ARRIVAL

When the dust settled, and consciousness returned, she opened the hatch of her destroyed pod. A quick scan confirmed the air on this planet to be safe and she promptly removed her helmet taking in a deep gasping breath. There was no way her arrival would go unnoticed and that meant she was in immediate danger. Falling back on her training, she took stock of her surroundings.

The planet she had landed on appeared to be a desert planet. There was dust and sand in every direction, with a sparse spattering of strange vegetation. A small mountain range lay to the distant left of her pod and open terrain lay in all other directions. Except, now that she looked harder, there was some sort of dwelling off in the distance. Nothing else seemed to be out here for miles, granted she couldn't tell what lay beyond that mountain range, but aside from this single residence the area was barren.

A few options crossed her mind. She could head for the mountain range and hope for a friendly civilization, she could head for the mountain range and hide, she could head for the strange dwelling and hope they weren't hostile, or she could remain with her pod and try to repair it. This planet was currently in its night cycle, which meant once its star rose in the sky it would most likely become very hot very quickly and she would need to find adequate shelter and hydration. The mountain range would be her best bet for both while eliminating the risk of encountering the native species in-case they were in fact hostile.

She let out a huff and plopped herself back into the pod, accessing the systems to see if it was even salvageable. Turns out; nope. Another huff and she let her head fall back against the seat; she was stuck here with no way of escaping. A distress beacon would only draw the attention of the Empire and that defeated the whole purpose of her assignment, while contacting her team was impossible from this distance. Without some means of boosting her broadcasting range her communicator's signal just wasn't strong enough. No, it was looking like she was actually stuck here until rescue came, or the Empire attacked and she could 'borrow' a pod. May as well make the best of a shitty situation and use this time to scan for the source of that strange energy signal they had been tracking.

With the pod being unrepairable, she decided to wipe the records just in-case. However, the moment she accessed the controls her pod began sparking and the hatch sealed shut as the exterior caught fire. It was only a matter of time before the fire reached the fuel cells and the pod exploded; she needed to get that hatch open. Trying a manual override yielded no results, trying to pry the hatch open only served to tire her out, and trying the eject button had slammed her headfirst into the stubbornly sealed hatch making her see stars before the darkness took over.

A loud sound pulled her back to consciousness and she blinked as the heavy fog cleared from her mind and the darkness of the destroyed pod took its place. The sound of metal being pried apart surrounded her and she dug deep to summon enough energy to open her eyes.

A strange alien was standing above her pod, the light of the desert planet's sole moon shining around him. He looked like an angel. She blinked to clear the haze and leaned forward, but the sudden motion caused her head to swim and she was succumbing to the darkness again.

The first thing she registered was the incredibly bright and hot light that was shining on her. Whatever it was, it was large enough to cover her entire left side in a blazing heat. The next thing she registered was a strange smell, dusty and stale as though the air was rarely filtered. Finally she noticed the sounds of something moving below, they were muffled as though coming through walls too thin to effectively block them. Suddenly the reality of her situation crashed down on her still mildly concussed mind. She bolted upright and breathed in a heaving gasp, taking stock of the unfamiliar surroundings.

Her armor was still on, though her helmet had been set aside on a small table beside what must serve as a bed for this species. It was similar to her own, longer than it was wide and relatively soft, though there was a strange feeling of metal poking into her back. Every movement released a strained creaking sound that could potentially alert the alien of her wakefulness. A thin sheet had been draped over her and a glass of what appeared to be water was resting next to the helmet.

She had been right; the day cycle on this desert planet was hot, bright, and inhospitable. A small tattered curtain held back the majority of the bright light from the planet's star. Forcing herself to move from the bed, she took a tentative step towards the window, feeling the floor creak under her weight, and pushed the curtain aside. The resulting onslaught of light was blinding, her eyes slamming shut in protest. After several painful dobashes she slowly forced them to open and looked out at the desolate terrain. Her pod was nowhere to be seen but a strange looking vehicle was parked outside, directly in-front of a smaller dwelling. It was red with white accents and appeared to be well taken care of. Perhaps she could commandeer it as a method of transport to assist her in her investigation of the mystery energy source.

She scanned the area outside her window and noted a single piece of vegetation in the form of a large tree. It was a tree unlike any she had ever seen before, as alien as the planet she was on, and it had a small rubber tire tied to a rope and hanging from one of the larger branches. For a moment she wondered what purpose it could serve but decided it was not a priority. Her priority was figuring out if this alien species was hostile or not, and how to get back to her team.

