Free Guardian Awakening by C. Osborne Rapley

something was wrong. Tristan ran to the seat next to Aesia and strapped himself in as he had noticed she had done when the indicators started flashing an angry red. Aesia turned to Tristan and the blood drained from her face, pulsing red lights reflecting on the white of her hair.  
    “It seems we have suffered engine failure for some reason. I knew we were taking a risk using this inferior Mylian rubbish!”  
    “What can we do?” Tristan asked.
    “Nothing while we’re in space, we have to find somewhere to land so we can repair the problem.”
    She searched the local systems with the ship’s sensors. Her training had taken over, her movements swift and sure. She found a system within easy reach with an uninhabited planet that she quickly identified. It had a Sicceian navigation beacon on the surface. If she could get to the beacon, she could quickly set it for sending a distress signal. She adjusted their course. Even with the crippled engine, they would make planet fall in less than five hours.
    Aesia had to fight the bucking ship all the way, so when they reached the planet she was almost at the end of her tether. The useless alien next to her was no help as he, was incapable of flying the ship to give her some relief. They entered the planet’s atmosphere. She tried to head towards the beacon, but with the failed engine, the ship became almost impossible to control once she started the decent. The thickening atmosphere screeched across the hull. After a while; they found themselves flying over a thick forest. Rain lashed at the ship and obscured the front ports.  
    She tried in vain to kill their forward speed; they were still travelling too fast when they hit the first trees. The treetops, instead of causing too much damage to the craft, helped to reduce its speed. By the time they were among the lower branches, the speed was sufficiently reduced to prevent total destruction. The craft pitched and bucked. One side hit a substantial trunk, and they spun round, the rear of the craft dug into the ground. It pitched end over end a few times before coming to rest against the trunk of a large tree. Her last thought before everything went blank was at last I can rest.

Chapter Six: Shipwrecked

    Tristan groaned, and his head throbbed. Something cut into his chest and shoulders making it hard to breathe. He attempted to shift position to ease the pressure but he couldn’t move. “What the fuck?” Full consciousness returned. He was hanging upside down from the straps of his seat! Without thinking he reached for the strap release and punched it. The straps gave way and he fell with a grunt to what once had been the roof of the cabin.
    He glanced round in the dim light of the emergency lamps; acrid smoke stung his eyes and caught his breath. Aesia hung above him, limp in her straps. He reached up, released her strap buckle and caught her as she fell. With the dim light, Tristan had difficulty seeing. A sudden flash and sparks from one of the consoles above him made him jump, flames started to flicker from it. They had to get out fast. The spreading flames gave him extra light. The ship was upside down with a slight tilt towards the stern. He picked his way carefully over the debris towards the main bulkhead. He slipped and sat down with a heavy jar. Aesia groaned. He lay her down and continued to the airlock.
    He fumbled with trembling fingers until he located the airlock hatch emergency release panel. He pushed, and the panel sprung open, revealing a heavy red lever in the flickering light.  
    “Please God, open,” he prayed as he gripped it with both hands and pulled.  
    With loud click and the door opened. Cool fresh air hit him in the face. The flames behind him flickered. The airlock hatch was at chest height as he stood on the roof of the cabin. The flames had taken hold, spreading quickly and filling the cabin with choking smoke. He turned and picked Aesia up. He had no choice but to push Aesia’s limp