Of course

"I'll take Group 3 if I can bring Will with me," you say, smiling to your buddy across the camp. The two of you love hiking, and you know that now that the sun is out, he must be dying to see the new planet, just like you are. Alyssa looks almost relieved. You're betting she didn't want to be stuck with this job.

"Works for me if it works for you. Any takers for the third spot?"

You look expectantly in Vanessa's direction, but she gives you an almost imperceptible shake of her head. She didn't strike you as the fearful type, so something else is up. You make a mental note to ask her about that later. Before you can ask for anyone else, Ryan pipes up.

"I could use some time away from the ship. I'll go with them."

You would have preferred to bring Mike since he's got more than enough size to take care of himself if something does happen, but there's nothing you can do about it now. Instead, the three of you split off. There's no reason for you to wait around to see what everyone else decides. You have guns to find and a new planet to explore.

For the next 2 hours, the three of you comb through the entire ship, or at least what is left of it. You finally find the armory blocked by debris, and with some considerable effort, the three of you manage to clear the opening. What you find inside is a mixed success. While it seems most of the plasma cells arrived unscathed, most of the rifles themselves are damaged beyond repair. You do manage to find 3 working rifles and a couple of sidearms.

Will hefts the gun in his hand and says, "Well, it's a little disappointing, but we better tell the others what we found." You nod your head and start moving toward the door, when Ryan cuts you both off.

"Or...", he says enigmatically. You and Will look at one another with matching puzzled expressions.

"Or what, Ryan?" you say.

"Or, we stash these in our tents while everyone else is busy and keep the find to ourselves."

"Why the hell would we do that?!", Will says, apparently a little louder than Ryan would have liked.

"Look, this is survival, and to be honest, I don't really know any of you. But I know I plan on living. A VERY long time. And if there's one thing I've learned in the last 48 hours, its that this group is headed straight for a leadership crisis. They can't agree on anything, and Alyssa made Alex look like a fool today. You can bet he's gonna want to get her back for that, and obviously the guy can't handle not being in control. Then there's Mike, who could probably beat the hell out of any of us if he decided to, and while I'm sure he's just a SWELL guy, I'm not gonna sit on my hands until he realizes he could **** this group to do whatever he wants as soon as he starts swinging his fists. If we keep the guns, WE keep control. We decide what happens. We have the most important bargaining chip."

You take a step back, stunned at Ryan's boldness. Will replies, "Alyssa had a good plan today. Why the hell should we stage a coup when so far things are working?"

"We don't have to USE the guns, genius. They're just a safety precaution in case things get out of hand. I haven't seen a single wild animal since we got here, so I kinda doubt we're gonna need them for protection from the wildlife. And if I'm wrong, or if the group starts to spiral, we have an insurance policy that will keep us from being taken advantage of. I'll even let you two keep the sidearms! So what do you say?"

You look at Will uneasily. He looks right back at you with the same easy expression. The two of you lock eyes, and without so much as a word or a gesture, the two of you instinctively know that, whatever decision is made, you'll both see it through, together.