Non-Human

Prologue

"You're an angel Alan…. Don't ever change…" The voice was almost delicious to hear. Pounding through my delirious mind and bringing it back down to Earth. She was so beautiful…

The cold air didn't seem to become apparent till moments later. When I opened my eyes and saw where I was. My attention snapped alert, and I looked around at where I was. Still strapped into my ship's lifeboat, I could see very little that was lit. The only details I could surmise was a cavern of sorts. I blinked several times and the partial numbness was replaced with confusion.

"How did I get here?" Before the answer came back to mind. The Alliance ship I had been serving on, the Agustus had been attacked by Batarians. I was the first to find a lifeboat and as I recall, the only one to actually eject out. There weren't any others propelling from the ship like my own was. My muscles relaxed as I unhooked the straps that tied my hard suit down, and opened the pod's glass covering. A hiss sounded, along with a loud "KA-JUNK" as it finally gave way. I sat up and pulled back the seat of the pod gradually. From my initial briefing of the mission I recalled the Agustus's protocols for abandonment. Specifically the equipment left inside a lifeboat if a soldier was to end up on an alien planet. I pulled back the seat fully and observed the distress beacon that lay beneath it.

"This is a general distress call voiced on all open channels. My name is Alan Rickter, with the Alliance Marines. My ship was attacked by Batarian slavers and I have crashed landed on this unknown planet. Any ships in the area please respond." I lifted the small grey box fitted with buttons out of the nook it was in. It fit nicely on my hard suit belt opposite my standard issue pistol.

I pulled my gun out and triggered the flashlight located underneath it's barrel. The cavern illuminated itself, and I breathed a little bit easier. I walked off the small one man lifeboat and checked the rounded cave. Water silently dripped from the tall stone roof and already I was getting a feeling of claustrophobia. With the constant beeping of the distress beacon keeping me alert. I continued on through the cave, ever hoping there was some way out.

It did not take me long before I found an actually lit room. This one much larger then the area I had been in before. Sloping upward in the middle as if a large ant hill lay there. I turned off my flashlight, and heard a short growling emanating off the room. I aimed my pistol in all directions, panicking, before I saw the source of the sounds. A large ape-like beast lay opposite me, on the other side of the room. It had two large glowing slit-like yellow eyes. I gasped as I saw it stand on two legs, with it's massive arms in front of it. I walked slowly forward, pistol drawn as I observed the creature more. It reminded me of a Mammal from a science textbook so long ago. Except with coarse blue skin and massive muscles. It's mouth bared fangs dripping with blood, soaking a small animal carcass it stood over. The beast was apparently aware of me, given it's eyes looking straight into mine. Except it didn't react as I thought it would, namely tearing me limb from limb. I didn't give it much time to react as I unloaded my pistol on it.

"BLAM, BLAM, BLAM". Mass Accelerated shots rang out from the gun. I had barely any experience firing a weapon, but the shots all landed on the torso of the beast. The beast cracked head backward, giving the sound of snapped bone. Then roared at me. I was so startled I continued to fire until the gun overheated. But by that time the beast had been dropped to the floor, dead in a pool of it's own blood.

I gasped and found myself drenched in sweat. I holstered my beeping pistol back onto my belt and rested my arm on one of the cave's walls. I had only joined the Alliance several weeks before simply as a way to go to college. But serving in the military already felt more like a nightmare then an easy way to an education. I caught my breath and pulled my gun out once more, aiming at the creature again. My pistol shook in my hands as my nerves took over, never before had I been so frightened. But finally when the creature's death rattle sounded I holstered the pistol and breathed easy. I looked around to see where the light from the cave could be coming from, before noticing a large tunnel hidden to my right. A loud Gail of wind sounded from the other side, causing my imagination to wonder what else could rest on the surface of the planet.

The pistol finally cooled down, and I pulled it out once more. I shifted my gaze from the way out back to the corpse of the monster, only to notice something different. A large exit wound now existed on the back of it's head. I already knew I didn't hit anywhere near the head with my bullets, and even if I did the hole would have been created by a larger calibre gun. I walked back toward the beast, my breathing returning to a heavy pant. Once I stood in front of the beast once more I took another shot at it. This time aiming at it's head. The bullet entered it's head, and nothing else happened. I felt relief once more, and holstered my gun. Only to hear a loud squeaking on the ground by the monster's corpse. It looked like a small leech-like creature, slithering on the rocky surface. But I did not expect it to jump 6 feet high and latch onto my neck.

I panicked for several minutes, loosing my balance and tugging at the leech trying to get it off. Before I felt a sharp sting in my flesh, and it finally lost it's grip. I pulled the leech off and threw it to the floor, stomping it out with my boots. It wasn't until seconds later when I saw the wound it gave. I drew a small driblet of blood at my neck, and the panic from before set in again. The thought of receiving a bite from a poisonous alien leech was an antagonizing way to die. But besides the small amount of blood I didn't feel anything else.

The tunnel did indeed lead the surface, and I was already too excited to leave the dark cavern I crashed into. Hoping with all my might that the beacon would get a better signal once I went outside.