Private A Crash Landing

[Mila Uhlesifa]

She listened to the two of them, the droid and her companion, talk. She hadn't learned how to understand the advanced morse-code droids used to speak. She was told that there were a number of cables available to them. She nodded and after she was shown where they were she got three of them, the two outer ones were longer than the one in the middle to allow for easier turning. WIth a bit of fiddling and some alterations to the original plan, she got the two hooked up back to back, which would allow her to watch behind them in case of... well she had no clue but looking behind your back is always a good idea to do every now and then.

She was no biker, but she was an engineer and a mechanic, she was confident in her work, she knew it would last. "Alrighty, ready when you are."

 

[Marina DeVoe]

As Marina were packing essential tools on her bike, Mila was busy working on attaching the two bikes together.
At first it struck her as maybe Mila had gotten wrong what was the front and back of a bike. But it made more sense than one. First, it were easier to connect the two facing rear ends of the bikes than to attach front and back. Besides, the towed bike were only hovering and should the main bike run into engine trouble or spent it's fuel, it were just a matter of switching seats and drive the other, than disconnecting them and then switching the towed bike into the drive bike.

Marina nodded as Mila completed the connection.
"I never would have thought of doing it like that. But it's a great idea." She commented. Yes it was ingenious. It fortified marina's confidence that between the two of them, they should be able to get her ship repaired and off this patch of green.

"Yea, I think I packed all that we need... the laser cutter and extra power packs for it like you recommended... And, micro disks to download any salvageable comp logic from your ship... enough MRI and snacks should it take some time to get what we need...
Yea, I think we have all what we need to be able to salvage parts, materials and data from your ship, Mila."

With that, they hopped on the bikes and after some quick instruction to her droid TK-1213, Marina took off. She kept her speed down somewhat as she knew Mila hadn't been too comfortable on one earlier. And besides, the girl were facing at their back. Marina didn't wish to spook Mila if she whizzed through the forest and thickets.

"Mila..." Marina shouted as her companion were behind her.
" ...let me know if I'm going too fast or if you wish to stop at anytime..."


Mila Uhlesifa

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

"Honestly, most people wouldn't consider it unless they have experience working with machines." She said dusting her hands off, some of the engine grease having gotten onto her hands as she worked, but she didn't seem bothered by it. "Really it isn't quite so smart, its just about how you approach things and how familiar you are with a certain type of work. But thanks."

"And thanks for getting all that stuff together, it is most definitely going to prove useful." She told her as she got onto the rear bike. "Though I suggest we refrain from eating too much, we don't know how long we're actually going to be here so we should preserve our resources wherever we can just in case we can't get off this rock alone."

She looked back and nodded, "It's not the speed that bothers me, I'm just not a great bike driver. Feel free to speed up if you want to."

 

[Marina DeVoe]

Marina nodded, chuckling. "Ok, will do. Not going to go crazy, but Just make sure to hang on anyway."

And with that the bikes headed off into the woods, toward Mila's own crashed vessel.
marina wasn't baying the bike, but at the same time she weren't speedo-crossing it. Although it were of a bit concern on her end about Mila hanging on as they weren't exactly on a straight-a-way. They were traversing through undisturbed woodland with many, many obstacles to dodge, duck under and swerve from. But all in all, they made good time and finally came upon the clearing and subsequently the wreckage.

Mila had apparently landed hard...quite hard in fact. Her ship was, as Mila had indicated, beyond basic repair.
"Wow...you..." She couldn't believe her eyes..
"...you walked away from that?!" Marina asked coming to a stop next to the wreckage.

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

She shrugged, "to be fair, it didn't explode until after I had gotten out of it."

She had hung onto the bike for dear life, begging to whatever god existed not to be murdered by a passing treebranch. But they got there without incident, and it wasn't that long as it only took her fifteen minutes on foot to get to Marina's ship from her own. So it wasn't that far anyway.

She dismounted and began to trudge over to the wreckage and she began to search through it. She gathered mostly wires and electrical components as well as a couple of wrecked metal pieces just in case.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

Marina slowly dismounted...still not believing how this young woman had managed to escape death. it were not that she had wanted Mila to have been injured or killed, it were just... just....luck?..a miracle even?

