The Sky Fell
A messenger burst into the village, face flushed and voice booming. “Chief! Chief! Hongpa and Newkiki are fighting! Blood is everywhere—right now!”
“What? Where? I have to stop it immediately…”
“Honorable fights demand honorable judges! Chief, please step in and settle this! From what I see, Hongpa will win!”
“…”
I was the chief of the primitive tribe—some called me the chieftain. Let me tell you about our people. Until recently, they had survived by hunting and gathering. They chased mammoths through the forests and plucked wild fruits from the trees.
I was the first to teach them farming. I didn’t know much about agriculture, but the good news was that rice cultivation was simple enough for beginners compared to other crops. Thanks to that, the tribe managed to move from a hunter-gatherer society into an agrarian one.
It was still only a small step, like moving from the Stone Age to the Neolithic. They hadn’t truly evolved beyond primitive humans. But I had ambition. I dreamed of escaping this primitive world and living in an SF future city someday.
The reason was simple: to my eyes, the world around me looked far more advanced than the 21st century I had come from.
But how could I claim that?
There was no other way.
“Chief! Chief! Today is that day!”
“Yes. That day, huh?”
“Exactly! The day things fall from the sky!”
I looked up. The sky was the same deep blue as Earth, with white clouds drifting lazily. Nothing special about it. Just…
-Flash!
Something sparkled in the heavens, and a tiny dot appeared.
“It’s coming! Everyone, hide under the trees!”
“Waaaaaaa!!!”
The villagers scattered, diving beneath the trees. I did the same, carefully. I didn’t want to die. And then…
-BOOM! CRACK!
A deafening explosion shook the ground as a metal mass crashed down. The ball had a green button, covered in alien writing I couldn’t read. But even without understanding the symbols, I knew what that button meant. Because…
-Shiiick
Pressing the green button split the metal ball open, and all kinds of things spilled out.
The cargo was endless. Meat and canned fish, frying pans and pots and trays, electronic watches, books (unreadable), sticky notes, and portable televisions that ran on batteries. Every wonder of civilization raining down from the sky.
What surprised me most was this.
“Everyone, stop moving!”
“Why? Why, Chief?”
“All of these things are mine. Got it?”
“The chief is greedy!”
“But I’ll give you all the food.”
“The chief is a symbol of integrity.”
I picked up the watch.
The reason I realized this was an SF world was this watch. It wasn’t just a watch; it was a hologram. With the right manipulation, I could see star maps, cities of the Galactic Empire, photos and videos of the Emperor and other royals.
There was a reason I collected these watches.
With familiar hand movements, I operated the watch, and a woman popped out on the screen, pointing at herself.
[Mich]
A white woman pointing at herself and saying something incomprehensible.
Then she pointed to the person beside her.
[Du]
At first I was confused, but after watching a few times I understood what the video meant.
‘Arcadian language course.’
I didn’t know why the watch had fallen here, but it was clear the person who dropped it wanted to give information about Arcadian to whoever picked it up. Not just information—actual lessons.
This time she pointed to an apple.
[Apfel]
The woman bit into the apple. I knew what she would say next.
“I have eaten an apple.”
“Ich habe einen Apfel gegessen”
I and the woman on the screen said it at the same time. By now I was getting somewhat familiar with Arcadian. It was enough for basic communication when Arcadians arrived.
After two hours of beginner Arcadian lessons, the woman started showing the capital of Arcadia.
‘Wow…’
Arcadia was truly wonderful. From a modern person’s perspective, it was huge and impressive with its buildings and geometric designs. It was the SF future city I had imagined.
‘I want to go there…’
Since I had been reborn in a world with future civilization, I wanted to be born in that future civilization, not as a primitive person.
While studying Arcadian through the watch, I nurtured my dreams. One day I would go to the capital of the Galactic Empire and live without wanting for anything.
‘Well, it’s an impossible dream for now.’
Hahaha! Laughing loudly, the villagers glanced at me, shook their heads with that expression, and started opening cans and sharing the food. At first, some who had cut their hands multiple times because they didn’t know how to open them now became modern people thanks to me. But then…
“Eh?”
