The crew took some time to gather, but after a while, Yayha managed to gather everyone, and in turn, they began constructing a circle within the available space. Ridge had also gotten up from the ground and held the flamethrower to the pod.
Everyone who had managed to squeeze together focused on Ridge as well as the weapon in his hands, "Yesterday these men and women now lying inside this pod had unexpectedly come across a situation that was unlike anything else we had ever faced or trained for, and in this confronting of the unknown they perished attempting to survive," Ridge paused.
"Each body represents a story on this ship, and I don't want that to be forgotten. They all had jobs, just as you did, and many of them became friends who turned into family during their time serving. Let's take this moment to salute them in silence and send them off into the vastness of space where they dreamed of a fulfilling future."
Finishing, he saluted and closed his eyes for a moment of silence.
The others followed suit, and after a full minute counted within his head, Ridge opened his eyes and pulled the trigger, directed towards the dead bodies.
A Fwoosh emitted from the barrel of the gun, and heat began to permeate the surroundings. The others, now with their eyes open, looked on in silence and continued to salute the fallen bodies.
After the pile had begun to catch fire, Ridge took his finger off the trigger and nodded to one of the crewmates nearby.
Said crewmate turned around from where he was and accessed the escape pods panel and closed the door of the fire, and under the watchful eyes of Ridge and the others, he pressed the indicator to release the pod.
A low hissing sounded out, and the pod began to leave the ship, going to the unknown.
"Back to work, folks, and also keep an eye out, I had confronted some fungus-like spores in the warehouse by the cafeteria not long ago," Ridge said while putting away the flamethrower.
The others acknowledged his orders and began to work once again. The crew themselves weren't exactly sentimental people, so while there was some grief at the loss of the others at the end of the day, they were military men and women, so they had become accustomed to loss.
Yayha had also left the crowd as they went to do their jobs and came up to Ridge once more. As they walked side by side back to the bridge and through the metal hallways, the first one to speak up was Yayha.
"So, now what do we do, sir?" he asked while they walked. Ridge responded with a certain tone of certainty, "For now, we're gonna go back to the bridge and likely take refuge on a planet that the navigator Berkay found to scavenge for supplies and also see if there are any signs of inhabitants."
Nodding Yayha quit speaking after finding out there was a planet, and the only sounds heard were the boots hitting the floor as they walked.
Finally, they arrived at the bridge and entered through the door. Ridge, seeing Berkay, immediately went up to him, " How's it going? Any new developments to report?"
Berkay, seeing him, gestured a quick salute. "There is nothing that has substantially changed besides the distance from which we are approaching the planet, unfortunate for sure in the sense of us being alone, but also fortunate since we are indeed alone without any of those zombies or whatever they are called."
"Okay, just be cautious when scanning our surroundings. How long do you reckon it will take to get to the planet?" Ridge asked while leaning on the table.
"I estimate that at the current pace we're flying, we will be approaching it within just a few days, though to be exact, probably around two," Beraky said.
Nodding Ridge got up from the table, and Yayha followed just behind him, moving to the middle of the bridge where the commander's seat was placed Ridge sat down, and after Yayha had stood beside him, he opened his panel watch and once again pressed down on the speakers to connect to the ship.
Slightly screeching sounds emitted throughout the ship's speakers, and eventually, after waiting some time, it was clear, and Ridge began to speak.
Some of the others that were throughout the ship had also stopped what they were doing, like Caroline, for example, and had begun to pay attention.
"Hello, this is Commander Ridge. You've perhaps found out through rumors or were simply unaware of a certain matter, I am going to clear it up right now and in the process detail our next plans, to begin our ship's navigator had managed to locate a planet just a few days off from our current location and as of now, under my orders, we will immediately be heading towards it. Once we get there, I want a detailed list from all crew members of the necessary things needed to ensure the ship is able to be fully repaired and operational. This includes minerals that can be smelted and food that can be foraged, hopefully. Finally, I will hereby be promoting Yayha to vice commander and George as captain of the remaining soldiers so that when we touch down, we can safely secure the area. Thank you, and once again, remember that this is not the end for us."
Finishing up, Ridge clicked the end button that indicated he was still connected to the speakers and lowered his wrist to his side. Yayha was somewhat stunned, but recovered quite fast and immediately saluted. Ridge, seeing this, also saluted.
"I won't disappoint you, Commander," Yayha said, and hearing this, Ridge simply nodded with a smile on his face, "Don't worry, most of your current duties fall under your new title anyway."
"Understood, I will continue the work of cleaning up the ship and will keep my panel watch open for communication." After one last salute, Yayha left the bridge and Ridge sat back against the chair looking into the dark space beyond the ship and the many shining stars...Contemplating.
As if a symphony was going through his head, he rubbed his forehead with one hand and eventually got up to clean rooms and make any necessary repairs. It wouldn't be right for him to just sit back and do nothing while the others worked.