What Lies Forever Elsewhere

The first law of thermodynamics states that no energy can ever be created nor destroyed. It merely changes form.

I'll have to remember that one.

"Okay! Try it now!" Dilban's voice came to us clearly through the ship's com systems.

My fingers were gripping the lever tightly, just waiting for the command. Clarke held up three fingers, counting down. On zero, the four of us flipped our levers on. The ship thrummed to life beneath us. I let out a sigh of relief as the power flickered back on and our systems started to reboot. We all began to navigate back to our stations in the cockpit. The Commander was the first to speak up.

"I don't understand." She said, scrolling through the ship's data panel. "The system is reporting that our fuel reserves are still full and our power cells are at one hundred percent capacity."

"Really?" Clarke asked.

She switched directions as swiftly as she could while weightless and went to join our designated Captain at the panel. Ries was busy repositioning the tracking systems while Dilban floated up through the entry hatch to join us, struggling to shut off the visor lamp of his suit.

"Why would the power shut off then?" Orson asked us.

I made my way back over to the tracking system to hover behind Ries.

"One of the power cells was loose." Dilban explained. "There's some damage at the base of the hull. I'll have to get back out there to repair it some other time but it should be fine for now. . It should be fine now."

"Probably a small asteroid that ricocheted out from the field." I added, still watching Ries work.

"We seem to be fully clear of the collision path now, Commander. I think we're okay to wait here for a bit while we decide what to do next." Ries stated.

What were we going to do next? That was the question wasn't it. The reality of the situation seemed to hit us all at once. Ries, Clarke and I all turned towards Orson, who looked just as lost as we probably all felt, but it was Dilban who spoke next.

"I say we land." he said, gazing out the window towards Salvation 6.

Once Dilban had spoken, it completely opened the floodgates for the rest of us to voice our own opinions, and chaos ensued.

"Land?" Clarke asked, laughing. As if it was the dumbest idea she had ever heard.

"We should locate the Cruiser fleet." Orson suggested "Wherever they are, is where we should be."

"There are no other Cruisers on radar, Commander." Ries protested.

Now I know why he was so quick to rush back to the tracking computer.

"Well, we can't just sit up here! It's not safe!" Dilban argued.

"So you want us to, what? Land on an unfamiliar planet without any backup if things were to go wrong?" Clarke questioned pointedly, folding her arms over her chest.

"I mean, wasn't landing on Salvation 6 always the plan?" Ries asked

"Indeed it was" Orson considered. "But that was back when we had almost two hundred crew members and we were going down to the planet for research purposes. At this point in time, it's just the five of us, and we have no idea how long we'd be down there if we did land, because as of right now, we have nowhere else to go."

"She's right." I added, finally jumping into the conversation. "These Cruisers weren't meant for Deep Space travel, if we tried to head back towards Earth, we wouldn't even make it through the galaxy perimeter."

"So we're stuck here." Clarke concluded.

"Yes." Orson confirmed. "We're stuck here."

"In that case, I vote that we might as well do what we came here to do." said Dilban

Dilban glided smoothly to the front of the cockpit to get a better view of Salvation 6 through the window.

"There is an entire planet down there for us to discover and explore" He continued. "We have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do besides the very job we were sent on this mission to complete."

He did have a point I suppose. I too was beyond anxious to see the vibrancy of its green and blue surface up close.

"Everyone," Orson commanded. "strap in."

"Oh come on!" Clarke complained. "Seriously?"

"At least if we land we won't be wasting our fuel." Ries pointed out in a teasing tone.

We all drifted to our seats.

"We also won't be weightless," I added, smiling, all of a sudden excited by the thrill of discovery. "I miss gravity."

"And for all we know," Orson concluded "the rest of the fleet may already be down there waiting for us."

"The first law of thermodynamics." Mr. Halburn continued.

Pens and pencils scribbled eagerly as he spoke. My eyes were focused solely upon my own notes as Mr. Halburn droned on through today's lesson. I had no idea why he was going over Laws of Thermodynamics, that was something that most of us had learned in our first year. Judging by the light snoring I could hear coming from somewhere in front of me and the enthusiastic whispering drifting down from somewhere behind me, I could only assume that my classmates were as uninterested with the repeated lesson as I was.

