tropictuco
Member
Michelle tromped carelessly through the jungle on the alien planet Narize, lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't believe this stupid planet. It had seemed so full of promise, so full of...life! But after surveying the planet for months as the Chief Biologist, it was becoming clear that this planet was like so many other things in her life -- a disappointing bust.
She continued down her well-worn trail that she had made several weeks ago with her old-school machete, absently hacking at new growth. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings...fear of the unknown had faded after a month or so when it became apparent that there were no apex predators on this planet. The number of people involved in each expedition had dwindled from 10 to 5, to a buddy system, to just one at a time. She understood it, really. When it became apparent that the humans were going to be disappointed AGAIN in finding a sentient alien species on a new planet, the focus had changed to establishing a human colony. Surveying the new flora and fauna had fallen to Michelle alone, a task she didn't mind too terribly much. She was a moderately attractive 5'5" woman in her late 20s, with a few friends and even some boyfriend prospects from among the colonists, but she did enjoy her time alone in the jungle.
The fact that this planet had greenery so similar to Earth's had initially made her excited and hopeful that she had lucked into "The One" -- the planet that would give her the fame she had been craving her entire career. And describing yet another species of edible berry on yet another habitable planet wasn't going to cut it. What WOULD do the trick would be discovering and being one of the first humans to interact with a new sentient species. She had even taken some anthropology classes at a local college on Earth to try to get some background in what it would be like to encounter a new culture. But, it wasn't going to happen. And now she was stuck on this planet for the rest of her life, classifying berries and stupid little rodent-things. What a waste.
Michelle stopped, drank some water, and checked her virtual map one more time, almost absently since she already knew the way. She had several main trails that she rotated through, and by now she knew each one by heart. With 10 km left before she got to the base, she had just a moderate trek ahead of her. She sighed soulfully and tried to steel herself to think of something other than her disappointment. But when one is trekking through the wilderness alone, it can be very difficult to stop the negative emotions from spinning around and around.
She continued down her well-worn trail that she had made several weeks ago with her old-school machete, absently hacking at new growth. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings...fear of the unknown had faded after a month or so when it became apparent that there were no apex predators on this planet. The number of people involved in each expedition had dwindled from 10 to 5, to a buddy system, to just one at a time. She understood it, really. When it became apparent that the humans were going to be disappointed AGAIN in finding a sentient alien species on a new planet, the focus had changed to establishing a human colony. Surveying the new flora and fauna had fallen to Michelle alone, a task she didn't mind too terribly much. She was a moderately attractive 5'5" woman in her late 20s, with a few friends and even some boyfriend prospects from among the colonists, but she did enjoy her time alone in the jungle.
The fact that this planet had greenery so similar to Earth's had initially made her excited and hopeful that she had lucked into "The One" -- the planet that would give her the fame she had been craving her entire career. And describing yet another species of edible berry on yet another habitable planet wasn't going to cut it. What WOULD do the trick would be discovering and being one of the first humans to interact with a new sentient species. She had even taken some anthropology classes at a local college on Earth to try to get some background in what it would be like to encounter a new culture. But, it wasn't going to happen. And now she was stuck on this planet for the rest of her life, classifying berries and stupid little rodent-things. What a waste.
Michelle stopped, drank some water, and checked her virtual map one more time, almost absently since she already knew the way. She had several main trails that she rotated through, and by now she knew each one by heart. With 10 km left before she got to the base, she had just a moderate trek ahead of her. She sighed soulfully and tried to steel herself to think of something other than her disappointment. But when one is trekking through the wilderness alone, it can be very difficult to stop the negative emotions from spinning around and around.