This Is Not A Test

[Richard]

"The pilot didn't fall asleep, Fitter. I think we were attacked by something before we crashed." Richard hadn't really stuck around long enough to guess what had gone on in the last couple of hours. He checked her ankle just to be sure and found that she was telling the truth. She could still use some ice or something to keep pressed down on her ankle. There was no real need to worry over these little things and that just meant that Daxen was the main concern. Richard looked over at Daxen to see that he was looking a little worse for wear. He watched as Kaden disappeared probably looking for the medic or some help to move Daxen.

Richard kept an eye on Daxen and could see that there was something weird going on with him. It looked like Daxen was talking to his shadow, but that was just a little too abnormal for Richard's taste. He continue to watch the wounded man and noticed that Daxen really believed that it was moving. Richard wished he had some idea what he should be doing around here. He looked back over at Fitter to see how she was holding up with everything that had just happened. The crash had pretty much left everything torn up.

"Well it looks like the ship is pretty banged up. I guess we will have to look for other means of getting off this rock or at least getting the proper equipment to repair the damage. What do you think you two?" Richard tried to get a conversation going to keep everyone awake and ready for anything. The ship did really look like it was in bad shape. There had been a fire and damaged components on the bridge and there might be worse things with the rest of the ship. The crew looked just as bad from what he saw. There were a lot of them that may not make it and that just made him feel a little depressed.

Richard looked up when Kaden got back. That had been relatively quick considering the fact that the ship was sideways and there were several holes to go around. He didn't know if Kaden could teleport people along with him. Even though Kaden was a prisoner, he couldn't help but respect the guy. Richard didn't get up to help as his leg still hurt from the wound he suffered. "How are things up there, Kaden? Any progress on where we are or what we are going to do?"

[Deux]

Deux blinked slowly at the Captain. It was unusual for him to not immediately act upon orders but his previous ones were not appealing. The possibility of having other ones was a much more preferred thought. So when the Captain looked at him Deux couldn’t help but respond with one in turn. There were already men clearing the wreckage, he could be used elsewhere. He would rather be used elsewhere.

He watched the would be medic walk toward the group. For a moment he stiffened ready to bat the man’s hand away again, but relax when he continued on. As he did he caught the look on Kaden’s face. Deux narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, noting something but unable to define it. His movements seemed different as left.

“Alright,” he said to the Captain at his revised orders before leaving.

Standing in the area outside the bridge, Deux thought of two things. First his orders, and the second was he had no idea where to start. He had never been to the medical bay, never had occasion to. However he did memorize the layout of the ship long ago. Closing his eyes he pictured the halls and determined where the best place to start. Deux walked to the edge of the hall and checked the ground. Seeing it was clear he stepped off and fell to the wall that now served as the floor.

His search was not very productive. Most of the individuals he encountered were unconscious and if anywhere the medic he could not tell. Stepping around the bodies he began to suspect he possibly had to climb up to the next hall and continue his search. As he thought a rustling sound caught his attention. He stood against the wall and listened for it again until a crew member walked into view. The man dropped down and began digging through the pockets on someone on the ground.

Stepping forward Deux said, “Where is the medic?”

The man jumped and spun around. When he saw Deux the shock melted from his face and turned into a sneer, “Don’t know.”

“Do you know where he might be?”

“Does it look like I care?” He turned back to scavenging the bodies.

“No,” Deux said, ”but you might know.”

“Get lost kid,” the man stopped and tried to backhand the boy.

Deux caught his wrist and used the man’s momentum to direct him toward the wall. He continued the motion by placing a hand man’s back and pushing him forward. The man’s face hit the edge of a control panel and his nose broke.

The man dropped to ground and Deux stepped over him sighing, “Pointless”.

[Kaden]

"It is hectic. I am not a mechanic so I do not know how bad the damage is," Kaden said as he walked over to Daxen and picked up the blow torch. He knew the doctor would need light and he wished he had more than was available. He hadn't seen any other source of light on his way back down here. He looked towards the hole in the ship and remembered the stars he'd seen outside. "Hold on a moment," Kaden said and walked back over to the hole. He was getting a little fatigued from all the teleporting and he wanted to save his strength in case he needed it later.

