It had been a year since they embarked. It wasn't until then that they reached the nearest inhabitable planet to Mama, Torre. Not much was known of other planets, since life had been content enough on Mama for millennia that travel outward wasn't deemed necessary until now. All they knew came from the mouths of the occasional explorer or trader that came to visit them. What they knew of Torre was that the air was breathable to them, and that the people were scarce, but not hostile. Once they landed, nearly all aboard rushed out to breathe the fresh air that they had longed for all year. Sehun was glad to finally be alone in his room for once. He played his tape twice with shut eyes. His lips curved into a smile naturally as it always did when he heard his lover. His ring pulsed and he knew Luhan was thinking of him too. He could tell by the way it pulsed with worry and ached for safety. Sehun took a few deep breaths to calm his own beat, so that he could show him he was alright. As the worry faded, Sehun was put more at ease. Finally, he went out to join the rest of the crew.

 

The air was crisp, fresh, and alive. The vegetation was lush and plentiful, although they were all warned not to eat anything from Torre until they determined what was safe. There was a much different feeling here than on Mama. This was the difference between a planet in the prime of its life and one so near to its end. The crew made remarks about how they could build a colony here and start anew. Sehun frowned at this. He had been promised that this was a research expedition, not a colonization mission. They were supposed to be gathering information of other planets so that they might save their own, not infest the homes of others. As he helped unpack the ship to set up their camp, he began to doubt the intentions of the mission. He kept quiet, although rage started slowly to boil within him.

 

By nightfall, they had put together crude structures for sleeping. Despite offering little protection, some of the men took to these huts with excitement as if they were camping. It had been a year since they had seen 'nature' after all, even though this was a nature much different than what they had been brought up seeing. Sehun, and a few others preferred to stay in the ship until proper cabins could be built on the land. As most laid awake in their bunks, staring up at the ceiling, Sehun tensed as he caught some of the whispers.

 

"This place is a paradise, Jongdae! We've got everything we could ever need here. I know some people are nostalgic for the old world, but we could build a new world here easily. Already, most of Mama came on this journey, because it isn't likely Mama would've lasted another year anyway. There is no hope for those left behind, the old, the weak, and the lame. They would have as much time as Mama has left even if we brought them here. It's better this way. I'm sure once Captain Junmyeon sees that the people are better off here, he'll have us stay", Jongin whispered across to Jongdae's bunk.

 

Sehun's fists clenched and he tensed up so tightly that he could barely breathe. He leap down from atop his bunk and screamed,"NO!". He shook his head and let out a deep sigh to calm himself. "Mama has more time than you think... And are really you so heartless that you would abandon your own? Those old, are our parents, our grandparents, the icons that have brought us to greatness. Clearly, you have none as you were brought to brutishness. The weak are our lovers, our children, and clearly the lame haven't been left, or you would be suffering with them on our dying world!", he spat, then looked out the  window. He touched his ring and held it close to his chest as he looked up towards the sky. "Mama still lives. I can feel my love, so he must still be there", he claimed calmly as if it should be obvious.

 

Jongin got up to challenge him. "What's that? You feel him across such great distance with such a ring? That's nonsense Sehun! You're delirious! Luhan gave that to you, eh? That's just a stupid children's toy. It shows your own heartbeat, not his. He probably gave it to you so that you would not worry about him when he passed. And you're calling me the foolish brute? How ironic! You fell for a trick even below schemes of children. Sehun said nothing else as he shoved Jongin up against the wall. His head hit it hard, but Jongin was not afraid. "Give up your delusion. Mama is gone. Luhan is gone. Take another and live contently. It is surely what he would have wanted', he said more gently now. He was not giving in, but Jongin also wasn't as cruel as he seemed. He could tell that this way of thinking was far more damaging than could be laughed about.

