Surviving a Crash.

Based on the post by x sociate23, in 3 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast at Steamy Stories.

As

Cadet Cockman regained consciousness, he became aware of two things:

the throbbing in his temples and the acrid smell that stung his nose and

throat. His blurry vision gradually focused to look about the dimly

light cabin. Red emergency lights slowly strobed overhead, bathing the

interior in silent pulses of crimson like the inside of a gigantic

beating heart. The instrument panel was dead, the viewport a blank oval.

Memories

of the crash began to surface. The red-hot flames of reentry, the

flaring of the landing jets, the rushing up of the ground. His hands

still felt the heavy shuddering of the yoke, his ears still heard the

terrible sounds of rending and tearing metal as they struck. Despite his

best efforts, they had come in too fast and at too sharp an angle. The

last thing he recalled before darkness was the lieutenant reaching to

hold his hand.

He

turned his head and pain shot up his neck. His whole spine felt

compressed from the violent bouncing as their ship had skipped like a

stone. The Venusian was unconscious, her head flopped forward. The loose

strands of purple that hide her face were turned an eerie black and he

couldn't tell if she was breathing. When he took a deep breath of his

own, he began violently coughing.

All

at once his mind realized the danger. The smell was the fire

suppression system, designed to prevent the rocket from blowing up in

the event of a crash. He had to get them out of there, the gas could be

lethal if breathed in for too long.

Slapping

his harness release, he stood up wearily. His body ached, particularly

the areas where the straps had covered him. He released LuNar from her

seat and lifted her small frame over his shoulder. Her body was limp but

still warm. He hoped it was a good sign as he carried her to the exit,

snatching an Aid kit from the wall with his free hand, the other wrapped

around her slender thighs.

Lifting

the cover, he punched the emergency hatch button, air hissing as the

door fell open. Harsh sunlight streaked inside, forcing him to shield

his eyes. He clamored through the hatch with his burden and stood on a

raise mound of dirt to look around.

They

were in the middle of a green rolling plain, the undulating hills

carpeted with waist high savannah grasses and dotting with scraggily

trees here and there. The hot sun of CarterD2007 burned overhead as

Cockman looked towards the direction they had come in from. A huge

groove was dug into the dark earth, stretching for hundreds of feet

towards the horizon. Small brush fires burned and smoldered, trees along

the giant runt were sheared in half by tritanium wings. Parts of the

ship littered the ground, their shiny metal surfaces glinting in the

sunlight.

He

spotted a small clump of trees about fifty meters away. They looked as

good a place as any, so he moved towards them at a brisk pace, careful

not to jostle the girl in his arms too much. They needed a place to

wait, not only for the suppression gas to dissipate but also due to the

still slight risk of explosion. He found a clearing under one of the

trees, its coniferous leaves shielding the blistering sun.

He

lay LuNar down gently, supporting her head. Unzipping her tunic, he

felt for a pulse at the neck. There was no pulse. Panic gripped him as

he remembered he'd barely passed his Venusian Anatomy course. Taking a

chance, he placed his ear to her upper left tit, his face turned away

from hers. He relaxed as he was rewarded with the rhythmic thump of her

heartbeat as well as her shallow but steady breathing. He also couldn't

help but notice how soft her tit felt against his cheek.

"Cadet Cockman?!"

Her shout resounded through his skull as his head jerked up. She had an appalled look on her face.

"I-I-I was checking your heart!" he stammered, leaning away from her chest as she sat up.

"I

bet you were," she said hotly, eying his crotch with a look of

suspicion in her eyes. He looked down and to his dismay found his fly

was open. She curtly zipped up her top and seemed to swoon. He noticed a

cut on her forehead, a bead of greenish blood trickling down. She

attempted to stand but he placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"Easy, Lieutenant, Easy."

"I

am not easy!" she howled, slapping his hand away. First the boob thing,

now this. He only seemed to be making her more and more angry.

'Perhaps

Venusians don't like to be touched,' he wondered to himself. But she

needed medical attention, cultural differences be damned.

"Ma'am,

you're hurt, let me help you," he pleaded, reaching into the Aid kit

for antiseptic and gauze. She eyed him warily but at last relented. He

delicately dabbed at the cut. It wasn't very deep so she wouldn't need

sutures. He removed the backing from a plastic-bandage and gingerly

placed it over the cut.

"There, all better," he said, looking her in the eyes. Again, she seemed to calm down immediately as she spoke.

"Now it is your turn."

"What?"

She

gestured to his left arm. There was a large tear in the uniform across

the bicep, the edges already soaked through with blood. He'd been so

worried about her that he hadn't even realized he was injured. He

realized it now, though, as he painfully removed his tunic, peeling the

sticky sleeve away from the wound. The gash was deep but thankfully the

blood had already clotted. Lieutenant  LuNar dabbed at it with the

antiseptic cloth. It hurt like the devil and he reflexively jerked away.

"Hold still," she commanded, gripping the elbow.

"Sorry, it just hurts," he whined.

"Don't be such a chimNar," she scolded.

"What's a chimNar?"

"I

believe you Terrans call it an in-fant," she stated as she cleaned up

his arm. The offended Earthling scowled as he watched her deft fingers

apply auto-sutures, wincing as they pull