Some Sci-Fi Writing I Did.

[Crushmaster]

I have a series called I.S.E. I've done some work on. This is the longest thing I've written on it; it's not that good, as it's a year and a half old or so, and there's some grammatical errors. But, if you're interested, here it is - think, "Christian Star Trek":

Prologue

The year is 2204. Man's ability to travel in space has risen drastically since 1969, when he first set foot on the moon. Space travel is almost as normal now as driving a car was then - yes, a lot can happen in two hundred and thirty years.
The last seventy years have been hard ones for earth, as they have been riddled with war. Whether it was communists against capitalists, terrorists against Europe and America, or wars of superpowers against superpowers, war was everywhere. And, as such, space travel and the exploration thereof has been neglected...terribly neglected.
But, this year brings new hope to earth, as an uneasy peace has been reached with all the nations of earth due to the efforts of the Alliance of Democratic Nations (A.D.N.) To celebrate this peace, the Alliance came up with a solution for the prOBlem of the lack of space exploration - a solution called Project: Intergalactic Space Expedition (I.S.E.) The mission of I.S.E. is to help explore the places in space not yet traveled; a mission which would require a good ship and a good captain.
Finally, after much bickering, arguing, and discussion amongst the leaders of the Alliance, both were found - in the form of an American ship called the U.S.S. Independence.

Chapter One: The U.S.S. Patriot.

Captain Darren Parker sat in his chair on the bridge of his ship, the U.S.S. Independence, staring out into the seemingly endless corners of space.
He and his ship had been chosen out of two hundred others for this project - the project known as Project: Intergalactic Space Expedition (or Project: I.S.E.)
Captain Parker treats this mission with the utmost care and responsibility, as the Alliance has placed great confidence in him. To search out new life, to explore new galaxies, to find other democracy-minded nations - all this and more is on his agenda.
And he handles it efficiently, safely, and to the best of his abilities. Which are quite good, actually.
"Officer Lewis," the captain said to a man sitting at the communications control board to his left. "send a message throughout the ship, calling the officers to the council room - I need to brief them on our new assignment."
The man nodded, and clicked a button on the control board to turn on the intercom. He sat still a moment, then turned around.
"If you don't mind my asking, sir," he said. "what is our new assignment?"
"To find an American ship that recently went missing near planet Venar 7 - the U.S.S. Patriot, to be precise."
"Oh." His curiosity quelled, the Communications Officer turned around and began his message. "Attention, all officers of the U.S.S. Independence, please report to the council room. There, Captain Parker will brief you on our new assignment." He pushed a button on the board, turning the intercom off.
"Thank you, Officer Lewis," said the Captain. The Communications Officer turned around and smiled.
"You're welcome, sir." Captain Parker stood up, and walked over to his right, where the ship's Head Engineer, Jake West, was messing around with the ship's scanners.
"Jake," began the captain. "I've got to go a council meeting. You're in command here until I get back. Understood?" Without even looking up from what he was doing, the tall, brown-haired engineer nodded.
"Yes sir, Cap'n."
The Captain smiled and shook his head. When Jake was focused on something, it was hard to get him UNfocused.
He turned and began walking towards the elevator, which was flanked by two security guards, dressed in their usual uniform of black pants and a red shirt, each with a Fast Fire Plasma Pistol (or FFPP) at their side.
As he walked to the elevator, the two guards saluted. The Captain responded in a like manner. The automatic doors then opened, and the Captain stepped in.
As the doors closed back, the captain said, "Computer, level four please."
"Very good, sir," answered the computer. A whirring noise sounded, and Captain Parker felt the elevator going down to level four as he wanted.
Though he's been the captain of a ship before (the U.S.S. Endeavor), he's only been the captain of the U.S.S. Independence for about two months. Most of the crew is fairly inexperienced, and under the age of 25. Young and inexperienced, yes - with a fairly young captain. But, the Alliance chose him and the Independence to carry out the mission, and he has to do as they wish.
Finally, the elevator stopped, snapping Captain Parker out of his thoughts. The doors opened, and the captain walked out into one of the long halls of level four of the Independence...

