The Neru'bian Chronicles

*Hey all. Apologies for not writing recently. I've had this story in my head for a while so I thought I'd run with it. I will return to dusk before dawn but I'm enjoying this more at the moment so bare with me on that. Comments and criticism welcome.*

"Perimeter gates closing. Perimeter gates closing. All personnel please return to base in 5 minutes. Repeat all personnel return to base in 5 minutes."

The docking bay was abuzz with noise as the last MX Walker-Combat Suits and armoured hovercrafts enter the gates after the sound of the curfew. Dock technicians surrounded the various vehicles attaching exit shoots and energiser cables. The perimeter lights were switched on and the perimeter guards changed with the night watch. After about twenty minutes of bustle the noise of the dock died down slightly but a low buzz of activity still surrounded the area. It always did.

Captain Axel James Hartwell leaned against the balcony of his living quarters aboard the MST - Starwalker. It was rare that he was free to witness this time of the day. As the night closed in the and the docking bay quietened the rich dense forest of giant trees that extend far above the ship that surrounded the expeditionary base came to life. A soft glow began to eminate from the flora of the forest and with it the sounds of the wildlife that existed in amongst foliage. A soft breeze blew across the balcony and ruffled the bronze brown hair of the captain. This planet was truly beautiful. A shame they had to have such a high perimeter. It was necessary of course though. Axel's intercom buzzed an incoming communication.

"Hartwell here." he spoke into the intercom.

"You gaping at the evening again you pansy?" a familiar voice sounded.

Axel smiled. "What do want Alf?"

"Commander Asphalt needs your scouting report. You need to head up to the Bridge. Once your done staring forlornly into the distance desperately trying to figure out the conflicting emotions that swirl in your head, sighing occasionally and imagining a cute guy with an amazing ass that you can sink your-"

"Get fucked," Axel laughed.

He ended the communication and, taking one last look at the evening, walked back into his living quarters, the door sliding shut behind him and the balcony retreating into the ship.

Beyond the perimeter a lone figure stood on a branch near the middle of the trunk of a tree close to the security wall. After waiting a while they turned and shot off through trees disappearing amidst the thick branches.

***

"And we've fixed the filtration system to the ground. Soon we'll have unprocessed water for the hydro-collider and for the facilities on board." Alf ended his report.

"Thank you Captain Macray."

Commander Asphalt's hard eyes focused now on Axel.

"Captain Hartwell. Your scouting report please."

Axel step forward and began his report reading from his Holocom.

"The scouting party left the base at 9:00 am earth time, 27:00am Planet X32 time. We headed North East to the cliff face situated 8.5 miles from the base nestled in a valley. Other than the obvious strangeness of the natural formation itself the team found nothing out of the ordinary. It seems that the forest extends for many hundreds if not thousands of miles. However on our way back to the base one of my men spotted another inhabitant of this planet following us, seemingly a young male. He disappeared shortly before we reached the base.

There was a murmur from the other captains.

"So they are still trying to gain information about us then." said the commander thoughtfully.

He turned to the woman next to Axel.

"Captain Hawkeye have you made any discoveries about these people given what little contact we have had with them?"

Captain Hawkeye stepped forward.

"From the very little information we have been given I have determined two things about the people of this planet. One they are civilised though not to our level. Two they have a very similar if not superior anatomy to human beings."

She tapped her holocom and a projection of the human body appear. An almost identical image appeared next to it.

"The second body that you see is a model i created through the various holograms that have been taken of these people. The similarities are obvious. They are bi-pedal, have a similar shaped spinal column, a head. Classifying them as humanoids is easy enough but if you look closely you can see the differences."

She enlarged the image.

