Author's Comment: So I managed a second chapter. I actually had it aside for a while but didn't get the chance to edit it until just recently. Sorry if it might seem a bit slow, I promise some action and more character interaction in the next chapter.
Chapter 2: Breathing
In silent darkness Pike remained in the seat of the vehicle. A flashlight at hand was his only source of light. He moped of his bad luck; when the escape vehicle had finally reached the landing-place, it was on the night side of the planet. Out in the front of the window he barely made out several stars in the sky. He guessed it was cloudy. Either way he was not stepping out of the vehicle in the dark.
He didn't know how long it had been since he landed. He had forgotten to put on his watch - of all times. He tried to think back where he could have left it but his mind only redirected his thoughts to the last memories on the colony. He was tired of thinking about it and more irritated that he make sense of anything. It had happened so fast. He didn't even know for certain who or what had attacked the colony. The geth was the best answer he could think of. But then there was Dean who had suddenly turned on him and his father. Dean had always given his father his full trust, never questioning nor overruling his father or any of the board member's decisions. But there was something that both him and his dad didn't tell him, something that left Pike out of the loop entirely. The Mass Relays...Did I really travel through mass relays. His colony was still in the uncharted section of galaxy, thousands of light years to the nearest known mass relay. Was it a lie? Whatever it was, it had to be the reason Dean acted that way. Could the attack possibly been his dad's fault. "ARGH!" Pike pounded the arm of his seat.
Then a sign a relief - an orange glow began to radiate from the corner of his window. "Daybreak," he said to himself. He eyes fixated at the window. Pike watched the rays of Virmire's sun brighten the sky. The light shined from behind a web of still shadows. Pike lifted himself from the seat and knelt closer to the window, "There're trees on Virmire." Pike scanned the environment as the sky grew bluer and brighter. The landing pad was surrounded by a shallow canopy of vegetation swaying in a weak breeze. Tiny insect-like creatures zipped through the air, but other than that there were no other signs of any sentient life. He had already assumed that he was alone in the area considering his vehicle had been left undisturbed throughout the night.
He turned around and pointed his flashlight to the door of the vehicle. Taking his time to reach the door he gripped onto the door's latch. He gulped. Pike was nervous. He had never been on a planet with a breathable atmosphere. The idea of stepping foot on a planet's surface without wearing a helmet and portable life-support was..."weird." He redirected the flashlight to the side of the door at the array of sensor devices next to the first aid kit which he had left open after scrounging for a packet of acetaminophen. He doubled-checked both barometer; the interior pressure was stabilized. The thermometer measuring the outside temperature read a comfortable 28 degrees Celsius. The only other potential threat he could think of was the airborne microbes. But he remembered undergoing the extremely lengthy process of immunization of samples of almost every known biosphere in the galaxy. I'll take the chance.
Pike sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Not giving a second thought he shoved down the latch and throw open the door. A rush of humidity blew passed his body. He opened his eyes. He listened to his own breathing for a minute. "Well, I'm not suffocating." He chuckled. He looked up and around hearing the rustling of leaves in the light breeze. A chill zipped through his spine feeling the extraterrestrial wind blow right on his bare skin. He jumped off the rocky ground and surveyed the area. Only a narrow grassy path connected to the small landing pad. Pike had no where else to go. He walked through the path into the grove which eventually led to a half rusted metal stairway descending down a steep gorge. The joints of the beams squeaked loosely. Where ever Pike was he had a hunch no one had been here in a very long time.
Ambling down the stairway a pulse of air blew through gorge. This time the wind had a unique smell to it. "Salty?" He reached the bottom of the stairway which was buried beneath a ground layer of white sand. He pressed his foot onto the flat dune and continued on. He grew anxious; he wanted to get somewhere already. The path widened and he finally made it out of the crevasse. Something stopped him. It was a captivating sight. "Whoa..."
