she is going to be stranded on this damned planet, 4546b, but Locria... He is getting what he deserves for that plan. He is going to have it so much worse than she. Obviously, he is that unearthly immortal creature, but plumetting from the stratosphere in a burning spaceship into the leviathan infested waters is definitely not very pleasant. And the time he will spend on getting back to Earth, or even the crater's edge may not be that much, but he is going to waste it after all. It was a little personal victory.
Just as she was cheering she heard a PDA signal.
"Transmission requested from...General Locria."
Kumatora groaned just the moment she heard it. "Personal victory" is over now, he is asking to let him in. She could as well not do it, but when Locria is back to Earth, she will have it rough.
"Kumatora. Do you read me?"
"Yes, sir. Do you hear me well?"
"Yes, I do."
Locria's voice was surprisingly calm; odd, considering that the ship is probably full of smoke now. Kumatora looked up at the small glass hatch up there. It was clear. She raised her eyebrow.
"Awesome. Are you comfortable down there?"
She didn't answer.
"Alright. I sincerely hope that you are, since this safety capsule is the place you will spend the rest of your life in."
"What are you talking about?" Kumatora asked, agitated.
"Oh, don't pretend like you don't understand, my dear."
After a long pause Locria spoke again.
"The "Doomsday scheme", huh? That sounds so dramatic! And the place I found it... I thought it was your little personal diary and I'm about to read a love story about a young Alterran girl, or some dirty secret. But alas, it turned out to be this journal with this silly story about me. Boring!
However, it is far from being simply a made-up conspiracy theory. It is dangerously close to the real thing and I know what you are going to do with it. I can imagine why you were going to this place with me, my dear. Even though you are definitely not qualified enough to be some kind of secret agent, I can't have anyone trying to thwart my plans. Thus, I'm giving you an opportunity to change your mind."
Kumatora listened, getting angrier and more scared with each word he said.
"I'm giving you this opportunity to side with me while you still can. I'm not into getting rid of people in my way...like this. Besides, I got so attached to you... Anyway, you may now get out of this box, come to me and let me lead you to the "Hot spring". You will be given time to rest there, reevaluate your life choices, change your mind. And, just maybe, you will find out that I'm a nice guy after all.
However, if you refuse..."
"S-screw you, bastard. You aren't g-going to let fifty people die because you just want to get rid of me. You're bluffing." Kumatora screamed nervously.
"That's what you are right about." he chuckled "It's only your lifepod that is going to be ejected. The entire system is on manual. So, if you choose not to side with me, I will simply open your hatch only."
Kumatora felt slight stinging in her eyes. That all meant one thing. Whatever happens, she will get down there and she must find a way to make her time on this planet as comfortable as possible. She frantically circled around the hatch in attempt to make a plan.
"Well," she heard Locria's voice again "What's your answer."
And then it hit her. She took a few steps closer to her PDA.
"S-sir, I'm so sorry..." she spoke, pretending to sound apologetic, which was almost genuine, her distress and being scared in general really helped here "I... I didn't know."
She heard Locria chuckle. After a pause he spoke again.
"Oh, that's okay, my dear." he sounded very proud of himself.
"Please, I don't want to d-die here. Please, sir, do whatever you like. I'm ready."
"That's alright, Kuma. Just wait for me and I'll pick you up. Don't go anywhere, nwehehe- Over and out."
Even with her tears dripping down her face she was still able to flash this evil smirk as she turned to the fire extinguisher. Of course, she didn't plan to get herself brainwashed in that devil machine. She just needed him near her. His PDA was her real goal. It was a way more expensive one, the admin PDA - grey, with a vessel interaction console, more pre-loaded data on it, probably some information on that doomsday device even. But, most importantly, it could receive and send distress signals. Wherever she is going to be stranded at, everyone is going to receive a signal that will read as if Locria himself sent it and, obviously, going to find her. If he will not immediately decide to act like a kamikaze and drive the Enterprise straight into 4546b, he will need a day to get a new one, and six hours to block his lost one. And that all after the landing procedure. They will have so much time to save her before he gives his first order here. Then she will go into hiding... Or join some other corporation instead.