Despite my regular and unwavering focus in class, I felt my mind begin to wander in the moment. One more year. One more year and I'll have my Masters in Engineering. One more year and I can finally start heading in the right direction. The space program was only one year away. Only one. I couldn't wait. I can't wait.

This was my first time being back on board a Cruiser since way back when they were first being constructed, so naturally, it was taking me some time to figure out where I was headed. They were actually roomier than I remembered. The cockpit was the entire top level, it was also where our ship was able to dock with the Starship. I was trying to navigate my way to the lower landing controls, which honestly shouldn't have been too hard to find. The ship was basically one big circle.

Once we had broken the atmosphere and were close enough to the ground, the landing mechanism required us to make a full vertical descent, which meant that there was now minimal G force, allowing us to move about the ship.

The hatch in the cockpit led down to the central hallway, the ladder continued downward to the lowest level of the ship, the garage. It was currently housing our very own 'INDEED' sanctioned all terrain Land Rover. The central hallway formed a large donut shape around the main hub of the ship. A room that acted as our living room, dining room, and kitchen all rolled into one. Outside the loop of hallway, were the rooms that were deemed necessary for the vessels to be used as both temporary homes while on Salvation 6 as well as portable research facilities. This included bunks for the crew, bathrooms, a fully stocked experimentation lab (both for science and engineering) a small med bay, the small room that housed our main engine as well as the other system generators, and a few small storage closets outside of the main hub for the space suits and the heavier equipment.

Okay, if the cockpit was at the bow, the lower landing controls should be directly at its opposite, right beside the central airlock door and the controls to the boarding ramp. I made my way carefully through the hallway into the hub, deciding that it would be faster to cut through the middle than to go around. The entirety of the Pioneer Cruiser was detailed in the same white and grey esthetic as the Pioneer Starships. Splashes of color were thrown in here and there so that it would feel less like living in someone's sketchpad. The top of the large rectangular dining table along with the countertops and the many storage cupboards were done in a pale shade of brown that made them look more like wood and less like the mix of particleboard and high-pressure laminate that they were. The dining chairs were all a vibrant shade of orange and the two loveseats in the living room area sat in an L shape, they were a cool and pale teal. A dark leather looking recliner sat opposite them and a round coffee table was placed on a medium grey rug in the center of the scene. All in all, it looked like something fresh from a modern show home, aside from the fact that every piece of furniture was subtlety bolted to the polished linoleum floor, all except for the chairs, which were currently stacked at the side of the room and clipped into place against the wall by two cords. Even though the ship was relatively small and much easier to navigate than the Starship, the same type of colored lines were etched into the walls of the Cruiser, navigating its crewmates to different places on the ship.

When I had finally made my way over to the control panel, I was more excited to watch our landing through the window of the boarding ramp than anything else. This was my dream was it not? Venturing into space, exploring never before seen worlds. I was a lot of things at once when we finally broke through the clouds, amazed, impressed, astonished, excited, utterly stunned. The one thing I was not, was disappointed. I'd like to imagine that Earth was, at one point, just as beautiful as Salvation 6, maybe before humankind destroyed it, but I just couldn't picture it, I could only see what was right in front of me.

Mountains and valleys came into view, spreading out as far as my eyes would allow. The most vibrant green I had ever seen grew in layers upon layers of foliage, spotted with various radiant colored flowers and plants. The rivers and lakes that ran through the valleys and forests and meadows were all glittering, they were purest shades of blue I imagine could possibly exist in the universe. The sky was different. It was almost definitely daytime in this region of the planet and yet the visible sky between the wisps of clouds was nearly midnight blue and the stars were visible even in the light of afternoon. I could only dream of how magnificent they must look at night. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought I had died and gone to heaven. Commander Orson continued to lower us to the surface of the planet. She seemed to have chosen an open field area for us to land. It was a higher vantage point, easier for us to scout the area that way. I did my job and activated the landing gear, holding my breath as we finally touched down, surely this couldn't be real.

