Finding more survivors

"Computer, find any functioning cryopods," you say once you enter the Arc-ship.

"Enter command code," the computer responds.

"One three alpha omega seven five, captain of The Andromeda," you tell the computer.

"Access granted, beginning scan of cryopods," the computer responds.

"Attention, mass cryostasis failure, due to long term use of cyro-stasis," it responds, "71 total cryopods operational."

You feel overjoyed it seems you have finally a large group of survivors, you finally feel that maybe you do have a reasonable chance of survival. You ask the computer for a list of the working cyropods; looking down the list, you begin to look at the first one. You decide to go to Cyropod 13 first.

"Let's check out cryopod 13," you tell Yasmin.

"43, start at the bottom of the list, get as many people as you can into one of the shuttles," you order the automaton.

"Yes, mister Connor," he tells you, heading off.

"Computer, set the alarm for two and a half hours from now, telling everyone to head back towards the shuttles," you tell the computer.

"Alarm set," it chirps back,

You and Yasmin begin to float up towards cryopod 13, it seems that The Aurora has suffered a similar fate as The Andromeda. Only a limited number of colonists have been left alive, you need to wake them up and get them to safety; however, fortuitously it seems there are more survivors. Part of you is hoping that it is only females again, but you push that desire down; telling yourself you will save anyone left alive on this ship. You watch as Haruka leaves towards the front of the ship, with Eve.

"71 women, that's way too many," you think; why are you thinking this way?

"Computer, begin thaw of cryopod 13," you tell the ship, "and tell me who is in it."

"Cyropod 13, Nastya Semyonov from Novosibirsk, Russia; Job: Colonist Tailor," the computer tells you.

"Interesting," you say.

Rubbing the ice off of the cryopod, you get a look at the woman. She seems to be around average height, you guess around 5'4. She also seems a bit older than everyone else, you think mid-twenties: 25. She has short blonde hair, cut just above the neck, is almost has a strawberry-blonde like color. She is wearing simple black panties and a matching bra, looking you can see her soft, fair skin. Her breasts are quite small, being B-cups; while she makes up for it with is size and shape, being quite large.

She begins to move, noticing her skin begin to stand up under the cold. Her legs begin to contract as the cold registers in her brain. You hear the lock on the pod release, and pull up the lid. Her breathing becomes more rapid, as she begins to toss and turn.

"That's not supposed to happen, right?" you turn towards Yasmin.

"I don't think so," she says.

"AH!" she screams, sitting up from the cold; panic on her face.

Looking now you notice something odd about her eyes, one is almost grey in color while the other one is a light brown. She looks around for a second.

"Are you OK?" Yasmin says going forwards to examine the woman.

"Quite fine," she says, "you are?"

She seems to jut her chest forward as she moves forward; it almost looks like she purposefully desires you to look at her small cleavage.

"Nastya, be calm I'm Yasmin, I'm a doctor; this is Aaron," Yasmin tells her.

"How did you know my name?" she asks, drawing backward.

"The computer told us," you explain, holding your hands out.

"Oh, very well," she says, calming down; letting Yasmin examine her.

"I'm going to the next pod, get her to the shuttle, then meet me there when you can, OK?" you tell Yasmin.

"Sure thing," she says, shining a light into Nastya's eyes.

You float over to the next closest pod, 12,081, going across the open space towards it.

"Computer who is in cryopod 12,081?" You ask.

"Cyropod 12,081, Kaja Nordahl from Trondheim, Norway; Job: Colonist Teacher."

"We could use a teacher, I guess," you smile.

You pass by one pod which has been shattered, its glass floating above it; you move up to go past the cloud of debris. Looking down into it, you notice the long-dead body of someone; causing you to realize how much this ship is like a floating graveyard. You push your focus away, trying to **** your thoughts to the matter at hand.

"Computer, begin thaw of cryopod 12,081," you tell the computer.

You see your destination ahead, the only pod with any life signs on it, as the computer begins to revive the woman.

You two float over to Kaja waiting for her to regain consciousness. Looking at her she is quite tall, around 5'10 she seems young maybe early 20's, you guess 22. She has very lengthy light, almost silver, blonde hair which is spread out around her. She is wearing only black panties and a bra, looking she has beautiful pale-skinned breasts that would fit into a D cup, they even look like they could be on the smaller side of DD. Finally, she has a nice round rear, with wide hips.

She begins to stir, she begins to shiver as the cold starts to register. The pod unlocks when the process of reviving her completes. You quickly pull up the lid, letting to warm air in. At the change in temperature, she wakes up, opening her deep blue eyes.

"Hello," you tell her.

"What?" She asks, "Where am I?"

"You're on the Arc-ship, near Ross 128 b; you made it," you tell her.

She looks at you, "You are?" she asks.

"Aaron Connor, Captain of The Andromeda," you inform her, helping her out of the pod.

"Ever been in zero-g before?" you ask as she struggles to move around, laughing.

"No," she says, smiling.

"Always hold onto something, and push off in the direction you want to go, the best tip I can give you," you tell her; grabbing her hand.

