A Call For Help (Part Two)

The sun was covered with a layer of light gray clouds, while the cloudy sky has remained the same since the arrival of new visitors. The wet trees and damp earth were covered with sticky moss, covering a large area. Akin had just woken up, his face and shirt dirty with mud. The boy wore a garment designed specifically for Foundation employees and soldiers, it was dark gray, with yellow edges on the sides and filled with purple in the middle of the shirt. The pants were gray, with no added color. He stood up, running his hands continuously between his face and chest, his eyes bleary from the moment he was unconscious, listening to the hooting of what birds should be, or whatever it was.

He looked around, seeing that only Galeg was sleeping. The Athorian spent the night watching the small camp, it was more than fair for him to rest. Akin went to the others, they were gathered in a large pool of water, belonging to the large channels of water that the planet was covered. Avey and Vantner filled canteens made of wood carvings, while Blavius ​​sat on a large wooden log watching the place. The boy joined the two girls and helped to fill the other three wooden canteens. The speed with which they carved five wooden canteens was beyond Akin's knowledge.

The four returned to the camp, and the then sleeper, Galeg, had just woken up. He was eating some leftover fruit from the night before, with his eyes half closed and looking at the arrival of his friends.

Akin's armor was still against the tree, with the surrounding plants growing around it. They would start walking through the swamp, now lit by the sun after the gray clouds disappeared, in search of help. Akin did not want to leave his armor behind, the components used in it could be useful in future moments, however, there was no way to take it with him in the state the armor was in.

Avey and Vantner collected the rest of the fruits and Galeg was finishing making a small belt with the local grass, to tie the canteens around his waist. Blavius, with a broken leg, was standing on his makeshift crutches, while Akin was waiting for everyone leaning against a large light brown tree. After a few minutes, everything was ready. Tying the small belt around them, Akin and the rest of the team were ready to go.

They kept calm and slow steps, to be careful and so that Blavius could accompany them. They passed through countless unusual animals, from a fish-like creature, but with eight eyes and two legs, to an animal that resembled a bird physically, but hummed a loud and horrible noise.

Blavius ​​got tired more easily due to the use of crutches, making everyone stop for a few minutes and then continue their journey. Akin and Galeg's wrist computers were the only ones still intact, not integrated into the armor. As there was no signal, they used it only as a mechanism to illuminate the area, saving the battery that was already running out.

Akin followed the others, side by side with Blav. They found a waterfall, looking at it for a moment. They thought about taking a bath in the lake, but gave up for fear that something was hiding in the water. It was time to continue the journey. However, Akin remained there, standing and looking at the waterfall. There was something behind it, shining and reflecting in the water. Landing marks forced on the sides of the waterfall, as if what had fallen there did not fit.

A ship.

"Galeg," He said almost as a whisper. "Can you use the x-ray application integrated into your computer?" Galeg looked at him confused. 'Well, yes, I can access it, because I don't need the Foundation's system, but ... What exactly are you going to use this for?" He asked pointing to the wrist computer itself. "I've already spent most of my battery with a single session on Blavius's leg, that idiot. Not to mention the many times we turned on the computer's integrated light to illuminate this stinking swamp." Blavius turned to Galeg, showing his middle finger and whispering some sort of cursing in his native language.

"Behind the waterfall, do you see the marks?" Akin asked, everyone forced their eyes trying to see, Galeg used the camera on his wrist computer to zoom. "Yes, I can see."

"There is a ship over there." Everyone looked at Akin. "The marks are for forced landing and the reflection in the water shows something big and metallic. I'm sure it's a ship." "It could be anything, man." Blavius ​​said discredited.

"Blav, is right. We don't know what's in that lake, we don't know if behind that waterfall there is a ship waiting for us inside a cave. And even if it did, the ship must be sh*t." Galeg said.

"Are you going to use it or not?" Akin asked with a serious look at his friend. With resistance, Galeg pointed his wrist towards the waterfall, opening the x-ray application. It would only take a few seconds and finally they would have the answer, whether they would die on that stinking planet, or return safely to their respective homes.

"Holy shit." Galeg said, looking at the result of the image. The boy did not believe what he saw. There really was a ship behind that waterfall. How Akin guessed with that simple deduction, it was beyond what he could think now.

Now, it was time to get to the ship. They were supposed to decide who would swim in the lake, but before the conversation even started, Akin jumped into the greenish water. He swam through the water and his friends' desperate screams, right behind him. And finally, he arrived on the other side, safe and sound. The pressure of the waterfall was strong, pushing him easily under the water, however, he managed to cling to a large stone inside the cave, sneaking through the rotten water.

It was dark, with little access to light, the same light that caused the ship to be found thanks to its reflection. Akin turned on his wrist computer, the battery on the limit, and then turned on the light. He froze, watching the ship stuck there. It was a medium-sized ship with turbocharged engines. The metal casing was completely rusted, with pieces falling as drops of water dripped onto the poor ship.

Akin screamed between the cave and the waterfall, and even with the muffled sound of the water, you could hear it. Blavius ​​was unable to go to the site, as he could not swim with one of his legs being broken, so Vantner decided to stay with him, while Galeg and Avey went to meet Akin. They arrived, also impressed by the metallic housing. "Lets go in." Akin said. Galeg looked at him with concern. "Are you seeing the state of this thing by any chance? There is no way to get out of here or fly this ship." Akin looked at him with a slight smile on his face. "And who spoke of flying this ship?"

Luckily for them, the landing bridge was open, guaranteeing access to the ship's interior. The view was no better than outside, several chairs floating on the floor with plants growing around them due to the presence of sunlight. There were also rusted control panels, but what Akin was really looking for was the communications panel.

As she walked between the panels, Avey spotted something, which stopped her for a moment. "Uhm, Guys? I think you should take a look at this here." They headed for the center of the ship, stopping beside the girl. It was an armor, completely covered with dust, standing in the middle of the control room. It was completely different from the Foundation's armor and, surprisingly, it wasn't rusty like everything around. Akin approached, blowing on a part of the armor causing the dust to fly across his face, suffocating him. He turned his attention back to the armor once again, the helmet was completely orange yellow, made with some kind of resin and checkered at the ends. It had ribbons of white fabric in front of its chest that went down to its legs, almost touching the rusty floor. On the right elbow, there was a compartment for an energy pistol, as well as a small elbow opening for the right hand, where the gun should slide.

Akin noticed a symbol, to the right of the armor's breastplate, three triangles side by side, interconnected. But before he could find out more, a noise echoed behind them. Footsteps approaching, coming from the darkest part of the ship. Galeg aimed his energy weapon forward, ready to shoot the lurking creature. Instead, a purple-skinned man came out of the darkness, approaching slowly. He had long, very long hair, tied with some kind of rope. His clothes were worn and he looked very old. He then moved a little closer, before Galeg aimed the gun at him again.

"Hello," he said smiling.