Nate had finally managed to get away from the orphanage where he'd been stuck since the age of 4, ever since his parents had been killed in an accident at a Spaceport on the colony where they had lived. Things hadn't been good there, the place was not only underfunded but the staff clearly had a disdain for children. And after 12 years Nate couldn't take it anymore. The escape had been rather meticulously planned, he knew exactly what time the staff did their rounds to check on people, he knew exactly when and where they were all the time. Then finally his opportunity had come. With a single backpack that contained all of his few possessions he had snuck through the hidden nooks and crannies in the building, past the gaps in the building scanners and out of the grounds. From there he had made a dash straight for the spaceport, desperate to get as far away from the orphanage as possible, even if it meant sneaking halfway across the galaxy before anyone realized he was gone. Unfortunately, he had no actual money to purchase a ticket off world, so he'd had no choice but to use his hastily developed sneaking skills once again to get into the spaceport and identify the least guarded ship that he could, getting past the security guards and technicians prepping the ship for launch. He knew there would be a check of the ship after it was sealed, so that left him with only one choice of hiding spot, an Escape Pod.
He strapped himself in just in time, the ship shaking violently only minutes after he had gotten himself in place. This was the first time he'd ever been on a launching ship, it was rougher than he had expected. But still, he was finally getting away. Away from everything to start a new life somewhere else!
Several hours later, the ship had safely jumped to hyperspace, though there was a bit of turbulence. As much as he would've liked to explore, Nate knew he couldn't go exploring the ship. If he was caught then either the ship would turn around and take him back, or he'd be arrested and shipped back as soon as they arrived at whatever the ship's destination was. If it meant staying away, he was happy to sit safely in an escape pod for a few more hours.
Unfortunately though, fate seemed to have other ideas. Suddenly the ship rocked as it hit a particularly nasty jolt of hyperspace turbulence, not such an unusual event in itself. However, the jolt seemed to trigger something, alarms beginning to sound around the escape pod. "H-huh? What?!" Nate sat up, about to try and scramble for the controls, but he was too late. With one final alarm, the escape pod suddenly jettisoned, being launched into hyperspace blindly.
When the pod slammed into the side of the hyperspace tunnel, the ship rocked violently before being forcefully ejected into normal space above an uncharted planet, the pod hurtling straight towards it.
The escape pod streaked across the sky in a bright fireball, uncontrolled beyond the computers desperate attempts to gain some control, before violently smashing through several trees. The crash had damaged the pod, cracking it open, destroying the engines and communication systems and knocking Nate unconscious, alone on this unknown alien planet.<|im_end|>
The sky above the forest was growing dark - but despite this and the general thickness of the brush, the distant orange glow of the crash site was all too visible. It was a miracle that no fire had escaped the ravished area, but the risk was still present. "You saw it too, didn't you?" Sally asked. She knew full well she wasn't alone in her darkened wood-paneled office, but she didn't turn her gaze from her telescope aiming out the open window.
"Of course. It'd be hard not to," her visitor replied in a sensual tone. She was veiled in shadows, the area she felt most comfortable in. "Felt it too... whatever it was, it hit the ground hard... and no doubt 'you know who' will be snooping as usual. I came by in advance, I thought you'd want me to investigate."
Sally nodded to herself. "You thought right. Eggman will no doubt want to find out what just crashed out there and if it's something useful then you can bet I don't want him finding it. So, get out there and..." Sally turned, only to realize she was alone again. Sighing, the brunette fixed her hair. This one was a stealth specialist for good reason.
With deliberate silence and skill, the winged woman made her way through the forested realm outside the rebel camp. Along the branches, through the bush, without raising a noise. When she reached the deep trench and crater carved in the earth by the ship, the winged woman realized she had thankfully arrived here first. She landed neatly on her high heels, sauntered over to the crushed and damaged pod. It took only a little strength on her end to tear the ruined door off its flimsy hinges.
Down it went with a clatter, and the young man would awake to see an abat-like woman looking down on him.
"Well now," she purred. "What do we have here?"<|im_end|>