The next day Jordi decided to go for a little exploring. The planet was massive and although it had been completely mapped there were some trails to be enjoyed and landscapes to see.
He booked an adventure slot on the other side of the planet. How it worked is he chose 3 to 5 desired places and would have reserved for himself a 200 acres zone where he could just go and enjoy.
A map was downloaded to his data-pad and a range of hours for him to visit, he could spend a few days if he so desired and due to his VIP invitation he had priority so he just chose one with mountains, a not so dense forest, rivers and waterfalls.
He took the mag-lev to a special train station that showed in his itinerary. The entrance was huge and the trains looked like the mag-lev ones but the rails went down. There was a video-stand showing an explanation of what this was, the trains will go deep into the planet and then in a straight line to one of the hubs. From there they would go up in small individual or group capsules that would take them to their reserved zone.
Before riding the train he was given a backpack with rations, water, and other useful stuff. They also gave him an emergency belt that would activate to prevent falls, attacks from wild animals and any other dangerous situations; it would create a protection bubble that would comfortably fit one being and then send a probe with a rescue signal.
Both during the mag-lev trip and on the one that took him closer to the planet’s core he saw all kinds of species but for someone who grew up already under the Empire rule that was as normal as going to a different system.
And it showed that this place was a leisure planet. Everyone’s walking pace was relaxed and all of them were smiling or their particular form of showing happiness. Blobs for instance tend to have brilliant dots all over their skin, insect-based species usually show it on their antennas or with a very-fast mandible movement, drewells with all their seriousness are the most evident because their skin gets a lighter tone even if they are sometimes not smiling.
Jordi was just enjoying the view, the tunnel that went down was on a big cave with brackets carefully located in a way that it would not ruin the look of the stonewalls.
The trip down under was going to take a couple hours so he used that time to memorize the map of the zone reserved to him. There were a couple trails drawn but he had no obligation nor desire to use them, he just looked at a couple interesting points - like a double waterfall or a big canyon - and put it on his memory.
Like all explorers he had studied the memory palace technique, it was a mandatory subject after all, and although they needed only to be able to create a couple rooms provided those rooms were filled with furniture, he was able to create a whole palace with fourteen rooms. Even though humans were among the most proficient species with that technique, this was still impressive.
He saved the memory of the map in his favorite place for “couple days memory”, a piece of cork in the third room to the right on the second floor. Now he would only close his eyes and quickly navigate through the palace, reach the room and look at it.
Once that was done and with a bit of time he looked at the rest of the passengers, no more than fifty on his wagon.
There were various groups and lots of individuals like himself, everybody immersed in themselves and looking at their maps and information. Everybody wearing tailored adventure suits which had protection to the elements and some kinetic improvements and everyone wearing that safety belt. Still you could feel the excitement in the air.
Before he realized the train was stopping and everyone got down in an orderly manner. There were some attendants that picked them up and took them to their designated capsule, he had to wait a bit but in less than five minutes he was already sitting inside his and waiting to be launched.
He was instructed to sit down and put on the security harness and was launched at an incredible speed, he was used to the ship’s inertial dampeners and these things didn’t have ones as powerful, just enough to not kill the travelers.
“Well, that is part of the adventure isn’t it?” - he thought.
A couple minutes later he felt the speed decreasing up to a full stop and then the capsule walls became transparent gradually, so he could get used to the brightness.
The capsule door opened and he freed himself from the harness and left, but not before making sure he had everything with him.
As he stepped out the door’s capsule closed and a voice came out wishing him a good time, then the capsule disappeared and a panel closed, leaving him there to enjoy his adventure.
He mentally checked the map and saw that the canyon was about fifteen kilometers to the south-west and then he would need to walk about ten more for the water-falls, so he started to walk, enjoying a sunny day with a gentle breeze, surrounded but the sounds of a wild forest; there were some dangerous beasts around there but everyone was continuously monitored and he would receive a warning before encountering one.
Unless facing a beast was one thing he had requested, there were beings there to hunt after all, and they could with the necessary permits. Grhjujiik still had inside their spider brain the same way humans had the mammal aggression.
At one point he heard the soft ping of the warning and checked the small data-pad on his wrist, there was a family of Orknas nearby.
Orknas are similar to stags but bigger. They’re also vegetarian but quite aggressive if bothered, anyone who has faced a wild elk can tell you they are not a joke.
