FSE

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Blackness and nothingness was all that he could sense. The small arctic fox was only brought to his dazed senses by a persistent droning sound.

Opening his eyes, Yukiomaru could not see anything clearly. There was only a dull red light among the darkness. The dull light only made the droning sound worse, and his head throb in pain. He realized that there was no sound, and the droning was coming from his own ears caused by a concussion.

Yukiomaru kept his eyes closed and brought his armored glove to his head but his glove only met his helmet. He couldn't try to soothe the pain away.

The arctic fox thought back trying to remember the last thing he could. He was flying off from Canidera so that his stresses wouldn't continue to worry his best friend. What happened after that? There was some disturbance, some sort of electrical storm that he might have flown through but was that all a dream? Caused by the concussion? Or did he really fly into some space anomaly? He didn't want to believe he could have been so reckless.

Opening his eyes again, Yukiomaru's vision was a little clearer. Enough to see his control panels having severe fracture lines through them. The singe red light still functional in the ship sparked and was dying. The frame around the cockpit was bent and warped, having only stopped alarmingly close to crushing the little fox. The blast shield was warped, and the windshield had large chunks of it smashed in with glass shards floating around him.

The ship was compromised! There was no atmosphere. Yukiomaru was surviving on his armor's life support systems and that would not last long. Yukiomaru knew he was lucky to be alive but he wasn't out of the danger yet.

With his daze fading, Yukiomaru looked around the ruined cockpit. The connecting passage to the back of the ship was collapsed too a point that would be impossible for Yukiomaru to crawl through. Every control panel was destroyed, screens shattered and hard drives fried. His ship wouldn't help him figure out where he was or what he crashed into.

Yukiomaru tried to unfasten himself from the pilot seat to find that the release was damaged as well. He strained against the fastened belt across his torso but it only brought a large amount of dull pain. His body had suffered greatly in the crash as he could feel several bruises, even on his bones. He would be surprised if none of them were broken.

The arctic fox was armored up though and fully armed. He reached down to his thigh and pulled out a small cylinder tube. With the touch of his grip, the cylinder expanded to nearly a meter and half long with a bladed ended that glowed slightly blue. He jabbed the glowing end into the release of the seat belt, and it snapped the release in half unfastening Yukiomaru from the seat.

Floating in the depths of space, Yukiomaru tried to look outside through the smashed windshield. All he saw was blackness, not even any stars were seen but his view of outside was severely limited by the angle of the smashed windshield and the blast shield.

Checking his instruments again, Yukiomaru confirmed that they were not working. He'd have to go outside and hope that he didn't crash into an asteroid. Once he's outside, he'd be able to survey the damage and try to get access to the emergency beacon in the back of the ship.

On the top level of the cockpit was an emergency hatch, normally used for maintenance in case the hull was damaged or compromised in some way but this was a true emergency. Yukiomaru reached for it and pulled the lever. It didn't budge. The hatch was warped, just as the rest of the cockpit frame. Frustrated, Yukiomaru brought the spear up to the hinges of the hatch and sliced through them, melting the metal as if it were butter.

The metal cooled quickly though so when Yukiomaru tried to push the hatch open again, it still resisted. Yukiomaru wouldn't let it cool any more and re-solidify. He leaned back, almost upside down in the cockpit now with the hatch above him. With a swift kick, the hatch popped open and flung away from the ship. He now had enough space to go through the hatch.

Straightening himself up again so that Yukiomaru could climb out head first, he reached for the edge of the hatch. Spear in paw, the spear was the first to exit the ship as he gripped the edges of the hatch. Yukiomaru pulled himself up toward the stars, but the small movements caused his body to ache. His ribs in particularly flared up but he didn't bother glance down to see if he had suffered a major hit there as he tried to just get out of the ship. He'd have time later to examine his own injuries. Going slow to not upset his injuries further, Yukiomaru finally pulled himself free from the ship.

Yukiomaru looked above him at the stars, not recognizing the constellations from any of his travels. Even though he had thousands to remember, these stars were still very different. Yukiomaru looked down toward the end of the ship to see it had crashed into some black metal, causing quite the dent in it. The metal was smooth, undetectable... created.

The arctic fox's fur tried to rise in his armor as he came to realize that. Resting on top of the hatch, he realized he was vulnerable to a possible threat. He maneuvered himself over the crashed ship and lowered himself to the ground, unsure if it was really there. The moment his boots made contact, they kept him secured there, but before Yukiomaru could raise his gaze from the ground, from the corner of his vision he saw something else among the dark surface.

Raising his gaze slowly, he saw the boots of several armored beings. His heart raced as he looked at them, and noticed that they had weapons trained on him.

Who are they? Yukiomaru didn't try to let the thousand questions flooding his mind distract him. He gripped his spear tightly, wary of the armored creatures in front of him. Standing straight made his ribs ache, causing him to breath heavier but he ignored it. He turned his shoulder to the creatures, giving them a smaller target and adjusting his hindpaws so that he could jump out of the way if they did decide to fire on him.

They look almost like Caniderans, but no ship like this has this type of technology. They're too small to be Guardians, and their anatomy is far different from that of a Stealth or the other aliens Yukiomaru had fought alongside with before. Most definitely not Velmarians either. These were new aliens, and Yukiomaru had just crashed into their ship.

He has dealt with new aliens before, but he couldn't tell if they were hostile or not. With those weapons aimed right for him, Yukiomaru didn't dare let loose his spear though and he stared at the other creatures, waiting for them to make the first move, either by lowering their weapons or by proving their hostility.

