Annica’s heart raced as the ship tilted toward the rings of planet xjf. Her stomach became queasy as she entered a command into a keypad at her console, it being a command that she had just entered in a moment ago. Though she sat in the captain’s seat aboard the scout ship Mabon 5, she had no control of the ship. The ship hurtled further off course, heading directly for the massive rosy colored rings of this Mars sized planet, which had blue-green soil and high yellow clouds.
“What the hell happened?” Annica wondered. She has just turned thirty-three, was petite, Asian-American, and had shaggy black hair. She stuck the tip of her tongue in between her lips before she spoke. Like the others, she wore boots and a white jump suit with an Earth Federation path on the left sleeve.
“The thrusters misfired?” Max said from the seat to her right.
“That’s impossible!” Annica shouted.
Max cleared his throat, and then said, “I don’t know how it happened but—"
“Well get the damn things working again.” Annica didn’t take her eyes from her computer.
“Oh my goodness we’re heading straight for the rings. I estimate impact in eighty-three seconds. Those rings are full of sand and pebbles, some of which are big enough to produce a massive crack in the hull of the ship,” Pepper said from a console behind and to the right of Annica’s seat. At thirty-four, he appeared light complected, had light brown hair, and was slim.
Annica thought, This is just great. My first command and I lose the ship before the first month is through. I have to get the crew out of this alive or the only starship I’ll ever command will be in my dreams.
“Shut up!” Max snapped. “Only two thrusters are working.” Max, forty-two, was African-American, over six feet tall and husky. He wore a short afro and a beard.
“I’ve figured out every possible combination. There’s no way to use them to avoid a collision,” Jared said with his hand on his hip from his seat next to Pepper’s. Jared was twenty-seven, had black hair and a mustache, and was in athletic shape.
“Send out a signal. Tell them to send a rescue ship,” Annica said.
“It will take them two years to get here,’ Max said.
“Probably longer than that.” Pepper looked in Max’s direction for longer that a second.
“Do it now,” Annica said.
“I’m on it,” Jared replied.
“Oh my goodness! Everybody brace yourself!” Pepper shouted.
The small hairs on Annica’s arms stood straight up and her body was charged with electricity as the rosy reflection of the rings enveloped the ship. She heard Max fire the thrusters, angling the ship in several directions, but he wasn’t able to move it out of the way of the rings. Annica thought, There has to be a way out of this. I can figure it out. I have to figure it out. I’ve done it before and I can do it again.
“Light the man engines,” Jared said.
Annica, staring straight ahead at the rings, paused before replying, “They’re ice cold. It will take an hour to--"
The ship hit the rings at a funny angle, being pelted by the small particles within them. Annica thought, Why the hell would Max choose that angle?
Annica took over, changing the angle and positioning the ship for entry. The ship was dark. Annica gasped hard and grabbed onto the instrument panel in front of her. A tear came to her eye as the rosy color grew more intense. The cabin was colder than it was a moment ago and she found it increasingly difficult to get air into her lungs. She thought, We’re losing pressure. I have to use the emergency oxygen. I have to save at least twelve minutes if we want any hope of making it in.
In the next moment, Annica watched as the ship passed through the other side of the rings. Following another ten seconds, the power came back on.
Annica scrambled to get information on her computer. She asked, “How much air pressure do we have left?”
“Not much,” Pepper gasped. “The hull is cracked beyond repair.”
“We have bigger problems to worry about,” Max said.
“We’re coming in hard and fast. We’re going to have to use the emergency parachute to have any chance of surviving,” Annica said.
“We’re heating up, heating up too much for this broken hull to handle,” Jared said.
“The stern side has the most damage,” Max said.
“You need to rotate the ship--" Pepper began.
“I’m working the thrusters. Just relax,” Max said.
“Deepen the angle. It will take longer but the heat will be much less intense,” Annica said.
An alarm sounded and Annica knew that it was for the hull temperature before she even looked at her computer. She could no longer see xjf because the red ionization from entry was blasting over her window. After silencing the alarm, she checked the entry angle, firing one of the two remaining thrusters. She saw the hull temperature drop a bit as the result of her action.
