One More Step

There it was. The ship that crashed. Blazed the sky like a flaming rock and then fell somewhere in one of the many remote places of the planet.

Then again, the whole planet was remote in itself. Still, the crashing ship in the distance was a slim hope.

One more step.

Six long winters, he thought. Since I crashed here, he said to himself. Nothing on this God-forsaken planet. Arid and hot, with little vegetation growing in some secluded places.

Barely anything to eat, except for those fur snakes living under the shades of dunes. Rain was very rare, and water could be found in a few remote places on the planet, usually in the form of small ponds.

It wasn’t very easy for the young Arbghark to survive, but his metabolism allowed him, with only a few drops of water, to survive for several months.

I hate this planet, he was thinking. Nothing but sand and more sand. The hot, windy storms didn’t make it any better.

It was six long years since he had crashed on this planet, a remote planet in a star system he didn't even know the name of. How did I even get here? He asked himself.

One more step towards that ship. His wrist locator was able to identify the exact location of the crash.

Perhaps I can find a replacement part for my thruster; then I can finally leave this place, he thought to himself.

The Arbghark came from a long line of blue-blooded noble scholars; still, his passion for exploration and new adventures has led him here. To this place. To this fate.

He had doubts about the decision he ha made, to leave his home planet. Right after he has finished the pilot academy on his planet.

Planet Drixlum. In the Xildrasis star system. A beautiful planet really, with lush and dense vegetation, with multiple and colorful wonders of nature, amongst which were the splendid rainbow leaf trees.

He really missed his planet and leaving home. He was imagining sitting by a waterfall on his planet, under the shades of the rainbow trees. He took a deep breath and sighed. One more step.

He was exhausted. He’s been on the road for days, following the path to the ship that crashed in the distance.

It wasn’t a matter of water; he was quite resilient on this part and still had some of it left. Those damn fur snakes are difficult to hunt, though. He needed some sustenance, and there wasn’t any nearby. Not in this hot blazing sun. Still, his silver-colored, scaled body could reflect back the powerful rays of the sun, but his state of mind was slowly deteriorating.

That crashing ship was the only reason he had hope. He gathered all his strength and decided to make the journey. A long one still, as that ship basically crashed on the other side of the planet, hundreds of miles away.

He was pushing forward, checking his wrist locator from time to time. He closed his eyes for a few moments as he was swimming in the dark green lakes of planet Drixlum. Home.

There was no time to waste, though. He had to reach that ship. There had to be a ship part that he needed. There had to be. It was his only hope.

Then it hit him. What if there was a survivor? What if he had to fight an enemy to get what he wanted?

He was trained in physical combat techniques at the academy after all. If that’s what it takes. However, he was an explorer. The thought of fighting made him yearn more for a rather peaceful resolution than a violent resolve to this matter.

One more step.

He was close, though. He’s been on the road for several days, rarely stopping for short breaks.

The thought of finally getting home kept him wanting to push forward and reach his destination as soon as possible.

Home, he thought. The green and colorful planet of his birthplace. His race was mostly peaceful; it was a society built upon science and exploration of exoplanetary systems. However, they still had some basic military training for self-defense in case of encountering unknown dangers.

One more step.

He reached the base of the mountains where the ship had crashed. Well, beyond the mountains, actually.

Another hard trial, and he’s there. So he hoped. His only way home. Drixlum. The shades of the rainbow trees. The waterfalls. This thought alone kept his sanity. Gave him the strength to go forward.

It was a steep climb on those rocky cliffs blazed by the hot sun, but he was almost there. It was worth the try. This is the last step, he thought. So he gave everything to it.

He reached the top. He looked down into the valley of sand and dunes, and he saw the ship.

Smoke was rising in the sky, but the ship itself looked in much better shape than he initially thought from the manner of that blazing through the sky when he first saw it.

There it was. His key to freedom. His escape. His way back home. Drixlum. The rainbow tree planet.

He took a deep sigh. One more step.