All the other Officers and I stopped our talking as the door to the council room opened and Captain Parker walked in. Even though he'd only been our captain for about three months, we had deep respect for him and his abilities.
Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Rick Conrad, the twenty-year-old Weapons Specialist of the Independence. I'm also a Christian, which gave me and Captain Parker something in common from the start.
My three best friends in the crew are Chase Powers, second-in-command of Engineering, Rachel Clemens, a medic and an assistant to Doctor Nathan Harrison, and Jan Bennet, Science Officer of the Independence.
The Captain then walked over to the chair at the head of the table, and sat down slowly, seemingly inspecting all of us unconsciously.
"You've been called here, as the message said, to be briefed on our new assignment. Do any of you have any idea what the assignment is?" We all shook our heads. He smiled.
"Precisely why I called this meeting. The assignment is very, very new, as I received it only three days ago from Admiral Redford. Any time before then...the assignment would have been impossible to have been given." The Captain pushed a button on the table, causing the lights in the room to dim greatly. He then pushed another button, and a large holographic glOBe showed up in the middle of the table.
"This is the general area we are in now," explained Captain Parker. "The blinking light on the glOBe is the Independence. And the planet closest to it...is Venar 7. That is the basis of our mission."
"Excuse me, sir," interrupted Doctor Nathan Harrison, the Independence's Chief Medical Officer. "but you said that three days ago that this assignment would have been impossible to have been given. Does that mean this...situation arose recently?" The Captain nodded.
"Correct, Doctor. The purpose of this assignment is to attempt to find the Patriot, a missing Alliance ship. It's been missing for six months, and, though ships were sent out to search for it, no traces of the ship could be found. And the last communication the Alliance received from the Patriot said they were near Rectar, a small planet covered in rolling forestland. The area was searched, and the planet was scanned, but they couldn't find any remains of the ship...Until a few days ago, that is. At a trash factory, at a small colony, a huge hunk of a ship was found. Being the colonists had been told about the disappearance of the Patriot, they checked the piece. True enough, it was part of the Patriot - part of the bridge. A computer was on the piece, and on it part of the ship's journal. While much of it was garbled and just solid static, they were able to make out two words: Venar 7. And the log was done after the last received communications. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is our mission: to search the area of Venar 7, including the planet itself, for the Patriot."
"Isn't that a bit of a small lead to go on?" asked Trent Stuart, commander of the Independence's security force. Captain Parker nodded solemnly.
"Yes, Trent, it is a small lead..." The captain's eyes narrowed. "But if following up on this lead will save the lives of any survivors of the Patriot, every bit of work put into will be worth it."
These stirring words from the captain caused a brief silence, until my friend, Engineer Chase Powers, spoke up.
"Sir," he said. "how exactly are we going to determine whether the Patriot crashed there? And if, they did, if there are any survivors? Scanners?"
"That and communications, Chase." Chase's brow furrowed.
"Communications, sir?" The captain nodded.
"The Admiral told me to attempt communications with the planet before scanning it - then, if no return communications are received, we're supposed to scan the planet and beam down."
"How long until we attempt communications with the planet, sir?" I asked.
"Good question, Rick," said the captain. "but I'm not sure exactly when. When I checked with the Head Helmsman earlier, he said we should be there in an hour and a half. And that was thirty minutes ago. So that's our plan - to attempt communications within the hour."
"And after that?" My friend, Medic Rachel Clemens, asked.
"...As I said before, whether we get an answer or not, we'll beam down a landing party, consisting of myself, you, Rick, Chase, Commander Trent, Science Officer Jan Bennet, Doctor Harrison, and a group of six security guards." The captain paused for a moment, then started talking again.
"Any other questions?" he asked. Silence. "Well then," he continued. "you've heard our assignment. All members of the landing party, meet me at the bridge in an hour. Everyone else go back to your duties." A smile lit up the Captain's friendly features. "We still have a ship to run, you know."

