How much will a human do for their friends? They will jump off a high cliff with nothing but a cloth on their back, and the secure rope so everyone else can get down more safely. -- Anon Guest
The good news was that Human Stig had some time to think. The bad news was that it might not be enough time to think.
Smoke rising up the hill behind them, toxic plants to the left of them, savage critters to the right of them, and a sheer cliff in front of them with an unfathomable drop below. There was a clear patch of land a mere ten sidu[1] away, but it was also more than twenty sidu down.
Human Stig muttered, "Well, we have fifty Sidu of rope..." then he took it out and anchored one end to a hefty rock. Then, with a mad gleam in his eye, took a backpack out of his Recreational Crate.
"Human Stig..." quavered Companion Quy. "What are you planning?"
"It's cool, I've been Base Jumping before. These are chair slider rigs, instructions in this file," he flicked it to Companion Quy. "Just wait 'till I send the signal flare up." He tied the other end of the rope to his livesuit equipment belt. Removed something from the smaller pack before donning it, and then spent a few minutes pacing to and back from the cliff edge. "Yeah. Yeah. I can do this. Deep breaths, my fluffy friends. I am about to do something Human."
And with that warning, Human Stig took a running leap off the edge. In seconds, he let go of his handful. It was a pilot chute, helping open a larger expanse of cloth. Human Stig dangling below that, steering the simple machine to the other side of the chasm. The rope falling between one fixed point and the drifting figure of Human Stig.
The whole thing sailed across the gap, with Human Stig landing at a run on the other side. He bundled up the fabric before it could drag him away, then secured the other end of the rope.
The rest of the party had to cross with their eyes closed, but they did get away from the threats. The next hurdle was getting back to their lander without getting cornered again.
[1] Sidu: the common shorthand for Standard Distance Units, which are roughly equivalent to a meter.
[Photo by Maksim Zinchenko on Unsplash]
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