Stranded on a desolate planet after fleeing from space slavers. Ren is injured and separated from her friend, and she soon finds herself entirely dependent on a male of an undocumented species. With no way to communicate and nothing in common, will they be able to overcome their differences to navigate the challenges ahead?

TERMINOLOGY

Tik = second

Click = minute

Pulse = hour

Chron = 3 hours together

Midchrons = central hours ie. midnight/noon

Incycle = night/sleep time

Phase = week

Durartide = fortnight

Lunation = month

Revolution = year

Dectron = decade

"This is an emergency SOS! We are in sector W122N14. Life support is failing. We are landing on a nearby planet. Systems report the probability of sustaining life to be seventy-three percent. This is an emergency SOS! Send assistance immediately!" Ren released the button ending her message with a deep breath. This was bad. She stared at the screen showing the only planet in this sector and said a small prayer. It was mid-sized and green. She told herself green was her favorite color and that this was a good sign. They were not going to die. Noey could not die and it be her fault. The approximate time until they breached the planet's atmosphere was three hours and the ship's systems kept reminding her that the life support systems were failing and incapable of self repair in their current state. Mama, please help us. Help us get there, and let the air be breathable. The ship shuddered again, the floor groaning under her feet. The life support systems weren't the only problem.

The ship was badly damaged and might not even be able to make the short jump to the planet. I should have listened to everyone. I shouldn't have agreed to this. We're going to die in the back end of space and no one will ever know what happened to us. Her mind started to spiral as she panicked. An involuntary squeak left her. The thought of dying wasn't even the most upsetting part. That waste of skin and wires, Emmit, was going to get away with betraying and killing them. She screeched, venting her anger into the otherwise empty bridge. If she survived this she would derive great pleasure from dismantling Emmit piece by piece.

Static crackled snapping her from her thoughts. "Ren, it's bad down here. I mean, it's real bad. I can't fix this." Noey's shaky voice came from the speakers.

"There's a planet nearby. It might be able to sustain us. If nothing else it'll buy us time," she answered back. "It's our only option right now."

There was silence from the engine room. She knew Noey had to be freaking out. She hadn't wanted to come on this fool's errand, but was unwilling to let Ren go alone. Ren let out another noise. This time it was sob-like. Not only had she managed to potentially kill herself, she had dragged Noey down with her. They always said together 'till the end, but she had never imagined the end would be her fault.

Ren looked over the navigation systems and debated the safety of trusting the ship AI's ability to get them to the planet in their current condition. Then, she shrugged figuring it either would or it wouldn't, and there was nothing she could do if the situation got worse anyway before exiting the bridge. She made her way down the hall to her quarters. Her quarters were small and plain. The room was at most two meters by three meters, with a small cot for sleeping and a standing locker for storage. The whole ship was small. It was only a two person mid tripper called a cosmorover. She never should have tried to make the trip out here in such a vessel. The cabin door slid shut behind her and she sunk onto her cot finally releasing the sobs that she had been holding in. I just need ten clicks. I'll get it together and face it, but I need ten clicks first. This whole trip was a disaster, from start to finish.

********

It had started when she met handsome cyborg Emmit at a cantina on Tylo Station. She had fallen so easily for his nearly human face. Humans were an oddity in deep space as they were typically quarantined to their planet of origin. Emmit had spun a tale about a missing Felisa princess and a huge bounty. He claimed that he needed a female partner to help capture the princess as she was unlikely to cooperate with a male bounty hunter. Ren, desperate for cash, had quickly volunteered. Her aunt had warned her that this was dangerous and that Emmit was not trustworthy. Her best friend since babyhood, Noey, had put all her effort into trying to talk Ren out of coming. In the end, though, Ren had left with Emmit on a rented cosmorover and Noey had come along to keep Ren out of trouble.

They had been in deep space for nearly a full lunation when Ren had woken up in the midchrons of an incycle to the sound of male voices in the common space. As the only male onboard was Emmit, she was immediately alarmed and quickly retrieved her crawler and firearm from the locker. The cold weight of the firearm felt comforting in her arms, grounding her in the moment and staving off hysteria. The firearm gave her the power to defend herself, and made her feel less like prey. The blaster was a weapon that opponents could see and recognize. Her crawler was her real weapon, though. The blaster was familiar and made her feel safe, but the crawler made her feel invincible.

