Christopher stared through the porthole in awe. The verdant surface of PL-468129 came into view, illuminated by the light of Fleeble B. The rest of the crew of the Magellan were asleep, but Christopher had made sure to wake up in time to see the view. His trance was interrupted by the cool AI voice coming from the ship’s intercom. “All systems stable. Beginning atmospheric entry. Prepare for arrival in 30 minutes.” Christopher heard the sounds of the crew stirring and making their way to their stations. The air was electric with anticipation. Christopher had spent the last two revolutions of PL-1 (what was once known as Earth) on the Magellan. It was the last ship off PL-1 before the planet’s weather patterns became too harsh to sustain human life. ”Deploying heat shield. Prepare for arrival in 15 minutes.” Christopher made his way to the cockpit, where the rest of the crew had gathered. Mica, the ship’s captain, was scowling in his chair, stroking his long grey beard (he did this when he was angry). He was flanked by Margaret and Mohammad, the mission’s lead engineers. They were however, inexperienced, having not been able to finish their degrees before the United Nations declared a total evacuation of PL-1. Sculking under the control panel was Ian, eyes bloodshot and mouth full of nicotine gum. Normally, Mica would have ripped him apart for such gluttony, but he was too focused on Christopher to notice. ”There he is” grunted Captain Mica “You’re never on time” “My apologies Captain, I was captivated by the sight of PL-468129” mumbled Christopher “That’s the kind of thing that gets you killed out here. Don’t let me catch you distracted from the mission objective again. Is that clear?” “Yes Captain” “Alright. Now that that’s sorted, let me go over some important things. The Magellan’s software has determined that PL-468129 is safe enough to support human life. There is breathable oxygen, however you still need to wear your airtight suits at all times due to the presence of unknown airborne pathogens.” “Airborne pathogens?” gasped Margaret angrily “You never warned us about those!” “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to jeopardize the mission by instilling fear into all of you. The Magellan’s scans indicate high quantities of unidentified genetic material in the air,” Then why would you choose this place out of the hundreds of thousands of other options?” interjected Mohammad ”Look, I didn’t want to come here. Unfortunately, due to the limited fuel capacity of the Magellan, PL-468129 is the only unoccupied place suitable enough to sustain human life within its range. It may not be ideal, but it’s far better than being blown out of the sky trying to land on claimed territory.” Mohammad was about to respond but was interrupted by the Magellan. ”Commencing landing sequence. Prepare for arrival in 5 minutes” The ship jolted as the parachute unfurled. Ian’s pack of gum clattered to the floor, spilling everywhere. At this, Captain Mica noticed the gum. He stormed over and slapped Ian across the face, leaving an angry red mark. “If you pull that kind of mischief again, you can chew on my fist when I shove it down your throat!” Mica snarled. “Sorry Cap’n” said Ian ashamadely For the next few minutes, a silence permeated throughout the Magellan, only broken by the engine’s mechanical soliloquies. Suddenly, there was a loud thud as the ship smashed through a woody growth and thudded onto the damp surface of PL-468129. “Welcome to the 468,129th Promised Land,” said the Magellan in synthetic excitement. “Moon tests positive for unknown multicellular organisms. Proceed with caution.” “Well, here we are” sighed Christopher “We need to make a plan. Margaret and Mohammad will secure a perimeter around the LZ. Christopher, Ian, and I will go explore the surrounding area and locate water sources. Ian, if you try anything, consider yourself a dead man. Does everyone understand?” said Mica gruffly “Yes Captain,” said everyone else in unison Christopher donned his AirtightAegis™ suit and stepped down the ramp of the Magellan and scanned his surroundings. They had landed in a shallow, flat crater. The soil was muddy and frequently dotted with fetid puddles. Strange, tube-like plants that resembled hollow trees reached into the sky. Christopher’s helmet overlay informed him that he was close to the center of the moon. After a few minutes of waiting, Ian and Mica emerged from the ship pushing the Amphibious Traversal Rover. It resembled a hybrid between a jet ski and an ATV, and was designed to perfectly navigate swampy terrain. ”Hop on, Chris,” said Mica determinately Christopher obliged. The ATR roared to life and glided across the crater. As they neared the crater wall, Mica pressed a button, launching magnetic netting that snagged on the side of the crater. Using a MagLev system, the ATR easily levitated up the netting and smoothly came to a stop outside the crater. Wetlands stretched in all directions for miles. Patches of trees and reeds could be seen rising out of the shallow, murky water. In the distance, a dense forest of the hollow trees could be seen. “Let’s keep going straight and see if we can find some cleaner water.” said Mica “Our filtration systems should be able to make this dirty water drinkable but I’d rather be safe than sorry.” The group continued to make their way through the wetlands on the ATR. While the landscape was alien, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Suddenly, Ian let out a feeble yelp. