I waited impatiently near the airlock of the shuttle that had taken us from the Acronis down to the surface of Althar 3. After two long weeks aboard the Acronis, I needed to get out. I wanted fresh air and to see the sun.

Where is everyone? Don’t they want to see this?

The shuttle, the Outrider, had developed a mechanical fault, forcing us to land for immediate repairs before we could reach Station Jannali, the underground base we would be working from. We’d had to land in a tropical jungle.

An actual jungle.

And we were going outside to see it first-hand.

Sure, we had forests near my house on my home planet of Shakira, but this was nature at its wildest.

I could hardly stand still. I’d studied botany for the last two years, so to see the plant life on a newly-discovered planet would be exciting. I’d seen the reports and photos of course, but nothing would compare to the real thing. Up till now I’d only ever had the chance to study plant specimens from my home planet of Shakira and a select few from Earth.

Excitement buzzed through my veins.

Where are they?

I resisted the urge to start pacing.

Of course the rest of the crew wouldn’t be as excited as I was to see the wild flora just outside these doors… But there was one person. The only other botanist on the ship. The only other Shakiran on the ship.

As if fate had heard my thoughts, Janssen rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks as my heart stuttered to a halt.

His dark eyes widened as they found mine. “Larissa. Hi.” He inclined his head.

I returned the nod. “Hello.”

Please don’t ask about last night.

His eyes never left mine. “Can I talk to you?”

No. Not now. I can’t talk to you now. Maybe not ever. “Uh, we don’t have time.” I looked both ways down the corridor. “Everyone will be here shortly…”

He looked around to make sure we were alone and lowered his voice. “Please. I need to know what I did to upset you.”

My chest tightened. “Nothing. You did nothing wrong.”

“Then why did you run off?”

“I—” I can’t tell you. I took a deep breath. “It’s not you. It’s… something I can’t talk about right now.”

“I’m sorry if I was too forward, or if my kiss offended you, but you seemed to be responding…” He looked like he was in pain. “I meant no dishonour.”

“I…”

He ran a hand through his long hair. “Why won’t you talk to me? Is there something you’re not telling me?” His eyes widened. “Are you betrothed?”

I cringed. “No.”

“Are you — have you formed a union with someone? Have you lied to me these past weeks?”

“No!”

“Please don’t dishonour me. If that’s what it is—”

“It’s nothing like that. There’s no one. I—”

Voices and footsteps abruptly ended our conversation and I saw the hurt in his eyes as the room filled with people.

Guilt wrapped itself around my chest and squeezed. “We’ll talk. Later.”

He gave me a sad smile that I could easily see over everyone’s heads. I turned away so I couldn’t see his handsome face. I should never have become close to him. I should have kept my distance during our journey.

No relationships. No entanglements.

Why couldn’t I stick to my plan?

The shuttle’s pilot made his way through the small crowd and stood in front of the airlock doors. He reminded us that the air was breathable and ran through the procedures for exiting through the airlock — and what we were required to do once we were outside.

Once he’d reported that we had no choice but to land, one of the scientists at Station Jannali had suggested we make ourselves useful and collect some plant and soil samples. I’d opted for a plant sample — naturally — and they’d given me the job of finding a type of fungi called Aatrox.

As the pilot spoke, images of the prehistoric wildlife I’d seen in the reports played in my mind on repeat. It had me a little nervous. There were some dangerous creatures here. Even dangerous plants. We needed to be vigilant.

We stepped into the airlock and it sealed itself. Once it had finished depressurising, the outer doors opened with a hiss and sunlight poured in through the gap in the canopy high above. My heart pounded. We’d landed in a small clearing caused by a fallen tree. A few of my fellow crew members filed out ahead of me and I padded down the ramp to the jungle floor. Humidity closed in around me in total contrast to the cool interior of the shuttle.

We stood gaping at the giant trees that formed the canopy. They were covered with moss and had vines intricately woven around their trunks and branches. The small creatures jumping around in the higher branches looked like monkeys. Birds flitted through the treetops and swooped down toward the ground.

The smaller trees boasted many shades of green. The wide variety of fungi growing on rocks and tree trunks displayed so many colours that they rivalled the countless flowers.

Some of the aromas from the flowers were almost familiar and one definitely smelled like an Airlea Blossom. The scent of nutrient-rich soil was hard to ignore and was so welcome after the sterile air we’d breathed for the last two weeks.

The undergrowth was so thick here and I wondered how any of the larger animals could find their way through. It was fascinating to see how plants formed when they were left to their own devices.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of birds, crickets, and frogs, but I was startled by the sound of flapping wings high above us. Something scurried amongst the underbrush to my right. This was no time to be closing my eyes. Images of the many carnivorous dinosaurs and huge cat-like predators that inhabited this jungle flashed in my mind again. We were vulnerable out here in the open. We were not armed. If we were attacked, there would be no way to defend ourselves.

Surely our new employer wasn’t stupid enough to send us out of the ship and leave us defenceless.

I looked to the people around me. At how unprepared and clueless they were.

Yes, they were that stupid.

I searched for any possible threats and noticed Janssen was on high alert too. Our combat training had been instilled in us from an early age and was impossible to switch off. Shakirans prided themselves on being a warrior race and all citizens were trained in the art of combat. No exceptions.

Being thrust into the jungle unarmed on the first day didn’t sit well with me.

