Chapter Text
Stardate 2655.1.12
Expedition Wild West is slated to begin within a few weeks. The starship The Hunter’s Achievement captained by Geoffrey Ramsey is to send down an exploratory team of four members to the planet Sorola-6 for future expeditions. The mission statement is to discover what resources the planet contains and if it is viable for future habitation. The mission is set to take over the course of one universal year.
Heading Expedition Wild West is Commander Ryan Haywood, a well-established scientist of The Hunter’s Achievement. Joining him are three ensigns fresh from the academy.
Ensign Gavin Free, archaeologist and xeno-linguist.
Ensign Michael Jones, navigator and engineer.
Ensign Jeremy Dooley, medical officer.
A diverse group meant to work well together and depend upon each other to survive. They will be given the following equipment.
One standard base camp, including oxygen purifiers, solar panels, and a food replicator.
Rations to last one year
Hand-held excavators (commonly known as excavs)
Survival suits
The basics.
Conditions
Upon receiving the notice that Ryan will be part of the expedition—and then reading the names of those involved—he immediately goes to the Captain’s quarters to express (sic. complain) himself.
“Captain, I would like to speak with you about Expedition Wild West and the team you’ve assigned me with.”
“How many times have I told you to just call me Geoff, Commander Haywood? I know the last ship you worked for was a real stick-up-your-ass kind of place, but you don’t need to act so formally around me.”
Ryan shifts uneasily on his feet. That’s the one thing he still hasn’t gotten used to since coming aboard The Hunter’s Achievement, the amount of comradery and informality. Sure, his last time spent aboard a starship had ended rather terribly, but there’s still a need for formality in certain situations. Addressing your captain with respect is one of them. But not so on this ship.
“All right. Geoff.” Still weird. ”I wanted to ask you why you assigned three ensigns to the expedition force. Are you planning on this to be a suicide mission? Because that’s what you’re getting with three ensigns.”
Geoff simply waves him off. “They’ve got you don’t they?”
“And that’s another area of concern. Why me?”
“Why not you? You’re the most brilliant scientist on this entire ship. If anyone can keep those idiots alive, it’s you.”
“I can do more for the crew by staying in my lab.”
“Nuh-huh. I’m not gonna hear it. You’ve been in that lab for three straight weeks. Lindsay’s been giving me updates on you. It’s time for you to get out and have a little fun in the sun. So pack your bags, you mad scientist. You’re going on an adventure.”
And that’s how Ryan finds himself locked in small quarters with three other men for a yearlong expedition.
Stardate 2655.1.28
The Hunter’s Achievement has arrived at Sorola-6. If all goes well, Geoff promises that Ryan can rename the planet to something a little more fancy. Ryan retorts by saying that he doubts Geoff is allowed to do that, but Geoff waves him off.
“Just because Gus discovered this planet doesn’t mean his name gets to stick on it forever. He already has, like, a thousand of them to his name. It’s time for a planet Ramsey or something.”
Ryan lets Geoff’s petty feud with an old friend be and focuses on cataloguing the things he’ll need for the expedition. He’s leaving in two hours, and you’d think the Captain would have better things to do in preparation of sending four of his crewmates to an uninhabited planet, but then there would be no need for First Officer Jack Pattillo who secretly runs the show on this ship.
They’ll be ferried down in a passenger ship. Ryan sees his stuff collected and leaves some final instructions with Lindsay, his fellow scientist.
“Don’t let anyone touch my stuff,” he says. “And take care of my plants.”
She smiles. “Will do. Have fun!”
Due to his position on the ship, he hasn’t had the opportunity to meet the three ensigns officially. He’s looked them upon the ship’s databases, but he has really no idea what to expect. He’s just hoping that they aren’t too incompetent for this expedition. Luckily, there is an emergency beacon at the base in case they run into serious issues and need an emergency evac. Ryan has a suspicious feeling that he might need to use the beacon. He isn’t always pessimistic, but upon first seeing the ensigns, he isn’t too hopeful about the expedition.
First impression of the ensigns? They’re all loud. They’re all energetic. They all know each other.
Geoff claps him on the shoulder as he surveys his motley force. “Relax. You’ll be fine. I know they don’t look like much, but they’ll impress you. I swear.”
“Thanks for the reassurances, sir.”
Geoff laughs and lightly pushes him off towards the passenger ship. “Send me a postcard!”
The ride down to Sorola-6 is a bumpy one, spent in too cramped of quarters a green pilot ferries them down.
“We’re just experiencing a bit of turbulence,” the young pilot—my name’s Kerry—says. The explanation doesn’t stop Ryan from white knuckling it all the way to the surface.
Once there, everyone on board is quick to unload their gear and bid Kerry goodbye. Once they’ve settled into the base, they all meet in the common room to figure out where to go from there. He’s the leader here despite how much he hates working in groups and delegating tasks. More people means more hazards to watch out for. And now he’s responsible for three other lives despite his own. If this expedition had been just for him, no problem! But this will create some issues.
“So,” he begins, trying not to fidget under three pairs of scrutinizing eyes. They’re all dependent on him to not screw this up, so he has to get his act together quickly. “I thought we’d start off with some prelim—preliminary systems checks to familiarize ourselves with, uh, the base. And then we can go outside and check the perimeter.”
