Night descended over the dense jungle, and the crew of the Galactic Heap had settled around a makeshift campfire. The ship was more or less in a state of self-repair—which meant they had left it to its own devices while hoping that nothing worse would happen.
“The fire keeps the insects away, right?” Ziggy asked, nervously staring into the darkness, where the enormous insects they had encountered earlier were lurking, their antennae slowly moving.
“Hopefully,” Kira muttered as she poked at the flames, trying to construct a discreet but effective weapon from a few fallen branches and some wire.
“I wonder how long it'll take before the locals eat us,” Axl added, pragmatically building an improvised defensive wall of stones and large leaves around the camp.
“A few hours, if we're lucky,” Kira said, casting a cautious glance into the jungle, where the sounds of the night had blended into an ominous chorus. “Maybe we should take shifts keeping watch.”
But just as the night had become quiet and almost peaceful, a loud rumbling suddenly broke the silence. Something large—very large—was moving toward their camp.
“Oh no, what now?” Ziggy jumped to his feet and looked around frantically. “Are those the insects?”
“No, it sounds... heavier,” Axl said, checking his improvised defenses as if they could actually stop a giant dinosaur.
Several enormous, shaggy creatures finally burst from the undergrowth. They looked like a mixture of mammoths and rhinoceroses, except they had two additional legs and three rows of terrifying teeth. They stopped and stared at the crew, seemingly deciding whether they were friends, enemies, or dinner.
“Um... hello?” Kira cautiously tried to address the creatures, slowly raising one hand.
One of the creatures let out a deep grunt and lumbered toward the Galactic Heap. With its enormous trunk, it curiously brushed against the outer hull. The others followed, inspecting the ship with obvious enthusiasm.
“I think they like our ship,” Ziggy whispered.
“Yes,” Axl replied dryly. “Unfortunately, that looks more like appetite than admiration.”
Sure enough, one of the creatures began chewing on a protruding piece of metal.
“Not that too!” Kira shouted. “We need to distract them somehow.”
Ziggy frantically scanned the surroundings. A few meters away, he spotted a tree covered in large, glowing fruit.
“I really hope those aren't exploding jungle pears,” he muttered, tearing several fruits from the tree and throwing them toward the creatures.
The effect was astonishing.
The creatures immediately turned toward the fruit and devoured it with obvious delight. Satisfied chewing filled the jungle as the Galactic Heap was temporarily forgotten.
“That... actually worked,” Axl said in amazement.
“Apparently, fruit tastes better than spaceships,” Kira said with relief.
“Good for us,” Ziggy replied. “Bad for this planet's fruit supply.”
While the creatures were eating, the crew used every minute they had. Kira checked damaged cables, Axl stabilized the power supply with makeshift circuits, and Ziggy carried spare parts from the less damaged sections of the ship.
When the last of the fruit had disappeared, however, something unexpected happened.
The enormous creatures yawned deeply.
One after another, they lay down directly beside the Galactic Heap in the tall grass. Moments later, deep snoring filled the jungle.
The crew stared at one another in silence.
“I never thought our ship would end up being used as a pillow,” Ziggy whispered as one of the creatures laid its massive trunk across the outer hull.
“At least it's not eating it anymore,” Axl replied. “I'd call that significant progress.”
Kira couldn't help but give a tired smile.
“Tomorrow, we repair the Heap. Tonight, we just survive.”
No one disagreed.
Only the quiet crackling of the embers, the deep breathing of the sleeping giants, and the chirping of countless unknown creatures filled the darkness.
Then one of the creatures suddenly opened an eye.
“Did it just look at us?” Ziggy whispered.
Axl directed his sensors toward the enormous creature.
“Negative,” he said after a brief moment. “It is asleep.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it is chewing on our landing gear in its sleep.”
All three of them turned their heads toward the Galactic Heap at the same time.
A long metallic crunch cut through the silence of the night.
Kira slowly closed her eyes.
“Tomorrow,” she said dryly. “Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”