Stranded - Chapter 6

STRANDED

By Vanishingp2000

Email: vanishingp@supawoman.com

Rating PG 13 – English –Adventure/Drama/Friendship

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

*****

Chapter 6.

Trip woke to the sound of water trickling and he let the soothing sound wash over him for a moment before opening his eyes. He could feel the sunlight on his face warming him and the memories of the night’s storm seeped in slowly as his mind began to force him awake. The ground beneath him felt rough and uneven, as though something was sticking into his spine and he rolled over onto his side, opening his eyes slowly, squinting against the sunlight. Jon lay beneath his outstretched arm, still sleeping and beyond him Trip could see the trickling brook that had woken him as it ran down the mountainside, tumbling over rocks and tufted grass. Tufted grass! He sat up abruptly as his mind registered the full impact of where they were. Hellfire, it’s happened again. He thought, how in hell did I miss that?

Thinking back to the night before he recalled the violence of the storm, the almost continual lightning and he supposed that the transporting light must have got mixed up in all of that somehow. It was a sobering thought that he had been so exhausted that he hadn’t realised it at the time. Soberly he took stock. He ached all over, from the blinding headache that he supposed came from being transported again through each of his muscles to his leg. On the bright side his leg wasn’t bleeding and he definitely felt more rested.

Gingerly he stood up and slowly stretched, taking a good look around. The terrain didn’t look familiar. True they were in a rocky valley; about a third of the way up the side of a canyon by the looks of things, but everything was on a much grander scale than they had seen previously. The river that filled the valley floor was a mighty torrent of white water cascading along at a rapid pace, crossing that was NOT going to be an option. Above him the canyon towered towards the sky and he estimated its height at several thousand metres. The other side of the valley was still in shadow as the sun had not yet risen high enough to do more than creep over the rim of the far canyon.

Tucker sat back down frustrated. He was none too sure what to do next, true they had gradually found out a little more about this place but they were no closer to finding a way out and he was becoming increasingly worried about Jon. The captain was a fighter all the way but he had broken his leg, what? Three days ago now and was in dire need of medical attention. Medical attention Trip couldn’t give him. Hell, they’d even run out of analgesics. How far could a man with a broken leg travel without pain relief? He squinted his eyes to look into the distance to see if he could find the edge of the biosphere. Trip was pretty sure they were still in a biosphere, what he wasn’t so sure about was why? What had they done this time to be moved? Were they close to finding an answer again? “Maybe it wasn’t anythin’ to do with us,” he muttered, unaware that he had spoken aloud until Jon replied, lying quietly beside him.

“What wasn’t us?”

“The reason we were moved again,” Trip spoke distractedly turning to check on his friend. Jon was pale and breathing shallowly but looked as determined as ever and his eyes were clear. Tucker put the back of his hand against the captain’s forehead and was relieved to find that his temperature was normal, the conditions were ripe for infection. He was startled to find the captain repeating the gesture with him but smiled with understanding as Archer spoke.

“Just as likely you could pick up an infection as me.”

“I’m fine,” as he spoke Trip was hunting around for the backpack, momentarily fearing that it hadn’t been transported with them when he remembered giving it to Jon as a pillow the night before. Sure enough, it was where he had left it. “Breakfast?” he asked lightly, “food for the mind.”

Archer laughed lightly, struggling to sit up. “We been here before?” he asked, accepting Trip’s help.

“Nope, this is altogether bigger. So this must be at least the third sphere we’ve been in.”

“What did you mean, ‘maybe it wasn’t anything to do with us’? Jon asked.

Tucker pulled a face, squinting up at the sky. “Have you noticed, everytime we’ve been moved the weather has been real bad, at least the first and last time,” he amended. “That time in the desert it did look as though the force field containin’ the sphere was malfunctioning.”

“So?” Archer asked not too sure he was following the engineer’s reasoning.

“So, what if someone is looking out for us, moving us before the conditions become too harsh to survive?”

“It wasn’t too harsh in the caves,” Archer reasoned.

“We don’t know that it wasn’t about to get that way.”

“How does that help us get out of here?”

“Not sure that it does. I still think we need to find the power source, something able to shift a shuttle and maintain the environment in at least three biospheres has to be pretty impressive.”

“Presumably any power source would be outside of a sphere,” Archer surmised.

“Sure,” Tucker shrugged, “at least I would think so. It would have to have been set up before any spheres could have been constructed in the first place, unless they were building in envirosuits but even then they would have needed a source of power.”

“So where would you put one?”

“Underground,” Trip replied promptly and smiled grimly. “Back to square one.”

“Yep, go back to the set up though,” Jon prompted. “You’ve been sent to establish a colony on this planet. After setting up the power source what’s your next move?”

