The Stars Called For Me

Chapter One - The Fall

Wind rushed through Lance's ears, ruffling his hair and muffling his screams. He wasn't afraid to scream - everyone screams when they're about to die, so why shouldn't he? Besides, his head hurt like a son of bitch, and he needed something to focus on other than the words floating around his mind - why not focus on his imminent death?

Yeah, that sounded good.

The clouds gave way to an almost pink beach. Sand glittered up at him, and he almost whooped in joy - where there were beaches, there was ocean. He started to aim for the water, leaning towards it with precision and care. He was faintly aware of figures on the beach below him, but all he cared about was landing in the water.

If he landed in the water, he had a chance. Maybe his lion could protect him, being the guardian of water and all. He said a quick prayer as the water grew in his sights, and then he was submerged, and he was alive. Holy shit, he was alive!

He kicked his legs powerfully and made his way to the surface, grinning like an idiot the whole time. It wasn't the first time he had survived planetfall (he was sure there was a better name for it that "planetfall", but his name for it sounded cooler), but he was stoked anyway.

Upon breaking the surface, Lance saw three things in this order: first, he saw the sky. It was big and blue and beautiful, just like home. Second, he saw the beach. It was clear and silent but shimmering as the sunlight reflected off the wet sand. Third, he saw three figured coming at him from above. They all held weapons of some sort, and they were all aimed at him.

Aspear, a whip and two gauntlets. Lance gasped and dove back under the water, summoning his Bayard. It appeared in his hands, but he didn't turn it into his blaster just yet, simply dropped it to the ocean floor. It sank quickly for something so small, but Lance had bigger things to worry about. Namely, the three attackers on his metaphorical tail.

Oneof the figures grabbed at him, ready to punch. He squirmed but couldn't escape their grasp, so he simply ducked when the punch came. He was glad he did, since the water almost seemed hotter where the gauntlet had been. He couldn't imagine getting a punch like that.

"Please, don't hurt me," he tried to yell, but with the water, nobody could hear him. If he could turn on the speakers, maybe he could talk to them without taking his helmet off...

Unfortunately, he was in the midst of battle with three unidentified life forms. God, why was it always him?

Lance growled and kicked the gauntlet bearer in the stomach, then kicked to the surface when he was released. He activated his jetpack, then flew up to the clouds he had fallen threw only minutes ago.

"Get back here!" one of the creatures, a pale, lanky woman with a rock in her head had jumped up to him, swinging her spear. Lance only frowned and flew higher, consulting the holoscreen from his suit. It couldn't seem to locate him, so no chance for an immediate evac.

"How about we do this civilly? Let's talk, not fight," Lance flew lower so she could hear him, but she was already falling back to the surface. She was back in a moment, though, and Lance repeated himself to her. She seemed to contemplate it as she fell, but she had an answer when she jumped back up to him.

"Meet us on the beach, and we can talk," she offered, seeming very reluctant. Lance shrugged to himself, accepting it. He had just fallen to her planet, after all. She was hardly the one at fault here.

"Got it," Lance said, already falling towards the beach. Perhaps talking would solve his problems, or at the very least, give him some clue as to where he was. Little did he know the answers would change the known universe forever.