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SQUEALING AT YOU LITTLE-” Before he could finish his sentence Mica, too, saw what Ian had seen. “It can’t be..” Standing in front of them, about 200 feet away was a humanoid figure. It appeared to have once been human, but its bones had been replaced by metal. Pieces of festering flesh and sagging skin hung loosely off the rusty metallic frame. But that wasn’t what caught the attention of Christopher. He noticed the long, pale, white, writhing worms that covered the corpse, almost indistinguishable from the frayed nerves wrapped around the metal. And they noticed him too. The abomination sprinted toward the ATR at inhuman speed. Mica stepped on the gas and they sped in the opposite direction. “WE CAN’T GO BACK TO THE MAGELLAN, WE DON’T WANT IT TO KNOW WHERE WE HAVE OUR CAMP SET UP.” Trees whizzed past as Mica skillfully avoided collisions. Despite his expert driving, the creature was closing in on them. Christopher got an idea. As they sped by a tree, he grabbed on to a low hanging branch, and, using the momentum, kicked the vaguely alive amalgamation in the ribs, catching it off balance. He picked up a moist rock from the ground and repeatedly bashed it against the creature’s neck. The rock shattered. Angered, the creature bolted up and threw a jab at Christopher's head, spewing worms at him. Rolling away, he activated the laser cutting tool attached to his suit. It whirred and then a burning hot beam shot out of his wrist as he threw a punch back at the creature. The tool cut through its shoulder, spewing the worms’ green blood everywhere. The creature recoiled, then retreated. Christopher’s radio crackled. It was Mica. “Chris, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?” “Copy.” “Oh thank God.” “What the hell was that thing?” ”I thought it was a myth…” ”What? What myth? What’s going on” ”I’m approaching your coordinates, I can explain when we get back to the LZ” Christopher ducked under a fallen tree until he could hear the ATR’s engine approaching. “Let’s get out of here Chris!” shouted Ian Christopher clambered into the back seat of the ATR. “That was extremely stupid of you Chris,” scolded Mica “You know that as the captain, if one of you dies, I’ll be facing a manslaughter charge!” “Not like anyone else is willing to step foot in this place to charge you.” chuckled Ian After a tense ride, the ATR made it back to the Magellan. Margaret and Mohammad were busy fortifying the area. They had created a perimeter around the ship using steel barricades, sandbags, and empty crates. “EVERYONE GET INSIDE THE SHIP!” yelled Mica “Huh? What’s going on?” asked Mohammad, perplexed “THAT’S AN ORDER!” At that, everyone sprinted into the Magellan’s airlock. Mica frantically pushed a button to raise the ramp. Only once it fully retracted did Mica breathe a sigh of relief. “Captain, can you please explain what’s happening?” asked Margaret “First, I have to tell you all something. There’s an old tale about this place. It’s the reason it’s still uninhabited by humans despite being able to support life. It goes like this: a long time ago, after the Fourth World War, the United Nations commissioned the creation of a weapon so powerful that one bomb could wipe out entire continents. They believed that such a powerful deterrent would prevent all future war. It was a species of genetically engineered parasitic worms capable of surviving in the harshest of conditions. The worms would lay their eggs in high places, such as on the tops of trees. The wind would then blow their eggs around, which were breathed in by the target. Once infected, the eggs would hatch after two to three days, at which point the target would suffocate to death as their lungs were filled with worms. Then, the worms would burst out of the lungs to consume the rest of the corpse. Eventually, they would attach to the nerve endings of the victim. By sending electrical signals through their heads, they could reanimate the target for a few hours after it had already deceased, in order to infect more victims.” “What does that have to do with us?” “Let me finish. To test the weapon, prisoners were forced onto a ship and shipped to this place. They were then bombed with the weapon, now dubbed the Starworm plague for its use off of Earth. Seeing its devastating effects, the scientists who created Starworm realized their error and destroyed all remaining worm samples, and the Starworm experiment was lost to history. However, the infected remained. Most of them rotted away due to PL-468129’s wet environment. Unfortunately for us, a few of these prisoners had already received experimental cybernetic enhancements which coincidentally used a system based on electrical inputs, thus allowing the Starworms to control the implants.” “So that’s the thing I fought?” asked Christopher “You fought it?” said Mica, shocked “Yeah, I cut off its shoulder.” “I commend you for your bravery. Good to know they’re not invincible.” “So what are we going to do?” asked Ian “Is there anywhere else we can go?” “As I’ve already said, PL-468129 is the only unclaimed territory within the range of the Magellan. The only way we could get to another terrestrial body safely is if we were somehow able to synthesize extra fuel from the resources