For the Love of Creation, Part One

Beep, beep, beep, Rosie's console sounded as it scanned a far off object. Upon hearing this, Rosie decoded its findings and reported them to the waiting crew. "The Christa has just picked up signs of an alien planet, only about 1,000 kilometers from here on our starboard side. It's pretty small, so I'm guessing that is why the Christa didn't detect it earlier. It's still to far away to see on the view screen though."

Ignoring her prediction, Harlan commanded, "Screen on, magnify times one hundred." True to Rosie's words, the screen portrayed a black vacuum, only inhabited by bright stars.

"Radu, get the coordinates of this planet on your console," Goddard ordered. "And Thelma, once he has them, look in the Christa's main computer library for any information on it."

"Yessir, Commander," Thelma said, suddenly appearing behind him.

Goddard gave a startled jump and then walked over to Radu. "Do you have the coordinates?"

"Yes sir, right here." Radu said, pointing to them.

"Good. Then Thelma, carry out my request." Goddard said, turning to her. But she was already gone.

Fifteen minutes later, Thelma returned with some information. "The planet is currently uninhabited. Her last people called her Lyonous Gane, which was also the name of their rumored goddess, referred to as The Life Giver. The people became extinct by plagues and wars, not intergalactic wars, but battles fought against each other. The Christa noted that another planet with such absurd behavior is Earth, so Harlan, Commander Goddard and Miss. Davenport would have no trouble fitting in."

Harlan, Davenport and Goddard glared at the android. Rosie and Radu stifled giggles while Bova just rolled his eyes.

"We should be arriving at this Lyonous Gane in about two hours," Radu reported after regaining composure. "That is if we don't speed up. And the question still remains: is it worth it to land there?"

"The Christa suggests that the people had an advanced technology, which was contained in buildings. One of those buildings, called The Centre has not been destroyed since the time lapse since her last people. There are also several acres of prismatic ore on the planet." Thelma replied.

"Well we're not in need of any restocking right now." Goddard said. "But I suggest that we land there any way. Maybe Thelma and Suzee could pick up some tidbits about their technology that will help us get home."

"I agree," everyone but Davenport and Bova chorused. The prospect of possibly putting the crew into even more danger frightened the teacher and Bova's personality didn't permit him to care.

"So it's settled then. Since it's time for your afternoon class you may leave the ComPost but you must be back in here one hour prior to our landing. Thelma will stay at helm as usual and alert us if anything goes wrong. Mr. Band, set the course and you are all dismissed."

The crew filed out of the ComPost. Bova ambled over to Rosie to complain about the day's bearings. "Figures. For once space was treating us relatively easy and then at Command Post Training we stumble across this planet that will probably kill us all!"

Rosie pondered over Bova's grievances. "But I thought you said that space was beginning to bore you…" she puzzled.

"Oh never mind." Bova snapped. "I just have this feeling. That landing on this planet is a bad idea. A really bad idea."

Fortunately, no problems arose in the next hour. The crew was able to focus on their studies and by the time they got to their free period, Lyonous Gane had slipped into the backs of their minds.

But it wasn't to stay that way. Fifteen minutes into their break, Goddard called them all back to the ComPost.

This time when Harlan called for an image, a smoggy green planet, tilted on it's orbit appeared. A translucent gray grimy fog condescended over the surface.

"If this planet's condition is the same as it's appearance…" Bova mused aloud.

The rest of the crew paid the pessimistic Urasian no mind. They waited anxiously, willing the next hour to pass quickly. A rare occasion to flex their legs on unmoving ground was ahead.

Fifty minutes later, the crew was still in the same, awed fascination. Since they were now approaching the planet's upper atmosphere, Goddard deemed it time to issue out orders. "Bring us into a safe, smooth landing, Mr. Band. Mr. Radu, we need you up here."

Radu approached the right side of Harlan's station. Harlan cocked his head towards the Andromedan and mummered, "Let's just hope that you do a better job picking a spot to land in than you did last time."

Radu blushed furiously, especially since the others could not chide the Earther for his obnoxious behavior. But of course, only Radu's sensitive ears picked up Harlan's drawling whisper.

Suddenly, an invisible force seemed to clasp onto the Christa and pull her towards Lyonous Gane! "Band, watch what you're doing!" Goddard spat out.

Harlan held out his arms in question, his face white with surprise. "I'm not piloting this ship, Commander! She's moving on her own!"