The ship shook violently. Annica grabbed onto the console in front of her, drawing a breath through her mouth in an attempt to ease the tightness in her chest.
“Oh my goodness we’re burning up,” Pepper said.
“We’ll make it,” Max said.
“It’s not going to hold together. My calculations--" Jared began.
“We’re going to make it. Now enough of that kind of talk,” Max said.
“It will hold. We’re within tolerable limits,” Annica said.
“But the heat is seeping into the crack. It is tearing it open,” Jared said.
“He’s right. We need to pitch port,” Max said.
“It will hold,” Annica said.
“We have to pitch now,” Max said.
“Leave it where it is. That’s an order,” Annica said.
The ship shook for another thirty seconds and then—just as Annica had calculated—the ship broke free into the upper atmosphere of xjf. She gasped upon feeling the jerk of the parachutes open. There was nothing to do now but wait.

Mabon 5 landed hard, cracking the hull even more. Annica and the others gathered up two packs full of mostly food and the only hand laser available, which Max snatched from Jared. The grunts from various creatures lurked in the background, some of them producing high-pitched squeals, others sounding as though they were charging with a trumpet-like roar, colliding with another mammals, which let out a painful shrill. Annica quivered.
Blue-green sand made up the surface of xjf, having hoof prints in it of various sizes. The Mabon 5 had landed in a valley but steep, jagged hills were all around them. The sky was thin, blue-green in appearance, yet dominated by the large rosy rings. The temperature felt well above ninety degrees and the humidity was moderate. Though the nitrogen and oxygen levels weren’t what they are on Earth, there were enough of both elements there to allow them to breath without helmets or oxygen tanks.
“I don’t see any vegetation. I don’t see anything that we can eat, but I’m sure that
there is some meat left over from that turf war,” Jared said.
“Oh my goodness we’re going to die out here. We only have a day’s worth of water and at the rate that we’re sweating we’re going to use that up in a few hours,” Pepper said.
“Look.” Jared stopped and put his hand on his hip.
Annica gazed at where Jared had indicated, seeing two large beasts walking about a mile away. The creatures weighted better than a ton each. Their bodies looked dark brown and had massive heads that had a long snout, two big black eyes, and a large mouth with several rows of teeth. They walked in a jerky motion on five legs, grunting with each motion of their front legs. Four legs occupied the same position as they did on a dog but the fifth leg was in the front in the middle, resembling the front landing gear on a plane. Most of the beast’s weight rested on the front three legs as it lunged forward, thrusting in its lower ribcage and pushing with its two hind legs.
“Stop worrying. We could live off one of those things for a couple of months,” Jared said.
“At the very least.” Annica kept her eyes trained on the creatures.
“And just how in the hell do you expect us to cook it? Do you see any wood around here?” Max inhaled before he spoke these words.
“There might be wood here. We’ve only ventured ten feet from the ship,” Jared said.
Max inhaled hard and then lunged at Jared and shoved him, knocking him back but not over. He wagged his finger at him while he said, “Don’t give me that shit. We’re
going to die out here.”
“This isn’t getting us anywhere. It’s not going to solve our problems,” Annica
said.
Max breathed hard through his nostrils for several moments while staring Jared down. When his breathing became strangled off, he said, “It’ll solve one big bastard of a problem that I see standing before me.”
“I’m not afraid of you.” Jared put his hand on his hip.
Tears streamed down Annica’s face as she shouted, “Stop it! Everyone just stop it! I’m trying to find a way out of this mess and all you people can do is fight and act like big men! In case you haven’t noticed, not everybody here is a big man!”
Something of considerable size buzzed over Annica’s head, coming to within a few inches of scalping her. Looking up, Annica saw a lizard like creature with an eminence wingspan.
Annica ran up to Jared and put her arms around him, watching as the Pterodactyl type bird banked for another pass.
“We are dead,” Pepper said.
“Run damn it,” Max grunted.