He climbed up to where the rock spar was sticking through the hull and looked out the small hole. He hadn't paid any attention to the stars before but knowing they were the stars of home made the sight different. He found his sight blurring slightly and he blinked it away before taking another look at the stars. As he'd thought the Three Kings were high in the sky. But what he was really looking for was the presence of moonlight. He'd never quite lost his ability to keep track of the seasons and times on Takatifu, even when he'd been far away. Sure enough there was a bright moon outside that would provide more light if they could only get out there or find a way to make this hole bigger. He'd been trying to make the hole bigger for quite some time before the others had arrived but he hadn't had help before. Maybe something could be done now.

"If we can open these doors," Kaden said, turning around and beginning to climb down, "there is more light outside and we'll have the added benefit of being outside. I couldn't open them before but maybe one of you know something about messing with the door mechanism?" He didn't want to say it out loud but he really didn't like the idea of trying to move Daxen through the treacherous hallways between here and the CIC. If they could get the hangar doors open that would be the best solution.

[Bartelby]

By the time the last of his 'patients' had passed, Bartelby was feeling better. He didn't know why, however. It seemed he should feel worse. Maybe it was because it was difficult to feel guilty about lying to a corpse. He didn't really want to put too much thought into it.

He was about to go help the rest of the crew try to open up an exit for the ship, but then an idea occurred to him. He wondered if do something to honor the dead similar to what he had done to the halls on the way here. That is, change their color.

He kneeled down next to Jacob who was by now motionless and placed his thumb onto the man's forehead. Bartelby concentrated and slowly he saw the man's tan skin get darker in a spot on his forehead. Slowly, a rough image of a common holy symbol inscribed itself in that location.

Bartelby drew his hand back, almost out of freight. He was surprised that it had actually worked. Then, regaining his composure, he said, "Be at peace," then moved on and repeated the process to the others who had passed.

Finally, Bartelby stood up and observed his surroundings once more. It looked like the crew had gotten most of the debris out of the way of the puncture in the ship's hull. But they seemed to be having trouble getting a particularly large piece of metal dislodged. "Here, use this," Bartelby said pushing his way to the front of the small crowd. He stuck his staff in behind the object and used it as a lever. With the help of two of the other crew members, they got the obstacle out of the way.

Bartelby got out of the way again so they could finish clearing a path. "I think you might be able to take a look now captain. Most of the stuff is moved out of the way and some moonlight is shining in."

[Fitter]

Fitter stared at Richard like he had spoken a foreign language. What did he mean, the ship crashed? Ships didn't crash-not anymore, or so she'd heard somewhere. They flew through space where the only obstacle should've been...other ships and planets. Or stars, she supposed. Fitter wasn't quite sure what else existed in space, and felt slightly let down by her lack of knowledge.

"...what do you think you two?"

Richard's question left her in confusion. The concept of crashing ships was honestly quite foreign to Fitter, and really she didn't know where to start having an opinion of it.

"I don't know much about other planets, but if the one we're on has familiar herbs, I might be able to make something that can help Daxen." Beside her, Daxen didn't look so well. If only her ankle would stop throbbing, maybe she could do something about it, Fitter thought numbly as she rubbed her cold arms. She knew a thing or two about medicine. Not enough to be qualified as a medic, but growing up in a large family meant that everyone knew how to treat any wounds that might or might not have come as a result of a fight behind the barn.

She heard the scattering of tiny feet flying across the floor, and a moment latter Ero returned, a deep blue blanket flapping rapidly behind it. A small smile of gratitude crossed her face as she took the soft fabric from the ferret and wrapped it around herself. Without invitation Ero scrambled into her lap, tangling itself in the warmth. "Thanks buddy," she whispered, rubbing Ero behind the ears.

Ero replied with a faint murmur as Kaden returned to the room with a doctor that immediately turned toward Daxen's direction. She drew the blanket closer and watched Kaden attempt to figure out an exit.

"I don't know if this would do anything, but doesn't water usually have some malicious effect on technology? You could try disabling the system that way."

[Remy]

In the middle of a battle, fleeing or not, Remy wouldn't have the luxury of being back in his room, or the freezer, or even working on a ship. Instead he was in a fluster as the others on the bridge were, pining over their escape and trying not to take too much damage. He knew that they were running, yes, but soon enough the ship tilted, and Remy felt himself slide to the side and collide with something hard--not a pleasant experience. Where some died, he was lucky enough to only knock himself out, though his position of lying on his stomach masked the fact that he was still breathing. Whether he'd been counted for the dead or not, he didn't know. After all, he was unconscious at the time.

