Chapter 4 – Missing

Just like a sprinkler with terrible timing, the rain returned. Captain Garcia, Gena, Steve, and Lr. Wright all returned to the shuttle. It was at this point the search for Paula began. All around the area you could hear people shouting her name. Lana and Jack walked between the ships. Gena and Steve searched the insides of the ships. Lt. Wright and the captain checked the tree line. They both had weapons so they could defend themselves if they needed to. The entire team searched high and low for her.

After several hours, Lana turned the last corner. She was done. She stopped walking. Jack stopped and asked, "Are you okay?"

Lana was exhausted. With her last bit of energy, she kicked a nearby stick and angrily shouted, "NO!" She fell to the ground. Kneeling in the wet grass she said, "We can't see anything in the rain and in the stupid dark. I am wet, tired, and this is all my fault. This is all my fault! I never should have left her alone."

Jack kneeled down in front of her. They sat there for a minute. Lana was in despair. Jack smiled and said, "You know, when I was a kid and I did something right, my dad would reward me for giving me chores to do. Some kids would get candy from their dads, nope not me. He would make me clean the house. On the day that I graduated from high school he surprised me with a present. Absolutely crazy. I was so excited. My dad had never gotten me anything before. I opened it and inside was a bag of shit."

"Your dad gave you a bag of shit?"

"Yes, needless to say, I was a little upset. I asked him, I said, Dad what the hell? Why do you do this to me? What kind of father gives his son SHIT? He said, this is a learning lesson. Sometime, despite all your efforts… you just get shit."

Lana laughed a little bit. "And I thought my dad was harsh." Jack stood up and held out his hand for her. Lana grabbed his hand and used it to pull herself up. Then she asked, "How long can she survive with one O2 tank?"

Jack took off his tank and said, "Long time actually. The bottom portion is a converter. It electrifies water and converts H2O into oxygen over time. If you never take it off, I would say you have about 22, maybe 23 hours of air until the tank needs to be recharged."

Lana was happy to hear this. "Good, then we can take a moment to dry out." Suddenly the ground shook. Like an earthquake but with greater force. Lana could see the ground heaving up and down in the distance. The ships nearby started to creak from the stress. Jack grabbed the nearest ship with both hands. Lana held onto him. The tremors quickly died down as she asked, "What was that?"

Jack released the ship and replied, "Earthquake? But since we are not on earth, we can call it whatever we want. I say we call it a Quakeshake."

Lana let go of Jack and looked around at the terrain. Everything seemed to have returned to normal. It would seem earthquakes were common even on other planets. Without another word, they walked toward the research station.

After entering the airlock Lana noticed something was different. On the ground in the Livingroom area was a pile of clothes. Wet clothes and two O2 masks. Jack saw it too. These were not Paula's clothes. There was a wet SEU space jumpsuit, black coveralls, and a gray shirt. There were sounds coming from the back room. not sounds of mechanical work, no these were sounds of a different kind of work being done.

Lana walked over to the back room and pushed the door open. Gena and Steve were having sex on a table. Upon hearing the door open, Steve and Lana locked eyes for a second. It could have been open for a second or a thousand hours, regardless it was way too long. The door slowly swung itself shut again. Lana walked away in a fit of rage. She shot a disgusted look at Jack as she shouted, "Are you kidding me?!" Lana pressed the radio button on her mask and said, "Captain! While we have been outside looking for our lost crewmember, Steve and Gena have been screwing in the Research building!"

Within a few seconds, Captain Garcia responded, "Are you fucking serious?!"

"Yes, very serious. Can you come here and deal with this?"

Jack keyed up the radio too, "Captain, do I have permission to kick both of their asses?"

Captain Garcia responded, "Shut it, Myer. I will be there is a second."