"Physically speaking their skin is a pale pink colour seemingly translucent with even paler translucent markings on their skin. These seem to vary from individual to individual. Their facial features seem more sharply defined. Their muscle balance is based evenly around their entire bodies unlike humans whose main muscle core resides in our torso and the primary parts of our limbs. Much like the Apos race their arms and legs are slightly longer than our own, probably down to evolving around a terrain were climbing would have been the main form of travel before they developed. Also judging by the muscle layout I can also safely assume that their skeletons are made up of a similar compound to ours but it is a lighter more malleable substance. In other words physically speaking these people are fast, strong and agile."

The hologram changed to a picture of one of the natives taken by a pervious scouting expedition. The figure was slightly out of focus due to the fact that the shot was taken in motion. They appeared to be flying through the air. On closer inspection however one could see two wires or ropes sprouting from both legs.

"What you see here is the mode of transport that we have seen the natives use whilst following the various parties. It seems to be a complicated biological 3D manoeuvring gear. The wire that you see clings to the trunks and branches of trees somehow. The person is then somehow pulled forward, my guess is through some form of locomotion occurring inside the wire itself. Where this wire comes from and what it is made of I cannot determine exactly but it seems to be attached to the person using it. An ingenuous way of travelling in a place abundant with trees. However, I have discovered that humans could not possibly use similar devices. The speed at which you would have to manoeuvre yourself to avoid collision would be impossible. Therefore we must also assume that their reflexes are superior to ours. Whether this is natural or conditioned I cannot say."

She finished her report and stepped back in line.

The Commander stood.

"We have been on this planet for two months and we are still in the preparatory stages. Everyones energies must be put towards establishing ourselves on this planet if excavations are going to continue as planned. The prospecting team will be going out tomorrow to search for mineral deposits around the cliff face north east of here. If they discover anything then mining and production should be up and running within the month. With regards to the natives any effort made to contact them has been met with them fleeing. They are obviously still wary of us. If any contact is made it must be reported immediately to me. Until then you are to treat them with caution and no direct effort may be made to contact them. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir!" the captains chorused.

"Very well. Dismissed."

Outside the Bridge in the main walkway Axel caught up with Captain Hawkeye.

"Sup Trisha? That was a very clever talk you gave us all."

"Eat shit Hartwell" Trisha retorted, but she smiled.

"I have another image of the native that was following us today if you would like it?" Axel asked tapping his holocom.

Trisha tapped at her own and the image transferred and appeared on her hologram.

"Oh this is a much clearer image, thanks Axel this should be useful."

"Mind if I tag along?" Axel asked "Im off duty until tomorrow."

"Sure thing."

Their course found them on the ships third level. Here most of the scientific side of the expedition was based. Whilst the main purpose of the mission was to look for minerals it was Federation policy that any ship travelling to a previously unexplored destination should have a research team, less any new species of animal, plant or intelligent were discovered so that research could be carried out as to whether they could further the development of the Federation be it medical or military. Trisha was the leading scientist and therefore a captain.

Whilst she and the other scientists were trained in combat and were officially military staff they weren't expected to fight unless the situation arose. Like Alf, the main engineer, who was also a captain.

Axel was the captain of the survey core, meaning he lead to expeditions out of the base to explore the surrounding land scape.

He and Trisha had been aboard the Starwalker for ten years together when they first started and had ascended the ranks at the same time. As a result of this they were very close.

As they entered Laboratory 1, Axel noticed many samples of the flora of the planet in various stages of experimentation.

"Been busy?" he poked.

Trisha smiled.

"What your looking at now is the enigma of this planet. It has me and all the others stumped."

They circled around to one of the containers holding a brightly violet plant with long wide leaves.

"You have obviously noticed the strange effect that happens once night falls. All the living plants come to life with a strange glowing aura. We have discovered so far that most of the plants development happens during the night, something that is very different to our own plants. How they are able to do this comes from the fact that they dephotosynthesise."

"Habbada what now?" asked Axel.

"Basically they function the opposite way to our plants. It seems that they take in light and photosynthesise similarly during the day, but during the night when light from their sun is limited they continue to develop even more rapidly that at daytime and give off light, this is the incredible bit, so that other plants can continue to develop. They work in harmony with one another so that they always live and develop. It's an incredible ecosystem one that the Science Core at the Federation are going to have a field day over."

