Denton unbuckled his seat belt and stumbled out of the evac pod. He collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily, laughing and coughing at the same time. Around him, one by one, he heard other pods dock, their hatches pop open and footsteps around him as others emerged, relief evident on their faces. Leah and Carter embraced while Gabi knelt next to Denton, her hand on his back, a smile on her face.

"Are you all right?" she said.

Denton nodded. "I'm ok, although, for a minute, I wasn't sure the pod actually worked."

"I know, me too. I'm still shaking," Gabi said and helped Denton to his feet.

"Where are we?" Denton said and looked around the room they had arrived in. Its circular shape was not unlike the area they had departed from in the module. There were hatches through which evacuees could exit their evac pods, a door with a red EXIT sign on it and a computer terminal on the wall next to the exit.

"The other end of the evac ride," Carter said with a smile and gestured around the room with his hand. "I know, not a whole lot to be excited about but it's better than being stuck down there, right?"

"What's through the door?" Denton said and gestured towards the exit.

"That takes us out to the rest of the base. There's also a medical bay, should anyone need it."

They all looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I think it's time we get a handle on Jarell," Denton said. "Let's go find him."

Leah and Carter nodded and stepped towards the exit, with Gabi and Denton behind. Carter opened the door and was just about to let Leah through them when Gabi grabbed Denton's arm and held it tightly.

"What's wrong?" he said and looked at her. The color had drained from her face, and he felt her hand shaking slightly.

"Carter," she whispered and stared directly at her brother as he turned around and looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Gabi? What's the matter?"

"Where's dad?" she said as her eyes scanned the room behind them.

Carter's mouth fell open, and his face paled as quickly as Gabi's had. Without a word, he rushed over to the control panel next to the door and furiously tapped the screen mounted on the wall. The other three gathered around him. Denton felt a chill run down his spine as his mind raced to the conclusion he wanted to avoid, the conclusion Carter and Gabi already seemed to have jumped to. In his euphoria of making it safely, he had failed to verify that everyone else had. A pang of guilt seared the inside of his chest, and he swallowed hard as he confirmed that there were only four open hatches. Jonythan wasn't there.

"Where is he?" Denton asked as Carter continued to tap away, swiping through screens, tapping buttons and looking at various pages of data. Carter's shoulder slumped, and his head tilted forward as he rested his hands on the wall next to the screen. He sighed deeply and turned around.

"He's still down there," he said, his eyes tearing up. "His pod hasn't initiated the ascent stage."

"He's sinking?" Gabi cried out, her eyes wet with tears.

Carter nodded.

"How do we get him back? Can you get his pod to work? Get him up!" she pleaded and grabbed his arm tightly.

"I can't. The remote backup controls are not responding. His pod isn't responding."

They were interrupted by a beeping sound on the screen, and all turned to look at it at the same time. A small red icon flashed in the upper right corner of the screen.

"What's that?" Leah asked.

"It's an incoming transmission," Carter said, his eyes wide. He tapped the icon, and a clear image of Jonythan's face filled the screen, interrupted by occasional visual distortions. Sweat was visible on his forehead, and he flashed a weak smile and waved as he leaned back in his seat.

"I see you made it," he said.

"Yes, dad, we did," Gabi said and pushed Carter aside. "What's going on?"

Jonythan grimaced and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Oh, you know, no technology is perfect."

"Dad?"

"One of them was bound to fail, I suppose," he continued.

"What are you talking about? They all checked out. You and Carter checked them all yourself."

"We sure did. In the launch bays. There was never a guarantee they would work once we launched."

"So how do we get you back up, dad?" Gabi said and leaned closer to the screen. "What can we do?"

Jonythan looked down for a moment and then back up, his eyes glassy. He locked eyes with Gabi and shook his head. "Nothing. There's nothing you can do."

"Dad? Don't say that!" she said, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "There's got to be a way. What's the backup?"

"When the backup doesn't work, that's usually it, my dear."

Carter put an arm around her and held her tightly, but she twisted out of his arms and pushed him towards the wall. "Don't touch me," she hissed and turned her attention back to the screen.

"Gabi, darling, it's ok," Jonythan said as his fingers came up towards the screen. "It's all right. You'll be all right. I'm ok."

"Dad..." Gabi whispered.

Jonythan wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "Carter, take care of your sister," he said and tapped his chest with a clenched fist. "I'll always be with you," he said, smiled one last time, nodded and then the screen went black.

Gabi stood frozen, staring at the screen as tears dripped from her face. Then, she turned around and rushed towards Carter.