 

The captain rushed to their quarters after receiving complaints of shouting and violence from neighboring cabins. "Stop this madness! I don't know what this is about, but that's of no matter! This is no way to behave in such a time! Rest now, and better focus your energies tomorrow. This cabin is to be our main scouting party tomorrow as we further set up and learn all that we can about this strange new world, so your bodies will regret your wasted efforts tomorrow. Now, be not as men are, but as they should be!", Junmyeon shouted as he separated the two of them. Jongin had no trouble going back to his bunk, although irritated from the scolding. Sehun however, had the most restless of all nights he'd had that year. Now there was a shadow of a doubt in the pit of his mind. He tried his best to ignore it, but it grew more bothersome by the second. He muttered quiet, incoherent curses towards Jongin for putting it there. In one last bout of anger, he cast his ring violently from the bunk, although he regretted it the moment he heard the soft metal collide with the hard floor. Thinking still only of Luhan, he fell asleep uneasily. He wouldn't believe it. He couldn't. Not until he saw and felt his lover's corpse in his presence would he ever believe it.

 

In the morning, Sehun and Jongin indeed regretted wasting their precious resting time fighting. Their eyes were dark from little sleep, but a few splashes of water to the face cured them of their sluggishness at least. In a small scouting party of five, Sehun, Jongdae, Jongin, Chanyeol, and Minseok marched onward through the endless forest. Jongdae and Jongin led the pack with machetes, cutting their way through the brush. Sehun and Minseok walked side by side behind them while Chanyeol brought up the rear, the three with their rifles at the ready. Chanyeol was the first to be picked off. A vine wrapped around his neck and this made him shoot in all directions frantically. The others stopped, scattering all around to avoid Chanyeol's wild firing, but Jongdae still managed to catch a wound in the shoulder. He screamed out in pain, while Chanyeol was not so lucky. His face was rapidly changing colors as he fought to breathe again. Sehun took action quickest of them all. He picked up Jongdae's dropped machete and slashed at the vines that tried to suffocate Chanyeol. This seemed to cause much disruption throughout the world as the whole planet began to shake. The five men all gathered together. Jongdae stood in the center, clutching his bleeding shoulder as the other four shielded him, backs to him as they braced for the next attack, but nothing else came once the quaking stopped. However, not one of them trusted this sudden calmness. They retreated hastily, but cautiously back to their camp.

 

To their surprise, they were greeted by disaster as they approached their camp. While their improvised forts had remained in tact, their ship looked badly beaten. It looked as ravaged as if a giant had kicked it around like a soccer ball, but was still in one piece for the most part. The ship and forts had been completely abandoned, which could've been expected had a large battle actually taken place. "Do you think the natives turned out to be more hostile than we thought?...", Minseok inquired as they hesitantly moved towards the ship. Inside, there wasn't a single body around. Not even any casualties could be found, which was highly strange for an attack site. As Jongdae groaned to remind the others that he was greatly suffering, their focus switched briefly. Sehun and Jongin lifted him up and carried him to the infirmary, where they took a closer look at his wound.

 

"It's only grazed. You're bleeding a lot, but you should be fine", Sehun reassured him once the wound had been cleaned up. Together, they bandaged him up properly and told him to rest. Chanyeol stayed with him, while the others searched the rest of the ship for life and determined the extent of the damage. "Despite how mangled it may look, the ship still should be able to fly without a few amenities. Do you suppose we leave the rest of the crew behind because they're weak, or we stay and help them?", Sehun taunted bitterly, eying Jongin. Jongin merely rolled his eyes and searched through the captain's files on his computer. Although it was surely a forbidden act, no one really cared enough at this point to stop him.

 

"Well, the list of all the other planets that we were going to explore and their coordinates are right here. We could move on to the next one...", Jongin informed.

 

"You're despicable! Such a coward! Always ready to run away and leave others to suffer for your own benefit!", Sehun shouted as he soon became heated again.

 

"I'm not suggesting we take the whole ship. I think our best course of action would be to take one of the scouting ships. We can leave the ship behind in case the others make it back here, but there's no point sitting here waiting to be picked off again. Jongdae is injured, and Chanyeol was nearly killed! We can travel to the next planet on the list and wait safely there for the others to catch up with us", Jongin argued.

 

"Something is very sinister about this planet...", Minseok interjected.

