September 9, 2152
Nephenee cuddled a large body pillow and snored loudly until her alarm clock chimed loudly. Drool flew in every direction as she jolted up. Her long arms extended out while she yawned and drowsily moved off the bed. She clicked a few buttons on a small machine and put a cup underneath, yawning all the while. A few moments later, coffee began spraying into a mug that read, "Don't talk to me while this cup is in my hand." Once it finished dispensing, Nephenee grabbed the mug and started drinking it immediately, not stopping except to breathe until the whole container had been drained. Almost robotically, she put it back on the stand and restarted the machine. While it was brewing, she asked Jask, "How long until we arrive?"
"We will reach the Tau Ceti system in four hours," Jask beeped, "You still haven't decided if we will go to Temia or Paloth first, Miss Lavender."
"I know, I know. What are the major differences again?" Nephenee groaned.
"Temia sits at the inner edge of the habitable zone, meaning the temperature is fifteen degrees warmer on average than the Sol System. Its other unique feature is a single, gigantic land mass containing climates ranging from temperate grasslands to mountains to deserts," Jask explained, "Paloth sits at the outer edge of the habitable zone, meaning the temperature is fifteen degrees colder on average than the Sol System. It's much more tectonically active than Temia; as a result, its land mass consists of millions of islands, some of which are surrounded by ice." Nephenee drank her second cup of black coffee as she weighed her options.
Nephenee clicked through some photos on the screens and commented, "Based on these recent scans, there's no intelligent activity on either planet. Did Innes have any suggestions when you asked him?"
"He indicated that he would be fine with whichever you chose," Jask replied, "Do you have any questions that I can answer that will sway you one way or another?" Nephenee huffed and brought up a roster list of her squad.
"We've got the crew to scout them both at the same time, so let's do that. Split the squad as evenly as possible but give Innes the extra person. After we have first-hand knowledge about both of them, we can make a better decision," Nephenee decided.
Jask chimed, "Very well, Miss Lavender. Will you be leading the dropped off party or the ship party?"
"Give the ship to Innes," Nephenee commanded, "Better to share our resources than hoard them." With that comment, she began to get ready for the day. Like usual, she wore the standard issue track suit and tied her long, straight, teal hair up in a high ponytail. After getting ready, she proceeded to the training room and practiced the training regimen Emory had passed on to all the squads. Even in the short time she had been doing the routine, she felt like her stamina and mana pool had grown by leaps and bounds. When the training was finished, she grabbed Innes and headed towards the cargo hold.
"Final check of the gear, Innes," Nephenee said as she dragged him along, "Got to make sure everything is ready to go."
"Did you finally decide which planet we're going to? You're really cutting your decision close," Innes commented.
"Actually, I couldn't make a decision," Nephenee sighed, "But then I got a great idea. Why pick between the two planets when we could just go to both?"
Innes huffed, "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this idea?"
"It's simple. You'll drop half of the squad and me on one planet while you take the other half to explore the other one," Nephenee explained in a coy voice, "Then whichever planet is easier to build on is the one we'll go with. See, simple?"
"You want to split our squad in half before we even get a base set up? Are you crazy?" Innes bemoaned her as soon as they entered the cargo hold.
"It's the best plan," Nephenee persuaded, "On the surface, both planets have opposite problems: one is cold with not enough land, the other is hot with too much land. Once we get on the surface, we'll be able to clear decide which one is better."
Innes crossed his arms, "It's just not safe. I know we don't have any signs of intelligent life, but who knows what the wildlife is like on these planets?"
"I don't mind it a little rough, or don't you remember?" Nephenee whispered in Innes's ear which caused his face to go bright red. When she saw the reaction she had caused, she giggled and walked into the room to assess the gear. Innes continued to stay frozen as his whole body seemed to be blushing. "Well, are you going to help me or just stand there?" Nephenee called without even looking back, "I just said one place is cold and one is hot, so we must make sure all the gear is easy to get to. We'll probably have to move some things around."
Innes shook his head back to reality and started helping Nephenee check the supplies. "So, which one of us is going to which planet? Do you have a preference?" Innes questioned as he examined some baubles.
"I don't have a preference," Nephenee stated plainly, "We can flip a coin if you want."
Innes conceded, "Actually, I'd prefer to go to the cold planet. Paloth, right? I have a natural source of heat after all. Plus, if we encounter any beasts, they're not likely to have much resistance to fire."
"That's okay with me; I didn't really want the cold planet anyway," Nephenee admitted as she stood beside Innes, "But if we end up staying on the cold planet, you can keep me warm." She smacked his butt cheek after she made that remark as she passed by to look at something else. He tensed up immediately and returned to his flushed appearance.
"Umm, look, Nephenee, do we need to talk?" Innes started in a hushed voice, "I don't really know how to handle this situation."