The crawler was an extremely rare piece of technology, unparalleled in its capabilities. Ren typically kept the fact that she possessed one a secret as they were also highly illegal. Crafted from alien remains and augmented with alien technology it was worn as a headset that granted the wearer an array of abilities. Enhanced vision allowed for seeing in all spectrums and a 360-degree field of view. The wearer could perceive scents with unparalleled sensitivity and gained extraordinary auditory perception. Their senses were finely attuned and with discipline, allowed for precise control and focus. The crawler also enhanced physical abilities, providing increased speed, stamina, and strength.

Ren's connection with her crawler surpassed mere physical enhancement. Despite all her research, she had never encountered anything akin to her bond with the crawler. Through this bond, Ren could perceive the presence and intentions of others, and even glean impressions of their actual thoughts. When using the crawler, Ren became virtually omniscient and unstoppable, with nothing able to elude her. Prior to embarking on the mission, she had attempted to employ the crawler on Emmit from the confines of her quarters, only to discover that the crawler must possess a vulnerability regarding cyborgs.

The sheen of the crawler's gray carapace reflected the pulsing red lights of the ship's warning systems. The crawler had been hers for over ten years and it still fascinated her. Even inactive, the alien technology seemed to resonate with an otherworldly energy as she secured it around her head, sending a surge of adrenaline through her veins and waking up parts of her mind and body that were otherwise inaccessible to the average human. As she activated the crawler, a surge of power flooded her senses, allowing her to perceive the space around her in a way unlike anything else.

Once she donned the crawler, she immediately sensed the presence of two unknown males on board and detected another ship docked to their small mid tripper. Her heart raced as she realized the gravity of the situation. Through the two males she had learned that Emmit was their partner and they all worked for an organization of slavers. He had lured her out here with the intention of selling her and Noey was a bonus. Anger and determination surged within her as she understood the betrayal that had brought her to this perilous moment. Ren swiftly contacted Noey, relaying the urgent message that they were being infiltrated and that Emmit was involved in the treachery. Noey was an engineer and had chosen to sleep in the electrical room claiming she felt safer being able to monitor the shoddy ship's processors and mechanics around the clock.

From her location Noey was able to disable all non-essential systems, leaving only the vital life support operational. She was also able to seal the common room, only leaving it accessible via a short hallway that led to the ship's main entry port. Ren had then run for the bridge, adrenaline fueling her every move. She seized control of the intercom, and announced her intent to disengage from the other ship, leaving the port open to the vast, unforgiving expanse of space.

Emmit had laughed dismissively and called her a sweet girl, proclaiming that he knew she would never do such a thing. He presumed to know her after such a short period of time. Oh, how wrong he was. He had stood there, overconfident and staring stubbornly into the com viewer until he felt the ship lurch into motion. Only then did he make for the port before the other ship was shaken loose. With a great heave and the sound of rending metal the cosmorover shot forward hurtling away from the other ship.

They had achieved their freedom but were far from safety. It seemed that either Emmit or one of his associates, incensed by their escape, had opened fire on the cosmorover. Their much smaller craft juddered violently as Ren desperately tried to pilot them out of firing range. Alarms blared and the AI voice cascaded throughout the ship, issuing warning after warning in tones so urgent it seemed almost alive with fear and pain. In a swift move Ren managed to navigate the cosmorover underneath the other ship,using its blind spot for cover while she engaged the hyperdrive.

The hyperdrive would hurl them across space in a flash, but it took at least ten clicks to gain power. Grappling with panic, Ren directed the hyperdrive to the furthest sector she could think of. It was an immediate instinct to flee, to seek refuge in obscurity, and sector W122N14, a region so isolated that it was virtually unexplored, promised just that. They would be safe there. The problematic reality, however, was as stark as their solitude; rescue would be an improbability in such a forgotten sector of space, and the AI did not cease to stress their dire need of it.

"Punching it now!" Ren screamed out a warning, hoping Noey could hear. The hyperdrive hummed to life, a glowing halo of energy enveloping the cosmorover. Just as the enemy ship's cannons came to life again after recalibrating, Ren's fingers danced across the console, entering the coordinates. Space stretched in front of them, a brilliant tapestry of starlight contorting as the hyperdrive activated. There was a moment, suspended almost outside of time, where the stars shimmered into cosmic ribbons.

Then, with a resolute shudder that sent a shockwave through their bones, the cosmorover vanished from beneath the assailant's underbelly, hurtling through the folds of space. They emerged in sector W122N14, the star-speckled blackness greeting them like a silent testament to their narrow escape. Chest heaving, Ren gazed out at the endless void, feeling both the thrill of survival and the weight of the uncertainty that awaited them. But one thing was indisputable: they were alive, they were free, and for now, that was enough.