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Chapter Three Crash

There was a steady blip. It was Norman's way of knowing the computer was still working. He couldn't see anything. He was floating weightlessly somewhere cold. His head was pounding. He couldn't remember a thing. He knew he was on his ship. What he didn't know was why the lights were out, why his head hurt and where in his ship he was. He groaned, a bit aggravated, "Computer.." He waited a moment, "Damn.." The computer was offline. Something must have happened to power generators. He was frustrated. He heard the blip again, "Okay... Just needs to be reset.." He worked out in his head what could have gone wrong as he floated around. His flashlight on his jacket wasn't working, either. Even the light on his watch was broken. He let out a sigh, "Fuck.. EMP." Although he knew no one was there, talking to himself was one of those things Norman found comfort in. He crawled his way down a shaft saying, "Alright, Norm.. What happened?" "We were under attack.. They used an EMP and wiped the computer.." He replied to himself. "Hmm.." He thought for a moment, "Where's my crew?" He tried the radio on his vest. "Right.. everything's gone." He growled, "Okay okay.. Relax champ.." He sighed, "Fuck." He ran to a dead end. It was a door. He searched for the manual override for the door. A latch to the top right of the door. Searching above him he found that he was upside down. Or the ship was, he really couldn't say. Upon opening the door, he found his crew. Floating lifelessly on the bridge. Shot through the head. Execution style. This concerned Norman. The light reflecting off the planet they were orbiting now showed his canine features. He was a German Shepard by breed. The planet out the window was a wasteland of desert. Not a spot of blue. He made his way into the bridge. The computer reset was here somewhere. He just needed to remember to follow the blip. He crawled his way around the consoles until he found it. There was a slot for a key. He checked his jacket pockets for the key. He sill remembered all his training, and the times piloting this ship. He had never had to do a hard reset on the system. He found the key, fumbled around, trying to get it into the hole. His paws were shaking a bit. He was getting more and more frustrated. He said aloud, "So, rebels or pirates.. You guys wanna bet?" He looked at his dead crew, "No? No one?" He went back to turning the computer back on, "Suit yourselves." The lights started coming on all around the ship. The air started getting a bit less stale, and the biting cold was starting to regulate. Slowly, the gravity was returning and the crew and himself sank to the floor. He stood up, stretched and headed for the pilot's seat, taking the key with him. He waited for the computer to finish booting up. He was growing impatient. He really wanted to know what happened. This ship was his pride and joy. Named, "Alice" After his late wife. The computer came on with a woman's voice, "Good Morning, Norman." "Hi, Alice. What happened?" Responded Norman. "A group of fighter ships attacked us. We lost the crew. You hit your head opening the air lock. And then the enemy activated an EMP." Norman nodded, "Status of the ship?" "Do you want the technical answer or the simple answer?" Replied Alice "Simple." "Royally fucked." Norman frowned, "And the technical?" "Royally fucked." Norman sighed, "Why?!" "The back half of the ship is gone." Norman was speechless as a diagram was displayed up on a holoscreen in front of him. There was nothing of the ship left to get him anywhere. He was stuck orbiting a planet he didn't know, and he was the only one left alive on what was left of Alice. "How long until we are thrown onto this planet?" "We have about ten minutes until impact." "Fuck.. " "This ship will not survive the landing. I suggest you go to your sleeping quarters and wait until we've landed. I am sending an emergency beacon." "Is there anything I can do?" Norman was almost yelling now. "No." "Come on, Alice. Don't give up on me." "There is no way to steer the ship in this condition. All fuel is gone and engines are floating somewhere in space. Weapons are all offline. There is minimal oxygen left. The bridge is running on emergency power." Norman was gritting his teeth. They were hitting the atmosphere, "Damnation!!" He hit the computer panel under him with the bottom of his fist. He broke some of the controls. Alice's voice came up again, "Please, Norman, I suggest you go to your room. It will give you the highest chance to survive." "And what might that be?" Replied Norman through his teeth. "Approximately 37% chance of survival. Five minutes to impact, sir." Alice said in her calm voice. "Alice..." "Please, Norman. Priority is insuring my crew's safety. Get to your bedroom. It is the safest room in the ship under these circumstances." "Alice.." He couldn't think of anything he could say. The ship lurched forward. He was running out of time. Before leaving he said, "I'm sorry, Alice. Goodbye.. " "Goodbye, Norman." Replied the computer. Norman ran through the ship, emergency lights were now on through the hall. His quarters were a short run away. He made his way to his room, getting himself ready for impact, sure he wouldn't survive the landing. He braced himself, the whole ship shook. He started to feel weightless and cold. The ship was shutting down. He shut tight his eyes, there was a loud crash. In his head, Norman tried to evaluate what was going on. He hit the ground, now he was sliding with a great amount of speed. Everything stopped, the lights went out. It was a few moments before he felt everything had stopped. He was hurt. His body ached, his head was bleeding, one of his legs felt broken. But he survived. He was even able to get through the wreckage. Outside the ship, the world was a wasteland. The air was dusty. He had to cover his muzzle with a cloth. He scanned the area. There was little. Remnants of a city in rubble were all that was left. His ship was a pile of burning scrap metal now. He felt that it was a miracle he lived at all. He was tired, drained of energy, he sat in the shade of a worn out, tipped over obelisk. He checked his jacket for an emergency ration of water. He had a small juice box in his pocket, crushed, but still have a couple sips of grape juice in it. He sighed, hoping the emergency beacon was still functional. For now he would wait, not knowing what else he could do now.