No One Can Hear You Train

By Cassandra Morphy

After escaping the pirates that had captured them, Dor and her friends crash land in the badlands of New Triton. But even with their emergency beacon running, no one seemed ready or willing to help them. The politics of the oncoming war has followed them from the space station. Even those that don't know about the war could feel it in the wind of the Terran Alliance. The only way for the group to be rescued was for them to take the dangerous trek across the inhospitable desert, hoping to make it to the terraformed section of the colony.

Once saved from their destroyed ship, Dor, Derryl, and Worse resume their original plans, heading to Earth for basic training. Dor's wife, Kenya, had arrived ahead of them, greeting her like the old friend that she was. Only everything isn't the same between them. Not after that kiss. Not after the time apart. Not with Kenya flourishing in training, and Dor falling behind. But at least Dor isn't alone in failing. At least, not at first.

But not everything at basic training is on the level. Something is happening in the shadows. A mystery that Dor can't quite figure out. But not for lack of trying. Besides, in space, no one can hear you train.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cassandra Morphy
• Release date: Sep 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005666668

Cassandra Morphy

Cassandra Morphy is a Business Data Analyst, working with numbers by day, but words by night. She grew up escaping the world, into the other realities of books, TV shows, and movies, and now she writes about those same worlds. Her only hope in life is to reach one person with her work, the way so many others had reached her. As a TV addict and avid movie goer, her entire life is just one big research project, focused on generating innovative ideas for worlds that don’t exist anywhere other than in her sick, twisted mind.

Book preview

Chapter One

The Sick Was Everywhere

The sick was everywhere. It was in my hair. All along my back. Soaked into my socks. It was sticking to my face. My hands were coated in it. It was all I could smell, and the smell alone was enough to cause more of it to come up. Just thinking about it was enough to cause more to come up. And, as I lay there on the floor, it was all I could think about.

Oh, my lord, I said. My hand was pressed against my mouth, trying to keep more of it in, but that only made it worse.

Because it was on my hand.

Sorry, Worse said, as he let up another round. That just caused an echo, a choir, among the other mages where they were huddled in the back of the small craft.

At least we're out of FTL, Derryl said. They should be getting better, right?

Derryl was the only person standing in the back of the craft. He had held onto the shelf over his head to stabilize himself there during the crash. The mages were all hunched down against one another, looking like so many dead bodies. They were supporting each other as best they could against wave after wave of sick coming out of them. FTL sickness always hit the mages more than everyone else. It wouldn't be so bad, if not for the fact that mages made FTL possible.

Sure, Cheryl said. If we can crack a window.

I wouldn't advise it, Tisha said. I'm not liking these atmospheric readings.

Cheryl and Tisha were both sitting in the cockpit, with Cheryl behind the stick and Tisha running engineering. The twin sisters were the only ones to have avoided getting hit by the sick. But as they peeked out at the back of the craft, their heads poking out through the doorway over my head, they both were starting to look a little green around the gills themselves. I imagined that they, too, would succumb to it soon enough.

I reached my hand up to the doorframe that led to the small cockpit in front of me. My hands were too slick with the sick to give me a proper handhold, so it took some doing to get back up onto my feet. I had fallen during the crash, landing in the almost centimeter deep pool that was collecting on the floor. What made it worse was the slight slope towards the front of the ship, due to us crashing at an angle. The flooring on the craft's transport bay was a solid metal, with no drains available to direct the sick through. It would be there until the craft could get a good washing. That wasn't going to be happening where we were.

Did we crash on the wrong planet? Worse asked. He was sitting off in the front corner of the cargo bay, leaning back against the wall as he tried to control the sick still coming up from him. He was the only one of the mages that I knew the name of. The rest were just nameless faces that we rescued from the delnadians as we escaped from the space station.

No, this is the right planet, Cheryl said. New Triton. The coordinates match and everything. I'm just not sure where we crashed.

You said that we buzzed past the colony a couple of millies before we crashed, I said. That means that we're in the badlands.