"What did you think of the assignment, guys?" Chase asked me, Rachel, and Jan as we all sat at a table in the rec room, waiting to be called to the bridge.
"Sounds simple to me," I replied.
"Me too," agreed Rachel. Chase nodded thoughtfully, and turned to Jan.
"What about you, Jan?" Jan had been fidgeting with a computer at the table since we'd been there, and hadn't participated in much of the conversation. Chase cleared his throat.
"Jan? What about you?" Jan jumped, and looked up at Chase.
"Hmm? What?" Chase rolled his eyes.
"What do you think of the assignment?"
"Ohh, that...Well, I hope we do find the Patriot. I've been researching some about it on the computer, and it's quite amazing. The Patriot had a thousand person crew, including many well-known people." Her eyes shone for a moment as she continued. "Doctor Benjamin Gordon was on the Patriot...Oh, I'd love to meet him! I've read so many of his books, watched his lectures..." Rachel glanced around thoughtfully, then looked at Jan.
"Benjamin Gordon..." she said. "Isn't that the scientist who came up who designed many of the weapons and vehicles for the Alliance?" Jan nodded.
"Yes," she answered. "he did do many vehicle and weapon designs for the Alliance. Besides that, he improved the designs for the Alliance attack ships and command ships."
"Did he come up with the Cyber Elite Extreme Velocity Assault Ship (CEEVAS)?"
"Yep. He also invented the Supersonic Stealth Fighter (or SSF) and the Armored Plasma Assault Tank (or APAT)." She smiled. "He came up with too many weapons, ships, and vehicles to count!"
"Who was the Captain of the Patriot?" I asked. Jan looked down at the computer.
"It says," she began. "that Frederick Montgomery was the Captain. He's fifty-nine, and was a war hero back when earth's nations were still warring."
"I remember him," said Chase. "He and my father were at the Alliance Academy together. Never saw each other after that, tho..." Suddenly, a whistle-like noise sounded, and a voice, evidently that of Captain Parker, followed.
"Attention," he said. "will all members of the planned Venar 7 landing party please report to the bridge. We will be attempting communications with the planet shortly."
Chase smiled.
"You heard the man. Let's go!"
* * *
A few moments later, Chase, Rachel, Jan, Doctor Harrison, Commander Trent, and myself were all standing on the bridge of the Independence, as ordered.
Though we were all rather jittery and excited, Captain Parker merely sat quietly in his chair, staring out of the bridge's windows into the endless parts of space, as he often does when he's thinking.
He had been like that since we'd arrived, merely saying "Hello". He hadn't said another word since then. Finally, the silent wait became too much for Doctor Harrison.
"Captain," he said in a very impatient tone. "are we going to try and communicate with Venar 7, or not?" Captain Parker turned around and faced the doctor.
"Yes, Doctor," he said. "we are. Right..." he looked down at his watch. "now." He turned back around, and looked at Communications Officer Lewis.
"Officer Lewis," he began."attempt communications with the planet Venar 7 now, please." The Communications Officer nodded, and began pushing buttons on the communications control panel.
"Attempting communications with Venar 7 now, sir." Officer Lewis pushed a few more buttons on the panel, took a deep breath, and then began his message.
"This is the U.S.S. Independence, calling Venar 7. The U.S.S. Independence, calling Venar 7." A yellow light blinked furiously on the control panel, and static was heard after every few blinks. But, besides that, the only noise heard was our breathing as we waited for a response. Finally, Officer Lewis turned around, a somewhat helpless look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Captain," he said. "but I'm not getting any response." Captain Parker nodded.
"So I see, Lewis. Try contacting the planet again." Lewis shrugged, nodded, and turned back around. He pushed the intercom back on, and began another message.
"Attention, Venar 7," said the Communications Officer. "this is the U.S.S. Independence. Do you read me?" Silence, as before, only more eerie. Officer Lewis sighed, and glanced back at Captain Parker.
"Sir," he began. "do you want me to try one more time?" The Captain nodded.
"Proceed with final attempt, Officer Lewis." The Officer nodded, and began his final message.
"This is the U.S.S. Independence, calling Venar 7. The U.S.S. Independence, call..." Suddenly, a loud crackling noise was heard, and a voice came through on the other side of the intercom.
"Th-the U.S.S. Independence?" stuttered the loud voice from the other side of the intercom. "You...you are real, aren't you?" Captain Parker, snapped out of his trance-like state, pushed a button on his chair, turning on another intercom.
"Yes, we're real," answered the Captain. "We were sent here to find you. May I ask your name, sir?" A deep sigh came from the other side of the intercom, and then a response was heard.
"I'm Captain Frederick Montgomery," the voice replied.
"And I'm Captain Darren Parker," said the Captain. "We're glad we found you. We tried contacting you two times before this attempt, with no response. We were afraid there were no survivors, or you had no means of responding to our communications."
"Yes, I'm sorry about that. Our only remaining Handheld Communicator is damaged, and it only receives transmissions on rare instances."
"Well, glad it worked this time, at least. How many of your crew from the Patriot survived the crash? And, how exactly did you end up on Venar 7?"
"Survivors?" said Captain Montgomery with a tinge of confusion in his voice. "Oh, yes, survivors...I would say around 100 survived. As for how we were crashed here..." he paused, as if recalling the experience was painful to him. Finally, after a moment of silence, he continued. "We were attacked by some strange alien ships of some sort...They were shaped like caltrops, only with three points instead of four, with a pilot capsule in the middle. We tried blasting at them with our lasers, but they were too fast. In the end, our ship was blasted mostly to pieces, and it crashed on the planet."
"I see..." said Captain Parker quietly. "Have there been any dangers on the planet? Like, hostile aliens or anything?"
"None," answered Captain Montgomery. "Say, Parker, I don't mean to sound impatient, but...we've been here for a good many months now, and I and my remaining crew would kind of like to...get off." Captain Parker chuckled grimly.
"Yes," he agreed. "I can see why you'd want to. We'll beam down shortly, and then bring you up in groups of twelve back to the ship."
A sigh of relief came from the other side of the intercom. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that, Captain. Well, I'll see you and your landing party shortly. To find us, just do some life readings - we should be at the place with the strongest readings."
"Very good, Montgomery," replied Captain Parker. "We should see you within the hour."
"Alright. Signing off." A loud "click" came from the other side of the intercom, and it was more than OBvious that the conversation had ended.
There was a moment of silence, as none of us really knew what to say. Finally, Captain Parker cleared his throat.
"Commander Trent," he began. "would you please go get your Security Crew ready for beaming down?"
Commander Trent nodded, turned on his heel, and began walking towards the bridge's elevator.
"Sir," said Chase. "do you want us to get ready as well?" Captain Parker, who had been looking out the bridge's front window, turned around and smiled.
"You are part of the landing party, aren't you, Chase?" Chase coughed, and nodded.
"Uhh...yes, sir." Captain Parker's smile grew.
"Well then, hop to it! I've got to go myself. I want to be ready to beam down in ten minutes or less!" Chase and I looked at each other and smiled. That was our Captain Parker, alright.