Mila was already gathering what she believed to have some salvage value, as marina went over still looking about the wreckage. She had expected a compromised hull...a breech maybe. Blown drives... even leaking fuel.
But the drives were really blown by the very sense of the word...and of the fuel? It had exploded, most likely enveloping the entire vessel inside and out. There was little that Marin could see or make out that were salvegable...at least in her eyes.
But Mila saw otherwise as she rifled through the wreckage and bisected a part from bigger burnt assemblies...she seemed to find and reclaim good micro relays, circuitry that in marina's eyes had looked utterly cooked. But Mila were able to extract good micro components. The young woman was crafty, Marina realized. perhaps she had underrated the young woman. For a moment Marina felt guilty in previously thinking that as she had jumped to conclusion and not given the young woman the credit and the benefit of the word, when Mila had claimed she were good with servicing tech.

"Wow... I really didn't think there were anything at all that survived the aftermath of the ship exploding..." She admitted.

Then she walked on over, closer to the main hull frame of the ship. it were mangled almost beyond recognition. No way anyone would have guessed what model skip it were.
Marina knelt down, brushing off dirt and debris off one of the ship's ribs. It were good durasteel...highly refined. It certainly would make for good raw material for her Mariner IV's 3-D parts printer.
And there was plenty around and in convenient handable pieces too. No need to stat cutting as they were already manageable to lift and mount on the speeders.

"I'll start on gathering some good amount of durasteel and other alloys ..." She said, picking the piece up. yes, it were already refined and her ship's atomizer would easily break it up to basic elemental molecules for her parts printer to make new and needed components...

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

(please be patient, I have a bit of a work pileup. Sorry.)

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

(Thank you for your patience, It's much appreciated.)

She replied to Marina's comment with a simple, "Explosions mostly only violently disassemble things. The explosion's force was probably diminished by barriers, so the things that were furthest from the epicenter are most likely intact at least to a degree." She kept rifling throguh the wreckage, grabbing wires and circuit boards that didn't look too cooked, besides, they could always recycle the materials with Marina's parts printer so they didn't need to be 100% intact.

Then she was informed of what Marina would start doing and she replied with, "Okay, let me know if you need help. I'll be gathering parts for circuitry."

So she did, spying things that would normally go unnoticed or would be deemed unfit for use. She managed to get a good few pounds of wiring and circuitry materials within the next couple of hours.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

In the hours of rifling through broken parts, they had enough of spare circuitry and raw material by which their tandem bikes could transport back to Marina's ship.
That and the system's sun were on it's last leg before it would dip below the mountains.
The wind had picked up as well as the chill in the air.

"I think we best make it back to my ship before it gets too dark. " Marina said as she secured the last bundle on the bikes.
They'd have a slower going back, than that when they came. The bikes were laden with a good cache of useful parts and materials. It definitely were time to go.

"Hmm.." Marina zippered up her jacket. "...temperature sure is dropping fast.."

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

She looked up at the sky when Marina said this. It sure was getting dark, and she was right, the temperature was dropping. She grabbed one or two more pieces of scrap and loaded them onto the bike. "I suppose you're right. Do you think we have enough material to make what we need?"

She looked around at the darkening sky, the stars appearing in the sky. No sign of light pollution, so most likely they weren't near any civilizations of any level of technology that might help them. So it was even more likely now that they were on their own. She got onto the rear bike. "Don't crash us please."

 

[Marina DeVoe]

It appeared that the system's moons (two were noticed) were both just cresting the horizon...on opposite sides. Strange that were.
Still with the moons being so low there wasn't much available light than star light complimenting them. In short, it was dark by the time they made it back to The Mariner IV. Of course their return trip had taken more time than both had anticipated, with not only the addition of their load, but the going were reduced due to poor visibility. The last part of their trip was as pick black as it could get. The two strange moons had both dipped below horizons. One supposedly in the East, the other in the West. It were just a strange phenomenon two natural satellites orbiting in opposite directions.

Marina wondered as to their influence on large bodies of water like oceans, when they both converged...

Coming toward the ship's clearing, they could see the twinkle of light making it through the dense woods. It were Marina's ship. Her droid TK-1213 must have gotten her ship's emergency generators going. Sure enough when they finally came into the clearing Marina's droid was there to greet them. He had set up work lights outside the ship, temporarily pointing them toward the forest. It had indeed acted like a kind of light house when they got close enough to spot the light through the forest.

Marina was pretty much shot and tired as the latter part of the trip had gotten rather cold, compared to them it were day.
"Oh thank the heavens TK...you got the emergency generators going. " She commented getting off her bike. it were obvious Marina 's voice wavered as she were almost chattering her teeth, it were so cold a night.

