A bright, brilliant sun rises over a foreign planet’s sky, coloring the far horizon in vibrant colors of subdued pink and yellow hues. Looking at the place where our ship should’ve been, I saw Captain Hanna Io lounging back in the flattened grass where the ship should’ve been, calmly gazing at the sky with a piece of grass sticking from her mouth. “Hmm,” she sighed casually, well collected blase tone, “Guess you're awake now. Ah, well, I guess it’s just you and me now, Miss Amelia Furze.” She replied calmly, continuing to look at the white clouds drifting through the sky above the wide-open clearing on a plateau where we spent the night.

“W-WHAT?!” Panic, anger, and shocked frustration rose in my voice as I cried in disbelief. As I realized the ship was truly gone, I wasn’t dreaming, and my eyes weren’t imagining what I was seeing, I still felt disoriented and half-sleep as I approached my Captain, “What do you mean, Captain? Where the hell is the rest of the crew? Heck, where in the hell did the ship go?” I looked at Io, desperately looking for answers. I took a deep breath and asked Io more calmly, “Captain Io, where did they go?”

Io slowly stood up from the ground, brushing the coarse dirt off her clothes in a tough, rugged-looking manner, “Calling me Io will do just fine…” She said bluntly, taking the blade of grass out of her hand and swiftly dropping it to the ground, she immediately dropped her carefree attitude, shifted into a chilling, well-collected, professional attitude, making it clear her nonchalant attitude was merely an act, “I don’t know, they left…” The small scowl on her lips and the burning anger in her eyes made her frustration evident along with her voice, acknowledging that the majority of our crew abandoned us, despite her seemingly calm exterior. “They’re probably somewhere halfway across this solar system by now.” She said, “It appears they’ve mutinied me; you were just unfortunate to get caught in this betrayal as well. We’ve been left stranded here overnight while we were fast asleep… fucking bastards…” She spat furiously. I could see a flicker of anger in her eyes, “They’ve abandoned us here.” She paused, taking a deep breath to recollect herself, returning to her calm, professional blase tone, “But we can’t dwell on that now, since this planet seems to support us, it’s safe to assume it’s also capable of supporting complex life forms as well. That means we’ll have to try to make sure we don’t get eaten.”

I stared at Io in disbelief, unable to comprehend what she just said, frozen in shock like someone walking away from a car crash.

“Mutiny?! Wait, what?! How could they do this to us…?” My mind panicked as Io mentioned something getting eaten, “You don’t think we’ll actually get eaten here, do you? If life were to form on a planet like wouldn’t it form similarly to Earth?! If we’re respectful to the wildlife, they should logically leave us alone,” I exclaimed, trying to think rationally, but my mind was still swimming with disbelief. “And Captain, or I mean Io… how can you remain so calm in a moment like this?” I asked, frustrated at her composure.

“Amelia! Take a deep breath. Focus. And listen to me!” She addressed me sternly, approaching me and grabbing my shoulders firmly on both sides in efforts to ground me as she spoke. It was so strange hearing her call me by my first. Usually, it was just Furze, or Miss Furze. She looked at me with her intense dark brown eyes, black as night, “Getting worked isn’t going to help any of us in this situation. Panicking won’t do us any good. In fact, it’s something that could get us both killed.” Io continued with a strong, direct tone as she described the next course of action, “They’ve left us, and I can’t tell you how much that fucking pisses me off. But there’s no changing that they did, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try our damned hardest to survive out of pure spite. First thing we’ll need to do is find a source of water.” She looked down into a dense, dark, lush forest, she said professionally as she switched into work mode, “If we go downhill, there’s a good chance we’ll find a source of water. We’ll have to be careful as we continue, so stay close. Don’t wander off.”

I couldn’t help but feel a mixture of jealousy and gratitude towards Io for her levelheadedness. She had all the qualities of a damn great leader—unshakeable and steadfast, a rock in a hard place. I glared at Io, “Fine...” I huffed, reluctant resignation at her strong pragmatic authority. I let out a sigh, calmly readying myself to submit my compliance under her orders, just as I had become so accustomed to on the ship. My frustration was slowly being tempered by her stoicism as I entered bolstered a professional attitude. I was now active and ready for duty. “Let’s find some water. Then we’ll figure it out from there.”

