# Chapter 4: First Fabrication
The printer's angular surfaces caught the fading light, casting geometric shadows across the ashen soil. I crouched before it, my palms slick with sweat despite the cooling air. "Basic elements first," I muttered, repeating the mantra from my implanted knowledge. "Start with what's abundant."
My fingers dug into the crater's floor, the gritty texture of iron-rich soil grinding under my nails. As the first particles made contact with the printer's shimmering field, they dissolved in a cascade of miniature light bursts - atoms being cataloged and stored. The cube's surface displayed a faint holographic readout: [Fe: 2.14kg] [Si: 0.87kg] [O: 1.02kg].
"Enough for simple metallurgy," I whispered, more to calm myself than anything. The silence of this world still pressed against my eardrums, making every rustle of my clothing sound deafening.
Design parameters flooded my mind unbidden - crystalline structures, edge retention formulas, ergonomic grip ratios. My hands sketched shapes in the air as I visualized the blade. "Create a..." My throat tightened. Saying it aloud made it real. "Create a survival knife."
The printer's hum shifted to a higher frequency. Its core illuminated like a contained supernova, casting stark shadows across the crater. Molten material flowed upward in defiance of gravity, particles dancing in precise formation. Within three breathless seconds, a 20cm blade lay before me - obsidian-black with a faint hexagonal pattern along its fuller, the edge so sharp it seemed to slice the light itself.
I reached out, then hesitated. "Is it... safe to touch?"
No answer came. Right. The AI was gone. Swallowing hard, I wrapped trembling fingers around the textured grip. It felt... right. Balanced like an extension of my arm. A flick of my wrist sent reflections dancing across the alien landscape.
The first cut through a nearby shrub was revelation. Purple leaves fell in perfect slices, their oozing sap emitting faint bioluminescence. I stared, mesmerized, until the ground trembled beneath my boots.
Deep in the purple forest, trees shuddered. A basso roar vibrated through my ribcage, different from the shuttle's destruction - organic, hungry. The printer's surface flashed crimson, projecting a rotating hazard symbol I instinctively understood. Biomass signature approaching. Classification: Unknown. Threat level: High.
Adrenaline sharpened my senses. The knife's grip became my anchor as I scrambled up the crater's edge. Through gaps in the alien foliage, I glimpsed movement - something massive displacing trees like grass stems. A segmented carapace flashed iridescent green, then vanished.
"Show me," I demanded, pressing my palm against the printer. The hologram shifted to a topographical map, red pulses converging on my position. Three contacts. No, four. Closing fast.
My mind raced through combat metallurgy data. The blade in my hand was designed for utility, not combat. I needed armor. A ranged weapon. But the printer's resource indicator blinked critically low - only 0.3kg of usable iron remaining.
The first creature breached the tree line. Twelve legs moved in terrifying synchrony, its chitinous body rippling with muscle strands visible through semi-transparent plating. Faceted eyes reflected a distorted image of myself - small, vulnerable, human.
It charged.
Instinct took over. I sidestepped, bringing the blade down on a passing leg joint. The molecular edge met alien biology with a shower of sparks and viscous blue fluid. The creature shrieked, a sound that liquefied fear in my veins, but the severed limb twitched separately on the ground.
The printer's alarm spiked as two more creatures emerged. My stolen knowledge parsed their movements - predator pack behavior, surrounding prey. They moved to flank me, clicking mandibles dripping with frothy enzymes that smoked where they struck stone.
"Recycle biomass," I gasped, slapping my bloody blade against the printer. The creature's severed limb dissolved into the cube. Resource levels jumped. [C: 8.7kg] [N: 3.2kg] [Unknown Elements: 14.3kg]
New schematics flooded my mind - organic chemistry now supplementing metallurgy. My hands moved before conscious thought, modifying the design. "Create ceramic composite armor. Concentrate carbon!"
The printer flared to life as the creatures lunged.