The gesture catches her off guard, causing her to jump.

"Umm, you said you were Captain of The Andromeda, this is The Aurora, right?" she asks.

"Yes, something went wrong with your ship, we came to rescue anyone left alive," you tell her.

"What went wrong? Is everyone OK?" she asks panicking.

"The reverse engines didn't fire, and most of the cryopods failed; so no their not," you continue.

"How many?" She asks, looking at you.

"It would be easier to say how many didn't; Seventy-One," you say.

"What?" She asks.

"The transit took longer than it should have, longer than the pods were meant to last," you tell her.

"What is the plan?" She says visibly steeling herself, you begin to guide her back to the shuttle; avoiding going anywhere near the broken pod.

"Well first we need to get everyone off the Arc, then we go back to a base camp we have set up," you tell her, helping her maintain a grip.

You help her back to the shuttle, "Computer how much longer do we have?" You ask.

"Two hours, remaining," it tells you.

You turn, seeing Yasmin helping Nastya into the shuttle. You hope 43 is going far faster than you two are; or else you're not going to get nearly anyone else off.

"Get her into her seat, we don't have much time left," you tell her.

"We'll be back Kaja," you say turning towards Kaja.

"Lets go" you tell Yasmin.

You both begin to head towards the next closest cryopod; deep into the back portion of the Arc.

"How is Nastya doing?" You ask Yasmin.

"Physically she seems fine, I suspect it was psychological," she says, pulling along the sides.

"But, I cannot seem to get her to talk to me," she continues.

"Well we're going to be together for a long time, I'm sure you'll figure something out," you say.

You push on ahead, "Computer who is in cryopod 15,310?"

"Cyropod 15,310, Vanessa Araya Pérez from San José, Costa Rica; Job: Colonist Actor," the computer states.

So it seems that even with the new people, you remain the only man. For some reason, you are getting used to it. So much so, that for a second you don't even register the fact. But when you do a small smile creeps onto your face.

Yasmin pushes next to you, "I don't know how useful an actor will be."

"I'm sure we'll find some way to utilize her skills," you say.

"I see you're happy," she says.

"What?" You ask.

"Aaron I'm not stupid," she shoots back.

"Sorry," you say.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," she says, pulling ahead.

"Computer, begin thaw of cryopod 15,310," you order.

You stop as you reach the pod, the cold capsule beginning to hum with life again. Yasmin already watching the woman coming back from cryosleep underneath its shell.

She is wearing the same black panties and bra, as everyone else was wearing. She is quite short, you guess she is about 5'1. She seems very young, she must be in her late teens. Her dark brown hair is silky smooth, wavy, and glossy; even while in cryosleep. In the front, it is cut sharply to about chin length on her left side. The back and other side are pulled back into a loose bun. She has small breasts, you guess on the petite side of a C-cup. She also has a sweet tight rear, while you would consider it modest in size, it seems to be perfectly molded; with wide hips. You notice she is slender, with lean muscles similar to that of a gymnast or acrobat; her skin a light brown.

She opens her eyes quickly, noticing that they are a piercing amber color. She begins to struggle underneath long before the capsule lets her out. She moves to say something at you; however, it is too muffled by the lid to make out. As soon as the computer lets you, you pull up the capsule.

"About time," she says, folding her arms.

She looks around for a second, looking at Yasmin then you. She seems to sift through you, like someone looking at a delicious meal.

"Vanessa Araya Pérez," she says, presenting herself arms help high.

She seems to get upset when you do not introduce yourself; both of you silent as you watch her display.

"You are?" She asks.

"Oh, I'm Aaron Connor, Captain, and this is Yasmin, Yasmin Nasser; she is a doctor," You say pointing to Yasmin.

"Well, did we make it?" She asks.

"Yes, you are above Ross 128 b," You tell her.

"Great, por dicha," she says.

"One hour and forty five minutes have passed," the computer says.

"We're going to have to talk later, for right now we need to get to the shuttle," you tell her.

"You go on ahead, we need you to get some other survivors," Yasmin says, "I'll get Vanessa there,"

You push off, heading quickly towards the shuttle, you wonder how the others have done in there tasks. This will be the last moments before it is too late to get anything else before the Arc comes screeching into the atmosphere, and everything is destroyed.

"Do you know how to move in zero-g?" you hear Yasmin say, as you pull away.

You continue to get survivors into the two shuttles, some react poorly to the news of the loss of their loved ones; however most are easy to escort. Being alone on the ship, or in too much shock they passively follow you three into one of the shuttles.

"Two hours and thirty minutes have passed, get back to the shuttles," you hear marking the time in which you need to get back to the shuttles.

In the end, you helped get twenty-six more people to safety. Most are women; you only helped one other man; part of you hates that now you have competition. All the survivors are below thirty years old, some of them were children; most of those lost their families. However, you push aside your feelings, realizing that regardless you have to get everyone you can to safety. The actual weight of your position begins to weigh on you.

It is now your responsibility to take care of these people.