Survey log 3: Unexpected discoveries
He closed his eyes as he chewed on his ration bar, his helmet resting on the ground next to him playing soft music as he sat on a tree stump on a cliff that overlooked a small forested valley. The sky, once a pale white was darkening as the sun set on the north, the glinting light of hundreds of asteroids acting like a second sea of stars above him. The brown and orange gas giant that the planet revolves around was rising like a giant moon from the south. Or was this planet its moon? Perhaps this was just another example of a habitable moon much like those old sci fi stories he read as a child.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the crisp night air that gently grazed his face. He noticed the sounds of the night began to slowly start, like the rousing of some sleeping beast. It was slow at first as these things tended to be, first came a few chirps of birds, followed by the hum of insects. In the distance he could imagine the roars and sounds of larger animals. He'd seen a few during his two hour exploration, quadrupedal odd horned goat things that grazed on purple grass, ten legged crab like insects that carried leafs and seeds to their nests high in the trees. It always amazed him how similar life could develop across the stars, as if there was some grand intelligence that dictated and demanded it do so.
He took another bite of the stale bland granola ration bar, while toying with his most recent discovery. He'd observed one of the goat things eating it off a bush and like the ancient man before him mused that perhaps the small greenish berry things might be edible. The results from the sample seemed harmless enough, nothing that would outright kill him at least, its nutritional content was similar to other recorded berries across the confederation. He took one from his hand and brought it to eye level inspecting it. It was a light mint color with a few spots of darker green hues, in his mind it looked like an off colored blueberry, or at least what he imagined one to be. After a moment's hesitation he threw it into his mouth and burst the berry letting out a surprised moan at the taste. It was tangy with a slightly bitter aftertaste but not too powerful as to be unpleasant. He ate another one as he began to look back on the day.
It was almost routine how it went surveying wise, like any other time before. Is that what his life would be like now? Wandering aimlessly alone, praying for rescue? Distractions will only keep him sane for so long, and It wasn't natural for humans to be so isolated for any length of time. Its effects on the mind we're unpredictable but always negative. How long would it be before he cracked? A year? Two maybe? What if he got sick or injured? The ship's medbay could only do so much. He sighed, putting his head in his hands as he looked down. How the hell was he supposed to remain calm like the manual says, it's only been a few hours and it's a struggle to not panic. He grit his teeth trying to hold back tears. God how could a dead man cry so much?
He looked up, the night having fully enveloped the land around him. It surprised him how bright it was now, and how alive the forest was becoming. He took a deep breath and stood grabbing his helmet before putting it on ensuring it sealed tight. He had to keep moving, before the despair caught him at least. He'd made a straight line north from the ship when he started and reached about halfway to the edge of his five mile perimeter, he turned to the west towards the valley.
As good a direction as any.
He crouched a bit, bending his knees in anticipation of what was to come. Bending forward a bit he prepared the jump pack for launch. The jump pack started up roaring like a miniature jet fighter as his feet lifted off the ground, the sound of air passing him by as he flew higher and higher flooded his helmet's audio receptors, the visual feed lagged for a moment before automatically compensated allowing him to watch as the valley and cliffs below him gre smaller and further away. In an instant it felt as though his organs and blood were being pushed to his feet, as his pack launched him fifteen feet high like one of those slingshot rides he went on as a child on Mars. It was as if time slowed down before pausing as he reached his zenith. He floated there in the night sky looking straight at the gas giant of a moon, if he closed his eyes he could imagine the night wind on his skin, could feel the evening chill on his skin. He was weightless in this one second, the perfectly yet odd mix of forward momentum combating gravity itself as he existed in this one perfect moment. It was joked that people only enlisted into the surveyor program for the jump pack and honestly? In his mind it was the best part about it.
He began to descend slowly, twisting his body parallel to the ground much like a skydiver of old would. The suit linked with Evia began its various landing calculations all to ensure his survival upon landing. Even at times making adjustments to meet its optimal landing, and soon the pack kicked on, slowing his fall until his feet touched soft forested ground with a crinkling thump. He looked behind him towards the cliffs; his suit's range finder notified him that he'd technically fallen close to one hundred and fifty feet down into the western valley. He shifted through his helmet's visual feeds until the familiar green tint of night vision remained and he began his exploration westward.
According to the drone feed and his own observations from the cliffs valley itself was a large expanse of alpine like forests that sat at the bottom of the mountains to the north, with few discernible landmarks save for a large river that cut and wound its way through the area splitting into various smaller streams. Still it was as good a destination as any and he made his way towards the river. The walk to the river was uneventful and longer than initially anticipated but it went as if he had any real plans or expectations.
The forest was silent with the chirps of various insects and wildlife, his only indication of life around him. Or perhaps not as many as he thought? It was a new world hard to determine the sounds of life that inhabited it, what was unmistakable was the sound of gently moving water that grew louder and more noticeable as he approached. The video feed showed that he was approaching a small clearing but on the other side of the river he noticed what appeared to be movement, crouching down he readied the helmet feed to record when his breathing stopped and his heart began to race and his mind swirl.
Three creatures appeared from the forest and approached the river. Mammalian as evidenced by the signs of mammary glands on what he thought were the females and the light brown fur that coated their bodies. Bipedal and humanoid in nature their legs with an clear backward arch that seemed reminiscent of cats, though looking more at them perhaps they were a type of feline? Their pointed ears and tails looked much like a cat's and the grace with which they moved seemed catlike enough.
But that wasn't what stopped his lungs from pushing air.
Feline creatures were common enough, after all they were a successful evolutionary blueprint, that included the humanoid form which wasn't all that uncommon on Earth let alone in space.
No, it was the clothes they wore. Simple almost Tunic like robes with strange designs that covered the chest and groin areas yet left the legs and arms exposed, was it for modesty? Perhaps those areas lacked fur requiring a way to stay warm he mused in a shocked daze. There was also what could only be jewelry that the aliens had on, emerald greens and blue lapis shaped in unnatural ways. Religious importance? Social? Was jewelry a sign of wealth or a common luxury they had? The containers they scooped the river water in looked like clay, was it locally crafted perhaps? Pottery was such a major development in human history perhaps it was here as well. He watched as one seemed to wag their tail in excitement at what another said, was their language one he could replicate with his own voice? Could they write, if so with what? They were clearly social, how was their society structured? Even the braids that he noted the creatures had rose hundreds of questions.
Yet all these questions led to one unavoidable conclusion.
He wasn't alone.