"Chase," I called from a room adjacent to where my friend was searching fervently for something. "are you almost done? The Captain said to be ready in ten minutes or less." As usual with Chase, I got no response.
Smiling, I grabbed a Long Barrel Plasma Pistol and holster and attached them to my belt. As, typically, only the Security Men carry laser pistols around the ship, unless of course we beam down to a planet or something of like.
Suddenly, a yell came from the next room.
"You almost ready, Rick?" the voice, evidently Chase's, asked. Happy he was done, I grabbed a few plasma grenades, put them on belt, and returned the call.
"Almost ready, Chase," I replied. "Did you find whatever you were looking for?" I heard footsteps, and Chase walked in.
"Yep," he answered, then patted his pocket. "Found it." I smiled.
"Glad to hear it," I said. "So, since you've already gotten your weapons, are you ready to beam down?" Chase smiled, and moved his arm in the direction of the door.
"After you, Rick."

Chapter Two: Beaming Down.

"Ahh, Rick, Chase," began Captain Parker as Chase and I walked into the Transporter Room, where, evidently, we were the only ones not already there. "I was wondering where you two were." Chase cleared his throat.
"Sorry about that, sir," he apologized. "I was just getting some...thing." Captain Parker smiled, and nodded understandingly.
"That's alright," he replied. "no prOBlem. Now that you're here, there's nothing to stop us from beaming down." He glanced at Commander Trent, and gave him a quick nod.
Apparently, it was a signal.
"Security Crew," barked Commander Trent. "Line up; at arms." The six well-disciplined men lined up quickly, standing in a straight line, their Double Barrel Plasma Machine Guns held in front, with each their FFPP at their side.
"Alright men," said the Security Commander. "are all of you ready?"
"Ready to beam down, sir," they said in the ever-serious attitude Commander Trent asks of his men. The Commander smiled approvingly.
"Excellent, men! Take your places." The men nodded, turned, walked over to the transporter pad, and walked up on it, taking the appropriate places. Trent then turned to his right, where Engineer Jake West and two of his assistants stood at the Transporter Control Board.
"Prepare to beam down my men, please, Jake," said Commander Trent. The Head Engineer nodded, and he and his assistants began pushing various buttons on the control board.
"Making the proper arrangements now, sir," he answered. A moment of silence followed, as the three engineers prepared the transporter pad. Finally, a rare smile sneaked onto Jake's usually solemn face.
"I think we're ready," he announced. "I've locked onto what appears to be a large chunk of metal. The wreck of the Patriot, I would guess. So, that's where you'll be beaming down. Security Crew, you'll be beaming down...now!" he pushed a button the control panel, and the six men on the transportation pad disappeared from view, going down to the planet below.
"Commander Trent," began Captain Parker. "please contact your lead man. Have him tell you what it's like down there." Trent nodded, reached down to his Handheld Communicator, flipped it open, and then clicked a few buttons. A few seconds later, a voice was heard.
"Commander Trent? Is that you?" it asked.
"Yes, Ryan," replied the Security Commander. "it's me. The Captain wanted me to ask you what it's like down there." There was a brief pause, and then Ryan responded.
"Well, sir," he started. "it's anything but homey, that's for sure. It's sort of misty and swampy. At least where we're at, anywhere." The Commander's brow furrowed.
"I see. Do you see the big hunk of metal you guys were supposed to beam down by?"
"Yes sir," answered the security guard. "It's hard to miss. And Engineer Jake was right - it is a part of the Patriot. There's writing on the ship that says "The U.S.S. Patriot."
"OK, thanks, Ryan. We'll see you in a moment." There was a moment of silence, as Commander Trent waited for a response from Ryan. None came, so he closed his communicator up. Though seemingly confused, he became his usual self a moment later.
"Is everyone ready to beam down?" he asked.
"I'm ready," I replied.
"So am I," said Chase. Commander Trent smiled, and look to the Captain.
"Are you ready, sir?" The Captain nodded.
"Ready as ever, Trent." The Captain turned his head over to the transporter pad's control panel, and looked at the Head Engineer.
"Jake? Is the transporter ready?" Inquired the Captain. Jake smiled, and shook his head, and he and two assistants began pushing buttons on the transporter control panel as before.
"No it's not, sir," he answered. "But it will be soon." As this was the first time I'd be on a literal mission on a planet's surface (all I've done before this is just picking up supplies and such), I was rather excited, and my mind was running wild as to what we'd encounter on the planet.
"Alright, landing party," started Captain Parker. "onto the transporter pad." We OBeyed instantly, and began the short walk over to the large surface. As we were walking, Chase nudged me.
"Don't you think it's a strange how Ryan didn't say anything when Commander Trent said, we'll see you in a moment?" I shrugged.
"A little strange, maybe," I agreed. "Still, he could've already closed up his communicator or something."
"I guess you're right, Rick," said Chase. "I'm just worrying needlessly." I smiled.
"We'll know that for sure in a moment," I replied as we stepped up onto the transporter pad. "Because we'll be down there!" Jake looked over our party quickly, then pushed a few more buttons.