Well, whose idea was it to crash in the badlands? one of the mages asked.

I think the idea was to land properly, in the colony, I said.

No, the idea was to dock with the space station in orbit, Cheryl said. New Triton has a space elevator like most normal planets these days.

Most normal planets that have been colonized, Tisha amended.

When I finally settled on my feet, the gravity of the planet seemed lower than alliance standard. It felt familiar, comfortable, a reminder of New Kansas. That was the planet that I had grown up on once my parents had retired from the fleet. It was where I met my... wife, Kenya. It was still difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I was married, to my best friend, Kenya. She was out there, somewhere, probably on her way to Earth to start training.

Is the beacon still running? I asked.

I looked around the small cockpit, trying to see the indicator light for it, lost among all the dials and displays on the consoles. The words were all in Delnadian, the native language of the alien race and people of the same name. Though the twins, Derryl, and I all spoke and read Delnadian, I was newer at the language than the rest. It still took me some time reading the displays before Tisha pointed it out to me.

Well, the indicator is on, she said, as she pointed at it. Whether or not that means we're broadcasting something is another story. Worse than that, I have no idea how far it's going or if anyone is receiving it.

What about your implant? Cheryl asked. She pointed at the implant on my left wrist, the small device that was surgically implanted there before I could remember.

It doesn't receive beacon transmissions, I said, figuring that was what she meant. Still, I looked towards my implant, even pulling up the full display along my arm, as I checked for an active connection. I wasn't surprised to find none. Just wifi. We're too far out from the colony for me to get anything.

So, Derryl said, drawing my attention back to him. Either we sit tight and hope that they're receiving our signal, or someone has to go out there.

Well, there are three problems with that suggestion, I said.

I turned around to look at him and the rest of the people stuck in the back of the small craft. Not much of the light from the cockpit filtered through to the back, and the lights back there had shorted out during the crash. I could just make out Derryl's face against the far wall.

Once properly situated, and relatively certain I wasn't about to fall on my butt again, I put three fingers up in the air to tick off the points. As I did so, a large glob of sick flicked out over the heads of the mages that were lying prone on the floor. More threatened to come out of me at the very sight of that glob.

One, we don't have a suit, I said, as I ticked one of the fingers down. And last I checked, none of us was capable of surviving in the badlands of a planet without one.

Very true, Cheryl said.

Well, if someone had suggested that we bring a suit along, I would have, Tisha said.

Two, even if we had a suit, we'd need to vent the back of the pod in order to open the doors. There's no other airlock, and we have about ten or so more people in here than will fit in the cockpit.

The bridge, Tisha said, ever defensive of the small craft. But, yes, The Last Resort was not designed to have this many passengers.

And three, even if someone could get outside without killing everyone else, and actually survive being outside by being in a suit, we have no idea which way the colony is from here. I think it was back that way. I pointed towards the back of the craft, towards the rear hatch. But it could be over there, or over there, or the craft could have turned as it was crashing, in which case it could be that way. And even if we did know which way to go, the badlands can sometimes be difficult to navigate. If it's filled with canyons or mountains, they'd require the person to walk around them. Without a map or compass or GPS, we could get lost very easily out there.

Not to mention the fact that we flew over the colony a couple of millies before we crashed, Cheryl said. Actually, that's a better third point, because I do have some charts of the planet. We didn't lose trajectory as we crashed, and the colony is back that way. But it's about thirty kilometers away. Not exactly an easy hike.

That's not that bad, Derryl said. I've done that. It's about two or three diddies of walking.

With no food or water, Cheryl said.

Flat ground? Derryl asked, as if that was the only consideration.

Mostly, Cheryl said.

But don't forget the other two points, I said, flicking up those fingers again.

Which are both very much valid, Tisha said. Plus, if anyone is going to go, it's going to be Dor.

Right, I said. Wait, why me?

Because of your implant, Tisha said, pointing to my wrist. You'd be able to connect to the colony much sooner than we could get to it, if any of us went.