She sighed, "If only this were a scientific expedition then I'd have a lot more leeway with my research. I've been badgering the Commander to let me go and find the Neru'bian people and start communicating with them. Its rare to find developed life forms this far out from galactic centre. He only has the mission in mind unfortunately. Find, dig, return."

She sighed again.

Axel thought he should distract her.

"You seem to have it all figured out though. Whats the enigma your talking about?"

She brighten immediately.

"Look at this."

She flicked a switch and the light filter of the container dimmed to mimic nighttime. The plant remained motionless and no glow appeared.

Axel looked at her questioningly. "Nothings happening."

"Exactly! The plants that we have taken from the ground lose their ability to dephotosynthesise even when in the presence of other plants. Therefore we can assume that the aura they give off is somehow connected to the earth. A mineral or some other substance that allows them to respire at night. But heres the thing. We have absolutely no idea what causes it. We have run test after test but we can't determine what makes the plants glow. They have a similar chemical composition to our plants so a difference would be obvious but there isn't one. Its like the light doesn't actually exist, but it does. We can't track it sample it or test it. Its just there."

She looked pensively at it for a moment.

"It really is a mystery."

Axel put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. I'm going to grab some sleep."

She smiled, "Can't resist the view any longer eh? Don't blame you."

"See you later" Axel waved as he exited the lab.

***

He stood again on the branch that gave him the best vantage point over the settlement of the sky comers. Big, ugly thing it was too. Metal everywhere not one single living thing in sight apart from the people themselves. They were very strange. Their skin looked so lifeless, their faces dark and tired. They didn't look well at all.

There was a loud bang and he flinched as one of the odd armour things carrying one of the people was charged with a wire. Noisy too. In general a bit unpleasant but still absolutely fascinating.

He wasn't supposed to be here and soon someone would notice he had disappeared again. If the point of him being here didn't turn up soon then he would have to leave.

He sighed as he turned back toward the forest.

A sliding noise alerted him and he turned back to see the point of his interest walk out onto the retractable balcony. The man leaned against it and looked out with a wistful expression on his face.

Creeping closer though the foliage Xan was able to see him clearly. The man was beautiful. He wasn't lifeless in the same way the others were. There was an excited glint in his eye that told the story of an explorer. Xan could tell all this man wanted to do was head into the forest to discover and never stop. His structured face took Xan's breath away and the strange colourful mass of what looked like hair on his head blew softly in the wind framing it perfectly.

With all his focus on the strange beautiful man Xan did not notice the snake like quadruped drop onto the branch he was on and stalk towards him. It raised its head ready to strike. Just as it was about to deliver a fatal blow Xan flipped quickly onto his back and delivered kick that sent the animal flying off the branch. Hissing it fell a few hundred meters then spread its legs allowing a thin membrane to unfurl which slowed its fall. Drifting to the ground it landed and scampered off into the night.

Xan tracked the creature with his eyes until it was out of sight before turning back to the ship.

He froze.

The man was looking straight at him. He had obviously heard the commotion caused by the muskant.

Xan stayed very still not daring to move.

The figure had defiantly seen him and continued to stare a look of surprise on his gorgeous face.

What should he do now?

***

Axel had the image of the native that had tailed them that day up on his holocom. He studied it carefully. The picture was clear to the point that you could make out the face. Obviously male and, Axel had to admit it, beautiful. He had never seen such a strikingly beautiful person before and he had seen a lot of different species in his time as a explorer for the federation.

He was clad sparsely in what appeared to be a pair of tight shorts, probably to improve mobility. This allowed Axel to see the definition of the muscle that the young male had and the slightly paler markings that curved around the strong sinewy nature of his body. And that ass!

Axel felt himself growing hard and shook his head. It had been a while. He might even have to cave to the obvious advances of captain Morgan, the military captain and the commanders second. If only for a quick fix to scratch his itch. He had been holding out on Morgan for a while now.

