20. A New Life on a New Planet

Location: Wild Planet

Aliens: Rivan, Florus

Mission Post-Mortem Testimony: Ensign Yom

“Our mission is straightforward, folks,” Commander Rilo said as our lifeboat slowed and smoothed off, gently hovering above the surface. The ship touched down and we rocked back and forth for a second. The cargo bay hissed open and we were greeted with the sickly sweet smell of flora. “We’re in and out. Upstairs has given us 3 hours. If we don’t find Captain Mora by then, he’s out of luck.”

The away team all nodded in unison and gave a, “yes, sir!” Finding one Rivan on a densely forested planet was going to be finding a needle in a haystack, as the humans say. The entire away team was composed of Rivans, however, so it was like having a few magnets to aid in your search for the said needle.

The ship had landed directly next to the wreckage of Captain Mora’s escape pod. There was no trace of him immediately available. Commander Rilo ducked inside. He called me over. “I don’t like this,” he said. He booted up the craft’s computer and it hummed angrily. It was worse for wear, but it worked.

“Maybe he was trying to conserve power?” I speculated.

“Yeah, maybe,” Rilo said. “We assumed his distress signal ended because the ship went dark.”

“I’ll tell the other-” I said, about to exit. Rilo grabbed my arm.

“Between us,” he said, “I want them to be on their toes, not jumpy.” I nodded and returned to the others. They scanned my face for answers but I wasn’t giving any.

We all fanned out, using the lifeboat as our center. I took the direction prescribed to me and went traipsing off into the underbrush. It occurred to me that this wild planet might claim any number of us. One lost captain could turn into eleven lost souls if we weren’t careful. I was fairly surprised they even launched a rescue mission, but that led me to believe Mora must be pretty valuable in his circles. Or knew enough to be a worrisome loose end to someone Upstairs.

Once we were far enough away, our inhibitor circlets powered down. I stretched my mind, having been hamstrung by the damned thing for over a year. I felt little consciousness, bugs and birds, flying from plant to plant.

I watched my step and hoped everyone else was being just as cautious. There were beautiful flowers blooming all around me, almost in reaction to me. I assumed any number of them could be poisonous, might be able to hurt, kill, even eat me. I sent a signal out around me, searching for Mora. It was the usual static of fauna. I went on doing this for another hour or so. Eventually I found a stream and sat down next to it. I wasn’t going to drink the water, but figured I could rest a moment before heading back. I knew the three hour limit was a hard one. The landing gear would be up and the ship would be in the atmosphere, without me, if I wasn’t careful.

It was gorgeous. The shining scales of fish in the stream. Leaves swaying ever so slightly in the breeze. I caught myself getting a little drowsy, the sun warm but not hot, the canopy keeping me cool in the shade. I caught myself and stood up. Right about that time, I felt someone else on the edge of my feeling field. I thought it might be another away team member, so I called out. Whoever it was had a sharp spike of fear and disappeared.

“Wait!” I shouted and ran towards the source. “Captain Mora? We’re here to rescue you!” I yelled. Without warning, I slammed face-first into the ground. Idiot, I thought, not watching where I was going. I tried to lift myself up when something yanked at my ankle and reeled me up into the air.

“Por, don’t,” a voice said somewhere close. I was stunned and hanging upside down. I’ll admit it, I panicked. I was spun around and was face to face with what had to be a Florus. One of their arms had twisted into a single, braided vine that had me held fast. As far as I knew, this wasn’t a Florus planet. As far as any of us knew, it was entirely wild.

“Why not?” the Florus, Por, said.

“He doesn’t mean any harm,” the first voice said again. A shimmering curtain seemed to fall away as a Rivan, presumably Captain Mora, revealed himself. He had been entirely invisible. I didn’t even catch that he had tweaked my perception to not see him. He was good.

“How do I know that?” Por asked. He brought me close and inspected me. I could smell the pollen drifting up from blooming flowers along his chest.

“You don’t mean any harm do you, ensign?” Mora asked.

“No. No, sir,” I said breathlessly. I was starting to feel weak. Por all but dropped me onto the forest floor and I had to take a moment to get my bearings. “We’re here to rescue you, sir.” I said, looking up at the captain from all fours.

“We?” he asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes, sir,” I said. He told me to dispense with the formalities. “There’s 10 of us. Rivans.”

“Who’s your CO?” he asked, coming close, almost whispering. I told him it was Commander Rilo. “Damn,” Mora said and I felt a little blip of anxiety from his mind.

“Not good?” Por asked.

“No, not good. He’s a skilled telepath. I’d be surprised if he didn’t plant a bug in this one’s head. He might already be on his way.” Mora paced around me. His uniform had been singed in some areas, cut away at others. I remember being struck that he was walking around in the forest barefoot.

“So we kill this one,” Por said. I gulped hard. His vine arm formed into a thorny bludgeon.

“No, Por,” Mora said with a sigh. “Let’s just go.”

“Wait, captain,” I said. I finally got up and onto my feet. “We’re here for you. Do you not want to come back?” I asked.

Here subject became quiet. Ensign Yom requested a drink of water. He was observed to be making a choice, but did not yield to psychic probe. Investigator did not apply force, not wanting to break trust with subject.

“Of course I do,” Captain Mora said. “I’ve been stuck on this backwater planet for too long.” Por didn’t seem to like that very much. They started to argue. Forgive some speculation, but I think they had entered into an…entanglement of some kind. I’m not sure if it had been going on since Mora crash landed or if it was more recent.

Then, well. Sorry, it’s not easy to say. Por…he killed Captain Mora with me standing right there. Stabbed him right through the eye.

Here, Investigator asked to see the image via telepathic link. Subject agreed. Investigator adds to log (1) A description of the image (2) Detailed description of the Florus herenamed “Por”

Yeah, it was….I-. It was the most gruesome thing I had ever seen. I got off a few shots with my beam pistol, but it only seemed to piss him off more. He disarmed me immediately. I can take the bandage off if you want, but he stuck me all the way through my hand. No? Yeah, I guess the medical log has all of that in it. In any case, the others had felt my fear and heard the shots, so they closed in quickly. I think one more shot landed, just before Por turned himself into a bunch of crawling vines and just, well, he slithered away into the trees, dragging poor Captain Mora along with him. I don’t think there’s much chance of finding the body, if you ask me.

Commander Rilo ordered a retreat and we got out of there. Or so the others told me. I was out cold by then. Woke up on the ship with some of my hand missing and now I’m talking to you.

Here Investigator asks if Ensign Yom has anything else to add to his testimony.

No, I think that about covers it.

End Testimony

Final Notes: Investigator posits that Ensign Yom does not seem appropriately troubled by the death of Captain Mora, but affirms the image was exceedingly violent. Investigator recommends weekly counseling sessions.

Determination: Captain Mora is confirmed dead. Further rescue missions would be a drain on resources. Family should be notified and appropriate records made up to date.