"This is all your fault, Carter," she screamed and pointed her finger at her brother. "It's your fault he's stuck down there. It's all your fault!" She pushed him again and pinned him against the wall, raised her fist, and was ready to throw a punch at her brother when Denton's fingers closed around her wrist.

"Gabi, it's not Carter's fault," he said gently as he firmly pulled her away from Carter. "The pods just failed. It's nobody's fault." Gabi collapsed in his arms, sobbing. Together they slid down on the floor as her body shook uncontrollably. Carter kneeled next to them, his hands around them both.

"He's going to pay for this," Carter whispered after a moment's silence, then jumped up and rushed out of the room.

"Carter, wait, what are you doing?" Leah called after him.

"Leah, stay with Gabi," Denton said and rushed out of the arrival chamber. He saw Carter running up ahead and followed as quickly as his feet would follow. Carter disappeared up a set of circular stairs, and Denton followed close behind. By the time Denton reached the floor above, he just managed to catch a glimpse of Carter as he disappeared into a room at the end of the hallway. The loud click of the door locking as he slammed the door told him everything he needed to know. Carter was on a mission, and he didn't want to be interrupted.

"Open the door, Carter," he said and banged on the door with his hands.

"Not a chance," the muffled voice said from the other side.

Denton grabbed the handled and pushed on the door. It didn't budge. He took a few steps back and noticed the sign next to the door. OPERATIONS CENTER. It had to be the control room they had mentioned before they launched the evac pods.

"Carter, open the door, or I'll kick it down."

When there was no response, Denton back up a few yards and rushed the door, and put as much weight as he could behind the kick he delivered to the door around the area of the lock. Wooden splinters flew into the air as the door frame shattered. The door slammed hard against the inside wall and Denton stumbled through the doorway, barely able to maintain his balance. Carter, in front of a large control panel, turned around just in time to be tackled by Denton. They collapsed on the floor in a heap, breathing heavily.

Carter pushed Denton away and roll over onto his back, a smile on his face. "It's done. He's done," he whispered.

"What have you done, Carter?" Denton said and jumped to this feet. His eyes frantically scanned the control panel in front of him.

Leah and Gabi joined them in the control room, both out of breath. Gabi's eyes widened as she saw Carter on the floor and Leah rushed to his side and knelt next to him.

"Carter, what happened?" Leah said as she helped him up off the floor.

"Payback," he simply said with a chuckle. "I let him have a taste of his own medicine."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's got something to do with this control panel," Denton said. "See, the lights over here are flashing."

Gabi joined Denton at the control panel. "It's the hatch to the module. It's just been closed, and the light next to it indicates that the module is about to begin its descent again."

"How do we stop it?"

"We can't from here," she said and pointed towards another section of the control panel. Several switches had been broken off or crushed. "We can't get it back either once it undocks."

"Can we stop it?"

"There's a small panel next to the module hatch with an emergency abort. That's the only other way I know. But, why is that so important? There's no-one in the module anymore, right?"

"Wrong. Remember what you said, that the flashing lights mean that the hatch had just closed and the module is preparing to descend again."

Gabi's faced drained of color, and her mouth flew up to her face. "Oh! The hatch was open."

"Exactly. It's likely that someone entered the module when it docked, and now, Carter just locked them inside the module and initiated the descent sequence. We've got to stop it. Come one," he said and stepped towards the door. Gabi didn't move.

"Are you coming?"

"Denton," she said tentatively, "I'm not sure I'm up for saving Jarell."

Denton looked at her. He understood, he really did. As if her tear-streaked face and her hair that looked like it hadn't seen a brush in weeks didn't tell him that she was having a rough time, her eyes were cold, empty.

"I understand, Gabi, I really do."

"That's what they all say, Denton, that's what they all say. How can you really? You're not the one that just lost your dad. So please, Denton, don't say you understand."

Denton looked at her and felt tears form in the corner of his eyes as he and Gabi held each other's stares for what seemed an eternity. Then, he stepped up to her and took her hands, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Remember Tranquility Haven?" he said.

Gabi blinked a couple of times and tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed. "What about it? What does that have to do with Jarell" she said defiantly.

"I was there, my family was there."

Gabi gasped and took an involuntary step back.

 "They didn't make it," Denton said and wiped a tear that attempted to escape his eyes down the slope of his cheek. He then turned and ran out of the room, leaving Gabi with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide in shock.

~O~

What do you think? Will Denton be able to get to the emergency abort in time to save Jarrel from an icy tomb? Does he really want to?

As always, if you're reading this chapter and like it, please vote to let me know and/or leave me a comment with your thoughts.