Having been born and raised in the sterile environment of a travel base, I couldn't wait to explore my first planet.
My birthsource said that the dominant species was a midvanced bipedal creature. I wasn't sure if I was going to like that form, most of its body was bald. And those legs were so ungainly.
"Couldn't I go as one of the less advanced creatures?" I asked unhappily.
My birthsource gave me an exasperated look. "No. You'll want to communicate with them, and they haven't developed interspecies communication yet."
Disappointed, I stepped into the transformation room. When I awoke, I had the weirdest feeling. It was as if I had become a million times more sensitive to my environment somehow.
I knew this was impossible. The operation only changed my outward appearance, not my DNA. But I still felt it.
After I made sure my emergency beacon, auto translator, and communication button were functional, I stepped into the Relocator.
A few seconds later, I found myself amongst large, four legged creatures. "Mrooooooo!" their leader greeted me. I responded with my own greeting, then lowered my hairless body onto the soft vegetation.
I laid there under the warm light from the planet's star for a while, then made my way to the nearest structure.
I saw more four legged creatures, of various species. I double checked that my translator was functional for the dominant species, then walked up to the entrance of the largest structure.
Inside, I could hear another creature like the first I had encountered. But this one was an infant. I also heard a low humming.
I walked in, and saw what I had been told was a human. My first contact with a dominant species!
His eyes widened. He gently put the four legged creature aside, and used his appendages to rise.
"Where did you come from? Let's get you up to the house, and find you some clothes."
He stretched out his top appendage, and gently grasped the end of mine. "It's alright. Come with me, we'll figure out where you belong."
I followed, glad that I was being accepted so far. After we were inside the smaller structure, the creature sat me on a large, soft object.
"Grace! A boy just walked into the barn, and he doesn't have a stitch of clothes on!!"
Another creature walked in, and covered her face. Somehow I knew this one was female.
"Oh, my! I'll get some towels for now, but he's going to need a shirt and a pair of pants! Where did I put my needle and thread?"
To be continued!
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery