"Ugh… the bed is hard. Wait—why am I sitting?"
Lazarus stirred awake inside the lifepod, blinking as consciousness returned. An ochre glow filtered through the narrow window, spilling into the cramped interior and painting her vision in soft gold—a color she had never seen back in the colony. Dust motes drifted through the light, sparkling like crushed diamonds suspended in air.
It was beautiful.
"…So it wasn't a dream," she murmured.
A low groan broke the stillness as Lexus shifted in his sleep. Nearby, Xiaolang stood by the window, already awake. He moved quietly, focused, lifting his smartbox to capture images of the strange creatures outside as they passed through the morning sky.
Lazarus rose and walked over to him. "Xiaolang, have you rested?" she asked gently. Worry softened her eyes. "You're injured."
"It's just a bruise," he replied without looking away. "Nothing serious. I've already slept—I just woke up earlier." He turned the screen toward her. "Here. This is the creature Laurel saw."
The image transferred to her neurogear. Anna, who had been hovering nearby, peeked over and timidly asked for permission. Xiaolang nodded, and the image appeared on her display as well.
"Wah… it's so pretty," Anna whispered. "Its tail looks so graceful—like a snake flying through the sky." Her eyes widened. "It almost looks like an eastern dragon."
"Eastern dragon?" Lazarus scoffed lightly, glancing at the sharp beak and the creature's lateral eyes. "Not with a head like that."
"Let's call it Sky Strider. Look at how they seemed to run on the wind. Is there anything else?" Anna said.
She tilted his head, watching another one glide past. "Look at how they move. It's like they're running on the wind."
She lowered the smartbox slightly. "Did you see anything else?"
"Yes," Xiaolang said. "There was something else."
He sent another image to her neurogear.
"What's this… purple thing?" Lazarus murmured, staring at the display. "Is it alive?"
The creature in the photo crept slowly across the ground like a slug, but its body was far wider and unnervingly flat—almost translucent, like a jellyfish pressed against glass. Beneath the gelatinous surface, faint streaks of yellow and red pulsed lazily, flowing like veins of liquid light.
"At the very least," Xiaolang said, "I saw it slither across the sand—from the sea toward the forest."
"Saved!" Anna said brightly. "Let's call this one a Purple Amoeba." Her eyes sparkled as she stored the image in her smartbox. "It kind of looks like an amoeba from above, right?"
"…Amoebas are microscopic," Lazarus replied, frowning. "This thing is… not." She lifted her gaze slowly. "We really are on an alien world, aren't we? I've never seen anything like this on Earth."
She turned toward the ceiling. "Mistral, is there any habitable planet within USF space that hosts creatures like these?"
[Negative. The only known planet within United Space Federation territory to host alien life is located in the TRAPPIST-1g star system. At the time of first human contact thirty years ago, that planet contained only prokaryotic bacteria. Humanity is currently attempting to seed it with higher life forms.]
"…It's still sunset," Laurel muttered, rubbing her stomach. "I'm hungry."
"Make no mistake," Xiaolang replied calmly, "it's been almost ten hours."
"Then let's eat," Lazarus said, standing and moving toward the storage compartment.
"Eat?" Lexus snapped awake instantly, as if the word itself had shocked him back to life. "Food? Where?"
"Here," Lazarus said, handing each of them a Compact Nutrient Slab and a bottle of water. "Let's eat."
"…But Mistral said we should test the water with the spectrometer first."
Lazarus lifted the spectrometer—a compact device shaped like a stubby flashlight. When she switched it on, the tip glowed a soft blue. She hovered it above the bottle's mouth, and the device began to hum quietly as it scanned the water.
Thin lines of data flickered across the tiny display: purity levels, mineral content, toxin markers. None of it meant anything to her.
But it would to Mistral. "Is the water okay?" Lazarus asked.
A small holographic icon blinked. Then a notification popped.
[Affirmative. The water contains trace minerals and is free of toxins. It is safe to drink.]
A breath passed through the group, subtle but collective. They unwrapped the nutrient blocks and ate in silence.
The slab was dense and heavy in the hand—roughly five by five by forty centimeters, shaped like a long, compressed wafer. Its surface carried a dull brown sheen, almost like chocolate, though the texture looked closer to chalk mixed with baked grain. When snapped in half, it broke cleanly, releasing a faintly sweet scent—an imitation of real food.
Each bite crumbled dry against the tongue, then dissolved quickly with a sip of water, leaving behind a strange mix of sweet and savory that lingered longer than expected.