Be de bee beep... her droid announced for the two women to get inside the ship as he had gotten the life support system working again...there was heat inside.
De de beep beep... it then said that he would unload the parts and materials that they had brought back.

"You're a doll, TK..." Marina said, not arguing with her droid, gesturing Mila for them to get inside.

de de beep... it then corrected her. He was a droid.

"The best..." she shot back before disappearing with her friend inside.


~inside~
"Brrr.... didn't quite expect the nights to be freeeezing..." Marina said as she made for the ship's galley. Her ship certainly felt warm, but she were dying for some hot tea or coffee even..if the food prep was working.

"Oh Berkana (Marina's deity)...he's got hot beverages and soup all set up for us..." She said spotting the hot steaming soup bowls and hot water decanter on the table.

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

The ride back seemed uneventful, and based on the one-sided conversation Marina had with TK, TK had prepped for their return, and when they went inside Mila was pleasantly surprised. There was warm water and apparently soup too. She herself had gotten a tad cold herself, especially since she didn't have a jacket or coat, just a crop top and pants. Somewhat typical of her species' females, they liked to look attractive, so they generally covered less. But the downside to that was she got cold easily, so the soup and warm water were a welcome sight.

"Thanks TK." She said earnestly. "We both really appreciate it."

She turned to Marina, "May I sit?"

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Oh by all means..." Marina replied, looking about as to the amenities her droid got back up running in her ship already.

But they weren't being centrally powered by her ship. They were on emergency power, on the small field generator that her droid had managed to set up. Still, it were more than she had expected and was quite impressed by TK's ingenuity. They had never had to resort to such measures before. then again, she had never crash landed on a system before either.

With the bite of the cold off her back, she readily took to trying the hot soup. It were part of her emergency rations, but at the moment it was the best tasting soup that she could remember. The cold and hunger would do that. Especially since she and Mila had not really stopped for any lunch breaks. They had simply worked till the daylight started to fade. Perhaps it were their circumstances...their natural means of knowing to best help themselves while the getting was good...the salvaging. It definitely was a matter of survival. If they did nothing to improve their current position, then who knows how long they would be able to survive on this uncharted system...or how long it would be before some vessel would happen to come by and rescue them. Still, that would mean to get their comm up and best be long range at that.
They weren't out of the woods by a long shot...just grateful for a bowl of hot soup and hot water.

"Hot water?!"
TK..how much hot water do we have?" Marina asked, nearly finishing her first bowl of soup.

De be de Beep beep... Her droid indicated that the hot water was actually a by-product of the field generator's heat shedding.
Be be de be bee de dee beep... that it were just a matter of running local filtered water through the generator's heat exchanger. It could provide hot water as long as the generator ran.

"That's awesome..." Marina replied. She and Mila had been feverishly working all day at her crash site and were pretty much feeling icky.
A good shower in the refreshers would make for some good sleep. Marina was bushed for the most part. They had both worked hard all day and then had to deal with the dropping temperatures. By the time they reached the Mariner IV again, it was bitter cold and both were at their tail end of their limit...they were both exhausted.

"Mila..the refreshers are working." She informed her new friend.
"There's hot water available for showering before we hit the sacks.
Oh...and you can just settle in in any of the cabins you want. There's a full suite across from mine, up front. It has it's own private refresher. You should take that one....the other cabins are rather small." She offered Mila to use one of the two full executive suites.

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

(hey, sorry for the wait. Had a funeral to help with.)

"Oh by all means..." Marina replied, looking about as to the amenities her droid got back up running in her ship already.

Mila sat down with a grateful smile and a, "thank you. And thank you TK for making this, it's very appreciated."

She ate the soup and had some water and when she was done she asked. "Where do you wash your dishes? I can do that for you I just need to know where."

"Hot water?!"
TK..how much hot water do we have?" Marina asked, nearly finishing her first bowl of soup.

De be de Beep beep... Her droid indicated that the hot water was actually a by-product of the field generator's heat shedding.
Be be de be bee de dee beep... that it were just a matter of running local filtered water through the generator's heat exchanger. It could provide hot water as long as the generator ran.

"That's awesome..." Marina replied. She and Mila had been feverishly working all day at her crash site and were pretty much feeling icky.
A good shower in the refreshers would make for some good sleep. Marina was bushed for the most part. They had both worked hard all day and then had to deal with the dropping temperatures. By the time they reached the Mariner IV again, it was bitter cold and both were at their tail end of their limit...they were both exhausted.

