The worst way to wake is to open your eyes to the sound of your hull scraping along the hostile atmosphere of an unknown world. I hadn't even the faintest idea of where I was. All I knew was that I would soon die.
As I sprang from my sleeping chambers into the corridor to make my way toward the helm, the entire ship jolted and lurched unexpectedly. The functions of the ship which created a hammock of artificial gravity fought with the much greater pull of the planet and I rolled end over end down the hall. I flung by the battling forces of the ship and the world below in all directions but the one I wanted to go. The helm was twice as far now, not that I cared about the greater distance in that instant when my body met the end of the corridor and the closed passage into the kehrite. The force of impact was sufficient to create a concave dent in the door and to break bones. Held fast to the dead end by the velocity which my vessel moved toward catastrophe I scrabbled at my side and howled in anger as well as pain. What madness was this!? The ship was older, a ritual vessel, but not faulty to a degree of such that would result in this!
At the helm I could right the the ship and determine what had gone airy. Urgency filled my thoughts as the turbulence began to even into a smooth drop. I had no time. I would never make it to the control array before the ship and I with it met our final rest.
Death. I could practically smell it as my craft fell from the skies. I expected the end of my path to come instantly, in flames or perhaps followed by an explosion, but there was a moment of weightlessness and then my world shook violently. I fell from my place at the hall's end, twisting in the chaotic flight toward the open doorway of the helm. I saw the seats and the sensor array very briefly and very closely before a blanket of void encircled me.
I may have been unconscious for some time, I do not know how long. When I woke I saw and heard very little as my senses were quite dull. There was the flashing heat of sparks dancing from the exposed wire and circuit boards under me. There was also this dull roar inside my head, like gushing water. But it was indeed water that overwhelmed my ears. The hull had been breached upon decent through the atmosphere or possibly during the crash. The lower deck was filling up rapidly. I had fallen into a body of water? An ocean perhaps? I felt the cold of the water as it infiltrated the upper deck and spilled forth into the place where I lay dazed and disoriented. The shock of its frigid touch roused me with a start. The ship had crashed, but I did not die on impact. Instead I was going to drown inside my own vessel!
Escape was not overly difficult what with the fear of drowning to add additional urgency to the effort. The ship had plummeted face first into the great sea around me which seemed to writhe and roil as the sinking vessel created vortexes and churning water around it.
I was glad that I always slept in my awu'asa the night before a planned to hunt in order to acclimate to the feel and additional weight but this place was certainly not the oceanless destination I had plotted a course toward the cycle before. I had crashed some time near the middle of my sleep time. Maybe I was in a very near star system but not where I had wanted to go. At least the communications device upon my left wrist could send a signal for assistance to the flotilla.
That was just what I had begun to do as I stood upon the ass half of the ship as it continued to sink. I had perhaps a half hour before I'd need to abandon it and swim for shore, which was thankfully within sight. Too bad the vessel did not seem to want reprieve from the murky depths as my message may have brought had I gotten the chance to transmit it. The ship's residual buoyancy; a result of trapped pockets of gaseous atmosphere which I'd once used to breath caused the balance within to shift and the still floating mass to roll over. I was tossed toward the left flank of the ship as it breached briefly and I tried to get a claw hold in before slipping down the belly of the craft as it continued to roll over in the ocean. Into the water I went unceremoniously and ass first.
Perhaps a several minutes later I stood ankle deep in the sand of the coast line watching my home for the last half of this season sink into the black depths. I had my awu'asa, my ki'cti-pa and the kit for injuries but not much else.
My head was sore, more than just a rib was broken I was certain. To add unto the steadily worsening situation, any other equipment I had on my person was mangled thanks to the current washing me into sheer cliff over and over before I managed to find proper footing in order to haul myself out onto the adjacent sandy shore.
I was boned. Pauk. Nothing but the basest mechanical tools worked. My wrist communicator was smashed, sivk'va-tai offline, helm dysfunctional. All that was left after that was... The whole ship vanishing under the crashing waves as I looked on.
I had to sit, ignore my burning side and just breathe. The air was thin but tolerable. I could survive for a while so long as I avoided straining existing wounds and over exerting. Gods I was pathetic, sitting there knowing that I had no means out and no way to call home.
Once I had caught my breath I'd tried to reach my ship but the surf; it was far too intense even for me, a blooded warrior. I was smashed, tossed, shaken and sloshed about in the fierce waves yet again. This must have been the result of turbulent weather as no ocean I'd ever encountered before was so ruthless or unpredictable. I did reach the vessel on merit of determination alone however it was slowly sinking into the muck of the ocean floor. I'd learn later that the tides were unusually high on that day I had crashed and that this spot was in purity a shallow lagoon. I should never have left the ship, I should have tried to bring systems back online and rescue it from its doom. I realized that far too late.
I was nearly swallowed by the clay as I searched for the entrance hatch. If I could just get it to open- Too late, out of breath.
I surfaced only to be slammed and dazed by yet another swell, I had not even the time to take a full breath before being swept under and pulled by the force over jagged sea rock. I do admit that I may have cried out, but I cannot be certain.
When I reached the shore for the second time I was sure that all hope had been lost, also sure that I would bleed to death if I did not find a suitable place to lick my wounds. I held onto my thighs where they were carved only momentarily. I decided then to walk and find that quiet place to attend to my injuries.