Someone froze.
“Chief, you should come over here.”
“What is it? Is there something you don’t know?”
“Yes.”
I sighed. I couldn’t help it. Even though I wasn’t a future person, as a modern person I had to pass on the wonders of civilization. Thinking that, I approached, and I was left in shock.
“This is…”
Because a woman in a flashy black military uniform with many medals was lying unconscious among the cargo.
“Chief! What is this?”
“It… looks like a person?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, Chief. People don’t have such white skin.”
Indeed. The woman in front of me had white skin. There were no white people on this planet.
‘Could it be…?’
The Galactic Empire had many races. Could this woman be from the Galactic Empire?
I checked the woman’s condition. She was breathing, though weakly.
“Kumpa! Bring some covering right away. So… if there’s any cloth or clothes among the cargo, bring all of them.”
“Understood!”
Soon Kumpa returned with some cloth scraps.
“Kumpa! This is a tablecloth… No, this will do.”
I covered the woman with the tablecloth and called another subordinate.
“Balibali. Go to the village and fetch a doctor.”
“What kind of doctor?”
“A shaman. A shaman.”
“Understood!”
This woman had to live. If she died, I would be in trouble.
After all, this woman was the human who would take me to the Galactic Empire.
Think about it. This woman was wearing a black military uniform. A black military uniform with many medals.
What did that mean? She must be an outstanding soldier who had achieved many merits.
So in the Galactic Empire army they would search for this woman, and when she returned home they might rub hands together and go to the Galactic Empire together.
I would save this woman, repay the favor, and definitely help her escape here!
With impure intentions, I moved the woman to the shade under the tree, lit a fire, and covered her with the tablecloth to maintain the temperature.
And around the time it got dark.
“Chief! It’s getting dark soon!”
“Yes. I should go home.”
“Let’s go quickly!”
“Wait.”
“What is it?”
“Kumpa. Can you carry this woman?”
“…Why should I?”
“Haa… Is it really too much for our tribe’s best warrior, Kumpa? Fine. I will carry her.”
“What nonsense! This frail woman is nothing! Put her on my broad back right now!”
It was fortunate that Kumpa had a simple personality. I placed the woman on Kumpa’s back and headed to the village.
When we arrived at the village.
I spent the whole day observing the woman’s condition in the hut. I didn’t want her to die.
I carefully examined her military uniform. It was exactly the same as the military uniforms worn by the Galactic Empire soldiers I had seen in the hologram.
However, there were too many medals. She looked like she was around 20 years old, but how could a young girl have achieved so many military merits?
I examined her face closely. She was so beautiful that it was unbelievable for a soldier. She looked like a noble or royal from somewhere…
‘Wait, a royal?’
Now that I thought about it, was there a woman like this among the royals in the hologram?
‘Eh, no way.’
It was said that faces of different races looked similar. Since I hadn’t been white before, maybe white faces looked similar.
‘If she’s a princess of the Galactic Empire, she’s a person from above the sky, how could she fall here with cargo?’
Thinking that, I took a water cloth made from cloth and wiped the woman’s face.
At that moment, the woman opened her eyes.
-Wing!
The woman took something from her pocket, pressed a button, and it instantly turned into a long lightsaber, a ray sword.
The woman swung the lightsaber horizontally, aiming at my neck. And the next moment… I barely survived by a hair. Because Kumpa grabbed my shoulder from behind and pulled me away. I let out a sigh of relief after barely dodging the lightsaber, and Kumpa exuded a fierce aura.
“Chief.”
“Thanks, Kumpa. Thanks to you, I…”
“The woman tried to kill the chief.”
“…”
The woman was pointing her lightsaber at us with a tense expression. Kumpa was surrounding the woman with his subordinates.
“Even if I’m dumb, I know this is a weapon. It kills if hit. Chief, can I kill this woman?”
“…”
“I order you.”
Kumpa smiled wickedly. It was the smile before the hunt began.