Chapter 2 Foreign Planet, New World

• He’s properly aligning the test tubes, vials, and syringes in his vault when one of his teammates came in to his station, holding a calendar.
• “We can’t stay here for the rest of our lives, Henry! This is not our home! This is not our place!”
• “Then tell me what I should do! Look, I am doing everything I can to get us out of here, but if you think the progress of what I am working on is just as easy as sitting as what you are doing, then do it!” He packed his things up and left the man.
• He almost ran to get away from his group for a moment. Their presence is making him feel pressured, making things even more complicated for him to figure out.
• “What an imbecile you are!” he cussed to himself as he couldn’t think of any ways to work things out.
• Just then, a tap on his shoulder stopped him from thinking. As he raised his head, a familiar scent filled his airways.
• “I’m sorry.” He wiped his tears and stared at Euvy who has never doubted that he can think of a way to get them out of that place.
• “Hey, that’s okay. What happened was not your fault. No one is blaming you for anything happened.”
• “But we’re already here for two years now and all I can do is this! This can’t help us with our—”
• She cupped his face and rest her head on his while staring to his eyes adoringly. “I always believed, and I will always do, that there is nothing that you will never have a solution to.”
• He closed his eyes and let himself feel the peace she is sharing with him. It is so calming.
• “You are the very reason I have to get this thing done, Euvy. If not for you, I don’t know if I would be still here today.”
• Her lips curved as he wrapped her arms around him. “I am fluttered to know that, Mister.”
• “You should be.” He kissed her temple and hid his tears behind her as he swayed them slowly.
• “How’s your work so far?”
• “I am still observing it,” he whispered as he furtively gritted his teeth.
• “I promise, I will get us back to Earth.”
• The woman remained silent and neither nod nor shook her head. “I am not hoping for them to let us go back. But I will be waiting for you.”
• “The administration has no right to abandon us here. Our team and I will be home soon, and we’ll make them pay for everything they have done to us and to everyone else that they had sent for their selfish studies!”
• “That is—”
• “Captain! Captain!” someone called hysterically.
• “Something is wrong,” Euvy muttered and let him go.
• They hurriedly went back to see what’s the man is shouting for. They are gathered around their sensory device, murmuring indistinctly.
• “What’s the matter?!” he queried and checked on it.
• “It shows a different result with Captain’s status! This might be malfunctioning!”
• He stared at the device, wondering what they are talking about. “I had just checked this device this morning. None of our things are malfunctioning.”
• “But it is, Captain! See this—” The man stopped as he gets near it, and it has detected him wrongly.
• ‘Not human.’ The voice echoed as it repeatedly giving a warning.
• He stepped a few steps away and the notice stopped whining. “Captain, tell me I am still me.” He touched his face in fear that he’s already looking different.
• Henry gets the device and take it. “You are right. This might be malfunctioning.”
• —
• “These devices are in perfect condition, Henry,” Euvy whispered, afraid that their members might hear them.
• “I know. But why it is just the two of us that it consider as humans?”
• They looked at each other, thinking of what to do to know exactly what is happening to them.
• “Examine us, Henry,” she suggested, and get a box of syringes.
• “No, this will make them think—”
• “We need this.”
• He didn’t speak for a minute and tried to convince himself that there must be another way to get them examined without the need of informing them.
• “I know what exactly is running inside your head now, and I am telling you already, that is impossible.”
• “Help me do it then. I can’t do it alone.”
• She nodded and gave him an assuring smile. “I got your back.”
• —
• “What is blood testing for, Captain?”
• “I need to know what is wrong with us. It might be I and Euvy that is not fine here. The sensory devices are all working good and this planet is closely habitable like Earth. There must be something not right going on with our body systems, since we are being exposed to an environment that is new to our system.”
• “And if it is really changing us, what are we going to do, Captain?”
• “We have to go back to Earth as soon as possible to save our humanity.”
• The man tremblingly observed himself, checking his parts. “W-What do you mean, Captain?” He gulped and looked at him.
• Henry gazed at them and place the man’s hand on the sensory device.
• ‘98% HUMAN.’
• That silenced them. Who wouldn’t be shocked after knowing that you are no longer a hundred percent human just because you stayed in a different planet?
• “My theory is that all habitable planets have their own unique way to sustain the needs of their habitants. However, since they do it differently from Earth’s perfect environment condition for human…” He took a lungful of air and looked away. “Our body system is adapting to the environment that this planet can provide us.”
• “But we only have the shuttles. Those are not enough for all of us, and we can’t do one either!” one of them nervously stated.
• “What is our plan now, Captain?!”
• He continued getting blood samples and remained silent, for he has no response for that question yet.
• “Henry, you know we’ll acknowledge whatever decisions you’ll come up with. Think of it thoroughly. But I am assuring you, I won’t let that 98% dropped to zero without haunting the people who did this to us.”
• He’s already about to go to examine the samples when he stopped and turned around. “Whatever decisions I come up with?” he repeated to what the man had said.
• The gents glanced at each other and just by that, they have understood that he’s the only one they can rely on—they agreed.
• “Okay then. Let us have a meeting after I am done examining these.”
• “Henry!” Euvy run after him while he walked in faster pace.
• “I am talking to you! Violence is not a good idea. What are you planning to do?! You’ll just drag them down to the pit if you go against the administration. If they had sent us to the outer space without feeling guilty, it will be easy for them to shut us, too!” She blocked the way.
• “Do you really think I would taint my hands just to make them pay?” he asked seriously and walked past by her.
• “Henry, this is not what I have dreamed to work on with you—”
• “So do I—what did you say?” He inquired and stopped walking without looking at the woman.
