Gabatrix: the Forgotten
Copyright© 2026 by CMed TheUniverseofCMed
Chapter 2: Expedition and Reality
Science Fantasy Sex Story: Chapter 2: Expedition and Reality - Set after the events of Gabatrix: The Batrice Crisis, humanity launches an expedition to establish contact with the unknown alien race known as the Venermax. However, Doctor Theron, the lead scientist behind the mission, has vanished. It will be up to the Doctor and his friends to solve the mysteries laid forth as Theron tries not to perish in hell itself. Story contains: Sci-fi, Future, Drama, Survival, Action, Light Horror/Psychological Thriller, Human/Alien(s), M/F, Sex, Love, Interspecies
Caution: This Science Fantasy Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Consensual Fiction Mystery Science Fiction Aliens Space
May 25th, 2351 AD...
Deep in the heart of space, the stars shone against the elaborate black background. The vacuum of space was cold and harsh. In the vast distance was an F-Type star. The white hue glowed over the scenery, shining brighter and more intensely than the star of Sol.
A shift in the viewpoint brings a moderately sized vessel into view. A ship from the UWA, the alliance of human worlds, drifts in space, moving in a slow, idling direction, its engines currently offline.
The grayish vessel carries an almost-familiar feel. With the star’s bright light, it’s quickly revealed to be a research ship. The gray cylindrical profile is somewhat stubby. The front dorsal bow consists of an enclosed hangar with two large closed side doors on the starboard and portside. This section alone takes up a large portion of the front compartment. Sets of forward antennas and a gate-probe launcher occupy the rest below the hangar. Behind it is a port and starboard extendable hatch, with an AIO weapon turret mounted on the dorsal and ventral side. Past this, there was a small dorsal and ventral bridge with additional sets of scanner dishes and receiver equipment protruding from the hull. Behind the set of six small forward thrusters are two connected armored spinning centripetal rings, taking up almost half the size of the ship. Taking up the ship’s rear was its small engine and power module. Navigation lights perforated the hull.
Zooming in on the frame, the brief nameplate of “UHN Cassini” is written in English and Chinese, along with the ship registry “RS-37” below it. As the ship drifts forward very slowly, the viewpoint shifts to its current heading.
In front, in the distance, is a planet. It is far away, but the hints of white, gray, and blue could be seen on its surface. The star’s bright illumination is so intense that even the oceans take on a light bluish hue.
There is also something else present. It is difficult to tell, but there is a hint of several tiny spectacles in the vast distance, near the planet. Nothing else could be told from the angle and viewpoint. Instead, we begin to zoom in closer to the ship again.
Reaching the forward-most spinning ring, we pierce through the heavy armored layer to reach the large passageway of a well-sustained habitable environment. Using the spinning motion to generate artificial gravity, humans, mostly dressed in red and blue coveralls, walk together.
The passageway itself is somewhat lavish, consisting of a blue magnetic tile lining. Sets of doors belonging to crew or civilian crew quarters or offices could be seen on each side. Unlike older research ships, there is a clear improvement in the living conditions of its crew. There are even connecting passageways that lead to the other connecting ring. There is so much space on the ship that most of the crew never even have to leave the confines of these two spinning compartments. In typical tradition, the passageway itself is set on a straightforward path where personnel walk along the floor, which ultimately loops back to where they started.
Despite this, a lone woman walked down the hallway, almost in a mad rush to get to her location. She had an almost light complexion, while still being a brunette, most likely a person born on Earth with mixed southeastern European ancestry. Her long hair was clipped to her white, almost skintight lab coat to keep it from drifting in the shifting artificial gravity. She carried two large tablets with her, which were almost as big as clipboards. There are notable features of her face, including an overbite and almost bucklike teeth pressing over her lip. She was skinny, carried a small chest, and bore the faint hint of small brown scars on her skin, most likely from burns. Despite her appearance, she carried a certain innocence in her walk and movements. Even the few wayward male crewmembers would occasionally look upon her from time to time.
She seemed to be in a hurry. The female civilian was nearing her destination. A lone crewmember stood by the door. The young male bald petty officer addressed her the moment he saw her.