He acknowledged the alarm and decided to try to sneak and watch them, it would be a shame if his bubble activated so early but he was there to have an adventure after all.
Remembering his survival classes, another mandatory subject for explorers in case a planet required more in-person exploration, he walked towards them quietly. Careful not to step on a branch or anything that would make a sound and choose the softest part of the terrain.
They were on a clearing, five of them, the female of the species was a bit bigger than the males and the mother of that group was easily four meters long and almost two meters until the top of her head. But the female antlers weren't as intricate as the male ones, still, both the mother and the father antlers were almost a meter long, ending with a mix of rounded and sharp tips.
They were about fifty meters from him so he was afraid that the wind could change revealing himself to the group.
He approached a tall and thick tree and saw a good branch fifteen meters from the ground. He smiled and activated the kinetic power-up on his legs, squatted down to take impulse and jumped.
He miscalculated the strength of the jump though and landed on another big branch but twenty or so meters from the ground.
He stood still looking at the group, the jump had made some sounds and now the five of them were inspecting the surrounding. About a minute later they dismissed it and continued grazing.
Breathing normally now Jordi looked at the clearing from his elevated position, it had two zones completely void of any plants with just some dry soil, both on the northern part of the clearing.
He focused and looked more carefully to the animals in front of him. The two adults, massive dark-brown units with muscles that looked made of steel, their honey colored eyes always looking around while grazing. And the three young ones, of three different sizes, showing the different growing stages of the animal; the biggest one almost as big as his father with the same antler drawing as him but way smaller, the others without any antlers and prancing happily.
Thankfully Jordi had remembered to disable the alarm sound because he felt a strong but quick piercing pain on his wrist, there was a dangerous animal nearby.
He took a look and saw eight red dots approaching the clearing from the other side, he relaxed his breathing and prepared himself to see the show unfold.
Eight animals appeared surrounding the orknas and the family quickly formed a circle with the young ones looking inside while the adults looking outside the circle. The eight predators were about three meters long, yellow skin that was transitioning to green like chameleons, their heads a mix of shark and wolf.
Suddenly two of them jumped towards the young ones but were welcomed with a kick on their head. One head got smashed and fell dead right there, the other flew about six meters and hit a tree.
The six remaining predators - Purlins were called - started going in circles around the orknas, but the family did the same circling counter clockwise.
Two more purlins jumped but this time the orknas circled quickly and they were impaled on the adult male antlers, he did a quick neck movement and their bodies fell in the clearing.
Before that scene had ended though the other four had jumped as well but they were also welcomed with a series of kicks and headbutts, before he realized almost all of the purlins were laying dead on the ground. The one who had been sent flying towards the tree was trying to leave the clearing but the biggest young one got there in a couple of jumps and tramped all over it.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The next scene surprised Jordi. The orknas were pushing the cadavers to one of the zones without any plants, the mother making a hole with her antlers. They pushed the bodies towards the hole and the whole family started tramping all over the bodies, making a mush of blood and bones. They covered it with soil once they finished and left the clearing, the young ones prancing happily back and forth.
Jordi stood on his branch for a few minutes while checking the scan, waiting for them to be far enough not to get scared by his scent. He went down, not without remembering to activate the kinetic bit on his boots to soften the fall, and continued his trail towards the waterfalls.
On the way there he noticed a small change in the scenery. The plant colors started getting more vibrant and went from lush green to a blood red. And it was alive, all kinds of birds and insects buzzing in the background, but he was wearing a repellent so he would not get bothered by them.
—---
He heard the waterfalls before he saw them and once he stood in front of them, he couldn’t react. One One six meter waterfall landed in a small pond made by the terrain and then continued downwards on a nine meter waterfall that landed on a small lake.
Still, the water was rushing hard. They both made a thunderous sound but the lake was swallowing all that incoming water without much movement on it, it had to be really deep for that. At the southernmost part of the lake there was a river rushing ever downwards. He checked the map and there was another waterfall some ten kilometers forward, but it didn't look as impressive as these ones.
He approached and touched the water to check for temperature and it was refreshingly warmer than he thought it would be but still on the cold side.
Then, he squatted at the edge just looking at the water.
It was dark at the center where the whirlwind made by the falling waterfall ended, he was about to call Friday for assistance when he realized he was alone.