When he did come to, though, it was to the smell of smoke. There was a fire somewhere, and his mind instantly jumped to his room, or more specifically the item hidden there. All that work for it to just burn up? Yeah, right, like that was going to happen. His eyes blinked at the emergency lights, and he slowly pushed himself up. His body was sore, but he didn't feel as if anything was broken. A quick once over of his body, and he found that one side of his face was caked in blood, both wet and dry. There was a gash along the top of his head, most likely from where he struck whatever object that knocked him out.

Most of the bodies around him were those of the injured or the dead. The suckers wouldn't be receiving his help, the less people in his way meant the less people looting the rooms and looking for anything valuable. He stood, steadying his swaying, and waving off the man that approached him. If it was for medical assistance, Remy was pretty sure that he didn't need any, for the blood would eventually stop. In the meantime, he pressed his arm to the gash, letting the blood soak into his sleeve, and hobbled off down the hall, in the direction of his room.

This proved to be a more irritating task than he thought it would. Everything was flipped to one side, which meant that rather than walking on the floor, he was walking on the walls. He had to be more observant as to where he was going, but eventually he made it into his room, passing several people hobbling the opposite direction. He pried the door open, retrieved his blueprints from his super-secret hiding place (most people looked under the bed, not considering to look for a slit that led into the bad), and the gun that was now tossed from his bedside table and onto the ground.

With belongings in hand, he shuffled back out into the hall, frowning as the blood streaked a little too close to his eyes for comfort. He pressed his sleeve back to his forehead, and stumbled through the hallways. Eventually, he noticed a figure headed his way--Deux. When he was close enough, and ensuring that the canister was tucked safely inside of his jacket, Remy spoke.

"What the hell did we hit?"

[Deux]

The search was proving to nothing but be frustrating. No sign of a medic and the only conscious individual was now unconscious as well. No fault but his own in Deux’s opinion. With a sigh he continued down the hall. He suddenly when he saw another figure moving ahead of him. Deux reached up his sleeve ready to retrieve a knife as he moved closer.

Upon further inspection, he determined that the man was not likely to attempt anything of an offensive nature. If he was Deux didn’t find him threatening at the moment, since he appeared to have difficult standing successfully. Deux let go of the knife handle and let his arms hang by his sides. His pupils also contracted slightly.

“The ground,” he said bluntly, ”apparently a mountain on Takatifu.”

He stepped around the man toward the hall he had dropped down. Looking up he tried to plain his path up to the next level. As he did he couldn’t help but glance at the man. Deux tapped a finger against his leg before turning toward him.

“Do you know where the medic is?” he asked, “I was sent to find one.”

He paused again before extending a hand, “My name is Deux.”

It was odd, the crash seemed to be giving him more opportunities to met people. True he had been sitting in the brig most of time and those that came in weren’t always in the mood to talk. Still compared to his experiences in the mess hall he had improved when it came to interacting with others. Kaden was probably to thank for that. Perhaps he would thank him if all went well.

[Angel]

"I would suggest clearing that door as quickly as possible. This planet doesn't like visitors and they'll shoot first and ask questions later if they find this ship."

Greg turned his head as Kaden left, perking an eyebrow. It was pretty easy to see that the planet's inhabitants weren't the friendly sort--the mountain sticking into his ship was good solid proof of that. What surprised him was that Kaden bothered to warn him of it. Greg harbored no ill-will towards the man, there was no reason for him to, but he'd seen the sour, hateful looks Kaden had given him the past few weeks. There was no reason for that to change. So he chalked up the advice-giving to Kaden's fixation on being the noble, oozing-pure-goodness saint. Even the rotten souls aboard this ship deserved some pity in times of crisis, right? If only then.

Bartelby's voice carried over to the Captain, and Greg felt part of himself relax. Moonlight didn't mean a sure way out, but it meant there was a chance. Picking his path carefully through the wreckage, he strode over to Bartelby and the men. The electric lamp had been set down near the hole, its light mingling with the pale white splash of moonlight. The crash had stripped the hull from this part of the ship and the uneven, exposed rock of the mountain now served as this area's flooring. The men around the hole cleared away immediately, allowing Greg to kneel down and inspect it.

