Thread: The Darkness of Space (QueenChaos & JuniorWizard)

Jade just sat in the chair for several long moments, shaking and gasping for breath, breathing deep. What the hell? She thought as she looked around, trying to out what had just happened. It had all been a blur one minute she was sat in the shuttle, the next the lights were off and before she knew it she was free falling, screaming. As she struggled to get out of the chair her throat felt raw from screaming on the way down, the slightest cough seeming to set it on fire. She grunted, clamping her teeth together as she struggled with the belt keeping her strapped into the seat. Finally it came free and she staggered from the seat, falling to her knees. After climbing to her feet she looked around with an overwhelming sense unease. She shivered as the wind brushed over her exposed, flat stomach, while the sinister black tree-like spires towered over her. Jade was a field engineer and as such she was used to having lots of tech at her disposal. Lots of tech that remained with the crashed ship, of which there was no sign. Guys! She shouted. Tessa! She wandered around in a small radius, shouting for her team mates, with no reply. The wrist mounted multi-tool she always wore was of little help, flickering on and off, but the old fashioned compass she had mounted to it still worked fine, giving her an indication of which way she had to go to get to the outpost. East, through the cliffs. Jade quickly assessed her options in the diminishing day light, the feeling of unease forming a pit in her stomach. Well shit! She swore loudly. Lara looked around in despair at the seemingly desolate swamp as dirty, murky water dripped her every bit of her. He clothes were soaked, her hair drenched. At least her rifle still worked, being water proof and fairly resistant to damage. She held it in both hands as she shivered, trying not to think about all the diseases that no doubt thrived in the dirty water. The sky was already growing dark and there seemed to be something sinister about the silence of the swamp, the only noise being the rustling of branches and leaves in the wind. Having grown up around similar habitats on Earth, she was used to the sounds of animals or creatures that lived there. As the sky began to darken she checked her compass, which was cracked during her landing but still worked. She tried her flashlight and swore when it didn't work, before limping off in an eastwards direction, her body bruised and battered as she looked for somewhere to take shelter. It was dark by the time Jade had finally managed to get a fire going in the entrance to one of the caves. After scanning her environment they seemed to be her best option and she had made directly for them, picking up dry leaves and scattered wood for a fire. It had been difficult work at first, trying to light it. She wasn't at all prepared or trained for surviving n the wild, so it was a miracle that she managed to light it at all. The crackling fire was of little comfort however, as she watched the flickering, dancing shadows fearfully, her mind racing with the horror stories she'd heard about wild frontier planets. The young field engineer had been born and raised as a spacer, living on various ships with her family. The only time she'd been on planets was when they were restocking in the huge, crime ridden metropolises of Earth and similar worlds. Leaning against the wall and shivering as she tried to get as much heat from the fire, her handgun was always within reach as she looked from the sinister trees outside, to the deep shadows of the cave that she feared to explore. Slowly her eyes started to droop and her head nodded several times as sleep began to sneak up on her. Meanwhile Tessa lay on her back in the middle of her camp, listening to Lucy's footsteps as she patrolled. Her crew were fairly spread out, sleeping either alone or in pairs, huddled together. Some did so for simple heat preservation. while other did so out of companionship. Tessa was a pretty relaxed captain and allowed fraternisation in her company, so it was no surprise that she could her the rustling of clothes, the unzipping of zippers and the quiet gasps and kisses as certain members of her team tried to make love as quietly as possible. Trying to shut out the sounds as they fueled her own arousal, she rolled onto her side to find Ella sleeping nearby with her back to the captain, so Tessa wrapped her arm around the voluptuous blonde and huddled closer to her, while telling herself it was all for the body heat.