"Mila..the refreshers are working." She informed her new friend.
"There's hot water available for showering before we hit the sacks.
Oh...and you can just settle in in any of the cabins you want. There's a full suite across from mine, up front. It has it's own private refresher. You should take that one....the other cabins are rather small." She offered Mila to use one of the two full executive suites.

She smiled at that, a shower sounded absolutely wonderful. She needed one and she wasn't the only one either. Then she was offered a suite. A suite?

She looked astonished at the offer. Sure she was the ward for an admiral of the confederacy, but even then she'd kept everything she got as modest as possible. Really the only really expensive thing she had was the computer she had on her left forearm. She'd always been modest in lifestyle, mostly because the first half of her adult life, and even a little bit before, she had been a slave. She'd managed to find ways to make sleeping in dog cages comfortable enough to be restful. A suite was well beyond what she could ask for even with payment.

"A-are you sure?" She asked, more than a little astonished. "I don't want to be rude but you'd really let me sleep there?"

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Uhm.... I don't have anything. ..larger to offer you... " Marina was thinking maybe Mila thought that it may be not be as comfortable the cabin she had offered her, as any that she were used to.

"It's...it's the same size of my own. They are the only two with their own private refreshers, as the other cabins are smaller for efficiency and must share a common one.
I mean, the executive suite is right across the hall from mine and it's the same size... as it's next to the cockpit. Both are really adequate for a ship this size.
But it's all I have, Mila." She explained apologetically.

Marina knew her ship were only a corvette class transporter and although the front two larger quarters were rather small for delegates and such, they were rather comfortable with their own couch, refreshers and workstation among other amenities which the smaller single cabins didn't have.

be de beep beep... TK beeped in, suggesting perhaps Marina could switch cabins, so that Mila could see that they were exactly the same size.

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

"It's...it's the same size of my own. They are the only two with their own private refreshers, as the other cabins are smaller for efficiency and must share a common one.
I mean, the executive suite is right across the hall from mine and it's the same size... as it's next to the cockpit. Both are really adequate for a ship this size.
But it's all I have, Mila." She explained apologetically.

"No. No you misunderstand. I've never really slept anywhere like that. And I didn't want to intrude is all." She said, almost panicked that she'd offended her host. "Your offer is gracious, far more generous than I could have expected and far more substantial than anything I've ever received. I didn't mean to suggest that it was insufficient!"

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Oh no... I'm sorry..." Marina touched Mila's hand. "...It's my fault I didn't understand.
I... I didn't mean for you to think-" She stopped short, for she had already rung that bell.

There was no backtracking as it were little now that she could do, other than to apologize. They were both tired as they had a long day and then barely getting back without either of them freezing their buns off.

"You'll just have to make due with the nice cabin, as there are no others available...haha..." Time for a little fib, as there were 5 more smaller cabins with basic bunks.
Yes, it were kinda funny if one knew enough not to make a big deal out of a misunderstanding. Mila would not have anything less than what marina had.

"Come on...TK will take care of the clean up. You...you need to go and get yourself into a hot shower and a good night's sleep." Marina then said getting up.
"I'll show you to your cabin."
She knew how tired she was and no doubt Mila were as much. They would have to do away with small misunderstandings. What Marina had, she shared. It were what she did.

The two main cabins were forward, next to the cockpit...making sense as to one being the captain's quarters. The executive suite was right across the hall and Marina lead Mila there a few short walk from the galley, which was located along with a common lounge.
Most times, Marina transported just a single person or family unit and some cargo. But when she were on her campaign missions, she crowed as many needy people, refugee and wounded as her ship could carry.
Right now it were just her and Mila. There was not going to be an argument as to where Mila were to stay.

"Well...this is it" Marina said, when Mila's cabin door opened.
It weren't lavish, but it was the best her ship had. Usually her bestie Mariya Fleischer would take that room. But her bestie had been AWOL for over a year now and...and just thinking of her, made Marina miss her best friend.
But now were not the time to dwell on that. She and Mila had to figure out how to repair her ship so that they could get off this ...this whatever system this was.

"We can talk in the morning over breakfast. TK should have something cooked up , I'm sure.." She then said, giving Mila a head gesture for her to go into her room.
"We'll talk...tomorrow. Just please get yourself a hot shower and some good sleep.
We will get out of here. If not sooner, then later. And either way, I think we'll both leave as good friends." She assured Mila.

