The Grey Chronicles Part Two: Under Siege.

Chapter 3: Meet and Greet.

The Dead Forest, surface of Stoneharra One, August of 8096 AL.

Salem's eyes shot open, his entire body frozen in his seat. He could hardly see, the screen in front of him was black and the lifeboat was dark. He didn't have to look to know that his knuckles were white. He flexed his fingers slowly, breathing deeply and looking around the cabin. The door was closed, with a single green light blinking above it.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Hyde said, his face appearing beside the screen, "I'm glad to see my meat suit is still alive and kicking."

"Glad to see you're still the same self-centered asshole you've always been," Salem groaned quietly, his entire body ached, "Well, not always. There was a time you were sane."

"I remember it clearly," the holographic skull smiled, "It was horrible; caring for others, valuing the lives of insects, respecting people. Thank goodness that's over."

"And yet," Salem smirked, "It seems you have your moments of clarity."

"Don't remind me," Hyde growled, "Get out of this tin can, we need to move."

"Five more minutes?" Salem chuckled, "Please mother? I'm so tired, and sore."

"You're going to be a lot more than sore if you're still here in five minutes; motion sensors show movement half of a klick to the north."

"Oh really?" Salem raised an eyebrow, "Any chance they're friendly?"

"Doubtful," Hyde scoffed, "The smaller signatures are only six feet tall."

"Midget welcoming party?" Salem smiled.

"Midget welcoming party with assault rifles," the AI replied, "Get going, they're moving surprisingly fast for their tiny little legs."

"They're on foot?" Salem asked, mashing his fist into the seat belt release button. His safety harness fell off him and he climbed out of his chair. He was pleasantly surprised to see that the lifeboat had remained mostly level after landing. He walked around the chair to the side door, grabbing the release lever and wrenching it to the side. The door slid with the lever, opening to reveal a blindingly bright sun shining through the forest of gray and black trunks.

Salem turned slowly, examining his surroundings. Behind the lifeboat was a clear trail where it had crashed through the trees, knocking over larger trees and simply snapping smaller ones in two. Sunlight cast through the hole in the dead foliage, illuminating the small, otherwise dark clearing where the lifeboat had landed. As it had landed, the boat had dug a deep trench, scarring the loose soil and ripping through tree roots.

The soil was gray and sandy, and seemed to cling to Salem's boots. It was more ash than dirt, he realized after kneeling and sifting through it for a moment. He wiped his hands clean on his pants and stood again, walking to the side of the lifeboat and opening one of the compartments. Inside he found a trauma kit, an Infinity, a sword, an armored breastplate, and a small backpack. Inside the backpack was a survival kit, including a smaller first aid kit, a pistol, a combat knife, and supplies for building shelter and collecting food. He pulled the breastplate on over his jacket and slid the straps of the backpack over his shoulders. He wrapped the body sling of the Infinity around his torso and looked down at the weapon. With the flick of a switch it morphed into a semiautomatic assault rifle with a bayonet and a scope. Salem worked the action, jacking a shell into the chamber and checking the compass built into the stock.

"Hyde, where did the other lifeboats land?" Salem asked out loud, looking to the north for any sign of the approaching hostiles.

"Your lifeboat landed the farthest to the east," Hyde answered, speaking to Salem in his mind, "If you head due west you will reach one of them in a few klicks."