Part 1 – Frozen to the Core
I awoke just moments ago to the frigid air of the Arkship. Doc’s got me sitting on a makeshift cot right now. I’m supposed to try “wakin’ up” while I wait to be seen. We all gotta get checked out to make sure we’re ok. Some little fuzz tail bounced by and gave me a tablet too. Said I should write my name down if I can remember it. Also said I should write down how I’m feelin’ right now.
That’s a load of slag.
I don’t have time for this. I gotta get my gear and get out there. Gotta find the rest of my crew. We got separated early on during the load up. They were in here somewhere though. I know they were…
Those damn cryopods. They are a menace. Sure, they helped carry us all through dead space, but I sure as hell feel dead now. Everything is stiff. My muscles grind when I try to move. It kinda feels like somethin’s gonna break right off. I feel like a damned Mordie…
This area is a mess. Seems the ship is in worse shape than I am. Pods open everywhere. Wires sparking. People running all frantic. We got hit for sure. Several times probably. Damn Dominion were on our asses pretty much the whole way.
My team didn’t need to come on this trip. We had a pretty sweet setup before this. Did merc work a couple of sectors over. Dealt mainly with a few small planetoids and moons. Nothing big enough to draw attention. Outta sight, and probably outta our damn minds.
That’s what made it fun though.
Still, life in barren space does have it’s drawbacks. The booze is shit, paydays are spread thin, and you’re stuck lookin’ at the same crew every damn day. Honestly, we were itchin’ for something new, so we tagged a commlink. Intercepted some info about a new planet being colonized. Lots of ships were headed that way, and a big one was inbound soon.
We signed up when it was passing our way. Managed to get a discount on the cryo cuz Mox traded in the ship. Still can’t believe he did that… I’m pretty sure he figured this was a one way trip. I think all the drifter work was finally grindin’ him down. Ah well, it was his ship anyway.
Still, ya ain’t gonna live forever, so ya might as well have fun. That’s what my pops always used to say. Hell, a nice shiny new planet to explore? There’s bound to be plenty of fun there. Work too.
Must have been a rough stop, but I think we ended up near our target, so that’s good.
Nothing worse than floating in between worlds…
Although, being trapped in those damned cryopods is a hell of a thing. Sometimes I think I woke up during the trip. Made my dreams chill me to the core. I was stuck. Always stuck. Couldn’t move at all, but I was awake.
I wonder if they’ll get everyone out before the systems fail. I wonder how many of them are aware of what’s going on right now. All those frozen people… All those frozen dreams…
They all already lost somethin’. Or everything. Ending up like space debris is just… None of them deserve that. Those pods are just coffins made for long trips in my opinion. Sometimes, ya just don’t come back.
Death is cold. Death is lonely. So are those pods. I’ve seen those things fritz out before. Either you perma freeze, or it boils you alive. Nasty way to go.
I’m happy to be out of it. I feel like hell, but at least I can move a bit. At least I can think. It’s more than I can say about the Exilcicle laying next to me. I’m pretty sure his beard would chip right off if I touched it.
Nah, I’ll leave him. He’s probably been through enough. Waking up to a bad trim on top of it? Heh. Perhaps if it was Lode. Yeah, then I’d do it.
That’s one of my buddies. Nygel Lodestone. I wonder where he is. Hell, I wonder where everyone is… Still, if Lode is awake, I’d hear him no matter where I am in this boat. He’s nothin’ but a large loud lunkhead. Always fancied himself a charmer too. Thought he could attract any gal he wanted with that goofy smile of his. We got into a fight once. Damn merc got on my nerves. He wouldn’t stop talking about the job we just went on. Kept going on and on about how heroic he had been.
Heroic, my ass.
He hid behind the storage crates just lobbin’ grenades everywhere. Almost blew the rest of us up. Hell, his damn bots did more work than he did.
He kept smiling as he told the story in that rundown shack of a bar. Kept expecting some pretty little lass to just hop right in his lap. Oh, mighty hero. Take me now. Why he ever thought those words would be said to his face is a mystery to me.
Lode should not have been surprised when my fist kissed his face the twentieth time he told the story. My patience, and stomach, had had enough for one night. That punch chipped a big tooth up front. The look of sheer panic on his face was priceless. His precious perfect smile was ruined.
He kinda looked cute after that.
Wow, maybe I should see the doc after all…
I guess it’s almost my turn anyway.
Right. Tablet…
How am I feeling? Alive.
What is my name?
Kyza. Kyza Doomstone.
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