A sudden crashing sound came from beyond the door to her room followed by a slew of angry words in a language she had never heard. She tapped her wrist gauntlet praying the universal translator would turn on, she couldn't imagine how difficult this would be if she was unable to understand the natives. Another loud crash followed by another slew of angry words and oh, they were curses! She sighed and used her gauntlet to test the toxicity of the beverage left for her. It was water, clean crisp water that she guzzled down as if having never had a drop in her life. A different loud crashing sound echoed through the dwelling, this one sounded like something heavy having slapped against a wooden structure; perhaps the door? Looking back out the window she caught a glimpse of the alien as it made its way over to the red and white vehicle, activated the engine, then hopped on and sped off in one fluid motion. Just like that, it was gone and she was alone.

She let out a sigh of relief and finally made her way out of the room. The entire dwelling seemed to be made of wood, it gave an oddly warm glow to the interior and though it was nothing she was familiar with, it was strangely soothing. The hall outside her door was narrow and lead to 3 other doors before descending down a steep staircase. Slipping into reconnaissance mode, she pushed open each of the doors to take stock of the other rooms on this level. Two were bedrooms, one substantially larger than the other, and the third room was a washing facility. The flooring in this room was tiled and there was a large white basin off to the side with a much smaller basin embedded in a table-like structure against the wall. Both seemed to have taps that, when activated by turning, sprayed water into them. There was also a rather strange contraption in the corner behind the door and for the life of her she could not figure out what it was for. Beside it was a roll of soft paper and a stack of magazines. The cover of the magazine had a much more feminine figure sprawled across it, leading her to draw the conclusion that her rescuer / captor must be male given their physical differences.

A loud ringing sound startled her. It echoed from the lower level and repeated in set intervals until terminating with a loud beeping sound. The voice of a gruff man filled the dwelling; her suit's translator making the alien words decipherable.

"Hey Kolt. Didn't see ya'll fer the big game yes'erday. Hope alls well wit ya. Gimme a call when ya get this kay? Later man. Oh .. it's Trav bytheway. Later."

There was a fumbling sound followed by the loud beep again and a faint orange light started blinking on the lower level. With great caution she made her way to the steps and, hesitantly, began to descend. The wooden structure creaked and moaned, protesting her movements as she made her way towards the lower level revealing a larger, more open area. Clearly a common space for all inhabitants, the room offered a dark green couch against the far wall with a brown chair like contraption. The brown fabric was worn and covered in areas by a heavy knit blanket; there was also a lever on the side of the chair which she found particularly odd. Both pieces of furniture were facing a large black rectangular screen that was mounted to the wall and had several cables connecting it to a cabinet below. There were black rectangles in the cabinet as well but they were different than the one on the wall and they blinked with a faint blue light every so often. In the center of the room was a large, but low, table that had papers strewn across it as well as a knife. HER knife. In the confusion of her crash landing and location change she hadn't even thought to look for it. Mentally smacking herself she rushed over and swiped up what was hers, sheathing it back in her armor, and feeling an immediate weight lift. Her gun was still missing, she could feel that now, but at least she had her knife back.

Continuing her investigation she found another, much smaller, washing room; this one containing only the strange bowl basin thing, and the table basin. She also located a kitchen facility and dining area. The food that was stored in the primitive refrigeration unit seemed to be safe for consumption, and the water the taps emitted had also passed, which meant she now had adequate shelter and sustenance. If this alien proved friendly, then her current situation would be survivable. Perhaps she could even find a way to repair her pod, or inquire about replacement parts.

Not two ticks after the thought crossed her mind did the sound of the strange red and white vehicle come back. The soft hum of its engine grew louder before the flash of red glimmered over the horizon. The little contraption must have some serious power because in an instant it had returned to its place in-front of the smaller dwelling and she found herself scrambling for a place to hide. She watched from behind the couch as the alien came back inside.

His skin was a pale peach colour, not entirely unpleasant but certainly nothing she had seen before. On his head was a thick mop of messy black head fur and he had fairly normal looking eyes, though the sclera was a crisp white with dark grey irises and round black pupils. The ears were low set on his head, nearly in the same location as hers; however they were oddly rounded and lacked the fur tips common amongst males of her species. His teeth appeared flat and dull while his hands ended in short stubby fingers, no claws insight. How this species was able to defend itself was not immediately obvious. Perhaps they were like the Luvi and boasted incredible speed, unlikely given his use of a vehicle. Perhaps then they were like the ancient Alteans and were substantially stronger than they appeared, plausible; she would file that away for further investigation.

"Hey alien lady, you still here?" Though he didn't yell his voice carried clearly throughout the building. She watched him look around the room, his eyes settling on the table. "See ya took back yer knife. That's fine, wasn't try'na hide it from ya er nothin'. Just makin' sure ya'll didn't go stabbing yerself as ya slept is all." He stood still a moment longer before letting out a long sigh before muttering to himself. "Right, well s'not like she could git far. Not in this heat." His voice raised again, the words being directed to the any listening ears and despite herself she found she was leaning closer. "If yer still here Imma make some lunch. I don't bite so come join me and you can have somethin' to eat. I won't hurt ya. Promise, scouts honour."

