Journey to a Savage Planet

Journey to a Savage Planet

James flipped the switch for the engines to fire again and again. They groaned like an old man trying to get up before powering back down. Warning and danger lights flashed wildly for all the systems as they turned off momentarily, and then the emergency lights came on. James tried everything he could to stabilize the systems before finally powering down everything.

Being only ever a fair mechanic, at best, James knew he was going to have to find some salvage or, at the very least, materials. He had scanned for life on the planet before his emergency landing. He just hoped they were friendly and had what he needed.

After securing the ship and locking everything down, James made his way to the back of the ship, where he put his exploration suit. Not knowing what was out on the planet’s surface and only being average when it came to a fight, James knew he needed every advantage he could get over the wilds of this world. He was only ever skilled at one thing, and that was piloting.

Stepping out onto the planet’s surface for the first time, James kept his head on a swivel. He hadn’t seen anything like this world before. Large green stalks rose from the ground everywhere. They weren’t trees; they seemed to be some kind of thing with wide vines that grew up from the ground in the shape of a blade or a fan. They were so plentiful they created what seemed like a forest.

The deeper he made his way in, the more difficult the traversal was. Looking upward past the green vines was something even taller. It was some jagged brown objects that jutted out of the ground. He would have liked to examine some of this flora more closely if it weren’t for his current situation. He wondered just how tall some of it got. He hadn’t ever seen something living so large. Normally, such large things were reserved for mountains and hills. It was credible to see plant life so massive.

The size of this planet was making things difficult. He didn’t exactly know how far he was from any kind of civilized life. All James knew was that he hadn’t seen anything yet. He continued going forward, wondering if he would have to start looking for a place to camp. In hindsight, he probably should have stayed closer to the ship so he could have gone back to it. It may have been smarter to go in each direction first to see the most logical path forward. Now, he was certain that even if he walked back toward the ship, it wouldn’t be till tomorrow.

A bit more time passed before James was exploring a few potential campsites when he felt the ground tremble ever so slightly. The large green stalks swayed while a bit of dust and dirt was kicked into the air. James looked from left to right, looking for a place to take shelter, but never having been around an area that experienced earthquakes, he wasn’t exactly sure what the protocol was. He just knew he needed to ensure nothing fell on him.

The land continued to shake violently as it became a struggle to stand on his feet. James found himself knocked to the ground at the edge of a clearing. Looking upward over the tall green stalks, he couldn’t understand what he saw. James backpedaled from the ground in fear as his eyes locked onto a being beyond comprehension in size.

James could only watch as her dark hair swished from side to side as the mostly nude woman walked toward him, her body covered in what James was unsure was supposed to be armor or clothing. It was made of wood and some fabric-like material tethered to the wood. She held what he was unsure was supposed to be a hammer or axe, but to him, it looked like a large stick with a flattened rock. Either way, at his current size, even with how primitive the tool or weapon was, he would be defenseless against it.

Fear overtook James as he tried to stand up and reach the grass for cover, but the giant woman who prowled forward had been trained to search for movement. So, when James tried to run her immediately, she looked down.

“I come in peace.” James tried to shout, but the helmet muffled his voice as he fumbled to turn on the speaker. The woman merely crouched forward as James tried to move to turn on the speaker so she could hear his voice. She lifted the axe and brought it down with an amount of force James hadn’t witnessed before up close.

“Famee!” The massive being said. James froze in place as she looked down at him. She moved closer and closer until her hulking frame overshadowed him completely. He could see her eyes looking over his every detail. He figured she had probably never seen anything like him before. In this suit, she may not even recognize him as human.

“Human, I’m human. Person.” James shouted as loud as he could as he slowly moved his hands toward his helmet and unclipped it, revealing his face.

The heavy, hot air practically slapped James in the face. He quickly missed the climate-controlled suit but knew he needed her to recognize him as a person in this first contact situation. But what was most troubling is that on this remote planet, if this is how far they have progressed, he was sure not to find the materials he needed to repair his ship. He may be better off just trying to repair the radio and hoping someone passes through this remote region of space.

The giant woman said nothing of his attempts to communicate as she looked down at James. As soon as his helmet was removed, she took another step forward, grasping her axe with one hand and grabbing James with the other. The force with which she grasped him caused James’s helmet to fall from his hand.

“No!” James cried out as he found himself pushed against the dirty, rough skin of the giant, but it was futile. As she moved through the forest, James noticed the tall green vines he was moving through weren’t vines at all. It was tall grass. The larger brown masses that jutted out were simply trees. It was as if the world had grown and formed to support these large beings.

“Hey, hey,” James called out to the giant woman, but she said nothing as they moved through the woods. She crouched low to the ground and sprinted through the woods. The world moved quickly by as James struggled to keep his bearing, but before long, he was unsure how to get back to retrieve his helmet, and without the HUD of his helmet, he was unsure how to make it back to his ship.

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