Yes, but you all still have your boots, I said, pointing to my feet and the socks that covered them.

And the sick that they had absorbed.

Most suits have their own boots, Tisha said.

So, let's see if we can find a suit, Worse said. Mayo, do we have any mana left over in the reactor? Maybe we can use that to get you outside without killing the rest of us.

It's on the line, said the mage next to me. He was still hunched down, trying not to vomit again, but he had been the mage running the reactor during our trip from the station. He would have been the one to know. It was a bit hard to tell, but we might have enough for a good spell.

Not a teleport, obviously, another of the mages said from the mass assembled on the floor. We don't have a target in mind.

What about outside the ship? Derryl asked. I bristled at his use of the term ship to describe The Last Resort. It was really more of a pod.

There's no mana outside, I said, knowing the answer without needing the mages to supply it. Teleports only work from mana rich environment to mana rich environment.

Not exactly, Mayo said. I could get a teleport out of here. But yes. I'd need a mana rich environment to land you in. There might be one in the colony, like in the mana factories. But I have no idea where those are, and I've never been there.

I think the best option is an airlock spell, Worse said. Zinc, that would be you, bud.

Oh, great, someone grumbled from the floor. Can you bring the reactor down to me at least?

We're not seriously considering this, are we? I asked. A million things could go wrong. I mean, it's magic. What if you run out of mana before I get out there?

Don't worry, Cheryl said. She placed her hand on my arm, but immediately took it back when she felt the sick soaked into my sleeve. We don't have a suit. Without a suit, it won't work anyway. Let them fiddle around with what's left of the mana. The ship is in no shape to go anywhere, anyway.

Meanwhile, we'll see if we can do some stuff with science, Tisha said. The same thing that's gotten us several hundred colony worlds and helped us explore half the galaxy. Magic is little more than a power source to get science over the hump.

Except maybe we need that power source, I said. Can we somehow boost the signal or something?

No need, Tisha said. The beacon was designed to cover half a light day. As long as it's going out there, the colony should be receiving it. We should just sit tight and wait for them to get here.

Yeah, I said, knowing full well that waiting wasn't my strong suit. The only reason why I had fallen in with the twins and Derryl, the only reason why I was on The Last Resort to begin with, was because I didn't just wait.

When the delnadians had captured my group, heading for fleet training on Earth, I had opted to join the translator corps. Working for the delnadians on the off chance that it would lead me to rescue the others and escape the space station. While we did eventually escape, it was after everyone else was already ransomed out by the fleet. But the translators weren't eligible for release.

Any chance they're on their way already? I asked. Can we tell?

Long range sensors are out, Tisha said. She pointed to one of her displays, but I couldn't see it around her. We'll know when they're two kilometers out, but anything further and we're sitting blind.

How long do we have on life support? Cheryl asked. Should I be switching off systems?

The main batteries are fully charged, Tisha said. No power leaks. We can stay here for weeks if needed. Except...

Except, we have no food and water, I said. No bathroom either, though with the mess that the mages had made of the floor, I don't think that matters much.

Oh, ew, Cheryl said. She looked back towards the aft part of the craft. She obviously had no intention of joining us back there in the sick.

It really does reek in here, Tisha said. We were just being nice about it and not bringing it up.

I need to shower for a week, I said.

I motioned to my Delnadian issued uniform, which just resulted in another glob being flicked over into the cockpit. It hit the display screen behind them instead of one of the instrument panels. Fortunately, the glass of the screen was designed to take an impact, like crash landing into a planet. The display was covered with the dirt and rocks that the ship had dug up as it careened into the desert of the badlands.

Look, we just need to be patient, Cheryl said. We crashed barely five millies ago. I say we don't start worrying until a half diddy has passed. Oh, you know, who was that girl in high school?

Jenny Jefferson? Tisha asked.

Yes, Jenny Jefferson, Cheryl said, laughing at the memory. Jenny Jefferson got herself stranded out in the badlands on New Terra on a dare. It took them two days to get out to her to rescue her because she got herself stuck in a ditch like a hundred kilometers out.

