The vibrant sun hung low in the sky as it crept inexorably toward the distant horizon. High above Malik’s floating lifepod, wispy clouds traded pristine white for a fresh palette of colors ranging from comforting orange to mysterious lavender. While the planet spun toward the promise of dusk’s dark embrace, the endless waves around him continued their unrelenting march from one end of the world to the other.

As an unwilling prisoner of the uncaring ocean that stretched around him as far as the eye could see, Mal had spent the entire day trying to initiate a jailbreak. Unfortunately, it appeared that his current confinement was far more stifling than a simple cell made of concrete and iron. Every hour he’d repeated his radio message in the hope that someone, somewhere, would answer. So far, his only response had been deafening silence.

The drone had also been a disappointment. While its height gave him a far larger visual range than what was afforded to him from the pod, it could only stay airborne for eight hours. Eight hours had certainly seemed like a substantial amount of time while he was preparing the drone for launch, but a single excursion had exposed the flaw in his thinking. Simply put, the drone’s range was a drop in the bucket compared to an ocean whose area could be measured in the thousands of kilometers.

Malik grimaced to himself at the thoughts rolling through his mind. He made a mental note to avoid water metaphors until further notice.

I didn’t push the drone to the extreme of its range today because I didn’t want to take a chance at losing it. Even if I had sent it out at a maximum distance, I don’t know if another few kilometers would even matter, comparatively speaking. Then there was the underwater deathmatch. That probably spooked me more than it should have. Or, maybe, it spooked me exactly as much as it should.

Just shy of three hours after the drone was launched, the monitor inside the lifepod had displayed a decidedly disturbing image. The drone’s camera captured a rust-colored stain upon the ocean’s surface. The red discoloration seemed to be spreading from an eruption of violent splashes that churned pink, frothy bubbles up to the surface. Equal parts mesmerized and horrified, Mal had kept the drone hovering in place for several minutes. One brief glimpse of something that looked like a massive claw made of jagged bone was enough to convince him that he’d done enough exploring for one day. Within seconds the drone was headed back to the lifepod at its best speed.

But despite the lack of actionable intel, the day wasn’t a complete waste. He’d managed to deploy the solar screens, which had unfurled from the pod’s rounded top like the petals of a blooming flower. He would have to monitor his energy expenditure versus the solar transferal. Knowing how many resources he could devote to the drone would further inform his decision on how far it could safely range from his base of operations.

The water filtration system was next on his agenda. It had been unpacked from the survival kit and carefully assembled. Even now its rubber hose hung over the edge of the pod’s open hatch, gleefully drawing ocean water through a coarse screen and into the filter chamber. Once there, the tritanium device exerted enormous pressure upon the salt water to force it through a semipermeable membrane that separated the water molecules from the salt and mineral pollutants.

After helping himself to a sip of the desalinated water, Malik had decided then and there to make the life choice to never drink reclaimed water again.

He’d even found the courage to abandon his vac suit and strip completely out of his skin suit and underclothes long enough for a brief plunge into the ocean. After spending a day and a half cooped up in the cramped confines of the lifepod, Mal’s muscles ached for lack of exercise. The embrace of the warm water was a novel experience and remarkably soothing after the stress he’d felt since the moment he’d awoken from cryosleep. The relaxation could only last so long before the memory of a bony claw emerging from a bloody, pink froth sent him paddling back toward the hatch and scrambling back over the edge and into the waiting pod.

Which is how Malik ended up staring sullenly out at the setting sun. Water glistened across his naked body, each drop sparkling like a gemstone against the pale relief of his hairless skin. His dark hair hung wet and heavy against his scalp as rivulets of ocean water cascaded down his neck to wind through sculpted canyons created by the hard lines of muscle chiseling his flesh.

Whatever that thing was, I wouldn’t be much more than a snack. Malik thought with a scowl. Why couldn’t I land on a planet full of beautiful mermaids? Instead, I get the retirement home for Godzilla villains.

With a sigh that vocalized his shattered dreams of an alien harem, Malik took hold of his helmet and activated the comm for the sixteenth time today.

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“Mayday. This is Malik Rosen, formerly of the colony ship Starlight Journey. Does anybody read me, over.”