"We're accelerating," Suzee said, voice tense with worry.

"TEAM, GET THIS SHIP UNDER CONTROL!" Goddard roared. "THELMA!"

"Yes, Commander," Thelma said, creeping up to him as usual.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

Thelams's eyes blinked as she processed the question. "Lyonous Gane is dragging us onto her surface with her immense gravity force."

"How is that possible?!" Davenport shrieked. "I've never heard of a gravitational pull that could drag us in before we got under her atmosphere!"

Thelma shook her head in jabby chops and started to lecture the teacher in third person. "Earthers have always preconceived that if they know a little about something, then they know everything about it."

"Tell me about it," Radu muttered with a sideways glance towards Harlan.

The Christa continued to plummet towards the planet. As the crew struggled for control, no avail, they saw grimy gray clouds go by them, replaced by a dense layer of forest.

"Hey man, if you don't want us to die, now might be a great time for your expertise," Harlan said to Radu sarcastically.

Huh? Radu stood dumbly for a few seconds, puzzling over the Earther's words. "Oh right, right!" he cried, catching on. He scanned the area beneath him for a suitable pace to land. All that his eyes could see were trees, huge masses of trees that were so close together that they seemed to be growing on top of each other. When he finally caught sight of a patch of grass, he did not hesitate with making his decision. "There," he commanded, pointing.

At last the Christa allowed Harlan a little control and he was able to swerve towards the spot. CRASH! The grass that the Christa had landed on screeched like metal as the ship's weight was added to it. A vibration was felt and then a big lurch that resulted in everyone but Radu on the floor. Finally all was still.

Goddard picked himself off of the floor. His eyes slid to the communications console where he saw Rosie bending over an unconscious Davenport. He quickly went to Bova, who seemed to be strewn over his post. Radu reached for Harlan's hand, helped him up, and then went to Suzee and assisted her.

"I'm gonna take Ms. Davenport to the MedLab," Rosie said, voice quavering.

Goddard looked over Bova's lifeless body and noted his chest heaving up and down. "Mr. Radu. Assist her." Indicating to the Uraisian.

Radu, being the gentleman that he was, placed both Bova and Davenport over his shoulders. "Muscle man," he heard Suzee distinctly giggle which made him blush and Harlan glare. The Andromedan quickly took Rosie's hand and tried to comfort her as they walked out of the door.

The wounded being taken care of, Goddard thought it time to get their bearings. "Suzee? Damage report."

Suzee checked her console. "Well, we were pretty lucky," she said in disbelief. "We have a few interior and exterior scratches, but nothing that the Christa can't take care of with her own healing powers. The shields are off line, obviously, since Bova landed pretty hard on the tactical console. And the thrusters are off line, probably just because the deutronium prism inched over a hair in this rough landing. I'll go check on it." She looked at Goddard in question.

Goddard nodded, allowing her to go. The Yensidian disappeared down the jump tubes.

"Thelma," Goddard called.

"Yes Commander," Thelma replied.

"I need you to check the air outside to see if it's poisonous. Also, report on the visual area around us."

"Yes sir," Thelma said and instantly disappeared.

Two minutes later, Thelma returned. "The air here is not poisonous to anyone on board the Christa. Also, I have picked up some information that the Christa thought would be more constructive to tell you now."

"Good," Goddard said, relieved. "W-"

A loud whooshing from the jump tubes interrupted the Commander. Suzee emerged, breathless, and rushed up to the Commander. "You won't believe this," she gasped. "But the deutonium prism is cracked again."

Harlan and Goddard turned to gape at her. "Oh no," Harlan groaned.

Suzee nodded sadly. "I tried everything that I could think of to fix it but no avail." She sighed, seemingly in disgust. "I'll need a geological analysis of the immediate area, Thelma. Also we should set up an electrical fence or something like that. 'Cause there's no telling how long we're gonna be here."

"Well, here's some good news," Goddard said. "Radu, Harlan and I can help you with the fence and mining the ore. The air here isn't poisonous to us."

Suzee nodded, accepting his report. Her body seemed to relax a little.

At that moment, the doors opened and Bova and Rosie hobbled into the room. They each had an arm around each other's shoulders and Bova was leaning against Rosie's body.

