It all started after a few months underground. At the time, Jim was more focused on keeping himself hidden, out of sight. His greatest fear was that the planet might be under surveillance by the overlords that ran it. Luckily for him, this was not the case.
Jim figured they must have assumed no one could possibly be doing anything noteworthy at this time. This ended up working out in his favor.
Anyway, he finally figured out everything. Finally got his spaceship buried under decent cover, he decided to build himself a mansion underground. With nothing better to do, he ended up recreating everything he could from memory.
The planet provided the raw materials, and Jim, with his high-speed internet, his impressive hacking abilities, he could access all kind of information on the internet. He ended up building for himself a nice cul-de-sac, with all the creature comforts he could think of.
However, despite how much he built, how much he kept himself busy, he could not escape the loneliness. This was worsened by the fact that there were humans living in what felt like barely a stone's through away from his hideaway.
When Jim first landed, he'd decided to not come into contact with the locals. He was not sure how much the corporation was monitoring them, so he decided to keep limit his exposure. The problem was, he underestimated how lonely he'd be.
Days turned into weeks, which morphed into months. He tried chatting with people online, finding matches, even entering X-Rated chatrooms, but it all felt like a drop of water to a man dying of thirst, knowing there was a lake nearby.
At first, it started as silent observation. He needed to know his surroundings, or so he told himself. He didn't venture out first. Rather, he built several reconnaissance drones to map the territory around him.
He couldn't build very high-altitude drones, since the corporation might be watching, and he couldn't low-altitude drones, on account of the people being able to see said drones. He had to find the right altitude, and several plating under the drones.
The place he'd landed was pretty remote, even in this planet's standard. He had been looking for somewhere to remain hidden and away from prying eyes, and he had chosen well.
Fortunately, he detected what he could honestly describe as nothing more than a basic settlement. Turns out, it was a village. Using various spying devices, Jim had kept the village under constant watch. With this, he learned a few things:
Firstly, this village was part of a larger kingdom known as the Asis Kingdom, named after the tribe with the same name. Everyone spoke the same language, and they had pretty much the same culture.
Secondly, the capital city, or rather, the palace was located in the town of Tain. Based on how the villagers spoke of it, Jim had been expecting something impressive. How wrong he was.
Once, he'd watched an old classic movie, from back when humans still walked the earth. It was by R. R. Tolkien, where he described a kingdom known as Rohan. It was much more impressive reading about it than watching it, even based on the description alone. This was the feeling he got looking at Tain.
Of course, all this was done through his drones and surveillance equipment. He had already mastered the language and was highly skilled with the bow. Therefore, after months of holding back, he decided to venture out.
He needed a character, a persona to present himself to the village. He needed one that could explain him going in and out of the forest frequently and disappearing for long stretches of time. He could have chosen trader, but he went with huntsman.
On the first day entering to the village, he stepped in carrying a deer carcass, as he'd seen other huntsmen doing. He then went to the market where his wares were evaluated and priced. Then he got a few coins, the first of his stay in this place. With these, he was confident he could reproduce them with his 3D printers, so this was a suitable acquisition.
Jim realized he had plenty of money to spare since deer meat was highly valued. He therefore decided to go around, seeing the sights, spend some coins, perhaps even venture in the red-light district. Too bad there was none, this was a conservative, small village.
There was a tavern, and many village folks would gather at the end of the day to drink and make merry. There were music and dancing, and several pretty maidens. Many people were looking at the new stranger with curious eyes, and given his handsome face, several maidens were already enamored.
After a night of reverie, Jim would always make sure to never linger. Early in the morning, he would leave the village and make for his shelter. More than once, several people had tried to waylay him, but with his drones, serving as his eyes in the skies, Jim moved like he had a third eye.
The more he interacted with these people, the more he wanted to better their lives. They were just like livestock, slowly being multiplied. He wanted better for them, perhaps even a chance to decide for themselves.
This was when he had decided to make changes to his plan.
Already, he saw himself as an Asis. He spoke the language like a local, and his vocabulary was even richer.
The Asis people, or just the Asis, had impressed him. They were young and excitable; their civilization was showing signs of growing.
These people had offered him a home without judgement, and a second chance in life. He found it harder and harder to turn back to them, especially since he didn't have anyone.
The local butcher boy who called him brother and was always haggling with him over deer meat. The blacksmith's daughter who kept throwing glances at him. The nice elderly farming couple that offered him a roof whenever he was in the village, so he wouldn't have to sleep at the tavern like a foreigner, so they said.
All these people had changed his meaning of family. It was like a drug, this feeling, and he did not wish to part with them. In fact, he felt indebted to them for healing wounds he never knew existed. He had to do something for them.
He thought about bringing about technological advancements, but without direction and supervision, especially in such an environment, things could spiral out of control. He needed a proper time to make his move.
Opportunity came in the form of the Zithilites, from the country of Zithile. They weren't really a kingdom, just a collection of hordes of raiders. They never settled, never farmed, never had a place they called home.
Instead, they roamed from settlement to settlement, stealing, raping and pillaging, leaving behind a wake of destruction and river of tears and blood.
Fortunately, a King had arisen among them that was consolidating these tribes together. Rumor had it that the King was promising the surrounding tribes and kingdoms amnesty and protection from the hordes, given they agreed to certain terms.
Recently, a piece of news had rocked the entire tribe of Asis. The new king of the Zithile wanted the Queen of Asis as his bride, thus unifying the two tribes.
The Asis were mostly farmers, which meant they lived a more settled lifestyle. Compared to the nomadic hordes, they regarded themselves as superior to the Zithilites. They also had a proud tradition and were regarded with respect compared to the surrounding kingdoms and tribes. Therefore, to the Asis, such a proposal was tantamount to an insult.
However, while they could grumble among themselves, they could not tell off the more powerful hordes. Therefore, everyone was at a loss. They all watched for the Queen, waiting to hear her decision. To Jim, this was an opportunity he could not walk away from.