//------------------------------// // Log 1 // Story: Beyond Forsaken Skies // by Shadow Watcher //------------------------------// Beyond Forsaken Skies 1 Log 1 Blinking away the kiss of sleep, she slowly came awake. A hoof reached up and slapped the console, the annoying beeping stopping. Across her screens several things blinked red. Red wasn’t good. She yawned and rolled her shoulders, feeling and hearing the pops from being strapped in this position. Ah, green. Green was much better than red. But what was...ah, her environment suit. Even better. She blinked a few more times before focusing on the screen in front of her. Landing gear was in the clear. Thrusters and warp drive were offline, both blinking red. Ship weapons also offline. She took a breath before yawning again. Leaning back, she stared up into the sky above her. This ship wasn’t going anywhere, for now. Thoughts ran through her head: the scanners were functioning, use them to find the resources needed to repair the ship. Once it was repaired, she’d be able to take-off. And then she’d be able to continue. She lifted her right forehoof, examining it with her scanner. Mining laser functional. Good, she would need its use in procuring resources. Hopefully she wouldn’t need to travel too far. Looking over the error reports, she quickly made a note of each damaged component and the resources necessary to repair them. One final suit check later, she took a breath and punched a button. The hatch sprung open, and she quickly followed after. Summersaulting two times, two small thrusters on her back ignited, letting her perform a control touch down. Nodding to herself in self-satisfaction, she took a breath and looked back. Her face contorted into a grimace beneath her faceplate. There was no denying the ship had seen far better days. Smoke curled from the thrusters. Sparks were spat out of various places. And scorch marks covered a good further portion. However, it was her ship. The scans showed it was repairable. But it was definitely going to take some hard work. Good thing she was no stranger to it. ************ Frustration. That’s what plagued her now. For two hours, she’d trudged along, scanning every mineral she could find, sending out pulses every now and then, and when something finally blips on her map, it has to be beneath her. But it seemed there was no choice for it. Not with the charge on her life support system gradually ticking down. She shot her laser a glare. Too weak to cut through the rock. A quick look through her menus revealed a couple blueprints to juice it up, but even then it wouldn’t be strong enough. If she ever got off this world, maybe she could find an upgrade. For she knew, there could be a cache of some kind on this planet, but the odds of her finding it made her shove those thoughts aside. There was only so much rambling could done before procrastination became undeniable. Then again, there’s also only so much searching before it became perfectly clear she would not be getting anywhere with this pocket. With a final glare downward, she marked the coordinates with her visor and marched on. *********** Two hours. Three hours. She’d combed a good portion of the area with her scanner, and her search had born a bit of fruit. It hadn’t been much, but she had found a small bit of a resource she needed. Not to mention the bit of mineral she needed to power her suits life support systems. That one seemed to be a bit more abundant, so that was a plus. Still, her initial assessment had been proven correct. This world was almost barren. Just a hair’s breath away from lifelessness. She walked off her disappointment. On the other hand, that meant little in the way of distraction. At least until she did find something. Life, any kind of life, was fascinating. No matter how horrifying it could be. She sat and watched the new day dawn from a steep hill. A dawn produced from the slow rotation of the planet beneath her hooves. Out there, beyond this sky, everything was moving. Hurtling, really. All to some unknown end. She sighed and turned away from the light. Her frown deepened. Curious, she stood and walked fifty paces to her right. There was a gouge. Quickly, she turned her head, trying to follow the path. There! About a kilometer ahead. She used her jet pack to drop from the hill, rushing as fast as her suit would allow. Cresting the next hill, which turned out to have quite a large drop off, she stopped. A starship. A rather bulky design, probably a shuttle. Even if it were in worse shape than her fighter, spare parts! She did a little dance where she stood, then looked over the small cliff-face. Too steep to climb, but the drop wasn’t too bad. She took a few steadying breaths and stepped out into empty space. A short countdown and...thrusters! Her hooves gently touched down onto the barren dirt and rock once more. The ship was definitely a shuttle. A small one at that. Remarkable intact, at least on the outside. Only a couple dents and scratches from its crash. She walked around to the front, but hesitated. After a minute, she reached forward and tap the cockpit control. Empty. A quick look around revealed no bodies either. Had the owner gone out to scavenge? Had they been rescued? She hopped into the seat; she started when it automatically molded to her shape. Sitting snug and comfy, she brought up the ship controls. Only a few red errors popped up. Fewer than her ships. Ah. The shuttle must’ve crashed a long time ago. Every starship had a registry, linked to the owner. If a ship became unregistered...the pilot must’ve gone out to get materials for repairs. And never came back. She leaned back. It wouldn’t take nearly as much resources to repair the shuttle. In fact, she’s found several pockets of what she would need about a mile back the way she’d come. She tapped a hoof, weighing the pros and cons.