"Approaching destination, Captain," sounded a familiar mechanical voice.
Taiji quickly got out of bed, put on his armor, and quickly walked towards the cockpit. He sat in his chair and took control of piloting the ship.
The planet looked exactly as it did on the holoscreen. Massive jungles, forests, and mountains covered the entire surface of the planet. The only good landing site was on top of the tallest mountain on the planet. Its top was completely devoid of any trees. Taiji slowly piloted the ship towards the site while pressing control buttons to lower the power of his thrusters. The ship slowly lowered while thrusters pushed the dirt and grass into the air. Taiji pressed a few buttons on the control console as the ship landed. On the far right of the long silver-coated console was a red button. In front of it was a small metallic plate with the words "Security System" engraved in small black letters.
Taiji pressed the button and said to the ship, "Engage maximum security protocol. Nobody comes near the ship. Permission to kill granted."
"Understood, Captain," responded the mechanical voice.
Taiji exited the ship and stepped onto the green grass. The rain quickly soaked his hair. His clothes were waterproof, so he didn't have to worry about the minor inconvenience of them constantly sticking to his skin.
He slowly walked down the mountain, careful not to trip on the rocks. The slope was steep, and the stones beneath his feet were small and unpredictable. It took him a few hours to reach the bottom of the mountain, and by that time, the sun had already begun setting. He ventured into the forest encircling the mountain, hoping to find shelter before the sun fully set.
He walked for a bit, the sky getting darker by the minute. But he was lucky. In the distance, he spotted a lone cabin made up entirely out of wood. "Finally." he thought to himself. He started walking faster, his goal for the night in sight.
He soon reached the cabin and opened the wooden door. The wooden floor creaked with every step. Inside was a couch made out of leather, a fireplace and wood logs stacked beside it. On the bricks above the fireplace was a box of matches and a few candles. The room right next to it was a bedroom. A big king-sized bed was right next to a small window. On the nightstand were a couple of candles. He opened the drawers and found some empty pieces of paper and a pen. He took the paper and walked towards the fireplace.
He put the logs in the fireplace and used the paper and matches to light the logs on fire. The room lit up, revealing a small hatch in the floor, near the couch. He didn't want to check it out tonight. He was getting tired, so he pushed the couch over the hatch just in case. His stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. He quickly pulled out a small bar from his armor's pouch and began eating it. His face grimaced in disgust. He never liked eating nutri-bars. They tasted like dirt and wood. He only took them because they couldn't spoil and had very high nutritional value. They were mainly used by the military but were also available to the public, though nobody ate them due to their bad taste.
When he finished eating his nutri-bar, he walked towards the bedroom and sat on the edge. He took out his weapons from their holsters and set them down on the floor. He left his blade on the nightstand as well as his pistol. The wind howled while the rain loudly fell on the window and roof. He actually enjoyed sleeping while it was raining. It calmed him, helped him forget all his problems. He laid down in the bed, enjoying the rain for a bit before he fell asleep.
A streak of sunlight lit up his face. It went directly into his eyes and woke him up quickly. He slowly got up and started eating another nutri-bar. He thought he would have gotten used to the taste already, but it still tasted like dirt and wood. He ate it slowly, trying not to gag with every bite. When he finished eating, he felt better. The nutrients from the bar had already started giving him energy and helping his body recover. The fireplace and candles had already burned out, so he just took his weapons, put them in their holsters and walked out towards the nearest settlement.
He connected his wrist screen to the ship and started scanning for life signs and buildings. His screen beeped softly. He looked at it and saw a small settlement made out of 15 houses with a total population of around 30. It was a few hours' walk away, so he started walking in that direction. The scans said there were no other life forms nearby so the journey should be safe.
On his way he passed by a few caves, small rivers, ponds and natural shelters. There was no sign of any recent life in that area. For a planet that was supposed to have a lot of wildlife, it was weird that there were no signs of them recently. While he was curious why that was, he didn't mind the lack of them. They weren't his enemy.
As he reached the settlement, he was surprised. It looked much bigger than it seemed on the scans. All the buildings had at least 2 floors with no windows and a single wooden door on one wall. They were made so that they encircle a small well in the middle of the town. All the doors were facing the well. Taiji didn't see any people. "They are probably hiding"- he thought to himself. But the curious design of the town and the well intrigued him. He walked towards it, still looking around. He was getting an eerie vibe from the well and the town. As he reached the well, he looked inside. The water was near the top and he couldn't see the bottom. But something was making him come closer. His nose almost touched the water when a mysterious force pulled him down into the well.
He was getting pulled down at high speed. The well seemed to go on forever. But the moment that thought reached his mind, he began falling. A free fall, together with the water from the well. It was dark, but he caught a glimpse of stalagmites and stalactites on the edges. He knew he was in a cave. As he reached the midway point between the ground and the well, he saw a temple. He didn't get a good look at it since it was dark, but he was sure of what it was. A few moments after he hit the ground hard and lost consciousness.