His instinct was screaming that there was something there but it looked dangerous, depending how deep it was he would probably be sucked deep into it.
He quickly reviewed the fasteners on his backpack and clothes, they were all water resistant so he just needed to ensure it was properly closed. Inside the backpack there was a special set of glasses that he put on, it would provide light and a night-vision or infrared if needed.
He checked for rocks in the proximity and, once he was sure, jumped head first into the water.
He knew he could hold his breath for almost two minutes while engaging in physical exercise so he started to count mentally.
Thanks to those glasses he could see perfectly and the view was astounding. It looked like a well had been excavated and at some point the waterfalls had covered it all. But the water was moving fast and it was getting really hard to swim so he activated the kinetic power-up on the whole body and swam towards the well entrance with powerful movements.
While going down the well he felt a change in the water movements and temperature so he decided to follow that small river, it went through a hole big enough to fit him on the side of the well casing.
Thirty seconds had passed and he was following that path quickly. It went down, then a bit up, and then continued ever eastwards, permanently surrounded by rocks and soil.
Near the minute mark, when he had to decide to either continue or go back, he saw a light appear in front of him so he decided to continue and pressed forward.
Not even fifteen seconds after he had seen the light he found himself emerging on a subterranean cave filled with rich oxygen. He cancelled the kinetic power-up and breathed for a couple minutes while watching where he was.
The cave was a semicircle made of a strange bluish material, something between metal and crystal, and the higher point of the ceiling was about five meters over the water. There was a small hole on the exact center of the semicircle and a bit of light was pouring from it.
He dived and saw that the bluish material covered the cave near the water line, under it there was just your typical mix of rocks and soil.
He checked his wrist data-pad and he was about half a kilometer from where he started and a good hundred meters below.
Curious as he was he attempted to climb the wall but the material was slippery even though there were some protuberances to put his fingers around, but he couldn’t manage to hold for long and his hands kept slipping off.
He dived some more looking for another path but he saw none but the one he came from. At the bottom he saw some sharp rocks and picked one, which he used then to try to cut some parts of the bluish material but the rock broke before he could even make a dent.
The glasses had some recording capabilities so he made a video, he could perfectly remember the structure and colors but he wanted to show this to someone. Oh how was he missing Friday! He would’ve asked for her analysis of the rocks and probably she would send a mini-drone to get some samples. His wrist data-pad was also not as powerful as the one he usually used so his options were limited.
While he was recording the video he realized there was a pattern there. Looking at the rocks from the sides you couldn’t really see it but if you looked straight from underneath its center you could clearly see a drawing of something. It could easily be an example of pareidolia and that would mean his mind was making that up, but he didn’t fully recognize the form he was seeing, it just looked like a long serpent with legs.
After recording the cave for a few minutes from different sides he decided to go back. Closed his eyes to focus on his orientation and took a big breath.
The way back under the water was faster this time because he knew exactly where he was going and he arrived at the waterfall just before the minute mark. Still, it took him a few seconds to surface because the water’s pull was that strong.
He left the lake and decided to check the cave location from outside. He had to walk a bit, climb a couple hills and dodge a few thorny bushes.
He was getting closer to that location when his wrist data-pad started vibrating, he looked at it and saw the zone in front of him marked in a bright red signalling that it was a dangerous zone.
From the flag he had put on his data-wrist he saw that the cave was about two hundred meters in front of him, in the middle of the red zone. On the map in the data-pad it said that the zone was considered dangerous due to a high possibility of encountering predators but didn’t specify which ones.
He could feel the air coming from behind so if there was a predator in front of him it would have already smelled him. He crouched and scrutinized the terrain in front of him.
As far as he could see there was a rocky hill with few plants on it and some evidence of digged out terrain. He checked the data-pad again but it didn’t have any warning of creatures being nearby, just the red zone in front of him.
He moved a bit closer to the edge of the red zone, still crouching, and saw the hill ending with a vertical slope; he would need climbing tools if he wanted to go down that path. Not seeing or detecting any predator he stood up and started walking back, that was when he felt movement under his feet.
Following his instincts he quickly jumped to the side and rolled, just to see a three meter worm-like thing coming from the ground and biting the air, he had dodged it by centimeters.
The first thing that came to his mind when he saw the thing were the Dune worms, albeit in smaller scale, luckily for him.
