A New Hope (For BubbleLord)

[Archangel99]

Earth is destroyed. Wars, started over the last of Earth's resources, has led to a nuclear fallout that has affected the entire planet. Plants and animals are dying by the millions, and humans fight for survival on the glassed surface.

But all hope is not lost. A colony ship, the last creation of the alliance of the world's nations before the war, is mankind's last hope. A huge, monstrous ship, easily the size of a small country, with state of the art navigation systems, automated medical care, and, most importantly, stasis pods, has been filled with one thousand carefully selected humans and sent into space. The destination is a planet that scientists on Earth had deemed suitable for life. In the colony ship, was every single seed the Green Vault contained, still frozen in subzero temperatures, to preserve them for the colonists, should they need to grow food. Mostly, however, the ship's food storage was filled with enough food to last all thousand humans for at least a year.

This colony ship was launched a week before the first nuke was launched, and was well on its way to Planet Eridania, which was to be their new home. A home nearly five thousand lightyears from theirs. But, as it nears the planet, something goes horribly wrong...

FUEL LEVEL: CRITICALLY LOW
REACTOR CORE: UNSTABLE
LIFE SUPPORT: STABLE
STASIS PODS: B-WING LOST
SEED STORAGE: TEMPERATURE CONTROL FAILURE; SAMPLES LOST
EXTERNAL TEMPERATURE: 589°C
TIME TO DESTINATION:ONE HOUR

HULL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED.SURVIVAL OF COLONISTS TOP PRIORITY

INITIATING CRASH LANDING
SEQUENCE ON PLANET ERIDANIA...

The ship begins to break up, fiery pieces breaking off from the main ship as it ejects non essential components. The ship itself splits into different parts, each aiming for a different part of the planet. There is a groaning, grinding, and shrieking of metal being twisted and burned as the ship crashes down to the planet. With a thunderous boom, it crashes into the surface of the planet, as well as the rest of the broken up pieces.

An undeterminable amount of time later...

ENVIRONMENT DETERMINED SAFE.
POD STASIS PROCESS ENDED.
GOOD LUCK, COLONISTS.

Ganymede wakes from a rather long dream. His body is weak from the long sleep, and he must get up to move around and note the extent of the damage. He notices other colonists waking up around him, groggy and sleepy.

Wexer groans and sits up, rubbing the back of his head. God, stasis was a bitch. He groans again as he tries to move, and finds out his muscles have turned to spaghetti. With the supreme force of will alone, he manages to pull himself out of the stasis pod, and immediately falls flat on the floor. With a grunt of pain, he sits up and gets to his feet shakily, waiting for the other colonists to wake up.

 

[BubbleLord]

The first thing Ganymede did as his consciousness returned from the long sleep was curse under his breath. He'd been an engineer before, training to become a soldier for what had no doubt been a glorious show of fireworks, but had never been one for long rides. The man slowly sat up and pulled himself out, albeit the moment he pulled himself from his pod he fell face-first against the short perimeter floor of the deployed pods. It was enough so that someone could ensure balance when working on the pod, but enough that it let the man fall facefirst with an audible crack. The corner of the floor hit him just soft enough to thankfully not damage anything... but the lens of his right, red cybernetic eye cracked. The unit flickered and dimmed, his vision going out and causing him to curse again. But as he pushed himself up and to his hands and knees, all he could do was look around and see just how many colonists were nearby. If he'd hit floor, it meant they were deployed, rather than still aboard the shuttle. It meant the worst case scenario had likely occurred and they'd crashlanded.

"Fuck," he cussed a third time, his good eye examining everyone, "Of course I break my eye at a time like this... this is just great..."

 

[Archangel99]

Wexer notices Ganymede fall out of the pod and almost laughs before he remembers it happened to him too. He clears his throat to get his attention. "We got bigger problems to worry about, mate. We've crash landed on Eridania. God knows who or what the fuck is heading towards us right now. We need to wait for the others to wake up before we can make our move." He says.

As if on cue, the other colonists start flopping out of the pods, and the air is filled with the sound of cursing and grunts of pain. Wexer and Ganymede can feel the barest of their strength returning, although it would still take them at least a week or so to get back up to their full strength. "Ugh... Are we there?" A redheaded girl asks. "Yeah. I think we are... Looks like it, from the pictures I've seen..." A man says. There is now muttering as people start to discuss their predicament.

"Hey! Everyone! Over here please!" Wexer calls out loudly, waving his arms and trying to attract their attention. The colonists turn to him, and look at him expectantly.

