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Day thre: Losses
Simon is gone. He's lost, and I'll never find out how or why—I was asleep while he fell overboard.
After failing to reanimate the AI, the captain split the crew into three watches, like they used to on Earth, back when mighty ships roamed the seven seas. Afloat on an endless expanse of water, thinking of home grows nostalgia.
This amazing planet is covered by a single ocean, its surface rippled by strong winds, waves unbroken by shores. Although Jury insists this isn't water, in the strict sense. Apparently, too many minerals and strange HO isotopes dominate the mix. But it looks like a mysterious, deep, ancient ocean. Depending on the light, luminescent plankton seems to wander beneath the surface even in broad daylight.
But back to the accident. Hannah, Sy's watch partner, insists she didn't hear him go outside. After a loud splash, she realised the top hatch was open, climbed up onto the hull, and found him gone.
Somehow, his loss hits me worse than the deaths of Doc and Marylee upon reentry. I mean, we were all convinced we'd die that day. When, against all odds, six of us survived, we thought us lucky. Those that died did it on duty, in a desperate situation.
Marylee saved us, sticking to her pilot's post while the heat in the cockpit grilled her alive. Star Rambler was a deep space explorer, not built to land on planets. We knew the pressure and atmospheric friction would destroy her as soon as she got caught in the gravitation well.
If Doc hadn't ushered us into the tiny landing shuttle, we'd all shared Marylee's fate. He lost time to convince the captain and finally knocked her unconscious to save her. This left no time to launch the lander, but its shielding protected us from the inferno. Only Doc didn't make it. In a stroke of fate, his old heart gave out in the raising pressure during the fall.
Yeah, Marylee and Doc died heroes. But Sy... it's a wonder the Rambler's molten hull remains afloat on the ocean, a tiny, tight nutshell rocking in the waves. What did Simon do outside, at the water's edge?
Day four: Burials
Sleep was rare last period, and I can't blame the near endless day on this strange giant of a planet. Without the ship's life-system, the cargo bay is dark like hell. We set up quarters there, in the place least affected by the damage.
Today, the captain decided to get rid of Doc's and Marylee's bodies. It was time, too. Not much was left of our pilot, so we considered the burnt lumps of suit we found in the former cockpit her mortal remains. As a semi-religious person, she would have appreciated the gesture.
We met on the battered and blackened surface of the Rambler. The long swell of a quiet sea rocked our substitute ship floating on the glittering surface. Strange how the water sparkles under a leaden sky, heavy clouds hiding the big, red sun most of the time.