"We should scout the area," Dilban suggested, "set up the perimeter fence."

It had been maybe ten minutes since we had touched down. We had all immediately set to work determining the state of the planet. As we had previously determined, the atmosphere was nearly identical to that of Earth but with a slightly elevated oxygen concentration. The good news was that the gravitational pull was also nearly identical to that of Earth, which meant that our human anatomy shouldn't have had too hard a time adjusting. We had all gathered in the hub, where we had been only too happy to strip out of our bulky suits and helmets and back down to just our clothes, all of which definitely needed a washing at this point. We were all jumping out of our skins with the anticipation of going outside in this fantastic new environment. We had lived through months of stale air and that was finally about to change.

"Good plan." Orson agreed

"We have no idea what kind of wildlife might live here." Clarke added. "The last thing we need is to be mauled to death in our sleep by whatever the alien equivalent of a lion might be."

The five of us were so excited that we all cracked up at Clarke's morbid sense of humor, even the Commander. We had just started towards the equipment closet in the hall to get the perimeter studs when Ries decided to step out in front of me.

"Oh, absolutely not!" Ries protested, leveling me with a disapproving glare. "You." he pointed at me, "Are staying right here with me."

That stopped me in my tracks.

"What?" I responded, confused.

Ries didn't budge.

"I really should go with the others," I said, trying to sidestep him.

He stepped to block me again.

"No, I don't think so, you should sit down." He insisted, nodding towards the table in the hub

His focus shifted from me and drifted down the hallway. This could be my chance.

"Don't even think about it," he smiled.

Oh, he was good.

"They might need help." I argued "I know how to set up the studs. I'm an engineer."

"From what I gather, so are the other two." He said absentmindedly, turning back to me. "They'll be fine without you. We all agreed on this. Now wait in there."

Ries turned swiftly down the hallway and out of sight. What was going on? Did I do something to upset him? Why would they all vote for me to stay on the ship?

I suppose that staying was probably my best option. One against four is definitely a battle I would lose. Not to mention I'd have to be clinically insane to fist fight four people just to go outside, even if it was outside on a new alien planet. The simple facts didn't stop me from feeling a sharp pang of jealousy as I heard the airlock seal break as the door lifted and the rest of my new crewmates took their first steps on alien soil.

I could hear Ries rummaging around down the hall, for what I had no clue. I carefully unhooked the chairs from where they were stacked and placed them one at a time at the table. I left four of them still stacked in the corner, we only needed five. I sat there, awkwardly awaiting my fate. My eyes drifted from detail to detail in the wide, round hub. I wondered how much food we had in stock. How long would it last us? We were technically four crewmates short which, while unfortunate, might be better in the long run. Less mouths to feed, extra chairs.

Ries sauntered back into the hub a few moments later, carrying with him a thick metal briefcase, which he placed carefully on the table beside me. He pulled out another chair and sat down facing me.

"Here, turn towards me," he said, opening the case.

I did as I was told. My knees brushed against his as I turned my chair to face him, the case sat open beside us.

"I may not be a trained medical professional, but I do know how to administer basic first aid." Reis said pointedly.

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared at him questioningly. He huffed at me and rolled his eyes, I clearly wasn't getting something. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and tapped twice on his forehead looking at me like I was missing something obvious. I followed his action and tapped my finger to my temple. That was a mistake. I winced as pain shot through my forehead.

"Oh." I said, grimacing, "Right. I'll be honest, I completely forgot about that."

He knelt in closer for a better look so that he was at eye level with me.

"Ouch." he said as he ran his hand through his dark hair.

He sat back and began to rummage around inside the first aid kit.

"Ouch is right." I agreed.

I brushed my red-blonde hair gingerly behind my ear so that Ries would have a clear workspace.

"I suppose that's understandable that you forgot, especially since things kinda went Hell for a bit there." He said.