"Alright. I know you're all weak and sleepy right now, and my CO had given me a set of exercises to go through once we woke up, to speed up our muscle recovery. Everyone just do what I'm doing, okay?" He says, taking them through a few stretches, and building up to a fast paced cardio exercise.

 

[BubbleLord]

While Wexer preached protocol, Ganymede was busy examining the pods and surroundings. It looked like their pods had been lucky to survive even in this number. Humanity actually might stand a chance with how many seemed to have landed just in this part alone. The concern he had, as he joined in half-invested in the exercises, was what survived. Genetic modification labs, to ensure diversity and even vat-grown "children" could be used to make use of even the dead. Technology that could make even their small group enough. But they weren't near the ship or its remains... they were in some sort of jungle.

"We can't... stay long... we'll need... to find tools... supplies... the pieces of the ship that survived atmospheric entry."

 

[Archangel99]

Wexer finishes the exercises, which leaves everyone in a good sweat. "Yeah. You're right, but we need to stay safe first. How many of you know how to use a gun?" He asks. About thirty of the hundred people raise their hands. "Okay. Okay that's not bad. How many of you know hand to hand combat?" He asks. The same thirty keep their hands up, and another five raise their hands. "Alright. Good. That's good. Alright, if you'll check the sides of your pods, you will all find one pistol with three extra clips and one knife." He says, moving over to his own pod to retrieve the weapons. "Now remember, everyone, that ammo is limited until we find the main wreck, so shoot only when you absolutely have to!" He says.

The colonists move over to their pods and get the weapons. Most of them seem unsure of how to handle them. "Alright! For now, keep the weapons with you! There will be more time for training later." Wexer says, then he turns to Ganymede. "Yeah. We need to get to the gene labs, but those are at the main wreck. Dammit I need a GPS or something... There's gotta be some way we can track the main ship other than smoke columns in the sky!" He says.

 

[BubbleLord]

With the quick recovery of his own sidearm, ammunition, and a blade, the man had been quick to listen to Wexer. The knife was stuck into place on his bodysuit's hip, the pistol kept in his right hand. He'd learned to fight from the short training, but the grip on the pistol wasn't the most solid. The dimmed eye and lack of depth perception was something he'd not been used to for ages, since he was a kid perhaps.

"The only way we can do that is to try and find the old navigational and communications section of the ship. And since we can't do that... we're better off just trying to get supplies to survive. We don't know what's on this world... so the sooner we get our food and prepare some basic packs to carry our stuff, the better. These bodysuits weren't designed for this environment, either, so the more we travel the more likely this jungle is going to tear pieces off it. So... I say we just grab the supplies and follow the nearest smoke trail. Once the fires burn out, we'll never be able to track things... so we'll just have to hope our luck is good enough that we find the tools to make a locator of some sort. Or at least some sort of basic compass..."

 

[Archangel99]

"Or we could search right here. I'm pretty sure they had put some sort of a locating system to find other sections of the ship. I mean, the thing was designed to split up in case of a crash landing. Makes sense they'd put some sort of a device to find them, right?" Wexer says, shrugging. A few people nod. "Alright everyone, get searching for anything that looks like a tracking device! By the way, Ganymede, there are lockers over there with regular clothes. You should probably grab them and put them in along with a pack. Every locker has gone backpack, some spare clothes, and the backpack is already pre-packed with supplies." He says, joining the search.

They search for nearly half an hour, but turn up nothing. "Well shit! Looks like the creators couldn't think of ONE bloody thing, eh!?" Wexer growls. "Alright everyone! Go to your lockers and take everything inside!" He calls out, going to his own locker to retrieve the items.

Inside the locker next to each pod, there was a large black backpack filled with enough food and water to last for a week, some rope, a flashlight, and an emergency beacon. Hanging from a rack was a set of black clothes that looked tougher than the jumpsuits they were currently wearing.

 

[BubbleLord]

Ganymede had a hunch that the search wouldn't be fruitful. They'd already crash landed, so hoping anything was with the pods was a bright but foolish hope. Regardless, he pulled the clothes on over the light bodysuit, adjusting his gear to the new clothes. With the packed backpack on, his eyes watched the ass of a nearby woman momentarily. Reproduction would be important, but he had to sadly look for Wexer with a raised brow.

"So we're really leaving this chunk... where will you be leading us? We need a plan for if there is something or someone waiting out there to hurt us."