No, it was a hundred fifty and she crashed into a mountain. Rockslide and everything.

Right, right. Anyway, she's fine. She made it back. Her dad bought her a new car. She even made it to graduation the next day. This ship is twice the craft as that car.

Yeah, and New Terra is ten times the planet as New Triton, I said. Not all of us grew up on a core world. That's like, what? Thirty lightyears from Earth? The fifth colony?

Eighth, both of the twins said, in unison.

At least we crashed on New Triton instead of First Chapel, Derryl called out from the rear of the craft. We'd be on our own on First Chapel. Speaking of which, I did find a suit. Not sure if it still works or how the air supply is.

I looked back at him, standing by the rear hatch. He was pulling the suit out of a compartment in the wall right near the back, right by where I had pulled the pole out of. The suit was a dark green, matching the skin tone of the delnadians, indicating that it was a Delnadian space suit. While the delnadians were similarly shaped to humans, two arms, two legs, head on top, they were considerably bigger and needed an equal mix of oxygen and nitrogen to breathe. The suit would probably work for me, but it would be twice as big as I'd need it to be and would be filling up with excess nitrogen the entire trip.

Why don't we hold off on that for now, I said, not liking the thought of going out there if I didn't have to. Tisha is right. We can afford to wait a half diddy.

Aw, came a call of disappointment from the mass of mages clustered there.

Oh, good, Zinc said, from the cavity he was stuck in. I'm going to go back to throwing up now.

The mana will hold in the reactor until we need it, right Mayo? I asked.

Sure, sure, he said, sounding as disappointed as the others.

Good. We have time. While I'm not as good of a long-distance walker as you, and that suit is going to bog me down the entire trip, I only need to cover about twenty-two kilometers. Eight kilometers out from the terraformers and I'll be within range of the wifi. Even with the heavy suit, I could do it in, say, three diddies? The life support will cover you until then. The smell will keep your hunger away. And the return trip for the rescue team would be a half diddy, right? How long till sunset?

Uh, Cheryl mumbled, as she turned back to her display. She hit a few buttons here and there, pulling the navigation system back up. We're... It's a little after noon here. Uh... Two diddies?

Which means you'll be doing half the trip in the dark, Derryl said. All the more reason to head out now.

No, that's reason to stay the night, I said. I could make it all the way in the daylight if I wait till tomorrow. Besides, doesn't that suit have lights on it?

Derryl fumbled around with the suit a bit, hitting the buttons along the control panel on the belt. The third button he pressed lit up the lights mounted on the helmet. They shined out into the back of the ship, brightening the dismal view back there. It was not a pretty picture, and Derryl shut the lights off right afterwards.

Yup, he said.

Chapter Two

Suiting Up

Since I would have to deal with the bulky suit, and would need to get familiar with the controls, I spent the half diddy getting dressed in the suit. While I had to bring the sick coated uniform inside the suit with me, it was immediately a relief to no longer be standing in the pool of it on the floor. I wanted to take off my sick drenched socks, but the boots were far too big on me already. The thicker than usual socks gave me at least some padding as my feet swam around in there. As I settled into the suit, I tried not to think of the fact that the sick would collect at the bottom of the suit as it slowly dripped off of me. I was just swapping one pool for another.

So, Dor, Derryl said, as he started helping me into the suit. The suit was clumped in a pile at my feet, and it was much heavier than it looked.

So, Derryl, I said. I smiled at him, teasing him a little. We were both linguists, each of us knowing several languages, even beyond English and Delnadian. And yet, Derryl seemed completely speechless, standing there next to me.

Derryl glanced over at the mages clustered next to us. They had shifted around a little, trying to get into more comfortable positions, as they started to get over their FTL sickness. Still, the area back there was not designed for so many people. There was barely enough room for us to use, let alone for us to go unheard. When he looked back at me, he slipped into Mandarin, a language that we both spoke, though I doubted anyone else there did.