For several long moments, Malik waited for a reply as the water trickled down his body. He knew from the drone’s positional data that he was drifting at roughly 8 knots. That wasn’t much, but it was far enough to keep him hopeful each time he’d sent out his distress call. All day he’d heard nothing but silence in reply.

Until now.

He was dragging one set of fingers through his hair to comb it dry when he heard a rustling sound. He immediately lifted the helmet closer to his ear. “Mayday. This is Malik Rosen, formerly of the colony ship Starlight Journey. Does anybody read me, over.”

Before he’d even finished speaking he heard the same rustling sound again. The commotion sounded louder this time. Less like radio static and more like the rush of air around flapping wings. Malik’s blue eyes grew wide as he looked toward the pod’s ceiling a split second before a heavy thump rang through the interior of the small craft.

“What the…” Chief Rosen lurched toward the open hatch in a rush to see what had just hit the roof of his lifepod.

The mystery was solved the moment his head emerged from the pod. The sight of the alien creature sent a jumble of thoughts careening through his mind as he struggled to adapt to the moment. Of all the half-formed and quickly abandoned ideas that rushed through his brain, the first cohesive one was also the simplest.

There really are pterodactyls here!

Malik’s first encounter with the local wildlife had him staring, nose-to-snout, at one of the flying creatures he’d seen riding the air currents high overhead. The creature clung to the side of the pod with a set of four-toed raptorial feet that ended in wickedly curved talons that were as long as Malik’s hand. Slender legs connected those predatory weapons to a serpentine body covered in fine scales the color of a cloudy aquamarine. Wide, leather wings were folded along its sides, giving the impression of more bulk than it actually possessed.

When Malik emerged from the pod, the creature had sinuously turned its long neck so that its snout faced toward him. The strange animal’s head reminded him of a komodo dragon’s, though the lack of eyes gave its skull a more rounded shape. He had a long moment to study the creature as it tilted its head to the side in an oddly avian display of curiosity.

I wonder if it can see me, Malik thought as his knuckles grew white with the intensity of their grip on the edges of the hatch.

A heartbeat later the creature reared back and spread its wings to their full two-meter span. A short tail fan that he hadn’t noticed also spread out as its maw opened to expose jagged triangular teeth that seemed to be set haphazardly against its jawbone. If that weren’t enough reason to retreat, it filled the air with a high-pitched shriek that put any whistle he’d ever heard to shame.

The noise and aggressive posturing made Malik recoil. It was a good thing that he did because the snake-bat-shark-thing snapped forward with the speed of a striking cobra. A wave of fetid breath washed over him as its wicked teeth clacked together a few centimeters from the tip of his nose.

Malik had seen enough.

The Chief launched himself back through the hatch and into the waiting craft. Another shriek dug into his ears like a hot knife as he scrambled toward the crash couches on the far side of the pod. The harsh scraping sound of the monster’s talons scrambling for purchase against the pod’s outer hull filled the small craft with the raucous cacophony of approaching doom. Malik knew the creature would be inside the pod in moments. Once it invaded the craft, there would be nowhere for him to run from those wicked talons and deadly teeth.

Unfortunately for the flying doom noodle, Malik’s plans did not include ending his day as an exotic dinner.

His hand closed over the stock of the EM rifle that had remained on one of the crash couches ever since he’d abandoned the Journey. With a precision that had been honed over the course of decades, he thumbed the weapon’s capacitor into active mode as he brought it up to his shoulder. A soft mechanical hum filled the air as he spun to face the door.

Allow me to introduce myself.

Malik dropped to one knee as he sighted down the length of the rifle’s barrel.

Where I come from…

He thumbed the safety off when he saw the creature’s wingtips peeking over the edge of the hatch. Malik exhaled a slow, steady breath. When the creature’s ugly snout peeked over the top of the threshold, he was ready for it. He lined up his shot and waited until the monster’s long neck pushed its head into view.

Malik squeezed the trigger. An audible woosh of air rolled through the lifepod as the EM rifle spat a single tritanium slug at hypersonic speed. The creature’s entire head, and most of its neck, instantly exploded into a fine pink mist.

…they call me the apex predator.

Grimly Malik rose to his feet and moved toward the hatch to see if there were any other flying snakes he needed to introduce himself to.