Gradually the tug turned more substantial. As the pressure mounted, Felix and his fellow passenger strapped back into their safety rigging.

It started to get warm asthe pod whistled through the atmosphere. There was no view out of the port window. The port shielding had automatically closed to spare passengers the blinding light of atmospheric entry.

Felix ran through a mental list of what he thought he would need to do once they landed. He was at a loss. Shelter, food, water, he supposed. Outside, in his opinion, was solely the place you had to go between buildings, and only poorly planned ones at that. He didn't even take his daily jog outside if he could help it.

Felix was soon pressed into the back of his seat. The blue and gray shipsuit he was wearing onboard was drenched in sweat as the oppressive heat grew. It wasn’t made to withstand such conditions any more than he was.

He glanced over at the Lisnoir. Felix didn't know how well he handled g-forces or heat, but it didn't look like his fellow passenger minded the descent as much as Felix.

There was a sharp bang. Felix assumed, or at least fervently hoped, it was the cover of the landing chutes jettisoning. The rushing, whip-like sound was followed by a sharp crack, and the hard jerk which confirmed it.

The sudden deceleration caused Felix to lift into the straps of his seat for a long moment before he slammed back down. Thankfully, whoever designed this pod had not stinted on the safety gear. There was no damage sans a momentary disorientation.

Even the heat abated somewhat, or at least ceased to get worse. The difference between "ridiculously hot" and "slightly less than ridiculously hot" was beyond Felix's ability to discern.

The port shielding slid back and revealed the view-port. They were still going at a breakneck speed, but Felix saw brief, tantalizing glimpses as the pod fell towards the ground. A pale blue sky, almost a pastel. Water around an island, large red-green trees. A mountain dominating the middle, a lake at its crest. A waterfall running down to the jungle below.

It looked, well, nice. While he would much rather be back on the ship and nearly to his next stop, maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all. Set up on the beach. Catch some of whatever passes as the local fish. Work on a tan and relax until rescue came.

While he knew that they were going faster than it seemed, he basked in the apparent lazy float to the ground. For the first time since they were struck, however long ago that was now, Felix thought things might be okay.

It wasn't until ground grew much closer that Felix realized they were still going quite fast. He held tight and sighed; he was getting real tired of getting knocked around. He closed his eyes and waited.

There was a jolt and a deafening screech as the metal of the pod rent around some obstruction. The Lisnoir's entire section of harnesses lurched to the side as a rock pierced the hull underneath. The seat tumbled away from its mounting and Felix’s unfortunate shipmate took a nasty crack to his head. Sparks flew from now exposed wiring and acrid smoke snaked its way to the ceiling.

The pod hung at a drunken angle for a long moment before the rock snapped. The capsule fell to the ground and landed on its side. It rolled halfway around and stilled. Almost directly beneath him, his companion's seat slumped diagonally along the 'floor'. The hole from the landing was near the ground. Shards of rock lay scattered along the deck and a few rays of light shone in.

Felix could see a small pool of blood below his companion's head. It was probably okay though; head wounds bleed a lot. At least for humans. Was that true for Lisnoir as well? He didn't know. Either way he needed the med kit. There was one strapped to what was once the wall of the pod.

Felix now hung from the safety straps on the “ceiling”. Before trying to untangle himself, he patted himself for injury. He had had better days but he felt more or less functional.

He carefully unbuckled himself and got to the floor with something resembling grace. He soon located the medkit secured to the wall where it should be. It wasn‘t even too far up; Felix could get it with minimal climbing.

The exhilaration of the crash and being on a wild, alien planet was getting to Felix. He was breathing hard. He’d had to jump around, but he was in decent shape. Why waste money on porters if you didn't have to, after all? He never took this long to recover. Not to mention his head hurt. And the pod was spinning.

Maybe it was the smoke building up. Or, perhaps, the chair hadn't cushioned his head as well as he had thought. Or- Felix had a terrible thought. He pulled the atmospheric sensor out of his kit. The red alarm light strobbed a steady rhythm. Low oxygen.

Felix headed back to his seat, or at least the space under it. If he just sat and thought, he could figure out what to do. Before he got there, he stumbled and fell. Felix lay there, panting. He'd rest a moment and catch his breath.

He took full, deep breaths, but it didn't help. He couldn't breathe. His vision darkened and blackness danced at the edges. His head throbbed. They’d tried, in the end. If this was it, at least he knew he had strove against it. He slumped forward.

* * *

It was the scratching at the metal hull that woke Felix. He listened as he lay on the floor where he had fallen. His breathing was normal again, and while his head still hurt, it hurt less. He had been certain he wouldn’t wake up again, so he would take what he could get.

Something was different, and not just the noise. There was a pause in the scratching, and a faint, wet sounding snuffle. It was coming from outside, near the ruptured point. That's what was different. The light was gone.

The once empty hole now held scaled feet tipped in long, curved claws. An elongated, slender snout poked into the hole. A thick tongue slithered out between sharp teeth. The snuffling resumed for a moment and the head withdrew.

Somehow, Felix didn't think whatever that was, was friendly.