About what happened on the space station, he said.

A lot happened on the space station. I reached down again, trying to find somewhere on the suit to grab onto. Laying there on the floor, it seemed to clump up in a way that it wasn't designed to. Much like when you tried to pull a dress on over your head when it had been in a ball on the floor. It just gets tangled up and you can get lost along the way to the collar.

I mean, between us, he said. The whole... Well... I mean, I like you.

I like you, too, I said. Otherwise, you'd be left behind with One, Four, and Five. We're all friends here.

No, I mean... I mean I like you. Like... Well... I mean...

I know what you mean, I said, smiling. But as I turned back to Derryl, the suit slipped out of my grip, falling back down into the clump. Can you help me out here?

Oh, sure.

Seriously, I do... have feelings... But... Well, we're both married, right?

Um... right... We are.

So, what happens on Space Station Delnadia stays on Space Station Delnadia, right?

R-r-right.

Good, I said. I tried to slip my hand through the top of the suit, into the sleeves inside. They got lost along the way as Derryl pulled the rest of the suit up, and I ended up slipping past the holes. With the whole suit standing there, my head dipped down past the collar. All I could see was the darkness of the inside of the suit.

I just don't see why... Derryl started. When he noticed my predicament, he pulled the suit back down towards my waist, holding it there for a moment. You know what, never mind. I'm sure, once this is all over, I'll meet this wife of yours and we can all get to know each other better.

Sure, I said. I looked around through the collar, but the inside of the suit was as dark and mysterious with it held at my waist as it was when I had my head all the way in. It took me a moment to find where my arms were supposed to go. And I'll probably get to meet your wife at some point as well, right?

Well, she's back on First Chapel, he said. So, probably not.

Wait, you're... You're from First Chapel? Wasn't that one of the planets we could have gone to? Why didn't we go there? You could have gone home, and I could have met your wife and all that.

What do you know about First Chapel? he asked.

Uh... Nothing. What do you know about New Kansas?

Nothing, he said, smiling at me. I guess you have a point. Let's just say that they were ill equipped to get us out of a situation like this one.

So, you were expecting us to crash land in the badlands?

No, but it's a good thing we didn't go to First Chapel, seeing as how we did. Then again, it's not like we know anything about New Triton either. Maybe that's why we haven't been rescued yet.

It's still early, I said. I glanced at the implant on my wrist, trying to check the time. But I had gotten my arm down one of the sleeves at that point. Of course, as I moved to look at the implant, my arm ended up slipping right back out of the sleeve. Damn it.

Here, let me help, Worse said.

His voice, already so close at hand, made me jump in the suit. Derryl lost his grip on the suit and the whole thing crumpled back into the pile it had been in to start with. My mind rapidly cycled through everything that we had been discussing, trying to make sure that he hadn't heard anything he shouldn't have. It took me a moment to remember that we had been talking in Mandarin.

Sure, Derryl said, dipping back into English. You hold the arms out and I'll pull up the rest of the suit.

Hold on a moment, I said. I even raised a finger at them, blocking their movements towards the suit. Once I get this suit on, I'm not going to be taking it off again. I'd better set up the email before we try again.

Email? Derryl asked.

Yeah, how else am I going to get in touch with the colony? Hopefully, I won't have to get all the way back there, only to have to turn around and come back to you guys. I'll set it up to send out as soon as I'm connected to the local wifi. I'll even have my implant buzz when it goes out, and when I get a response. That way, I'll know when I get close enough without needing to pull my arm out. It's going to be too awkward trying to look at it while in the suit. I could probably still manage it if I needed to, but I'd prefer not to try it.

And, what? You have the email address of someone in the colony? Derryl asked.

Sure. New dot Triton at alliance dot com. It'll go straight to the mayor's office, or whatever these people have in place of one. I'm not sure what kind of response time they have on the address, but every colony has the generic one.

