Talrun

1 Andrea “Ten seconds to atmospheric entry. Nine, eight, seven…” A loud roar flooded my ears, punctuated by the mechanical sounds of immense external parts shifting as the spaceship made its descent into the atmosphere of Daqtar. I couldn’t help glancing toward the window, even though I couldn’t see anything but a dull whiteness. Almost as soon as it had begun, the atmospheric descent was over. The spaceship made some worrying scraping sounds as it shifted its wings, allowing it to fly in the planet’s atmosphere now that we were out of space. Despite the sounds, I knew everything about how the ship was working was normal. The situation was anything but normal, though. I’d been told Daqtar, the only life-supporting planet in this solar system, was lush and verdant and beautiful, not unlike Earth. But you wouldn’t know that looking out the window. As the cloud cover cleared and the land masses became more visible, I could start to see cities and other signs of civilization. But outside these populated areas, unlike the vast forest I’d seen in my copy of Planet Guide: Daqtar, were stretches of barren wasteland. Spots of forest dotted the land outside the cities, most of the foliage replaced by expanses of brown dirt. As the ship continued its descent into Koldas, the capital city of the continent of Dasqara, I could see excavation equipment and complex structures meant to funnel resources from one area to another. I’d been told the occupying force, the Mordanians, had their eye on this planet because of its rich stores of rare earth minerals. Within minutes, the city rose around us as we landed in Koldas Spaceport. My heart pounded more than it had even during the descent. It was my first time leaving Earth, and my first time entering a war zone. “Alright, everyone, listen up,” said my crew leader, Tasha, as the ship docked. “We’re here by the grace of the Mordanian occupation government, and if we f**k up, we’re not getting politely shipped back. You know what’ll happen.” I swallowed my nerves, even though I’d heard this spiel before. The Mordanians wouldn’t hesitate to kill us—or rather, have us disappeared—if they knew we were overstepping our bounds. Which was an ironic way to think about it, because the very name of our organization was Boundless Medical. We were a non-governmental organization that sent medical aid to regions throughout the galaxy suffering from conflict, natural disasters, and other problems. I still wasn’t totally sure why the Mordanians had allowed us here. I’d heard some rumors that it was because the occupation was becoming unpopular among the citizens of the Mordanian homeworld, and the occupation government had decided to allow us in to improve the image of the occupation itself. Right now, I couldn’t worry about the geopolitical situation. I was here to save lives. “Everyone put your game faces on,” said Tasha, her smile stilted. “We’re meeting the Mordanians as soon as we step off our ship. And make sure you have everything. We don’t need to give them an excuse to get in here.” “I’ll be here,” called Hannah, our pilot. “I’m not going anywhere.” I took a deep breath and stood, grabbing my backpack and suitcase. I’d packed light. Our team was twelve in total, and Tasha led us out. I was one of the first behind her, eager to breathe in fresh air despite my apprehension. I’d never been on a Boundless Medical mission before. Though I’d practiced as a multi-species surgeon for several years on Earth, this was my first year with the organization. I started down the steps behind Tasha, scanning my surroundings. My first observation was that the Daqtarian architecture bore the mark of Mordanian occupation like a slime mold growing on an ancient stone. The intricate architecture of the native population was now overlaid with the smooth, blob-like lines of Mordanian technology. And the Mordanians themselves… Well, they were just barely what you’d call humanoid. I’d seen pictures, of course, but that didn’t do much to prepare me for seeing them in person. They were hunched over in stature, two pairs of pale, slender arms jutting out at odd angles like spider legs, while stouter legs kept them steady. Their long, thin fingers belied an ease with technology, though their sharp claws and beady, darting eyes made me shudder. I knew I wasn’t supposed to like the Mordanians, but I didn’t think they’d actually look like eldritch monsters! The lead Mordanian, who was much larger than the others, smiled, his long, catfish-like whiskers twitching as he spoke. My translator chip stumbled for a moment, revealing his actual language to be a low, quick sound like water boiling. “Welcome to our planet,” he said, extending all four of his arms in welcome. “We are glad to have the team from Boundless Medical here to assist the doctors in Koldas Public Hospital. My name is Ambassador Hissirin, and my team and I will be escorting you.” “Thank you for having us here,” said Tasha, her façade fully up. “We appreciate your hospitality.” She seemed right at home and perfectly comfortable despite the underlying tension of the situation. “Our porters will retrieve the rest of your things from your ship,” continued the ambassador, “and we’ll get you to your transport—” “Oh, no need,” said Tasha. “We all have everything already.” Being right behind her, I picked up my suitcase handle slightly as if to show what she meant. Hissirin’s brow whiskers rose in an oddly human expression of surprise. Perhaps he’d read up on human facial expressions before meeting us, and was in fact very good at his job as an ambassador. “Very well,” he said. “Follow me. My team will be happy to carry any heavy pieces of luggage if you wish.” I was reluctant to part with my things, but we did have a few suitcases full of equipment and supplies, so we let his team handle those. And with that, we continued on our way to Koldas Public Hospital, which would be our home for the next six months.