Trip looked reflective for a moment. “Establish the first sphere,” he said slowly and develop the atmosphere in that one before startin’ work on the next and so on, it would take some time for the sphere to become habitable, clear of toxins and such.”

“And how would you build the spheres in relation to each other?”

Tucker shrugged, “I’d keep them separate though probably fed from the same source of power but that’s only because we don’t have any way of maintaining a force field for any length of time as yet.”

“But what would your layout be?”

“Oh, I’d build ‘em with the power source in the centre as far as possible for ease of access.”

Jon was smiling at Trip’s enthusiasm. “Well, as far as I can see we’ve seen enough examples of the biospheres, I don’t much fancy seeing the planet outside of the spheres so that leaves the power source. We need to find our way underground.”

“And we need to do it without tripping any transporter sensors this time,” Trip added. “Any ideas?”

“You see any sign of caves?” Jon asked, scrutinising the sides of the canyon.

Tucker followed suit and after a minute or so offered cautiously. “Maybe,” he pointed up and to his right, “you see that outcrop just past the stream.” When Archer nodded he continued, “look carefully in the shadow beneath it. I think that might be an opening.”

“I think you may be right,” the captain agreed after a close look where Trip was pointing. “I reckon we could make it up there, it’s worth a try.”

Trip looked closely at his friend, gauging his condition. Finally he decided that it was pretty much now or never, if Jon hadn’t the energy or the willpower now after a night’s sleep then he wasn’t going to find it anytime soon. “Right,” he said getting to his feet again, “y’know I thought we were through with climbing for a while.”

Archer shrugged reaching his hand up to Tucker. “Maybe this time.”

Trip didn’t answer at once but examined the rockface with care, it was going to be important to plan their route as much as possible to give them plenty of handholds, even if it meant climbing a bit further. “Wish we had a rope,” he muttered, almost to himself.

“I’ll make it a requirement in emergency packs for the future,” Jon smiled. “Ready?” he asked, “I reckon we should make for this side of the stream and head up that way. Then we won’t have to cross the water until we’re nearly at the overhang where there’s a bit more to hang on to.”

“Looks good,” Tucker agreed, gathering himself for the climb ahead.

***********************************

It took them three hours of determined effort, punctuated by several stops but by mid morning they were almost at the overhang. The sun, by now, was high overhead and beat down mercilessly, making the water of the stream ever more appealing. The water in their water pouches was running low but they had not risked topping up their supplies from the streams for the simple reason that without sensors they couldn’t know whether or not it was safe to drink. As far as Trip was concerned that was one problem they could afford to put off for a while. Crossing the stream, however, was another matter.

Up close it became obvious that the stream was much wider than it had appeared at first. While it would have been a relatively simple matter for either of them to cross it under normal circumstances their weakened state and collection of injuries made for some difficulty. Tucker eased the captain down onto a boulder by the side of the stream. Archer looked haggard and was breathing rapidly, partly from the increased altitude but largely from the pain of his leg. Trip conceded to himself that he probably looked much the same as his friend but he reasoned that he couldn’t be feeling half as bad. He had always been a believer in the power of positive thinking.

The rocks on the bed of the stream were slippery with moss and algae and water flowed rapidly. Clearly there had been recent rain. “They don’t keep the climate very temperate around here do they?” Tucker remarked.

“What do you mean?” Archer asked.

“Well, if I was controlling the environment I think I’d keep the water content a little lower and the temperatures less extreme, that way there’d be fewer storms. Come to that I can’t really figure why they have so many different climate zones anyway.”

“Maybe there was more than one species planning to live here.”

“Perhaps, but either way wouldn’t it have been better to have had a more settled climate?”

Archer nodded, having little energy left for debate, he knew that Trip was trying to keep him talking to keep him alert as much as anything else and he couldn’t blame him. It was hardly sensible to set up camp half way up the side of a canyon under a blazing sun. That didn’t make it any easier to stay awake but it did help him to think about something other than the pain in his leg.

Jon watched as Tucker reached a hand into the water to test the depth. The engineer was pale and drawn but was resolutely checking the rocks in the stream for stability. When he had finished he came over and sat down beside the captain.

“They seem steady enough Capt’n,” he said, “we’ll have to be careful how we go though, they’re a bit slippery. I’ve scraped off as much algae as I can but …” his voice trailed off doubtfully.

“Perhaps we should sit down to cross, we’d soon dry out in the sun,” Archer offered, only half seriously but Tucker was immediately enthusiastic.