Reis finally came back up from the first aid kit with what I expected to be alcohol wipes in his gloved hand. If the smell didn't tell me as much, the searing stinging on my temple was a dead giveaway. I clenched my teeth tightly as Reis began cleaning out the wound. His careful hands worked gently, not that it made the process any less painful, but it made it easier for me to relax at least as we seemed to settle into our places.

It was only now that I realized how tired I was, how terrified I had been earlier, and how relieved I was to feel safe now. I closed my eyes and shut the world out. The images forced themselves into my mind before I could stop them. I didn't want to think about any of it, the fact that more than half our crew was probably dead, that the five of us were alone, stranded in space.

Reis said nothing as the first tear escaped from beneath my lashes. I didn't care that he refused to ask if I was okay. I knew it was a stupid question anyway. He wasn't okay either. He didn't have to tell me for me to know, I knew none of us were really 'okay'. I held myself together only with the idea that despite everything, we were still alive, I was alive. I let myself focus on the soft hum of our ship's generator, the distant voices of my crew outside, the firm reality of solid ground beneath us, and the quiet steady breathing of Reis, his delicate fingers holding my chin in place, keeping me anchored in reality as he cleaned my battered face. We weren't okay right now, but we would be, eventually.

It was another hot July in Portland when I had finally decided. I was getting ready to start fifth grade in the Fall by finishing up the Summer workbook that Ms. Taylor had handed out at the end of last year. Mom seemed really happy that I had something to keep me busy this break, something to distract me from the bills that were piling up in the kitchen or keep me too preoccupied to keep wondering when Dad would come back.

I sat on the floor one morning in my cramped bedroom, finishing off my math problems, I had always been really good at math, afterwards I moved on to the sketchbook assignment. The question on one of the last pages asked me to draw the place I most wanted to visit while on a vacation and the only place I could think of that I wanted to visit more than any other place in the world, was outer space. I bolted down the creaky stairs in my favorite worn out purple pajamas, Orion clung tightly under my arm. My fuzzy blue slippers cushioning the sound of my footsteps on the stairs and I nearly skidded into the wall.

"Mom!" I shouted excitedly as I bounded into the kitchen. "I know what I want to be!"

I stopped abruptly as soon as I had set one foot inside the kitchen. Dad was home. When did he get here?

"Hey Pumpkin!" he greeted me with a smile, but even I could see the bags under his eyes. He looked terrible.

"Hey Dad." I whispered meekly as I lowered my gaze to the dingy kitchen tile, forcing a tight smile.

"I see you're no less attached to that stuffed monkey of yours these days" he remarked.

"He has a name Dad." I whispered defiantly. "It's Orio-"

"What were you saying sweetheart?" Mom cut in. "Something about knowing what you want?"

"Oh. Um, yeah." I stuttered, remembering why I was down here. "Ms. Taylor used to ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up."

I couldn't help my smile as I prepared for my announcement.

"I'm gonna be an Astronaut!" I exclaimed.

I thrusted my drawing of outer space up into my Mom's hands.

"I want to go to space!" I finished, jumping and swinging Orion back and forth at my feet.

"Wow." Mom said, taken aback.

"You've got some big dreams kiddo." Dad added, ruffling my hair.

I quickly pulled away, no less smiley.

"Sweetheart, could this wait for a bit?" Mom asked nervously. "Your Dad and I were having an important conversation."

My heart sunk in my chest, I knew exactly what that meant. My smile vanished in an instant.

"Sure." I said.

I made my way out the kitchen door and into the living room to sit on the couch. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad this time.

"Oh yeah, just what this country needs, more girls in space." Dad grumbled sarcastically. "Like that'll fix the economy."

"Can't a girl have dreams, Robert." Mom chided.

"She'll never make it and you know it!" He responded.

He was raising his voice, I hated it when they started yelling. I hopped off the couch, Orion in hand and darted silently for the stairs. My room would be safe from this. Safe from them.

"You're setting her up for failure and I won't be a part of it!" Dad yelled. "What will it take for you to be a decent mother?"

"You're one to talk! You're never even here!" she screamed back at him. "And don't you DARE use that against me! Like me, encouraging her childish delusions is what has finally pushed you out!"

