World 'Round

Amids the flashing lights and beeping sound Elijah struggled to breath. It felt as if he was traveling through a narrow twisting tube, pressure bore into him from all sides like the constricting of a python. He had accepted his fate, expecting death at the precipice of the black hole but that was not what happened.

Instead, he found himself in an entirely new atmosphere. The black hole had swallowed him and his tiny vessel whole, deconstructing it and then reconstructing it in an entirely new space. Right now, from what he could see from the porthole of his tiny ship. Was that he was barreling down through the atmosphere of an unfamiliar planet to his death. The black hole had spit him out right on the edge of its atmosphere and the planet's gravity did the rest.

His tiny ship shuddered as it streaked across the sky of the strange planet, its outer shell heating up and the harrowing winds barbarously tearing off pieces of the hull. Below, he saw mountain ranges, vast shimmering dunes of rolling sands, clear crystal like seas and what seemed like a dense, expansive 'magical' forest that would've been awe inspiring if he wasn't plummeting towards it at dangerous speeds. He let out a shuddered breath. His eyes widened.

Getting a hold of himself, he quickly moved to at least make his landing survivable. This small vesele wasn't meant for rough reentry, but it had propulsions and he was fairly confident that it wouldn't implode before he reached the ground. As another piece of the hull was ripped away he clenched his teeth and turned his propulsions towards the ground, pushing them at full throttle he felt the speed of his decent slightly deinish. But it wasn't enough. With the angle he was falling at, an impact with the ground would mean certain death for him. Shifting the angles of the propulsion slightly so he would fall at an angle that would put him parallel to the ground, another piece of the hull was ripped away. 

'Damn it.'

He fell at a slope, as the ground got closer, the ship was shifting, becoming more and more parallel to the ground. A slight smile appeared on his face.

'I might just survive.' 

Well, maybe he spoke too soon. Just then, what felt like a ripple reverberated through the hull of the ship and the propulsion engine to his right burst into flames and was instantly reduced to smithereens as the pieces flew in the winds. Immediately, the ship swerved into a spiral as he felt his equilibrium shaken, nausea clawing up his throat but he held it down. The ground was mere meters away and as it became unavoidable he braced for impact. Time seemed to stretch out for a moment, creating an irritating sense of dredfull anticipation 'fuc-'

A force rammed into his very being, rattling deep into his bones. For a moment, it felt as if his spirit was dislodged from his body. His mind spun in the haze and heat of the cockpit as his vision went blank. All he could do was hear. and all he could hear was a high pitched ring that somehow drowned out all of the surrounding sound. 

The candescent ship rammed through bark and foliage as it skeeted along the ground of the alien world, intrenching itself in the upturned soil. Then, it came to a slow stop...

He didn't know how much time had passed. The hatch of his ship opened, hissing as it did. he managed to remove the seat belts and sluggishly crawled out of the ship that had luckily cooled down. He didn't know if the air was breathable on this planet, and at the moment, it didn't even cross his rattled mind. Stepping on the solid ground covered in what seemed like moss, his knees buckled and he felt a lurch in his torso, his belly twisting to knots, then he promptly emptied the contents of his stomach…

feeling a bit better, he drew in a ragged breath and collapsed on the ground laying on his back. He was disoriented, his body ached and he didn't even wanna think about how lost he was and if he would even be able to find a way home. It was simply too much.

'At least I'm alive.'

he opened his eyes, as he stared up at the starry sky of this alien world. The trees seemed to reach up to the heavens as pale moonlight slipped through the gaps of the canopy. A cool breeze caressed his hurting form as it flowed over him. 

He grumbled as he sat up. As much as he wanted to lay on the ground forever, he was on an alien world, likely lost in space. He managed to stand up and walk his way to his ship.

"My beautiful ship." 

He had made many journeys from the greater fleet body to explore the surrounding systems in this very ship. These small ships weren't exactly life long partners but he had grown quite attached to this one. He had even named it.

"Lewis old friend." he sighed as he caressed the damaged hull. It resembled an egg of sorts, with two circular propulsion engines on either side. Well, it had two. Now, it only had one. And pieces of its hull were also ripped away during the descent, now lost in the wind.

He didn't know if he could find suitable materials on this planet to be able to fix his ship. If he couldn't there was a possibility he'd have to scour the planet for the missing pieces of his ship. He shuddered at the arduous, probably boring activity. But, if he had to, he would. He wasn't planning on spending the rest of his life on this planet like some feral lost human. He had to get home.

He entered the cockpit and tried starting up his ship. luckily it blinked back to life, the various sensors flashing and the hum of a healthy power core deep within the structure. He felt his mood suddenly improve. Although he'd still have to fix and replace the damaged hull and propulsion engine, at least the whole ship wasn't a lost cause. 

He turned on a monitor and studied it for a while...then let out a frustrated curse. There was no signal anywhere near him, he couldn't reach the main body of his fleet. and from what he could tell, he was stranded in an entirely unexplored region of space. This planet as well, was nowhere in his database. If it was, he would've detected a marker when he landed, but he didn't. Plus, he knew of many planets and if one as lush and expansive as this, from what he witnessed when fell, was discovered. He would've definitely known about it.