 

[Archangel99]

"Well, if there's anything out there, they're most probably headed this way already. No way our crash went unnoticed." Wexer says. "We should stick together, and move quickly and quietly. At least until we get to the nearest section of the ship. After that, we'll see if there are other survivors, and maybe join up with them." He continues before turning back to the mass of people. "Okay! Everybody ready?" Wexer asks loudly. There are nods and murmurs of affirmation from everyone present. "Alright! Let's move out!" He calls out, stepping to the airlock and cranking the override before pressing a button. The door blows outwards, and hits a nearby tree with a loud clang, falling to the forest floor with a thud. "Eerrr... Okay maybe not as quiet as I'd hoped..." Wexer mutters, causing a few of the people near him to snigger.

The first thing they are hit with is the humidity. It's hot and wet enough that within a few minutes, they're all drenched in sweat. Outside, they can see a huge tropical jungle, with huge, tall trees blocking their view further than the large, smoking crater they were in. It's morning, and the sky seems to have two suns, one large and clear, and the other to the right of it, smaller and not as visible. The jungle is eerily silent right now, the noise of their crash probably having scared off everything within a ten mile radius.

Wexer steps out tentatively on a rock, testing it for heat before putting his weight on it. Then, he makes his way down to the ground. He turns in circle, and points to a plume of smoke coming from the right of their downed spacecraft. "There! There's something there! Looks to be about a day's hike! You guys ready for this?" Wexer says, looking at the colonists, who nod. Then, with a nod, he starts walking in the direction of the smoke.

 

[BubbleLord]

Ganymede remained quiet as the group made their way down and started moving. Wexer was pushing the way ahead, but wasn't giving much of a group choice. Part of the old world's problem was that he was up to.

"It better be good for a day's hike... or we might be fucked..."

 

[Archangel99]

Wexer leads the way, until they come to the edge of the crater. Then, he looks up at the edge and sighs, starting to walk up the steep incline. The colonists follow behind him, forming into a line as he leads the way, hacking through the bushes with his knife.

Hours later, the plume looks bigger. They're definitely getting closer, but what Wexer doesn't seem to notice that most of the colonists are getting tired, thirsty, and need to rest, but nobody is speaking up. "Alright, guys, we're getting there! Go team!" He says, trying to cheer them on.

 

[BubbleLord]

It seemed it was up to Ganymede to say something, trudging his way up to Wexer. As he reached his side, his free hand moved to clasp the man's shoulder.

"The others are exhausted... we need to let most of them rest. Why don't we continue up ahead?"

 

[Archangel99]

"Hmm? What? They need to rest?" He turns and notices their state for the first time. "Oh man. Guys! Why didn't you say you were tired?! I would have stopped earlier!" He says in an annoyed manner, crossing his hands over his chest.

"We... Didn't want anyone to think we were... Weak..." The redhead woman from before mutters. Wexer rolls his eyes. "Look. It doesn't matter if anyone thinks you're weak, okay? We woke up just a few hours ago from what would probably be the longest stasis anyone has ever been in. We're all weak, we're all missing our earlier strength, but please, next time, tell me if you're tired! The strain can be dangerous!" He says, frowning. The colonists look at each other, and mumble their apologies before sitting down on the grass to rest.

If they looked around, they would see that Wexer had chosen a less dense part of the forest to travel through, and the sublime filtered down through the canopy in thin rays. The earth and grass was very soft underfoot, but didn't slow them down in the least. Curious, brightly coloured alien insects crawled up and down trees, going about their day.

 

[BubbleLord]

The time to rest had been nice, Ganymede was going to use it more properly. Turning, he'd move toward the redhead who had spoken so many times already. With a small, comforting smile, the man would extend his hand.

"Ganymede. You wouldn't happen to have been picked to start reproduction, would you? Not enough people seem intelligent or bold enough to step up... but you do. Be a waste if you were just picked to rut all day..."

 

[Archangel99]

"Kayla. And no, I'm in teaching." She says, smiling and taking his hand. "Nice to meet you Ganymede. What were you picked for?" She asks, her green eyes meeting his. She has a pretty nice body overall, with C cup breasts, and a heart shaped, curvy butt.

Wexer looks over the colonists and sighs. He knew what his job was. Protect and provide for them until they could do it for themselves, and then just... Disappear. No fame, no honour, no recognition, no nothing. And now someone was flirting with the redhead he had his eye on. Add that to the crash, the weakness, and this fucking humid jungle, his very first day on this planet was turning out to be rather shitty. He stands and stretches, a few bones in his back popping as he scans the area for threats.

 

[BubbleLord]

"Engineering," he said with a small shake before releasing her hand, "So I guess I'm building you your schoolhouse. You didn't happen to be stuck with a partner or spouse before all this, then? Or are you just single and hoping to take a spin with one of the studs that got picked?"