You spelled Triton wrong, Worse said, pointing at the display over my shoulder. T-o-n.

Oh, right, thanks. That would have been good. Getting all the way there only to have the response be a bounced email.

No, I think one of the newer colonies is called New Tridon. You'd just have the wrong rescue team heading out to the wrong location on the wrong planet.

Yeah, don't do that, Cheryl called out from the front of the craft. I looked over at her, wondering if either of the twins understood Mandarin. Best put in the full set of coordinates.

Cheryl listed off the full, galactic coordinates of our crash location. I typed it up carefully, repeating it several times to make sure that I had it in right, before setting up the email to send out. I even checked it again in the outbox, just to be sure that it was saved right, with all the proper notifications and the right delivery address. Despite what Worse had suggested, even if I sent it to the wrong planet, there was no guarantee that it would get through the ansible, over to the other planet, redirected back to New Triton through the ansible again, to the mayor's office there in anything that might be considered a timely manner. I sometimes got emails through the ansible weeks after they were originally sent. It was all about the type of email account you had. More premium accounts had a higher priority for the limited bandwidth of the instantaneous communication system.

Alright, that's set, I said. Get me into this thing.

It's still early, Cheryl said. You have another twenty millies before the half diddy is up.

Yeah, but they've been trying to get her into it for twenty millies already, Tisha said. All the while flirting with each other.

I couldn't help but blush as I stared at them, wide eyed. I knew they spoke Delnadian, but what other languages did they speak? Were they just listening in the whole time? Would they tell Kenya when we got back to civilization? Or worse, the fleet? The fleet was the whole reason why Kenya and I got married, as a way of keeping us together.

Even without knowing what you guys are saying, it's obvious you're into each other, Tisha said.

Tisha, I said, desperately trying to get her to shut up. Tisha and Cheryl might not be heading for the fleet after we were rescued, but Worse certainly was. As were many of the mages in there.

Less arguing and more getting you in this stupid thing, Worse said. He didn't say anything about the flirting accusations, as he and Derryl fumbled around with the suit, trying to line it up with the rest of my body. I would have to take some time on the trip over to Earth to speak to him. To try to convince him that nothing was happening between Derryl and I.

And nothing was happening. Kenya and I had agreed that we wouldn't date other people. There were too many things that could go wrong. We still didn't know what would happen if the fleet found out that we weren't really together. We knew that they wouldn't keep us together, though. When we got our assignments after training, we'd never see each other again. That just wouldn't do. We had wanted to explore the galaxy, the universe, together. It wouldn't be the same without my best friend right beside me. In a way, in a very platonic way, we really were married. And, also, legally, as was required by the fleet.

No, your arm goes there, Derryl said. I was too lost in thought to pay attention to what I was doing. My arm missed the hole again, only this time it got caught on something else along the inside of the suit. As the two men started pulling the suit up higher, my arm got twisted and pulled back.

Ow, ow, ow, no. Not there, I said. Down.

On the next go, I managed to get both arms into the holes, stretching out to halfway down the sleeves. That was as far as they would go. Derryl had to hold the suit up, just over my head, as Worse pushed the sleeves the rest of the way up, one at a time. Once my hands reached the gloves, I clenched my fists, hoping that would be enough to hold them in place. I wasn't going to be able to use either of them once I got outside the pod.

Wouldn't it be funny if you got that thing on her just in time for someone to rescue us? Mayo asked.

No, it wouldn't be, Derryl grunted, as he pulled the suit back down again.

Actually, it would be pretty funny, I said, as my head popped back out of the collar. I couldn't help but smile at the thought. At the idea that I wouldn't need to lug the heavy thing across the desert of the badlands.

The suit finally settled there, with the shoulders landing on my shoulders. As long as I didn't let go of the gloves, the heavy thing would stay in place. Looking down at my hands, I noticed that the fingers of the gloves were folded over, falling deflated out of my fists. I felt like a child, wearing my mother's Sunday best around the living room. But it was looking like I'd be heading out, into a lifeless world, trying to walk twenty-two kilometers in what amounted to a tank. A small mobile life support system. And it was heavy, even without the helmet in place.