He took a deep breath feeling frustration bubble, then released the tension in his body as he exhaled. Frustration wouldn't really help here.

"Lewis…I guess we'll be alone for a while." he said as he hopped out of the cockpit holding something resembling an Ipad. He tapped it a few times as he leaned on his ship. "I'mma send a distress signal, hopefully our fleet company will catch it and send help...Hopefully…She'll see it." 

He paused as if waiting for the ship to respond, but of course it didn't. He tossed the iPad back into the cockpit without care. "Anyways, we got a whole planet to explore. Plus, I gotta fix you up so I shouldn't be too bored." He hopped back into the ship grabbing a jacket, his eyes lingering on the suit bag besides it before turning and grabbing a backpack and boots from a small storage compartment in the walls of the interior. Putting them on, he snapped something that resembled a watch on his wrist, placed a marker on his ship and hoped out. He clicked the wrist watch and his ship shut off, The hatch sealing back up, and the soft hum of the power core subsided.

"Well, buddy. I'll see you later." 

He was on a strange planet in an unexplored sector. His only immediate way off was severely damaged. He had followed the procedure, sent a SOS signal and placed a marker on his ship so he'd find his way back to it as long as he had the watch, then powered it off to conserve power. Now what he needed to do was check out the surroundings. Find some resources; drinkable water, he saw the delectable crystal clear seas as he was falling, the question was though…

'Was it poisonous or not?… One way to find out.'

And maybe on his way he'd find food…'food.' he hummed at the hopeful thought.

Taking a careful step around his barf, he was in a good mood all things considered. He liked exploration and fixing ships, though to a lesser extent. It'd take a few months at the least, he just had to anchor himself and survive. If he was lucky, his fleet would come to his rescue soon. If not, well who knew what the future held. What was the use in ruminating about uncertainties. What he was certain of though, was that he could fix his ship, and survive here...probably.

A few steps away from his ship he suddenly stopped. The bushes around his crash site suddenly rustled. He blinked as he noticed, vibrant colors shimmering between the leaves and foliage. He didn't even have time to think before a creature of some sort dashed at him. He felt an impact on his jaw and his eyes rolled back.

'back to the ground I go.' He thought as his face impacted with moss covered ground. A few moments later he saw delicate feet saunter towards him, then he lost consciousness.

...

As his senses returned to him, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine, his body still ached immensely. He was cold, he felt the air caress his body unobstructed almost as if he was...he was naked?!! well, mostly naked. Thankfully whoever had decided to strip him while he was unconscious had the decency to leave his undies on. But where were his clothes and where the hell was he?

He instinctively lurched forward but he was restrained. He opened his eyes to a dimly lit room. Four walls, the fourth wall consisting of a pane of glass in front of him. He looked at his reflection staring back at him. He was on his knees. A tired confusion written on his face. His nappy afro was a bit of a mess, leaves and sticks and dirt sticking out of it.

'Did they drag me on the ground after knocking me out?'

He felt a bit offended by this but quickly dismissed the feeling to focus on what was important. His insulated body suit and his jacket were gone, leaving his body bare except for the aforementioned undies. His bag and shoes were gone as well. At least his watch was still on his wrist from what he could feel. 

He was in shackles, his hands were bound behind his back and a long chain connecting to the floor was making it impossible for him to move forward, or stand up, or do anything at all.

'Just my luck, first a black hole, then a crash landing that ruined my lovely ship and now kidnapping. What the hell was next huh?' He pauses for a second a dark thought entering his mind…'Alien anal probing?' he shuddered at the possibility, then looked down at his mostly naked body—

Just then the pane of the glass that served as a wall split open from the center of it like a sliding door and a figure stepped in. For a second Elijah was mesmerized by the being In front of him. It was humanoid, and was bare footed as it walked towards him, but it wasn't the feet that mesmerized him. 

It was its eyes. Large iridescent orbs of shifting colors. And its face was serene like a feline's but not quite. It had long sharp ears that resembled those of the caracal wild cat, with a halo of fluff–spikes maybe?... Its skin was soft? maybe fluffy too? He couldn't quite tell. What he could tell though was that it was mesmerizingly colorful. But all that beauty seemed to be starkly contrasted by the strange militaristic outfit that it had on. It seemed out of place in the outfit...

Anyways, it held in its hands a bulb, a flower bulb. as it slowly crept closer to him. 

"Um, hi?" Elijah said nervously. The creatures seemed to ignore him and crept closer, almost carefully, like it was nervous, but it stayed firm. Once it was close enough the bulb suddenly blumbed and a plume of pollen, it seemed, rushed towards him. 

It was a strange feeling as they landed on his skin, seeming phasing through, and he felt as if a foreign, comfortably cool, energy was invading his being. His eyes watered and his mouth dired. He felt a myriad of strange unintelligible sensations batter him. Then it all stopped. He looked up at the creature, in its beautiful eyes, and It spoke. A soft lullaby-like voice came from its mouth then it said in a menacing tone.

"Who sent you? Wreach."