• “If we are going back to Earth just to get revenge on them, I would rather stay here.” She walked away without hearing what he is about to explain.
• He looked up and calmed down himself while he gripped tightly to his belongings. As he stepped heading towards the opposite direction she took, he reminded himself of what and whom he’s doing it for.
• But even before he could reach his place, Euvy came running towards him, handing out a notepad.
• “Didn’t I tell you I would help you do it?” The corner of her lips curved.
• He smiled while nodding. “Let us make the best of what we can do with what we have, Euvy.”
• “We are still humans. If what you have said earlier is true—”
• “Which one?”
• “That our body system is adapting to this planet’s environment.”
• “Oh, that one. What about it?” He moved his things piled on his table and carefully put down the ones he’s carrying.
• “Then the more that we should aim to go back.”
• He put on his lab suit and prepared everything he’ll be needing to examine the blood samples. “I will be using our blood for comparison,” he informed her before proceeding.
• Just then, the sensory device he has installed secretly beneath the beds of their teammates send data to their spaceship’s system. He dropped the syringe he’s holding upon glancing the reported data.
• “Euvy, tell me this isn’t real.” He gasped as he grabbed the monitor.
• He quickly continued to examine the samples and convinced himself the devices might just be defected.
• “Henry—”
• “It weren’t them, Euvy. The devices are the ones adapting to the environment!”
• She shook her head as he assists him. But the results are still the same from one after another.
• A long minute of silence devoured them before he spoke.
• “We’ll observe them for a week. If the adaptation rapids quickly…” He turned to her and pulled her closer. “I am so sorry. Can you wait a little longer?”
• She rubbed his back as she understood what he’s trying to make her understand.
• “I am still human. I don’t need an immediate rescue yet. You will come back to me, right?” she asked in almost a whisper.
• He hugged her even tighter, and even he doesn’t want to, his shaking betrayed him.
• “That’s okay. I understand. I know you will come back. I’ll be waiting.”
• ‘Astronaut 03: 90% not a human—”
• He turned off the system to not see another devastating datum.
• “I’ll inform our men that we’ll be having a meeting tomorrow, then.” He stared at her and waited for her to disagree, but what she did is just nod and shoo him away.
• “Go ahead. I’ll be preparing the shuttles.”
• As the Captain get lost in her sight, Euvy weakly sat down and hugged herself. She turned on the system to see how serious the matter is. She whimpered silently as the percentage goes down rapidly.
• “I know you’re in there. Come in,” she ordered to the man hiding outside.
• “I-It wasn’t my attention to eavesdrop to your conversation—”
• “Can you promise me you’ll keep the Captain safe?” she cut him off. “You will be going back home tomorrow. Dispose anyone who would impose a threat to him.”
• “Ma’am—”
• “That is an order. I am reserving a spacecraft for you. Make sure you’ll do your part.”
• “But what if I became one of those who will attempt to harm him?”
• Euvy gave him a small box containing a syringe and a vial of lethal. “Kill yourself before you can do that. That too is an order.”
• —
• “We will come back, I promise.” Henry stated as he bade goodbye to Euvy.
• “Take care of everyone here.” He then turned to the man next to her.
• “Captain, we are already prepared. Whatever happens here, we’ll make sure Euvy will stay human by all means.” The man raised his lethal injection, showing him that he is indeed prepared in case he became violent.
• “We’ll keep our distance from her, Captain,” the other one meddled, assuring him that everything will be okay while they’re away.
• He nodded and gazed at the eight who are to be left behind. He slowly turned around and run to his shuttle before he changes his mind.
• “Euvy, do you believe that we’ll still be saved?”
• “I believe in them—in him the most. He won’t fail us.”
• As the spacecrafts take off, she gulped and watch their hope flew away. “The Captain will surely find a way,” she uttered and looked at the man.
• “That may take them years, but I know they will never abandon us.”
• The man shifted his gaze from her to their mother ship. “You are the acting Captain now. I suggest you to be cautious around us. We don’t know what exactly will happen once our humanity drained to zero, Euvy.”
• “We’ll find a way to slow down the adaptation process. For now, let us observe who needs to be incubated first. We don’t have enough capsules to use. We have to come up with an idea soon.” She led them to their laboratory room to show them how’s the individual’s condition as she distributed their files.
• “Here is your file.” She handed over to the last one she’s holding.
• They peeked at each other’s laboratory results, seeing if they have the same reactions to the adaptation.
• “So, I am the one who has the highest rate of loosing my humanity,” one uttered, staring at his document with full of disgust.
• “You are lucky enough to still be a human, Euvy. Stay one. We need you here. They are hoping to see us still humans when they come back. If ever we don’t make it, you should at least.” He glanced at her.
• “I don’t want that to happen. Let us think of a way now.” She opened the capsule beds. “If the percentage dropped to fifty percent, that is when we’ll consider incubating you. But as long as you’re still conscious, we won’t. Do you understand?”
• “Yes, Captain!”
• She can feel their fear as she let them rest in their capsule beds for the first day of their observation. So is she. Yet, she has no choice but to brave. She is the only one who they can depend on at the moment.
• “Don’t worry. It will just take half of a day to get done. I will not go anywhere and will just be here to check on you all throughout the observation process,” she assured as she sedated them, putting them in a deep sleep.
• As she set the timer, she almost spent no time to space out. She dedicated her hours on observing them.
• Euvy shook her head while looking at the gathered results. She took off her laboratory gown and sat down in front of the monitor, eyeing on the data having registered.
• She took a deep breath as she stood up. “Come back sooner, Captain,” she uttered before sedating them again.