“Are you.. Are you a princess?” the girl asked, her voice quivering with fear and exhaustion. With the wind whipping about some of the aurite strands had come free, waving about in a pale golden halo. Even without the soft glow it must have seemed to the girl as though she had encountered an angel. Rene hovered in a moment of indecision, suddenly embarrassed to be holding a weapon but at a loss for what to do with it. As unobtrusively as he could he slung the weapon over his back and tightened the carry strap to free his hands. It was a miracle the girl was alive, both that she had survived being swept out to sea and that she had avoided death on the reefs which churned the water beyond the shore. Over and above even that she had clearly been exposed in the teeth of the storm for hours or days. Now that he had the leisure to examine her, he saw dozens of small cuts and scrapes, perhaps from the coral or from flying debris.

Solae laughed musically at the question, though in truth she was as close to a princess as anyone on Panopontus was likely to meet. 

“No, I’m not a princess, just a traveller,” the noblewoman said. The girl made a sniffing sound and Rene realised that she would probably be crying if she weren’t so dehydrated. Carefully, so as not to startle the girl with a sudden movement, he detached his canteen from the webbing belt he wore and passed it to Solae. Dramaris’ eyes flicked to him nervously and he tried to make his face as pleasant and non-threatening as he could. Solae unscrewed the cap and passed it to the girl who snatched it greedily from her hands, pressing the rubberized zero-g nipple to her mouth and sucking eagerly.

“Careful,” Rene cautioned, “Drink it slowly or you will make yourself sick.” If the girl heeded the warning it wasn’t until she had swallowed half the contents that she managed to pull her lips aways. Water spilled from her mouth as her thirst exceeded her capacity and she licked at her parched lips. Having done his six weeks of desert survival training on the Marine reservation at Ketaman Rene could only sympathize.

“I don’t feel good,” the girl whimpered and then promptly vomited up the water she had just drank in a convulsive gout. Mewling softly she fell forward into Solae’s arms, her small frame shaking. Rene stooped and picked the canteen up of the sand, brushing the nipple clean and handing it back to the girl who took it awkwardly and took another sip. As gently as he could Rene drew the canteen away, not wanting a repeat performance. Rene spared another glance out at the wind torn sea. There were no lights either on the water or in the sky, proof that, at least for now, rescue craft and jumpers weren’t able to operate. Further down the beach he saw what looked to be a small vessel perhaps five meters long, it looked battered and abandoned, perhaps a small coral gathering skiff that had been torn from its moorings by the storm. A selection of debris trailed from it like blood from an exit wound, pieces of netting and less identifiable junk in a random scatter.  No tracks disturbed the sand around it, if it had crew it seemed they had been lost before it had been driven ashore here. Not for the first time he wished that he had a tactical helmet with visual enhancements that would let him see into the infrared but then if he were getting wishes he probably would have aimed a little higher. 

“I’ll be right back,” he told Solae in a quiet voice and turned away, carfully twisting the slung carbine to keep it out of the girls line of sight, before trotting down the beach to the wrecked vessel. As he surmised it was one of the thousands of light craft that coursed the shallow seas of Panopontus, gathering coral for export. According to the limited information available on the Bonaventure, the corals contained useful biochemical compounds that were valuable components in a variety of pharmaceutical drugs. Most of the processing, and most of the money, was concentrated off world where higher technology levels, and accompanying Imperial permits, were available. The hull of the vessel was made from a composite of finely spun mesh and compressed cellulose treated with an industrial plasticising agent. The resulting material was cheap, tough and easily available. Even so a jagged rent in the hull told the story of how the vessel had been torn open on a reef. Already the edges of the gash were beginning to swell as the now unsealed cellulose took up water, making it look even more like an open wound. 

The interior of the boat was a jumble of ancient equipment and water logged papers. There was no engine and no signs of recent use. The hatches and porthole covers were rusted shut with far more corrosion than the recent storm justified. It had probably been a derelict for some time, serving as a floating storehouse of no particular value. There was nothing useful among the scattered wreckage save for some woven cables, a few shattered fish traps and an improbable amount of tangled fishing line. Rene wondered if Dramaris had used the wreck as a shelter from the wind, but dismissed the notion for lack of the girls tracks. Exhausted as she was, she must have simply staggered to the top of the dune and collapsed, only to be startled to wakefulness by the approach of the pair of glowing strangers. Rene grinned to himself, if he had been in the same situation he probably would have taken a swing at him too. 

“Lets get back to the sh...shelter,” Rene said as he jogged back to where Solae sat with the girl, administering small sips of water to stop her from vomiting. The reconnaissance had revealed all that he needed and there was no point in prolonging Dramaris’ exposure to the elements. If the skiff was salvageable it would still be too rough to risk  She needed hydration and medical care but just as clearly she needed to get out of the rain and wind. Together, the two nobles got the girl to her feet. Whatever reserves of adrenaline had kept the castaway going were clearly fading and Dramris saged almost lifeleslly as they half guided, half carried her back to the Bonaventure. By the time the carried her up the ramp she was completely unconscious.