*A human soldier on a secret mission at a disputed planet gets into a skirmish with a Silth carrier which had the same goal. The quick but devastating battle had left him stranded alone on an island in the middle of nowhere. At least, he thought he was alone.
*First part of a romance/science fiction/horror story which might later join others into another story I have in mind.
*Literotica rules apply.
*****
I groaned as I pulled myself away from the sloshing sea onto the white sand. If I still didn't want to drown I'd have to get away from the water. If the tide came in while I was unconscious it would kill me.
When I saw grass through my blurry vision I decided I'd gone far enough and let myself float into darkness despite my fear of dying.
***
'Goddammit!' I groaned as I swatted at insects buzzing around my ears.
I grumbled while I blinked against the bright light, then tried to sit up after a while. My wet clothes added to my irritation and I pulled them off, choosing the bother of taking them off against keeping them on.
After a few struggles I tossed the last piece aside and laid back naked on the warm sand. I cared less about being covered with that than the wet cloth clinging to me.
I recalled the main events that led me up to here; born into a poor family which sold me into the military because they wouldn't be able to feed and raise me otherwise, the subsequent training which showed I had a tenacity for keeping alive, and the assignment to one of the most abused secret sections of the military after almost killing a senior officer who came close to raping a girl at a bar.
'GODDAMMIT, FUCK YOU!' I screamed. 'WHY DON'T YOU ALL GO TO HELL!?'
We were supposed to set up a hidden base at the latest M class planet that was found. Its inclusion in one of the territories had been a fight between the feline Silth and humans for years, each claiming they found it first and that the simple civilizations living on it were part of their combined worlds. The universal council had been trying to establish a peaceful settlement between our species but with the continual tensions and skirmishes between us it was almost impossible. So far there was only the official promise to not colonise the planet and come into contact with the species on it while the dispute continued.
'As if.' I said to myself and tossed a nearby rock away from me.
The encounter with the Silth carrier was devastating. With both ships running stealth close to the sea surface, we were in stone throwing distance when we found each other. The panic reaction was to unleash our full arsenals upon one another. The few fighter pods from both sides who managed to launch, including mine, had just about obliterated each other when the carriers burned down and sank into the ocean.
With no home to return to and most of my equipment damaged I headed off to the nearest island available on the local map. The pod broke down before I was able to reach it and I used up all my stamina to reach it by swimming.
I stood up, shaking on my legs. I would have to hold out long enough for help to arrive. If that ever came.
That was the risk of a classified unit. Nobody would acknowledge you, nobody would save you, nobody would praise you. Only the pay and the thrill were worth it.
I reviewed my surroundings, white beach, tropical climate, mostly blue sky, vacation paradise for most people.
I hated it. I saw unknown predators and diseases, difficulty in finding a decent shelter, food.
'DAMMIT!' I shouted again.
I took another look at my clothing. The only useful thing that came with it was the knife. No matter how advanced technology became, the one thing that stayed part of basic equipment was the knife. I didn't care about my clothing, but I was aware enough to not take chances and buried all of it in the sand.
After that I faced the jungle in front of me. Just me and my knife. I wasn't ready, but I had to survive.
***
I was lucky in the way luck favoured tropical zones on earth, there was food available. I sampled anything resembling food and soon enough found out what was edible and what had to be avoided. A shelter I could make from branches and big leaves. Within several days I had created a basic means of survival.
I took my time, waiting at the nearby source of fresh water to observe what kind of wildlife came there. I could, but didn't particularly like to survive on plants and small fish alone. A species of rodent reminding me of rats and mice was abundant and wasn't a bad source of protein. A larger species looking a little more like deer and a species like pigs lived around here as well. Too bad I'd need something like a bow for those. I also encountered a medium sized predator with brown, grey and black streaked fur, something that had a canine head, the body of a feline and a short, bushy tail. It had acted aggressively, but a growl and a stomp from my foot had sent it away.
It had been nine days since I found myself washed up on the beach. In the meantime I had secured myself a small shelter and sources of nutrition. A semblance of daily routine had establish itself by gathering food, fishing and exploring the area. I needed to get into contact with military command, but that was of secondary concern. I still needed to survive as if I'd be the last of the human race.
Gradually I began to expand my exploration of the area and knowledge of the routine of wildlife around here. I had salvaged my clothes from the beach, putting them aside and only using my pants while hunting. It made running a little less awkward. Digging into the memories left from survival training I found the right materials to make a bow and arrows. I even thought about looking into salvaging steel from my pod, see if I could melt it and create more effective arrow tips and maybe a blade or two.
I couldn't get a clear view from the edge of the beach, but it looked like the island was the tip of a short underwater mountain ridge, maybe even volcanic in origin although I saw no direct evidence from the hilltops I was able to see. I expected it would take me several days to walk across the island, not counting the extra time it would take to get through the jungle. At least that would mean there'd be enough wildlife to survive without having an impact on the place. Can't live if I ate all the food here.
Seeing it would be a long time before military control knew the ship went missing, and even more time before they'd have any idea where to look, I decided I'd go explore the island in a while and accept it as my new home because the chance of getting rescued would be minimal.
***
A jungle, or any kind of area involving lots of trees, was never quiet and it took some time before I was able to get used to the noises from the nocturnal animals and get some decent sleep. This time though I woke up when something screamed and yowled nearby.
I grabbed my knife and stoked up the dying fire to make a torch. If this was a new kind of predator prowling at night I'd like to know it first before it could attack me thinking I'd be a sleeping meal for it.
I heard several more yelps and growls and suspected it was one of those mixed predators which I named cags. Yeah, I'm no biologist. I carefully followed the sound of scuffling behind some bushes to find one in a death grip with a poisonous lizard. The cag twisted its muzzle and the lizard went limp, letting go of the cag's leg. The cag limped with its bleeding leg toward a small shaking heap of fur. It let out a peep and I understood the mother cag had protected her young. I saw her lick it and it crawled closer to her. She didn't call for others so it looked like this was her only young.
The bushes rustled as I moved out of them and she growled at me. Her head swayed a little from the poison's effect.
'Shh..' I said softly, putting down my bow and torch beside me. 'I'm not here to harm you.'
I sat on my knees until her growls faded, then crawled slowly closer. The little one whined softly, giving its mother licks and nudged her with its nose, but she would no longer be able to respond to her child. I crawled closer and it looked at me, panic in its yellow eyes, then pawed at its mother.
'I'm sorry, little one.' I whispered as I sat in front of them. 'She can no longer care for you.'
It whined for a while, licking its mother's face again, then laid down on the ground against her, glancing at me. I didn't know if it was going to be a stupid idea, but thinking I'd have to let nature take its course and abandon the pup, or kitten, or whatever the right name was didn't sit well with me.
