The Xanthos settled quietly to the surface of Omthal, her plasma powered magnetic engines emitting a muted whine as they fought against the planet’s gravitational field. She carried a survey crew of three, who’s orders were to map this four thousand sardecs of the planet, catalogue the flora and fauna, and select at least three colonization sites. The colonist ships would follow from the missionary station after the return and report of the survey crew.
Omthal was the fourth planet orbiting the sun called Anthes by the Pliscotheans, and had been selected as a colony planet because of it’s atmosphere, water, evidence of plant and animal life, and the probability of rich mineral resources. Omthal had been scanned many times, first from the missionary station by short wave gamma radiation, and later by digital video and thermal imaging equipment aboard several orbiting probes. The Pliscotheans had little choice in their decision to colonize Omthal. Their population had exceeded the bio-capacity of their home planet, forcing them to utilize colony stations orbiting their world, and now the stations were overcrowded. The missionary stations were constructed to seek and find new worlds for colonization, and were positioned throughout the galaxy.
The main hatch of the Xanthos opened, and the survey crew leader stepped into the bluish light cast by Anthes. Arnak Sanava had seen twenty five cycles of his planet’s solar orbit, though he had never actually been to the planet’s surface. Of the species called humanoid by the biologists at the station university where he studied engineering, Arnak was one of the prime specimens selected by the Committee for Colonization by Pliscothea. The “CCP” logo on his close fitting uniform identified him as one of the few of his race selected to identify and begin settlement of new worlds. His body had been hardened by exercise, his leadership ability forged by the CCP, and he was also known to the females on the station to be a lover with skills uncommon for one of his age.
Arnak stepped off the entry ramp onto the soil of Omthal, and breathed deeply. The atmosphere seemed alive compared to the recycled mix of gasses that passed for air on the station and survey ship. A slight breeze wafted through his dark wavy hair, and brought to him a musty, tangy odor that suggested plant life, water, and decay.
He tapped the communicator on his wrist to summon the other two members of the survey crew, and was joined momentarily by two slender females, a buxom, blonde haired doctor/biologist named Shilla Novamene and the equally curvaceous, red haired botany specialist named Vrenna Annoe. Both females were as seductive as they were intelligent; their soft, tanned skin and body curves spoke to Arnak in the age-old language of males and females of ripening fertility, and their normal motions suggested a desire and capacity for great and continued pleasure. He watched their sensual approach, their hips swaying and breasts rising and falling inside the snug uniforms with each step, and blessed the psychological tenets behind their selection for this mission.
Studies by CCP had indicated that a crew size of three was optimum for long term isolation from a station, because, while two crew members would soon become hostile to one another, the third member served as a mediator, and harmony would be restored. Studies also indicated that the proper gender ratio was one male to two females, and that the two females should be bisexual. Sex was a factor not to be ignored on long term missions, and this ratio ensured contentment and loyalty among the crew. After the long journey, Arnak, Shilla, and Vrenna understood and greatly appreciated the logic. If one crew member was not feeling up to relieving the tensions of the mission with another, the third was usually willing and eager. On the occasions that all three were feeling in the mood for release, the combination was explosive, and these sessions guaranteed that jealousy did not interfere with the accomplishment of the mission.
After two cycles of Anthes were used to set up the base camp domes, move in supplies, and generally settle in, Arnak planned the first mission. They would start the survey by laying out and mapping one hundred sardec quadrangles, and by examining the terrain and specimens of life found in them.
The survey of the first quadrangle was progressing according to plan, when Vrenna found a humanoid footprint under a leaf she was collecting for study later. Her initial thought was that one of the others had stepped in the spot, and the track had been covered by the leaf at a later time. Arnak and Shilla, however, had been working some distance away from the spot, and could not have left the track. She called to the others, and after examination of the impression, the three returned to the common dome to discuss the finding. A check of the station scan results revealed no indication of humanoid life, either past or present. The footprint was a mystery to be dealt with cautiously, and Arnak issued the order that all crew members would be armed with ion disrupters on all future excursions. The disrupters should not kill, but would stun or drive away any dangerous animal, or indeed, another humanoid.
On the tenth Anthes cycle, Shilla was watching a small creature when she saw a silvery flash in the distance. Crouching down, she saw something approaching through the thick undergrowth, something large, but moving with stealth, and barely moving any of the plant life. As the creature was almost upon her, she raised her disrupter and fired. With a shrill, shrieking cry, the creature fell to the soil and lay still. At the sound of the disrupter, Arnak and Vrenna came running, and the three cautiously walked to the site where the creature had fallen.
Lying on the ground was another humanoid form of undetermined gender. The humanoid was clothed in a silvery, pearlescent garment that fitted the body as a second skin. Long silvery hair was present on the head, and except for the strange garment covering them, the features of the face were remarkably similar to their own. Examination of the creature revealed no beating heart, no breathing, and it was assumed to be dead. Arnak lifted the creature to his shoulder, and they proceeded to the domes to make a more thorough examination. They arrived as Anthes was dropping below the eastern horizon.
Arnak carried the creature to the lab dome, and placed it’s body on the examination table. Shilla began her examination, first activating the lab voice recorder.
“Record start. Officer Novamene recording. Oral log of examination of unidentified creature killed on Omthal, Sector twenty seven, Pliscothean orbit count four thousand nine, ten point... ninety three Anthese cycles from landing.”
“Subject is of bipedal, humanoid form, appearing to be clothed in a smooth, opalescent fabric that covers the entire body with the exception of the area of the head covered with fine, white hair. Attempting to remove the covering...wait... examining the covering under magnification... fascinating... it’s skin, the creature has very white skin covered with microscopic, silver, translucent scales. Humanoid hair covers the scalp and is of fine texture and white in color. General body type is slender, with most features similar to those of our race. Primary sexual identifiers indicate the subject to be female, as evidenced by a vaginal opening, but the subject is lacking mammary glands. There are two very small protuberances present at the mammary site which appear to be nipple-like, but these are not large enough to be utilized in feeding young. Subject exhibits the body type of a female, with small upper torso, and wide pelvis. Record stop.”
Shilla made some notes on the computer terminal and reached for a scalpel. She poised the gleaming blade over the creature’s midsection, paused, and then said, “Arnak, I’d like to wait until tomorrow to do a complete internal examination. A complete workup will take several hours, and we’re all tired. The temperature in the lab dome can be lowered to preserve the state of the body.”