"Landing party," he began. "make sure you're standing directly on the small transporter circles on the transporter pad." No one shifted their position, as everyone was standing directly in the middle of the circles.
"We're all in our places," said the Captain. "Beam us down, Jake!" The Head Engineer nodded, and looked down at the control panel to make sure everything was in order.
"Alright, everyone..." he put his finger softly on a large button, then continued talking. "You're beaming down...now!" He pushed the button down hard, and we were down to Venar 7!
* * *
"Wow," Chase began. "when Ryan said it wasn't homey down here, he wasn't kidding." I looked around at the swampy, misty landscape, and nodded in agreement.
"You've got that right, Chase," I said.
"It sure is creepy down here," added Rachel, shivering. "Say, where's the Security Crew? I don't see them anywhere." Captain Parker, hearing Rachel's comment, looked around.
"You're right, Rachel," said the Captain. "I don't see them either. And, I don't think there's any way they would have went looking around before we came down."
"They wouldn't, Captain," agreed Commander Trent. "Not my men. However, there's one way to find out..." The Captain eyebrows raised.
"How's that, Trent?"
"Well, in each of my men's communicators, there's a tracking device. We can contact the ship..." He paused, reached for his handheld communicator at his belt, pushed a few buttons, then continued. "...and have them see where Security Crew is on the computers." Suddenly, out of the blue, the voice of Officer Lewis was heard, evidently from Trent's communicator.
"Officer Lewis here," he said. "Something wrong, Commander Trent?"
"In a way, Lewis," replied the Security Commander. "Can you have Jake come up to the bridge? I need to ask him something."
An array of clicks was heard, and then Officer Lewis responded.
"He's on his way now, sir," he announced. "He should be here momentarily." There was a brief pause, and, finally, Jake's voice was heard.
"What did you need to ask me, Trent?" he asked.
"Well," started Commander Trent. "you know those tracking devices I put in my Security Men's communicators?"
"Yes...I remember. What about it?"
"I need you go to the radar computer and see...where the crew you beamed down earlier is." There was a very awkward pause, as Jake was OBviously quite confused. Finally, he responded.
"Umm...alright. I'll go check." Trent turned to Captain Parker and smiled half-heartedly.
"If they're on this planet, Captain," he began. "the radar will find them." Finally, Jake's voice was heard again.
"Trent?" he said in a somewhat confused voice. "You still there?" Commander Trent jumped, and tightened his grip on the communicator.
"I'm here, Jake," Trent replied. "What did you find out on the radar?" Jake coughed, and then responded to Trent.
"I didn't find out anything," he admitted. "The radar must be broken or something...because I didn't get any signals on the planet!" Trent bit his lip, worried.
"Yeah," he said. "You must be right. Well, thanks anyway. I'm sure we'll find them soon enough."
"Alright. Hey, do you want me to send down a few security guards? Like four or something?"
"Sure," replied Trent. "And thanks."
"No prOBlem, my friend." The Security Commander smiled, closed up his handheld communicator, put it back on his belt, and turned to Captain Parker.
"Captain," he started. "what do you think we should do when the security men are beamed down?" The Captain, who was looking at the wreckage of the Patriot, turned and looked at Trent.
"Hmm?" he said in an curious voice. "Oh, yes...I think it would be best if we split up and groups, and look for the security crew."
"Captain," interrupted Doctor Harrison, who had remained quiet most of our time spent on the planet's surface. "what about the survivors of the Patriot? That is our mission, after all." Captain Parker nodded in agreement.
"I know it is, Doctor," he answered. "But we need to find out where Trent's men are first. Well-disciplined, battle-trained men don't just hop up and leave - especially since we were beamed down only about five minutes or so after Trent talked to Ry..." Suddenly, right near where we were standing, four security guards appeared, all armed accordingly. A tall guard, apparently the leader of the quartet, turned around to face us.
"We're here, Commander," he declared. "What do you need us for?"
"To help us in searching for the missing guards, Gray," Trent responded. Trent turned to Captain Parker, an expectant look on his face.
"Ready for orders, Captain," he said. The Captain nodded, and motioned for everyone to come together in a circle so we could all hear his instructions.
"We're going to split up into four groups," he explained. "The first group will consist of the Doctor, a guard, and myself." Doctor Harrison shrugged.
"Fine with me, Captain," he commented. Captain Parker smiled.
"Glad to hear it," he joked. "Now, the second group will be Chase, Jan, and a guard. The third group will be Rick, Rachel, and a guard. And, for the fourth group, Commander Trent and Gray."
"Sounds good to me, Captain," I said.
"Yeah," agreed Chase, patting his LBPP. "I'm ready to go." The Captain smiled, and continued began giving his final instructions.
"We're to meet back here in an hour," he said. "so be sure to have your compasses ready." He then reached for his side, pulled his LBPP out of his holster, and gave last and final order. "Alright, everyone, move out! Keep your eyes and ears open, and your guns ready!"