Locria was clearly not immune to something like that - a person begging for mercy. Perhaps, he truly became attached to her after all. And, of course, it also helped that they were chatting on a device, instead of having a face to face conversation. That way he would definitely use his freaky psionic powers to read her mind. Nevertheless, Kumatora heard her him call for her again.
"Transmission requested from...General Locria."
She accepted the call.
"Kuma, my dear, do you read me?"
She cringed.
"Y-yes... I do."
"I'm here now. Please, open the hatch for me."
And so she did. Holding the fire extinguisher in a vice grip in one of her hands and grasping the ladder with another. She heard a few heavy footsteps closer to the lifepod and then... The clanking of metal. Locria made a grave mistake of getting too close.
That was the moment when she striked. With a screech she dashed out of the capsule, aiming the red tank straight at his head. Their eyes locked for a second and Kumatora saw shock and surprise in them. That expression turned into anger right before...
BAM!
Obviously, that didn't knock him out. But it got him completely out of balance and, perhaps, dizzy for a while. Probably broke something too - magypsies had human skeletal structure after all.
And, luckily for her, the PDA was with him too. It fell out of his pocket when the fire extinguisher was flung at his head. Kumatora swiftly grabbed it and climbed back in, locking the door shut. The interface application was right there. She pondered, but then imagined that expression he will have if she won't send herself straight down, all that condescending crap he will say. In her head some other side, the one she hid deep within herself asked "You really doing this? This will hurt you know? What if the machine crap is not that bad? Definitely a better fate than being eaten alive by a chelicerate, if you ask me." She quickly shook it off. She knew that she is going to be fine. She must believe in it.
She lowered the bar onto her body again and pressed the red button that said "eject".
***
Kumatora always thought about falling down from heights. How it will feel, what she would think about. Especially, after that incident with Riley Robinson, who fell from the sky in the capsule that was falling apart. Especially, every time she had dreams about falling. And the fall felt horrible. It was just a slight feeling at first, like being in a spaceship that takes off or falling in a roller coaster. However, the more time passed, the more horrible it felt. At first, everything in the dark capsule started to shake and roar. She looked at one of the panels, frightened that it will dettach and hit her in the head like what happened to Riley. Obviously, she had to remain safe and conscious to have some time before Locria gets her. Luckily for Kumatora, the panel stayed in place.
However, a different problem occurred. She suddenly felt that her skin is being dragged back from her face, as her body was being pushed upwards from her seat. The PDA felt out of her hand and flew straight to the top of the capsule. Kumatora gasped. She clenched her fists and screamed as her head and chest hurt like hell. She thought about the Earth blobfish and then, for some reason, the process of making ham. She held herself in this position until suddenly, the feeling has lessened and the interior of the lifepod became more visible. She was landing. Perhaps, some sort of parachute was slowing down the fall.
The landing itself was in no way as painful and scary as the falling. The impact with what appeared to be water after all felt just like a normal landing, as if she was on a plane, or even a spaceship. It stabilised and suddenly all noises disappeared.
"Planet: 4546b.
Temperature outside: 25 °C.
You may now get up from your seat".
Kumatora plopped down like a tired dog and closed her eyes as she massaged her head. It all was silent for the first time in an hour and a half, only the soothing sound of water, hitting the side of the lifepod. She thought of her dire situation. She was stranded in the middle of basically nowhere. It could be a leviathan mating spot, or a mouth of an active volcano, or a brine pool. Locria will be on the planet in six hours, and even if he won't nothing is stopping him from saying "Hey, don't save anyone down there." or even "Hey, if you happen to find a lady with magenta-colired hair, bring her to me". The nearest civilization is God knows where. And, most importantly, who the hell told her that if she went into hiding, Locria wouldn't find her again. And what corporation in the world was she hoping to join. The Arretla?
