Binary Star

Chapter Two: Encounter

Chapter Two: Encounter

When I opened my eyes, it took a few moments and a lot of blinking before my blurry vision finally clicked back into clarity. All of my senses were bombarded at once. For the first time in years, I stood on real, solid ground. Granted, it was more of a thick, stony gray mixture, but it was the surface of a planet nonetheless. I looked up. The darkness of the night sky dominated the heavens, and with the splay of stars dimly illuminating the firmament, it didn't look much different than looking outside the windows of the S.S. Lillium, save for a few stray clouds here and there.

Despite the S.S. Lillium being in Earth's orbit, I couldn't see it at all. All I could see were stars and clouds. I couldn't remember the last time I had looked up and actually seen the real sky, nighttime or otherwise. I took a few short, diligent breaths, sucking in the alien air. I could breathe just fine, but it reeked of industrial chemicals. The first breaths I sucked in burned my lungs before I gradually adjusted to it.

But there was one thing that conquered the landscape above all else, and that was the city. Calling it a 'city' would be an understatement. It was gargantuan. Tall buildings pierced the sky, bigger than anything else I ever recalled on my home planet. Even structures that wouldn't be considered massive by Earth standards were gigantic to me. The sheer size and scale of my surroundings overwhelmed me. It was difficult to properly take it all in. So this is Tokyo, I thought. What a strange place.

I reached into my steel pack and took out my holographic tablet. I pulled up a map displaying directions to Tokyo Denki University, my new place of residence. I wasted no time getting on my way. My tiny metallic boots clattered across the stony ground as I raced through the night, sneaking through the shadows and slipping in and out of pools of pale moonlight. There were some humans out on the streets, but they were shrouded in darkness and far away from me. I expected it to be a lot busier. I wasn't sure how Earth time worked yet, but it must have been very late. Either that, or this just happened to be a relatively tranquil part of town. I heard loud noises in the distance, the sounds of running machines and the cries of native animals.

As of right now, my current mission was to make it to the university and establish contact with the Earthian I had been paired up with. I still wasn't sure about him. Jinnai Kobayashi didn't look like the type of human the council would choose, but I highly doubted that they simply chose people at random. They must have seen something in him for them to select him, and to pair him up with me, no less.

It took a while, but I eventually made it to Tokyo Denki University. The building was lined with glass. It wasn't as tall as the other gigantic buildings, but it was large enough for me to get lost in. I took another peek at my tablet. Room 707 was where I needed to go. I climbed up the front steps and approached the glass doors. I pushed against one of them, but it would not budge.

I tried slamming into it and pressing all of my weight against it. Nothing. I even shoved my back into it and laid down to push it with my feet. No difference. This wasn't working. I could push all night, but I wouldn't be getting in through the front doors. I needed to take a different route.

I ran around to the right side of the building, feeling along the walls for any drains or air shafts I could enter. Where did these humans keep their drainage and circulation systems anyway? While I clawed around, I froze up at an unnerving sound. A growl. Growling was never a good sign. I took low, shallow breaths. Kneeling as still as stone, I slowly reached into my pack, quietly drawing out my rifle. At least the council had been gracious enough to arm me with a weapon to defend myself. Lilliputian rifles would be considered toys by Earthian standards, but the bullets were fired at a much higher velocity and tipped in a paralyzing poison to deal more damage.