The rain had finally come to a complete stop; at least for now, and the planet Zeta-Delta III was returning to something closer to its normal self.  There was a slight breeze blowing in from the east, or was it west?  Since the magnetic poles had flipped just 31 days ago, working out direction and co-ordinates was proving a nightmare.  Anything fitted with global positioning systems and hadn’t been destroyed by the collapse of Cabot Base had needed to be reprogrammed; so it could once more understand were in the world it was.

One such issue had been with an aerial drone sent out to scope a potential sight for the science team to set up a new base.  For now they were operating in orbit aboard the USS Chapel, thanks to the generous offer from her captain.  As a medical ship the Chapel caring a lot of equipment similar to that which the survey team had been using, which meant they could carry on with some of their work, whilst waiting for the California class vessel that had been dispatched to bring them a replacement building and new apparatus. 

Caliph the Jordanian born Mycologist was carefully picking his way through the waist deep undergrowth in search of the wayward drone.  It had landed nearby, and Caliph was using a Tricorder to track it down.  The ground squelched beneath his boots with every step he took.  A few paces behind him Ensign Green; a young unassuming Nevadan born electronics engineer from the USS Chapel’s crew, who’d offered to reprogram the drone once they’d found it.

The trees cleared; a mix of two distinctly pine like species all towering above the two individuals, with broad leafed ferns filling in the gaps between them.  This section of the ground sloped away; there was indication of a landslide.  A number of trees had slid down the hillside along with the top layer of soil and ferns, leaving a large area of exposed ground; but it wasn’t empty and devoid of life.  There were some plants that had taken advantage of the newly formed clearing; most notably small bright blue flowers.  Caliph wasn’t a botanist, but didn’t recall any mention of small blue flowers in anyone’s report. 

They looked striking, if not a little unnatural in their colouring.  He was no expert though; all he knew was the golden rule, ‘Spot anything new or unusual, report it in.  Don’t touch.’  He was also sure the engineer with him had been told this, at least twice; so was rather annoyed when he saw the guy bend over to sniff them.  He yelled at Green, who merely shrugged and stood up, complained that having not ‘touched’ the flowers, there was no issue. 

The Mycologist made a note of their current location; before taking another check that they were still heading towards the drone.  Five minutes later, they spotted it, sitting in the branches of a tree just out of arms reach.  A quick game of rock, paper and scissors decided who’d be holding who aloft.  Green lost and therefore lifted Caliph up off the ground; the engineer wobbled slightly almost causing the other man to knock the drone out of the tree, instead though he grasped it firmly and was lowered back down.

Green apologies before coughing, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he turned away.  He took a drink of water from the small flask he was carrying, but that didn’t seem to make any difference.

“Are you ok?” Caliph asked feeling a little concerned.

“Yeah I’m.” Cough. “Fine” cough. “Just give me,” cough, “a sec.”  The words were barely out of Greens mouth when he keeled over.

Caliph tapped his comm-badge. “Medical emergency, two to beam up from my location.”

            ********** 

Three hours later Commander Charlie Lyambo stood at the bottom of a bio-bed aboard the USS Chapel, to his left stood Lieutenant Max Beaufort, his new Chief of security.  Doctor Phlen was just pulling the sheet up over the face of the lifeless body that now lay on that bed. “Record time of death of Ensign Peter Green at 12:07:20.”  The ships computer acknowledged, adding that information to the ensigns medical file.

“What can you tell me doctor?” Asked the Commander.

The Denobulan looked up, any trace of that usual smile he normally had, gone from his face. “Until an autopsy I can’t give you any definitive answers.  But all his major organs just shut down, starting with his lungs.”

Lyambo tapped the doctor on the shoulder. “I know you did all you could.” Then his attention switched to Beaufort. “Where had he been before getting sick?”

The Lieutenant scrolled through some of the data on his PADD; listing what Ensign Green had been doing in the last 24 hours, including his little field trip with the Mycologist.  Nothing really stood out other than the mention of these strange flowers and their location on the slope.

