The Merrin, Intermission
An icy wind blows across the frozen surface. Peeking above the thick layer of snow and ice, a single, small wind generator spins, it’s squeaks go unheard. Next to it, another lays on its side, useless. Below them, under the ice and snow, an empty...
The Merrineth, part 1
Two ships drop from FTL speed into the system. One is triangular and turns towards the planet, the other is nearly a rectangle that heads towards the rack of silver cylinders. As it nears, the ship gets taller, its front becoming...
The Merrin, part 16
Having not seen Avy since giving her the larva a local day ago, Key tracks her using the tracking signal from the tag. As he nears her location, he realizes that he's in the same area where he had originally landed. Realizing her knows where she's at,...
The Merrin, part 26
Key sips at his soup. Avy's curled up around her tail, asleep. With addition of the wind generators, they've been able to keep it a little warmer in the shelter. At only 15 degrees, it's still cool for his liking, but it's tolerable without his armor...
The Merrin, part 6
Alice sits in the pod, watching a readout of Key's vitals. Even though he's sleeping, his heart rate is still near 90 and his blood pressure it too high. "We need to get him to relax," she states absently. "Administer a light sedative, an...
The Merrin, part 8
Barely conscious, Key hangs from the straps of his seat. The pod's nose down, wedged between two large rocks, the window isn't broke. Below him, Alice lays across the window lays. She's still breathing, and that's all he knows. Drudge has his nanites...
The Merrin, part 11
Having spent much of the early morning having no luck scanning for, or trying to contact other pods, Key activates the pod's homing beacon and grabs his pack. The storm last night was all lightning, thunder, and high winds. There was no...
The Merrin, part 10
The one pod turned out to be the two that Alice had set to follow theirs. While one actually managed to soft-land, the other crashed and the side is ripped wide open, and equipment is scattered around. When Key gets into the good pod, it's alarm is...
The Merrin, part 7
Alice fidgets in her seat. She's been cooped up in the pod for nearly 54 hours, and would kill for a shower and a bed. Glancing over at Key, she sighs. He's been asleep most of the time she's been awake. No, not asleep, more like comatose. Those damn...
The Merrin, part 4
Frustrated, Key slams his hand on the console. He's managed to restore this room's seal, so there's air. Unfortunately, while he was crossing the breach, main power went out. He's tried everything he knows, he just cannot direct main power back to...
The Merrin, part 25
Three days. It's been three days since he's been able to leave the cave. The storm outside has been raging for nearly all of that. With a sigh, he heads back inside the cave. In an effort to keep the heat in, he's put up some of the leftover shelter...
The Merrin, part 15
Key watches the sun go down and the surface of the caesium lake change. It looses it's shiny silver-gold appearance and turns a dull red. Curious, he steps up to the shore and kneels down. As he puts his hand over the caesium, he realizes that it's...