Tara didn't feel the blow to the head which killed her. She only knew she had died as she looked down to see her body crumpled around the boulder below.
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Ralph Peterson apologised to Gwen, "Not much of a way to start a honeymoon, is it?"
From her seat beside Ralph, Gwen smiled back; "We can spend as much time as we want together later. For now we need to find and rescue Tara. I'm just glad I can be here to help."
"We're thankful for your help too," came the voice from the captain's seat. "It's not every day you can count on the support of a Fifth Circle Enforcer to help rescue your missing daughter."
Lois Peterson had known something was up when Tara had failed to attend her bother's wedding. Tara was a wild party girl but she always put her family first. Never once did Lois believe the suggestions that Tara had gone off radar to party at Harbour-Greenzone rather than Ralph and Gwen's wedding.
Lois was pleased that Gwen could come along. Her daughter in law was one of the few woman she’d actually want along with her on this search and rescue mission. Lois, an experienced shuttle captain, had been at the helm of a few missions before – two successful and two unsuccessful. She knew it could get tough especially if the rescue team faced a planet-side rescue and from the recorded transmissions from the Galileo 12 that seemed likely.
Gwen was about 6 feet tall, thin but strong. Her long blonde hair was lush and feminine but has a high level Enforcer Gwen was no wallflower. By Lois’ calculation her new beautiful daughter-in-law would have at least five hidden cybernetic enhancements and could probably take on and take down three police marshals in a head to head fight.
Ralph was no slacker either. He was an importer of exotic goods but unlike the crusty old men who traded in such rarities Ralph would go out and acquire them himself. His long dead father had been a thief but Ralph seemed to get his thrills from dangerous alien archaeology and anthropology missions instead. She had been told that he once climbed into the heart of the inverted pyramids of Alpha-Rock 14 without a safety rope.
The navigational instruments bleeped an approach signal. “Buckle up,” Lois called back from her pilot’s seat, “We’ll attempt to land near where I think the Galileo 12 came down.”
Lois scanned the large planet in front of her. It hadn’t been named yet but initial reports said it was more or less covered by jungle, that it was hot most of the time and sometimes dangerously slow. Animal and plant life were both rated as dangerous. It had been weeks since Tara vanished, weeks of wrangling to get access to the logs and official permission to enter this space – technically part of the Zomoak Empire – and all she could do was hope that Tara had found a way to survive.
Lois guided the shuttle down towards the planet.
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