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“I guess. Your ship flickered as it crashed. But I don’t know with the thick atmosphere if you were spotted or not. The reptile base is rather far away and crossing the chasm isn’t easy. As we hiked, I was watching for evidence that they came here and haven’t seen any.”

“I don’t want to risk it. We need to be quick.” He ran his hands over the console and the ship stuttered to life but there was a slight hum and it went dead again.

FIVE

WASTED EFFORT

Payim quo Desero

“Blasted Vrag!” he cursed while trying to isolate the communication system, only to have it fail yet again.

The cruiser was lost, that much was obvious, but he really needed to find a way to contact Scala.

“How can I help?” Elena placed a gentle hand on his arm.

He turned to look at her. Her calm, big, brown eyes instantly soothed him.

“I don’t know that there’s much you can do. The back-up power supply for the comm system must be damaged.” He shook his head in frustration.

“So, you need alternative power for it?” she said thoughtfully, her head tipped to one side.

“Aye.”

He took a deep breath, further calming his mind. He was here to rescue Elena and yet it felt like she was the one with the level head. It didn’t help that he was already on edge just being near her, then the news of Jurou Biljana further complicated the situation.

“I need to pull my head out of my tail. There are probably other back-up systems aboard that weren’t compromised which might work,” he reasoned.

“So, you need tools and you need to start exploring.” She talked through the problem.

“There’s a maintenance kit and the air recycler is back here.” He stood and headed to the rear of the cruiser. As he passed Elena, he paused. “Thank you, I haven’t been thinking very clearly. I apologize.”

“You’ve been through a lot and that wound on your head was pretty nasty. Sorry.” She grimaced, looking worried for him.

“I’m rather sure that’s not my problem. If anything, it probably added to my intelligence,” he chuckled.

“I doubt it,” she snorted, then her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “That didn’t sound very nice. I didn’t mean…”

“Ow, you wound me yet again, female.” He clutched his chest and staggered backward.

“Yeah, you’re just fine, smart ass.” She shook her head at him as a grin split her face. “I’m going outside to keep watch and dig roots.”

The laugh at her comment froze and his concern spiked. He grabbed her hand as she headed for the hole in the vessel. Logically he knew someone should keep watch, but he wanted her to stay in the cruiser with him. Yet the closer she was, the more he felt his resolve to not touch her slip. It was making his head spin and working on the ship impossible.

“Be safe. Stay close. Shout if anything odd appears, then hide,” he insisted, her long-term safety winning out in his mental battle.

“Never fear. I already have the best place picked out if we need to take cover.” She nodded to him.

He nodded in approval as he walked her to the hole in the hull and helped her down. It was a struggle releasing her hand but he did. The urge to watch her as she started surveying the sky was strong, but he forced himself to retreat into the vessel.

Let’s crack into this hunk of space debris.

He pried open the maintenance compartment and searched for the tools he needed, all the while listening for Elena outside, every sense on high alert.

Elena

“Oh, thank God,” she murmured as she relieved herself out of view of the ship. The morning hike had tested the limits of her bladder, but she wasn’t about to squat in front of Payim.

As she cleaned her hands in a murky puddle, she spotted a large bush growing nearby.