A persistent, rhythmic beeping pulled Haruto from the depths of unconsciousness. It was the pod's distress signal, a lonely cry in an unknown wilderness.
"Status on the pod?" Haruto asked, his voice hoarse. He unbuckled himself from the crash harness, his body aching in a dozen different places. The interior of the sphere was a mangled wreck, smelling of burnt electronics and ozone. The emergency lights cast a sickly yellow glow on the dented walls.
**
"And the local environment?" Haruto pushed against the main hatch. It groaned in protest, warped from the impact.
**
With a final, desperate shove, the hatch screeched open, revealing a world bathed in the light of a sun slightly larger and warmer than the one he knew. He was in a small clearing, the pod having carved a deep scar in the rich, dark soil. All around him was a forest of impossible scale. Trees with bark like iridescent scales towered hundreds of meters into the sky, their thick canopy of emerald and sapphire leaves filtering the sunlight into a green-tinted twilight at ground level. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and alien blossoms.
He clambered out, his plasma pistol drawn, his senses on high alert. The sounds of the forest were a complex symphony of chirps, clicks, and rustles, none of them familiar. He retrieved a standard-issue survival pack from the pod's storage, a compact kit containing a water purifier, nutrient paste, and a medkit. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
"Akari, begin a passive scan of all local frequencies. And run a geological survey. I want to know what resources we're working with."
**
Haruto's first priority was securing his immediate area. He moved with the quiet efficiency of a soldier, his boots making little sound on the spongy moss covering the ground. He found a stream nearby, its water crystal clear. As he refilled his canteen, Akari's voice returned.
**
Haruto melted back into the shadows of a massive, scaly tree, his pistol held at the low ready. He didn't have to wait long. They emerged from the treeline, a hunting party of lean, muscular humanoids. Their skin was the color of moss, and their faces were a blend of human and reptilian features, with flat noses and wide, yellow eyes. They were armed with crude spears tipped with sharpened stone and carried woven nets. Their attention was fixed on the mangled escape pod, their guttural clicks and hisses a language he couldn't comprehend.
One of them pointed a three-fingered hand at the pod and let out a sharp cry. They fanned out, moving with a predator's grace, their yellow eyes scanning the clearing. They were clearly searching for the occupant.
Haruto had no desire for conflict, but he was also a pragmatist. They were armed, and he was an unknown variable on their turf. He remained perfectly still, letting them approach. One of the creatures came within five meters of his position, its head cocked as if listening for something. Its gaze swept past his hiding spot twice.
Then, it stopped. Its head snapped around, its yellow eyes locking directly onto his. It let out a piercing shriek, raising its spear.
There was no more time for observation. Haruto's pistol snapped up. A bolt of superheated plasma, nearly silent, crossed the distance in an instant and struck the creature in the chest. It didn't even have time to scream before it was thrown backward, a cauterized hole smoking where its heart had been.
The others reacted with shocked cries, spinning to face the new threat. Haruto didn't give them the chance to regroup. He was already moving, a blur of motion from one tree to the next. Two more plasma bolts found their marks. It wasn't a fight; it was an execution. They were warriors, but they had brought spears to a gunfight across a thousand years of technology.
The remaining creatures, terrified by the silent, invisible death felling their comrades, broke and fled into the forest. Haruto let them go, his breathing steady, the adrenaline already beginning to fade. He checked the bodies with a clinical detachment, confirming they were dead. The biology was fascinating, but his relief at surviving was a more pressing emotion.
He was alone, on a world that was clearly inhabited, and had already made enemies.
**
Haruto's head snapped in the direction Akari indicated. A weapon discharge? Here? It couldn't be from another survivor; the energy was too strange.
**
A human. The word electrified him. He wasn't the only one. Without a second thought, he holstered his pistol and began to run, crashing through the alien undergrowth towards a battle he didn't understand, and a person he had to save.