How do I look? I asked.

Of course, you would think of your looks at a time like this, Zinc mumbled. He was looking better, not nearly as green as he had before, but he was still sitting on the floor near us. No one had cracked open the reactor just yet. If there was enough mana in there for a spell, they wouldn't want to waste it.

I meant does the suit look like it's going to fall apart if I sneeze wrong, I said, glaring over at the man. I'm not as vain as you seem to think.

Yeah, that's Kenya, Worse said.

Hey, I said, suddenly getting defensive of my wife. She's not that vain either. She'd just want to put some accents in place. Maybe wrap a belt around the sleeve. Belts might actually help me keep them in place. So, yes, I do wish that she were here to help me. Instead, I'm surrounded by you mages.

What do you have against mages? Mayo asked, glaring at me.

Nothing, in general, I said, trying to walk it back. I knew that they would be casting some spell in the next few millies, and I didn't want them messing up and accidentally disintegrating me or something. My mom is a mage. I'm just talking about this group specifically, as all that you have been doing this whole time is sitting there, watching me struggle to get this suit on, and tease me about my looks.

It's probably about time for her to head out, right? Derryl asked.

Yeah, you might as well help her get her helmet on, Cheryl said. Still nothing on the sensors.

And it doesn't look like she'll be able to get the helmet on herself, Tisha added.

What are the chances that you'll get the pod up and running again? I asked, as Derryl lifted the heavy helmet off the floor. If the colony isn't equipped to handle the rescue.

I can't really tell from in here, Tisha said. They'll have suits at least. If you can't get enough for the group--

Thirteen, Mayo said.

Fourteen, Tisha said. She'd need one that fits for herself, too. Get four at least, though. And a cart or something to bring them back on, so you're not carrying them the whole way. The ship can recharge your air once you get back. I'll be able to get changed and head out to check the damage.

You'll need a portable airlock, too, Cheryl said. I don't want us to have to rely on the mages for that. No offense.

No, that's smart, Mayo said. If we have enough mana at all, we'll only get one shot at this.

His voice cut out after that, as the helmet was locked into place. It took a moment for the suit to check the seal. Air flushed out into the suit, inflating it. The gloves threatened to pull out of my grip, but I held on as tight as I could. Once the suit was inflated, it gave off three beeping sounds before going silent once more. Then I could hear what people were saying in the craft again.

--want to, Zinc whined. I still feel like I'm going to throw up if I move.

No wonder why they had you separated from the rest of the hostages, Derryl said. Here, Worse. Help me drag this guy over to the reactor.

Derryl and Worse made their way through the mob of mages, leaving me alone back at the aft door to the craft. I moved around a little, experimentally, trying to see just how difficult it was going to be walking through the desert in that suit. It wasn't easy, even moving the few centimeters that I had available to me back there. But I managed to make it to the door itself, leaving almost a half meter between me and the mages. As I waited for them to get whatever they were doing in place, I stood there, trying not to lean against the wall, or really move much at all. That was when my nose started to itch.

So, now what? Derryl asked. I looked over at the four of them, standing against the far wall. Or, well, Mayo, Derryl, and Worse were standing there. Zinc refused to stand up. Derryl and Worse were still carrying the guy. Do we open it up?

Sure, if you want the mana to just escape without us being able to use it, Mayo said. Zinc, just touch the reactor. Pull the mana out like you're running the reactor, but hold it in your hand instead of pushing it back in. You should be able to pull enough out to run the spell. Overcompensate if you need to. It's not like we need the mana for anything at this point.

Unless we need to use The Last Resort to leave the system, Tisha said. Then we might need as much mana as we can get.

We already don't have enough, Mayo said. If we can't find a gas station, we're stuck no matter what.

Okay, Zinc said.