“Ah, Doctor Yasmine,” he said.
“Is he already in there?” the civilian frantically asked.
“Nope, Captain ain’t here, yet. It’ll be another five minutes. You made it just in time...”
The man turned and tapped a panel, causing the door to slide open.
“Ah, thank you, thank you,” Yasmine replied.
The woman stepped inside, almost dropping one of her tablets in the process. Her almost high-strung energy was noted almost immediately.
She had stepped inside a small stateroom. It consisted of an enclosed compartment where at least eight other crew members, mostly officers, including another black-and-white-dressed civilian, resided. The room itself could accommodate at least 25 people, with a large, cushioned seating area surrounding a square display table from which they sat. A single, separate display could be seen on the wall above.
All eyes fell on the woman, almost seemingly knowing her. She, in turn, also seemed to recognize a few of them, or at least had seen them once or twice.
The civilian, an older man with short black hair and Chinese features, waved her over, keeping a seat open for her. It didn’t take long before the woman sat down next to the man. The sounds of other conversations in the room made it easy for them to talk with each other.
“Guanting,” she addressed him. “Any luck?”
The man shook his head. “Nothing so far, Yasmine,” he replied back with a hard Chinese accent. “No word...”
Yasmine quickly shook her head. “God, I can’t imagine if he’s dead...”
“He isn’t dead. I promise you that.”
“How do we truly know?”
“Because Theron would know. He’s studied them more than we have.”
“What we know of them...” She practically shook in her seat as Gaunting put his hand on her shoulder.
“It’ll be alright,” he said. “Give it time...”
“It isn’t just him I’m afraid of, but this mission. Theron put everything on the line for this mission. We can’t give up...”
Gaunting gripped his hand harder. “It’ll be alright...,” he said again. “We won’t...”
The door to the crew lounge opened up. The petty officer outside spoke loudly.
“ATTENTION ON DECK!” the man yelled out.
The crew stood up quickly, hands and fists held to their sides. Both Gaunting and Yasmine, even if they were civilians, still stood up slowly to pay respect to the command staff entering the ship.
Both the CO and XO entered the room. Yasmine already knew both of these officers. The XO, the 2nd in command of the ship, was Lieutenant Commander Silas, a Cebravin officer with a pale complexion, bearing the gentility of a man of former British ancestry, albeit with very short stubby brown hair. He was generally nice and easy-going with civilians.
The CO, on the other hand, was a problem of its own. Commander Nimol was a hardened man whom even Yasmine felt general apprehension and fear towards. He carried the former Cambodian facial features along with short black hair. He had a faint black mustache, was shorter than Silas, and had a stern demeanor. While somewhat respectful towards civilians, Yasmine felt that it was only artificial. It didn’t help that the man was Batrician as well, from a powerful colony that the UWA and the UHN fought against in a civil war not that long ago. Yasmine had always heard stories from the crew that Nimol would often yell at his crew members, being more aggressive than usual. With the end of the war with Batrice, the UHN didn’t pursue charges against the vast majority of Batrician officers, as it wanted to move on and maintain harmony with everyone, rather than overloading its justice system with witch-hunt trials against potential enemies. Nimol had remained loyal to the UHN during the prior Batrice Crisis, but the unease remained.
“Sit down,” Nimol said to everyone with his stern and almost harsh tone. Everyone but the CO and XO remained standing.
Silas reached over and activated the table. A large 3d projection appeared over the center where everyone could see. With a few taps of the button, a projection of the current solar system appeared. Various objects of interest were displayed, including the center star named “Venter 1.” There were at least three planets in total that were orbiting the star. “Venter 1B,” the closest planet to the solar system, was very similar to Venus, operating under a powerful greenhouse effect as the star roasted it. “Venter’na” or Venter 1A was the planet the ship was closest to and the center of interest, being a mostly habitable planet. The furthest planet was a large, cold giant simply named Venter 1C. There appeared to be a line of multiple dots that surrounded the outer orbit of Venter’na. The solar system was small, but still a subject of great importance. A distance map indicator showed that the star was over 28,000 light-years from Sol, being somewhat close to the inner region of the Milky Way Galaxy, far from the outer boundary of the Aksren clan’s territories.
