Deathstalker 04 - Deathstalker Honor

flexed, and lights flickered on and off, the scream of the straining engines louder than the storms outside.
    Random and Ruby held each other tightly, their heads buried in each other’s shoulders. And then the pinnace struck a towering black mountain a glancing blow in passing, and the whole right side of the craft bulged inward. The pinnace struck one obstacle after another on its way down, its heavily armored hull absorbing most of the blows, but Random and Ruby took a lot of the impact too. Fires broke out in the back of the pinnace, and smoke drifted down the cabin, thick and black and choking. And then the ship finally hit the ground. The impact seemed to go on forever. The pinnace skidded across an unyielding, unforgiving surface in a sea of sparks and flames, slowing only gradually, until finally the nose slammed into a dark cliff face, and the pinnace came to a final halt. The engines were cut off automatically, and for long moments there was only the roaring of the gale-force winds as they blew out the flames and rocked the broken-open wreck of the pinnace back and forth. Jack Random’s first awareness was of being rocked pleasantly to and fro like an infant in its cradle. It felt wonderfully comfortable, and all he wanted was to lie there and enjoy it, but part of him knew he couldn’t do that. Reluctantly he opened his eyes, and was greeted with the hellish red glow of emergency lighting. At least the damn alarm sirens had shut up at last. He didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious, but he could hear fires burning at the back of the craft. Not a good sign. He could taste blood in his mouth. He tried to move his arms, and sharp pains erupted in his sides. Several careful movements later, he was satisfied he’d broken most of his ribs, and there was enough blood seeping into his mouth that he had to keep spitting it out. Definitely not a good sign. He gritted his teeth against the pain and tried to stand up, but the crash had compacted the barricades around him and Ruby so tightly that there was no room to move. Ruby’s eyes were still closed, and she was breathing harshly through her mouth.
    “Ruby! Wake up, dammit! I can’t do this on my own!”
    “Stop shouting,” Ruby mumbled without opening her eyes. “I’ve got a headache.”
    She lifted her head slowly, and Random winced as her face came into the light. There was a deep and nasty wound on her forehead, blood streaming down the side of her face. But when she opened her eyes, they were clear and rational. “Congratulations,” said Random. “We survived the landing. Unfortunately, the ship is on fire. We have to get out of here, fast.” “So what’s stopping us?” said Ruby.
    “We’re stuck in our cocoon, and I can’t find enough leverage to free us. Any suggestions?”
    “Our feet are still on the deck. If we can’t push back, push up.” So they braced themselves against each other, refusing to cry out at the pain of their various injuries, and forced themselves to their feet. After that it was a simple but painful task to free themselves from the cocoon that had saved their lives. Leaning heavily on each other, they headed for the single airlock. Neither of them were particularly steady on their feet. Jack’s vision wasn’t as clear as he would have liked, and his head ached abominably. He just hoped he didn’t have a concussion. Ruby was favoring one leg, and one of her eyeballs was red with leaking blood inside. Really not a good sign. Jack decided he’d think about all that later. First get out of the damned pinnace. He hit the airlock controls, and nothing happened. He hit them again, as hard as he could in his weakened state, but the airlock inner door remained stubbornly shut. “What’s taking so long?” said Ruby petulantly. “I want to lie down. Get some sleep.”
    “In a while,” said Random. “Right now, try talking to this door. It won’t listen to me.”
    “Airlock’s linked to the main controls. And they were wrecked in the landing.”
    “Can we repair them?”
    “Maybe,” said Ruby, frowning as she tried to concentrate. “If you’re good at jigsaws. Anyway, don’t be in such a hurry to leave. From what I remember of the files, surface conditions are atrocious. It’s cold, high background radiation, and the wind never stops blowing. Let’s just sit here and wait to be rescued.
    I’m tired.”
    “I’m afraid we can’t do that, Ruby. There’s a fire in the hold and it’s coming this