"Sure is loathsome down here," declared the security guard, named Graham. "I wouldn't want our ship to crash anywhere, but this would be one place I definitely wouldn't want to crash on." I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah," I began. "I imagine the survivors of the Patriot are thinking the same thing."
"I hope we can find the security crew, find the Patriot's survivors, and beam up to the ship soon," Rachel said. "I don't like this place." I smiled grimly.
"Neither do I," I admitted. "But, I'm sure we'll be able to get back to the good ol' Independence soon enough."
"I sure hope so," Rachel said quietly. Graham had been quiet most of our search, as he spent most of the time looking around at the landscape, searching for any signs of the security crew or danger. As such, he was walking a bit faster than Rachel and I were, and was a good bit ahead of us. Suddenly, he stopped, stooped down, and picked up something.
"Hey, Rick, Rachel," he yelled. "Come here!" Hearing his call, and curious as to what he'd found, we rushed over to where Graham was standing.
"What is it?" I asked, as we both stood directly behind him. Instead of answering, he turned around, holding his hand up for us to see. In his grasp was a partly-crushed FFPP, the wires and such sticking out in different directions, with the casing chipped terribly.
"This was one of our men's guns," Graham declared. "It has to be." My eyes narrowed.
"But what would one of their guns be doing this far from where they beamed down?" I inquired. Graham shrugged.
"I don't know, Rick," he replied. "All I know is that this is one of our men's guns. I can't tell you any more than that." I looked around the area where we were standing, and then turned back to Graham.
"I guess we'd better start searching again," I suggested. Graham nodded, and looked down at his watch.
"We've still got forty minutes until we have to be back at the place where we beamed down," he announced. "so I guess we can search a bit longer." He glanced at the mist up ahead of us, and gripped his DBPMG tighter.
"I'll lead the way," he said. "Keep that LBPP of yours ready, Rick." I nodded, and we began our trek forward, going deeper and deeper into the swamps of Venar 7.
Everywhere we looked there was thick foliage, tall, gigantic trees, and the assorted swamp creature scurrying away from our view.
But no security men.
Finally, Graham stopped walking, and turned around to face Rachel and I, a somewhat annoyed and sad look on his face.
"Well," he started. "it's been about thirty minutes. We should prOBably start heading back." I nodded, though I didn't want to stop searching.
"You're right," I agreed. "Still, can't we look just a bit longer? Something may turn." Graham shrugged.
"Alright, Rick," he said. "But not too much longer. Only a few minutes."

