Planet Earth 13

Human Alliance Agent 0420 (Part 2)

Hours later, Ragan gradually awoke from the crash. As he came to, he remembered being shot down. He figured that he must have gotten the date wrong in his landing request. Despite his injuries, the agent released himself from the ship's safety straps and exited what remained of his vehicle. He had to move fast; AI sentries would have been dispatched towards the crash site. Since he had not been cleared to enter the planet's atmosphere, he would be classified as a hostile entity and be treated as such by the robotic defense systems until Ragan could make contact with the Human Alliance.

He had landed on a patch of land in a great lake. As he stepped out of the ship, he felt mild warmth and smelled fresh, unpolluted air. Across the water, Ragan saw prosperous plant life that extended beyond the horizon. He became curious as to what was actually going on here. Though it was a dangerous decision, he activated the microchip in his brain that had been powered off due to some strange malfunctions he had witnessed on the previous planet. Though he could not use it to communicate, he could access the enormous archives of data it held and use it to enhance his perception of his environment.

Ragan had not actually been assigned to this planet specifically. His mission required that he visit many different planets based on certain circumstances, which he was supposed to judge for himself as an experienced Agent. Planet Earth 13, as named by the HA, was classified as a Type C, Level 2 world. Type C meant that the human natives of the planet, even those in charge, were completely ignorant to the existence of the Human Alliance. The "level" refers to the inhabitants' stage of technological advancement. Level 2 means they would be past the era of primitive tools but before the discovery of electricity. Due to these conditions, the planet was not open to space travelers unless they were on HA business, hence the deadly security measures.

Though a flourishing natural environment like this was common among planets with the same classification, what troubled Ragan was that he had been given information about the planet that contradicted the healthiness of nature here. Planet Earth 13 was supposed to be a dying world. Hundreds of years ago, the planet was ruled by a highly advanced race of humans who suffered from a devastating interstellar war. Aside from nearly wiping out the population, the war polluted the planet beyond repair. The HA database described it as "barren" and the inhabitants were expected to die off due to the lack of natural resources.

The thriving landscape that surrounded Ragan challenged this information. He was stricken by the varying shades of green in the foliage around the lake. The water appeared clean and clear, he could see the aquatic life that prospered beneath its surface. Even the sky looked healthy, clear of smog. He could have stood there and enjoyed the beauty of this planet for hours but he also knew that he had to get moving before he was discovered.

As he scanned for the closest piece of shoreline for him to swim to from the mini-island, he spotted movement coming out of the thick woods across the water. He could not tell what the creature was. It seemed to notice that Ragan had seen it and stepped back into the cover of the bushes. There it remained for only a moment, as it mustered its courage and confidently reemerged. Ragan could see now that it was a human. The person looked strange from the Agent's position about 100 yards away, but he believed the figure to be female. Boldly, she stepped towards his direction, staring at him across the distance. As she neared the water, she began making elegant motions with her arms. To Ragan's amazement, the plants near her began shifting and reforming themselves until a wooden raft was created. As she stepped onto the floating structure, even the current of the water changed to bring her towards the crash site.

The situation left Ragan astonished yet terrified. He had never encountered a creature that could manipulate its environment through sheer will. Unknowing of her intentions, Ragan reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small round device. When activated, the device would emit a signal that shocks anyone but the user, rendering an aggressor motionless for a short time. Though inwardly anxious, he stood with a calm demeanor as the woman approached.

As she neared the crash site, Ragan could see the figure much more clearly. She looked very much like a Prime Earth woman, though her skin had a green tint. The way the green shaded her skin resembled the brown tint of a tan on Ragan's people, rather than a basic coloration. Her hair was long and unruly, but Ragan could hardly look at the rest of her body before his gaze was drawn to the brilliance of her face. She was terribly beautiful, with a visage that proclaimed the strength and ferocity of its wearer. Just under the surface of this expression, however, he found curiosity, wisdom, and care. Deep in her eyes, he could see an inner conflict between her chaotic nature and her innate human compassion. Though she looked like a young adult compared to Prime Earth humans, he sensed that she was quite older than her appearance led on.

Without any way to communicate with the strange woman, Ragan slowly lowered himself to his knees, holding his palms outward but keeping his arms close to his body. During his career, he had encountered many different intelligent lifeforms with unique verbal and body languages. Some gestures may represent peace and goodwill on one planet, but could also be a threat or insult to another. Through trial and error, he had perfected his posture for first contact with unknown humanoids. Kneeling represented submission, a commonly shared concept among life throughout the universe. Open hands shows that one is not hiding anything, but the arms must be kept close to the body. Holding one's arms outward is a threatening or intimidating message in many cultures. It was important to give the right impression during first contact, miscommunications had led to wars in the past.

As she stepped off her raft, the water stilled. He couldn't be sure, but Ragan thought he saw the scattered weeds in the sand around him brighten and perk up as her foot touched the island. Even stranger, he felt some accelerated alleviation of his soreness from the crash; not just lessening the pain, he could actually feel his body repairing itself faster than any medicine. She drew closer and his initial fears diminished. His thoughts were consumed with curiosity and admiration for her. When he looked at her, he felt as if he were gazing across a healthy, green landscape from atop a small mountain. While her physical form was truly astonishing, this association stemmed from the feeling that her presence was more than her body.

While analyzing her, the two caught each other's eyes. He saw in her the same curiosity about him that he felt towards her. Then, he saw a switch in her eyes, as if she had made a decision to do something. A moment later, everything went black and he fell forward into the sand with a thud.