Chapter 3

Captain Varshad’s claret tentacles undulated stiffly in recognition of the seriousness of the meeting with his senior crew.

“As some of you already know, since the last mission here the primate-derived primitives have discovered electricity and nuclear fission. It’s our duty to report home on these developments as soon as possible,” said the Captain.

The senior crew members’ tentacles did a little twirl to show their assent.

“However,” continued the Captain, “we have determined that our technological superiority means the primitives are not yet a threat to us. So it’s my intention we first visit the planet’s surface and have a bit of fun with a few of the seven and three quarter billion of them.”

This was a bit more contentious, so the senior crew members’ tentacle twirls were a little more tentative.

“I propose that every crew member should be given the opportunity to visit the planet’s surface if they wish. If the whole crew so chooses, they could be accommodated by four shuttle trips. I propose those happen serially in such a way that the three quarters of the crew left on board at any time would have sufficient know-how to be able to fly the ship home should anything go wrong. That means no department will go down en masse in a single shuttle visit. Each shuttle will contain a crew cross-section and be led by a senior officer. I propose to lead the third shuttle. Any questions so far?”

The senior officers’ tentacles demonstrated a mixed response. Some were stiff, indicating deep thought. Others were agitated, showing concern over the plans.

“Captain, have you determined the landing site or sites?” asked the Sensor Senior Ensign.

“No. I would like you to undertake that task.”

The Sensor Senior Ensign’s tentacles waved agitatedly betraying a lack of confidence in his ability to make a good selection. “What selection criteria should I use?” he asked.

“A good question,” replied the Captain. “We should work together to formulate a list. Obviously we should aim for an area with a high primitive population density while avoiding the worst polluted areas.”

“We should also try to avoid areas close to anything that resembles a military base,” added Senior Commander Lushram.

“Good thinking, Senior Commander,” praised Captain Varshad, causing the Senior Commander’s purple tentacles to quiver with appreciation. “Would you do the honour of leading the first shuttle down? I know you’re somewhat sceptical about us landing on the planet so I trust you to err on the side of caution while you’re down there.”

“Captain,” replied Commander Lushram, his purple tentacles writhing randomly,” you do me a great honour indeed. I will do my best to show myself worthy.”

“Acknowledged,” said the Captain. “Now I would like all department heads to find out how many of their crew members would like to visit the planet and submit lists to Commander Lushram.”

“Acknowledged,” came a chorus of replies.

After all the polling and planning, it was found that all the crew members who wished to visit the planet could be accommodated by three shuttle trips.

Despite being given the honour of leading the first shuttle visit, Senior Commander Lushram was very uncertain that visiting the planet was a wise thing to do. That unease was exacerbated by a sense of being alone. If only he had the Defence Commander with him, or even the Offence Commander. But the Defence Commander was scheduled to lead the second shuttle visit and the Captain had specifically requested the Offence Commander accompany him in the third shuttle visit. That meant the next highest ranking military officer in his party was a Senior Ensign, although the party included a large contingent of Defence Ensigns and Defence Junior Ensigns.

The shuttle had made its way safely through the upper atmosphere when a proximity alert was triggered.

“Is that a missile aimed at us?” asked the Senior Commander nervously.

“No Sir,” replied the Defence Senior Ensign. “There are no weapons signatures but it contains over 100 primitives. It’s powered by wasteful jet turbine engines. I believe it’s what the primitives use for air transport.”

“But it doesn’t have anti-gravity shielding,” said the shuttle’s Sensor Senior Ensign. “What happens if the engines fail? It will drop out of the sky.”

“Not our concern,” said the Senior Commander. “Warn me if it alters course towards us.”