The hole was roughly the size of a person, perhaps a tad bigger. A portion of it was blocked by mountainside, and to escape one would be forced to squeeze past the bumpy, rocky wall. It would be a tight fit, and most likely a few of the injured would have trouble getting past. However, it was better than being trapped inside awaiting to be discovered by the local hostiles. Greg strained to get a glance outside, taking in the dark shapes of trees and underbrush. He pulled back, dusting the palms of his hands against his thighs. "Good work, men. I think we've found our escape here."

Standing up swiftly, and feeling only a dull ache where he had been injured, the Captain faced the bridge and addressed the rest of the crew in a louder voice. "We've found an exit here, men. I want all able hands to assist the injured out first, as quickly as possible. There's a good chance we're being sniffed out by the locals, and I don't want to be here when they find the ship." Some crew members scrambled to obey his order, hauling the second electric lantern over towards the hole along with the injured crew. The others followed them over eagerly.

All-in-all, there looked to be about three or four men who were hurt badly enough to need help walking. A couple of the very grievously wounded ones had already passed on, and were left near the bridge's entrance. In normal circumstances the dead might have been afforded some ceremonial burial of some sort, but the crew was pressed hard for time. As it was, they had to work achingly slow to get the wounded crew through the escape hole without causing more damage to them.

As Greg waited patiently, his gaze landed on the priest. He leaned forward and gave Bartelby a companionable thump on the back, and flashed a grin. "Thanks for the help, priest. I'm not much of a god-fearing man, but I know a good lot of the crew appreciate having some divine help aboard. Especially in these sorts of situations." There was a call from the other side as the first man made it out, offering some information about the outside environment. The others paused to listen, before continuing to help the wounded squeeze through. So far so good.

[Daxen]

The doctor thanked Kaden for the light as he opened up his kit. Looking between the patient and his now-limited medical supplies, he sighed as he wondered why he even took this job. He just wanted some morphine, not a sick kid mumbling about shadows! He grumbled and took a brief checkup of Daxen's injuries. Besides a few cuts and bruises, to which he didn't care if they got infected, the only really obvious injuries were his shoulder and ribs.

The shoulder would have to come later. He placed a gentle hand on Daxen's chest, "Alright kid, breathe in and breathe out, as deeply as you can." At first Daxen, still in a daze, seemed to fail to comprehend, then his chest slowly and shudderingly rose, then quickly fell. His breath was grating and painful. The doctor moved his hand gently across Daxen's rib areas, feeling for anything. Eventually he found the culprit: A fractured false rib. This won't require much fixing, as it seemed that it wasn't a complete fracture.

After checking to make sure that the bone would, in fact, heal properly if left to natural bone reconstruction mechanisms, he reached into his kit and, despite his phyche screaming at him, administered some oxycodone to help Daxen deal with the pain. Though it was a much more advanced version than what used to be regular oxycodone, this one being longer-lasting and with less addictive side effects, the name pretty much stuck anyway.

Next was the glass shard. Having no more spare gloves, he mumbled, "If you get an infection, or worse, if I get an infection, this'll still be on your bill." He gently grasped the shard, careful not to cut himself, and slowly brought it out in the opposite direction it seemed to come in. He knew it was risky to pull out glass without realizing how deep it went, or if it had severed anything, but it's not like he had the equipment for such a checkup!

Miraculously, only some minor bleeding occurred, and the doctor prepared some medical gauzes to place over Daxen's shoulder and side. He leaned in to mutter to Daxen, "Alright, try not to move yourself that much. You need to breathe normally, but if the pain begins to be too much, I...I...I suppose I can give you more killers." Considering himself void of any responsibility for Daxen, he headed over to Kaden, "He's going to need help moving around, but he should be alright. He's pretty lucky. Had a higher rib been broken, and his lung would've been punctured. Had a lower rib been broken, it would've been trouble for his diaphragm. You were good to bring me to him; what're you, his brother or something?" Being on the Laika meant most people didn't care about the well-being of a crew member, unless of course they were really important.

"Anyway, if we ever get this thing up in space again, my bill will come in the morning." Apparently he didn't get he memo that Kaden was a prisoner.

