“Hey! Hey! Easy does it! This ain’t your ship Cali!” Truman shouts from the windowed bottom hull.

“Don’t back seat.. or…erm.. bottom seat drive!” Cali shouts, his gray stubble making a wreath around his surprisingly white teeth.

‘Remember to see if he has some extra toothpaste powder in his cabin tonight. ‘ I note to myself.

With only a small click into the docking base we land.

A thick layer of ash lays undisturbed on the metal dock. Cali badgers me to go wake up Lorenzo and Fab as I note the last ashy planet we visited was thickly humid. I remember to toss a pair of shorts and overalls for my undersuit outfit.

Marching through the rounded hallways, the floor a screechy plastic that whines and squeaks under each step, I figure Lorenzo and Fab have already been woken up by my boots. I slide down the short railing to the bunks, stopping at the last few steep stairs.

Lorenzo rolls over groaning annoyed and tired.

“Whatever you’re gonna say, shut up.” He moans although resistant he pulls himself from his lower bunk and begins to put on his oxygen stamps.

“Fab!” I shout from the stairs. Their body moves and twitches before sighing. “Faaaaaaabbbbb” I continue in a sing song voice.

Lorenzo chuckles, finding my antics midly amusing.

“Hey… why’s your window u-“ I start. Quickly being interrupted by Fab sitting up. I immediately clock their face, anxious, pale, eyes blinking with worry. I raise my eyebrows. Fab notoriously takes any opportunity to sleep. With their windows open, Fab must have been staring at the planet as we slowly got closer in landing distance. I check my watch. That began 5 hours ago at least.

“What… what… what’s going on?”Lorenzo says his eyes anxiously staring back and forth at the both of us.

“Uh… somethings off… I just know it. There were no transmission when we began orbit, No crew even automated when we landed. Somethings off. “ Fab says slowly folding the blanket infront of them. With an anxious form of methodicness. Careful not to make eye contact with either of us.

Fab puts on a weak smile. But their eyes look tired. The kind of tired no amount of hours of sleep can fix.

Quietly the rest of us suit up. I pack in my lighter wear under clothes. Though with how ominous Fab is. I have a feeling this planet might not be like anyone we have ever been on.

Lorenzo finishes his back first. He makes a point to stop and have a whispered conversation with Fab,his face contouring to a similar anxious stare. Taking a deep breath he steadies himself and begins to head up the stairs. I cock my head. Confused. only partially convinced as he flashes a caring smile to Fab as hd he begins to to head to the cockpit.

I hurrdily pack the rest of my gear and follow him up. My boots stomping at a quicker rate as I catch up to him in the hall. Lorenzo seems lost in his own world though. I give him a nudge and attempt to start a quip as to how much shorter my legs are to his when he grips the wrist that nudged him tightly. He lifts my body like a dolls and slams me into the ground with his athletic and muscled arms.

Stunned I silently look up at him. Scared. Lorenzo’s eyes meet me with a dark and fierce stare. His jaw gritted tightly to bear his teeth.

Spit flys out of his mouth as he holds this expression.

Something snaps him out of his thought. He drops my wrist and his eyes quickly change to a sadness and regret.

With a stiff sigh he begins to pull me up.

“I’m so, so, so sorry. I… I don’t know what came over me.” Lorenzo apologizes. He balls his fists and looks at them with anguish . “ I would never hurt you on purpose.” Lorenzo continues. “I got.. I got to go talk to Truman.” He finishes. The same anxiety seems to spread infectiously and now cover his face. Contourted with his own anguish and sadness his face seems abstract and unfamiliar.

Lorenzo hurries away from me in the hallway. Breaking into a jog towards the cockpit. My body is aching and sore as I pull my pack over my shoulder. I knew he was an agent at some point but just some brute. Whatever that was shows that he was in something much more intense.

Sorely I walk up to the cockpit. Finding Lorenzo and Truman in an equally intense whispered conversation. As Lorenzo finishes his sentence. Truman, ever stoic and statuesque, seems to shrink into himself.

I always saw him as something of a father. 17 developmentally important years does that to a person. Even if such names was frowned upon.

The shrunken Truman looks at me with his thick eyebrows and sunken blue eyes. The second seemingly holding some sort of intense pain. I’m afraid he might cry. Something so alien of a thought would get me to laugh. But not today. Not a this dock. For a reason I didn’t even know.

Truman turns away from me. With a near suspicious quickness. I beg for him to tell me what’s wrong but he just ignores me and points to the meeting table.

As Cali states the game plan Lorenzo drags him away from the table. In which Truman and I sit between Fab. Their energy seemingly pulled from them.

Lorenzo for the third time, whispers out a conversation. Cali unlike the rest, doesn’t go pale. But his eyes gain a steely quality to them. Like he’s living his life over again in just one second.

Nevertheless despite a quiet murmur of protest from Fab. Their dynamic low but their tone urgent. We step out into the ashy planet. The group tends to leave me alone on their expeditions for supplies and goods, which they do today, careful to walk slower and turn around to see to it I get off the ship ok. I let out a nervous chuckle and reach my boot to the metal ground. As I make contact to the surface my body crumples on to the dock. The most intense pain rattles through me. Before I faint I see all of their faces. Crumpled in shock and horror. The pain, white hot feels like a million stabs.

The four all rush back toward me. ‘My only family have some idea why this happened. ‘ I think with a feeble anger as my consciousness slips from below me.