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Description
The small craft slammed into the ground with an ear shattering roar, sending sand, rocks and dune fruit exploding in all directions. Debris showering all around him Soorn dropped his trowel and sprinted for the cover of the surrounding trees. He watched in horror as the metal object dug a massive furrow in the ground for nearly a hundred yards before it came to a jarring stop at the edge of the field. The blast still ringing in his ears Soorn crept back into the open, his caution quickly becoming concern as he realized there might be people in the crash. The ship design was not Jssfloon.  That was readily apparent as he ran towards the steaming vessel.  Jssfloon was a vacation planet but the little agricultural island of Nool rarely received off-world visitors.  Tourists and businessmen usually arrived at the massive starport on the largest island of Filniss, nearly a hundred miles to the east. For some reason this little craft was far off course...and now clearly damaged.

He reached the crater that had moments ago been flat ground, growing rows of healthy plants. Even as he searched the craft for an opening he realized he had just lost over half of his yearly crop. But that didn't matter now. Anyone who had been in a crash like this at the very least must be stunned. He gingerly touched the surface and the metal had thankfully cooled already. He found the seams of a hatch with a small plasteel window. Ominous flickering light could be seen inside Fire.  There was a control box near the hatch but the panels were labeled in a language he had never seen before.  With an upper hand he stabbed frantically at it hoping he would quickly come upon the right sequence. The manic method paid off. In moments there was a grating screech of tortured metal as the door slid to the side, coming to a jerky halt halfway open as it caught in it's dented frame. Soorn coughed as smoke and chemical fumes billowed from the opening.

"Hello?" He called.

There was no reply.

He had to go in. If there was anyone inside they needed help. He turned his head away pulling in a deep breath of fresh air and holding it. Jsslfoon could hod their breath for a good forty minutes. He shut his nostril slits tight and slid his clear, second lid over his eyes.  They protected his eyes under water, they could protect them here too.  Without another moment of hesitation he slipped inside.

The craft was small, barely larger than the family room in his home.  Tangles of sparking wires hung dangerously from the ceiling.  A console was afire, torn from it's place and laying on the floor like a broken mushroom. If there had been lights they were dark now. Some sort of coolant billowed in rushing clouds from near the back of the room.  For a brief moment he prayed that it was some sort of unmanned probe, perhaps a weather monitor or some other automatic device because, by the Colors he hoped no one was in there.  But the thought was fleeting. There on the floor, barely visible through the chemical haze was a small crumpled figure.

Soorn moved to it in an instant. The creature was a good deal smaller than himself with four limbs, one of which looked badly mangled. A sticky red substance covered the left side of it's head and torso and pooled on the floor beneath it.  It may not have been purple but Soorn was sure it was blood. It wasn't moving. There was no flicker of pain on it's face, it wasn't calling for help, he couldn't even see any signs of breathing. It had to be dead.  By the look of the poor broken thing he almost hoped it was dead.  But he couldn't take that chance. If it was alive he wanted to help it and he wasn't about to stay in this burning ship to learn how to take this alien's pulse.  As carefully as he possibly could he slipped both right arms under it's back and lifted it's legs with his left. Despite the flames around him he straightened up slowly so as not to jar the battered creature. It was as limp as kelp in his arms.

To Soorn's surprise it's lips moved. It was slight, almost imperceptible in the haze but it was there. His ears hadn't picked up the word, but his translator had.  "Dad?"

His hearts tied themselves into knots.  It was alive.  And it was a child....

.....

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Description
The small craft slammed into the ground with an ear shattering roar, sending sand, rocks and dune fruit exploding in all directions. Debris showering all around him Soorn dropped his trowel and sprinted for the cover of the surrounding trees. He watched in horror as the metal object dug a massive furrow in the ground for nearly a hundred yards before it came to a jarring stop at the edge of the field. The blast still ringing in his ears Soorn crept back into the open, his caution quickly becoming concern as he realized there might be people in the crash. The ship design was not Jssfloon.  That was readily apparent as he ran towards the steaming vessel.  Jssfloon was a vacation planet but the little agricultural island of Nool rarely received off-world visitors.  Tourists and businessmen usually arrived at the massive starport on the largest island of Filniss, nearly a hundred miles to the east. For some reason this little craft was far off course...and now clearly damaged.

He reached the crater that had moments ago been flat ground, growing rows of healthy plants. Even as he searched the craft for an opening he realized he had just lost over half of his yearly crop. But that didn't matter now. Anyone who had been in a crash like this at the very least must be stunned. He gingerly touched the surface and the metal had thankfully cooled already. He found the seams of a hatch with a small plasteel window. Ominous flickering light could be seen inside Fire.  There was a control box near the hatch but the panels were labeled in a language he had never seen before.  With an upper hand he stabbed frantically at it hoping he would quickly come upon the right sequence. The manic method paid off. In moments there was a grating screech of tortured metal as the door slid to the side, coming to a jerky halt halfway open as it caught in it's dented frame. Soorn coughed as smoke and chemical fumes billowed from the opening.

"Hello?" He called.

There was no reply.

He had to go in. If there was anyone inside they needed help. He turned his head away pulling in a deep breath of fresh air and holding it. Jsslfoon could hod their breath for a good forty minutes. He shut his nostril slits tight and slid his clear, second lid over his eyes.  They protected his eyes under water, they could protect them here too.  Without another moment of hesitation he slipped inside.

The craft was small, barely larger than the family room in his home.  Tangles of sparking wires hung dangerously from the ceiling.  A console was afire, torn from it's place and laying on the floor like a broken mushroom. If there had been lights they were dark now. Some sort of coolant billowed in rushing clouds from near the back of the room.  For a brief moment he prayed that it was some sort of unmanned probe, perhaps a weather monitor or some other automatic device because, by the Colors he hoped no one was in there.  But the thought was fleeting. There on the floor, barely visible through the chemical haze was a small crumpled figure.

Soorn moved to it in an instant. The creature was a good deal smaller than himself with four limbs, one of which looked badly mangled. A sticky red substance covered the left side of it's head and torso and pooled on the floor beneath it.  It may not have been purple but Soorn was sure it was blood. It wasn't moving. There was no flicker of pain on it's face, it wasn't calling for help, he couldn't even see any signs of breathing. It had to be dead.  By the look of the poor broken thing he almost hoped it was dead.  But he couldn't take that chance. If it was alive he wanted to help it and he wasn't about to stay in this burning ship to learn how to take this alien's pulse.  As carefully as he possibly could he slipped both right arms under it's back and lifted it's legs with his left. Despite the flames around him he straightened up slowly so as not to jar the battered creature. It was as limp as kelp in his arms.

To Soorn's surprise it's lips moved. It was slight, almost imperceptible in the haze but it was there. His ears hadn't picked up the word, but his translator had.  "Dad?"

His hearts tied themselves into knots.  It was alive.  And it was a child....

.....

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