[Remy]

They had crashed? And onto a planet at that. Remy didn't like the sounds of that, or the odds of their survival. They couldn't stay on the ship forever, especially not when it was upturned like it was. That meant that they'd be heading out onto the surface of Takatifu, which meant that his hidden plans would need to stay on his body at all times. Troublesome. Then again, maybe it was a blessing. The government might lose track of the ship (should they figure out which one he hopped onto) since it crashed...or it might be called to the site of a crashed ship. Either way, this was still troublesome.

Remy looked over the teen next to him, cocking a brow. "Did you try the medical station?" he asked sarcastically. Seriously, they had crashed and this guy was trying to ask him of all people where the medic was? He was probably treating the passenger's for Pete's sake! How was he supposed to know where the guy was now. "Keep lookin', kid, because I have no idea. Hang out where the majority of the people are, and I'm sure you'll eventually find him," Remy added, rolling his eyes and moving to get around Deux.

"Remy, and you really should be with the rest of the crew. I'm sure that we'll be blowing this now piece of junk soon," he said, giving a quick, subtle pat to make sure the canister was still concealed. It was time to return to the bridge, if that was where they still were, and try to get out. It was likely that someone would spot a crashing ship, or the crash itself, which meant it was likely for some local enforcement to investigate. Then again, they could be in the middle of nowhere for all Remy knew.

[Deux]

Deux closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He breathed a few more times before opening his eyes and looking at the man. Tilting his head he said, “Are you at your station? And I intend to continue looking. Given the current situation the majority of people are scattered throughout the ship. I was searching level through level in an effort to find him, apparently it was too much to hope for your assistance.”

He watched Remy walk around him. His pupil’s widened slightly as he narrowed them. There was something unsettling about him but Deux wasn’t sure why. Remy somehow reminded him off of the individual from before but to a lesser degree. Not threatening but still not desirable.

“I was with the rest of the crew,” Deux replied, “The Captain told me to search the ship for the medic, which is what I will do until I find him. The Captain says he is needed, and I agree with that assessment. If you take the time to observe the area around you will see why. As for blowing this now piece of junk, you will have to take that up with the Captain.”

Deux imitated the eye roll Remy had done. He wasn’t sure exactly what it meant but he felt it was appropriate somehow. If Remy refused to be useful, so be it. Turning back to the hall Deux started to climb up to the next level.

[Richard]

Richard wasn't paying that much attention to the doctor and was thinking of a way to assist Kaden with the doors. Fitter had suggested using water on the mechanism, but that was like a double-edge sword. The water may cause the system to short circuit the locking mechanisms opening the doors, but it could also keep the doors shut permanently which would be bad. Even if the doors were pulled apart, there was no guarantee what was on the other side of them and that made Richard nervous.

He leaned against the wall and wondered if they couldn't just try finding a different location of exit. There were probably holes all across the ship that might be easier to widen than the one in this room. Richard was growing tired from all the moving around the ship and he could tell that pretty much everyone else was just as tired as he was. His idea for a different room was put on halt when the doc said that Daxen shouldn't move on his own and that would mean someone would have to carry him. With the ship all turned around, walking was dangerous enough so moving while carrying someone would be impossible.

"This is going to be a long and difficult day isn't it?" Richard had just wanted to get something to eat and now he was in the middle of a wrecked ship. He wondered if this misfortune happened a lot while flying around space doing nothing. How did they crash anyway? He had forgotten to ask that when he had seen the captain. Richard figured someone would say something after they figured out how to escape.

[Kaden]

"Yes, it seems that way," Kaden said quietly over his shoulder in response to Richard's comment. The actual "day" as demarcated by the on ship clock had hardly begun before all of this had happened. Even now, as he had traveled through the ship, he had seen a few still functioning clocks letting him know that it was just past noon. But of course on board time had absolutely nothing to do with planet side time and as far as he could tell it was the middle of the night outside.

"It is good to hear that he will be fine," Kaden said to the doctor, ignoring the question about how they were related, "feel free to send me a bill when we reach an appropriate time and place and I thank you on both of our behalves for being willing to make the trip down here." Kaden didn't mind picking up the tab on something like this. He imagined that the medical attention administered would not be that expensive and he could charge it to one of the many accounts he'd started since joining the UIR. His spartan life-style aboard one Battleship or another did not really give him opportunities to spend his wages, something he certainly didn't mind. Cutting down on living expenses and stock-piling a start up fund for himself had been a majority of the reason he had joined the Fleet to begin with.

Besides, if they could get to a place where he could access accounts he may have enough to pay his own ransom fee in the case that he could not get any of the locals to support him as a UIR officer against Greg. If he knew his people, and he liked to imagine he had developed a good understanding of them since leaving, they wouldn't care either way and just seek to kill them both so he wasn't really counting on any help from that area.

If he did end up paying his own ransom fee he intended to file a claim with the Fleet and be reimbursed but who knew how long that would take to go through and it may not be honored. It would be easier if he could either escape or get his fee paid.

All of which were thoughts for another time. Right now he had to try to get them out of this ship or face trying to get Daxen back to the bridge. He looked over his shoulder and caught sight of his partially crumpled Fighter. Seeing the proud Falcon in such condition still pained him but as he looked more closely at it he got an idea.

"Please stand as far away from the door as possible," Kaden said, walking over to the ship and jumping up onto the wing to inspect the cock pit and the controls inside though he couldn't see much in the limited light. "And might I suggest that we stack some of this cargo and make a shield for ourselves," Kaden said, looking up. "I think it would be best to try brute force and shoot the doors but these guns are not made to go off in atmosphere. It's going to get extremely hot in here extremely fast so when the door is open we will have to move quickly," he continued, jumping down from the wing and grabbing a box to help make the shield he'd spoken about, still thinking through the very rash plan.

"Richard, would you please help Ms. Fitter because of her ankle. Doctor, I apologize I didn't learn your name," he said pausing and giving the doctor a chance to say it.

"Thomas," the man said as he walked over, his bag of supplies hanging loosely in one hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Thomas and we are truly fortunate that you are with us in such a difficult time," Kaden responded with the automatic courtesy of his childhood. "Thomas, if you would agree to continuing to assist us can you stay with young Mr. Daxen until I can reach you both? I will help him out."

[Bartelby]

"Watch your step. We don't want you falling down the mountain," Bartelby said with a smile to the woman he was helping to climb to a level surface outside the ship. She had a broken wrist, which slowed her down a little, but it was a relatively minor injury when compared to some of the others.

By now there was a small group on the rocky slope of the mountain they had crashed on, and more were still exiting the ship through the small hole they had found. He wasn't sure how many more were left, but it couldn't be too many. Bartelby himself was assisting people since he was probably one of the least 'damaged' members of the crew. Not to mention it seemed like the priestly thing to do. He seemed to be on the captain's good side and wanted to stay there.

As he took a moment to catch his breath, Bartelby glanced along the side of the ship into the distance where he could just make out in the darkness where the cargo bay doors were. "I thought they were going to open those up..." he said to himself. Then he shrugged and went back to the ship to help another crew member evacuate. Who knew when a search party would find them. And Bartelby was pretty sure they didn't want to be found.

[Remy]

The kid held his ground, putting up with Remy's sarcasm with not much reaction, not the usual irritation and anger at least. He was calm, and Remy raised his brows as Deux challenged his statement. There was a reason he wasn't at his station, he needed to retrieve a valuable object. And the ship had crashed, that might be enough to throw anyone from their station. Still, he didn't really want to stand there and argue technicalities with the guy, and as he stared at him, Remy shrugged. "The captain isn't getting out of the ship from where he is, I can tell you that much," Remy said, recalling the state of the bridge in his mind.

Once Deux continued on, Remy decided that he would go lower. There was nothing promising on his way back to his room, so descending further into the ship might bring a stronger chance of getting out. He carefully maneuvered his way over boxes, debris, piping, other obstructions along the wall turned floor. His hand constantly brushed back to where he had placed the canister, to ensure it was still there. He was allowed a bit of paranoia when it came to the blueprints.

He managed his way down to near the cargo hull, where he heard several voices speaking within it. Entering the large room, he spotted several people, a small ship, and what was the start of their shield to block them from the blast. He approached, listening to what he could pick up, which wasn't much--he came in on the tail end of the conversation. "You guys need help in here?" He looked at the prisoner, and over to the ship. "Were you saying you were going to blast open the door? What do you need?"