ABANDON

Chapter 7 -- Talents

    "Trust the company to only give us what we need and no more."  Josh said.

    "I recommend we shut the ship off completely, use the planet's air.  Save as much fuel as we can."  Callivar said.

    "I agree." Captain stated.

    "Captain, can I speak to you?"  Jane forced herself to asked again, feeling great reluctance.

    He turned to face her looking angry.  "Jane, go shut the ship off."

    Jane swallowed the words in her throat.  There was no chance they could get out now. Captain turned his back on her, facing the soldiers.  Jane left quickly, there was no point in lingering, Captain's attention was already gone.  Josh watched her leave.

    Scott greeted her in the cockpit.  "Did you see the take-out containers the military brought?"  Scott asked.

    "No."  Jane replied, her jaw still tight.  She must have said it colder than she expected, because Scott didn't say anything else.  Then he shrugged his shoulders.  "Anyway, they're emergency shelters.  I just thought we could have... a laugh.  Never mind."

    "Captain told me to shut off the transport, but I'll wait until you're done."

    "Give me two seconds."  He moved to face the screen copying something onto his own PD.  "Idling."  Scott said absentmindedly.  "I wonder where that term came from.  There is so much going on in this place right now, the ship is anything but idle.  I mean I know it came from the days of combustion engines and all."  Scott whistled.  "Did such a time ever exist?"

    "If the engine was in gear it moved forward.  If it wasn't in gear, it was called idle.  Because it wasn't moving."

    Scott stretched around to face Jane.  "But the machine was still on.  Things were still working, things were still moving."  Scott went back to the console.  "According to the computer, you were only four hundred meters from the ground when you separated from the Holiday.  That's an amazing bit of flying Jane."

    "I was lucky."

    "And because of you we were all lucky."

    "Not all of us."

    Scott looked at Jane.  "It's not so bad to die in hibernation.  They were asleep, they didn't suffer."

    Jane looked at her running shoes. 

    "You know, I've been working for this company for eighteen years.  Eighteen travel years.  Do you know how many earth years that is?  Like forty or something.  Eighteen travel years..."  Scott whistled.  "I thought I would make it to an easy twenty.  Do you know what the company does when you hit twenty?  Benefits.  Well it doesn't matter now, does it?  Josh says we'll get no help from the company.  We're as good as dead."

    Jane looked at Scott just as he looked at her and they made eye contact.  Scott's eyes had a dark blue ring around the light blue iris.  Like an atmosphere around a planet of water, Jane thought.  She had never noticed how lovely they were.  "Don't listen to what Josh says."  Jane said. 

    "That's the problem.  I've known Josh for a long time and he is never wrong." Scott got up from the chair and Jane moved into it.

    "I really doubt that." Jane didn't waste any time shutting the transport off.  Up until now, the gentle hum of air through ducts had been the background noise.  It was a familiar sound, a comforting sound, her old friend throughout the last year.  Now it was replaced by the sound of wind forcing its way inside the ship.  There was no crack too thin, no hole too small.  Jane knew it was going to get in.  It would coat the filters, plug up the valves.  There was very little separating her from this planet.  She knew she couldn't stop it.