Jack walked over to the control panel on the wall and checked the air pressure in the room. The air was breathable. Jack took off his mask for the first time in hours. He had a horrible red mark around his face where the seal had been pressing against his skin. Lana took her mask off too. It felt good to breath without the mask on for once. Steve slowly leaned around the corner as he said, "Hey guys. We didn't hear you come in."

Jack nodded and replied, "I can see that. I take it you and Gena didn't search the ships very thoroughly."

Steve leaned back and said, "Oh, we did. We did. But it was horribly wet outside and we just wanted to come in and dry off for a bit."

Lana fired back, "I don't know where you learned how to dry off, but that's not how most people do it."

After a few minutes Captain Garcia and Lt. Wright come back into the Research building. The captain had a face of anger that make even Lana feel like she had done something wrong. He asked one simple question, "Where are they." At the same time, Lana and Jack both pointed to the back room. The captain walked into the back as the screaming began. The captain was not holding back. He was just as mad as everyone else was.

While they were standing there listening to Steve and Gena getting yelled at, Lana noticed the device hanging off Lt. Wright's belt. It was the signal scanner that he had pulled from the shuttle. Lana reached for it but before she could, Lt. Wright said, "Don't touch." Lana pulled away from him, not knowing his intentions. Then Lt. Wright changed his mind. He took the scanner off his belt and said, "On second thought, I never did find the source of the distress signal." He powered on the device as Lana watched curiously. It was easy enough to understand. As he turned from left to right to signal increased and decreased in strength.

Jack said, "Let's go. It's better than sitting here listening to him yell for the next 30 minutes." Jack and Lana put their masks back on. They entered the airlock with Lt. Wright. After a few beeps and mechanical sounds, they walked out the airlock and back into the rain.

Lt. Wright led the way with the device. Lana said, "What is wrong with those two? Don't they care that a friend is lost on an unknown planet?"

Jack replied, "I have no idea. They don't normally act like this."

Lt. Wright added, "It's called post-traumatic stress and release. A friend is missing, their nervous system is maxed out. As a couple, they are always trapped in social situations with multiple people coming and going. So, they rarely get any alone time. When they get the chance to… take care of business. They do it." After saying that Lt. Wright waved the scanner towards the Maxwell SC24. Then he said, "This is it."

Jack opened the maintenance hatch and he said, "This ship doesn't have power. How could it be broadcasting a distress signal?"

"That's what we are here to find out." Lt. Wright said as walked over to the nearby ship. He grabbed a power cell off the ground and carried it over to the Maxwell. He hooked the external power cable up as the ship powered up. Jack and Lana walked toward the airlock, but Lt. Wright stopped them by saying, "Woah, woah, woah, I have the gun. I go first." They both stepped out of the way so Lt. Wright could be at the front, but the airlock was large enough all three of them could fit in there at the same time. So, Lt. Wright step in, then Jack, then Lana. The machine cycled doors to let them in. Lt. Wright pulled his pistol, so he had pistol in one hand, scanner in the other. He seemed very serious.

Lana followed him then shouted, "Paula?" Lt. Wright continued to follow the signal. Jack did a 360 look at each room. Lana said, "I am pretty sure this one has already been searched."

"Yeah, but the searchers were not as focused as they should have been. If you know what I mean." Jack said as he checked the next room.

Lana followed behind Lt. Wright. On the floor in the hallway was an out of place railing. It was a few meters long and appeared to have been torn from a wall. Lana though it was odd but didn't stop to examine it. Jack kicked it out of the way and said, "Sad to see a nice ship fall into such a state."

Lt. Wright continued to walk. He did not slow down for them. He walked almost all the way to the bridge then turned and stopped. He pointed the scanner at the wall and said, "This is it. The signal is coming from here." Lt. Wright pushed on the wall. It was solid. He pushed harder and harder. He back up and plowed his shoulder into the wall. It did not move or shake at all.

Jack studied the wall then walked around the corner. A few seconds later, Jack returned and said, "This is a fancy ship. There must be a hidden compartment right here."