"Maybe it is, maybe this is the last straw!" he came back at her.

"You haven't been a part of this family in a long time! And our daughter should believe in something, God knows its not gonna be you!" Mom returned, finally in tears.

"Or you it seems." he stated matter-of-factly.

That was the last time my Dad was ever in the house. He never even came to say goodbye, I heard the front door slam through the pillow over my ears and I knew I wouldn't be seeing him again. My Mom came up to my room hours later to kiss me goodnight. I wasn't asleep but I pretended anyway. She didn't seem to notice the warm tears that were still falling from my cheeks to seep into Orion's soft brown fur. I don't blame her being oblivious, because I on the other hand noticed in perfect clarity the fowl, sickly sweet odor of alcohol on her breath as she whispered her goodnight to me, before she stumbled into the hallway and shut my door a little harder than I think she meant to.

I would make it to Space. I had to. They didn't know how smart and capable I was. I would make it.

Space was as far from them as I could possibly get, and that was good enough for me.

"How did you even do this?" Reis asked, after dropping the third now rust colored wipe onto the table and starting on the fourth.

"Oh you know, fiery explosion, raining debris." I shrugged. "Just another normal day."

He smiled as he worked, stifling a chuckle.

"I'm glad to see that your sense of humor remains intact" he remarked, "you most likely have a concussion."

"Is that why I feel like crap? Good to know. Thanks Doc." I teased, smirking.

"Okay, I think I've gotten all the blood, here." he said, holding another clean wipe out to me. "You can wipe off your hands."

I glanced down at them. They were no less cut up and bloody than I thought my face had probably been.

"Thanks." I said

Ries went back to digging in the kit as I set to work on my hands. When I finally finished, my wipe joined the others on the table along with Ries's bloody gloves. I looked up to see Ries watching me regretfully, a fresh layer of latex covering his hands, I raised an eyebrow in response.

"I'm really sorry," he said. "But you're gonna need stitches for that cut."

He pointed to my forehead.

"I had a feeling," I sighed. "Wait a minute. Why are you sorry?"

I felt myself start to panic slightly.

"You do know how to administer stitches right?" I asked "Like, you've done this before?"

"Of course I've done this before." he rebuffed, sounding shocked that I would think otherwise.

A slight glare had returned to his otherwise passive expression.

"They just may not look all that amazing." he admitted, shrugging.

"Just making sure." I held up my hands in defense. "I mean, aren't you a Navigation Specialist?"

Ries leaned in and tilted my chin up slightly with his fingers before coming in with the sutures. I winced audibly as he started.

"Again," he said. "Sorry."

He then began answering my questions, to distract me from the pain I imagine.

"Yes, I am a Navigation Specialist." He started. "I have a Masters Degree in computer science, with a minor in computer engineering, but as I said, I did take a basic first aid course a few years back, but that course actually didn't cover sutures."

"Well, aren't you humble?" I muttered through my clenched teeth.

"Don't move. I'd rather not poke your eye out." he said

I rolled my eyes at him.

"That counts as movement." he smirked as I tried my very best to glare at him without moving my face. "Anyway," he continued. "It was actually Bailey who taught me how to stitch up a wound. She says it's an important skill that everyone should learn. Though, she is both a biologist and a trauma surgeon so she may be slightly biased."

I could tell by the way he spoke of this Bailey that they were really close. Not that I didn't assume so already, I'm sure he wouldn't have waited around on a sinking Starship for just anybody.

"I'll tell you though, if she were here right now, your stitches would look absolutely gorgeous." he finished with a wide grin.

Ries brought a small, silver set of scissors up to my forehead and clipped the thread. He leaned back to admire his handiwork.

"Not bad," he said. "You're all done."

He turned back to his right, removed his gloves and began to pack up the first aid kit, gathering up the used waste in a small plastic bag. I brought my hand up and ran my fingers along the four inch line of stitches that ran from the side of my forehead to the center of my cheekbone. Ries was right, they did not feel pretty.

"Hey Ries?" I called.

