Aiden stopped near the inner wall of his base and rechecked the calibration of his exoskeleton one last time. The system responded with steady green indicators across his visor.
Joint pressure was balanced. Power flow was stable. The assist motors responded without delay. It was working exactly as intended. With his specs right now, it was reliable enough to trust his life to it.
He slowly went over his equipment again. On his back was a single military backpack.
Inside it was one land drone and one air drone, both charged and secured in padded slots. He carried five liters of water sealed in reinforced containers.
He had several empty boxes and sealed jars meant for research samples, along with the remaining dried deer meat he had carefully rationed since his last hunt.
His left arm carried the shield tower he had built with his own hands. It was tall and wide enough to cover most of his body when raised, and its weight pulled slightly at his shoulder even with the exoskeleton assisting him.
The outer layers were taken from the ship walls, cut and reshaped into solid plates that could endure heavy impact. The surface was scarred with tool marks and uneven edges, clear signs that it was not factory made, but every flaw served a purpose.
On his right side, held close to his body for quick access, was the dagger he had personally crafted from antler. The blade was not smooth or elegant. Its edge was jagged, lined with fine micro teeth that caught and bit into anything it pierced.
Without the exoskeleton, it would have been difficult to use the dagger properly as he did not undergo such training, but with assisted combat AI behind it, he was confident that he could do well.
His pistol rested firmly in his hand, familiar and steady, with the limiter intact and ready to be adjusted at a moment's notice. Together, the weapons felt like an extension of his body.
He was ready.
Aiden moved to the western gate of the base. The wall stood tall behind him, formed from steel trees and reinforced plates that he had dragged and assembled piece by piece over many days.
He placed both hands on the gate mechanism, released the locks, and pushed it open just enough to slip through. Once outside, he closed it again with care, securing every latch and support before turning away.
He headed west.
From the moment he stepped beyond the gate, Aiden slowed his breathing and let his movements become steady and controlled.
**zHhhhmmmm**
He raised his hand and released the air drone, watching as it lifted off with a soft hum and climbed into the sky.
It rose just high enough to stay out of sight, then moved forward, gliding ahead of him. Data streamed back into his visor as the drone scanned the land in wide arcs, tracing the shape of the ground and searching for any sign of movement.
Aiden did not take a single step until the path ahead was clear. Only then did he move, placing each foot with care, refusing to rush even when the open land tempted him to do so.
As he advanced, the change in terrain became clear. The ground beneath his boots was no longer packed and crowded by steel trees. Tall grass brushed against his legs, bending and swaying with the wind.
Scattered among it were normal trees, their trunks slimmer and their leaves soft and natural in shape. Sunlight passed more freely here, and the air felt lighter, almost calm. Still, Aiden kept his guard up. Just because it was an open space area, doesn't mean he was safe here.
He lowered his hand again and released the land drone. It dropped to the ground and began to move ahead of him, keeping close to the earth. Its sensors swept the soil and grass, listening for vibrations and watching for anything hidden from sight.
Aiden followed at a measured distance. His spacesuit could stop claws and teeth, but he did not trust armor alone. He had learned that this world rewarded caution and punished mistakes without mercy.
Whenever something unfamiliar caught his eye, he stopped. He knelt beside trees that looked different from the rest and carefully cut small pieces of bark and leaves. Each sample was examined, sealed, and placed into a labeled container before being stored in his backpack.
He took his time with every piece, knowing that these small details could matter later. Knowledge, to Aiden, was another form of survival.
The land stayed completely silent as Aiden moved forward, with no animals crossing his path and no sounds rising from the grass or the trees around him. Nothing stirred, and nothing called out, leaving the stillness to press against him in a way that felt heavy and watchful.
Aiden lifted his gaze toward the sky, using the position of the sun to judge the passing time, and the angle alone told him that the day was already moving on faster than he liked.
His internal clock confirmed it soon after, marking the time as twelve pm. As he continued walking, his eyes stayed alert, constantly scanning the ground and the distant terrain for any sign of water.
He looked for the shimmer of a stream, the open surface of a lake, or even darkened soil that hinted at moisture below, but there was nothing. The land remained dry and unbroken. His sample jars were already full of insect specimens collected during earlier explorations, so he ignored the smaller life forms around him and kept his attention on the path ahead, measuring distance and time with every step.
As the minutes passed Aiden slowly lengthened his stride and increased his pace, moving faster while he still had daylight. Even as he walked quicker, his mind stayed calm and focused, weighing every step against the growing risk of going too far.
He set a firm rule for himself and held onto it. If he did not find water by four pm, he would turn back without hesitation. There would be no excuses and no chances taken, because pushing too far in this world could easily become fatal.