"No shit. I figured that out five minutes ago." Lt. Wright scolded him while holding his now injured shoulder.

Lana walked over to the wall and examined it. It was just a normal looking wall. The only thing that stood out was tall vertical light fixture. It was just like all the other light fixtures in the hallway. Lana touched the light. Nothing happened. She attempted to push it sideway and the panel moved. The light deactivated revealing a number pad beneath it. Lana exclaimed, "Bingo!" It was a simple 0 through 9 number pads with an extra for SET, OPEN, and CLOSE. Lana pressed the OPEN button and the wall quickly slid open. Lt. Wright once again picked up his weapon and moved into the room.

Lana and Jack followed him into the small room. It was only 3 meters by 3 meters sized room. Barely large enough for the three of them. Inside on the wall there was mounted video display showing stats of the ship. A communication board including intercom and loudspeakers for the entire ship. Lt. Wright lowered his weapon and said, "It's a safe room."

Jack opened the storage bin and shouted, "Holy shit!" Lt. Wright and Lana both jumped. Jack pulled a bottle of wine out of the storage bin and said, "This is wine is Aria Canor! This is the stuff you order in fancy restaurant that cost you 20,000 credits per glass!" Jack wiped the dust off the label, then excited shouted, "It was bottled back in 2099! It's so old!" He showed it to Lana, but she was clearly un-impressed. In the storage bin next to the wine, there was dehydrated food, bottles of water. Enough food for weeks.

Lt. Wright pointed the scanner at the control panel. Then he crouched down and opened the cabinet doors below. "Found it." Lt. Wright said as he moved out of the way. Under the cabinet there was an emergency distress beacon. He pressed the touch screen and toggled the power off. It made an electronic whirling sound as it turned off. He stood up and said, "This room must have its own power supply. In case of emergency the owner could hide out in here and call for help."

Lana looked over the control panel. There had to be more here. She touched the main keyboard and started to activate the system logs. While she was doing this Jack collected all the food, water, and wine from storage. Then he turned and said, "You guys have at it. I am taking this stuff to the main building. We have food and drink for days." Jack turned and left the room.

Lt. Wright watched him go. After he was out of earshot and stated, "Moron, we are not going to be here long enough to get hungry."

Lana did not listen to them. She found the last recorded log in the system. She pressed play. On the display showed a man. He was wearing nice clothes. Then he said, "No one is coming for us." He touched his bald head and stared into the camera with desperate eyes. He was clearly in distress. "They won't get me. You hear! They won't get me like they did to her. They won't! I have a plan." The man fumbled with a pair of handcuffs. He handcuffed himself to the railing on the control panel. Then he laughed manically and said, "Ha, ha, ha, I win this time! That's right I am a survivor. You can't have me… you can't have me…" The man fell to the floor crying. He cried for at least 30 seconds then he reached up and turned off the recorded.

Neither Lt. Wright nor Lana said anything. They both stood there in shock. Lana had never seen anything like this before. This wasn't a scene from a movie where the hero was getting ready to escape. This was the last will and testament from a man on the edge. A man that was now missing. Lt. Wright touched her on the shoulder then asked, "How long ago was that recorded?"

Lana pressed the button to back out of the recording screen then she said in horror, "Nine days ago." Lana's eye followed down to the railing in the control panel. The railing that was no longer there. She walked around Lt. Wright and back to the hallway. She stopped at the out of place railing on the floor that they had passed on the way in. She knelled down and picked it up. Lt. Wright followed her and watched. He recognized the railing from the video. Lana held it up to him and said, "Can we start panicking now?"

Lana and Lt. Wright brought the video back to the research station, plugged it into the main terminal, and showed it to the rest of the crew. Gena and Jack seemed to be just as disturbed as Lana was. Steve and the captain managed to maintain their composure. Lana stopped the video and waited for someone to say something. Everyone else was still processing the video in their heads. Captain Garcia was the first to speak, "This video doesn't prove anything. He set the destress beacon and cuffed himself to the control panel. He got dehydrated and then someone probably showed up to save him. They had to remove the railing to get him outside."

