To the Stars Beyond - Part 4

Rosie

“Nuhhh!” I groan as I come too. “Did someone hit me with a freighter?”. Squinting, I look out the viewport at the alien landscape around me.

“Nope, not a freighter…just a planet…no big deal,” I croak.

Judging by the soreness of my throat, I guess I screamed for most of my descent; at least until I blacked out.

The rest of me seems relatively intact besides some whiplash and a small gash on my forehead. At least I don’t seem to have suffered any broken bones.

I groan again as I shift my weight, trying to bring up a status report. The faint light on the console displays the massive amount of damage to my pod’s systems.

It would take a small engineering team, with access to proper equipment, several hours to repair. Me? I will be lucky to get long-range communications back online.

I have some technical skills, but even I know I’ll never be able to get this vessel back off the ground.

As more of my mind clears, I remember the alien craft that had me in its grip, and quickly scan the view out my window again. I can’t see anything from this angle, but I know it’s somewhere out there.

External sensors show a choppy reading of the environment outside. My eyes widen at the breathable atmosphere and nearly Earth norm gravity.

“A little humid maybe, but I’ll take it over a frozen landscape any day.” A trickle of panic wants to take root in my stomach, but I push it away.

Unlatching myself from my chair, I grab up the survival pack I never thought I’d use.

“I guess being the first human to stand on this planet is something, even if no one ever hears about it,” I grumble as I reach for the emergency door release.

The door sticks. “That’s fair. You’ve been through the ringer, little pod, so I don’t blame you.” My body protests as I lean into it and shove, stumbling slightly when it finally gives way.

The bright light of the sun makes me squint and I shield my eyes with my hand as I heft the survival pack onto my shoulder and jump the short distance to the ground.

My boots kick up a small cloud of silica the color of rose petals, coating them in a dusty pink powder.

I gasp as I take in the strange landscape around me. The pale blue of the sky is cloudless, and the pink dunes around me are in stark contrast to the deep green of the jungle off in the distance.

“It’s so pretty,” I say, admiring the astonishing sight.

A shuffling off to my right causes me to spin, and I take in another astonishing sight. This one was less pretty and far more intimidating.

The being stops in its tracks when it sees me, and we both stare incomprehensibly at each other.

It’s huge…and a dinosaur. Okay, not really, as it’s much too humanoid. But its powerful build, long thick tail and spines that run from its head down its back, resembles the appearance of those ancient Earth behemoths.

Is it he, she? Maybe neither? Its body seems very male like. My mind yammers as I continue to stare. Its body was muscley…like a bodybuilder with scales; dark gold scales fading to a deep orange. Its vest-like top hid very little. Okay, so maybe it is a little pretty, I snort.

His head tilts at that inelegant sound, so I decide our staring contest should probably end.

“Um…hi…” I say, holding up a hand and immediately feel the need to slap myself with it at such an idiotic greeting.

He probably doesn’t understand me, but who knows how advanced his species tech is?

Humans have invented translators, but it would take several days for it to learn another being’s language, and that was with constant input.

A low rumble emanates from the creature, along with several sharp clicks. I realize he’s saying something, but of course I can’t understand him.

“Okay, so no to the advanced technology,” I say. “Well, so far you haven’t attacked me, so at least we are doing better at first contact than ninety percent of old sci-fi movies.”

He tilts his head at my words again, then removes a device from his vest.

I wince, expecting…I’m not sure what I was expecting, but when he just fiddles with it, I let myself relax. It’s my turn to tilt my head, trying to figure out what he’s doing.

He rumbles and clicks a few more times, looking from his device to me.

Ohhh, is this the advanced tech? I wonder, watching him closely.

He grunts, scratching at his chin with a long… extremely long nail. Nope…not a nail. That is a claw. A very sharp-looking claw.

His unusual, nearly florescent orange eyes find mine and he rumbles off more words. Once he’s done, he points at me, then at his device.

“Ahhh. Okay, you want me to talk? Got it. I can do that.” Obviously, the device is a translator and requires my words to learn the language.

Hopefully, it works faster than the ones humans have made because I don’t think I can talk for days. Although my friends might disagree.

The thought of my fellow crew members on board the Divine has my heart lurch. I don’t know how far that energy stream took me, or if I’ll ever see them again. Shaking my head, I halt that train of thought, as it won’t help me in my current situation.

I prattle on, even as I feel sweat slide down my face. I’ll need to find shade soon before the heat of the sun roasts me.