"You know, Captain," Doctor Harrison began. "we've been walking for a good bit. Think we could stop for a few minutes?" Captain Parker and the security guard stopped walking, and turned to Doctor Harrison, who was lagging behind by a few feet. Captain Parker smiled at Doctor Harrison, noting the Medical Officer's grim expression.
"We can, Doctor," he said. "In fact, I was just about to suggest that. I want to call the three other groups and make sure they're alright." Doctor Harrison sighed in relief, sat down on a large rock, and pulled his canteen off of his belt for a refreshing drink.
The security guard stood watch intently, keeping his DBPMG at the ready. Captain Parker followed Doctor Harrison's example, and sat down on a large, mossy rock.
After taking a deep drink of the cool water in his canteen, he reached for his side and pulled of his communicator. He then pushed a few buttons, and, a moment later, Chase's voice came out of the communicator.
"Chase here," he said. "That you, Captain?"
"Yes Chase," answered Captain Parker. "it's me. How are things with your group?" There was a brief pause, and then Chase responded.
"Not too bad, Captain," he replied. "But no security crew. We're on our way back to where we beamed down now, actually."
"So no luck, huh?"
"None at all, sir." Captain Parker sighed.
"None for us either," he admitted. "Well, we should see you three soon. I'm going to call up the two other groups, and then we're going to start heading back."
"Alright. Over and out." Doctor Harrison, who had regained some of his energy by then, stood up and walked over to Captain Parker.
"Chase didn't find anything, Captain?" Captain Parker shook his head in dismay.
"Afraid not, Doctor," he answered. "I'm going to try calling Trent now." The Captain pushed several buttons on his communicator, and Commander Trent's voice was soon heard by both the Doctor and Captain Parker.
"Ahh, Captain," Trent started. "I was about to contact you. Find anything?"
"Nothing but a bunch of swampland," the Captain responded. "You?" There was a grim chuckle on the other end of the communicator.
"I wish I could say the same, Captain," Trent said. "Unfortunately, I can't." The Captain's eyes narrowed.
"What was it you...unfortunately found?" he asked. There was a brief pause, and then the Security Commander responded.
"Three dead security men, Captain," he growled. "All slashed to pieces." This got the Captain's attention.
"Did you find anything around them?" he inquired.
"Nothing," said Commander Trent. "Just a bunch more swampland." The Captain bit his lip, and, a moment later, replied.
"Alright then," he began. "you can head on back to where we beamed down. We'll be there shortly."
"Can do, Captain," answered Commander Trent. "See you then." Captain Parker nodded, and closed his communicator. Doctor Harrison's brow furrowed, as he saw something rarely seen on his Captain's face - a look of sadness.
"Three dead men..." he muttered. "Three men I'll never see again in this world." Doctor Harrison nodded solemnly, and put his hand on Captain Parker's shoulder.
"I know you don't like death any more than I do, Captain," he said. "but we've still got a mission to complete." Captain Parker looked up at the Doctor, and smiled half-heartedly.
"You're correct, Doctor. And as soon as I call up Rick's group, we'll be one step closer to finishing it." Captain Parker, his spirits slightly revived, flipped open his communicator again, and pushed a few buttons. There was loud 'click' and, a moment later, Graham's voice was heard.
"Private Graham here, sir," he said. "Do you need anything?"
"Not right off, Graham," replied the Captain. "I was just checking in. Is everything alright there?"
"Everything's fine, sir," Graham answered. "But we haven't found anything."
"Neither did we. Sadly, Commander Trent did...he found three security guards. All dead." There was a brief pause on Graham's end, but, after a few seconds, he responded.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Captain," he said. "Any special orders?"
"None I can think of, Graham. Are you on your way back to where we beamed down?"
"No sir, I'm afraid not. Rick wanted to search a bit longer." Captain Parker smiled.
"Well, be sure to finish up soon. We should see you in about forty-five minutes."
"Yes sir. Signing off." Captain Parker smiled, closed his communicator, and stood up to face Doctor Harrison.
"Ready to get going, Doctor?" Doctor Harrison shrugged.
"Ready as I'll ever be, Captain."

"So, what did the Captain say?" I asked Graham as he put his handheld communicator back on his belt.
"He was just checking with all the groups," Graham replied. "Also, he said that we need to start heading back to where we beamed down soon." Graham, evidently seeing the somewhat sad expression on my face, smiled.
"...I said that he wanted us to head back soon," he started, "not necessarily right now. Or, do you want to head on back?"
"I'd rather go on back," said Rachel. "But I'll go with whatever you two decide." Graham nodded, and turned to me.
"What about you, Rick?" he queried.
"I'd like to look a little bit longer..." I admitted. "But I'll leave it up to you." Graham shrugged.
"We may as well search a bit more," he said. "After all, there may be something around here we overlooked. To get the most out of it, though, I think we should split up - me by myself, and you with Rachel. Sound fine?" Rachel and I both nodded in agreement.
"I'm ready," I announced. "What's our searching area going to be?"
"For you and Rachel..." he began. "over there." He nodded to his right, where the area was a bit less swampy. "And for me..." he continued. "over that way." He nodded to his left, where it was a good bit swampier.
"Sounds good to me Graham," I said. "Can we start now?" Graham held up his hand, and shook his head.
"First, I need you to promise me one thing." My eyes narrowed.
"What's that, Graham?" I asked. He reached for his side, and pulled off the communicator from his belt.
"If you find anything..." he started. "and I mean anything, contact me on your handheld communicator."
"Yes sir," I responded. "I'll do that." Graham smiled grimly, put his communicator back on his belt, and got a tight grip on his gun with both hands.
"Alright then," he said. "move out!"