I soon found a cave along the cliffs. It was there that I staunched the flow of thwei seeping from the open gashes with lengths of excess material from my breech cloths and trappings. I tied them tightly around the gnarled flesh. I needed to save what I could from my kit; Paya knows how long I could be stranded here... 'Before settling on ending my sorry, disgraceful self' I thought as I used only a simple injection to ward off any chance of infection.
With my well being attended to for now I could see to the needs of the equipment that I had managed to save from total destruction. I only needed to tweak my helm a little to get it working on an alternate power supply within the item itself for emergencies. My wrist communicator was pretty much a lost cause, but the other function of this piece of equipment could still work. The display icons may never light up warmly again, but I found that just one still worked when touched so that I could cloak my countenance and make my image fade away from any there to look, and there were none at the moment.
Still, I must be careful until I could repair the solar unit which would charge all energy stores within my awu'asa, until then everything would have to pull energy from the meager supply located within that helm of mine. I would need to be frugal with use of such things.
I'd done as much as I could expect of myself on an empty gut, little sleep and with a pounding head. Slumber called to me, offering her bosom of comfort. I really should be thankful that my gear was water tight and I would learn this quickly. I woke cold, soaked to my bones all over again and with nostrils intrenched in the briny stink of yet more sea water. I stood, shook off what wetness I could and wondered if this element truly had a mind of its own and wished to make an enemy of me. I did not know then how accurate my thoughts were.
I could not exit through the cave's ocean facing opening so I needed to venture deeper if I wanted to find respite. I had already learned the hard way that this sea was turbulent, offering no mercy. With water already up to my waist I was not thick skulled enough to try leaving the way I came and diving back into the liquid body which left me in such a sorry state. This shallow interior chamber had been a foolish place to sleep.
Had I not been in such atrocious condition I may have considered braving that terrible water again. I knew myself to be brave but not quite that stupid; so I dredged on into the unknown of the caverns, wet and shivering the entire way.
The water seemed to have bored deep trails ahead of me, wearing away rock and by stopping to observe it was apparent that these formations and trenches in the stone had taken time to form. Many passing cycles, seasons. Perhaps even eons.
Where was I? What world had I landed on? There was enough damned water to name it a few that I knew of. I'd have to look at the topography and geographical markers to know which out of the four or five planets this one could be. That would take walking, much of it. I needed more rest before then.
Finally I came to an opening which led into another chamber. This one was huge, deep but both wide and tall. The rapidly flowing waters passed around my legs to fall at least a hundred and fifty noks into a deep erosion worn pool before flowing out in tendrilous, winding streams which wove around cave columns to form a conjoined and rapid subterranean river. Presumably this water would eventually find its way back into the ocean, most rivers and streams behave this way after all.
From the apex of the waterfall where I stood I could see across the width of the chamber and up toward the ceiling of the space. There was a great wide opening there which led to the surface. I could spy the native flora encircling the cave mouth above and yet more waters flowing into the hole from outside. Immediately I understood the harsh sea and all of this water. Rains had brought on this flooding.
At least within this chamber there appeared to be a few dry haunts in which to escape from this cold, wet onslaught. They were all across the way. Wind worn ledges and over hangs that I could find cover within. One could dig himself inside one of these creases in the eroded walls and make a cramped camp; though one would first have to navigate the way down to the cavern floor.
I will not lie, clambering down was no easy feat with each leg torn open down the front. I nearly lost my footing several times over when my knees threatened to fail and my shivering shook me to the core. Down I went in time, working at a sucklings pace.
The air was thin on this world and that did not help me in my quest to reach the bottom. I really did feel like the climax of a sick joke. I'd heard honored Hish warriors make snide remarks when they thought all other ears too dull. "How many yaut'ja does it take to make fools of their entire race? Just one without his helmet on!"
They never would let us move on from the misfortunes that took place on N'-ithya Ju'dha. Pauk the Hish, and shame on the fact that my Sire had allowed such trash thwei among we people of the last war clan. Permitting them into the clan fold was an outrage that I had voiced openly, disgusting.
Once safely at the floor of the cavern I halted my spelunking shortly to rest my palms over my knees and look on with heavy breaths to figure out a way to navigate to the place I wanted to go. I would have to go over or around the chilled run-off from the rain as it formed many deep looking streams and channels in the rock beds.
There was a way, it involved crossing the slippery mud coated surface of fallen columns and stalactites. I'd get filthy on the way toward the dry crevice in the wall which I traversed toward and whether it was worse to be soaked or dirty is debatable. Either way I did not enjoy the feel of gritty silt and sediment coating my skin and getting into every wound.
Once across and eager to find some rest I was surprised by a scent. It indicated the presence of another in the chamber.
This scent was neither Yautja or Hish but more like the tart scent of an animal, yet somehow it was familiar to me. The familiar aspect put me on edge for I was not too naive to disregard any information my surroundings offered me.
This scent was prey, a species I knew to be dangerous yet I could not quite put a talon on what it might be.
It would have to wait. There was no physical evidence of recent habitation by any creature here. What kind of stupid thing would try to make a nest here anyway? If anything had ever lived here the flooding would have driven it out if not drowned it.
For the sake of assuming nothing until I knew better, I resolved to closely investigate the scent later on. Until then I'd keep alert until I could insure no threat is present. For now I would sleep, inner eye open and watching for danger.
Authors drivel: I know. I should update my other story. pffffttt. I've actually had this sitting around longer than Aliens: P has even existed in thought. It was time to put up the first chapter.