Hops
That time I got inspired by Stargate.
We stepped through the transport pad, one by one, until everyone made it to the flat desert of world X-390. The X meant unexplored. Our sponsor paid us to turn those Xes into Ps (or U if the planet was hostile to life). Our leader Cameron, the gruff but lovable gray wolf and retired Navy pilot, oversaw the supply and equipment inspection by the other two team members."I sure hope you have your priorities in order, Liam. The radiation meter's redder than you."He wanted me to focus on finding the local hub, left behind on all these worlds by whoever built the system. I usually focus on Issac (an Arctic fox), who revealed a long-time crush a few worlds ago. I did the same. Romance novel stuff. Anyway.Issac put one white paw above his eyes and pointed at the horizon with the other. "I hope that cloud of sand is the shuttle."Sometimes the planet's hub is far from the transporter, and a shuttle comes along tracks to pick us up. And on a desert where we're the first to visit in years or more, that means a sandstorm as it rips through dirt. Whatever failing led to the galactic civilization's downfall, it's not reflected in their engineering. We don't even worry about stuff not working anymore. It just works.I went to the transporter console and tapped the buttons to activate the safety shield. "Three minutes." The console showed a map of the planet, and I could see the green icon of the shuttle moving along the gray lines representing the track.Cameron walked over to the console. He gave it a long look, then remembered he doesn't read the ancient language. "How long 'til this sandstorm passes?""Planetary scans say three days. This planet has three hubs, and one is outside the storm's forecast range. No shuttle trip. Want me to dial it in?" Cameron grunted."Mmkay." I tapped at the console, and we made our way one-by-one through the transporter after sending the equipment through.No light. Issac turned a flashlight on, pointing up at his face, and yelled "boo.""You know I could smell you coming, right?"He clicked the light off. A moment later, I felt a kiss on my nose, and the light came back on to his goofy grin. "Mmhmm."Lights in the hub started blinking on, consoles and holographic displays came to life, and we got a glimpse of what happened on this particular world in The Fall. Cameron barked orders at the two mercenaries with him and told us to hide.The lights went out, and blue bolts of energy passed red as the soldiers fought whatever killed the people scattered around the room.Issac got the lights back on after the soldiers finished the drones off and made sure we were safe. "Who turned the lights on in the first place?"Cameron bopped one of his people on the head. A strong-looking gray fox who joined the team at the last world. "This idiot.""Okay, future reference, people tend to leave traps for people like us when they lose a battle and have to abandon something.""He knows that. Let's get to work."