The creature cawed with a deep bray, the sound rippling through the ground. Annica could hear its wings flapping harder, it shadow casting over her, getting darker with each passing moment. The contents of her stomach were digesting rapidly, Annica gritting her teeth, pushing herself to run even quicker.
“Everybody hit the deck!” Max shouted.
Annica hit the ground just as the creature buzzed her, feeling the breeze from its flapping wings blow through her hair. Exhilaration rushed through her chest and the small hairs on her arms stood up. After inhaling hard, she said without looking up, “Everybody--"
A loud pulsing sound rang out as the laser hit the bird in the stomach, making a large charred area, sending the creature to the ground.
“Oh my God,” Pepper gasped.
“Keep your voice down,” Max said as he returned the laser to his pants.
Annica stood up, her heart racing, her breathing short and shallow. She said, “Okay, let’s get up against this hill.”
“I hope there isn’t another one of those things flying around.” Jared scanned the sky was he rose.
“From the sound of things there are beasts worse than that running about. Come on.” Annica led the way.

Annica and the others roamed around for several hours, finding nothing but an endless sea of blue-green sand. As the sun was setting, she led them up to a hill and sat down with her back to its foot. They each took a sip of the dwindling water. In the distance, the sounds of various creatures filled the environment. The piercing squeals of an animal being killed just over the hill remained in the forefront of Annica’s consciousness. The only beast visible was one of the big five legged brutes, being someway off.
Annica felt her feet hurting and thoughts of getting into a warm, cozy bed and lying down flooded her mind. She thought, There has to be a way out of this. For every problem there is a solution. I just haven’t found it yet. Those beasts have to eat something. And they have to drink from somewhere. So where is their water coming from?
“Oh my goodness. This is all the food we can have for now.” Pepper passed out a half sandwich to each person.
“This isn’t enough to fill a fly,” Max said while looking at his sandwich.
“Max don’t start again.” Annica turned and looked Max in the eye. “We have to find a way to survive here. Now let’s just focus all of our attention on that because it’s going to take all of us working together to get us off of this shithole.”
“If there’s any water here it has to run down these hills. I say we walk around these hills and see what we find,” Jared said.
“Good thinking,” Annica said.
“We have to find some--" Pepper began.
Annica’s jaw dropped. Her heart skipped a beat and then it took her a prolonged moment to get on her feet. Though the sun had set, the surface had a dull rosy hue because of the light shining upon it. The hue pulsed and rode past her in slow, sweeping waves. Looking up, she could see that these waves rolled through the upper atmosphere as the Aurora Borealis does on Earth. The rings glowed intensely, much brighter than the sky, seeming to be the only thing that existed in the vastness of space.
“The sunlight is being trapped in the rings,” Pepper said in an excited tone of
voice.
“Uh-huh,” Max said while staring up at the sky.
“Look! Look! Over there!” Jared gasped.
Annica looked at where he indicated and saw plants of various style spouting
from the ground, some growing to as tall as fifteen feet. All of them had some sort of yellow leaf or flower on them, which tried to reach up to the sky and grab that rosy hue.
“Look over there,” Pepper said.
Annica looked and saw three winged insects the size of bees coming out of the ground and flying around. Small, mole looking animals with long snouts came out of the soil and roamed about. They had bright, yellow eyes.
“They hibernate in the ground while the sun is shining,” Jared said.
“Do you think these things will burn? I say we cook up one of those things or whatever they are crawling around,” Max said.
“There’s one way to find out,” Pepper said.
“I’m starving,” Max said.
Something ran behind Annica and then disappeared into the hills. Her breathing was shallow as she gazed about.
“What was that?” Pepper trembled and moved closer to Jared.
“Not all of these creatures are exactly friendly.” Max rested his hand on the laser pistol.
Annica caught something from the corner of her eye. She bit down on the side of her tongue to prevent her teeth from chattering. Turning to the side, she gasped and
clutched her chest as a breeze curled around her. Acid stirred in the pit of her stomach, backwashing up her esophagus, coating the back of her tongue with a foul taste. She rubbed her eyes but what she saw was still standing there.