“Y’know that may just be the best idea,” he agreed, “at least we wouldn’t have far to fall.” At once he got back to his feet and reached a hand down to Archer. “Come on,” he said, “it’s not far now. Once we’re over the stream we can rest in the cave. You can see the entrance from here.”

Archer looked up in surprise he hadn’t realised they had climbed so far, so intent had he been on not falling over and trying to help Trip as much as possible. He braced himself as Tucker lowered him down by the edge of the stream before easing himself into the water, legs stretched out in front of him, rising slightly as the water rushed past down the slope.

Trip gasped as the cold water seeped into his clothes, it was much colder than he had expected considering how hot the sun was. He glanced up the side of the canyon, there was the reason, the water had come from an underground spring, just a few metres above them. “It’s pretty cold Capt’n,” he warned, “might take your breath away.”

Tucker pulled himself across the stream a little and then reached a hand to support Archer as the captain used his hands to shunt himself into the water, being careful not to jog his leg. He ground his teeth against the cold, Trip hadn’t been kidding. He pushed down with his right foot and gasped as it slipped against the algae but Tucker was there holding onto his arm until he regained his balance. “You alright Capt’n?” he asked, pulling gently to draw them both across to the other side. Archer nodded grimly and they made it the rest of the way without mishap, collapsing gratefully once they were free of the water.

After catching his breath for a minute or two Trip stood up with his back to the sun. They were on a steep slope as the canyon had got progressively steeper the higher they had climbed. To their right, as they faced the cliff, was the overhang they had seen from below and beneath it was the cave entrance they had striven so hard to reach.

For the next twenty minutes or so they relaxed and let the sunshine warm them as it dried their clothes. Archer began to drift off to sleep as he lay still and the constant pain in his leg abated somewhat, he woke as Tucker got slowly to his feet and opened his eyes to see the engineer looking down at him. “Sorry Capt’n,” he said, “but I think we’d better get out of the sun. You’re gonna get burned if you stay there much longer.”

Jon smiled up at his friend and sat up gingerly. Trip had tied his jumpsuit around his waist as the heat began to get to him and was squeezing his undershirt into the pack as he spoke. He put it on his back and reached down to help the captain back to his feet. “We’ll have to be careful along this ridge here,” he indicated the path across to the overhang, “but once we’re in the cave we can rest up for a bit, there’s a fair sized cavern.” At Archer’s questioning look he added, “I had a look while you dozed off.”

As Tucker had said the ridge was perilous, being both narrow and downwards sloping but by shunting themselves sideways they made the crossing without incident and were soon settled in relative comfort in the small cavern. Even within the cave the air was sultry and humid, suggesting that rain was not far away.

Trip reached into the pack for water and protein bars determined to keep up their strength for as long as possible. There was no way of telling how much further they had to go. Enterprise would surely be looking for them by now but unless they could find a way of unblocking the sensors he couldn’t see how they were going to find them. He looked over at the captain. Archer was exhausted and desperately needed to rest, which meant that they needed to stay where they were for the time being. Trip took his undershirt out of the pack and settled Archer down with the shirt as a pillow. “Get some sleep Jon,” he said quietly, “I’ll keep watch.”

Archer barely nodded, his eyes already closing as if pulled down by gravity. Trip watched his friend until he was sure he was asleep and then got slowly to his feet and began to explore the cave while it was still light. He had no intention of going far for fear of becoming separated but there had always been some warning of a transport so he felt secure enough in wandering a few paces away from the slumbering captain.

The walls were covered in places with moss, dark green and red in colour and cold to the touch. Trip examined every surface looking for evidence of anything artificial but by the time it was getting too dark to see he was both frustrated and drooping with fatigue, having found nothing. The captain was still sleeping, muttering incomprehensibly in his sleep from time to time. Tucker had checked on him regularly fearing that he may be developing an infection but his temperature had shown no signs of rising.

Outside the cave the sun had reached its zenith and set quickly, disappearing over the rim of the canyon. With it had gone the heat as the clouds built up and the promised rain arrived with the dusk, fitfully at first but by the time it was fully dark the rain was lashing the sides of the canyon fiercely. Trip shivered, he had long ago pulled up his jumpsuit but didn’t want to wake the captain by taking back his ‘pillow’. In some ways he was grateful, it meant that he would probably be able to stay awake more easily. In the morning, he decided, he would help Archer outside and they would look more closely at the place where the stream exited the mountain. If it came from underground perhaps they could find a way in themselves.

Some hours later Trip jerked awake. He was disorientated for a moment, not sure what had disturbed him. It was still pitch black and he fumbled around feeling for the backpack and the flashlight. He could feel Jon stirring beside him and was grateful for the company.