Nimol put his hand on the table and gave a hard look at the crew.
“Alright,” the commander officer firmly explained. “You already know why we’re here in this room. I want a full explanation of what happened.”
“Yasmine and I saw most of it, sir,” another male officer interjected. The Oshunian carried a dark complexion and was bald, being a young officer. Yasmine already knew the man quite well.
“Then I need to hear it, Ensign Musa,” Nimol continued. “What happened to Doctor Theron?”
“He disappeared, sir,” the Ensign replied.
“I’m well aware of that,” Nimol practically scolded him. “The civilian in charge of the civilian expedition team is currently not with us. I want to know why...”
“I ... I can help out on this,” Yasmine interjected. “Captain ... sir, Ummm, Doctor Gaunting, Me, Musa, and ummm ... the other person besides Theron ... what was his name?”
“Petty Officer Hargrave,” Musa politely answered her.
“Right ... ummm, Captain Nimol. May I use the table?”
Nimol waved his hand to the table and stepped aside. Yasmine stood up and fumbled with her tablets. For a second, she was confused about which one to use. Finally, she dropped one on the seat and took the other one with her. With tablet in hand, she stepped up to the table console and lifted her left hand to it. She tapped something on her skin, causing her wrist to glow faintly blue. Many recognized that the woman had an augmented hand as she tapped it and moved it over the table. Finally, with the full interface established, Yasmine flung her finger in the direction of the wall-mounted display, transferring the map of the Venter solar system to it. The screen turned on, matched sync with the other computers in the room.
The main display on the table switched over to depict a closer view of the planet ahead of the Cassini. More of the landscape could be seen, showing hints of blue oceans, gray-covered landscapes, and white clouds overhead. The planet would slowly rotate, revealing the various continents on its surface. In many aspects, it was similar to Earth over a thousand years ago or Cebravis in its glamorous view. However, the gray landscape was odd and perplexing to the viewers who saw it for the first time.
“Captain,” Yasmine explained. “Oh,” she paused and looked at everyone. “For those that don’t know me, my name is Doctor Yasmine, Theron’s close assistant. I’m one of the leading experts on Itrean history in Waterville, DC. I’m with the leading expert on Planetary Sciences of the ICDA, Doctor Gaunting.” She gestured to the civilian she was originally sitting next to. “Doctor Theron, myself, Gaunting, and other members of my staff were assigned to participate in Operation Morning Exorcism, the attempt to learn more about the Venermax and establish peaceful relations with...”
“Doctor...,” Nimol sternly interrupted her. “We know the mission we’re on right now. I already explained it to my officers. I want a full explanation of what happened.”
“Captain Nimol,” Gaunting interjected. “You saw what happened. We don’t need to...”
“I didn’t see all of it, Doctor Gaunting, but I was responsible for overseeing what was happening with the Venermax fleets and making sure they weren’t going to pursue you or my ship,” Nimol paused and turned to look at his officers. “Lieutenant Matilda, has there been any activity from the Venermax fleet since Doctor Theron’s disappearance?”
“None, sir,” a female officer replied with an almost Australian accent. “The last report I made showed that the Venermax fleets did not respond to Shuttle Andretti’s approach vector or it leaving the planet. Their headings remain unchanged.”
“At least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about.”
“Sir,” another male officer called out. “Actually, there’s a new update to report.”
“Let’s hear it, Ensign Aoto.”
“Not to counter Lieutenant Matilda’s observations, but Sensor Station 3 has been monitoring the Venermax fleets. We picked up some minor energy readings from their fleets. It appears to only gather intensity when Shuttle Andretti was approaching the planet.”
“Why wasn’t I informed about this sooner, Ensign?” Nimol showed a look of anger on his face.
“Because the energy level readings were so small that our equipment barely picked them up as it was. It was only confirmed and made aware to us the moment the shuttle left the planet.”
Nimol was interested in this information, but he seemed more interested in Yasmine’s report. He turned to look at the civilian.
“Hold that thought, Aoto,” the CO said, trying to keep his head cool. “Doctor Yasmine, give us a report. What happened down there?”
