Chapter Text
“Boss, check this out!” Erica Reyes yelled, signaling to her alpha, Talia Hale. The Hale Pack, assigned to explore the outer regions of the Beacon galaxy, had landed on the planet Hill only hours before, and had been set to the task of observing the planet’s natural terrain in order to determine its ability to support life. Joining Talia in exploring the chemical makeup of the soil were her children Derek and Laura, while the remaining Hale family stayed on the ship, working as engineers or medics when needed.
“What have you found,” Talia replied, reaching Erica’s side as she slowly collected a sample of something before her. Talia surveyed the land, keeping track of the other members of the pack that could be seen scattered in all directions.
Scott McCall and Kira Yukimura surveyed the land in hopes of discovering the water source nearby. Vernon Boyd (known simply as Boyd) and Isaac Lahey worked together to highlight weather patterns, tracking the potential for natural disasters.
The large number of wolves on this mission seemed startlingly at first glance; as the first wolf pack allowed into the space exploration program, new recruits coveted a place in the pack, with the potential to accept the bite. Being a werewolf meant that their heightened senses could detect intricacies in the environment faster and more accurately than humans, and after the government looked beyond the fur and claws, they began to see the advantages of a team built on loyalty.
Being a werewolf was not necessary, however; the true talents in their pack came from the seemingly innocuous members. Allison Argent and Lydia Martin were both human, and while each appeared unassuming with their floral clothing and beguiling smiles, Allison was the security for the pack and Lydia knew more about chemicals than all of the rest of the pack combined.
The last member of their team, the one currently walking deeper into the forest in search of potential life, was something else entirely. Stiles Stilinski was a spark, and his contribution to the team went beyond his encyclopedic knowledge of creatures supernatural or otherwise; he was the only member of the team who could come close to matching Lydia in knowledge, he knew every member of the pack better than they knew themselves, and he was the alpha’s son-in-law. To those outside of the pack, Stiles was baffling; to his other pack members, he was essential.
Having successfully identified the location of each of her dispatched team members, Talia turned back to Erica. “I think it’s a claw mark,” Erica stated in wonder, and Talia could not help but startle at the news. Kneeling closer, Talia could not help but agree with Erica’s assessment; the program had stated that the planet was uninhabited in their debriefing, and yet a claw mark lay before them.
“Get a mold of the print so we can examine it further in the lab. And get Stiles to help you,” Talia ordered, watching as Erica dutifully carried out her demands. The claw mark had unsettled her; something about it did not fit with the information her team had already gathered.
“Mom, are you alright?” Derek asked, walking closer to her with concern etched on his face. Talia stiffened, and the rest of the pack turned as one to see what had disturbed their alpha. Another ship, invisible to them moments before, materialized. At first glance, the exterior appeared sleek, with chrome and black intermingling. It was the obstructive red sign along the side, however, that had caused Talia to take action.
“Back to the ship!” she yelled, grabbing for Derek as she swiftly led her team back to safety. They had been alerted to the movements of the Alpha Pack; vicious and without oversight, the Alpha Pack had terrorized other missions, going so far as to destroy ships they deemed beneath them. It was better to leave now with what they had already collected than face the potential that they would all be destroyed.
“Come on, get in,” Laura pushed, signally that everyone their crew was all aboard and ready for launce. Without wasting time for a spare glance, Talia signaled for lift off and they took to the sky.
The team milled around the lab, disgruntled that their work had been interrupted but thankful they did not have to face the Alpha Pack in an unknown territory. Derek watched from a distance, feeling like something was missing. The lab looked the same as it had before they departed; some stations orderly while others bordered on chaos. Stiles’ station looked the worst, red strings hung up to make connections only the spark could make sense of. As Derek looked around the room again, he noticed that Stiles was conspicuously absent. Thinking that he had returned to their bunk before joining everyone in the lab, Derek pushed off the counter to meet him there, wanting nothing more than a relaxing shower after spending hours collecting samples.
Entering their room, Derek felt a growing sense of panic flash through him when he found it as empty as the lab, no signs that Stiles had been there recently. With each new place he inspected, with each idea that became more and more farfetched, Derek came to one terrifying conclusion: they had left his mate at the mercy of the Alphas.