“Trip?” Archer asked hoarsely, and then added more strongly, “what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, “Tucker admitted, “somethin’ woke me up, I must have dozed off.” He sat up listening intently. The rain was still lashing down outside but the water was only reaching the outer edge of the cave. Behind them though he could hear water too, not the driving sound of the rain as it fell on the rocks outside but a much deeper pounding. “You hear that Capt’n?” he asked.

“Water.”

“Yeah, trouble is I don’t remember hearing it before.” As he spoke Trip found the flashlight and began shining it around the cave behind them, following the sound of the rushing water. It didn’t take long to find. Water was forcing itself through a narrow crevice that Tucker had examined earlier to see if they could get underground that way. When he had last seen it the opening had been far too small but now it was rapidly being widened. The rocks must be very soft.

“We gotta move Capt’n,” Trip said quickly gathering their things together and helping Jon to his feet. “It may be that the water is helping us but we can’t get past it at the moment.”

Swiftly they made their way to the cave entrance. The light from the flashlight made little impression through the driving rain but when Trip swung it behind them the beam picked up a rapidly increasing flood from the crevice which was quickly taking up ever more of the space. Making up his mind he tucked the flashlight into his pocket to keep his hands free and felt for the rocks at the entrance with his left hand. As soon as the rain touched his hand he let out a yell and pushed them backwards into the cave, nearly knocking them to the ground.

“What the……?” he grimaced, shaking his hand to try to ease the stabbing pain. He fumbled for the flashlight with his other hand as Archer looked on concerned.

“Trip?” he asked.

“There must be something in the rain,” Tucker muttered, breathing heavily, “it’s burnin’ my hand.” He leant back against the wall trying to control the shaking in his legs while Archer grabbed the flashlight and quickly brought one of the water pouches out of the backpack.

“Here,” he said, “give me your hand.”

Tucker reached a shaking hand out towards the light and Archer gently poured water from the pouch over it. The engineer’s hand was a mass of blisters and even by the light of the flashlight it looked red. “My God,” Jon mused, “from one little touch.”

Trip closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. “We gotta get movin’ Capt’n,” he managed, “but I don’t think we can go outside.”

“How big is the opening the water is coming through?” Archer asked.

“Getting bigger all the time, but it wasn’t anywhere near big enough for us when I looked before. ‘Sides it’s water.”

“It’s water from underground though, I’d be willing to bet it’s not contaminated. We sat in the stream this afternoon remember.” As he spoke Archer turned the flashlight to illuminate the cave. The beam picked out tiny white horses as the water danced in the light. It was still possible to cross to the far wall of the cave without being swept away, but time was running out.

Tucker followed the beam with his eyes and was ready when the captain turned back to him. He felt shaky but adrenaline was working in his favour and he pushed off the wall to help Archer. With the captain directing the light they managed to negotiate the rushing water and reach the rear wall of the cave. By now the distant pounding had become a roar that threatened to deafen them and they had to shout to make themselves heard. Thankfully Archer’s theory that the water was safe had been proved correct and, although soaked, they received no further burns.

Flattening themselves against the rear wall they could feel the vibrations of the water on the other side as it forced its way through the ever-widening crevice. Taking the flashlight from Archer, Tucker edged his way closer to the torrent and peered at the opening. The water was forcing its way along the base of the crevice and appeared to be coming from a waterfall about ten metres further up. Beyond that was darkness, there may be a way through, there may not. He said as much to Archer.

“The way I see it we don’t have much choice,” Jon replied. “If we stay here sooner or later the water will sweep us outside.” He paused. “Is there a way over the water back there?”

“Maybe, if we’re quick we could still get over the top.” Trip winced as a sudden wave splashed his hand. This was madness but, like Jon said, it wasn’t as if they had much of a choice. Quickly he eased back to Jon and grabbed hold of him firmly. “We need to stick close together Capt’n,” he said, “I’ll try not to jog you.”

Archer squeezed the shoulder he gripped for support and ground his teeth against the pain in his leg. Determinedly he followed his friend to the water’s edge.

Tucker paused for a moment to pick out the best route. They would need to climb up a couple of feet and then they should be able to make their way over the rubble. If nothing else broke free. He stepped up, careful to take small steps so that Jon would be able to keep his balance and felt his way over the rubble in near darkness. A couple of times his foot slipped and he felt Archer stiffen beside him but they kept going until, at last they reached the waterfall. Pausing for a moment to catch his breath and tighten his grip on the captain Tucker was unprepared for the sudden increase in water as the cascading torrent broke free of the crevice and suddenly filled the passage sending them tumbling head over heels back towards the cave. The last thing he saw before the world turned black was a pulsing red light casting eerie shadows in the darkness.

TBC

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