He was now over at the counter wiping his own hands clean.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Is Bailey your sister?" I asked.

He studied me for a moment before answering.

"She may as well be, we grew up two houses down from each other. I understand the confusion, Bailey is her last name, her first name is Kate, well Katherine actually." he paused as if reminiscing. "I haven't figured out yet if it was coincidence or fate that we were both accepted into project 'NEWLIFE'. Though, based on how it's going I suppose we might more likely be cursed." he chuckled nervously.

"She sounds capable." I commented. "I am absolutely positive she would've ended up on another Cruiser."

"I appreciate your confidence, Mercer," he said.

As Ries finished cleaning and started back towards the med bay, I decided to go with him, wanting to explore more of the ship and to be honest I was enjoying his company.

"Thanks by the way." I said as I caught up to him and we walked side by side. "I realize that you also gave up your outside time."

He grinned as I motioned back towards the central airlock, still open to the world beyond the walls of our little ship. The door had been open long enough that the air from outside had drifted in. Its aroma was so incredible that I almost ditched Ries right then and there, but I felt like he might be enjoying my company too. My eyes drifted down to the badge pinned to the lapel of his jacket, I had noticed it when I had first met him, A.W. Ries.

It was strange, but when you're on a Starship with as many passengers as ours, I found that you only really come to know the names of the people you work most closely with. That never stops me from wondering though. I knew a total of seven names after the three months we had spent aboard the Pioneer 6, all of whom were engineers. The only one that seemed in any way important now was J.D. Dilban, also known as James Daniel. I did not however know Clarke's name, and it wasn't for lack of trying. Roughly one month into the voyage, the engineers had started noticing that anyone who had ever asked for Clark's name was met with a swift 'None of your business' or some other much more colorful version of the same thing. Her badge read D.M.R Clarke. The last time I checked, the engineers who were more prone to boredom, and gambling, had started collecting bets on what each initial might stand for.

As I walked with Ries and watched as he put the emergency med kit back where he found it, I started trying out a number of combinations. I can’t say it was more than a minute before my curiosity got the best of me and I said something.

"What does the 'A.W. stand for?" I asked.

Ries looked up at me surprised, I'm sure that was one of the last questions he was thinking I might ask him. Why did it matter? Call me crazy but I wanted to know the people I was for better or worse, stuck with.

"Oh, it's um." he stammered, glancing down at his badge as if he had forgotten it was there. "It's Aaron Walter. Though, I don't typically use Walter very often."

"Aaron Walter Ries." I repeated.

"Yeah." he said, glancing at my bloodstained badge. "What about you? L.J.?"

"Lyla Jade" I answered quickly.

"Lyla Jade Mercer." he repeated in the same way I had, mocking me a little.

"Yep." I said.

"Cool." he said.

We stood there looking at each other for a solid five seconds before we both cracked identical smiles at the awkwardness of the question and burst out into a fit of giggles. Our stroll back to the airlock was comfortable and brief. We both glanced at each other excitedly before we made our way along the boarding ramp and touched down into the short, soft grass. Orson was pacing the perimeter, a small scanner in her hand, she was no doubt looking for signs of the other Cruisers or any human life forms, which must mean that there had been no sign of them during our initial approach. Dilban, and Clarke had finished setting up the perimeter fence around the ship, at which Clarke was now tossing small pebbles which bounced right back at her as if they were hitting an invisible wall.

"Nothing's getting through that." Dilban confirmed

Clarke must have heard us coming because she turned around to greet us the moment our boots touched the ground. She put a hand to her eyes to block the glare from the setting sun.

"Lookin' good Frankenstein." she called at me, smiling.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her, knowing it would probably cause me to either pass out or throw up, I was definitely feeling that concussion right about now. I settled for simply smiling back at her as I shifted my gaze to take in the glory that was our newfound parking spot. The impossibility of our situation was finally sinking in a little.

"Talk about a great view." Ries muttered as he made his way to the edge of the fence.

"Yeah well," Orson announced, joining us near the ramp. "We should start settling in, we may be here for a while."

I took another look around at where we were.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.