The worm disappeared on the ground and he could now see the dust moving, he stood still observing the situation, his brain working different paths and possibilities. He always could trigger the emergency bubble but he’d rather not do that on his first day adventuring.
From the dust movement he deduced the thing was going in circles trying to find him and it was fast; he sharpened his hearing, focusing on the movement in the ground. He could barely hear the creature moving but it was enough to memorize the sound and tell his brain to be aware of it.
When it was the farthest from him he started running on tiptoe with long strides, to minimize both the impact and the time between steps.
All of a sudden his brain just shouted “jump!” and he did. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the thing coming out and biting the space where he was a second ago and then disappearing under the terrain again.
He kept running, leaving the red zone behind him, and this time seeing another cluster of dust movement to his right side, another worm had joined the hunt.
Jordi was about to arrive at a patch of thorny bushes when another worm just jumped in front of him but before he could react and the worm could bite him the emergency bubble came out, protecting him from any damage.
Inside it he screamed in frustration. His wrist data-pad now showing some instructions of what to do in the meantime; he could still feel the worms hitting the bubble but knew they wouldn’t be able to penetrate it.
—---
A while later he found himself on a transport where his rescuers deactivated the bubble.
There were three beings, looking completely human except for the fact that they were massively muscular and looked military.
A bald guy in his forties, with some scars on his cheeks and under his left eye, was looking at him with his dark almond gaze.
“Welcome back, my name is Ranger Jones. We took a look at your data-pad path and we understand you didn’t ignore the signs and you are definitely not at fault, so you don’t have to worry.” - the bald guy said, finishing with a smile.
“In fact I would say you are lucky, these worms have never been seen before. We marked the whole thing as dangerous because it looked like a hunting ground but we will need to review it because their territory seems to have grown. Thanks for that by the way.” - he continued, still smiling as if someone had taught him that it was the only way for him not to look menacing.
“Well you can also add the type of predator who lives in that zone so people are more aware of the dangers. I didn’t know what I should be careful of!” - Jordi replied, trying to control his anger.
“That’s the thing” - said a feminine voice, and Jordi then realized the other bald guy sitting on the back of the transport with him was a gal, or just sounded like one because their body was as muscular as the first one - “We hadn’t seen them until today, all we had were some parts of animals and carcasses. Now thanks to you we even have a living one!” - and she made a gesture with her head pointing to a big transparent receptacle secured behind her.
“Yeah that thing was trying to bite the bubble with everything it could when we arrived so it was quite easy to capture it” - Ranger Jones explained. - “So don’t be sad because your adventure finished early, we will send some pictures of the worm so you can share them and your name will appear on its description as the first one to encounter one.”
“So you can rest now, we’ll take you to our site where we will do a quick interview and then accompany you to the hotel” - Ranger Jones finished.
Jordi felt defeated though. Yes it was kind of amazing that he had been the first one to see the bug. Probably beings who had seen the red zone had kept their distance from it, but he wanted to explore more, to see more animals and plants, to feel the planet a little bit more.
—---
Without realizing, he fell asleep on the transport and was woken up about half an hour later.
He walked down the transport and saw they were in some kind of outpost. Just a couple buildings and a huge metallic fence that finished with a transparent dome covering the whole thing.
One of the two rangers that were in the back with him started walking with the receptacle in their hands and the other started moving in the opposite direction, just watching their backs it was difficult to see who was who. Jordi decided to follow the one NOT carrying the worm.
They walked to the entrance of one of the buildings and the ranger guided him to what looked like an interrogation room.
“Wait here, someone will come to ask you a few more things and then we will take you back to the hotel” - the Ranger said with that feminine voice.
The chairs were comfortable at least so he just sat down and closed his eyes, reviewing mentally everything that had happened to summarize it properly.
Then the door opened and a figure came in. Wearing a black suit with purple bands on the side, three golden dots on the collar. But he recognized the face, it was Er’anie.
“See, I told you we would meet sooner than you thought” - she said smiling - “Although I have to admit I was definitely not expecting this. You got us a worm! Please, tell me in detail everything you did today”
Jordi excitement banished quickly, she was working now and he had to be a professional as well. Still, it was difficult to not be nervous when the suit defined her figure so well.
He sighed loudly and started recollecting the events of the day.