The biohazard indicator blinked again, illuminating the cloud on the inside of my helmet. As I watched, a lump appeared in the tree’s base, throbbing its way slowly up the trunk until it reached the top, at which point the trunk gave one final contraction, expelling a purplish brown cloud of noxious gas into the air. Turning to centre the blinking light on the inside of my helmet I stared in amazement as the trunk of a nearby tree began to pulsate grotesquely, as though it was a live biological heart. All of a sudden the biohazard indicator on my arm lit up, blinking rapidly and screeching a warning into my ear. From what I could see, the planet around me looked like a sewage site, strange coloured substances coated the ground and dripped off of rocks and trees, all of which looked like they were wilting decaying. ‘Log entry 2-4-7-3: Initial findings indicate a marsh-like ecology ground seems stable but treacherous, covered in a thin mist.’ My boots squelched loudly through the muddy ground as I moved towards the nearby tree line and bizarre animal sounds filtered through the air ominously. If he did come under fire for any reason, Jenkis would immediately trigger evasive manoeuvres and counter flares, blanketing the ground beneath it in a thick fog of knockout gas and sending me an alert signal before retreating to the upper levels of the atmosphere. Behind me the ship’s landing gear retracted as it took off once more, levitating just below the tree line. Jenkis would remain in the secure location until I finished scoping out the area and formed a report. The S.O.S signal Jenkis had picked up was roughly two clicks North from the landing site.
Initiate ground defence mode and await my signal, I’ll go from here.’ ‘Yes thank you Jenkis, I get the picture. ‘It is just about sir, but I would recommend avoiding it unless you enjoy the taste of manure.’ ‘Is the air breathable?’ I asked, considering removing the helmet in favour of improved visibility as I clambered out of the cockpit and leapt to the ground. ‘I am detecting an unnaturally high level of methane in the air.’ My ship pulled to a halt and hovered down towards the misty ground, its landing gear unfolding from small flaps underneath. ‘Indeed, it would appear a recent event has caused an imbalance in the planet’s natural environment,’ Jenkis announced through the earpiece in my suit as I clicked the thick glass explorer’s helmet into place. ‘It doesn’t look that similar to Old Earth,’ I muttered, looking out at the grungy landscape flashing beneath me and up at the thick brown clouds that blanketed the sky above. After several minutes the ship dipped through the clouds and the ground beneath became visible through the cockpit’s protective glass. My ship bucked and swayed as it punctured the planet’s atmosphere, vibrating fiercely whilst bright flames licked its exterior. ‘I see, well take us a short distance away from the S.O.S signal, wouldn’t want to land in the middle of a warzone now would we?’ Multiple continents of land separated by large bodies of water and inhabited by numerous biological species.’ ‘Not so much sir atmosphere should be stable with similar landscapes and ecosystems to Old Earth. ‘Do we have any data on Idraska, Jenkis?’ J.E.N.C.I.S – Joint Engineering & Navigation Control Intelligence System, has been with me since we inhabited the abandoned space station after fleeing Old Earth, and found him installed in the station’s A.I systems. Having received a distress call on my way back to the space station, I re-routed the target co-ordinates of my ship’s nav-guide, buckling up for atmospheric entry when we finally arrived. Sixth planet from the sun in the Grebulan galaxy Once upon a time I applied for a position at Chucklefish studios with the hopes of joining their writing team and help bring their indie sandbox adventure “Starbound” to life… Below is a short story I wrote in support of my application for anyone interested in reading a sample of my lesser work.Įxploratory Report 032: Planet Idraska.