First adventure?

Theo suited up. He had two suits, one for the ship, and one for exploring purposes.

His explorer suit was skin tight and had streamlined sensors: black and white in color. The basic functionality of his suit was to enhance his physical capabilities and to ensure his survival. It also had sensors for detecting danger and hazardous materials. And the suit worked as a beacon too making it impossible for him to go missing, unless there was an instrumental failure.

Theo attached the plasma knife and gun with his belt. A week ago John had got these for him. On that day he'd learned just how powerless he was.

And so, now that he was about to finally start his first mission, he found his body shaking. He sweated, he shivered. This wasn't a novel, this wasn't a movie, and this wasn't a game. This was life and death. And he didn't have anyone to count on but himself.

He was alone.

But on that moment, a hand touched his back. "I'm here." Behind Theo, Sizzy stood with a warm smile. She had the same suit as him.

"Thanks." Theo smiled back. He was still shaking, his heart still racing, but he felt a bit better.

***

Veine stood in front of everyone and spoke as humanely as an R.I could. "Explorer John and Glenn would spearhead the operation and secure the Sylvanide. Explorer Monty would protect the two during the transit. Explorer Voli would secure a specific plant specimen: we believe Kuticle herb could be found on this planet. Explorer Jiman and Slark will examine the planet and gather data on whether it is possible to colonize this planet. We will use that data as a baseline. And lastly, Explorer Theodore would search a cave rich in organic matter and confirm whether there's a deposit of precious gems there. The planet is filled with various predators so please be careful and you may bring your personalized R.I, if you'd like."

The explorers were suited up and were now at the warp gate. Since they were rather close to the planet, the explorers could have easily been teleported down, there was no need for small crafts. It would have been a different story if this planet was inhabited.

"Good luck there buddy." John flashed a smile, but he had a different mission to worry about. Besides, among all the explorers, Theo's mission was technically the least dangerous- so he could at least rest easy knowing that.

"You too." Even now Theo was unsure, but that didn't change the fact that he had to do this no matter what. Wasn't this his dream? Wasn't this all he wanted his entire life?

It was. And because of that, he was going to see through this till the end. He had Sizzy by his side too, so he could at least be somewhat relieved. But that didn't mean he was letting his guard down either. 'I've got this.'

"Break a leg." Glenn grinned. "Not literally though." He chuckled.

"I'll try not to."

"We will continue to monitor your heartrate and position throughout the mission duration, so please don't worry about getting lost." It was almost as though the R.I was cracking a joke. But unfortunately, no one was laughing. "Good luck gentlemen. And Godspeed." Veine closed his eyes.

Warm blue light swirled around Theo. His consciousness felt faint. He'd experienced teleportation before but it wasn't pleasant. It was easier than warp but still unpleasant. His body stretched and for one whole second, he felt indescribable pain as his individual cells were torn from his body.

But as his feet touched the ground, everything disappeared. Cold, refreshing air drifted in his nose. But the moment he took it in, his lungs felt like they'd burst. He hurriedly turned on one of his suit's special features.

[Breathing aid activated.] A faint mechanical voice reverberated in his left ear. [Temperature aid activated.]

'The air pressure's high.' He already knew, it was high but he didn't know it was this high.

The temperature was on the lower side too.

But now that he could breathe, he looked around. Tall trees, large leaves, green. "Beautiful."

"Yes, it's beautiful." Sizzy was right behind him. "Shall we begin?" Her words were reassuring.

There weren't any insects or animals nearby.

"Right!" Theo wore his ARIMA glasses. He didn't have a stable warpnet connection but he did have Sizzy with him and Sizzy had a connection with the Ainmester which in turn had a connection to the Warpnet. So his glasses worked just fine.

'I should have used this loophole from the start.' Suffice to say, it never really occurred to him until Sizzy proposed the idea yesterday.

They both started walking. The cave they were supposed to go in was about half a kilometer away. This was a low-priority mission and this place was supposedly safer than the rest of the planet.

"Please stop." Sizzy stopped Theo.

"What?" Theo looked back but then took a good look at his feet. He took a step back in fright. There was moss on the ground, but as he looked carefully, it wasn't moss. Rather it was alive. 'What am I doing? This isn't a game.'

He knew this wasn't a game. He knew it all along. And yet, he was careless enough to just get lost in wanderlust.

"It appears to be a carnivorous moss waiting for prey to walk on it."

"Le-let's take a different path." Theo's senses were on fire. If he was alone, he would have died.

"Affirmative."

***

Captain Sharon Barslain looked at the green planet through the Holo on the bridge. She was alone.

But a man soon walked in. He was cloaked in dark.

"I'd assume everything is going according to the plan?"

"For now, yes. But are you sure, it's here?" Sharon wasn't convinced. How could a technology even humans couldn't comprehend be found in a backwater planet such as this?

"I assure you." The man made a courtly bow. "We have already confirmed that one of the pieces is here."

Sharon felt vexed but she controlled it, not a trace of emotion leaked. 'We'll see how long you can keep that up.'

"And you sure, it has to be him?" But another thing was on her mind.

The man just smiled. "Tis' all but the will of our queen."