Background
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Prompt
Today’s Maynia Prompt: fungus
Today’s Daily Freewrite Prompt: almanac
Writers can choose to use one of the prompts, both the prompts or not use the prompt at all. It is all up to you!
I wish to make this into a sci-fi novel. Let’s see how it progresses! 😊
The Galactic Interceptors - Day 2
Continued from Day 1. You can read it here.
“Commander, the hops,” Savri interrupted the commander’s soliloquy of vengeance.
“What about it?”
“The hops have reduced. There are just two hops left. Something about the environment around here.”
“Have a symmetry and bio check on the power transducers,” the commander’s frown was hardly visible in the dark, “could be organic.”
Sarvi rushed back into the hopper to get the checks done, lest they lost more hops and be stuck on the planet. She hardly liked the planet, and the oozing liquid messing her hair was the least of her favourites.
While Sarvi initiated the checks, her mind was racing to figure out how they would manage the situation. Either they boycott the chase and take the two hops back home or take the single jump to the next planet, apprehend Zarqui and then figure out the way back. She, however, knew that the former option was not at all a choice when it came to Olyint, the Commander.
Olyint wore the sight-enhancer to take a look at the adjacent planet. The planet appeared crimson when seen without the enhancer, but with the enhancer, it turned bright red. There were no visible signs of life except microscopic ones. From the line of sight, a metallic rover was visible trudging along. He wasn’t sure who could be operating that machinery. Maybe, there was life, after all, on that planet.
“Commander, I’ve found the interfering source,” Sarvi said, “and I think we should get off this planet at the earliest.”
“What is it?”
“It is an organic life-form coming close to the flora of this plant. In our case, it is parasitic and feeding on the transducer’s energy fuel.”
“Fungus.”
“Sir?”
“The life-form. It is a fungus,” the commander said, “I have mind-jagged the planet’s knowledge.”
“Should we hop, then?” Sarvi had no reason to question Olyint’s words as he was one of the five enlightened elders who could communicate with the universe. Communicating with a planet wouldn’t be mighty effortless.
“Yes, we should. Hopefully, the hop would cleanse the transducer,” Oliynt proceeded into the one storey high hexagonal hopper. Sarvi followed and once inside waved her hand for the doorway to close shut. The hopper powered up, and she waited for Olyint’s orders. Olyint, though, continued to stare at the panel.
“Commander?”
Olyint sighed. “Turn power to quarter-hop. That should save us some power, and if we are lucky, not a single hop would be used.”
“And that should be sufficient to take us home,” Sarvi’s countenance lit up from the flicker of hope that Olyint’s idea provided. If not for her muddled thoughts amidst an intergalactic lunatic, a parasite eating away the transducer, and an odd liquid oozing from her hair, Sarvi reckoned that she would have come to the same conclusion. She realized that those were the things that differentiated her from the Commander. She had some way to go before becoming a commander herself.
“Yes, commander,” Sarvi furiously tapped on few panels on her right and then punched on some commands on the front console.
A muffled roar indicated that the hopper had powered up. The ensuing shiver through the structure confirmed that the vehicle was airborne. In the twinkling of an eye, Sarvi and Olyint stood experiencing the shudder, as the hopper settled on the crust. The travel to the neighbouring planet was complete.
Sarvi’s enthusiasm appeared to fade as she read the hopper’s feedback. “We couldn’t save the hop, Commander.”
“Hmm. The damage would have been extensive. At least, the transducers are clean now, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. There aren’t any fungus anymore.”
“Let’s step out. Zarqui should be here soon. I have a score to settle.”
The doorway began to fade, and the hopper opened into a harsh environment contrasting the previous planet. It was dry, rugged and was soaking-in the governing star’s ultraviolet rays. Sarvi was happy with the change. Both the traveller’s dynamic suits reconfigured to protect them from the environment.
“There,” Olyint pointed, “that’s where he will hop out from. Configure our hopper to latch on to Zarqui’s once he comes out of the hop.”
“Commander, with just one hop left, the latching may drain the remaining power. We may be stuck on this planet forever.”
“Our hopper is drained not Zarqui’s. Once we apprehend him, we will use it to hop back home.”
It was a logical and straightforward solution. Sarvi was unsure how she missed. Just then, she spotted movement.
“Machinery. To your left.”
Olyint turned in the direction, saw the metallic object on sixteen wheels and smiled. That was the first time since the elder-commander’s death that Olyint smiled. Sarvi was curious about the reason for his amusement.
“What’s it, Olyint?” Sarvi did away with the strict law-upholder lingo and settled for calling Olyint by his first name. He did not appear to mind. At a moment when his brother had left him bereft, he was happy to have a less professional company.
“I had seen that toy with the sight-enhancer. I thought it belonged to this planet, but mind-jagging confirms that it belonged to the other planet. The place from where we came.”
Sarvi smiled, “the planet that I hate.” They both laughed.
The lighter mood was shortlived as a bolt of lightning hit the crust, and a bright aperture grew in dimension dimming the planet’s governing star. It was a sign that a vehicle was coming out of a hop.
“Get ready, Sarvi.”
Image Courtesy: Pixabay