The stars blurred like shooting stars passing by, as I punched through space one system after another, burning fuel and time in equal measure. This last solar system, tucked near the edge of Beta-Seven's range, was the final unchecked box on my search grid. Still no sign of Unity. Not a trace. Nothing but dust, ancient ruins, and fungus-laced wastelands that weren't worth the rust on my boots.
Its already been a full 4 days of travelling
Unity. where the hell did you vanish to?
I could feel the old frustration gnawing again. The kind that crept up in the quiet moments between scans, whispering that maybe I'd already lost. That maybe I *had* been too weak back then. Too naive. But I wouldn't entertain that thought long. I've grown tired of that me. A single-minded weapon with no sheath. I'd find her. Eventually.
Until then... tracking, and hunting.
There was something soothing about it, Maybe it was getting prepared to head down on a planet, or maybe it was the adventure. It kept me moving. Gave the wait meaning. Besides, scavenging alien ecosystems and mapping biomes forced me to learn a lot more about planets, I added every new discovery to my arsenal. And the silence of space? It allowed me to think on myself and situation.
Two hours and six unremarkable planets later, I finally snagged something worthwhile. On a mushroom plan I found A strange violet mushroom, its cap pulsing with neuroactive patterns, stored carefully in my satchel. Preliminary scans suggested it ramped up cognitive function—like hyper-caffeine for the brain, or possibly psionic amplification. Dangerous, sure. But power always is.
I was just about to call it a day when another planet blinked on my sensors. No prior visits from the meeseeks ships logged. Its surface showed mostly swamp terrain, extremely wet, low-oxygen, and thick with vegetation. The scanner showed zero lifeforms.
Hmm? Interesting, so far I havent come across any abundant amount of life fors but zero, especially from what seemed to be a forest like environment. But the strangest artifacts always came from the strangest places.
I angled the ship in low, the hull scraping against the humid pressure of the upper atmosphere. Greens turned darker, deeper, until I was surrounded by a sickly, jade fog. Trees or what resembled trees—sprouted upward like tendrils, their bark slick and pulsating faintly, almost as if breathing. I found a stable spot atop a massive, flat tree canopy thick and firm enough to support the ship's weight. Not bad. Could've been worse.
Grabbing my satchel and slinging my weapon across my back, I stepped onto the gangplank. The air hit me first, thick, almost chewy, like it clung to the back of my throat. It smelled like rotting pine and metal, the kind of scent that belonged in a horror holotape. The moment my boots touched the soft green surface, it squished slightly, but held firm.
A massive lily pad waited at the end of the path tilting from the top of the tree to the waters below, its surface taut like a stretched trampoline. It looked suspicious. Which meant, of course, I had to try it.
A
s I moved into the jungle proper, the sounds vanished entirely. No ambient wildlife clicks or murmurs. Just loud gusts of wind. The only noise was the slow rhythm of my boots pressing into the damp sponge beneath me. It should've felt peaceful, but instead, it felt like a vacuum sealed compost pile even through my helmet.
I enter deeper the forest now akin to a jungle..But something about this place felt off. It was subtle. Maybr ot was just the biosphere pf the place and its deep fog, or just the silence. There was apressure behind my eye
I pressed forward anyway.
The terrain shifted slightly, leading me down a slow incline formed from giant vines as wide as trucks. Moss coated everything, but it wasn't the soft kind. This moss shimmered with a faint bioluminescence, casting eerie green light around every curve.
That's when I saw it.
Nestled between a cluster of root-like columns was a mass. A dense, writhing orb of green jelly-like substance, webbing across several trees covered by what looked like cave openings converging around it. The holes weren't natural, perfectly circular, evenly spaced. Maybe artificial? Hard to say.
I froze. The giant ball quivered. Only slightly, like it was breathing.
Scanners lit up. No life signs. Nothing around me but biomass.
But it picked up a smaller orb like shape directly in front of an entrance.