Looking over to Wexer at the sound of the sigh, he couldn't help but feel like it had to have been his fault... but at the same time he couldn't worry about that. Beyond people who were picked for large amounts of genetic pools they'd been modified with being used to reproduce, everyone else was free to go at one another as they pleased. With the time to rest, he couldn't help but check out the green-eyed redhead. If it weren't for the fact this was meant to be a break, he'd have likely followed the 'end of the world' sex drive that no doubt more than just he was feeling. But his gaze returned to Kayla, his smile growing.

"Once things are stable, remind me to buy you a drink... maybe more, if you're game?"

 

[Archangel99]

"Ahahah! No, no, I was single, and hey, who knows? I might take one of the studs for a ride!" She says with a wink. "And yeah, sometime. That sometime would have to be after a veeery long time until we figure out how to make alcohol in this place!" She says with a laugh.

After about fifteen minutes, Wexer decides that they have had enough of a rest, and loudly calls out, "Okay everyone! Let's get moving!" Before turning and leading the way again. In approximately an hour or two, they reach the site of the crash. Debris is strewn all over the crater, and right in the middle is the section of the ship, which seems to be mostly unharmed. Fires, giving off the smoke that led them here, feed off the trees burnt by the passage of the ship through the atmosphere. There aren't any people around, indicating that nobody has woken up just yet.
"Everyone be careful on the way down! I don't want sprained ankles and shit!" He says before getting to his knees and sliding down the steep incline towards the wreckage. He makes it to the airlock door and tries to open it, only to jerk his hands back with a yell of pain. "Fuck! Heat! From the other side! There's a fire in there!" He yells, backing away from the door.

No sooner does he back away, does the airlock door suddenly explode outwards, missing his head by a couple of inches. A wave of heat and smoke hits their faces as a figure staggers out, falling to the ground with a groan. "More... Inside!" He manages to gasp out before coughing fits take over.

Wexer looks up, and without a second thought, dashes into ths flames. Three colonists look at the others, and then follow him inside.

 

[BubbleLord]

It seemed to be one of the worst case scenarios, the internal fire inspiring even a curse from Ganymede from his spot among the crowd. But with Wexer running in with only three others, he knew they'd need help. As an engineer, he'd been instructed on how the ship worked in-case they were woken-up mid-flight to repair anything. And a fire onboard was assumed to be something that would kill whoever was woke up due to needing to vent oxygen. Here, however, they had no ability to do that. With a look to his sexy, red-headed teacher acquaintance, all he could do was smile before rushing after them.

Once inside, with the smoke and flicker of flames no doubt blocking his view somewhat, all Ganymede could do was look for Wexer and try to help the soldier in the rescue attempt.

 

[Archangel99]

This was probably a bad idea. Wexer coughs hard as he looks around the cabin, trying to peer through the smoke. He manages to make his way over to a console panel. There, he sees a button marked Emergency Release. He quickly slams a palm down on it, and hopes for the best. There is a loud humming sound as all the pods behind him open simultaneously. Oh shit. Not good. "Hey! Take care of them!" He yells to the colonists as he looks around for some way to vent the smoke before turning back to the control panel. He sees a button marked Vents, and almost presses it, before he remembered something from his science classes. If a room was suddenly vented, the fire would search for more oxygen, and would immediately spread, incinerating them and blowing up the ship. He pulls his hand away and turns, trying to rally the sleepy and weak colonists. A few of them manage to stumble towards him, but... Not enough. He points them towards the exit and pushes the closest ones towards it before running to help others.

There are screams and shouts as the colonists wake up to smoke and fire, with four people running around trying to wake them. They stumble around blindly, coughing, their eyes watering from the smoke. They need someone to guide them. Wexer is doing a good job of getting the attention of the colonists closest to him, but the ones farther back can't hear him over the roar and crackle of the fire, as well as the other screams and shouts around them.

 

[BubbleLord]

Ganymede was a bit out of his element as they stumbled to aid others. With the work of Wexer helping one group, it seemed he had to assist the rest of them. Pushing toward the group who couldn't hear, he'd try to pull them and get them moving to safety. No telling how much time he had in this part, with how intense everything was getting.

 

[Archangel99]

He manages to attract the attention of another twenty, who manage to grab the attention of those nearest them. A few people manage to grab their stuff from the lockers before leaving, Following the rest of the colonists out. Suddenly, a voice blares through the ship. "Internal conditions critically unstable. Destruction imminent." It says.

Wexer keeps directing the people out, trying to get them away from the smoke and fire as coughs fill the air. "Keep moving people! Exit is that way!" He yells, pointing towards the exit and waving his hands. When he hears the alarm start blaring, he curses and calls out to his own colonists, trying to get them to leave. He himself turns and heads to the entrance to start a head count, wanting to make sure everyone else is out.