He held onto Derryl with his left hand as he reached up to the reactor with his right. It was still up on the small shelf along the back wall, right next to the jury rigged FTL drive that Tisha had managed to cobble together from old parts in the basement of the station. The reactor seemed to glow a little as he drew the mana out. Or, maybe, that was just in my head.

Now, what? What am I doing with it?

Just erect an air wall between us and Dor over there, Mayo said. He gestured over at me.

I had seen Mom work some magic over the years. As a child, she'd often create some shifting water sculptures in our berth, back on The Hord, before my parents retired to New Kansas. Even after, she'd have Dad get some mana so she could do magic cooking, but she'd end up using it to clean the house as well. So, I was no stranger to spellwork. Still, it was weird, watching some kind of bubble form around the mages. It looked like a giant soap bubble, distorting my view of the others as I was slowly cut off from them. I imagined that it would just pop if I so much as touched it. But, as it was our only attempt at the spell, I was smart enough not to try.

We should be good, Zinc said. You're good to open the hatch.

The ground we flew over was pretty flat, Cheryl said. Just line up with the aft door and walk straight. You should be able to see the lights from the terraformers once night falls. And remember, once you hit fifteen kilometers out, you're closer to the colony than the ship. It would be better to just keep going.

In fact, you should just keep going anyway, Tisha said. We can't open the door again without killing everyone in here. If you get into trouble, you're probably already dead.

On that happy note, the aft door let out three loud clunks as the seals broke. It groaned as the door shifted to the left, merging with the wall that was over there. All Delnadian doors opened that way, some weird trick of their technology that no one has ever been able to figure out. Much like the rest of their technology.

As the door opened wide, I looked out into the desert of the badlands. Looking out into my future.

Chapter Three

A Trip Across the Desert

When we first boarded the ship, there was a ramp leading up to the door. However, that ramp doubled as the back wall of the ship. So, as I emerged from the back door, there was a large drop between me and the hard ground of the badlands. I lost my step as I descended from the door. My hand automatically reached out, grabbing onto the doorframe. In the process, I lost my grip on the glove, and the sleeve sprung out once more. I ended up face planting into the desert at the bottom of the craft.

Damn it, I said, once I landed.

The one benefit of having the helmet on, other than not dying to the natural atmosphere of the planet, was that I didn't get a mouth full of sand in the process. Instead, I was able to pull myself up, dust myself off, and start straightening the suit once more. My left sleeve swung around at the end of my hand as I did so.

My first thought was to use my right hand to straighten my left sleeve. Fortunately, I remembered not to do that. I'd only end up worse off, with both sleeves slinking down past my waist. Instead, I tried to use the back of the craft as something of a table, sticking the glove against the surface and stretching my hand through the sleeve. It took a few tries before I managed it, but I got my hand all the way through the glove. Not into the glove, mind you, but close enough that I was able to grab hold of it. That was enough to keep the suit from falling over on me.

Everything alright out there? Tisha's voice came through my helmet. I looked around me for a moment, surprised to hear her so close at hand. I almost expected to see her standing next to me. Then I realized that the helmet must have a radio connected to it, one that could talk to the craft. Maybe I wouldn't feel so alone as I headed through the desert.

Sure, I said, once I got over the initial surprise of hearing my friend in my ear. Just a bit of a disagreement with the door. I'm all sorted now.

Remember to square off with the door, Tisha said. Don't want you wandering off into the desert.

At least not without a horse with no name, Derryl said.

What? I asked, a sentiment that was echoed by the twins.

Never mind.

I just smiled at him, through the radio, though he obviously wouldn't have known. With the suit as squared away as I was going to get it by myself, I turned back around towards the desert of the badlands. I even pressed my back against the aft of the ship, making sure that I was as squared off as I could before heading out.

The badlands weren't as bad as I had been expecting. The area around the crash site was only slightly littered by debris that had been brought up by the impact, a few rocks laying out in the middle of the open field. In a few days, they would probably be as flat and even as the rest of the area. Other than the rocks, there weren't many features to the area. No hills and valleys. No dips or