The shadow of what stood before her almost touched her. An alien being, one that stood only three feet tall, stared right at her. The being had a small head, stick-like arms with two fingers and a thumb, dull greenish skin and coal black eyes with yellow pupils.
Annica soon found herself surrounded by six of these being. She said, “Max! Don’t even think about pulling that thing out.”
“Oh my goodness they’re going to eat us alive,” Pepper said.
“Stop saying things like that or you’ll bring something bad down on all of us,” Max said.
“Are they friendly? What do you think?” Jared asked.
“I don’t know…just hold tight for right now,” Annica said.
The beings didn’t move but rather stood there eyeing them for several minutes. The being that Annica had seen from the corner of her eye stepped forward and motioned with its hand for her to follow it.
“Where do you think it’s leading us?” Jared asked.
“They’re bringing us to their oven so they can roast us alive and eat us,” Pepper said.
“We don’t have much of a choice right now. If they would’ve wanted to kill us then we would already be dead,” Annica said.
“I don’t trust them,” Max spat out.
“Just keep that gun tucked away in pants,” Annica said.
Annica followed the being as it and the other beings led them around the hill that sat by and then down the other side. A slopping section in between two hills, one that was rather steep, led down to a creek. One of the large five legged beasts stood on the other side about twenty yards away, drinking its fill of the crystal clear water.
Annica sighed, and then said, “Okay. We can survive here.”
Jared took off his pack and filled the water bottles.
“Oh my goodness look,” Pepper gasped.
Annica turned about to see several more of the beings coming toward them with spears.
“When I kill the lead one jump in the creek and swim for it.” Max pulled the laser pistol.
Annica ran up to Max and knocked his arm down. She said in a firm and commanding voice, “Max don’t!”
“But they’re—” Max began.
The beings with the spears hurried past them, descending on the beast fast. The beast, reacting from memory, attempted to bolt but was tripped up in trying to move sideways on five legs.
The speared beings threw, each spear striking the beast in the neck. The beast flailed back and let out a cry so terrible that Annica missed her next breath. Green blood spewed from the beast’s neck, gallons of blood, which rolled into the creek and spread through the water.

Over the course of the next several hours, the beings showed them which meat to cut out of the beast and how to cut it into strips. They built a fire, using only certain plants, and cooked the meat by laying one strip over top of another and forming a stack several strips tall. The meat was much juicer then any meat that Annica had ever eaten, its juices dripping all over her clothes. When they finished with the meat, the beings led them around the massive valley, picking what resembled fruit and nuts from different plants. Annica nibbled on the sweetest nut that she had ever tasted, falling asleep with it still in her mouth.

Annica opened her eyes, her stomach doing flip flops, having to breathe through her mouth in order to get air into her lungs. Gasping, she spun to the right, seeing nothing but blue-green sand before her. She rose and scanned in all directions, observing only an endless barren desert. The roars of various beasts dominated the area, Annica spotting several new varieties. One of those large Pteradactyl birds, which were far away, hovered over some of the smaller mammals. Max rested his hand on the laser.
She put up her hand to block out the sun, trying to see if any of the beings were around, but observed nothing. She asked, “What happened to them?”
“They went underground, everything did,” Jared said.
“Oh my goodness they took what was left of the food,” Pepper said.
“The creek is dry too. We’re living the exact opposite of what we have to do in order to survive here. We have to become like them. We have to sleep during the day and
hunt at night,” Max said.
“Okay, so we can only eat and drink at night. I can live with that. If they can survive then so can we. All we have to do is store up enough food and water for the daytime,” Annica said.
“They had to have gone into a cave,” Pepper said.
“Yeah but where is it? It could be tucked away anywhere in these hills. We would’ve never found this creek without them,” Jared said.
“Well I for one have no intention of falling asleep tonight,” Max said.
“There could be a whole civilization tucked away deep inside this planet. Maybe there’s a rosy light down there that supports them,” Annica said.
“Now all we have to do is survive until sundown,” Jared said.