After traveling several more miles, something finally changed. Ahead of him, cutting through the grass, he spotted a thin line of water. It was narrow and shallow, little more than a weak stream, yet it caught his full attention at once. The water moved in an unusual way, flowing upward along a gentle slope instead of down.
Aiden slowed to a stop and studied it closely. What he saw was not just water. It was a sign, and it pointed toward something more.
He followed the stream carefully, staying alert as the ground slowly rose. As he moved higher, his drones began to lose signal strength. The air drone flickered, then went silent. The land drone followed soon after. Whatever was ahead interfered with their connection.
Then he heard it.
A deep, constant sound, like water crashing against itself. It was distant, but powerful.
"This.... it sounds like there's water nearby."
Aiden slowed his steps even more. He did not run. He moved with extreme caution, every sense focused forward. The sound grew louder as he passed between massive trees, far larger than the ones he had seen earlier.
Then the land opened.
Before him was a vast lake.
It stretched so far that he could not see where it ended. The surface reflected the sky like glass, broken only by gentle movement near the shore. The air here felt alive, cool, and full of moisture. He realized at once why the trees around the area were so lush and healthy.
He stood still and simply looked.
It was one of the most beautiful things he had seen since arriving on this world.
The distance marker on his display showed that the lake was roughly seven miles away from the ship. At a normal walking pace, it would take about an hour to reach. He did not approach immediately. Instead, he observed the area carefully, scanning for movement and danger.
As he prepared to collect water samples, he froze.
From the forest edge near the lake, movement appeared.
A small family of alien deer stepped into view.
There were five of them.
Four were similar in size to the one he had hunted before. Strong, alert, and cautious. The fifth emerged last, and it was massive. It was at least three times larger than the others. Its antlers were enormous, branching wide and high like twisted crowns.
Aiden felt his breath slow.
If he could take even one of them, and if it carried a core, it would mean food and power. It would change everything.
He did not allow doubt to slow him down. Aiden lowered his body and shifted his weight, placing each step with care as he moved into a better position. His grip tightened around the pistol as he began charging it, the weapon giving off a faint but sharp hum that grew stronger as power flowed into the chamber.
The sound was low, but in the quiet near the lake it carried farther than he expected. He steadied his breathing, set the output to twenty percent, and lined up his aim on the largest deer, keeping the sight fixed at its center mass.
The laser fired.
A bright beam cut through the air in an instant, so fast that it seemed to snap into place rather than travel. At that same moment, the massive deer reacted. Its ears twitched sharply, turning toward the sound just as the shot was released.
With a sudden and fluid motion, its body shifted out of the beam's path, avoiding the attack with surprising ease.
The shot did not vanish harmlessly. Instead, it struck one of the smaller deer standing behind the target. It couldn't react in time. The creature collapsed where it stood, its body dropping without a sound.
In that instant, the calm of the lakeside shattered, and everything changed.
The large deer turned toward him. Its eyes glowed red. Its antlers began to spark with static energy, crackling with visible electricity. The air around it felt charged.
The remaining three deer reacted at once, their bodies turning as they prepared to run back toward the forest. Their muscles tensed and their hooves dug into the ground, ready to flee from the sudden danger.
For a brief moment, Aiden's focus split between them and the massive deer still standing near the lake, and that single moment of hesitation proved costly.
The giant deer moved.
It lowered its head and charged straight toward him, its enormous body surging forward with terrifying speed. The ground shook beneath its hooves as it closed the distance far faster than Aiden had expected. Even with the exoskeleton assisting him, he knew at once that he could not outrun it.
Aiden raised his pistol to fire again, but before his finger could pull the trigger, a sharp sense of danger flooded his mind. His heart slammed against his chest as instinct took over, louder and faster than any thought. Every part of him screamed that staying where he was meant death.
He reacted without stopping to think.
Aiden released his grip on the shield tower, letting the heavy structure crash to the ground as he activated the short burst mode of his exoskeleton. Power surged through the frame, driving force into his legs in a sudden violent push.
His body was thrown sideways as he leapt away from the charging beast, hitting the ground hard and rolling through the grass to bleed off the momentum.
A split second later----
KRAA-THOOMMMM!!
A thunderous sound erupted behind him, loud enough to shake the air and drown out everything else. The noise ripped across the open land like an explosion, marking the spot where he had been standing just moments before.
Lightning crashed down from the deer's antlers, striking the ground where he had been standing moments before. The impact was so close that heat washed over his suit.
It almost hit him.
"T-THIS CRAZY SHI---!!!"
Aiden screamed as he moved, the sound ripped from deep in his chest by fear, shock, and raw desperation. His hands acted faster than his thoughts as he adjusted the pistol settings, switching it into burst mode.
The power output dropped, but the weapon responded with a rapid sequence of shots, the internal systems compensating as the auto assist fully engaged and locked onto the moving target.