 

[BubbleLord]

Ganymede turns and starts out, but can't help but feel they had to try something to save the ship part. They'd already abandoned their segment, now they had most certainly lost this one. As he'd exit and go rushing a short distance away to clear the exit, all he could do was turn back with a sigh. Things weren't looking good for the future, even if they had numbers to survive.

 

[Archangel99]

Most of the ship is a twisted, burned hunnk at this point. There was nothing to salvage now. Kayla runs over to him, anxiously looking him over. "Ganymede! Are you okay? Anything burned? How many more in there?" She asks worriedly.

Wexer sees Ganymede turning back. Knowing that the ship is about to blow any minute, he doesn't waste time checking how many colonists are already out, and just hits the ground running. Suddenly, he feels the effects of a boom, a sharp pain in his left shoulder, a sensation of flying through the air, and then he hits his head against something and blacks out.

The ship exploded almost immediately after Wexer made it out, the colonists still inside ripped apart with the explosion. Not only that, flying shrapnel from the blast killed fifteen colonists and injured another twenty. In all, they had lost about 35 colonists, and now they had more mouths to feed.

 

[BubbleLord]

While Ganymede wasn't struck by shrapnel, he was caught in the explosive force and sent through the air. Landing hard, all he could do was grunt and curse as the air rushed from his lungs. The dead and the likely dying had been around him, though as he rose all he could do was try to get his breath back.

"J-Jesus... w-what are... t-tend to the wounded! Save whoever we can!"

 

[Archangel99]

There is a minute or so of disorientation after the blast as people try to get their bearings. Then, a flurry of activity and shouts as people rush to help the wounded. They start carrying the wounded to another spot, amd leave the dead where they lie. "Someone help! This guy's been impaled through the shoulder!" A clear voice rings out. Kayla, he sees it is. Below her, on the ground, lies Wexer, a bent, twisted rod sticking out of his shoulder while a gash on his face bleeds heavily. His eyes are closed, and he barely seems to be breathing.

 

[BubbleLord]

Turning to the sight of the attractive woman trying to aid a wounded Wexer, Ganymede froze. Part of him knew he needed to run and help in some way, but the other considered the current group mentality. If their soldier of a leader was incapacitated, then command would likely fall to him. And the leader dictated how the group would live, soon as they had some sort of base camp. A moment of personal greed, it was lost as he quickly rushed over anyway, moving his hands to Kayla's shoulders to move her away and give the soldier room. It helped that he pulled her close and got to investigate the wound.

"Hold on, got it? A doctor among our group will be along once the confusion clears. All these severely wounded... we're going to be too slow to keep moving to ensure these wounds even get basic treatment..."

 

[Archangel99]

Wexer doesn't respond, still unconscious. His blood continues to flow, staining the ground beneath him red. Almost fifteen minutes later, a doctor comes running, looking haggard, his hair plastered to his face with sweat. He drops to his knees next to Wexer and frowns at his wounds. Then, he reaches over to his bag and takes out a tube that seems to be filled with a clear gel. This he applies to Wexer's face, and the bleeding seems to stop. "Okay... That's a problem solved for now... But his shoulder is a problem. I'll need a few tools. The other doctors can take care of the other wounded. This man here is the only one who's been impaled..." The doctor mutters, taking a sort of sharp-looking saw out of his bag. Then, he starts to saw just above the pieces of rods sticking out of the front and back of Wexer's shoulder. "You! One of the doctors has my extractor. It looks like a giant tweezer. Go get it!" The doctor says, tossing his head over his shoulder and looking at Ganymede. "You, support his head, and keep his weight off his shoulder. The more it moves, the more damage it might cause." The doctor says, looking at Kayla. She moves a bit, and puts Wexer's head on her bent knees, looking down at him with anxiety all over her face.

 

[BubbleLord]

Ganymede nodded, though his eyes looked jealously at how Kayla supported the man. While he might be jealous, they needed the brute. He ran around to try and spot the doctor with the tool requested, his lack of one eye making it more than a bit difficult to move around in the chaos.

"I need an extractor! Who has the extractor?!"

 

[Archangel99]

[The "brute"? Ouch. XD]

Pushing his way through the crowd and looking about wildly, he sees a hand wave a bright piece of metal in the air before going back down, probably continuing the work on the poor patient.

 

[BubbleLord]

[Truth hurts. Like the bitch-theft going on 24/7]

Ganymede moved over quickly, cursing as he could only hope that he wasn't walking into something even worse.