Star Child

Twenty-Nine - Instinct

Ashaki sat curled up in the pilot seat, going over the symbols of Dhare's language. His language was complex. For months she had written down every 'letter' into a long and varied alphabet and was now working to decipher it.

Linguistics had never been a hobby of hers, but she had to try. At this point, she absolutely wasn't going to leave the Yautja. She had found happiness, and subsequently a crappy attempt at decoding the alien language. Despite hearing his language spoken many times, it was beyond her level of comprehension.

Usually, she was prideful of her intelligence, but decoding an alien language? This was harder than she thought!

For hours she had occupied herself scratching the boredom that itched at her brain, but being still for this long was torture! She couldn't leave the ship—an alien criminal on the loose outside was a big reason why she hadn't let herself out in the first place. Dhare didn't need her safety on the line while he was out there hunting his bounty.

Sighing softly to herself, she tossed the notebook onto the control panel. Her eyes slid from the neat penmanship of her notes to the huge window then to the outside world. Condensation fogged the glass and made the swamp a blur of creamy greens and soft browns. She was reminded of pastel paintings and her favorite artist.

Claude Monet would've had a field day with the view Ashaki had!

Ashaki took a few pictures with her tablet to remember it. She also took a selfie of herself curled in Dhare's big throne of a pilot's seat.

Afterward, Ashaki retreated to the bedroom for a shower to freshen up. Thrumming beneath her skin, her instincts still screamed that something was wrong. Never before had she felt this...strange, on edge. Her appetite had slightly increased thanks to the stress and her body was achy. Thankfully, after she finished her scalding hot shower, her mind was able to relax once more. Snacking also helped to alleviate the problem.

Raiding the supply of food from the Penthouse on New Vegas left her with many options. She had squirreled away cookies, crackers, various fruits, veggies, and other stuff she liked.. Having something in her stomach was better than letting that pestering anxiety eat away at her nerves.

Many hours had passed before Dhare unlocked the aft of the ship. She could've let herself out before that–she chose to respect his wishes. He instructed her to keep a close perimeter, but she was still cautious to leave. Donning her new outdoor clothes, a loose pink short-sleeved athletic shirt and figure-hugging black leggings, she laced up a pair of black and purple hiking boots. She arranged her twists into a large bun atop her head and grabbed her camel-back, filling it with water in the kitchen. Once she had some snacks in her fanny-pack, and an extra water bottle stowed at her hip, she was ready to face the alien swamp.

Each step she took down the ramp, her instincts flared higher, but she pushed them aside to continue on. Nothing would prevent her from stepping on a new world. Ashaki was stir crazy from being in the ship with nothing to pass the time. This was too good of an opportunity.

Her boots planted in the soft damp earth while she took in the sight around her. Indeed it was almost exactly like the photos and videos of the swamps of Louisiana. There was something hauntingly beautiful about the biome. Shadows deep in the lichen-drenched flora elevated it. A subtle hum of alien critters filled the air. Somewhere in the distance she heard a warbling roar, taking note to avoid that direction.

Dhare had told her this was one of those worlds that Yautja had cataloged but never bothered to explore. He explained that there were millions of alien worlds out there capable of sustaining life, and this particular one had likely been chosen as the hideout for the criminal due to its remoteness.