Trajectory

CHAPTER 6: PLAN

Cover Image for CHAPTER 6: PLAN

The droid hovered in place, its single glowing eye fixed on Elias.

Stamped on its worn metal frame, barely visible beneath years of dust and corrosion, was a designation:

T.E.R.I. Tactical Exploration and Reconnaissance Intelligence.

TERI.

It adjusted its altitude slightly, as if studying him. Then, in a voice that sounded entirely too irritated for a machine, it said:

“Okay. Let’s just go over this one more time. You’re a human. On this planet. Breathing.”

Elias rubbed his temple. “Yeah. We covered that.”

“No, no, no. You don’t understand.” TERI floated a little closer, as if squinting at him. “This planet is still in recon phase. Meaning no humans. Meaning not you. And—this is a big one—it is supposed to be unapproachable due to extreme atmospheric entry conditions. So tell me…” The droid tilted slightly. “How. The hell. Are you here?”

Elias exhaled. “I was flying a recon mission. Standard orbital pass. Nothing crazy. Then I hit some debris, lost thrusters, and before I knew it—” He gestured to the wreckage of the Icarus. “Here I am.”

TERI made a noise—something between a mechanical tsk and a whir.

“Wow. That’s bad luck.”

Elias smirked. “Thanks.”

“Oh no, I mean it. You are, quite literally, not supposed to be alive. I’ve seen the entry models. Your ship should’ve crumpled like a beer can before it even touched atmosphere.”

Elias sighed. “Yeah. I got that part.”

TERI floated in a slow, thoughtful circle. “Okay, well. You’re here. And you’re somehow not a human puddle. So let’s talk about getting you off this death rock.”

“That’s the idea,” Elias said. “Can you send a signal up to the Ark-12 or Odyssey-4? Let them know where I am?”

TERI’s eye flickered as it ran a scan. A few seconds later, the droid let out a sharp electronic sigh. “Oh. Wow. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.”

Elias clenched his jaw. “What.”

TERI spun around dramatically. “You’re gonna love this—neither of these wrecks have a functioning transponder.”

Elias’s stomach dropped. “Come on. There’s got to be something we can use.”

TERI gave an exaggerated pause, as if humoring him. “Nope. Sorry. We’re completely, totally, screwed.”

Elias ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. Okay. Let’s think. You’re reconnaissance, right? You must have a map of the other drone landings.”

TERI hesitated, then begrudgingly admitted, “Yeah. I do.”

“Anything nearby that might still have a working signal?”

Another pause. Then, TERI’s eye pulsed as it processed the request.

“Well, well, well,” the droid finally said. “Looks like we might not die here after all. There’s a drone lander about forty-two miles from here. If it’s intact, its comms relay should still be active.”

Elias let out a breath. “Great. So we head there.”

“Ah. One problem.”

Elias braced himself. “Of course.”

TERI drifted in a slow circle around him, like a shark waiting to deliver bad news. “You have, what? Half a liter of water?”

Elias pulled the bottle from his flight suit. A single, lukewarm bottle.

TERI whistled. “Yeah. That’s… not gonna cut it.”

Elias looked at the endless desert stretching ahead. Sand. Rock. Nothing. “What are the odds of finding water on the way?”

“Actually,” TERI said, “I might have something for you.” Its eye flickered, running another scan. “Looks like there’s a potential water source about ten miles in. No guarantees, but it’s the best shot you’ve got.”

Elias nodded. Forty miles. With injuries. On foot.

TERI made a thoughtful buzzing noise. “Sooo… just to recap: We are stranded, I might die of thirst, and our only hope is to make a horrific death march across a landscape basically designed to kill all life.”

Elias capped the bottle and slid it back into his suit. “Sounds about right.”

TERI hovered beside him. “You are remarkably calm for someone in your position.”

Elias adjusted the straps on his flight suit. “It’s either that or freak out. And that won’t help.”

TERI paused. Then, with a small tilt of its frame, it said, “Okay, Matt Damon. Let’s go for a walk.”

Elias huffed a laugh, took a step forward. Then another.

And together, they started across the wasteland.