Laurel said. "One slab is meant to last a full day."
"Don't eat it all," Laurel said. "Half only. One slab is meant to last a full day."
"Tch." Lexus grimaced as he chewed. "My cook could make better food than this."
"We need to find water," Xiaolang said quietly. "We should start exploring."
"The sun's almost down," Laurel replied immediately. "Exploring at night is too dangerous."
"…I'll go outside," Xiaolang said after a pause. "Just around the lifepod. We can't afford to stay blind in here."
He rose and started toward the ladder.
"I'll go too!" Lexus said, already scrambling to his feet.
"Alright. But we shouldn't stray too far," Laurel said, stepping outside with them. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the empty water bottles in her hand before she clipped them back to her belt.
"So pretty…" Anna whispered.
The sky seemed to melt as the sun sank lower, its blue fading into layers of gold and amber. The ocean caught the light and scattered it across the waves, each crest glowing as if brushed with molten metal. It was beautiful—but not in the polished, overwhelming way Anna was used to.
She'd seen far more dazzling sights in her father's films. CGI skies that burned brighter, worlds rendered sharper. Yet this wasn't just something to look at.
Their feet sank slightly into the sand. The sea breeze carried warmth and salt. Then something unseen brushed across her skin—a gentle pressure that made her shiver.
"Was that wind?" Lexus asked, turning his head. "Where's the fan?"
"Amazing," Lazarus said, eyes wide. "Look!" She pointed upward. "Cloud Striders."
Several of the creatures glided across the horizon, their feathered tails trailing like ribbons as they ran effortlessly along invisible currents.
"Should we head for the woods?" Xiaolang asked, glancing toward the darkening forest behind them.
"Let's check the ocean first," Laurel said. "If we're lucky, maybe we can drink it." She looked at Lazarus. "Did you bring the spectrometer?"
"Yes." Lazarus knelt by the shoreline, scooping seawater into her cupped hand. She held the spectrometer over it as the device hummed softly.
[Water analysis complete.
Total Dissolved Solids: <25,000 ppm.
Primary dissolved solids: salt.
No harmful toxins detected.
CFU level: <300 cfu/ml.
No E. coli was detected. Several unknown bacteria identified.
Caution: Boil before use.]
Laurel frowned. "What does that mean, Mistral? Can we drink it if we boil it first?"
[Negative. Due to high salt content, it is unsafe for drinking and will cause dehydration. "Use" refers to cooking or salt extraction.]
"So all this water is useless, then," Lexus muttered. "Damn it. What a waste."
"That's… horrible," Lazarus whispered. She knelt beside the damaged filtration unit. Its casing was torn open, with several cables sprawled everywhere. Even the tank inside was punctured.
"Shingo—over here," Laurel called, pointing at the broken filter. "Do you think you can fix it?"
Shingo stared at the damage, then shook his head hard. "I'm a scholarship elementary student, Laurel. Not a university graduate." He threw his hands up. "Not even my father could fix this. We'd need at least two or three specialized technicians for something like this."
Laurel exhaled slowly and rubbed her temple.
She knew he was right. Her head accepted it immediately—but her heart refused to let go. Even if Shingo were fully trained, there were no replacement parts. Components like these weren't repaired in the field. They were manufactured in clean rooms, assembled by machines. Not salvaged on some forgotten shore.
"Huh?" Lexus tilted his head. "You really can't? Can't you just… ask Mistral how?"
Shingo didn't even look at him. "Even if Mistral gave us the full manual, it wouldn't matter." He pointed at the unit, his voice dull. "The circuit board is shattered. See?" He tapped the exposed interior. "It's cheaper and easier to replace the whole thing."
Silence followed.
Only the distant rhythm of the sea remained, filling the space where hope had just been.
As the others stared at the ruined machine, Anna's gaze drifted toward the horizon. The last threads of sunlight bled into gold and rose, their warmth brushing softly against her cheeks. Then the sun slipped away.
The darkness that followed felt heavier than the sky itself. Like hope sinking beneath the waves.
Meanwhile, Xiaolang edged toward the forest, Bob close on his heels. He didn't go far—only a few dozen meters. The lifepod remained visible through the trees, its dull shell a fragile anchor to safety.
Fear and excitement crawled up his spine.
A whole new world stood before him. And unlike theme parks or video games, there were no rails here. No boundaries. No guarantees. As the last amber light of sunset filtered through the canopy, the forest dimmed—then changed.
Before his eyes, the woods transformed.