Several hours later, Annica breathed in short and swift pants as she stared out into the rosy light. The rosy hue swept past her in waves, each one making it harder for her to draw her next breath. Her eyes scanned rapidly at a wide angle, stopping on each plant that she saw coming out of the ground, stopping and lingering as it spouted and shot up fast.
Max inhaled, and then said, “So where are they?’
“Just relax,” Annica didn’t take her eyes off of the plants that she saw.
“Oh my goodness I think we should go back to the ship,” Pepper said.
“Will you quit talking like that? Talk about the best that can happen, not the worst,” Max said.
“Look there’s one of those beasts.” Annica pointed at one of the five legged beasts.
“Is there any juice left in that laser?” Jared licked his lips.
“There sure is.” Max stood up and pulled the laser pistol out. In doing so he staggered, cocking back his right foot and landing on it.
“I’ll get a fire going.” Jared stood.
“Don’t you think we should wait for those beings?” Pepper asked.
“Wait for nothing,” Max said.
Annica stood up. She said, “Let’s chase it back this way. I want to stay close to the creek.”
“Wait. Everybody just wait! It’s coming down the hill for a drink.”
“It will never taste the water,” Max said.
Annica helped Jared get some sticks into a pile and when they were high enough, Max set them ablaze with a shot from the laser. Fifteen minutes followed before another shot was fired and the beast lied dead.

An hour and seventeen minutes later, Annica’s gaze kept drifting down and blackness covered her eyes. She snapped up straight once again, trying to focus on the fire that was fast becoming embers, but her focus kept drifting down. One of those Pteradactyl birds floated above them on its outstretched wings, crying with an angry bray, its piercing screams becoming louder as it passed over the remains of its mate, which Max had shot down.
“We’re never going to survive two years of this,” Max said, resting his hand on the laser and keeping an eye on the sky.
“Just take it one day at a time. We’ll get through it,” Annica said.
“We can’t let the fire go out,” Jared said.
“And why not?” Annica said.
“Because we have to cook the rest of this meat if we want it to keep,” Jared said.
“All right. Let’s--" Max began.
“Oh my goodness!” Pepper shot up and moved behind the others.
When Annica looked up, her complexion was pale and her stomach weak. She told her body to stand up but it remained in place. She saw Max rise from the corner of her eye, watching him pull out the laser and fire.
“We have to get to the hills!” Jared grabbed Annica and pulled her toward the hill.
One of the five legged beasts charged, coming right for them. Max fired, hitting it in the shoulder. The beast continued toward them, crossing the creek rapidly, continuing to attack despite being hit two more times by Max.
Max stumbled and then froze up, pointing the laser at the beast but not firing. In the next moment, the creature trampled Max, deliberately stepping on his head with its front foot.
“Max! Max!” Annica shouted with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“There’s nothing that we can do for him. Come on.” Jared took her hand and pulled her up the hill.
“Oh my goodness.” Pepper choked back some vomit.
Annica turned around, seeing that the beast was eating Max. She sobbed, “Max.”
The bird above, able to smell the meat, cawed even louder.
“Come on.” Jared yanked her up the hill.
Annica ran, hearing the beast chop its jaws and moan in a way that is best not described.
“Just keep moving,” Jared said.
“Why didn’t he run?” Annica sobbed.
“Because he thought that he could kill it,” Jared said.
Annica wiped her eyes, glancing back fast, and then said after inhaling, “Okay, we have to figure a way out of this. We have to find a hill to sit beside.”
“Over here,” Jared said.
Annica took another deep breath and walked up to the hill with the intention of sitting down. Before she could take another step, several of the beings surrounded her.
“Oh my goodness. They’re going to kill us all,” Pepper said.
“Let’s see what they want,” Annica said.
The lead being stepped forward, curling its finger and indicating that it wanted her
to follow it.
Annica thought, How did it know to do that? That’s an Earth jester. Are they reading our minds?
“Oh my goodness they’re leading us into a trap,” Pepper said.
“I don’t think so. Come on,” Annica said.
