Janna came to slowly, and opened her gritty eyes wearily. Despite the red haze that hung in the sky dimming the natural daytime, a result of all the planet had suffered in the past few days, they still stung as they reluctantly adapted to the light.
Momentarily disoriented, Janna struggled to comprehend how she came to be here, and just where 'here' actually was, which appeared to be on a beach full of grassy sand dunes, under some kind of makeshift shelter, one of many dotted about the area.
Although there appeared to be more than one 'bed' (if you could call it that) … she seemed to be alone.
Urgh…Headache.
Alright. Lets start with the basics.
Alive?
I think so, at least for the time being… A good start. We can check that off the list.
Name?
Check.
Getting better, things can only improve from here…
Date?
hrm…
Janna looked around, and found no real way to determine how long she had been… (Her thoughts trailed off) just what had she been?
Asleep? Unconscious? In a damned coma?
Okay, well, we'll come back to that one…
Janna sat up stiffly, and worked her limbs, from her toes, up to her legs, and down through her arms to the tips of her fingers…
Right, everything accounted for, I'm still in one piece. (Also a good thing)
Hurrah! things are looking up!
And with a wry smile, Janna Novak, rose awkwardly from her 'bed' and for a brief second, wished she hadn't, as her head began to spin causing her stomach to lurch somewhat.
Woah! Sitting back down.
As she sat there for a moment, everything came back to her in a sudden wash of emotions…
The great wave had arrived with almost no warning at all, leaving them precious little time to actually do anything except brace themselves.
As the events started to unfold they had been recalled for relief and patrol duty, but before they could be of any use to anyone the wave had struck, and the frigate had been sent reeling, powerless to fight against the giant swell.
Before they could fully recover, a second wave hit soon after, a kind of residual after-effect from the first, and in the chaos Janna had been thrown to the deck, and had hit her head, hard.
Eventually beached miles inland, the vessel had been badly damaged, and Janna had given orders to abandon ship. Hardly the most glorious of endings for her newest commission, but it seemed the fates had left her little choice.
A frown began to crease her forehead as she struggled to recall the events after, but found she drew a blank.
Memory loss?
Great.
Evidently , she had hit her head harder than she had first realised, since things got very hazy after that… Janna touched her forehead gingerly, feeling where it had swelled, the skin was still very painful to the touch.
"Novak?"
A familiar voice from behind made her jump, and she replied with a wry smile, without turning around, recognising it's source immediately…
"Landaker…might've known you'd survive you tough old Bantha!"
The stocky first officer grinned, as he responded…"Good to see you too, Captain"
Janna looked up to face him directly, and studied his appearance, he looked somewhat dishevelled, but otherwise well, it was also good to know, evidently, her memory wasn't that badly affected.
"What the hell happened?" Janna asked, as she massaged her temple gently…
The first officer chuckled throatily as he spoke "You gave us a bit of a scare there, I had to damn near carry you out"
Janna nodded thoughtfully, and then tried to stand up again, reaching out towards her fellow officer with both her arms "Well, wipe that grin off your face and help a lady out?"
Still smirking, Landaker did exactly that, heaving the Captain to her feet, and letting her rest her weight upon him. "Easy now, don't need you passing out on me again"
"No promises" Janna replied with a half smile of her own, before asking "How long was I out for?" her tone changing serious…
"Almost two days" Landaker replied.. "The crew will be happy to see you up and about"
Novak turned to face the officer as he spoke, "How many made it out?" The concern for her crew clearly evident in her voice…
Landaker's eyes dropped to the ground for a moment before answering "We lost seventeen hands, most of them drowned, some missing in action, we had some discipline issues, but that mainly stemmed from those wishing to go to Toron city, many lost family there"
Janna held a breath for a moment, as the realisation struck, almost as if remembering itself was enough to wind her …
Toron city!
…Mum!…Dad!
It was as if someone had punched her full force in the stomach, and for a split second Janna would have given anything to be knocked unconscious again, so keenly felt was her loss.
As if sensing this, Landaker steadied her, worried she might lose her balance "Are you alright, Janna?" He asked gently, breaking protocol...
For a brief awful instant, she felt the grief was going to overwhelm her, but she swallowed it down, closed her eyes, and let loose a ragged sigh.
"I'm….I'm fine" She replied. Unconvinced, Landaker just nodded, but remained respectfully silent, as she collected her thoughts.
"Have we heard anything from command?" Janna asked eventually,changing subject…
It was Landaker's turn to fall silent, and he looked down at the ground for a moment before he answered "No. We haven't been able to raise anyone, there seems to be something wrong with our radio equipment, we're getting nothing but heavy interference"
Novak frowned "We need that fixed Landaker, what about supplies, food, water?" Landaker returned a reply with a furrowed brow himself "We're rationing, we managed to get a fair bit off the ship, but, it'll be used up quick, I'd say that was a matter of priority"
"I'd say so too" Janna responded, as the true impact of their predicament began to sink in.
Limited food and water.
No command…
…and no ship.
Janna suddenly felt the urge to just crawl back into the cot she had just awoken from.