Leaves that had been green moments ago shifted in color. Some began to glow with a soft, calming blue. Others bled into harsh fluorescent reds, the light seeping through veins and edges like exposed nerves. Shadows warped. Depth became uncertain.
"…Let's head back," Xiaolang said quietly.
He swallowed. For the first time since landing, he felt truly small—like an intruder trespassing somewhere he was never meant to be. Whatever biology he'd studied meant nothing here. Even his games offered no reference point.
He snapped a few quick photos, then turned back with Bob, retreating toward the lifepod.
"The forest is glowing," Xiaolang said when they returned.
"Eek!" Anna gasped, stumbling backward. "That leaf—it's moving!"
"No," Xiaolang said quickly, pointing toward the treeline. "Those are the purple amoebas. They're eating the leaves."
Near the forest's edge, gelatinous shapes slid over the glowing foliage. Under the eerie light, their bodies blended seamlessly with the colors around them—blue, red, violet—until the entire forest seemed to pulse as one living mass. It felt less like a grove and more like a haunted place, where spirits drifted unseen between trunks and roots.
Then something dropped into the glow.
A Sky Strider—one of the cloud-feathered creatures—hopped into the leaves like a cat pouncing on prey. It pecked sharply at a purple amoeba. The amoeba writhed, its body rippling in panic, but the creature's paw pinned it effortlessly.
A quick jab. The beak tore through the gelatinous body like wet paper.
The group could only stare.
Nature, in its rawest form, was simply doing what it had always done. There was no malice in it. No mercy either. Cruelty and beauty intertwined, indistinguishable, undeniable. For five hundred years, humanity had wandered the stars wrapped in artificial meat and sterile laboratories, insulated from consequence.
They had forgotten the oldest law of life. Eat—or be eaten.
"There are too many animals in the forest," Laurel said at last. "Some of them could be venomous. We should stay near the beach."
No one argued. Heads nodded in quiet agreement.
"Shingo," Lexus called back with a snort, half teasing, half annoyed. "You planning on lugging that box the whole way? You're slowing us down."
Shingo tightened his grip, sweat trickling down his temples as the smartbox hummed faintly in his arms. "It can't be helped. Without it, Mistral goes offline."
"We need him," Laurel added calmly, without breaking stride. "If we're going to find drinkable water, only Mistral can properly interpret the spectrometer's data."
Bob slowed and turned back, an easy smile on his face. "If it's too heavy, Shingo, I can carry it. I'm used to hauling things like this." He extended a hand.
Shingo hesitated. This smartbox was more precious than his life.
The box dragged at his arms like an anchor, his shoulders already burning. He remembered how effortlessly Bob had carried Lexus's luggage back on the starcruiser—steady, dependable, unshaken. And if something came bursting out of the forest…
Bob would protect it better than he ever could.
"…Please," Shingo said, swallowing. "Take care of it, alright? It's really important to me."
Bob met his gaze and nodded.
With a quiet grunt and a casual flex of his arm, he lifted the box one-handed, as if it weighed nothing at all.
As they moved along the shoreline, Shingo's gaze flicked to the corner of his smartbox screen.
Battery: 30%.
His stomach tightened. Too low. Dangerously low. Without sunlight, deploying a solar panel now would be pointless. He had missed his chance.
"The beach ends here," Laurel said, stopping at a jagged rise where soft sand gave way to slick black reef. Waves smashed against the stone, spraying cold mist into the air. The water felt sharp against their faces, unwelcoming.
"Let's head back!" Lexus called. "It's getting dark—and that glowing forest gives me the creeps!"
Bob raised his wrist. "I've got a flashlight." A narrow beam snapped to life, cutting a pale line through the gloom. The familiar cone of light eased the tension—just a little.
"…No," Laurel said after a brief pause. "We'll head back to the lifepod. We can rest and explore the other side tomorrow." She glanced at Lazarus. "This water isn't drinkable, right?"
"No," Lazarus replied quietly. "It's all saltwater."
"Then let's return," Laurel said. "Don't worry. This is only the first day." She kept her voice steady, measured. "We still have four days. There's no need to take risks yet."
Her eyes lingered on the dwindling water bottles.
But dusk swallowed her reassurance. The sky darkened, and with it, certainty faded. None of them knew how little time they truly had left.
Shingo didn't tell them about the lifepod's failing battery.
To lead is to carry responsibility. To endure. To decide. Skill without charisma earns no followers. Charisma without skill leads everyone astray. Only with both can one become a true leader. ~ Laurel