Yes, Marina was indeed curious as to why Mila had expected anything less than what marina always offered. Perhaps Mila were from a large family who had to share rooms?...Beds even? It were just guessing on Marina's part. But again, as much as she wanted to get to know Mila more, this was not the time as both had worked very hard in securing materials and spare parts.

Tomorrow was certainly around the corner and they would have time to talk, refreshed from a good night's sleep.

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

"Oh no... I'm sorry..." Marina touched Mila's hand. "...It's my fault I didn't understand.
I... I didn't mean for you to think-" She stopped short, for she had already rung that bell.

"No, it's okay. I suppose we're both too tired and our brains have stopped working." She says with a smile. "Besides, it's most kind of you to offer me a place to stay."

"You'll just have to make due with the nice cabin, as there are no others available...haha..." Time for a little fib, as there were 5 more smaller cabins with basic bunks.
Yes, it were kinda funny if one knew enough not to make a big deal out of a misunderstanding. Mila would not have anything less than what marina had.

She didn't entirely believe that, but saying that out loud wouldn't exactly be nice, and she wanted to be friends with who could potentially be the only other sentient being on the planet, or moon or whatever it is they were on. So she just smiled and said, "Thank you very much, it is a very generous thing to offer. Thanks."

"We can talk in the morning over breakfast. TK should have something cooked up , I'm sure.." She then said, giving Mila a head gesture for her to go into her room.
"We'll talk...tomorrow. Just please get yourself a hot shower and some good sleep.
We will get out of here. If not sooner, then later. And either way, I think we'll both leave as good friends." She assured Mila.

She looked around the room, it was a lot more expensive than the one she slept in back home. The bed looked really big and a little more fluffy than she was used too. She smiled at Marina and gave her a quick, thankful hug. "Thanks, for everything. The help, the food the shelter, it means a lot."

She opened the door to the washroom. It was about the same size as the one she used back in Admiral Vemric Keldra's house as his ward. Small, practical and neat. She turned back to Marina with a genuine smile, "I look forward to getting to know you better Marina. It's definitely good not to be alone out here."

Once Marina left she closed the washroom door, peeled off her clothes and stepped in the shower to wash. She didn't exactly have a change of clothes, so she'd simply have to wash them in the bathroom sink, then let them dry. Ooops, would they dry fast enough? Maybe she could put them on a heater or radiator to dry. She'd have to ask about that kind of thing once she was out.

 

[Marina DeVoe]

"Oh...you're a lifesaver TK..."Marina said plopping on her bed. She were in her pajama shorts and short sleeve nighty, fresh out of the refresher and tired like she had labored all day. Wait...she had labored all day, her and Mila.

be de beep be beep and so on. Her droid went over some of the more pertinent tasks awaiting them tomorrow. That was of course after his tally of system partials that he had gotten back up and working. One were the hot water. THIS was certainly Godsent.

It took no time at all for her to fall asleep despite the be de bee beeps of today's account.
"Uh uh.... I see...yea...tell me more in the yawn...morning...." And that was that.
Her droid realizing she were aleep, quietly turned about and left her cabin.


Next day....
It weren't the sunlight shining on her sleepy features that awakened her, but the sound of hydraulics, swishing of doors, and of her droid repeatedly roving along outside her door.

Marina opened her eyes, taking a moment to recap as to where she were and stuff.
Gasp!" She sat up quickly in bed.

"Mila..." Were the words she uttered when all of yesterday's events suddenly were remembered.

Ten minutes later she stepped out of her cabin. Mila's door were still closed and Marina peered in side the cockpit a moment, which incidentally were right up front near their two cabins.
A quick look there produced no droid. Marina was certain she had heard him trekking about outside her cabin.. But then she heard TK down the hall. He were in the galley it seemed.

Be de beep... TK greeted her, as he finished with the set up of the breakfast table.

"Yea, you too." She replied looking around to see if Mila had gotten up before her.

"So whacha got cook'n?" Marina asked, approaching the table. She were somehow more famished than she could remember at any given morning...

 

[Mila Uhlesifa]

Mila stretched awake. And got up out of bed clad only in her undergarments. She dinner her clothes first thing, then went to the bathroom to wash up just a little before going out to say good morning. Making sure her lekku were tied back and out of the way she came out. She heard Marina talking and came over.

"Good morning Marina. I hope you slept well."