Harlan whistled appreciatively. Bova reddened and tried to break free from the Mercurian but Rosie kept a firm grip on him. She wasn't about to let him get hurt, just because he was embarrassed.

"I ran medical scans on Bova and Ms. Davenport and they're both fine. Bova just woke up and Radu is watching over Ms. Davenport who is still unconscious." Rosie said cheerily.

Goddard regarded her sadly. He hated to shatter her good mood but… "Mr. Bova, get some rest. I'll call you when I need you."

Bova immediately seemed to regain his composure and he ran to the jump tubes. Punching in his destination, he chanted, "Sleep, sleep, sleep!"

Rosie giggled at his outburst. Goddard sighed. "Rosie, you're gonna have to watch Ms. Davenport." He said flatly. "We need Radu to help us put up an electrical fence. The deutronium prism was cracked yet again and we might be stuck here for a little while."

Rosie's smile faded. Just when everything was looking so optimistic… "Oh…" her voice faltered. "I'll… I'll go get him." She ran from the room.

Suzee rolled her eyes. "Well she took that well," she said sarcastically.

"Oh yes, of course," Goddard said, remembering.

"Relying only on your vision, you would think that this planet was inhabited solely by vegetation," Thelma explained. "But when her last people were here, the entire planet was contained in metallic bonding or 'indoors'.

"Eventually, once the people died off, the planet wasn't kept up to par. Without the people to prevent it, the natural vegetation grew back and the metal rusted and crumbled. The Christa predicts that the lapse of time between us and her people was approximately… two million years."

The crew held their breaths in awe.

"Now the only thing that remains from that past era that I can detect is the metal floor beneath us." Thelma concluded.

"So that was what that screeching noise below us was!" Harlan figured out aloud.

Suzee was not as easily impressed. "Man, this really was a bad idea," she grumbled. "There's not even some technology here that I could discover."

"That may not be true, Suzee," Thelma counteracted. "I am only reporting on the findings of the immediate area. The Christa was not designed to let me scan more."

"Speaking of the Christa…" Goddard said, "Why didn't she let us know this information earlier?"

"The Christa works in mysterious ways, Commander. Now excuse me. But I now must run a geological scan of the immediate area as Suzee requested." Once again, the android disappeared as Radu sprinted into the room.

"I heard," Radu reported before a crew mate could repeat the entire conversation to him.

Goddard nodded. "Harlan, Radu, Suzee, go get a wire with an electrical current flowing within it that is the diameter of the Christa and meet me outside."

"Yes sir, Commander," the cadets chorused. Harlan punched in their destination and the three shot down the jump tubes.

Suzee squinted and pushed her blue and purple bangs off of her sweaty face. She looked over to Radu and noted him pushing some of the wire into the soil.

Harlan was leaning against the airlock, looking enviously at the young Andromedan who had not dropped a sweat yet. Once he saw Suzee looking at him though, he quickly went back to work.

Suzee smoothed out the wire and started heaving it into the soil. Harlan, Radu, Goddard and she had finished burying the wire on the other side of the ship twenty minutes before and once Harlan and she completed burying the few inches of wire in front of them, all would be complete. Complete for all that is except for Suzee. All this fence would do is give any intruder a small shock. (It was designed for the less intelligent aliens that might appear.) Suzee was going to rig up an alarm system that would alert all crew inside that a stranger was in the premises. That would be the easy part. The hard part would be to make sure that the alarm didn't go off when the crew walked past it. She would have to get the alarm system to accept all of their individual organism structures.

Goddard came up just as Harlan stamped the last bit of wire into the soil. "Good work team," the Commander heaved. "Now let's get back to the Christa."

The crew started to file into the airlock, first Harlan, then Radu, then Suzee and finally Goddard. But before they even got inside, the three cadets turned, facing the woods. Something seemed to try and lure them in there, something tugging at the edge of their minds…

Harlan felt that adventure was ahead. Someone or something was in distress back there and he could save him, her or it! What a chance to prove that he really was responsible enough to be a Star Dog!

Suzee was positive that some technology, some brilliant technology that only she could work was out there. She could practically hear all of the sounds that were only emitted from Yensidian computers! Perhaps this was her chance to get herself home!

