Crash Landing

I wrote this little story inspired by this art piece. Enjoy!

By Alan Craddock, 1984

“Ughn...” The brunet man grunted in frustration as he pulled his head out from underneath the control panel and got up to his feet. His yellow uniform had burn scars and grease on it.

“...how bad is it?” The woman standing nearby asked, wearing a uniform like his own. The man looked at his auburn-haired compatriot. Her gray eyes bore into him, and her arms were crossed.

“Well...” He waved his wrench at the control panel. “Engines are shot. Radio is recoverable, but I will need time to repair it.”

“So essentially, we're...”

“To use an ancient Earth phrase, we are boned.” Charles Terrence announced.

“Terrific.” Jennifer Anderson sighed, uncrossing her arms. “How long do you need to fix the radio?”

“Could take a couple hours.” Charles said, grabbing a red box by its handle and placing it on the control panel. Jennifer nodded.

“Alright, I'll take a look around, see what further damage we suffered.” Jennifer said, walking further into the ship.

“Be careful, Jen.” Charles said, crawling into the underside of the control panel. He opened up the box and pulled a tool out of it. “And if you find my ham sandwich, can you grab it for me, please?” He chuckled at his own joke.

“Aw, go find your sandwich yourself!” Jen retorted in faux malice. A short time later, she returned to the ship's small bridge.

“How bad is it?” Charles asked.

“Like you said, the engines are shot to Hades and back.” Jennifer confirmed. “Otherwise that, most of the damage to the ship is mostly cosmetic. And the life support is still functioning, thank God. How're you doing with the radio?”

“Almost there.” He soldered a couple of wires. “And that should do it.” Charles closed the panel door, pulled himself out from under the control panel, and got back up to his feet. “Alright, let's cast out the line...” The auburn-haired man twisted some dials and pressed some buttons. “...and see if we can catch ourselves a fish.”

Jennifer shook her head and smiled in amusement. Charles often made jokes referencing fishing. When he was a boy growing up in Virginia, he would spend time during his childhood and teenage summers fishing with his father and uncle. The auburn-haired woman found herself fondly remembering the stories that Charles would tell about those halcyon days.

“I've got it sending a help signal regularly.” Charles announced. “Nobody's bitten our bait yet.”

“Well, the signal just went out.” Jen shrugged. “No point in expecting help to come right away.”

“You got a point.” Charles agreed. He looked out the window. “At least there's a nice view.” Jen moved over to the window and gazed at the planet they crashed on. The sky was a yellowish-orange. The two had noticed they were in a clearing, surrounded by tall trees.

“Yeah, it is.” She agreed. The auburn-haired woman went over to a console and activated the scanners. Her gray eyes took in the screen. “We can go take a look around. The atmosphere is Earth-like.”

“Hopefully, we'll find some nice-looking animals.” Charles said. The two prepared to leave the ship.

“Why, you plan to eat 'em?” Jennifer joked.

“It may be good to know what animals are edible if we have to hunt for food.” Charles pointed out. “Also...” He pulled a drone out of a box. “My sister is a xenobiologist. I'm sure she'll love to see some of the wildlife here.” He attached the drone's controller to his belt. “We should also put on some nose filters.”

“Whatever for? The atmosphere is breathable to humans.” Jennifer asked.

“We're in a strange world with unknown lifeforms.” Charles reminded, handing her some nose filters. “You might get exposed to some strange flora with acid pollen or something.”

“Right, fair enough.” She took her filters and put them in.

The two astronauts then put on some dark crimson armor over their uniforms, as well as matching helmets. The two checked their radios and blasters. “You ready?”

“Let's do this.” Jennifer activated the airlock. The doors opened up, and warm air rushed into the ship. “Whoof! Reminds me of summers in Upstate New York. So friggin' humid...” The two walked out into an uncertain territory, unaware of what they might find...