Felix scurried quietly but quickly across the wreckage that covered what was now the floor. He headed towards the unconscious Lisnoir, who was still lying in a puddle of his own blood. It didn't look like it had grown much. Or at least, he thought it hadn’t. His memory was a bit fuzzy. Either way, the blood was tacky and drying. He must have been right that the cut was superficial.

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He grabbed the alien’s shoulder. "Wake up," Felix hissed, “We need to go.”

The Lisnoir didn't move. Felix looked around, trying to eye which supplies would be most necessary, and something to carry them in. Medkit, rations, tools. There had to be a bag somewhere.

A slow crunch from near his companion caused Felix to pause his search and look back at the creature. It worked its claws into the damaged sections of the hull to pry them back. It experimentally stuck in a paw and took a swipe at the fallen Lisnoir.

Felix ran at it and shouted, waving his arms in the air. The creature pulled back, but did not run. It studied Felix through the hole for a moment. It let out another snuffle and worried at the opening once more.

Felix stooped to unstrap the Lisnoir from his seat. They could run, maybe. They could come back and salvage later, but Felix was under no illusion that he could take that thing in a confined space alone, especially without a weapon.

He fumbled with the straps, distracted as he was. The lizard was staring dead at him while it worked at the hole. He needed more time.

Felix pulled out the travel patch kit he had taken from his sample case. It was one of those fancy new fire-and-forget ones. The hole was still small enough that this should cover it, and he wouldn't have to get too close.

He stood as near as he dared. Had he had the time to think, he would have been quite impressed with his own courage. The lizard leaned into the hole, taking swipes at Felix. It was mere inches away from contact. Felix took a deep breath and aimed the kit. Thick, liquid metal flowed out and covered the opening.

The lizard's arm was still inside, covered in the patching material. The lizard let out a startled yowl. Unfortunately for it, the patching material dried within seconds, and it realized far too late. It managed to retract its arm a few inches before being locked in to the brand-new patch. It howled in fury, and Felix could see the foot inside flex and twist in its attempt to get free.

Felix spared a moment to smile before returning to the Lisnoir. His companion was still out. Somehow he'd have to move both him and any supplies he could carry. At least with the lizard's arm trapped, he bought himself more time. He took the medkit he had dropped earlier over to the alien.

He was no medic, but he didn't have to be. Felix opened up the kit, took out a small device and laid it on the Lisnoir's head, near the cut. It would automatically read his vitals and diagnose what, if anything, needed to be done.

While the gadget was working, Felix set about gathering supplies. Finding the supplies wasn't as easy as it could have been. They had not resecured all the supplies they had used while in freefall, and the error in that was now plain. While nothing appeared too damaged, the rough landing had scattered everything. They were lucky they hadn’t gotten hit with flying food packs.

While searching, he tried to walk on all sorts of machinery that had been mounted to the wall, whilst also staying low enough to keep under the still building smoke. It had built up while he was out that he had to hunch over to stay below the haze.

The lizard outside was still yowling. It grated into what was left of Felix's nerves. He couldn't find much in the way of tools, but he did find a bag to hold rations. He stuffed whatever looked remotely edible inside, as well as containers full of water. Who knew if the local water was safe to drink?

The auto-diagnosis chirped, and Felix picked it up. He breathed a small sigh of relief; it was only a minor concussion, and a superficial head wound. It also picked up an abnormality in the lungs, but it couldn't pinpoint the problem specifically.

Felix figured it was likely whatever had knocked him out earlier, but at least he adapted. He had to hope the Lisnoir would as well. Felix did what he could; he bandaged the Lisnoir's head to prevent infection and injected some smart medites as further precaution.

As Felix was repacking the medkit, a horrid howling could be heard in the distance. The lizard outside stopped it's thrashing. It howled back.

Felix had a sinking feeling. He put the medkit in the bag of rations he'd gathered and slung the whole thing over his shoulder.

Felix looked over his companion lying on the ground. The Lisnoir was big. He had thought that before, but it had taken on a more immediate meaning. His unconscious companion was about a foot and a half taller than Felix, and unless Felix missed his guess, about half again as heavy.

Carrying him would be tough, but that wasn't enough. Felix needed to take the Lisnoir, haul him not just out of this pod, but to somewhere safe. And he had to do it with more of those things after them.

Felix was fit, but he was a runner at heart. The heaviest lifting he did normally was moving sample cases to a pallet and back again. He was under no misconception that he was up to this task.

Felix went up to the hatch and looked out. It was hard to see past the soot, but it looked like there was a jungle a short way up the beach, a straight shot out from the hatch.

The beach itself was rocky, but otherwise clear of major obstacles. That was a mixed blessing, as that meant there was also nothing between him and the incoming creatures, but Felix would take what he could get.

If he could get the Lisnoir to the jungle, perhaps Felix could hide his companion. Then maybe he could draw off any pursuit. If. Perhaps. Maybe.

This was a terrible plan.

He didn't have a better one, and, as seemed to be the case lately, no time. Needs must, unfortunately. Felix adjusted the straps of the pack so it rested high on his back. He leaned against the hatch and placed a hand on the handle. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Another breath.

Felix opened his eyes and threw open the lever. He slammed his shoulder into the hatch.

It flew open.