Everyone had something to say, they all started talking over each other. Lt. Wright spoke louder as he said, "Captain, if I might say so myself, and I think I speak for everyone in this. We are all tired. This place is wearing us down. It is making us question our senses. Yours… My senses."

Jack cocked his head to one side. Lana was just as confused. This was the strangest thing she had ever heard Lt. Wright say. He was always very professional. Always very methodical with his words. To hear him carelessly throw words together was strange.

Steve stepped up and said, "What Lt. Wrong is trying to say here is that we should leave. We should take what we can and come back for the rest later."

Lt. Wright shot him a nasty look and said, "That is not what I was trying to say."

Captain Garcia cut them both off and stated, "I don't care what either one of you were trying to say! We are not leaving without our lost pilot. Ms. Johnson is out there right now probably hallucinating and talking to imaginary people. You think we are going to abandon her?" His rage could be felt in every word. No one responded. The room fell silent. The captain walked over to a chair and sat down. He said, "Nighttime is only four hours long here so the sun will be up again in a few hours. At first light, we search the forest. If we search the entire area and find nothing, then we expand our search and do it again. And again, and again, and again, until she is found. Got that? I don't want to hear another word about leaving a crewmember behind."

There was no need to argue with him. Everyone accepted it and sat down. For the first time since she had been back Lana noticed Steve and Gena were in new clothes. Jack picked up the food, water, and wine that he collected from the Maxwell at took it over to the table. "If anyone is hungry there is plenty to go around. This is the good stuff too." Jack glanced over to the captain. He still wore an angry look. Jack tossed him a bag of food at him. The captain caught it with one hand as Jack said, "You aren't going to be any good to us if you are starving, captain. You like bananas? Banana?" The captain tore into the bag of dehydrated food.

Lana watched as Jack worked his magic on the captain. Despite being a thorn in his side, Jack was always there to lighten the mood.

Gena waved to Lana and called her over. Gena led Lana to one of the back rooms. She thought maybe Gena was going to apologize for her actions earlier. Gena said, "Your turn. I know you are tired of wearing wet clothes. You have been wearing that business suit for the last 3 years." Gena opened the closet area revealing a several outfits inside. "Whomever set this building up had quite a collection of clothes."

Lana didn't like this at all. She said, "I don't want to take these people's clothing."

"Look at the dust on these linens. They have been sitting here for over 5 years. Trust me, they didn't leave anything that they actually wanted. Plus, most of these fabrics are water resistance. You will appreciate it tomorrow." Gena left the room and shut the door so Lana could change in private. Now that Lana was alone, she looked over the clothing selection. After some careful thought she grabbed a light-yellow shirt and dark pair of pants to match. Of all the clothing selection these were probably the only ones that would fit her size. She also kicked off her muddy business shoes and put on a pair of boots. Now she was ready for work. Lana found a mirror to check herself out. She was certainly a far cry from the businesswoman she used to be. Then again, the business was equally as far away.

Lana opened the door to return to the main room. Jack saw her coming out with new clothes on. He stood up from his food and smiled, then he said, "Hell yeah. My turn!" Jack started taking his shirt off as he walked toward her. Lana froze in the doorway. She was beyond confused. Jack dropped his wet shirt on the ground as he approached her. Lana blinked a few times to realize he was talking about the clothes. Lana turned sideways so he could get into the room. Jack squeezed by her to get in the room. In the process, Lana got a close up look at his wet naked chest. He was in good shape. Not bad for guy who spends most of his time in hibernation.

Jack stopped for a second as noticed Lana's captivation. With a quick blink of her eyes Lana thought to herself, no, this is not the time for such things. Lana shut the door and turned to enter the main room where everyone else was sitting. She sat down and picked up some dried food. This food could be as old as the outfits were. Maybe even older. Suddenly a spark of thought entered her mind. She turned to Gena and asked, "Hey, you said these clothes have been sitting here for 5 years, right?"

