Hippity Hoppity

Posted on Tue Mar 29th, 2022 @ 4:12am by Fleet Admiral Luzol Targaryen

695 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Easter Writing Contest
Location: Unidentified Planet
Timeline: 2401

Lieutenant Anek Tua, Chief Science Officer of the recently launched USS Carl Sagan, stood amidst the alien clearing amazed by the beauty and tranquility that surrounded him. Sensors had indicated that the planet was Class L, but almost Class M, in composition and did have some lower level lifeforms. There were beautiful trees with large, turquoise leaves that extended down to the grass of the world too. It was a beautiful sight - especially the azure waters of the distant lake with small fish jumping from amidst the waves.

It was exciting to be the first person who ever visited this world, but it was also a little odd to be the only one that was assigned to this investigation especially as the Sagan did not remain in orbit. Captain Stovok had been rather insistent that this was within his wheelhouse as the Chief Science Officer, but he would have been a little bit happier to have at least a Planetary Scientist, Ecologist, or even a Geologist with him on this mission since he was essentially alone. At least they let him have a shuttle when they dropped him off here. The Class 18 Shuttle MacFarlane was brand new and he was the first person to ever pilot it. It showed how much the Captain trusted him.

"Or he just wanted to get you off the ship and thought he'd get in trouble if he stranded you," the symbiont teased.

The Trill scientist sighed, "Can't you just enjoy for a change instead of complain?"

"I may be getting used to you," the alien slug answered, "but that doesn't mean I quite like you very much yet."

The Tua symbiont was an infant and Anek was his first ever host. Neither of them had been overly pleased with the other when the joining first took place, which was odd because it always was taught that they had to pick each other instead of just being thrown together and made to figure things out for themselves. They had gotten a bit more comfortable with each other after the Copernicus, but they still were not exactly family just yet.

"You know what the Guardians said though: we have to learn to get along," Anek said as he walked toward the clearing pecking at his tricorder. There was an anomalous reading that he was trying to isolate that looked like a higher level lifeform, but it may have also been just a particle of preanimate matter caught in his tricorder's scanning diodes. He sighed, "Why couldn't you have at least a cursory knowledge of scanner technology to help me out?"

"Sorry I wasn't big on studying as I was practically born yesterday. I'm supposed to learn from you, Master, and I have to say my apprenticeship has been a bit lacking so far."

Anek laughed as he walked further from the shuttle to trace the signal, "You say I'm the one lacking? I always dreamed of being bonded with a symbiont of at least half a dozen former hosts. Instead I got one that was alive for half a dozen days." He typed at the tricorder quickly, "Why does this keep leading on a snipe hunt?"

"Maybe you're just reading it wrong?" Tua asked.

"I know how to read a tricorder, slug," he chided as he reset the scan protocols.

The symbiont offered another alternative, "Maybe it is drawing you away from your shuttle?"

"That's preposterous! The shuttle is," then he heard it in the distance. A loud thumping noise pounding upon the ground, quickly crossing the distance from the treeline to the shuttle. It was a large, rabbit looking creature carrying what appeared to be baskets full of chocolates and other assorted candies. Before he knew it Anek watched the alien jump right through the open portal and into the shuttle.

"Still think I'm wrong?" the symbiont teased as the engines engaged and the shuttle lifted off toward the sky.

Anek just sat down on the ground and stared up as the MacFarlane sped away from him at full impulse wondering just how long it would be before the Sagan returned and what the Hell he had just seen.

 

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