“Right...,” Yasmine explained. “You already know that Doctor Theron and I made the agreement to land on the northern continent as part of our survey mission.”
“Yes, I know ... Theron was adamant about going down there after I told him about the inherent dangers of a first-contact mission. Yet, he appropriately ignored all of it.”
“It was part of our mission and Theron’s dream of finally establishing contact with the Venermax.”
“And look where it’s gotten him?” Nimol gave a hard sigh. “Continue...”
Yasmine tapped several buttons on her augmented hand before pressing it to the panel on the table. It didn’t take long before a series of images was displayed. The image of the planet shifted, revealing a most unusual landscape. It did grab some of Nimol’s curiosity, including all of the other officers present in the room. Yasmine was walking over a metallic surface. The planet’s land was encased in some gray and almost shiny silver alloy. Yet, there was the hint of an ocean in the distance, with splashing waves that still hit the beachhead not far. It was as if something took a habitable world and transformed it into something else. Even the gray cylindrical frame of the shuttle seemed to stick out of place.
There were no signs of life, at least on the pictures taken. It could have been described as an industrial complex, but even then, it was nothing ever seen before. The skies were somewhat clear, with only hints of white puffy clouds overhead. The scenery did at least seem mostly peaceful and pretty, but only to a point. There were a few very large blocky structures, the size of skyscrapers. They would poke from the ground and reach for the sky, but there were no other forms of landmarks visible.
“What is this?...” Nimol commented.
“Yes,” Yasmine replied. “The entire surface consists of the same alloy. It’s some sort of chrome-lined steel combined with other metals.”
“I see no plant life...”
“There wasn’t any. We did pick up aquatic life in the oceans, but we still need to evaluate the readings. We do know that everything you see in these pictures are artificial in origin, with the metal fragments from the alloy measuring well over a million years old.”
“What are those ... structures?”
“Theron was trying to figure that out. According to the surviving historical reports from the Aksren expeditions that evaluated Venter’na, they also saw the same structures too from distant orbit. I can confirm that our reports match. However, I do believe that our sensor equipment was better than the Aksren had since we’ve been able to catalogue much more than what they saw from orbit.”
“In other words...,” Nimol said. “They were wise enough to avoid the surface...”
“Captain, it’s not a death trap. Something ... the Venermax altered their home to look like this.”
“And why would they do that, Doctor?”
“We’re talking about another alien race that we’ve never encountered before. Just because the Itreans and humans do the same things together doesn’t mean every other alien race will follow the same path of urbanization or societal evolution. Look at the Emphra and what they’ve done. Even if they’re an intelligent alien race, they don’t follow the same course of actions, respond, or think as we do.”
“Have you and the away team that visited the planet been cleared of any airborne diseases?”
“We’re cleaner than clean,” Yasmine said. “The air quality was pure ... I’d say it was even purer than Cebravis or Oshun. A few areas that we haven’t surveyed on the surface apparently carry these enormous generators to help maintain the planet’s atmosphere. We think the Venermax did that, assuming they were responsible for exterminating whatever the planet’s local plant life was. Whatever is left of the oceans takes care of the rest.”
“Whatever happened to them?”
“That was what we were trying to figure out. So far, Theron and I spotted no signs of complex former life ... no bones, skeletal remains, plant decay, nothing. The oceans would bring in small amounts of salt deposits, but nothing else.”
“We did pick up power readings, sir,” Ensign Musa added. “It was ... all around us.”
“That I already know,” Nimol replied. “If the atmosphere was being maintained, then it would need a constant power source to supply it.”
“That’s something I explained as well,” Gaunting said. “I’m sure your sensor department has been monitoring, and that’s the ship movements in this system. I believe that the Venermax might be using nuclear power as its primary energy source.”
“Yes,” Yasmine added. “The Aksren clan’s data showed that there were freighters that were travelling on conventional drives to reach the gas giant. They believed they were trying to harvest something...”
“Helium-3. Venter-1C is a natural source of it, just like all the gas giants we’ve encountered. This race is using their neighboring planet for atmospheric mining. When you look at the ships, you’ll note that they carry large storage tanks on them.”