Gena nodded, "Yeah, we looked over the last recorded logs in the system. They were made over 5 years ago. Why?"

Lana walked over to the terminal, sat down, and activated the logs. Captain Garcia watched as she did. Then he added, "There is nothing of interest in it. Just some doctor talking about her job and how excited to be on a new planet."

Lana played the very first log. The woman in the video was smiling and happy as can be. She said, "This is Doctor Tyrus in my very first log. The date is January 16th, 2264. We just arrived on the planet 627, it is hot and raining as it has been for the last 2 days. The base is all set up and we are ready. Mr. Parks is ready for the exploration missions. I am ready to start cataloging and studying all the new and interesting things that they are going to bring me…"

Lana stopped the video and said, "January 16th." Lana exited out of the log and searched for the newest logs. There were only three of them.

Lana pushed play on the very first log and listened. Once again Doctor Tyrus appeared with a big smile and said, "This is Doctor Tyrus. The date is January 22nd, 2264…"

Lana stopped the video she covered her face and said, "Oh my god." She turned to the captain, but he still had not put the pieces together yet. Lana said, "Am I the first person to realize what happened to this station? The first log was made five years ago on January 16th and the very last log was made on the 22nd. That's six days. This entire facility was only in function for SIX days until everyone disappeared!"

Lt. Wright scratched his chin then said, "Not necessarily, maybe she just didn't have time to make any more videos. She was busy with whatever she does."

"Whatever she does? She was a research scientist! All she does is make video logs about discoveries." Lana turned to Steve and asked, "How many people do you think lived here? Just a ballpark number."

Steve scratched his head and replied, "Judging by the clothing selection, food storage, and number of bunk beds I would say at least six or seven. That is not including ships that were coming and going."

"Six people disappeared in less than a week." Lana stood up and turned to the captain. Then she said, "Is this not the slightest bit alarming to you?"

Captain Garcia disagreed. His face carried a sour look now. He replied, "Just because the last log was made after six days doesn't mean they all disappeared. That was just the last log they made. They could have been too busy to make any new logs. Hell, they could have been here for months without making logs. If you go up to the POLO right now, I can tell you there haven't been logs on that thing for years. It certainly doesn't mean we all disappeared."

Lana started to disagree, she had a point to make, "Yeah, but captain…"

Without missing a beat Captain Garcia put his fingers over his lips signaling to her to be silent. Then without blinking he pointed to the back room. Lana understood what he was trying to say. She took several steps back but stopped when she realized they were headed toward the changing room. Before she could protest, Captain Garcia pushed her into the room. He had grabbed her by the collar of her shirt. As she stumbled into the room, Lana got another view of Jack without his shirt on. Captain Garcia shut the door and release his grip on Lana. Without looking at Jack, Captain Garcia said, "I get it. You're scared. Everyone here is scared. Everyone out there is trying to hold it together. I am trying my very best to keep the crew from falling apart. Your dooms day talk isn't going to help anyone right now. You want to point out all the weird shit on this planet, do us all a favor and keep it to yourself. Deal?"

Lana did not respond. She nodded to show that she understood. Captain Garcia turned around returned to the main hall. After a few seconds, Jack said, "You are going to let him talk to you like that? You should have punched him in the mouth. I would have backed you up."

Hearing Jack joke about getting in a physical altercation with a 60-year-old man was surprisingly humorous. Lana replied sarcastically, "Yeah, I am really fitting in around here." She turned to see Jack was now standing there wearing a short sleeve shirt and just his boxers. She turned back toward the door and asked, "Why don't you have pants on?"

Jack replied, "For the same reason you don't have pants on."

