hivemind 1

shinji and cu work a two-man operation on a relatively small ship called Venus Fort Andromeda. they’re contracted out by a space exploration company, sent to test meteorites for dangerous properties to determine whether or not they should be destroyed. space is harsh ecosystem, so protecting the civilians that live on the station colonies is of the utmost priority. sometimes dangerous life forms inhabit these floating meteorites for hundreds of years, so it’s up to shinji and cu to locate them and destroy them. it requires a lot of forensic knowledge, which is shinji’s specialty, and extremely precise methods of demolition, which is cu’s main skill. Venus Fort Andromeda is of a relatively comfortable size, but for a true introvert like shinji it can still feel small. cu, however, is energetic and boisterous, talking a lot at shinji about anything and everything. they have spats every now and then, but cu has gotten really good at calming shinji down over the years. sure, he’s a little bratty and obnoxious, but he takes his job seriously and cu respects that. he just wishes he would take it easy every now and then.

archer works as a medic that transports patients between colonies so that they can receive the specialized care they need. while it pays fairly decent, he puts a lot more into his operation than his company gives him. he works long, hard hours but he finds his work very rewarding.

one day, archer has a problem with his ship’s fuel injector. hearing the alarm and seeing the warning screen light up, he immediately makes an emergency stop on the nearest planet. he knows he has to get this fixed asap, because a ship malfunction during a patient transport could be the difference between life and death. there’s no way archer could let that happen.

the planet is small and seems to mostly be made up of lush rainforest. while it would be ideal to get this taken care of by a mechanic, archer is confident he can get a feel for the problem until he can get into a closer, more familiar area of the galaxy. he grabs his tool kit and pops the hatch, climbing out and jumping to the ground below. boots crunching against soft soil, archer surveys his surroundings. the trees are tall and crawling with thick, leafy bushes with flowers of all colors. it’s beautiful, if almost in a threatening sort of way. with some effort, he twists open a valve on his ship to open up the hardware. it’s smoking a little, causing him to furrow his brow in concern.

a few hours later, archer is still tirelessly working on the ship. the air is thick and humid, and his shirt is tossed to the side, soaked with sweat. while archer always tries to be optimistic — even to his own detriment — he is becoming unsure of his ability to fix the problem. it seemed fairly simple at first, but now he is beginning to think it could be something more serious; beyond what basic knowledge he has. he’s a doctor, not a mechanic.

there is a light rumbling in the sky overhead, causing archer to look up.

it’s starting to rain.
or at least he thinks it’s rain.

it’s hot, making him think it’s just a product of the humid environment, but very quickly it becomes hot. the rain begins to leave small burns on his face and chest, making him stumble backward and try to take cover among the generous amounts of brush. with a curious concern, he looks out before looking down at his chest to see small red welts rising from his skin. this wasn’t the type of rain he was used to, if it could even be called that at all. he wonders if he can pull off one of the fronds from the bush he’s standing over to take cover until he can get back into his ship — the flora doesn’t appear to be affected by the boiling rain at all. tugging at one of leaves by the root, archer is suddenly surprised when the flowers around him open up, steaming and emitting a sweet, honey-like scent. a pollen substance puffs out in thick clouds, quickly making archer feel both dizzy and nauseous. he makes the mistake of both breathing and keeping his eyes open, making them water and his throat get tight. wheezing, he gives the frond another quick couple of harsh tugs, only causing the flowers to spray him further. he retreats, stumbling out into the open and blearily attempting to locate his ship. leaving his tools and shirt behind, he slams the machinery console closed and scrubs at his face, trying to unobscure his vision well enough to get back inside. one he hears the gush from the ship’s airlock after crawling inside, he slumps against the wall and gasps for air. his eyes sting and his throat and skin burn, but he has to get out of here before the boiling rain affects the constitution of the ship. once broken through the atmosphere, archer sets the ship on auto-pilot, leaning back in his seat and wheezing. he can’t seem to catch his breath. his thoughts are getting hazy — he can’t think of what kind of medication can relieve his symptoms. antihistamine? a cortisol steroid inhaler? an oxygen treatment? his mind feels like it’s melting into a thick molasses. overcome with dizziness, archer uses his last moments of cognitive thought to hit the emergency signal on the control panel.



“hey, i’m getting a SOS signal not too far from here.”

“we’re already running late.” shinji groans and runs his hands back through his hair, wrinkling his nose. cu rolls his eyes before pulling up a digital map.

“the client can wait — it’s pretty remote out here, if we don’t save this guy then nobody will.”