FSE

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A thunderous crack shook the insectoid into consciousness. At first she didn’t realize what she was looking at. Blue? All blue? Then the roar of wind made her realize what was going on. They were falling. Fast.

Joshua was still at the helm, pulling back on the throttle and easing the ship back upright until the horizon came into view. Far too fast. They slammed into the water with a bang, skimming off the surface and falling back down.

Bang, bang, bang.

The ship came to a slow stop. The woman shook her head and peeled herself away from the console, yanking her fingers out of it. Joshua fell back onto the ground with a sigh. She wanted to strangle him, but at that very moment she was far too happy just to be alive. She could thank him for that, at least.

“You did not retrieve the pinpointer,” she said.

“I couldn’t pull it out, OK? The guys were on their way. The fuck was I supposed to do?” He rubbed his eyes. “Just be happy we’re alive.”

“You are not a scrapper.”

He frowned. “No, I’m not.”

“Why would you shroud yourself?”

“You guys do have lying, right?”

“We know the concept. We do not lie in situations that may execute us.”

“Whatever.”

She walked over to the window and stared out at the endless blue. Not the worst planet to be stranded on. Atmosphere was breathable and the ocean outside was clean water, or rather that’s all the computer was able to gather.

“Are they going to come after us?” Joshua asked.

“Your stupidity has saved us in a way. They could not track our position with no pinpointer to thieve information from. We are fortunate not to have smashed into anything.”

His face contorted in a mix of anger and shame. Perhaps annoyance as well? That was new. The plasticity of their faces were impressive, and was partially the reason why she held back her desire to hit him. She stared a while longer. A little too harsh on him, she supposed. She extended a hand to help him up.

Joshua picked himself up and walked over to his cot and began undressing. Fair enough. She looked back to the boundless blue. It helped to calm her a small amount. Though the overarching fear of what to do next still lingered. Provided there were edible creatures here, she could very much exist here, but would she want to? Moreover, would he want to? His presence was becoming more of a worrisome factor with every passing moment.

The human glanced at her from his makeshift cot, a look of annoyance plastered on his face. So be it.

“Crawling into your coffin?” he said.

The insectoid woman brushed him off and slunk into the crew quarters. She found her original little nook. This was home. The door slid open to reveal her own bed. She crawled in and settled into the comfort of closeness.

She rubbed the short roof above her. Joshua was right, at this point it might as well be a coffin. This would likely be her final resting place. Unless they try the jump again without a clue as to where they were going. Gambling one’s life so soon again didn’t seem smart. The tunnels of fate had brought her along another lonely route. Just with one strange stowaway on her journey.

The insectoid stretched her body and prepared herself for rest. The door on the side slid up, sealing her in total darkness. There wasn’t a scrap of light to be found. Calming and yet worrying at the same time. As she relaxed, she could feel the gentle sway of the ship on the water. Not a bad place to crash at all. It was a new experience. Funny, she had never been on a boat before…

_

The insectoid awoke slowly, flexing all of her extremities. The pops and cricks helped to ease her back into reality. As she snapped her horns back into place, a gentle bobbing motion washed over her. The events of the previous day, or night, or whatever it was, came careening back into her thoughts. They were still afloat, then. The creature above hadn’t done anything to harm the ship. Not that she knew of, yet.

She placed her hand on the side of her container. It slid open and she stretched out into the humid air. The ship must’ve cracked a small amount to allow that warm atmosphere in. If they were going to go anywhere, that would have to be rectified. The hiss of water caught her attention, which promptly came to a stop. She rounded a corner to see Joshua finishing his grooming, zipped up fresh in his aged clothes.

Joshua paused. “Yeah? What is it?”

She froze. His eyes must have adjusted to the light. “Only checking on the source of the noise. I had feared a crack in the hull at first.”

“No. I did a clean sweep. We’re fine.”

Perhaps he was trying to make up for his previous faults. Admirable. She nodded and slipped back around the corner to give him that much needed privacy. The bridge needed inspecting next, so she climbed upward into it. The bright sun still hung overhead, bathing both the bridge and the sea outside in an intense light. She walked up to the viewport. Endless bright blues entwining with one another, mixing in the haze of waves. It was relaxing, yet worrisome. A vast sea of nothing. Almost a reflection of her own personal limbo.

Joshua was up not long after, squinting in the sunlight.