The being led them around a couple of hills and into a narrow passageway that ran between them, entering a valley that had many rocks to deal with, some of them having to be climbed over. Annica wiped the sweat from her brow several times, yet continued along the path.
Annica noticed small openings in the jagged cliffs on either side, observing a being or two at the mouth of many of these apertures. The lead being led her around a large boulder, down a small slope, and then into the cave that the boulder obscured. Ruby-like crystals lined the walls of the passageway, which wound steadily down. These crystals glowed with a ruby hue, one that matched the rosy hue on the surface.
Following a journey of a couple of miles, Annica found herself standing in an immense cavern, one that was five miles wide and better than seven hundred feet high. A city sat before her, one that had many tall buildings, each made up of blue-green concrete. All of the buildings that stood taller than five stores were connected at that level by a monorail. Annica marveled at the small four being cars, ones that appeared like two bullets stacked back to back, looping around the city in clocklike precision.
“I’m just dying to eat some chocolate,” Pepper said.
“So am I. Let’s find out what’s down here.” Annica stepped forward and led them into the city.

Two years later, Annica waited on the surface of xjf along with Jared and Pepper. The blasting sunlight burned her eyes, which had large pupils and a yellowish tint. Jared seemed paler than she had recalled and his hair, like hers, was long and frizzy. Their jumpsuits appeared dirty and worn and Annica’s had several small rips in it. Both of the men had long beards.
One of those Pteradactyl creatures circled overhead, cawing with an eerie bray while keeping an eye on them. Annica mashed her back teeth down as the sound of its flapping wings filled her ears. The bird banked during its turn, descending twenty feet in elevation, leveling off just above her.
“We’re wasting our time. We’re destined to die here,” Pepper said while glancing up at the bird.
“They are coming today,” Annica glanced up at the sky while shielding her eyes with her hand.
“You can’t even be sure that they got the signal. That they come at all is iffy at best,” Jared said with clenched fists.
“They got the signal. We were still above the atmosphere with time to spare,” Annica said.
“I hope you’re right. I just can’t wait to sink my teeth into a juicy slice of pizza. That’s if that bird doesn’t kill me first,” Pepper said.
“I’ll settle for a steak and an ice cold--" Jared began.
Something sparkled in the sky. Butterflies fluttered in Annica’s belly and her breathing become more rapid. She thought, I knew my calculations were correct. They always are. Damn that bird isn’t going to let the ship come in.
Something in the sky twinkled, being much closer to her than it was the time before. The bird spiraled down even lower. Suddenly, a ship appeared and descended down toward the surface.
“Oh my goodness you’re right. Down here! Down here!” Pepper waved his arms
Annica saw the ship land about a mile in front of her on the side of a large hill. The bird swooped down, coming right for Annica, its mouth wide open. Annica inhaled hard, excitement fluttering in her belly, excitement so powerful that it interfered with her breathing. As she turned to run, she heard a loud blast. Looking up, she saw that the ship had killed the bird.
Not even pausing long enough to think, Annica ran to the ship with Pepper and Jared at her side. Sweat burned her eyes yet she didn’t bother to wipe it away. Her eyes never left the ship.
By the time Annica arrived at the ship, three officers came out to meet her. Annica stopped in front of them, feeling a need to sit down.
“Captain Annica it is good to see you,” the lead officer said. He looked to be in his fifties, weathered, and had a potbelly.
“I knew that you would come,” Annica puffed.
“I’m surprised that you are still alive. We detected a number of solar flares in the sun that this planet orbits around.”
“We were below ground.”
“I see.”
“We examined the data that we received from your ship before you came in. And from what we have been able to gather Max deliberately froze up the thrusters,” an officer said. He was tall, over forty, and had the look of authority about him.
Annica’s jaw dropped and she missed her next breath. She paused for a moment before saying, “That can’t be. Why would Max do something like that?”
“Max had the Terrellian Virus. He only had six months to live. He switched the blood samples at his last physical,” the tall officer said.
“The fact that you managed to land and that the three of you survived will get you the command of a starship. Come on,” the first officer said.
As Annica walked into the ship, she thought, I never figured on that.

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