Visitors from beyond
40th Galactic Year. The Visitors.
Visitors.
Episode 2: The Third Planet – 2
“According to the manual, if we’ve created a branching parallel world domain, the proper protocol is to conduct a simultaneous investigation of both sides. Once a parallel world domain is established, it cannot be easily erased afterwards,” Shior continued, her lecture directed at One after Lite had roped him into the discussion.
One, as was his nature, had casually responded, “Well, maybe it’s best if we just let it be then.”
Hearing this, Shior glared at One with an intense gaze. “But don’t you get it? The plan was to ‘go, leave, and observe.’ We’ve come this far, but we haven’t actually arrived yet. So we haven’t really started anything. We can just write up what happened in the captain’s log and ship’s records, and it won’t be an issue,” she argued forcefully.
One, feeling a bit intimidated by Shior’s aggressive tone, gave a somewhat sheepish reply. But this only seemed to agitate Shior further.
“That’s not the point! A parallel domain has been created, so we have a responsibility to go check it out directly!” she practically snarled.
Lite, who had instigated this, simply focused his attention forward, while Eft remained oblivious to the tension. The ship continued its steady progress through the expanse.
Suddenly, Lite turned to Eft, gesturing to the monitor in front of them. Eft’s eyes widened as she examined the data.
“…What’s this?” Eft exclaimed, her uncharacteristically flustered tone catching the attention of One and Shior up front.
Lite brought the image from his monitor up on the main viewscreen. There, the third planet of this system was displayed – its surface blackened, with sporadic red flames licking across it, resembling a reptilian tongue.
“The atmosphere is almost non-existent. Looks like the meteor shower earlier really did a number on it. And the water…it’s all evaporated,” Lite explained calmly.
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached as Captain Love re-entered the cockpit.
“Looks like we’ll have to change our plans. According to Mother, it’ll take a lot of time to restore that planet to a habitable state. So we’ll continue on to the fourth planet instead,” she announced, taking her seat.
“The fourth, you say?” Eft asked.
“Yeah, I heard it has abundant water, but it’s only about half the size of this one. Might not be able to sustain us for long,” Lite replied, accelerating the ship as per the captain’s instructions.
Shior, staring blankly at the screen, hurried back to her station, tapping away at her terminal. One, deep in thought, murmured the details of the fourth planet from memory.
“…Fourth planet. Mass around 0.1, surface area around 0.25, atmosphere around 0.75, gravity around 3.7. Characteristics, a water planet…”
“As expected of our scholar,” Captain Love said, sounding pleased, though One could tell she was actually quite frustrated by the change in plans.
Shior, still inexperienced, didn’t pick up on this and spoke up. “Captain, if the fourth planet won’t meet our objectives, the manual states we should turn back and…”
Shior is a relatively young woman who has recently joined the team. She lacks familiarity with the details of exploration missions. Her habit of asking direct questions can be troublesome at times.. However, her curious and earnest nature is admirable. She fears clashing with veterans like the Captain and Lite. But, she confidently voices her opinions. This reveals her own strength.. Her knowledge and drive will undoubtedly prove valuable for future missions. The only concern is that her position within the team has not yet been firmly established.