Absolutely bewildered by this comment, Lana turned toward Jack to question him but suddenly she felt a cold breeze. She looked down to see she wasn't wearing any pants. What? How? Lana put her hands down to cover her underwear. She was without words. Jack just continued to put on clothes like nothing was out of the ordinary. Lana said shyly, "Umm, can you pass me a towel or something really quick?" Jack did not respond. She glanced around for something to cover herself with but when she couldn't find anything. She said again, "Jack, help me." But as she turned back toward Jack, he was gone. Like he just disappeared.

Lana turned around expecting him to be in the room somewhere. There was only one exit, and she was standing by it. Before she could think twice, Gena jerked the door open leading out to the main hall. The rest of the crew was watching her. Their silence only lasted for a moment as they began laughing hysterically. Lana was mortified. They all shouted profanities at her. She turned away only to see herself in the mirror. The rest of her clothes were gone too. She was completely naked. In an attempt to cover her naked body, Lana ran to the closet. As she did, Lana slipped on black tar on the floor. The crew's laughter turned from loud into a thunderous roar. Lana closed her eyes and covered her ears. Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop… and within a few seconds it did.

Lana woke up leaning against the wall in the corner of the main hall. Someone had draped a blanket over her. She checked to make sure she was wearing her clothes. She was. Captain Garcia was still awake sitting at the terminal with empty food wrappers nearby. Steve and Gena were sleeping against the wall leaning on each other. Jack was in the middle of the room sleeping on his stomach. He had a pile of clothes he was using for a pillow. Lana stood up and double checked to see if she was wearing all of her clothes.

To her right the airlock door cycled as Lt. Wright walked in. Lana watched him carefully half expecting this to still be a dream. It wasn't. He removed his mask and said, "Rise and shine people. The sun will be up in a few minutes. The rain has stopped. Let's get to moving here."

The rest of the crew barely stirred. Lana stuck her foot out and kicked Jack in the arm. Jack rolled over and peered at her through his sleepy eyes. Then he said, "That was the shortest amount of beauty sleep I have ever gotten." Lana noticed his shirt. It was the same shirt that he had been wearing in her dream. Lana began to panic. How much of the dream was real?

Lana waited for Jack to stand up and stretch. Then she stood up and asked, "Did we talk last night? Like before we fell asleep?"

"No, I thought maybe you were going to tell me how you wanted to dream about me. But you didn't. Naturally, I was crushed. I'll get over it though. I'm a big boy."

"Shut up, Jack." Steve said as he stood up. Steve popped his back and groaned. Leaning against the wall was not very comfortable even in low gravity. After he was done stretching, he continued, "I am not ready to hear your running you mouth this early in the morning."

Jack stood up and stretched as well. Then he said, "Damn Steve, you are starting to sound like the captain. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not."

Captain Garcia coughed a bit then stood up and pressed the button on his prosthetic leg. He moved his leg around for a second until the adjustment kicked in. Then he said, "I am too old for this shit. Alright everyone, get your game faces on. I am only covering this once." The captain grabbed a marker off the table and walked over to the wall. Drew a quick diagram of the area labeling each one. This is building. These are the ships. This is the tree line. Then he drew 3 large circle around the whole picture. "This is our functional search patterns. Two people per team. At least one person should have a gun. Inner circle, middle circle, and outer circle. We walk counterclockwise around the clearing. If anyone sees anything at all they say the word. That means footprints, etc., anything at all. We complete the circle then regroup at the building."

Captain Garcia wrote the teams on the right side of the diagram. "Inner circle is Jack and Gena. Middle circle will be myself and Lana. Outer circle will be Wright and Steve. Now, does anyone have any questions for me?"

Steve raised his hand and asked, "Why am I on a team with the Lieutenant? Gena has a weapon. Why can't we be a team?"

Captain Garcia answered instantly, "Because you and Gena spent enough quality time together yesterday. I don't want to have to go looking for you guys because you wanted to take a random roll in the hay." Steve didn't say anything after that. The captain had made his point.

