ALiEN

Onboard The Pitiful

Iris

I should have taken offense to my scarcely disguised exile. 'Discover new worlds' Jamin, First Ernint of the Council had said, what he silently meant to add was 'And don't come back from them'. I'm not offended though, I take it somewhat as a compliment. The council knew with my forms of persuasion and the people's love, I could have taken over and ruled them all. It had been the plan after all. I was trying to get the considerably small population of Ernin, my home planet, to think for themselves. A task that probably would have been possible, difficult, but possible had the council not taken notice.

The way Ernin has always been run, since anyone can remember, is that there's always been a council of sixteen grumpy, old men to rule us all. The whole of Ernin works as something of a hired army for the highest bidding other planet. It's what we do, and we do it well. None of the sixteen graying men go into battle, and as far as we know, they've never have had to. They are therefore the outcasts of the planet, and I had been planning on using that to bring them down and start the reign of Overlord Iris. It didn't quite pan out that way, though.

A violent jolt wrenched me out of my reminiscence, as the space craft was dragged from one planet's gravitational pull to another. I lost my footing, instantly grabbing the steering wheel, dragging myself up, leaning on it's weight. I had lost control of the wheel a while back, of course the ship had been sabotaged.

I will probably sail through the stars forever. If said in a different context, it almost sounds poetic. I chuckle direly at that, poetry and romance were strictly banned in Ernin, not that I minded. There were a few exceptions, poems that tell of gore and death are generally permitted. I whisper a few lines to myself, tucking my body away beneath the steering wheel, the only protection I can find to keep still. I'm careful to stay as scrunched up to the wall as I can, having no desire to be flung around the tiny space shuttle, as it whizzes through the atmosphere of an upcoming planet.

I ignore the screeching of metal, as dents shower the sides of my pathetic ship, which I've dubbed The Pitiful. I glance nervously at the windows, hoping the glass will resist the rock shower, as the pressure builds. It chooses then to shatter, I tak a deep breath before completely blacking out.

...

"... Miss... alright?...ambulance... hear me?"

Consciousness crashed upon me with blaring lights and muffled voices.

"Miss? Miss!"

"Mmmphiiiiinnnne."

My efforts of communication seemed wasted on the confused man, who towered over me, eyeing the metal wreck cautiously. He hastilly pulled out a metal contraption, and pushed several tiny buttons, causing a small screen to light up, placing it by his ear.

"Stop right there!" I snapped to attention, shoving myself out of the rubble that once was The Pitiful, snatching the man's possibly dangerous device. I studied it for a moment, before turning on my heel and marching off, I needed to learn the layout of the land, the culture, and possibly the language, though the first person I've come into contact with seemed to know what 'stop' meant. The man now dogged my footsteps like a confused puppy. I deemed it too dangerous to return his contraption of buttons to him, and chose flight over fight, I have to little knowledge of his species to attack him with the one hundred percent certainty I would win. He seems slow, though, he's now racing after me. Or racing after his little metal box, which I stashed in my pocket for later dissection.

Time to explore.