Radu felt a chance to be alone and find inner peace. Despite the fact that he had been getting along with his crewmates for some time now, he still didn't feel like one of them. Humans, Regellains and Yensidians seemed to live rapidly, barely stopping to take a breath. Andromedans tended to take life slowly, savoring each moment. And the fact that he was one of the few individual Andromedans made it even better. He had the advantage of accepting that some joyous moments were only available to him. Other Andromedans would call that selfish but Radu didn't care. Those 'joyous moments' made him feel more like a person.

Goddard looked at his crew expectantly. Finally he cleared his throat loudly. Startled, the kids turned to look at him. "The airlock is that way," Commander Goddard said sarcastically, indicating for them to go inside. "What is in that woods that beats relaxation inside?"

"Oh nothing," Suzee said quickly, wanting her thoughts to remain secret. Greed was tugging at her. No one else must know of her wonderful feelings… The boys nodded vigorously, sharing her wish and her greed. Harlan, Radu and Suzee hurried inside while the Commander stared after them suspiciously.

Davenport's eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness. The first thing that she saw was a little pink head bobbing over her. "Miss Davenport! You're awake!"

Davenport looked around the MedLab. "Rosie, what am I doing in here? Is the ship all right? Are we in danger?"

Rosie's smile faltered at the memory of the recent past. She explained their current situation to Davenport as calmly as she could.

Davenport listened to the girl with growing intimidation. "So we're stranded here? Stranded until we find some ore, which may take months?!"

"Cheer up, Miss. Davenport," Rosie said optimistically. "We've been in situations like this before, remember?"

Davenport nodded warily. She remembered all to well.

Geez! Rosie groaned in thought upon reading Miss. Davenport's facial expression. Everyone sounds and looks like Bova today! Her mind shifted to the pessimistic Uraisian. I wonder how he's doing. He's probably been asleep for the last forty minutes. I would think that the Commander would call for him but… Rosie shook her head. Commander Goddard had a habit of discarding the smallest cadets.

If he's been asleep for this whole time, then it would be wise for him to get some activity, her medical instincts hinted at her. And you've been aching to see the outsides of this planet. Perhaps he can accompany you. Rosie nodded, accepting her idea.

"Listen, Miss. Davenport, since you're conscious now, I'm gonna find Bova and take a walk. That is, unless you want me to stay with you."

Davenport shook her head and smiled, her way of showing gratitude for Rosie's thoughtfulness. Uncharacteristically, she said, "No you go right on ahead. I surely don't want to bore you with an accidental lecture that may pop out of my mouth. But be sure to keep the Christa in sight at all times." She grinned at Rosie's expressed relief at these words.

"Thanks, Miss. Davenport!" Rosie rushed to the doors.

"Oh, and Rosie," Davenport called. The girl stopped on the threshold. "Tell Mr. Bova that if he's feeling better, he must finish his assignment or else two demerits."

The noise of the jump tubes woke the small Uraisian up. He rubbed his eyes to make his blurry vision clear. He saw Rosie standing before him. "Did the Commander send you?" he asked thickly.

Rosie shook her head. "I thought that you might wanna take a walk with me."

"I'm to tired to move," Bova yawned.

"Excersise would be good for you right now," Rosie chided.

"No," Bova said firmly. "But since you woke me up, I'm going to the galley for a snack."

Rosie watched him helplessly. It would be rude to keep persuading him to come with her. But suddenly an idea came to mind and before her good nature could get the better of her she said, "Well since you're up Miss. Davenport said that you had to finish your homework or else you'll receive demerits. But she also agreed with me that you should take a walk now…"

Instantly the boy was beside her. "I changed my mind; I'll walk with you." He headed for the doors. Rosie grinned as she ushered him out.

Commander Goddard watched Harlan, Suzee and Radu disappear down a corridor. He shook his head and entered the ship. There he saw Bova and Rosie approaching him. "Hello Bova, Rosie," he said cheerfully. "Mr. Bova, glad to see you active again."

"Miss. Davenport said that it would be ok if we took a walk around the Christa," Rosie said.

Goddard nodded in disbelief. TJ would agree to that? Ever since they had landed on Lyonous Gane, everything had seemed off tinker. "Go ahead. But don't stray too far."

"Thanks!" Rosie responded happily. Even Bova seemed upbeat. What is going on around here?

The two smallest cadets stood outside of the airlock and breathed in the fresh air around them. Suddenly, as if hypnotized, their eyes swayed simultaneously towards the forest. Goddard watched them in concern as they focused on the dense trees.