Everyone put on their O2 masks and walked outside in single file. Maybe it was the morning or lack of sleep, but everyone seemed less than excited to be here. Or perhaps it was the dread of what they could find out in the forest. On the positive side, the rain had stopped. For the first time they could see the clouds above. The sunrise gave the clouds a beautiful red glow.

Lana followed the captain as they made their way to the trees. Lana inspected shuttle 202 as they passed by. That was the last place she saw Paula. Hopefully it would not be the last. After walking ten meters into the forest Captain Garcia pressed the radio button on his mask and said, "Jack. Gena. Start right here. We stay in the line of sight of each other. No one else is getting lost on my watch."

Another twenty meters Captain Garcia pointed at Lana to stop. Lt. Wright and Steve continued deeper into the woods. They walked away until the captain shouted, "That's good! Alright everyone. One big circle. Let's go."

Everyone started walking counterclockwise. Lana surveyed the forest floor for any sign of Paula. Everyone started calling her name. There was so much area to cover. It was a needle in a haystack. Lana regained her focus. They were going to find something. They had to find something.

Twenty minutes of walking later, Lana checked for Jack and Gena on her left. Then she looked to Lt. Wright and Steve on her right. She was expecting to see one of the other teams having more success than they were. Captain Garcia asked, "Don't focus so much on the ground. Watch the trees too." Lana raised her head to see the branches and trees that littered the forest. She certainly enjoyed the blue hues in the leaves. She thought about picking one to take home but then she stopped herself as she saw a bizarre looking tree.

This tree stood out from all the other trees in the forest. Its bark was almost black. Lana walked over to it and walked around it. The bark was smooth. The tree got smaller as it went up. The top of the tree reached the same height as all the others, but the branches forked out in eight different directions about two meters and stopped. All of the branches were evenly spaced and without any leaves on them whatsoever. Lana stared at the tree trying to understand it. This action did not go un-noticed by Captain Garcia. He walked over and knocked on the tree. Then he said, "That doesn't even sound like wood. This is a unique tree to say the least. What do you make of it?"

"It's so weird. I would never have believed this kind of tree ever existed." Lana touched the tree to feel it's smooth texture. Then she pulled away from it and said, "Then again, everything here is alien to me. I am sure you see stuff like this all the time."

"More often than I would like to admit." The captain replied as sat down on a wet log to adjust his leg. Lana glanced left and right again to see the others. Jack and Gena were on the inner circle. They were way ahead of everyone else. Steve and Lt. Wright were way behind. The captain stood up again and said, "Have you ever heard of a fouler? We stopped on one of the Tennix moons for a delivery once. These creatures are the ugliest, drooling things you could ever image. Best way to describe them would be to take a boar add extra eyeballs, legs, and long fur coat. Even in your wildest dreams you wouldn't see something so hideous."

They started walking again, Lana asked, "Is that why they call it a fouler?"

"Probably, but despite their monstrous appearance they are smart and playful. You can ride them if you can tolerate the smell. They are extremely popular with the locals."

"I see, what is the point you are trying to make here?" Lana said as she took a moment to try and kick some of the mud off of her boots.

The captain continued, "The fouler was just an alien the first-time humans saw it. Like everything on this planet." The captain rubbed his forehead. The he said, "Old age must be creeping up on me. I've noticed my memories have been failing me. Like somethings are getting harder to recall than others. You ever have that problem?"

Lana nodded, "Yes, I have felt that too. If I were a doctor, I would say it is a combination of low gravity, dehydration, and the lack of sleep."

"Lack of sleep? At least you got a few hours. I didn't get any at all."

"Speaking of the lack of sleep, did we have a talk last night? You know, before we fell asleep?"

"No, why?"

"I had a dream that you yelled at me."

The captain laughed a little bit then he said, "They say our dreams tell us about our mental state. Sounds like you had a Myer dream."