Chapter #4Chief Engineer Lang, reporting for duty. by: 10¥   The landing craft hovers its way out of the hangar, propulsion jets emitting a high-pitched wail as it flies towards the surface of the planet. It enters LV-4287's atmosphere, causing great turbulence. The passengers are rocked around, thankful for their safety harnesses, as they ready their minds and bodies for what they will find on the surface below.
Or at least, that's what you imagine is happening on the small shuttle as you watch it from your vid-screen. You're none too keen to go blundering around on such a remote and mostly unexplored planet. You feel much more at home aboard the Nostromo, surrounded by computers and machines.
Sighing, you close out of the video feed and begin running a diagnostic of the ship's inner workings. Knowing it will take roughly half an hour to complete, you decide to head to the mess hall to grab some breakfast. Your stomach rumbles in agreement.
Upon arrival, you find several other crew members have had the same idea as you. A few are your fellow engineers, subordinates on this voyage. Others are familiar to you, but not particularly close, such as the captain and the head of security. Still others you have not bothered yourself with remembering.
Grabbing a bowl of cereal, you sit down at one of several long tables, occupied only by a pair of men wearing the badge of the Research and Science team: a small green beaker over the Weighland-Youthani logo. Your own depicts a silver wrench over the same background, which you feel mischaracterizes your profession, but you assume that the two scientists across from you feel the same about their own emblem.
The two are engaged in a quiet but rather animated discussion, which you strain to hear. You are not, of course, in the habit of eavesdropping, but you are bored this morning, and have to admit that you are rather curious as to what the fuss is all about.
"I'm telling you," the first man, young and fresh-faced, mutters to his compatriot, "The readings check out. This planet isn't uninhabited like the company thought it was! There are native life forms! That's the only logical explanation!"
The other, an older, balding gentleman, pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before grunting dismissively. "You're probably just picking up signs from the colonists. Trust me, Weighland-Youthani doesn't settle planets unless they're sure they can sell the land to settlers. And no one in their right mind moves across the galaxy to a planet with dangerous wildlife. Even if you were picking up native creatures, they're probably harmless."
The younger man frowns thoughtfully. "I suppose, but still, we should send a warning down to the landing party. They need to be careful." He pushed himself away from the table and stood up. "I'll go send the message." He walks to the nearest exit, his white lab coat swaying behind him, and steps through. The older man turns to regard you for a moment before following.
Something doesn't feel quite right to you about the conversation you overheard. It sounds almost as though the colonists, along with the landing party, could be in danger. And the look that the older man gave you...
Still, it's not your place to meddle in the affairs of others, and it might be kind of awkward to explain that you were spying on them, especially if this turned out to be nothing of concern. Perhaps you should just stick to what you know best and head back to the engine.
Or maybe this is worth mentioning to the captain. You're sure that he'd want to know of any potential danger to his crew, and he might be able to help ease your mind about the issue. You could rest easy knowing that he was aware of the situation, though again it could prove sn awkward discussion when you got to how you acquired this information.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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