Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3

Savna clucked, her tail drooping a bit. “I don’t know how I can help, either, but I must go. I do know the dangers of local flora and fauna without having to check a data base that could be incomplete or misinterpreted.”

“Totally understood,” Woon said. “Having a local along will be great.”

An hour later, they all strapped into Chiron’s ambulance cruiser, Heracles, which was fully assembled with its solar powered medical and cryogenic modules connected to the cockpit area that could form a small fighter on its own. Woon switched on the vertical take-off blades to get underway.

For added security, Woon turned off Heracles’ shielded com system he’d risked contact on. “Cenva doesn’t know what happened to Scott,” he told the passengers and crew over his speaker. “We’re starting our search at the SciSoc center where Scott told Savna and Cenva he was going for his secret meeting.”

After a smooth ninety-five minute flight, Woon carefully landed at the coordinates Cenva had given. There was no landing pad, only a patch of jungle. Woon was concerned about what lay under the foliage, but when he was almost upon it, he could believe it had been flattened and landed on before. When they were solidly down, they disembarked with some rescue equipment.

After hours of searching for any signs of Scott, or even baris, in the dense, dark thickets with the help of small drones and sensor goggles, Woon ordered them back to the safety of the cruiser for a break. Gratefully, the team dug into rations, which were tasty and well-textured. There was no time for any of them to reflect on how much space food had improved since the first rockets from Earth, however.

A beep on Woon’s Pocod indicated a message from the Ambassador. A look of concern crossed his face. “Scott was caught on a trail cam right around here,” Woon said. “I don’t have the footage, just a message from her saying it happened.”

“Well, at least we know he was here,” Savna said.