Zoo-Nautica
Chapter 1
Water World
Judy's PDA came to life chiming the Alterra name in its strange chorus as Nick grabbed his own PDA from his seat. The feminine AI set about congratulating her for not dying and head trauma of the metal plate during the fall. Her head throbbed slightly as she listened to the AI yammer on before growing silent for a moment. Hearing the strange Alterra from behind made her shake her head sadly. Feeling her stomach growl, made her realize honestly had it been far too long having eaten since planet fall. Stepping over to the supply box she reached and grabbed herself a bottle of water and a Nutriblock.
She turned to stare at Nick as he finished applying the only current med kit to his wounded head. He smiled before plucking from her hands the food and water she had pulled out for herself.
"Why thank you Fluff. I was feeling a little peckish." He bit into the NutriBlock and crunched away at it as he spoke again. "So... get to work then..."
He took another bite as Judy felt herself starting to build in anger.
"Those were mine, I got them for myself..."
Nick raised an eyebrow before taking another bite from the food bar. Then he just turn his attention to the water in his hand. Judy huffed loudly and pulled the other water and food from storage quickly woofing it down before Nick could lay paws on it. She turned to find him licking the crumbs off his fingers glancing in her direction.
"What?"
He rolled his eye before answering, "So when are you going to get to work?"
"Look here you stuffy suit, if it was not for me you would be space dust up in whatever happened. This is not how I wanted my day starting and having to deal with your high and mighty attitude on top of that so back off."
Nick blinked at her before rolling his eyes in her direction.
"This is not looking at all good for your personnel record, you keep up this attitude I do not think you will make it far with Alterra."
Judy glowered at him.
"Jerk."
He laughed before taking his seat again, "Name calling? Is that where we honestly are Carrots?"
Judy felt her face go lack of expression as she looked at the fox.
"I am going outside to get air." Judy said as she started to climb the ladder.
"I will join you then it is stuffy in here."
Judy pushed open the hatch only to have a strange flat white pancake looking bird squawks and flys off. The sun glared brightly down at her as she stepped unsteadily onto the top of the life pod. Ocean sounds filled her ears, that white noise clarity which would occasionally ramp up as the waves rolled on. Only the water slapping against the inflated pontoons, which kept the pod fairly steady and upright, broke the simple sound. Already she could hear the fox stepping onto the pod as well.
"Well," he began to say, "This is... depressing."
Judy looked to the fox behind her as he stood with a hand shielding his eyes to the sun. But words failed her as she gasped at the sight behind him. He looked down at her before looking where she was looking at the smoldering wreck of the ship they had once been on.
"I stand corrected..."
Silently she agreed with the fox as she looked on with small welling of tears to her eyes. It laid off in the distances only slightly off kilter to its centerline, smoke and fire emanating from different levels. Judy had to swallow a knot in her throat before she could speak.
"It's... its at least close... we can probably get some salvage to await resc..."
The fox chuckled. "They are probably getting ready to rescue us and get us back into more comfortable quarters till rescue. You may not have to do much at all then but still... you should get to work repairing this pod..."
Deep down Judy was wishing she had left him where he had been. She grit her teeth tightly and glowered at him as he looked on at her. He just smiled at her slightly before turning back to the hatch.
"Well... I am going to go lie down for a bit and recover my strength. So be quick as a rabbit Cottontail, sooner you get to work the sooner we can be rescued."
The hatch hissed closed as he closed it behind him, Judy feeling so excessively anger she wanted to scream aloud but knew it would have not done her any good. Flopping onto the roof of the pod she took stock of herself and the situation she found herself in. It was apparent that if that fox survives this incident it would be pure for her extreme self-control to not end him. She was stranded for the time being with an absolute corporate asshole that apparently chose to ride her tail for some slight the previous day on the ship. Already Judy felt her mind starting to get angrier and angrier.
Judy looked back at the Aurora as a small explosion snapped her train of thought from the upper deck of the ship. She took a deep and shaky breath as the once proud ship laid smoldering in what she hoped was either shallow or some remnant isle. But the fox was right... Her job was still needing to be done. Standing she readied herself to enter back into the pod when a glimmer in the water caught her eyes in the shadow of some coral. Taking a much deeper breath she dove into the water.
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Nick thumped his fist into the wall of the pod as he heard and felt the rabbit dive from the pod. The tremor of disturbed water finally settled to almost none existent. With her gone he began to shiver, not from the cold thou. It all happened so fast but it was fragmented moments in time it seemed. Something had dislodged after a blast of some sort hit the ship, then the rabbit there packing him into this pod with her. Wrapping his arms around himself to try and settle his nerves only proved to him it was not going to help.
He had to make sure that she understood that not only was he a passenger but that he had corporate authority. Now all he had to do was to make sure he could find Khasim and get both of them off planet and back home. It seemed a piece of cake in his head but that rabbit was not entitled to what he knew, she just had to follow his direction like the captains. But Nick was feeling groggy and with a yawn and a shiver he settled onto the pods floor and curled in on himself to see if some of the shaking would go away.
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She remember going snorkeling at least once back on Earth when she had a lay over between work assignments. There were very alien yet similar things she could recall from that one experience but even then it was still so alien more so now. Several alien fish swam about the vibrant plant life on the sea floor fliting about as she swam just a little deeper to the glimmer she saw. Already she could feel a strain on her lungs causing her to look back to the surface. Doubling her efforts she swam into the shadow to find her prize, a fragment of the Aurora's hull. Quickly tucking it under her arm she pushed off the sandy bottom towards the surface.
The air never tasted so sweet as she gasped deeply but she at least had the Aurora fragment. Judy took a moment to look over the plasteel wreckage. Much of the Alterra machining marks were there but she could reprocess it at least to the titanium substructure. She would have to hopefully find more resources to potential make better materials. Looking at the pod there was a reluctance that sickened her with the other passenger. He was such an ungrateful ass without any consideration of what she had done for him... Not even a thanks...
Climbing the exterior ladder she sat with her prize looking out across the vast waters. Despite the disaster she was taken aback to the view and the smells. Strong salty breeze winds, the lapping of the waters, the vibrant and colorful underwater foliage. Any other circumstance this would have been a nice lay over planet if not for the time schedule they were trying to keep. But she was tired, a nap would be good...
Glancing at the wreck she laid with her back to it in the warm sun. Just a nap... then she would see to using the metal fragment for something with the pods re-construction system. A short nap... Her thoughts trailed off in the soothing lull of the waves and sea...