on this moon,” responded Mica “And to my knowledge, that isn’t possible.” “You mentioned parasitic worms right?” said Margaret “Correct.” “When I was studying to become an aerospace engineer, we learned about an experimental rocket biofuel derived from tapeworms. We could attempt to derive it from the Starworms instead.” “It’s worth a shot.” sighed Ian “I have to agree.” said Christopher “Even if it means facing those monsters again, we have to get out of here.” “Alright. Let’s put it to a vote. All in favor of risking their lives to attempt to make this experimental fuel out of the wrong material, raise your hand.” The decision was unanimous. After taking inventory of the ship, Margaret determined that they had everything they needed besides the worm carcasses. Fleeble B dipped below the horizon. Night was setting in. “Everyone, get some rest. I’ll take first watch.” said Mica. Christopher lay in his bed, unable to sleep. Images of the infected creature kept appearing in his mind. Eventually, he was able to drift off. His slumber didn’t last long, as he was shaken awake by Mica’s shouting. “THEY’RE TRYING TO BREACH THE HULL. ARM YOURSELF WITH WHATEVER YOU CAN FIND AND MEET ME IN THE AIRLOCK!” Christopher grabbed a metal beam and rushed to the airlock where he found a groggy Mohammad armed with a homemade molotov cocktail. Margaret and Ian joined them shortly after, holding screwdrivers. “I’M GOING TO OPEN UP THE MAGELLAN. ONCE THAT RAMP DROPS, HIT THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!” He pressed the button and Christopher leaped out of the Magellan. To his right he saw a tall, wide figure covered head to toe with worms. Its posture was crooked, half of its body had rotted away long ago. It was revving a chainsaw attached to its oversized metal arm. On Christophers left there was another worm-covered creature. It was crawling on all fours, and was surprisingly agile considering its frame was covered in a thick layer of dirt and rust. Its head had been replaced with a pneumatic steel maw, filled with rusty teeth and worms. But Christopher paid no attention to these two. He was focused on what stood in front of him. It was the same creature he had fought before, and it wanted revenge. In its remaining arm, it held a sawed-off shotgun. Christopher lunged at the creature with his pipe. It stepped to the side and brandished the shotgun. Suddenly, Mica leaped in front of Christopher. The creature pulled the trigger, plunging buckshot into Mica’s chest. He fell to the ground in pain, a sanguine waterfall gushing from his wound. With a yell, Christopher struck the leg of the creature with the metal pipe. There was a loud clang and then a thud as the monster lost its balance and fell to the ground. “THIS IS FOR MY CAPTAIN!” Christopher yelled as he activated his laser cutter The beam cut the creature right down the middle. The worms, now having no host, scurried towards Mica’s and burrowed into his flesh. He screamed in pain but there was nothing Christopher could do. He had to make sure no one else died. There was a loud smash as the molotov cocktail erupted into an enormous conflagration. The chainsaw creature began to swing at Mohammad, but before it could finish bringing its arm back, it too collapsed. The worms animating it had been turned into a protein source by the incendiary. Grabbing the shotgun, Christopher ran over to Ian and Margaret, who had pried open the steel maw and placed screwdrivers between its jaws. The creature tried to bite them but its pistons had been successfully jammed. Christopher stuck the shotgun down its throat. There was a muffled bang, then silence. Everyone rushed over to Mica but it was too late. His wounds had consumed him. “He made the greatest sacrifice one can make.” sniffled Christopher “I should have been the one to die. Mica was a far better man than me.” There was a moment of silence as everyone solemnly saluted their fallen captain. “The least we can do is not let those god forsaken worms take him over.” said Ian He ran inside the Magellan and grabbed a rag. Igniting it with the flames from the molotov, he gave one final salute before throwing it onto Mica’s body. After spending some time watching the flames dance around their once flamboyant captain, the crew went back inside the Magellan. “We can’t let Mica’s death be in vain. Let’s turn these devilish parasites into some rocket fuel.” said Margaret in solemn determination. Using tweezers, she picked up a worm and dropped it into a vial containing liquid hydrogen and oxygen. “If the reaction works, the fuel should bubble up and expand. This should allow us to stretch our fuel stores further than before.” Everyone gathered around the vial. Nothing happened. Christopher’s heart sank. Mica had died for nothing. He turned to leave when suddenly there was a fizzing sound as the liquid bubbled up. “Oh my god.” said Christopher, relieved “Let’s get the hell out of here!” said Ian Once Margaret had replicated the reaction at a larger scale, Christopher poured the liquid into the Magellan’s fuel tank and entered the launch code. The crew strapped in as the Magellan counted down. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, liftoff. Now exiting Promised Land-468129. We hope you enjoyed your stay.” said the AI voice cheerfully. “Shut up.” cried out Christopher in anguish, banging his fist on the control board.