SmackDown: Back to Our Roots

Round 1: Rooted Dreams - @sacredlilac

The Captain nodded and followed closely behind as Teo walked down the short metal ramp shining dully in the sunlight. The rest of the crew stopped at the seam of the ship, their eagerness to feel terra firma beneath their feet palpable even from the end of the ramp where Teo stopped and squatted to examine the perfectly dry soil. He reached out and pinched a bit to roll between his gloved fingers, then dropped it into an analyzer. "It's excellent soil, Captain. All the essential trace elements, and a few I don't recognize, but their composition appears to be a stable element, perhaps mineral. I'll know more once I get a sample under the ship's microscope."

There was a shifting and rustling of feet from up the gangplank as the crew strained to get a look. The Captain put her hands on her hips and looked around. She said quietly, "You're sure the planet is inert."

Teo shrugged and gazed out at the wide flat plain that stretched to the horizon, marred only by a few small hills in the far distance. "I can only tell you what the scanners have found, Captain. Even before we landed, though, we saw no indication of movement. I can't explain this place, but even from this sample here, it looks like this place is dead. Rich for colonization needs, but dead." Teo glanced at the crew waiting in the mouth of the ship. "I can't guarantee anyone's safety, but I can't see any threats, either."

The Captain nodded and almost whispered, "Alright, we all go out together."

Teo gave a small start. It was almost unheard of for the Captain to break protocol. She must be more excited about the possibility of an allotment than he expected.

Turning to face up the ramp, the Captain hit her comms to address the assembled crew. "All observations so far indicate there is no threat on this planet, but we need to remain vigilant. We'll go out in groups to survey the territory. That way we'll get it done more quickly to report the find, and then we'll see where that leads us."

Shock at this momentous announcement froze the crew for several heartbeats, then as one they scrambled down the ramp with a clatter of boots and lined up at attention in front of the Captain. Once Teo fell in with the rest, First Officer Mo Riggs snapped a smart salute and said, "Awaiting orders, ma'am!"

The Captain gave them another rare smile, which made the crew straighten their spines and push back their shoulders a fraction more. The ghosts of smiles danced across their faces. Teo knew each and every one of them would go to the wall for the Captain, because time and again she'd pulled strings and struck deals to make the enforced imprisonment on their ship as easy as possible. Like the time on the planet Belgiya where she'd gotten a load of sea water delivered so they could set up a small swimming pool in the hangar bay. It didn't matter none of them knew how to swim, they lounged and played in that water until it evaporated.

Karan often reported the Captain had gotten into another fight defending humanity. If they'd been allowed to carry weapons, she'd probably have dispatched a fair few who took her on, because beneath the impassive exterior and buttery language, she was a coiled snake ready to strike and defend if provoked. She was only average-looking to the unschooled. As it was, only smooth talking and greased palms kept her banned from surface landings.

The Captain nodded her approval of the crew. "We'll go in three teams. Teo and I will take the rover to explore those hills. The rest of you go out two miles then arc around for two then come back in. Report in anything unusual on the comms." She paused and met each person's gaze with a severe look, then almost smiled again as her gaze swept over them once more. "But first, permission to disembark."

CHAPTER 3 - Landfall

Three measly steps stood between the crew and the feeling of actual soil beneath their feet in more than a decade for most, or in the cases of the mechanic JuJu Korhonen and the ship's doctor Jamal Seabrook, their first ever. Having resigned themselves to a fate among the stars, none of them could have anticipated a boon like this.