He stared out at an expansive view where the far horizon separated two shades of blue; there was the lighter blue sky and then a flat sapphire blue surface of liquid. "An ocean…of water." Resting a hand to his waist he approached the shoreline. Pike had seen many pictures and vids of the oceans and beaches on the home planet of his species, Earth. It was the natural setting for seagull birds, little crustaceans, and different palm trees that inhabited the tropical eco-rings back on the colony. Virmire resembled a lot like Earth. Pike listened to the water's edge rushing onto the shore, rolling bursts of sea spray before retreating back. The rhythmic sound of the waves was soothing. Inhaling and exhaling, it was as if the planet was actually breathing. "Must be the good atmosphere," He amused himself. He kept walking closer to the water. The waves spread passed and around the ankles of his boots as he ambled down the shore.
He made his way to the sandy edge of the beach where he finally saw another artificial structure. A long metal bridge extended out to another island just a hundred meters or so away. But he gave sharp sigh. The bridge was collapsed, completely tilted on its side and its remains stuck out of the water. Looks like I won't be walking over it. Pike looked closer at the bridge. The metal ruins revealed that the water wasn't deep at all. The water was a light blue from the white sand below. All he had to do was walk across the water along side the fallen bridge, Nothing to it. From the side of the bridge he started pulling his legs against the force of the waves into the lukewarm water. He then hesitated. Pike a weight discomfort pressed on his mind when he noted the fact that he did not know how to swim.
He inched forward one step at a time. He was now waist deep. This isn't too bad. He eased his thoughts. He held onto the railing of the bridge which skimmed across the surface and stretched to the other end of the bridge. He was now chest deep in the water and Pike was breathing deeply. He felt his body start to float but Pike did his best to keep his feet onto the ground. But he was also forced to bob himself up and down in order keep the surface waves from submerging his face. His heart beat faster with each moment. He reached midway but from his perspective he was convinced that the distance between him and the beach ahead didn't change. Irritated he picked up the pace. The skinny bar he held onto was becoming slippery from a thin coat of slimy green algae like substance.
A sneak wave slapped Pike in the face. Flinching, he lost grip on the bar and his head went under. Pike panicked. He couldn't feel the bottom below the water. His limbs swung about trying to climb up the water. He choked with a mouthful of seawater. A fearing sensation rang in his mind, the sensation of drowning. He experienced breathing very thin air before, but at least in that situation it was possible for a fighting chance in breathing harder and more time to escape the situation. But underwater, there was no mercy.
A miracle, his head finally broke the surface but he continued flailing his arms. He spun his head around until he saw the bridge. He somehow drifted away from it. He wanted to lean and paddle forward but was afraid his head would go under. His legs cramped and he treaded himself to fatigue. The surrounding blue water blended the growing aura around his body. He swung his arm forward as if reaching for the bridge railing. Then as if pulled by a strong magnetic his body flew across the water toward the bridge. His hand clung onto the bar. He held the bar tightly while coughing intensely.
Pike made it to the other side. Upon touching the shore he rushed out of the water and collapsed onto the dry sand and letting his nerves calm. He squinted up at the sky. Virmire's sun grew hot as it continued rising. He got up after a moment. He put a mild effort to brush off the sand on him and moved on.
From afar he saw salamander like creatures about a foot long. They retreated in the water when they sensed his approach. Pike didn't like their reaction. "Timid animals only mean not-so-timid predators." He kept a sharp eye on his surroundings. He didn't think of having to deal with any local fauna. Uh, stay focused Pike. Scaring yourself won't do any good. There's got to be some kind of building or path around here.
While scanning, something unusual caught his sight. He spotted a cluster in the sky; five dark dots became larger as they seemed to close in at high speeds. Pike shook with excitement. "They're ships! I can't believe it. They're coming right for me! Hey!" He waved his hands over his head. The ships continued approaching. They seemed to have noticed him. He knew they had to be looking for him. There was nothing else here.
They were now close enough to make out detail. Pike recognized them instantly. He dropped his arms. "No way." Frightened, he turned from the shore and darted into the outlining underbrush. Just as he reached for cover, the ships levitated loudly passed the area. Two of the giant metallic cocoons hovered over to a flat expanse in the beach sand out in distance not even a third of a kilometer away. The two ships began ejecting men straight into the ground with a hard velocity. Their forceful impact barely fazed the tall troopers as they lifted up from their feet and scattered. They weren't men; not human, asari, salarian, or even turian. Pike had seen more than enough images and vids to know what they were. Pike desperately headed deeper into the woods. Of all the things that could find him, he didn't suspect it would be the geth.