The aliens seemed to be communicating with each other, their armored helmets occasionally glancing toward another but they all kept their gaze primarily on the arctic fox.

One of them eventually lowered the rifle it held, and raised his paws to his armored head as if it was suffering from a migraine. Was it Yukiomaru's presence that disturbed the creature so much? Would they perceive him as a threat then?

Another lowered his rifle, the leader from the look of it and started messing with some controls on his armor. Yukiomaru relaxed slightly that they lowered their weapons but he was far from letting his guard down. His armor alerted him that they were scanning him; they were probably trying to establish some sort of communication link.

The moment Yukiomaru received that message, the first creature to have lowered its weapon stepped forward toward the leader. The sudden movement caused Yukiomaru to tense up, constricting his muscles, which again made his ribs hurt and his breathing become labored again.

What were they doing? The creatures were obviously communicating with each other, seeming to be in some sort of disagreement. It took a few seconds before the leader stepped aside, and allowed the first to lower its weapon surrendered it to one of its fellow soldiers before taking a step forward.

With the weapon vacant from his armored gloves, Yukiomaru knew it wasn't a challenge and remained still as the creature approached him. The creature took step by step, but was uncomfortably close to the arctic fox. If the soldier had a melee weapon then he was close enough to use it now; maybe the dismissal of his weapon was to lure Yukiomaru in a false sense of security.

"I know you can hear me, and I hope you can understand me."

The voice was transmitted into Yukiomaru's speakers. It even wasn't heavy with an accent. The arctic fox's eyes widened, completely stunned and confused on how the creature was speaking the same language as him. Did this creature's race study them before? Were they really some Caniderans that were lost? Or adapted some alien technology? How long ago did he crash?

"Something about you tells me that you're not a threat to us."

Maybe they aren't hostile, and just defensive like the arctic fox.

"If you're not then we certainly aren't a threat to you either. I know what you might be feeling right now; I would be terrified. But if you show us that you're not here to attempt against our peace, we will be more than glad to help you."

Yukiomaru realized that they wanted him to show the first sign of dropping his defense. It only made him tense up as his eyes flickered back to the rest of the team, many of which still had their guns aimed on him. Tensing up however sharpened the pain again and he started to pant for the difficulty of breathing.

"Know that you're in our territory," continued the creature's calm voice. "If we are point at you with our weapons, its because we need to defend ourselves. At no point are we trying to be hostile with you just because. Please, if you understand me and you need help, give us a sign."

What the creature said was truth, that they would need to defend themselves. Yukiomaru continued to pant. In his weakened condition, he didn't want to show any sign of it though. They were asking if he needed help, and although he was injured, would he be able to accept help from an unknown alien race? The only thing Yukiomaru needed was a way back home.

Reluctantly, Yukiomaru took his gaze off the soldier team and glanced back at his ship. The damage was severe and there was no way he could repair it all himself before his suit's life support systems failed to keep him alive.

"Please, don't be afraid." Yukiomaru turned his gaze back to the soldiers. "We mean no harm if you show that you're not a menace to us."

They really could not trust Yukiomaru as long as he was armed. They had to understand that he was defending himself too. Looking past the armored soldier, he saw that he wasn't really given an option in the matter.

The armored creature nearby extended an open grip toward Yukiomaru, in a friendly gesture. "You need our help... We can provide you with it."

They were not outright hostile, and Yukiomaru didn't have much of a choice. This armored soldier was straightforward with him and direct. His words were true: Yukiomaru did need help, and they are defending themselves from an invader that damaged their ship. The simple gesture of extending an open paw also made Yukiomaru sense that their intentions weren't hidden. That they really were trying to defend themselves but had no malice in them.

Yukiomaru loosened his grip on the spear and released it into the vacuum of nothingness. He also unfastened his pistol holster form his belt and let it float off as well. He turned to gaze at the unrevealing helmet of the creature, deciding to trust it. He reached a paw and returned the gesture by taking the creature's paw into his own.

The other soldiers lowered their weapons at the sign of the contact and they seemed to discuss among themselves a little bit more before a ship, smaller than the one Yuki crashed, approach them. It wasn't a sleek fighter, but a bulk transport ship. The other soldiers scattered around it while it landed. A couple entered the ship while the others waited outside.

The creature that held onto Yukiomaru's armored glove gestured for the ship. Yukiomaru was reluctant but still agreed and followed the creature toward the ship. Just before entering, Yukiomaru stopped and looked back at his crashed ship, feeling a heavy weight on his chest.

How will I get home?

With a slight tug on Yukiomaru's paw, he saw the creature gesture for him to enter the ship. It wasn't an urgent gesture, but one of that they should go. There's nothing left of that ship to be had. Inside the ship was dark, lit by only a few lights. While those soldiers that already entered were standing nearby, the soldier that led Yukiomaru onto the ship sat in one of the seats and gestured for Yukiomaru to sit next to him. The arctic fox obliged, and witnessed the rest of the team entering the ship as he sat down.

In an alien ship, Yukiomaru started to grow a little concerned as the door closed. He was completely at their mercy. The arctic fox glanced briefly up at the soldier that had made contact with him to find that it was staring back at him. Most of them stared at him, but he could sense in their body language that they weren't concerned about him but more curious. No one held onto their weapons anymore, and were simply staring.

Maybe they can be trusted.