Our eyes met and Janssen nodded. We’d been thinking the same thing, but guilt over last night had me turning away.

People started to spread out toward the edges of the clearing and I remembered we had a job to do.

I squared my shoulders and headed for the nearest fallen log. The information contained in the PocketPC I’d been given said that the Aatrox was purple and grew on the underside of logs, but I planned to approach each log with a great deal of caution. Any number of creatures could be sheltering underneath.

Bazeelia strode purposefully toward some red flowers, her long black hair swishing back and forth from its ponytail. It seemed she’d found her target already.

She pulled out a sample case and a pair of clippers. She would be finished in no time and I hadn’t even started.

The thunderous sound of flapping wings drew my attention and a huge winged reptile swooped down from the trees. Its screech hurt my ears and I instinctively ducked and screamed.

Bazeelia’s scream was comical and mine was embarrassing. I never screamed.

Eli would’ve scowled at me for being such a coward…

I clenched my jaw. I couldn’t be thinking about him now.

Janssen and Lanu had both given a shout when the reptile swooped, but were now laughing at us.

Bazeelia scowled. “Don’t be laughin’ at me. That thing was a monster! And it scared you too!”

Janssen turned to her, his hair falling fluidly over his shoulder as he moved. “Hey. Take it easy. We’re just messin’ with ya.”

That may have been true, but she was right. Its wing-span was about three metres and its long, pointed beak was full of razor-sharp teeth.

Lanu strode over, smiling as he approached. “You’ve got to admit it was amazing though.”

Bazeelia glared down at him, her mouth hanging open. “Amazing? No. It wasn’t. It was terrifying!”

Lanu kept smiling, and I recognised that look of awe on his face. I had a photo of me back at home, taken after I’d created a new plant species in our nursery, and my face had that same look. That same light shone in my eyes.

He rubbed his chin. “But that thing is so similar to the Pteranodon from Earth’s past and it flew within a few metres of us. It’s like going back to the Cretaceous Period and getting a first-hand look.”

“Well, you can go look at it and admire its beauty if you want. Pat it. Study it. Although I’m not sure being a sociologist will help when it comes to dinosaurs. Me? I’m glad I’ll be working indoors once we get to Jannali.” She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and went back to retrieving the red flower.

The fact that we weren’t going to be interacting with the natives while we were here probably meant this would be our first and only time in the jungle. Maybe that was why they were okay with us being out here now. We were getting a taste of the environment these people lived in.

It was still dangerous out here; we needed to finish quickly and return to the safety of the ship.

I continued to monitor our surroundings.

Kami, who had continued to be a nuisance to us all since our first briefing, called from the doorway of the shuttle, asking Zhenna what the screaming was about. As she explained what had happened, I tried to ignore the conversation so I could get back to my search for the fungi. Kami had refused to come outside, saying the mechanical failure was a bad omen or some such nonsense.

He told her again that we should have stayed in the ship and kept insisting that Zhenna go back inside. What was his reason for only inviting her? That was odd. And it got my attention.

Zhenna and I had become friends on the trip out here, although I’d kept a certain distance between us.

I wandered over, feeling the need to protect her. If she agreed to go back in, I was ready to stop her. I did not trust the man. He was from Setlur, so there was a natural distrust for his whole race — Shakira had been at war with Setlur about two hundred years ago. Kami had shown his dislike for Janssen and I openly from the start, but there was more to my distrust of him than our races’ shared history. His behaviour was suspicious and I wanted to keep Zhenna safe.

“Umm, I can’t,” she told him, the sunlight making her hair look almost blonde. “Jannali wants the samples. It’s going to give a bad impression if we refuse.”

I was relieved that she was staying out here.

His bushy eyebrows drew downward and his mouth became a straight line, but then he turned quickly and went back in the ship.

Good.

“Don’t worry about him,” I said as I reached her side. “He’s just a superstitious old grump.” And a creepy old man.

Old was a bit of a stretch. He was probably about thirty, but he acted like my grandfather.

She laughed at that, then cringed.

I shrugged. “I don’t care if he hears me.”

She giggled.

Zhenna was one of the few people I’d gotten to know on my way out here and although she had no interest in botany, we shared an interest in art and music. She was easy to talk to and it made me forget that I was only out here for work, not to socialise. She made it easy to get distracted from my goal, and so did Janssen. He’d been a big distraction.

I pushed those thoughts aside. I had a job to do.

We turned our attention back to the edge of the clearing so we could get the samples before the pilot finished with the repairs. I didn’t want to turn up to Jannali empty-handed. How would that look? “You’re a botanist and you couldn’t find a plant?”

No. That wouldn’t do. I would not shame myself.

I chose another log over where Zhenna was standing and headed straight to it, but my attention was drawn to Janssen’s voice, as it often was. I couldn’t help myself. He was reaching up to a low-hanging vine, and I tried to guess what his target was — the moss or fungi growing on the vine, or the vine itself?

I scolded myself for watching him and took another step toward the log. Every time he spoke, I looked over. What was wrong with me? I needed to exercise some self-control.

He caught me looking and my cheeks flushed. I needed to stop this and get back to work.

I checked to see if Zhenna had seen me; she was watching me and smiling. Those blue eyes missed nothing.

She pursed her lips as she tried not to laugh. “I saw you looking at him.”