"AAAAAHHH!" Aiden screamed as he fired again and again.
The recoil vibrating through his arm as flashes of light cut across the open land. The deer moved with terrifying speed, twisting and shifting its massive body in ways that should not have been possible for something so large.
Several shots burned harmlessly past it, carving lines through the air. Others struck its hide, leaving scorched marks but failing to slow its charge. Energy began to gather around its antlers once more, the air shimmering as another lightning strike started to form.
Aiden forced himself to stay steady.
One shot broke through the chaos.
The beam struck the creature directly at the center of its forehead, piercing deep and true. The light vanished into its skull, and the massive body lost all momentum at once. The giant deer collapsed forward, crashing into the ground with a heavy final thud that shook the grass around it.
The remaining three deer did not hesitate. They turned and ran, disappearing into the forest as fast as their legs could carry them, never once looking back.
Silence fell over the lakeside.
The battle had lasted only seconds, yet it felt far longer as Aiden stood there, chest rising and falling hard with every breath. The air around him smelled of burned grass and sharp ozone, lingering reminders of how close he had come to dying.
As the echoes faded, one truth settled firmly in his mind. This world did not forgive mistakes, and it would kill him the moment he let his guard down.
******
It was not truly Aiden's fault, no matter how much his mind tried to blame him. No one could have expected a creature that looked like a deer to command lightning through its antlers, nor react so sharply that it could hear the faint charge of a laser pistol and dodge at the last moment.
Even now, the image replayed in his thoughts, the way the animal moved with impossible speed, as if it had sensed danger before the attack even reached it.
Questions pressed in on him as he stood near the lake, his breathing slowly returning to normal. He wondered how many creatures like that lived near the water, how long they had adapted to this place, and how many of his assumptions had already been proven wrong.
Each thought carried weight, threatening to pull him deeper into doubt. He forced himself to stop. Thinking too much right now would only slow him down.
"This is bad. A place like this is where animals will always come to drink. I cannot afford another encounter like that."
The words came out low and firm, spoken more to himself than to the empty land around him. The beauty of the lake no longer felt calming. Instead, it felt dangerous, like a trap that promised life while hiding death just beneath the surface.
Aiden moved at once.
He approached the water with care and quickly collected several samples, sealing them in reinforced containers. He scooped wet sand from the edge of the lake and gathered small stones that had been soaked by the water, placing each into separate sample boxes for later analysis.
Aiden's movements were fast but controlled, his eyes never leaving the surroundings for too long. He did not plan to linger here any longer.
Once the samples were secured, Aiden opened his military backpack and pulled out a large containment sleeve. It was not a simple plastic bag, but a heavy duty bio containment wrap designed to carry large organic bodies without tearing or leaking.
The material was thick and flexible, able to stretch without breaking, and its inner seal was made to keep fluids and residue locked inside. It was built for transport and survival work, and at this moment, it was exactly what he needed.
He moved to the smaller deer first. The body lay still on the ground where it had fallen, its form already starting to cool. Aiden knelt beside it and checked for any sign of movement, watching closely for breath or muscle response.
There was nothing.
Satisfied that it was truly dead, he dragged it closer and slid the body into the containment sleeve. The process was quick and controlled. He folded the material over the carcass, sealed it tight, and set it aside.
The larger deer was a different matter.
Its massive body lay near the edge of the grass, antlers still stretched wide and heavy even in death. Aiden approached it with caution and checked it just as carefully, making sure there was no remaining energy, no twitch, and no hidden reaction. The antlers were dark and still, and the air around them was calm. Only then did he allow himself to move closer.
Dragging the giant body took effort even with the exoskeleton assisting him. The weight resisted every pull, forcing him to adjust his grip and stance more than once. He had to stop, brace himself, and reposition the containment sleeve several times before he could finally guide the body inside.
Sealing it was harder still, as the antlers and bulk pushed against the material, testing its limits. The sleeve held firm, stretching but not breaking, until the final seal locked into place.
There was no time to examine either body properly. That would have to wait until he was somewhere safer.
Aiden lifted one sealed body under each arm, feeling the exoskeleton strain as it compensated for the heavy load. Even with mechanical support, the weight pressed down on him, pulling at his balance and slowing his movement.
He turned away from the lake without looking back and began retracing his path, increasing his pace as much as he could manage.
It was a good haul. The water source was confirmed, and the discovery alone would change his survival plans. Still, there was no satisfaction in him as he moved. The encounter had shattered the false sense of safety he had been building once again.
The animals of this world were not simple prey. They were aware, dangerous, and capable of killing him if he made even one wrong assumption.
As Aiden pushed forward, carrying the weight of his findings and his growing caution, one truth stayed clear in his mind. This world was watching him.