The ensigns share some looks between them and the tall, lean one—Gavin—shrugs. “Sounds like a plan, Commander Haywood. Where do we start?”
It’s the tensest two hours of Ryan’s entire life. Not even his time on the near mutinous ship The King’s Revenge could compare to this. The ensigns are all so full of questions, most of them inane or simply rhetorical. Like:
“What does this do?”
“Just read the manual, Jones.”
“Does this flashing light mean it’s on or off?”
“Flashing always means it’s on, Dooley.”
“What does this stand for again?”
Ryan’s about ready to have an aneurysm and soon he starts stuttering, a sign that the stress is getting too much to handle.
“J-just put everything away. I th-think it’s time to go out and, uh, check the perimeter.”
Outside is a bit better. He’s not trapped in a small space with the ensigns any longer.
Their space suits are designed to hold a good six hours of oxygen. They’re light enough to be easily maneuverable. The oxygen reserves are for when they aren’t attached to the tethers at the base. Another added bonus is the HUD display in their helmet. That way they can see their vitals and oxygen reserve levels. Along with the built in comms units, the suits are state of the art.
Sorola-6 is near identical to any planet that the species homo sapiens prefers. The gravity is a bit less but not that noticeable. The days are almost twenty-four universal hours long. The atmosphere shows high levels of oxygen but also some really dangerous levels of radon and nitrogen dioxide. It’ll never be safe for humans to live on this planet without some form of breathing apparatus, but that’s hardly stopped them before.
“Have any of you ever been on an expedition before?” he asks.
“Nope.”
“Nah.”
“Not me no.”
Ryan sighs internally. “Okay. So I need to explain what a tether is then. So our suits have oxygen reserves, but those are for emergencies only. Don’t get dependent on it—Ensign Free!”
Gavin, marked in a green environment suit, turns around from where he’s been wandering off to. “What?”
“What are you doing?”
“I thought I saw something glistening over there. Can’t you see it?”
The other ensigns also turn and look to where Gavin is pointing.
“We-we don’t have time for this!” Ryan says sternly, commanding their attention once more and drawing them back to the tethers. “If you don’t know how to use a simple tether, then you’re going to die.”
“Pessimist much,” Michael says, and the other ensigns snicker.
“This isn’t a game when you’re life is on the line. So just shut up and listen to me for once.”
The ensigns do just that, and Ryan feels his blood pressure drop. He explains how the tethers work. They are attached to the oxygen pumps at the base and will ferry a steady stream of oxygen to their suits so long as the base’s power supply is sufficient. They have to be placed no further apart than twenty feet at a time. They have a fair supply of the tethers to get them started, but preliminary sweeps of the planet have determined that they can easily replicate more tethers with the resources the planet holds.
After setting out a perimeter of tethers around the base, Ryan then shows them to the solar panels that will help them power the base. Maintenance for them is key, so he puts Michael, the engineer, on solar panel duty.
He shows them all how to use one of the hand-held excavators. The excavs are easy to use. They have several power settings that help them unearth certain areas to dig for resources. The ensigns all have a bit too much fun with them and Ryan makes them put them all back before they destroy the ground the base is sitting on. They have plenty of time to fool around with them later.
Back in the base, they go over their ration supplies and the next day’s events.
“Tomorrow we’ll go on a small scouting expedition,” Ryan says, dragging his fingers over a map of the base and its surrounding area of about one click. He wants to expand it, but they’ll need to set up satellites to do it. “One hour out and around to get a better look of the area and get a sense of what’s in store for us. Any questions?”
Nothing is said, and Ryan couldn’t be happier.
“All right. That’s all for the night then. You can . . . do whatever you want.”
He retreats to his shared room. The base is only large enough for two sleeping quarters. Michael and Gavin share one while Ryan is set up with Jeremy. He doesn’t have a problem with this, but it means he has very few places he’ll be able to just be by himself.
He pours over the information on his datapad and begins planning the events for the next week. He hears the other three ensigns fooling around in the more spacious common room. They seem close, and Ryan suddenly remembers that they all graduated from the same academy. Friends, then, from beforehand. How lucky.
He goes over the last received messages from The Hunter’s Achievement before they flew out of range.
To: Commander Haywood
From: Captain Ramsey
Hope you’re enjoying your new home and that you haven’t hopefully killed the ensigns yet. They aren’t that bad—they’re just like overeager, excitable puppies. Just put down some newspaper, and you’ll be good to go.
Also this isn’t going to end up like last time. One push of that beacon, and we’ll haul ass to get you guys out.
You’re not alone in this, buddy.
Also, if you could not kill Gavin until at least six months are up, I’d appreciate it. I’ve got 20 credits riding on you.
Despite how aloof and/or reckless Geoff can be, he’s still a compassionate guy. He cares about all of his crewmates even if he can’t remember half their names on any given day.
It’s not going to be like last time.
Gods, he hopes not.
Things settle down around 22:30. The ensigns get set up in their respective bunks. Ryan pretends he’s sleeping when Jeremy enters, but the ensign is light on his feet, settling in as quietly as he can muster and turns off his lights.
Ryan is left to stare up at the ceiling in the dark. Settling into a new environment always wreaks havoc with his sleeping habits. It’ll be a sleepless first nights until he’s not so worried that their oxygen levels will deplete before morning comes.
Twelve months. One year. He can do this.