The plan that was born in her head from fear of losing her own will and being totally controlled by another person, someone as disgusting as that creature brought her to her demise. She held her head in her hands, however this time she managed to prevent herself from crying. After all, all is not lost. She had to fight. Three years ago she would not believe that her now self could hit her boss with a fire extinguisher, and look at her now.
Kumatora lifted the restraining bar and got out of the seat. It took her a minute to stretch and another to find Locria's PDA. It was cracked in a few places. She looked it over and turned it on. After it displayed the corporation's logo for a few seconds it showed a set of pre-installed applications. She nodded to herself.
The second step would be to check her own surroundings. She took out her own little PDA.
"You have suffered...minor blood vessel rupture. This is considered an optimal outcome".
Kumatora rubbed her eyes. So that's why they were so painful now! The PDA continued.
"The PDA has now rebooted in emergency mode with one directive: to keep you alive on an alien world".
That statement made her uneasy.
"Please reffer to the databank for detailed survival advise. Good luck".
She indeed opened the databank. It was empty now, except for a little collection of her old nostalgia-inducing photos from the ship and her old job. Here she is hugging her pigmask friend, who wore a blue robe - Danny got promoted to captain. Here's her first photo of 4546b from a year ago. Locria is standing in front of the giant panoramic window, only his sihlouette is visible... She cringed and put the PDA away.
Next step - peek outside.
Kumatora opened the hatch at the bottom and looked down she indeed landed in water, it wasn't a brine pool. However, the problem was... No matter how long was she staring down, no signs of ground or even life were visible. Just cyan turning into blue and then into dark. Was it something shiny moving down somewhere. She slowly closed the hatch and sighed. Now the ceiling hatch. She slowly opened it and peeked outside. The brightness of the morning blinded her for a second, but then...
"The Enterprise suffered orbital hull failure. Cause: unknown. Human life signs detected: 71. Human life signs detected within one kilometer radius: 3".
Kumatora ignored the PDA first. The planet looked... Majestic.
She has been to the sea three times in her life - once, when she was a child, Ionia took her on some trip to Thailand with her. Two times he went to Vladivostok as an adult. Both times at spring, so the sea was cold and she couldn't really swim in it, even though she tried once. After spending some time in cold water, she got out, shivering and giggling. It wasn't really that pleasant. But the ocean of 4546b was something else. It was... Endless. There was no ground, from which she was observing the water like before. No. It was just the water. The smooth ocean was blue and clear, with only small waves disturbing it from time to time. The sun was still rising and it's reflection in the water made it all look even more breathtaking. What's more, a huge orange sattelite moon rose to the left of her. Another one was right above her, silver and small. It was wrong to call it small, it was three times as big as Earth's. She felt dizzy again, but managed to stay on her feet, looking at the scenery, with her mouth and eyes wide open.
Then the PDA message finally got to her. Three human life signs? Was the civilization that close? Did Locria already send a message to hunt Kumatora down? As she turned around she saw an answer to her questions. Four protruding engines were directed right at her. Even though she never been directly on the planet, she remembered all the memorabilia and pictures. It was the back of the Aurora. She sighed. That means she is in one of the most comfortable regions - the crater. She could guessed earlier; after all why else was it smelling so much like sulfur. As she looked to both sides she couldn't see no seamoth, P.R.A.W.N or even cyclops. So, perhaps, there was no chase after all. Kumatora sighed in relief...when something violently hit the bottom of the capsule. She almost fell into the ocean, but quickly grabbed the aluminum ladder on the sides of the pod with her both hands to stay balanced.
And she was glad she did. From beneath the capsule a long tail, almost as wide as two safety capsules like this glided gracefully, silently. Even though it was morning, she could see it glowing. The leviathan.
"Warning. You have entered the ecological dead zone. Adding report to databank".
