✨DISCLAIMER: this is a fanfiction. (Scroll down!) Despite the water looking deep and murky, it was bright and shallow under the surface. Schools of strange alien fish swam around him, darting in every direction. A large, thick skinned creature swam by him, making noises that resembled a human laughing. It had a face that looked like a gas mask, and its tail was full of what Ryley could only assume were toxic orbs. He stayed clear. A flat creature passed by, two little ears sticking out of its head. Wow, he thought. (This planet has many diverse and strange ecological biomes. Further study recommended. Zero human life signs detected. For your safety, please stay within 5km of your lifepod.) He swam to the surface to refill his tank. There’s no time to lose, he thought. I need to find a food and water source. He swam around for a while, attempting to catch some fish by the time the sun went down, he climbed into his lifepod with 3 strange inflated fish the PDA called ‘bladderfish,’ and a fish with a huge eyeball called a ‘peeper.’ He cooked the peeper and ate a delicious dinner, Albeit a bit disgusting as it was 70% eyeball. better than the frozen nutrient bars served on the Aurora. He felt a stab of worry at the thought. He hadn’t thought about it much since his arrival on this strange planet a few hours ago. What was he going to do? As far as he knew, there were no other survivors. He had no way to contact anyone for rescue, and even if Alterra somehow heard, they would never send a ship for one man, let alone a worthless maintenance officer. He knew that the only way off the planet was to build a rocket. He checked his PDA. How could he build a rocket, if his best blueprints were some handheld tools? He sighed and set the PDA down. Curling up on the hard, uncomfortable floor, he closed his eyes, wishing none of this had ever happened. He needed to rest before he continued thinking about the situation. Ryley awoke to the sound of chirping. Stretching his tired arms and legs, he climbed out of the hatch to see what was going on. The water was still calm, and nothing new was in sight. A loud cry startled him, causing him to slip and fall into the warm water below. Muttering curses and spitting salty water as he broke the surface, he looked up to see a strange animal that looked like a cross between a bat and an eagle, except much, much larger. After several seconds of it flapping peacefully across the sky, he assumed it was docile. When it swooped low enough for him to scan it, it confirmed the thought. Whatever, he thought, now fully awake. At least that’s another one that doesn’t want to kill me. He went out on his morning routine, at least, the one he had established the day before. He grabbed enough bladderfish to keep himself alive for a few days, and came home with several peepers. On the way back to the pod, he found another strange fish. It was shaped like a boomerang, its mouth located where both sides of the boomerang met. It was very fast, but not as fast as a peeper, so Ryley had no trouble catching it and stuffing it into his sack. Once in his lifepod, he put a few fish into the storage to save for later in case he needed it. He sat down on the floor and ate a cooked peeper, then jumped back into the water to get more food. He came home, stocked the storage, ate dinner, and slept on the floor. This routine continued for longer than Ryley could remember, as he stopped counting the days on day 5. He had gotten himself a repair tool and fixed the secondary systems and radio. He had a survival knife to defend himself. Not much, but better than nothing. He had upgraded his O2 tank, and could stay underwater longer. He had faced many new threats along the way. He had entered a cave for the first time, trying to get cave sulfur for his repair tool, when he heard a noise that sounded like someone charging at him. He turned, seeing a small fish with spines shooting at him at full speed. He turned to swim away, but he wasn’t fast enough. The fish exploded, propelling him forward. He heard ringing in his ears, and his HUD screen was cracked. He could feel himself bleeding from his right leg.
Fearing the blood would attract more dangerous fauna, he swam back to the lifepod and sat there, bandaging his wounds and still in shock. He left the safe shallows for the first time a few days later. The water got darker and had a green tint to it. Huge strands of kelp grew from the seafloor. He dove down into it, locating a smooth outcrop. He smashed it open, finding a piece of gold. Yes! He thought. His PDA crackled to life.(Gold is an important conductor in objects such as the computer chip.) He heard a roar to his right, where a shark-like animal was swimming around. It had the body of a normal shark, but its mouth was about the size of its body. From where he hovered in the water, he could see its razor-sharp teeth. He pulled out his knife, trying to back away slowly like his survival guide back on earth had said. Aw, who am I kidding? He thought. This thing is an alien, it won’t be the same as a shark or bear on earth. He dodged to the right as its long mouth snapped at him. He swung the knife, the shark’s yellow blood spilling into the water. It let out a gurgling screech and lunged at him. This time its teeth struck purchase. It’s strong jaw closed around his right leg, digging through the thin fiber of his dive suit to penetrate his flesh. He jabbed his knife into its vulnerable head, earning a Yelp as the shark released him and swam away. Terrified, he swam back to the pod and used a medical kit to bandage his wound. A few days later, he went back into the safe shallows and found a small wreck. He scanned the parts for a beacon and a seaglide, and well and a single fragment of a propulsion cannon. He went back to his pod and made a seaglide. His radio crackled to life. “Aurora, come in. This is the trading ship sunbeam. We picked up your distress signal. Hello? We’ll try them tomorrow. Damn Alterra ships and their lousy pilots.” Ryley looked up with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. Would he be going home? Would he go back to his family, to earth? The next day they contacted him again, just like they said they would. “Aurora, this is Avery Quinn of the trading ship sunbeam. We picked up a massive debris field at your position. I...i..I’m sorry. I…didn’t know how bad it was...I’m sorry.” Avery paused before speaking again. “We found a place to land. Attaching coordinates now. We’re gonna bring you home, survivor.” The radio went silent. A small timer appeared at the top right of his HUD. It started counting down from 40 minutes. A big arrow appeared as well, pointing towards the mountain island. He grabbed some food and water, some extra batteries for his seaglide, and set off toward the island.