“Have a word with this Caliph and Lieutenant-Commander Barbosa; she’s their chief Botanist and expedition leader.” Lyambo instructed him.

Beaufort checked with the computer the location of the two individuals and made arrangement to meet them in his office.

            **********

The security section, of which Lieutenant Beaufort’s office was just part, was situated on deck 10.  It was a reasonably sized, if modestly decorated room.  He hadn’t really made it his own yet; after all he wasn’t sure how long he’d be in the post.  The goal was still to return to the cockpit of a fighter, once he had his new leg. There was a section of his old Valkyrie in a frame on the wall.  It was the part of the fuselage which carried the ‘Sundowner’ logo, the squadron he’d been part of until his mishap near Deneb.  His old helmet sat on a shelf next to a potted plant; he had no idea what the plant was or how to care for it, may be this Barbosa could advise him.

Lieutenant-Commander Elizabeth Barbosa and Hashem Jad Caliph, one of five civilians in the mixed team of scientists; Beaufort had checked their full names and work history.  Barbosa had been doing planetary ground surveys for the past twelve years, half of which as the team leader.  This was Caliph’s seventh mission working with her, but not all consecutively.   They both arrived together and Max invited them to take a seat and offered drinks.

Once everyone was settled Beaufort started by focusing on the Jordanian.  This would be his first interview as Security Chief, so Max was a mite nervous; coupled with the fact he hadn’t interact with people much up until the recent past.

“Mind if I call you Hashem?” He started, the other man nodded. “So Hashem why were you and Ensign Green out looking for this drone and not anyone else?”  It seemed a perfectly valid question and at least a starting point for the investigation.

“Basically I was spare at the time.” Caliph replied. “I didn’t have any pending work and due to all the rain we’d had, I hadn’t been far, so fancied the walk.  Peter, Ensign Green volunteered to come with me.”  The Mycologist continued by describing the journey, no more than a half hour from the point they’d been beamed down to; and the flowers Green had smelled despite prior warnings.

“So as a botanist, what do you make of these flowers?” Beaufort asked Barbosa.

“Odd, but not totally unique.  Plants have various ways of defending themselves or propagating.  This might be just how they naturally act and Ensign Green was just a victim of nature.” Barbosa pondered. “If we could get a sample to study, I may be able to give you a more definitive answer.”             

            **********

Roughly an hour later Lieutenant-Commander Barbosa stood on one of the transporter pads, dressed in a full Bio-hazard suit with the hood in her left hand.  “You don’t need to come with me.” She informed the Chief Engineer standing next to her.  “I’m perfectly capable of doing this alone.”

“I understand that.” He replied adjusting the strap around one of his gloves.  “The kid shouldn’t have died.  Not like this. I want to give his parents answers.” 

Barbosa understood were Dinari was coming from, she’d feel the same way; still carried the guilt of Wallenberg’s death three days previous, because several factors would have prevented it, and it all boiled down to her eagerness to get this project up and running.  They both placed the hoods over their head, and checked each other to see everything was sealed and airtight.  A thumbs up confirmed all was set.

They both materialised on the slope right were the vibrant blue flowers should have been; with emphasis on the word ‘should’.  For not a single flower was visible.  Barbosa and Lyambo looked at each other, double checked the co-ordinates; even knelt down to examine the ground closer and what small plant dotted the area, but not one solitary sign of the flowers they’d come looking for.  It just didn’t make sense, and the Botanist expressed as much.

            **********

The autopsy report of Ensign Green revealed that he had inhaled literally thousands of microscopic spores; many of them had been absorbed into the blood stream and spread throughout his body.  Acting very much like a poison, the spores had caused his organs to rapidly shut down.  It had been quick, but never the less a painful end to the young mans life.  The spores themselves had broken down leaving no trace other than the affect they’d had.

These flowers had proved both beautiful and deadly in equal measure.  How they’d come to grow on that small patch of ground and seemingly nowhere else on the planet was still a mystery.  Until more were found it would be impossible to learn anything about them.  With that in mind, a warning to not approach without full protective gear had been issued.  For now at least, there was nothing more anyone could do.