 

"The scouting ships aren't meant for interplanetary travel. They're to be used to briefly test if a planet is inhabitable, then report back to the main ship. With a distance that great, we'd only be able to make it to the next planet over, and not have enough fuel to go anywhere else. What if the others never are able to reach us? We'll be stranded on that planet, and the next planet doesn't even have life on it! We'll die there, starving", Sehun contested.

 

"We can take enough rations for a few months and still leave plenty for the crew", Jongin said.

 

"And after a few months have passed? Then what?? You'd be giving us a death sentence", Sehun challenged.

 

"Better to be stranded on a safe planet than here where our death sentence may be carried out any minute!", Jongin hollered.

 

"Guys... Enough of this. Sehun, if you want to stay then stay. Jongin, if you want to go then go. There's no sense in this argument. You are both your own man. You don't need the other to accompany you. In fact, it'd probably be best if you both went your separate ways before more violence ensues. Let's go back to the infirmary and tell Chanyeol and Jongdae of their options", Minseok cut between them. The three then returned to the infirmary with silent tension.

 

"Shouldn't we at least try to figure out what happened to the crew first? They just disappeared without a trace, so surely they can't be dead, right? They could just be hiding in the forest. Maybe that big earthquake frightened them all into fleeing. We should wait another hour or two and then look for them if they don't return by then. I think it's a little too soon to be rushing off into the unknown. This could be a lot less serious than we thought. Maybe the rumor of the Torre natives not being hostile made people take advantage of them so now they are bitter towards all. It could just be a big misunderstanding", Chanyeol spoke after both options had been brought before him.

 

"How can you talk like that? You were just nearly killed by this planet! Are you that foolish to think nothing of your own life? You do know without a mate, you'll never see Everlife!", Jongin barked, frustrated because everyone seemed to be against him.

 

"With that attitude, neither will you...", Sehun muttered coyly.

 

"No one is stopping you from going alone, Jongin", Minseok said.

 

"Idiots, the whole lot...", he huffed as he folded his arms across his chest and left the room. The rest redressed Jongdae's bandages as they had bled through and found him some food to eat to keep him stable. They waited two hours like Chanyeol had suggested, but no one came. They searched for Jongin, but he was gone. All the scouting ships were in tact, so they grew a little concerned.

 

"You don't think he got picked off like a bird straying from formation, do you?....", Minseok worried as he looked to the others for reassurance. Although, none could give him that with any sort of certainty. "Well we can't leave Jongdae here alone... And we can't carry him with us...", he said eventually to break the silence.

 

At that remark, Jongdae sat up instantly, which made him wince a little because the quick movement hurt him. "It's just my shoulder, and it's doing much better now. The bleeding stopped, so I feel alright now. Besides, my legs still work fine. Let's go find the others", he said confidently. He was determined to not let the others worry too much about him. He would not be the weak link to break the chain, nor would he be picked off like Jongin. If there was a fight, Jongdae was going to fight on the front lines no matter what. He wasn't afraid of anything that could possibly be out there, no matter how much he thought about it. With that brave sentiment, they again marched outward together as a close pack towards the unknown. They were more readily equipped with weapons this time, and with alert minds. Chanyeol would not have himself be taken by surprise again. He already felt so bad for causing Jongdae's injury, so he stayed especially close to him, ready to jump in front of him in the line of fire if necessary. Only then would the weight be lifted from him. The forest was calm around them this time, which made it eerie. It was as if they were being avoided now. Perhaps they had frightened their attackers earlier. They could only hope that this was the case, although it wasn't.

 

"In all our strife....", Sehun whispered softly to himself as he moved to touch his ring, but was met only by his skin. He sighed as he remembered casting the ring away last night. Now it was too late to return for it. He only hoped that Luhan was not worrying for him. They headed down the same path that they had cleared earlier, but once they reached more brush that needed to be cut, the ground shook violently again when Jongdae raised his machete. The tremors knocked them all off their feet, but they were quick to get back up again. "Wait! Jongdae... Don't cut anything. You're hurting it."

 

"Hurting it?....", Jongdae asked.

 

"You're hurting the planet....", Sehun whispered softly as he looked around in awe of realization