Something is in there, thought Rosie. Something so great… like how things were back home. In the previous few months, Rosie had learned to treat her optimism realistically. Space had proven not to be the totally predictable happy place that her home was and if the crew had paid a tad more attention to her personal self, they would have found that she had used this information constructively. But something in that woods is as great as things back on Mercury. she decided. And some how, I'm gonna find what that something is.

Deep in his own internal monologue, Bova stood transfixed at the sight too. A chance to be alone, he thought. No more fainting teachers, 'older' kids taking the spot light, grumpy commanders and all too cheery Mercurians. Just me, a science project, some food, and some peace and quiet. This planet isn't so bad after all!

"Miss. Ianni, Mr. Bova!" the Commander bellowed.

Shocked they turned to him. "What?" they chorused in surprise.

"I saw you two staring intently into that forest," Goddard drawled. "Exactly the same way that Harlan, Radu and Suzee were a few minutes ago. Now, would you be so kind to tell me what mystery has lured all of your eyes to that spot?"

Rosie and Bova caught his drift. "Just woods, Commander," Rosie said a little too brightly.

"See for yourself," added Bova. The two brushed past Goddard, greed of keeping their good feelings a secret very active within them.

Suzee paced the girls' bunkroom, contemplating a way to escape the woods that night. Surprisingly, even with her mind so preoccupied, she was able to complete the task of rigging up an alarm system.

The doors opened and Suzee jumped in surprise as Thelma entered the room. Before Suzee could express herself, Thelma reported, "Suzee, due to the fact that Commander Goddard wanted me to run tests on the soil and trees around us, I didn't have time to get you this." She handed the Yensidian a slip of paper. "They're the coordinates of a bed of prismatic ore. It's not in the immediate area but it was the best I could do."

Suzee snatched up the coordinates, forgetting about the woods. "I'd better tell the others and mine this thing out," Suzee said excitedly. "Radu probably overheard us anyway."

'Well," Goddard joked. "Elmira's powers must have rubbed off on you guys. I saw each of you staring intently into those woods today. Now I know why."

The cadet's looked at each other curiously. Were the same emotions felt among all of them? "Commander, I request permission for the five of us to mine out the ore on our own," Radu blurted out.

The other's stared at him in surprise. Goddard looked skeptical. "Team, we just landed here a few hours ago. I'm not sure if it would be a good idea for you guys to roam around by yourselves…"

"Are you saying that I'm not responsible enough to handle the situation?" Harlan accused.

"Of course not Harlan, I just thought…"

"Well what if we wear comlinks?" Suzee hurriedly suggested. "We'll call you if anything goes wrong."

Goddard seemed to take this into consideration. His eyes swayed critically across the group, lingering on Bova and Rosie. Finally he sighed. "If you wear comlinks and if you're back on ship at twenty four hours sharp."

The cadet's gave out whoops of relief and started high fiving each other. "Thank you, Commander," Radu said politely. "We'll make sure not to abuse the privilege." The kids rushed inside to get prepared.

A now familiar suspicious look crossed Goddard's face. "There is something about those woods…"

The cadet's wandered through the woods, Suzee's electronic compass leading the way. They each managed to admit to the feelings they had about the woods and were ok with sharing this experience with the others. Well everyone that is except Bova.

"Figures," the boy muttered under his breath. "Harlan gets adventure. Suzee gets to discover something, Rosie gets to be happy and Radu gets inner peace. Which leaves me and my wish. To be alone. Man, I was right, this planet bites."

Radu overheard this and came over beside the Uraisian. "Maybe your wish will be granted," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic, no avail. "The… the bed of ore could be big and the areas that we're mining could be… spread apart!" Oh great job, Radu, the Andromedan thought sarcastically as Rosie, Harlan and Suzee began to laugh and Bova glared.

"Look!" Rosie suddenly shouted. She pointed to the object that had caught her attention.

Ahead of the crew lay a triangular pavilion. It was about eight feet high and five feet wide. The entire inside of the building was filled with a large silver screen. Many buttons and gadgets poked out from beneath the screen.

Suzee looked at the building in awe, then to the electrical compass and back to the building. "The ore is supposed to be in there," she whispered.

Suddenly an automated voice blasted in their ears, permeating from the screen. "Is this what you are looking for?" In front of the building, a deutronium prism materialized. Then a flash of light emerged from the screen and touched each comlink.

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