“Silver Lieutenant! Do you copy?” Captain Fallax’s deep voice boomed as he tapped the silver insignia button on his watch-com.
“Copy… Captain…,” Scissus’ response was hardly audible over the com, and it sounded… weak.
“Lieutenant! What are your coordinates?” the Captain’s patience was wearing thin.
“Incomprehensible, sir,” Scissus’ voice demonstrated agony and distress.
“Excuse me?” Captain Fallax was glaring at his watch-com on his wrist as if Silver Lieutenant Scissus was standing in its place.
“I cannot read them, sir.”
“What do you mean you cannot read them?” the Captain’s annoyance was clearly evident in his tone.
“My vision is blurred. I can… barely make out the terrain around us.”
“Your vision is blurred? What in the hell happened down there!” the Captain shouted once more, yet his face did not appear angry.
“We… crashed, sir. I’m not sure what happened. We were…,” he grunted, his words were beginning to sound more forced, “descending smoothly, and the next thing we know…”
“Did you not see anything approach your vessel?” the Captain interrupted, his voice hasty, furious that one of his Lieutenants crash-landed a Series 5 Naval Star-Craft, and of all places, on Saxa Vagus, the rockiest dwarf planet known in the outer territories of the Calidi System.
“No, sir, I did not… I believe it may have come from behind,” Scissus said, his voice a little shaky.
“This is not what Admiral Valen had in mind when he tasked us to scout out Saxa Vagus,” Fallax muttered under his breath.
“Sir?” Scissus questioned hesitantly.
He sighed. “Nothing, Lieutenant. How did the vessel hold up in the crash?”
“The vessel? Sir, I think… I think you should be more concerned about… our men!” the last few words forced through a seeming pain the Captain could only guess through the scratchy sounding com.
“Right, Lieutenant. How are your Junior Lieutenants? Are there any casualties?”
“No casualties, Captain. Though, I’m being told that everyone aboard has minor injuries. We may need a medic transport to be sent down to the surface.”
The corner of Fallax’s mouth curved up into a sideways grin, “Good Lieutenant. Casualties would have cost us. However, there aren’t any available medics aboard the cruiser.”
“Captain, that’s impossible, there were at least three when we departed,” the Lieutenant’s voice was confident, and no longer sounded forced.
“Not anymore. All are currently being required elsewhere on the cruiser. You may need to find shelter on your own.”
“On our own? But Captain…” Fallax tapped the silver button on his watch-com once more, and the transmission cut out.
“On their own, indeed,” Captain Fallax of the Calidi Stellar Navy laughed under his breath, walking away from the control panel of his 10-31 Exploration Cruiser, where the ship’s main cannon levers were. The entire crew stared at him in utter horror. Briefly, he wondered if the Silver Lieutenant and his crew would survive the vast rocky expanse of Saxa Vagus.
No, of course not, he thought, and silently laughed again.
T.P. Lanzarotto 