With the watertight doors now sealed, we can't go to other sections for assistance. The best we can do, Eva and me, is to salvage as much as possible before leaving the Proud.
Eva raises her head. “Sarah, you're okay, you're not too stunned?”
‘’I'm fine. And you, nothing broken?’’
She nods while taking a quick look at the latest data received on her tablet.
“The AI confirms an oxygen level of 65 percent and no toxicity or problematic radiation. No data yet on possible pathogenic elements though.”
“Anyway, it's not like we have a choice. So, let's get to work and aim for evacuation in ten minutes!” I say.
We quickly detach. I immediately head for the regeneration cell and pull Sarc-11, the closest unit to me, into the middle of the infirmary. Then I open it to put in what we can save.
Eva, who has also started to gather basics, rushes to put them in the sarcophagus: energy bars and protein packets, survival blankets, solar torches, as well as a portable analyzer that she uses to quickly obtain the composition of the elements that we come across during our research. On my side, I take inoculators and all the possible injectable doses I can get my hands on, whether it be anaphylactic, antibiotics, or others. I also grab suture kits and pressure bandages.
As I see the water level rising through the porthole, I throw everything I can find as fast as I can while pushing the sarcophagus toward the exit hatch. I grab a replicator that will be very useful for the future, as well as a water purifier.
Alas, neither clothes nor weapons are in the infirmary. Too bad, we'll have to do without it. We throw a last glance around us, just to check that we did not forget anything. As soon as the panel toward the outside opens, there will not be a second to lose to leave. As I am about to close the sarcophagus, she abruptly interrupts me.
“Give me one more minute before I activate the airlock opening” . . . as she runs to my desk and opens the last drawer. She pulls out my iPod and its mini speaker and tosses them on top of our other equipment already in storage without regard.
I add my tablet. She nods quickly as she looks at me and does the same, and we close the sarcophagus with its precious contents while she presses the unlock button on the escape hatch. The panel opens to a very cloudy sky and the water that is now coming in slightly above the level of the opening begins to seep into the room. The air temperature is rather pleasant and the water temperature is noticeably cooler, it quickly appears that it is the available quantity of oxygen that poses a problem, confirming the last AI analyses. Our breaths are laborious; a bit like at a very high altitude. Eva and I manipulate the sarcophagus outward. As it is self-floating, that's one of its charms, we just have to rotate it to get it out. But as the thing is bulky, it is difficult to handle and the water level continuing to rise does not help its maneuverability. Finally, we manage to get Sarc-11 out and follow it out of the Proud as well. From here, I can see scattered pieces floating all around us and the entire front of the ship is missing. Either it disintegrated on impact or it sank underwater. Only the back of the ship is still visible and continues to sink slowly into the water with a sound of agony.
I look at Eva with dismay and see her face bathed in tears.
“Captain Clark . . . and all the others!” she says to me in a quavering voice. Alas, I do not dare to draw any conclusion yet about the possible survivors of this violent crash. The impact area seems to be quite large and although the light atmosphere is quite dark because of the cloud cover, we can see the land at a reasonable swimming distance. Nevertheless, the freshness of the water and the breathing difficulties we have might make the crossing to the shore particularly laborious.
Suddenly, David and Marc emerge a few dozen meters away. They have just come out of an evacuation hatch located in an already submerged area.
“David, Marc, you’re not hurt? Have you heard from the others?” I ask. David and Marc are seasoned fighters and Marc is assigned most of the time to the command bridge on the captain's team.
“Sarah, Eva! You’re safe and sound, fortunately! David and I were on a break in the gym when the alarm went off. No word from the rest of the crew.”
As the remains of the Proud sink further below the surface of the water, a loud gurgling sound announces the opening of a new submerged escape hatch.
It is the turn of Yohan and Yannis, the twins, as well as Ferdinand, to appear on the surface. They all three support Gregory, who seems seriously injured and unconscious. For the moment, the emergency is to reach the shore as soon as possible. We must get him out of the water as a priority. The care of each one will come later.
As a result, Yohan and Yannis swim toward the shore dragging Gregory. Marc, Eva, and I pull Sarc-11 in their wake. Ferdinand and David stay around the wreckage of the plane to come to the rescue of possible survivors.
The progress is slow and difficult, although the water is not very agitated. But between the stress of the impact, the loss of almost all of our colleagues from the Proud, and our shallow breaths in this oxygen-poor atmosphere, we are moving as best we can. Not to mention, that we can't see anything below the surface of the water and don't know if there is any threat in the water.
Perhaps this moon is purely mineral and vegetable, but the AI did not have time to collect enough data. The light is almost zero when we finally reach the shore, fortunately without any problem. The boys, more trained than us, take in hand the preparation of a rough camp and light the solar lamps to signal our position to our colleagues at the wreck of the Proud.
The battery gauge of Sarc-11 indicates that it has almost no juice left. Damn, we'll have to wait for the sun to appear before we can put a wounded man in it.
In the meantime, I immediately set about examining Gregory. He is unconscious, has an open wound on his head, has severe lacerations on his torso, and also has an open fracture of the humerus. This is a typical case for the optimal use of a regeneration sarcophagus; it analyzes and repairs the badly damaged areas, leaving them as good as new.
While waiting for Sarc-11 to be operational again, I start the first care on Gregory by recovering from the open sarcophagus what I need: namely a splint, bandages, a suture pen, and a disinfectant spray.
However, I am more concerned about his probable concussion.
“Gregory, can you hear me? Try to open your eyes or squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”
But Greg is still unconscious and while I wait for him to come to, I work to clean the multiple wounds on his chest. I grab the suture pen and sponge the blood off his torso while pulling the lacerated edges together. I gently dab the wound with disinfectant and begin to stitch with concentration. I then move on to his open fracture. Furthermore, I align the bones of his humerus and immobilize them in the splint I have prepared and begin my sewing task again. Then I carefully wrap everything in the pressure bandages at my disposal.
I then tackle his head wound. Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the big bump on the front of his head, so I just clean the small wound and apply some stitches. For the rest, I will have to wait.
My task was completed and Gregory's condition stabilized, so Yohan and Yannis place him gently in Sarc-11, which has been completely emptied of its contents, and, although for the moment is inoperative, will still be more comfortable and healthier during Gregory's rest.
