Critical Path

Keeping his cool, Mike placed the part safely into a fabric wrap in the sling around his chest. Job one done; now how the hell to get out? He tried his ankle, but any movement sent a piercing stab of pain up his leg, and it remained well and truly stuck beneath the metal beam.

Looking over his shoulder, Mike saw that the acid had pooled in the far corner. He doubted it’d be long before whatever it was had filled to such an extent that it’d cover the entire floor and burn through his leg.

Might be one way out, he thought grimly.

He bent down carefully and tried to heave the beam up, gripping it by the edges, but it was too heavy for him to move. Then it occurred to him… of course, the radio! He pulled it free of the belt pouch and pressed the transmitter button, bringing the receiver to his lips… nothing. No squelch, no sound, not even static. He shook it and heard parts rattle inside. The case had cracked when he got trapped earlier.

“Seriously? Can I catch at least one damned break today?”

The mother ship rattled as something struck the hull, sending a loud booming noise throughout. It came again, this time making him reach out to grab the panel in order to keep his balance.

Two more booms and the shaking of the hull and he realized what it was: gunfire. There must have been reinforcements turn up.

Debris and fragments of metal sheeting fell through the hole above as the onslaught continued. Mike gritted his teeth and heaved again, trying to free his left leg. The pain gripped his throat. His body tried to shut down in order to deal with the agony. But still the beam wouldn’t budge.

“Help!” Mike yelled at the top of his voice, hoping someone would hear, but with the sound of another battle going on outside, he doubted it, and if that damned alien hadn’t betrayed him and ran off, he might be able to help.

Seeing his friend crushed with the beam was probably the last straw.

This was why no one should trust the aliens—even the ones that appeared friendly. Integrated into Unity or not, this proved they cared not one bit about humanity.

Slumping against the wall, he resigned himself once again that this was perhaps his last action.

But like last time, the shadows from the access point shifted, and there was Blinky, crawling out of the narrow space and carrying… what was that? A pole.

“Hey,” Mike said, pointing to his leg. “Help me? I have the part. We need to go before the ceiling caves in.”

Blinky blinked, taking in the scene. A sad expression came over his face when he looked upon his fallen friend. But as quickly as the look came, it faded away, replaced by one that Mike thought was determination.

The little alien scrambled off the ledge, being careful not to stand in a pool of acid or walk into one of the falling streams. He dragged a piece of debris, a meter cubed or so, and used it as a pivot for the two-meter-long pole. Jamming it into a space beneath the beam, the alien heaved.

At first it didn’t budge.

Mike secured the part, bent down, and helped to lift the beam as Blinky pushed down on the lever. The beam shifted. A rush of hope and relief flooded Mike as he pulled his leg out. He shouted with triumph, but it was clear the ankle was badly sprained, if not broken. He could barely put his weight on it.

“Go,” Blinky said, pointing to the exit. “We go.”

“Yeah, we do, thanks, little guy.”

Using the pole as a walking stick to take the weight off his leg, Mike and Blinky made their way back through the maze of the wreckage. This time, Mike didn’t take much notice of the alien tech, the materials, or even the dead.

With the ship creaking and groaning, pieces falling, and fires raging, all that mattered was getting out alive.

Together, they helped each other through tight corridors and up and over obstacles. A good fifteen minutes later, Mike saw an exit point to the outside. The sounds of gunfire had stopped.

Walking out of the shipwreck, Mike squinted against the noon sun. Maria and Charlie rushed over to him, propping him up. The little alien just scampered for the harvester. At least they managed to bring it over and he wouldn’t have to walk back through the forest. Mike noticed three croatoan fighters tied up outside of the shipwreck. Denver stood over them, pointing his alien rifle down.

“Bit of extra resistance?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, something like that,” Charlie said. “What happened to your leg?”

“Ankle got trapped under a beam. Grumpy didn’t make it, but Blinky, surprisingly, saved the day. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be standing here now.”

Charlie looked back at the alien climbing inside the harvester.

“Gives us some hope, eh?” Mike added as Charlie and Maria helped him toward the vehicle.

“What do you mean?” Maria asked.

“That they could potentially be trusted.”

Denver overheard and shook his head. “Like these, you mean?”

“I don’t know, buddy, all I know is that Blinky saved my ass. He didn’t have to. He could have taken the part from me and left me to die in there like his pal.”

“You got the part okay?” Charlie asked.