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Karen - A Space Odyssey

PART II - THE ESCAPE

The escape pod tumbled around, so they had more or less a wide panoramic view of the attack. They could see hundreds of fighters, of the kind they never saw before, attacking the Imperion from every sides. The big ship, underarmed, had no chance. They could also see the hundreds of escape pods, floating away in all directions. Many of them were being shoot at. Those who were attacking the Imperion had no mercy. And the crew of the Imperion didn't even knew why they were attack in such a savage way.

As for Karen and Pete, they knew where they were heading: to one of the small moons. A gray tinted one. Upon entering the atmosphere of the planet, the security features of the pod kicked in. The safety harnesses tightened on them, holding them safely on their seat. The protective lid on the windows closed. The pod went through the atmosphere with a fiery streak. A few thousands meters before landing, the chutes opened, slowing it down to a safer speed. At 100 meters, the landing rockets fired, the three landing legs extended and the pod made a soft landing... on a rocky and uneven hill side. The auto systems tried to compensate, but the difference was too great. The pod tipped on it's side, leaving the passengers dangling from the ceiling.
"You okay?"
"Yeah", said Karen. "Not exactly the landing I've expected. Now, how do we get out of this" she said, waving around.
Pete reached for a button on the armrest of the chair. A click, the safety harness unbuckled and pete landed face down of the "floor".
"Not exactly gracious" he said "but it works. Here, let me hold you before you do it."
He was able to catch Karen in mid-air, and put her down gently. He went to the computer terminal and consulted the screen.
"Okay, breathable atmosphere, 28C. Looks like a warm sunny day."He pushed another button, and the door, to their side, opened. They crawled outside. Karen had the most difficulties, being hardly able to bend enough to walk on her knees. Once out, the scenery was depressing.
"It's all rock. Hills of bare rocks as far as we can see. Better get the survival pack. I think I'm in for a ride" she said, while looking at her clothings.
"Not exactly the right attire, I should say", said Pete, sarcastic.
"Well, forgive me, but it wasn't in my agenda to take a ride in an escape pod today. Mabe we should just stay here and wait for some kind of rescue."
"I don't think this is a good idea. Right now, the pod is sending distress signals, and judging by how the Imperion was welcome, I don't think they're gonna come to rescue us, but to kill us. We better get away." As he said that, he reached for the power plant of the pod and shot it down. Grabbed the two survival packs, gave one to Karen and browse the deserted landscape.
"That should give us some time, now that the distress signal is stop. Where do we go now?"
"Well, as a geologist, I can assure you that we won't find much water in the flats direction. I suggest we get on top of that hill, and have a better look around."

The climb was about 200 meters. Karen struggled with her heels to keep balance, and her tight jeans to lift her legs high enough to climb some of the biggest boulders. When they finally reached the top of the hill. They took a look. There was nothing but hills of boulders. Karen was exhausted.
"We'll have to do something about your clothings. They're defenitely not suitable for what's ahead." Pete Said.
"Can't do."
"Why not?"
"Well, for once, I can't walk bare foot on these rocks, and breaking the heel won't help with the sole so thick and stiff. As for the pants, well, I can't remove them. Not without one of Imperion's replicator. The fact is that I made a special program. It wasn't possible for me to put pants that tight on, so I programmed the replicator to still interact with the fabric once it's on me, making them tighter. In the process, the zipper and the waist button are fused. At the same time, the fabric becomes very strong. A knife won't cut it, it would take only a laser, and no need to say that, if used, it's gonna cut my legs at the same time. So basically, I'm stuck in these until I can get a replicator. A little side effect that wasn't a big deal on the ship, but here... Good thing the food pellets in the survival pack do not produce any waste..."