A chance to escape

{if S3 = true}Standing before the goggle eyed gangsters, you reach up and slap one of them on the back of the head. "Up against the pod, boys," you order. You motion for Serena to pick up the rifle and cover you, which she obeys. The two stunned punks obey you without a word, placing their hands against the metal. A thought occurs to you, and you move to the smaller one. "Give me your jacket, Dansby." He turns to look at you, confused, which earns him another slap to the back of his head. "And eyes forward. No peeking," He obeys without question and shrugs out of the coat. You toss her the jacket...finally offering her some cover from her nudity. She wrinkles her nose distastefully at the smell, but sighs and slips it on to cover herself.

{else}Looking up from the dead gangster, you walk over to where the brothers still stand goggle eyed at the body of their leader. You reach up and slap one of them on the back of the head. "Up against the pod, boys," you order. You reach up and signal back to the woods for Serena to join you. The two stunned punks obey you without a word, placing their hands against the metal. A thought occurs to you, and you move to the smaller one. "Give me your jacket, Dansby." He turns to look at you, confused, which earns him another slap to the back of his head. "And eyes forward. No peeking," He obeys without question and shrugs out of the coat just as Serena creeps into the clearing, her gun still held at the ready. As she reaches you, you hand her the jacket...finally offering her some cover from her nudity. She wrinkles her nose distastefully at the smell, but sighs and slips it on to cover herself.{endif}

With that taken care of, you take a few moments to question the two brothers. With their boss dead, they talk much more readily than they did under interrogation back on the ship. Apparently, Baarden was completely convinced that their ship was tracking them and would shortly arrive to collect them. Continuing to prod them, they confess that he had a tracker that your team had not detected implanted in each of them. Standing orders were that Baarden was ever captured, the pilot was to follow stealthily and look for an opportunity for rescue. Knowing the iron grip Baarden had on his crew, you have no doubt that the pilot would obey it. Satisfied, you push them back inside the pod and lock them back up in the cells there once more.

You have a brief discussion with Serena. If the ship does arrive, it presents you with a definite opportunity. You work out a plan together for when it arrives. It does so later that day, only about an hour before nightfall. You set one of the brothers standing outside the pod while the ship lands, while you and Serena wait just inside...rifle leveled at him. You wait for the pilot to descend down the gangplank, and just before he is able to greet the waiting Dansby, you fire a warning bolt directly between his feet. Startled, he moves to draw a pistol...but stops when he spots you walking out of the pod, rifle aimed squarely at his chest. He looks angrily at the sheepish Dansby as you march them both back into the cells, now a prisoner as well.

Finding plenty of supplies in the ship, you eat much better this night than you did the previous one. Afterwards, you sit down with Serena to discuss your next course of action. You have a small ship now...but you also have three prisoners to deal with. They may be cowed now, but you have no doubt that given the opportunity, they will cause you no end of trouble. You also need to contact the fleet to let them know what has transpired, and the ship's communications don't have the range to reach them from here. You make the decision to have Serena fly the ship and the prisoners back to Confederation space and get help while you search for more survivors. {if S1 = true}Her eyes go wide in horror. "No!!" she exclaims. "I can't leave you....not after...." her face goes red, her emotions plain on her features. She reaches over and takes your hand. "Come with me," she begs. "We can get help together..." Looking into her big, brown eyes, your resolve falters, and you begin to consider leaving with her...{else}She nods slowly. "Are you sure Major?" she asks. "You'll be here alone." You think about the monumental task before you, and whether you should go with Serena for help.{endif}