Raven Tide

3: Stranded (Chyani)

Heads up! - This book takes place in the same universe as my book The Hunter's Song. It is not necessary to read that story or the sequel to enjoy this book, but as this story (in the timeline) takes place after that other story, there will be spoilers for The Hunter's Song in this chapter and moving forward.

Otherwise, Enjoy! 😁

......

I wasn't sure how, but I was still breathing. My face was flush against the alien's chest and his lungs were functioning as well. Sparks flickered from the ceiling and I was too scared to let go of his torso.

His big hand touched the top of my head.

"Did we land?" I pried my face up and looked around.

The ship was in smoldering tatters but the hull around the bridge appeared to be sealed.

He deactivated the force shield harness, let me get off his lap, then set his attention on the holographic hud, and proceeded to shut down several critical systems.

Where are we? Are we stranded?

The alien stood up and flipped open a panel on the wall to release a squadron of tiny beetle-like drones that skittered from the corners of the floor.

I eeped when they got too close, then connected the dots that they were programmed to repair the ship.

"Ja'lb," he commanded and waved for me to follow him.

I didn't want to, but at this point everywhere else was a deathtrap and at the bare minimum, he'd demonstrated an inclination to keep me alive.

Like the bridge, the rest of the spacecraft was in disarray.

He led the way into the main engineering chamber and began typing on a console connected to a large machine built into the wall. The engine was dormant and there were a dozen differently colored repair drones tinkering with the contraption.

A small door slid up on the machine next to him, and inside sat a cubby holding a black cylinder. He took the object, then he collected several tools and grunted in his clicking language for me to join him in the bedroom.

There, he gathered a satchel for the various tools and equipment in his arms then retrieved a folded stack of black and white spotted clothing.

"For me?" I was startled when he thrust the clothing into my hands.

It was a matching set of seal skin, pants, jacket, and boots. I spread them out on the bed and switched out my jogging shorts with the garish pants. They were form-fitting but way too long. I stood five-foot-three and whoever the original owner was, they had to be at least six-foot-tall.

Did these belong to someone else he kidnapped and did who-knows-what-else-too before me?

The alien pushed me on the bed and raised my legs over the edge then unsheathed a soberingly sharp katana from his belt to deftly slice off the excess leather around my ankles. He repeated the fitting process with the jacket's long sleeves.

The boots were large as well, but they could only be secured by padding the toes with bundled leather scraps and wrapping my feet in additional bandages.

Once packed, we exited the craft. It was nighttime, I think. At least it was dark under the dense forest canopy.

My alien captor led me along an external inspection of his ship. The drones were busy, and it was impossible to keep up with him when he leaped up the giant vines coiling around the crash site.