Sighing he got up and walked to the baloney window, pressing the button that activated the balcony itself. He stepped out into the cool night and breathed in. He was happy that this planet had an air composition similar to earth. Usually they had to put a terra-field around the base as most planets had atmospheres toxic to humans. So many similarities yet so many differences.

He looked out into the forest. He itched to head out there and discover what else this beautiful world had to offer. He understood Trisha's frustration with the commander. He would love to go and finds the inhabitants of this planet too.

A sudden noise and flurry of activity across from the balcony in the trees had him staring directly ahead. Something fell from the branch and glided to the ground. And there, standing frozen on the branch, was a native looking right at him glowing a soft pink colour that shone in unison with the surrounding foliage. They stood like that staring at each other for what seemed like ages.

With his heart racing Axel raised a hand slowly and waved a greeting. The figure did not respond but continued to stare. Axel repeated the action again and this time the native copied waving his hand back and forth.

Axel smiled and made a beckoning sign with his hand. The figure again stayed motionless. He beckoned more urgently. The figure seemed to comprehend his meaning but shook his body in a fashion that Axel took to mean "No!"

He put his hand on his heart as a sign of honesty then beckoned again. The figure put his right hand, fisted, over his chest, and repeated the waving action. He then moved further along the branch he was on getting closer to the perimeter and the balcony. As the light from the base illuminated the figure, Axel let out a gasp. It was the same native that had followed them back. His markings were identical!

The gasp he emitted had the man on high alert again freezing on his way along the branch. Axel beckoned again excitedly as the native reached the end of the branch. Suddenly the space between them seemed very large. They remained looking at each other.

Axel beckoned again motioning him to leap to the balcony. The man stood there considering Axels invitation.

Then, quite abruptly he tensed and closed his eyes. Quick as a flash he ran back along the branch and scaled the tree to the next branch. Here he stopped and looked back at Axel waving and smiling. He then leaped into the air and sped off through the trees using the same method that Trisha has earlier described.

Axel stood there for a while pondering what to do and admittedly quite disappointed.

Would the native come back? Would he be able to talk to him? Could he get his holocode? Wait what?!?! Axel shook himself.

The Commander had insisted that any contact made with the natives be reported back to him but Axel felt as though he shouldn't. What had just occurred had suddenly become important and private to him for some reason. He would wait for the native to make another appearance before he alerted anyone.

***

He had wanted to go to the balcony so badly. His curiosity would not be satisfied until he met his mystery sky comer.

He was about set to leap when he felt a twinge in his consciousness. They knew he was gone and his father was looking for him. Shit!

Why had he stayed so long. Curiosity killed the cakalan and his father was most definitely going to kill him.

Obviously he had wanted to stay longer but he was in enough trouble as it was. Oh but he had gotten so close. He could make out his sky comer more clearly and he was even more gorgeous than he had originally thought. And he seemed friendly. And his smile.

Xan thrummed satisfaction in his throat. He would have to go back. No matter what it took he would have to return. And next time he would leap to the balcony.

As he approached the outskirts of his settlement he sensed the presence of another conscience niggiling at his. He granted access.

"Where the hell have you been Xan. Your dad is kicking up a shit-storm."

"I wouldn't expect less from him. How bad?"

"The worst yet. Your in for one my friend." mentally projected his best friend Yal, sliding into unison with him on his right.

Xan disconnected himself from his current tree and glided to the ground landing with a soft bump.

Yal landed next to him.

Without a word they walked towards the centre of their settlement.

Passing under a arch of dowya bushes they entered into the grove where their home stood. It was the biggest trees on Neru'bia. Mother Gaia.

As always there was a bustle of activity at the base of the tree. The last of the farmers were bringing in what the had harvested and some were preparing meet to be stored. Hunting parties were returning with fresh kills from the day and all around there was the thrum of conversation both verbal and mental.