The strange alien man held up his hand in what must have been a meaningful gesture before smiling and turning on his heal to carry the bags into the kitchen area. She leaned out further from behind the couch, it wasn't the most inventive hiding place but it was the only thing large enough to conceal her completely. A new smell drifting into the common room was intriguing; it somehow smelt both delicious and revolting. The message from earlier played in the background and the alien let out a few curses before pressing a series of buttons on a device she couldn't see. His voice filtered through the room and she listened closely as she shifted her position.

"Hey Trav, got yer message. - Sorry, fell asleep on the couch after a few too many beers. - Ya I heard 'bout that, crazy! - Nah I'm sure it aint gunna happen, we got a great team this year. - Right, ok let em know I won't be makin it out tonight either. - Alright, later."

A click signaled the end of their discussion and after a dobash he came sauntering into the common room. "Lady yer either gone already or yer behind my sofa. So if yer here, ya'll can come out and eat now. I don't mean ya no harm."

It appeared as though her presence was known, and her hiding place had been substantially less adequate than she'd hoped. With hunger quickly settling in and no other viable options available, she sighed and leapt over the back side of the couch, er – 'sofa' as he called it, garnering a quick yelp of surprise from him. The alien man smiled at her and gestured towards the couch she had just cleared where he had already set a fresh glass of water and a plate of food. Using her gauntlet she scanned the food; safe, and the water; also safe, before taking the proffered seat.

The food smelt better at close range than it had before, but now that she could see it the thought of ingesting it turned her stomach. It was a sandwich of some sort, grilled in a pan, and still dripping grease as a bright yellow-orange substance oozed out. The alien was happily eating away at the 3 sandwiches he had made for himself, dipping the edges in a red paste that was too thick and bright to be blood but didn't match any other substance she could identify. Using her gauntlet once again she scanned the paste, much to the alien's surprise, and discovered it was some sort of puree made from a local plant. Her stomach growled and against her better judgement, she lifted her plate into her lap to take a bite of the vaguely radioactive looking sandwich.

It was pure heaven; absolute bliss. Every bite was another adventure in a culinary masterpiece unlike anything she had ever tried. The thick yellow-orange substance was divine and perfectly complimented by the crispy grilled bread that she had assumed would be soggy. Taking a drink of her water, she dove into the second sandwich without hesitation.

A light chuckle sounded at her left and she turned to meet his gaze. "Good?" He asked, his low voice thick with a heavy drawl. She nodded and continued her meal. "Well I guess that answers the question of whether or not ya'll can understand me. Names Kolt, what's yers?"

He was looking at her expectantly, and while her translator allowed her to understand him, it wouldn't allow for the reverse. Swallowing the final bite and washing it down with the remainder of her water, she turned to meet his eyes again. "Krolia."

"Well howdy Krolia, welcome to Texas. How'd you come to learn English?"

She lifted her arm and tapped the gauntlet, pulling up the holographic system interface and answering him in a language she knew he wouldn't understand, but hopefully he was intelligent enough to infer her meaning. "I am using a translator."

A puzzled look and a long silence met her words. "Huh, guess that thing is some kinda translator then. Works only one way I assume?" She nodded. "Right, well this just got a whole lot harder."

He got up from his seat and the entire chair rocked below him. Picking up the plates and glasses he moved into the kitchen area and deposited them in a metal basin before disappearing around a corner. Briefly she worried if he was retrieving a weapon, not much could penetrate her armor but if he had her gun that would definitely do the trick. After a dobash he returned with an archaic looking computing device and placed it on the table in-front of her.

"My granddaddy moved here from Japan and didn't speak a lick of English. Had to use this program to teach himself so it should be able to help. Ya'll seem pretty smart so Imma leave this here, just holler my name if ya need anything."

"Kolt." She repeated for verification and he nodded, grinning widely. She turned her attention to the device before her and the alien, Kolt, activated the program. It was brightly coloured and clearly designed for children but it would work just fine.

After several vargas she had managed to retain the what she had learned of the language fairly well. They were a primitive species and their language was relatively simple once you understood the basics. The program had begun with simple introductions, everyday phrases, and object identification. While simplistic, it was surprisingly effective.

Krolia wandered outside noticing that the day cycle was winding down. She had been seated on Kolt's sofa for much longer than she thought and now the plant's star was beginning to set in the distance painting the sky a rich array of orange, red, and purple; it was magnificent. Though she hadn't even been here for a full quintant this planet, and the strange alien man, were already endearing themselves to her. She felt safe here, the warm breeze rustling through her head fur as the desert's temperature began to drop with the loss of its heat source. Maybe this wasn't such a bad place to be stranded.