“You really think we’ll find any water down there?” I asked as we started down the hill, entering the forest. My ears listened to birds…? Singing and flying through the trees. The scent of tree flowers and fresh soil filled my senses, making me sneeze slightly as I breathed the light pollen in the air coming up from the forest below. The trees were straggly, tall conifer trees with deep, dark, verdant needles.

Io nods. “Yes, I believe that should be correct; it’s our best bet currently.” She said, “Water generally flows downhill into low points, forming the classic bodies of water we find on earth due to gravity. It’s the path of least resistance or something like that, isn’t it, Amelia?” I smiled smugly as she asked me questions of physics, trying to get me to think with my brain and distract me from the surreal situation we were in.

I nodded, letting out a wry chuckle at her attempt to distract me with trivial facts, appreciating the effort despite the grim circumstance, "Yes, if we’re going off the general rules of gravity on earth, that'd be exactly correct. It's the path of least resistance. On Earth and on any similar planets, the force of gravity pulls the water molecules down towards the center of mass. Eventually, that water starts seeping into the loose ground until it reaches a harder layer. Over time, this water creates lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and even oceans and aquifers." I explained as I rattled off the information at the top of my head quickly and confidently, slightly distracted by the fact that we were discussing physics and not the dire situation at hand. I appreciated Io's attempt to shift my focus to something more productive. It filled me with a comforting sense of familiarity by explaining such simple yet fundamental principles of physics, "And in this case," I added, "That area would be at a lower point than where we are now." I felt reassured by her rational knowledge and understanding, though her knowledge would more likely be more basic, based on practical applications. It was just basic laws of gravity.

"So, if we follow the natural slope of the terrain, that should definitely increase our chances of finding a source of water soon." I continue with a newfound confidence and determination, looking around, trying to spot something that would indicate water.

As we hurriedly descended further down the slope, my eyes scanned the forest, looking for a source of water while staying alert for potential threats. We carefully continued navigating a landscape of fallen branches and animal burrows. “Io! Down there!” I shouted, proudly pointing to a wide stretch of flowing water. The river was dark; it looked like a thick black snake moving slowly through the forest. “I think I spot a river just ahead.”

She paused, examining where I was pointing. “Yes, excellent work, Amelia,” she said, congratulating me by patting me on the shoulder. “Let’s go get a closer look. Go slowly, we’re descending on uneven terrain, and I don’t need you slipping and breaking a leg. Keep your eyes peeled for your surroundings.”

We hurried down to the bank of the river. I was brimming with excitement. The water roared in my ears, and the air felt cooler as we stood at the water’s edge. Examining it up close, I was filled with anxious fear and awestruck wonder, surprised seeing how wide it was and how powerfully the currents of the river moved. “We’ll definitely have enough water to drink from here,” I stated confidently as I was preparing to scoop some up in my hands to taste.

“Not so fast,” Io cautioned, “We cannot drink the water straight from this river. There are going to be contaminants in the water, bacteria, and diseases that will make us violently ill. Where do you think the animal waste in this forest runs off into when it rains? Into the river. We’ll have to collect and filter the water for now. Once we’ve set up a camp, we’ll make a fire so we can boil and purify it, then it’ll be safer for us to drink.”

I nodded, feeling humbled by what Io said. I hadn’t thought of contaminants in the river. I wasn’t extensively trained on what to do if a ship got stranded. Io, however, was trained and drilled constantly on what to do in basically any situation until it was hardwired into her brain. I had spoken with caution and wisely explained about the contaminants.

"Ugh, dammit..." I groaned in very visible embarrassment, palming my face briefly as I spoke, "Right... right of course. I wasn't thinking ahead. This river, of course, likely has contaminants like bacteria and diseases that can cause waterborne illnesses..." I murmured, repeating the dangers, mentally kicking myself as I acknowledged her warning clearly, and once again, "Thank you for stopping me so quickly, Captain Io." I continued to murmur graciously. I was grateful for her commanding presence and the way she thought of everything. Without it, I'd likely end up in this wilderness dead or worse in no time.