“So that’s it? There’s nothing else, is there?” he said. “I always thought hell would be a little more red.”

Their own personal torment. Hell. What she knew of hell wasn’t like this at all. Endless fiery pits among evil caretakers bent on tormenting souls. This was serene by comparison.

“You believe us to be dead, then,” she said.

“We are here, aren’t we? What are we going to do here? Die of boredom?”

She looked to his expression, studying it closely. There was sarcasm in that. Disappointment. He didn’t truly believe in his own words, but he certainly loathed this place all the same.

“Then would you like to attempt another jump?” she asked.

His expression crinkled ever so slightly.

“No.”

There we are. He didn’t believe potential death was preferable to this. It wasn’t. Descending into the depths of nonexistence did not beat out the serenity of infinity.

“But we are stuck, aren’t we?” he asked.

“The pinpointer--”

“I know. The pinpointer. Don’t tell me about the pinpointer.”

“I did not mean that as an attack on your emotional state. I simply cannot cobble together another working device.”

“Don’t you know everything? Isn’t that what you said? You learn all you’re supposed to?”

“I repair, I do not create. Unless we chance another fade into the stars, we will remain on this planetoid.”

“Alright, fine. Whatever.” He looked out into the ocean, his eye scanning for anything on the horizon. She could see it, all of the muscles in there, squirming and shifting. Hope glimmered inside him. Joshua turned and moved to the airlock.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“Outside. It’s not solid land but it beats this place.”

The door closed behind him with a quiet thunk. She looked to the outside again, then back at the metallic floor under her feet. The ship was silent.

There was valuable research outside. That was your purpose.

She stepped into the airlock. Her hand hovered over the controls. A quick glance back confirmed everything was still fine. She pressed the button and braced herself. The door slid open with a hiss. Briny seawater air settled in her body, at first it was almost clogging, but it eased on her nerves and the wind blew the sensation away.

Joshua didn’t glance back. He was standing at the far edge of her ship, looking outward at the sea. All around was that same sea of blues. She moved up to his side.

“What do they call you, anyways?” he asked.

“My name,” she said.

“Yes, your name. Does everything have to be little quirks with you?” His body tensed, then settled back down. Joshua muttered something.

“I don’t have a vocalized one.”

Joshua shook his head. “I don’t know how you guys get anything done if you don’t even have names. Will Tyra do?”

“If that is required by you, then so be it.”

Joshua sat down and rubbed his face. This was not what he was expecting from his trip, she could tell. Tyra herself was functioning in a military capacity, she was trained for the scenario, even if she did not do as she was supposed to. He was stuck, flailing without a creed or code to guide him. It was pitiable, perhaps saddening.

“It’s probably a lot more interesting to you, huh? The ocean,” he said.

“How so?” Tyra sat down next to him.

“You can see so many different colors, right? It’s just all seafoam green to me. Like a water desert. There’s nothing out there.”

Tyra’s immediate reaction was to suggest another jump, but she held her mandibles shut. She could not ask to gamble again with his life. Hypocrisy. Where was she when her duty was called? Cowering, seeking that so selfish desire of self-preservation.

“Yes. They are vast, unending swirls of colors shimmering with the many lights of the sky.”

“That would stave off the boredom a little bit.”

Joshua relaxed, his breathing settling into a comfortable heave of his chest. Sitting so closely to him, she could hear the easing of his heart vibrating through.

“Look. I’m sorry I didn’t get that thing.”

“Why do you apologize now?”

“You helped me and I couldn’t help you. That’s all there is to it.”

Far below, waves gently lapped up against the ship.

“I forgive you for that.”

“I don’t need you to forgive me, I just wanted to say it.”

Despite that, he seemed to unwind a small amount. In a way, he was also thanking her for tending to his wounds. Joshua was proud despite all that had happened. That was why humans flourished among the stars. Despite their faults, they pushed through failure with wild abandon. Joshua seemed to be the peak of that.

“I had not asked before. Are you injured?”

“I slept it off.”

Tyra rubbed her mandibles together. “I should thank you for managing that landing.”

“Thank God for that one. I barely had anything to do with it.”

His Abrahamic deity. Indeed, such a feat was astounding for someone who lied about their occupation. With all his mishaps, Tyra began to suspect this was his first time truly traveling from his terrestrial home. How he ended up in her still mausoleum was a mystery. A tunnel of fate linking the two together. Or perhaps an act of “God.”