“Yet,” Nimol said. “No responses to our hails ... almost like it’s all automated.”
“In order to create their landscape,” Yasmine said. “They would have to master some form of automation.”
“ ... Are we sure the alien race is still alive at all? That they aren’t extinct?”
“We were picking up life all around us.”
Nimol gave a skeptical look at her. “From the oceans, though.” He shook his head. “We’ve hailed them, sent every message out there to them, used every language that we and the Itreans have, used mathematics, sent radio burst signals, done light signals, and so on and so on. We would have known if they picked it up, even if they don’t understand us.”
“It was the same report from the Aksren, too. They used every form of communication ... contacted the fleets in orbit and the surface and got no response. But the facts still remained. Theron was picking up life ... biological life. Yes, it might be coming from the oceans, but he thought he was picking up possible life from the surface as well. It was just...”
“ ... What?”
“Like it was there and it wasn’t there...”
“I’m going to need a better explanation than that when I file my report to the UWA. What happened?”
“We were picking up carbon-based life,” Yasmine said as she tapped something on the back of her hand. The display switched over to other pictures. More of the landscape was shown. Hints of blue pulsating power lines could be briefly seen across the surface. Some were heading towards the large structures.
“I’m going to show the video recordings that I made before Theron disappeared,” Yasmine explained. “I recorded most of this from my augment, including what was recorded from the shuttle’s cameras. This was about ... a few minutes before it happened.”
The table’s display switched over to a recorded video as everyone in the room watched intently. Doctor Theron could be seen, along with glimpses of the other members of the away team. Theron, the man with a pale complexion and short black hair, could be seen. He wore a white and black, almost spandex suit. He had a tablet in his left hand, cataloging the scenery. Theron would occasionally speak to Yasmine, who was recording the events at the time.
“Almost all the structures match the same height...,” Theron said in a confident, yet curious tone.
“Why would they alter their environment this way?” Yasmine’s voice could be heard.
“Could be many reasons ... Religion could be one method. I’m no engineer, but it might be possible that it’s related to heat mitigation somehow.”
“There are a few Itrean religions that practice building great structures that match height ... religion might be the cause, but there would be other symbols and caricatures of the landscape present, indicating religious purpose.”
“We’re basing this on our limited observations, Doctor Yasmine. We’ve already seen the Emphra and what they do. Their ‘religion’ has already been defined by Itrean observations for well over 20 years, while the Emphra are prescribed as an ‘intelligent’ alien lifeform by both our societies. In other words, Doctor, we’re basing everything on our own past bias.”
“But, what would drive the Venermax to do this?”
“The same reasons any race changes their environment: ... my belief is survival. The Venermax was unique to the Itreans as the Emphra are to us.”
“But are they like them?”
Theron shook his head. “Are they like the Emphra? If the Venermax wished to harm us, then they would have stopped us from reaching the surface. They didn’t even respond to the shuttle’s arrival. One could believe that the Venermax are unresponsive to us or ignore us. Yet, there are signs that there is activity on this planet.”
The real Yasmine felt a hint of sadness rush over her. For an event like this to happen a couple of hours ago, it felt almost like yesterday. The idea that Theron was gone was something that she had to quickly ignore in the wake of the debriefing. Nimol was observing the recordings closely, but it was unknown how long his patience would last. The recording continued.
“Why would they ignore us?” the past Yasmine asked.
“It’s the same question the past Itrean explorers probably asked,” Theron said. “Although they likely asked it less than anybody else, if their reports are so limited.”
“Yes ... it’s only enough to fill 7 pages, assuming there was more that they made that didn’t survive the tests of time.”
“No ... you know Itrean history enough. Itrean exploration has always been a limitation of their society. We can write an entire library on this event alone, but the Itreans explore new territories for potential wealth. If anything piques their interest, then they’ll pass a few paragraphs on what they see before moving on. They only expand when it becomes absolutely necessary. The Itreans can be described as intensely xenophobic, at least for the last 500 years. And even then, the Emphra probably tore a lot of those ambitions to explore.”
“But they did find us.”
“Hmmm ... and look what happened as a result...”
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