Spotting it immediately I walked foward and crouched and pulled out a vial. I'd come too far to leave empty handed. The neuro-mushroom was nice, but this? This was something different. Something new.
The surface of the mass twitched again when I got close. Just a flicker. Maybe a trick of the light. Maybe not.
I extended a sampling probe—
**CRACK.**
The forest exploded.
The trees themselves moved—no, *lunged.* A vine slammed down inches from my shoulder, kicking up a cloud of spores and mud. The orb retracted with a wet *shlurp* into the central cave as several tendrils shot out from the nearby walls.
Trap.
I jumped back, drawing my plasma cutter and firing in one smooth motion. A sizzling bolt tore through one of the vines, which shrieked yes, shrieked—as it burned and curled into ash. I spun on my heel and ran, the swamp now alive with motion.
The silence had been a lie. There werent any lifef forms because the planet it self was, waiting. Watching. Biding its time.
Another tendril shot out, and my instincts flared but it still snaring my leg faster than I could react. I dropped low, used my enhanced strength to twist mid-air, and sliced it clean. More came from above, fast and in sync, like they knew how to fight. Like they'd done this before.
Focusing for a second I cracked the ground beneath me, propelling upward, just enough to boost onto a higher ledge—a protruding shelf of tree root that offered five seconds of breathing room. My ahdreniline was hammering. But my vision was focused legs slightly aching from over exertion, I needed to rest them soon. But I wasn't dead yet.
I opened comms.
"Note to self: Planet..Sigma-Zeta 4 is not dead. Repeat, not dead. Possibly sentient, or host to massive defense organisms."
I took another breath and looked back down. The orb was back held by a vine inside the cave. The vines retreated. It was as if the entire forest exhaled.
Stillness returned.
Most scavengers with half a brain would simply mark this as a death zone and never come back. But I wouldnt never again.
Flickering out of sight I landed on the ground and instantaniously reached the orb, the vine with unbelievable reaction time pulled back but it was to late.
I grabbed it firmly and it kept pulling, so much the vine that was once there snapped back into the circular cave.
Vanishing once more I slumped onto another branch. Scanned once more. No life signs. Again. It didn't make sense. Either the planet knew how to mask itself, or the scanner was being tricked by the biosphere's chemistry. Either way, this world had secrets. And I wasn't done yet.
I needed a sample. Not just for curiosity but for leverage against it or anything similar. Something this advanced? Someone would pay. Or I would simply weaponize it. Or study it to unlock another rung of evolution. And I planned to be the one holding the leash.
Because that's how you stop being prey in this galaxy, you find something bigger than the predators and make it your tool.
I climbed down cautiously, taking a longer route back toward the ship, tracing the outer perimeter of the swamp. Every step felt like walking over a coiled spring. But I stayed alert. CalmAlways watching.
The swamp responded again, this time differently.
Bioluminescent lights lit up across the canopy and vines above me in sequence. Pulsing. Blinking. Almost like… language
"Is it smart," I whispered. Wel clearly smart enough to bait, defend, and maybe even… talk?
I recorded the sequence on my head display.
Maybe this wasn't just a trap organism. Maybe it was a central intelligence. A mind. I wasnt sure if it was the entire planet itself.
I needed more. Answers. Samples.
But for now, I made it back to the ship. The husk of it was covered in a thin film of green mist, likely released by the forest itself. I collected a swab.
Inside, I sealed the doors and engaged full bio-lockdown. My hands were somewhat damp but I was focused on the small sample I had just percurred
This side quest could actuslly have something useful..
I peeled off my jacket and sat in front of the console. Multiple vials now glowed faintly on the table beside me—neuro-mushrooms, mist samples, and a vine core I'd snatched during the retreat.
I leaned back in the chair.
Still no Unity.
But this?
This could change everything.
If I can't find her, maybe I could build something that could help me find her.
Regardless it will be done, whether or not I had to go through One planet at a time.