Tana raised her hand, "Stop, please, and identify yourself. We don't want any conflict."
"My name is Ninian, and I also come in peace," the woman sweetly replied, "I wanted to see who had landed on this barren land."
"Are you a native resident to this planet? You're the only higher lifeform we picked up on our scanners," Gwen pressed.
"No, I would be hard pressed to call myself native to any planet," Ninian explained, "I have traveled here to try to jump start life." Gwen and Tana's jaws dropped when they heard this incredible remark while Ninian smiled charmingly at them.
Tana finally coughed, "I'm sorry, did you say jump start life? What do you mean? How does one even do that?"
"You're the inquisitive one, aren't you?" Ninian giggled as her tone became more enchanting, "Once life has started, it doesn't always make the first big hurdle from single cell to multi-cell life. I can use my magik to help it along, but it's a slow process."
"Are you some sort of god?" Gwen gasped.
Ninian laughed, "Not at all. Surely, your scans detected our genetic similarity. I am just one of you from among the stars. Now, I've answered all your questions; I think it's time you answered some of mine. Why did you come to this planet?"
"We came to explore the stars and spread life though with technology because our magik is not that powerful," Tana answered, "But we're also looking for another race of creatures called the Mantoan. We're at war with them."
"Ah yes, the Mantoan, they are a ravenous bunch. But humans were once like that too, not that long ago. I have a request then. May I see and study the equipment you will be setting up? Perhaps I can work on the sea while you work on the land," Ninian suggested.
"Of course, we would gladly show you our equipment," Gwen replied as if she was under a love spell, "It's all clean energy and environmentally conscientious."
Tana tapped on the cargo door a few times and called, "Open up, people. Welcome our guest."
"Are you sure, Tana?" Jask beeped on her wrist, "Your body currently has abnormally high levels of dopamine and oxytocin. Your judgement may be impaired."
"Jask, open the door! You're being rude," Tana snapped. Slowly, the cargo door lowered, revealing the squad, armed to the tooth. But as soon as they saw Ninian, the sound of weapons clanking onto the ground rang throughout the ship. Without a word, this stranger gracefully walked into the area and began looking at each of the machines. When she'd have a question, she would ask boldly, and they would answer her completely, in much more detail than necessary for any non-Collective member, let alone a completely unknown entity. After an hour of questions and answers, she nodded to the people and returned to Gwen and Tana at the foot of the ship.
Ninian smiled, "Your machines look quite sophisticated and are powered by clean energy, just like you said. I will allow you to create a base here on the land. Please only use the frozen glaciers for water and keep your processes out of the liquid water beneath the ice and in the seas."
"We can do that," Tana accepted without thinking, "If you need anything, feel free to drop by again." The gentle beauty nodded before creating a sphere of blinding magik around herself and shooting off in the direction she came from. Everyone continued to stare at the glowing sphere until it disappeared from view, at which point everyone collapsed. For some reason, their hearts were racing, and their breathing was heavy; several people even passed out.
Jask beeped loudly on Tana's wrist, "You are feeling withdrawal. Hold still while I administer the antidote. Stay calm." Tana coughed slightly as she crawled over to Gwen, one of the people who had passed out.
"Jask, is she alive?" Tana choked, "Gwen, can you hear me?"
"Her pulse is strong, but the effects of the chemical overload are keeping her unconscious. Should I try to wake her?" Jask asked.
"No, she's fine," Tana heaved a sigh of relief as she rolled over on her back, "What the hell was that?"
Jask chided, "As I stated from the beginning of your encounter with the 'Ninian' character, the chemicals in your brain that help decision making or off the railings. My only guess is this is some undocumented sphere of magik."
"Great, so a Charm sphere or something?" Tana tried to laugh, "Did you get any other readings on her?"
"I was able to do a full analysis of her DNA while she was here and found a few vital details. Most importantly, her DNA contains zero errors, meaning she is biologically immortal. That means I cannot tell her real age, and therefore, the size of her mana pool. Based on her DNA structure, her mana pool could grow indefinitely, and since magik is bonded at the atomic level, she could have a limitless amount of magik at any given time," Jask carefully warned.
"So, she might as well have been a god," Tana sighed, "Any good news?"
Jask dinged, "Two. She is nearly a thousand miles away, and your squad is waking up." Then several groans and moans filled the cargo bay as Gwen rolled on her side and opened her eyes.