Chapter Three: Attacked!

"There certainly is a lot of overgrowth here," I said as I slashed away at branches blocking our path. "It's more like a jungle than a swamp."
"Yeah," agreed Rachel. "Hopefully without creatures to match."
"I'm sure it's completely safe out here," I assured her. "Besides, I doubt Graham would've had us split up if he thought we were in any danger."
"I guess you're right," admitted Rachel. "After all, what can happen in five minutes?" I nodded in agreement as I hacked down a large limb in front of me.
"Precisely," I said. "And, speaking of which..." I stopped walking, and glanced down at my watch.
"...We've only got two of those five minutes left," I continued. "So we'll have to start heading back soon." Rachel sighed in relief.
"Good," she began. "that means we'll soon be off this planet, and back to the Independence." I smiled grimly.
"After we find the survivors from the Patriot, that is," I added. Rachel nodded, and looked around at the misty, gloomy landscape surrounding us.
"I don't know if it's just this place we're in..." she started. "But I feel like we're being watched."
"It's prOBably just this place," I answered. "It's anything but cheery, that's for sure." Brrzzz! Brrzzz! Suddenly, my communicator began going off. After recovering from the surprise, I reached down to my side, clipped off my communicator, and swung it open.
"Rick here," I said. "Is that you, Graham?" I heard a cough from the other end, and a voice came out a moment later.
"Yeah Rick," it began. "it's me. Find anything?"
"Nothing," I replied. "Just drearier landscape - if that's possible." Graham chuckled.
"Can't be as dreary as what I was just in," he said. "I was in near knee-deep swampland most of the time." There was a moment of awkward silence, and then Graham started talking again. "I'm back at where we split up," he continued. "Are you two on your way back?"
"Almost," I responded. "We were just talking a minute."
"Better wrap it up," he ordered. "The Captain and the others started back a little while ago. Oh, and..." he paused a moment, then continued. "on the off-chance you find something on your way back, call me immediately. Got that?"
"I haven't forgotten, sir," I said. "Don't worry."
"Just making sure. See you two in a minute, Rick." There was a 'click', and Graham ended the conversation.
"Well, that's that," Rachel sighed. "Now we can head back to the others, complete our mission, and get back on the Independence." I nodded solemnly as I closed up my communicator and put it back on my belt.
"Sure seems that way," I consented. "I still can't help what wonder what happened to the security crew, though..." I paused, and unsheathed my machete. "I guess we'll never know, though." Rachel gulped.
"I can't say I want to know," she declared. I smiled, and swished my machete in the air a few times.
"You're right there," I said. "Well, we'd better get started. Graham's waiting, after all." The words barely out of my mouth, I began walking again, this time with more haste than before. Though I had cleaved a path only minutes before, somehow, someway, there were new vines and such blocking us.
"This place would be an environmentalist's paradise," I joked as I hacked away at more vines. "You cut down the plants and, a moment later, they're back." Suddenly, as I was about to slash down a vine, I noticed something on it...something red.
Curious, I reached up and took hold of it. It was soft...evidently cloth of some sort. Like the kind that the Alliance uses to make uniforms.
"Rick, is something wrong?" Rachel asked me. I jumped, and turned around.
"Wh...what?" I stuttered, and then cleared my throat. "Uhh...I don't know. I just found..." I held my hand up in front of Rachel, showing her the cloth. Rachel's eyes narrowed.
"What is it?" she questioned further. I shrugged.
"I'm not sure," I replied. "I know it's cloth. In fact..." I paused, put my hand on my shoulder, squeezed my uniform tightly, and then continued. "...it feels exactly like the material my uniform's made out of."
Rachel reached out her hand, took the piece of cloth, and held it tightly. After a moment, she looked up at me.
"You're right, Rick," she agreed. "it does feel the same...that means..." Her eyes widened. "Rick, one of the security guard had to have come this way!" I nodded, and smiled.
"Bingo," I said as reached for my communicator, and took it off my belt. "Now it's time to call Graham." I flipped open my communicator, and pushed a few buttons. In a matter of seconds, we heard Graham's voice.
"Rick, where are you?" he asked in a somewhat impatient - but also concerned - tone. "I was about to call you."
"Sorry, Graham," I apologized. "But we found something...maybe something important."
"What did you find? A guard?" Graham inquired.
"Not quite," I answered. "How quick do you think you can be where we are?"
"Quick enough," he answered. "I'll pull up the radar on my communicator, and track your signal."
"See you soon, then," I said. "We'll be waiting."