Nephenee playfully batted her eyes as she turned to face Innes, "What do you want to talk about? Tell me what's on your mind."
"You know," Innes mumbled as he stared at the ground, "About the other night. As I said before, I was drunk and apologize for my actions."
"Don't apologize; everything that happened was consensual and enjoyable. It was a single occasion, until it happened again the next morning. And there was that moment in the canteen yesterday too," Nephenee smirked as she sauntered over to Innes.
"That's exactly why I wanted to talk," Innes breathed, "What is this?" He gestured at the two of them, but Nephenee caught his hand after a couple movements.
Nephenee murmured, "Don't think about it. Let's just enjoy whatever this is while we have it." Her hand gently pinned his down as she kissed his neck. Innes thought about protesting more at first, but when he tasted her lips, the thought quickly left his mind. Smiling, Nephenee pushed Innes over onto the table they were next to and hopped on top of him. Half an hour later, the pair left the cargo hold separately, disheveled and slightly sweaty.
When they were an hour away, Nephenee gathered the squad together and explained how they would be split into two groups. As expected, some of the people were nervous about splitting their already small group in two, "Listen, I know this is a scary decision," Nephenee reasoned, "But remember these two key facts. First, even the most recent scans show no signs of activity in the system besides us. Second, our mission is the only one to another G-class star like Sol, meaning ours will be more vital in the future than the others."
"Both Nephenee and I are confident that this is very temporary. Once we finish scouting, we'll share information and decide on which planet we will establish a base," Innes added, further calming the squad's nerves.
"I will lead the team on Temia, the warm planet," Nephenee continued, "Innes will drop us off and then check out Paloth, the cold planet. We'll scout most of the day then reunite at the end of the day." This finally convinced the squad that separating for a brief time was the best action. As the ship approached Temia, she gathered her half of the squad in the cargo hold. To Nephenee's surprise, someone had arranged the warm climate gear and several all-terrain vehicles towards the door. She had meant to, but then Innes was there, and she had a problem holding herself back around him for some reason. The ship shook as it went through the atmosphere, landing smoothly otherwise. First landing protocol would normally require some members of the squad to leave through the airlock and then open the cargo door from the outside, yet Nephenee had overridden the controls and opened the large cargo door after the ship had done a scan of the area. Quickly, the crew unloaded the scouting gear and vehicles onto the surface of the planet. Just as the ship was about to take off again, Innes ran onto the cargo door and saluted Nephenee. She yelled to him, "Keep our ship in one piece and stay warm!"
Due to the quick landing and drop off, Nephenee hadn't really taken a look around them. Once the ship left, she looked around at a familiar sight: seas of yellow grain. Wild wheat looking grass covered the flat ground and large savannah trees littered the landscape. She could see deer, horses, and sheep, or creatures that resembled them, in the distance and hear all manner of birds and insects; Temia was alive and thriving. Because of the level land, one could see miles to the north where the trees began to become dense and to the south where the trees became sparse with watering holes and ponds scattered throughout. She spoke boldly, "Time is of the essence. Scan everything you can and then start shouting out summaries or time-sensitive information. I'll walk over to the pond and get the readings on the water." When she walked about halfway there, the comments started coming out.
"The grasses here have similar DNA structure to those in the Sol system."
"Soil composition resembles Earth as well."
"Oxygen levels are at twenty-two percent."
"Wildlife is analogous to the Sol system."
Every statement called out made Nephenee happier because not only was this planet habitable, but it was also idyllic. It only took fifteen minutes for Nephenee to walk over to the watering hole which had several herbivores drinking water around it. While she was checking it, she saw no fish, but amphibians dominated the water. The scanner beeped and indicated that the water safe to drink though boiling it first was recommended due to microbes swimming in it. Once she returned to the group, she instructed them to set up an antenna and assemble the travel vehicles. Most modern vehicles, especially those used by the military, were largely collapsible due to contemporary materials and fusion power permeating every aspect of humanity's power needs. When the bikes unfolded, they resembled a roll cage with a double seat on top of a motor with thick, all-terrain tires. Like the bikes, the four-passenger Jeep were hollow and open, allowing for quick and easy transport but at the expense of defensive plating. In the end, it only took an hour to assemble the antenna, four bikes, and a Jeep.
Nephenee divided her group into three teams of four and gathered them around a hologram of the area. Each team would cover one third of the three hundred square miles surrounding the antenna and would check in every thirty minutes or immediately if they saw anything resembling intelligent creatures or advanced technology. Before they set off, they all heard confirmation that the ship had successfully landed on Paloth, and the crew was getting ready to scout as well. With that news, the group went their separate ways and began exploring as soon as Nephenee hopped into the back of the Jeep.