Chapter Text
Once the B-E explorer and its companion supplier left the system, the colonist had no reason to keep entertaining me and my negotiations. They sent me out into the harsh, thickly forested land of their planet with nothing but the corpse of a SecUnit and a B-E shuttle. They were nice enough not to rob me blind.
I sent out a distress call on the first day, just in case the secondary landing team was in range.
They weren’t. It was just me.
That made sense. The captain would want their handler and research specialists back more than a negotiator. If they were short on time, that was the right choice. It still stung.
On the second night, I built a fire in a small clearing. There was plenty of wood and a kit in the emergency supplies.
I spent a lot of time looking at the low grade energy weapon in that emergency kit. I could never bring myself to pick it up.
I would starve, eventually, once the dried emergency rations ran out. There was plenty of wildlife. I could hear it rustling through the underbrush around me as I stared into the flames, but it wasn’t like I could catch any of it. I barely passed my weapons certifications.
On the third night, I sat on a log beside the fire. It was small and crackled in the quiet night, but it was enough. Insects chirped in the undergrowth nearby. The fire blazed on. The flickering was constant. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone.
Nearby, something cracked. I looked up. Shadows drifted through the trees. Stars rose on the horizon, surrounding the planet’s pair of moons.
I knew there were large, dangerous creatures wandering around. The planet’s hazard manual was one of my few sources of entertainment. None of them had bothered me so far though.
Maybe they came back for me.
“Hello?” I called into the dark. My voice was rough with disuse.
The forest stilled. Even the frogs stopped chirping.
“Is anyone out there?”
The forest erupted. Trees and twigs snapped as something rushed towards me. I scrambled to my feet and stumbled backwards towards the shuttle. I wouldn’t make it in time. Stupid dramatic hatch.
I slammed my hand into the controls as something distinctly person shaped burst out of the trees.
A SecUnit.
A Barish Estranza SecUnit froze at the edge of the clearing. I could tell from the logo on its shoulder. Its faceplate had shattered leaving its face exposed. The left half of its face had most of the skin removed somehow, exposing the metal of its bone structure. One of its arms was exposed and almost stripped to the bone. The rest of its armor was in similarly bad condition.
We stared at each other for a few moments more.
I didn’t know much about SecUnits. I knew that they were fast and effective. More than one of my negotiations had ended with a SecUnit ending a threat before I knew it was there. They kept me safe.
I also knew that this particular SecUnit was hurt. Badly.
“Are you okay?” I felt myself ask. It didn’t look okay. It was shivering.
It stared at me.
The hatch behind me hissed open. “I have a medkit. I can help you.”
“I am a SecUnit.” It said. Its voice was strained and rough.
“So?.”
The SecUnit limped forward, but it paused beside the fire. It leaned into the warmth.
“If you want to sit down out here, I can bring the kit.” I suggested.
The SecUnit dropped itself onto my log. The wood creaked under its weight. I slipped back into the shuttle to get the emergency medkit.
For a moment, I considered the weapon.
I took the medkit.
I couldn’t do much for the SecUnit, but it was gone before morning, so I guess I did enough.