"Did I act like an idiot?" Gwen moaned, "Because I feel hungover, which usually means I was an idiot." Tana laughed as she got to her feet and helped Gwen to hers. Slowly, the squad got moving again, but most people were sore and worn out. Half an hour later, they were in better shape and started bringing the equipment onto the rocky surface. Since there weren't any creatures around, they focused on setting up fresh water from the glaciers, the RRS, and crafting station. The construction process took a little longer than anticipated due to the suits they were forced to wear. Still, within eight hours, all three facilities were set up, though Tana decided to take a short break before firing up the RRS. She tried to collect her thoughts to give an accurate report about Ninian, yet when she focused on her memories, they seemed a little hazy. Finally, she stood up, walked to the structure, and started the RRS. Since it took a minute to connect and the building was heated, she took off her suit for the time being to look more proper. When the screens began lighting up, she stepped onto the platform and was instantly surrounded by projections of Emory, Gatrie, Nephenee, and Shepherd.
Shepherd boomed, "Another successful landing! Congratulations to you all! Tana, please give us your location and the report on it."
"We chose to land and setup on Bustrun. It was a better choice in the long run," Tana began, "As the reports indicated, this world currently only has single cell life in the water. However, we also encountered a foreign entity as well. I'm sending you a report of it now." She tapped a couple virtual buttons on her wrist followed by several dings from the other people. Everyone took a few minutes to read the report.
"Am I ready this correctly, that you identified a new sphere of magik and a new species of humans, in the same day? Good job, Tana!" Emory cheered.
"That's what you got out of this?" Gatrie fumed, "If Jask's analysis is correct, this newcomer is immensely powerful! In the span of a few days, we've gone from a couple races out there to half a dozen at least. This mission has gone from bad to worse."
Nephenee snapped, "Gatrie, get ahold of yourself! Tana, do you think this new humanoid is a friend or a foe?"
"Honestly, I get a neutral or apathetic vibe from her, if anything," Tana explained, "She seemed to be unconcerned with our presence as long as we followed her rules."
"That's disturbing but not necessarily a threat. We're already up to our ears in those already. Tana, you and Gwen have a lot of important reports to get through tonight. As Gatrie alluded to, the uninhabited worlds are much more settled than originally thought. The short version: Emory's squad has encountered a foreign entity, Nephenee's squad uncovered enemy technology, Gatrie's squad is surrounded by a powerful, native entity, and the Mantoan are only a subsection of a larger enemy group," Shepherd frowned.
Emory interrupted, "Sir, I believe we are working on a tenable solution to all problems. Very soon, my ally and I will be able to respond to any threat instantly. Combined with the army you're sending to Nephenee, we will be fine until we're ready for Phase Two."
"What's the status of that solution?" Nephenee sighed, "I don't want to sound like Gatrie, but we'll only have twenty-four hours of a heads-up before the enemy arrives."
"Hopefully in two days. I should break through tomorrow which means I'll take the rest of the day to perfect the other magik," Emory estimated.
"We will be ready to support by then as well," Gatrie confirmed, "We'll spend tomorrow building the apparatus to the specifications you sent."
Tana's shoulders slumped, "I apologize, but it will be several days before we're ready to send assistance. Our progress is slowed due to the weather here."
"Don't worry, Tana, we didn't factor you into this plan," Shepherd reassured her, "Emory, have Tethys get the gear ready so you can go as early as tomorrow night. I don't need to remind you the army is still eleven days out."
"Yes sir. We'll be ready by tomorrow night's report," Emory affirmed.
"That reminds me. Since all of you have set up the RRS, we'll report in at 1800 in-person every two days from today on," Shepherd ordered, "Still send in your reports on the days we don't meet in person at the same time. Are there any other topics for discussion right now?" The four young adults shook their heads. "That concludes our meeting then. Please call immediately if you need to," Shepherd concluded. His hologram disappeared faster than the other three which Tana found odd. As she got off the platform, her wrist dinged several times, indicating that she had received all the previous reports. When she left the room, Gwen was standing there, back against the wall, already reading the reports that had come in. The pair walked in unison back to the command center to start bringing up the information on bigger screens. It was early in the morning before they finally finished, so they decided to go to sleep for a few hours. What a crazy journey the four squads had undertaken, and it was only beginning.