Wind rushed across the flight window. Abrasive wind filled with sand particles from the extensive desert scape below them. The space ship had been in atmosphere for fifteen minutes. One of the cameras stopped working and the pilot's window was now pitted from the sandstorm.

"You're paying for the repairs."

Detective Zander sat up in his seat. "I told you; take another orbit around the planet."

"You also said you weren't paying for that fuel."

"Looks like you should have waited for this sandstorm to blow over. The fuel cost would have been cheaper. Don't worry it's only superficial. Except for that camera, hopefully that wasn't a ZLV Seven K Series."

The pilot, a Plozun, curled his upper lip. Detective Zander always thought of Plozun's like grapefruits with arms, not much for the legs. They even had that smell to them until something soured their mood and then they smelled more like a trash can with its lid open after it had been baking in the afternoon sun. Detective Zander plugged his nose. "Just take us down safely at the colony. I'm sure the colony has a few security cameras. Help yourself; But don't delete any footage."

"You're sure? Yeah, they won't mind. But watch out for the dinosaurs, I'm sure that's what got them."

"Dinosaurs, you are having me land on a planet full of dinosaurs."

"I don't know if the whole planet is full of dinosaurs. The colony wanted to ranch these triceratop things but they have four horns, not three." The ship dropped for a heartbeat. Detective Zander checked on his seatbelt after he recovered from the turbulence. "Don't worry about the wildlife and land us over there."

The Plozun pulled back on the joystick and leveled the ship off. They said nothing more until the engines spun down and the wind could be heard rustling over the ship's hull.

"Yeah, thanks. Great flying. So three days down here and then we take off home. Ideally I find some clue what happened to Kevin's very large family."

"What about the dinosaurs?"

"Don't let them on board. They won't be grateful paying customers."

The Plozun looked at him. "Are you?"

Detective Zander struggled to read any expressions on the Plozun's thick grapefruit skin. Was a Plozun a plant or an animal? "I'm grateful. If I'm a well paying customer remains to be seen on this mission's success."

The door opened to a desolate dirt street. A tumbleweed crossed away and a Quadratops roared from a nearby corral. The saloon sign flicked along with the market sign. Two more Quadratops showed their faces. Detective Zander stepped out into the dirt and walked towards the creatures. Their corral doors swung with the wind. The watering trough was dry as a bone. Zander turned the faucet on and allowed the water to run. He left it running and gave one of the large beasts a scratch on the forehead.

The Plozun hobbled out of its spaceship on short stubby legs and walked towards the nearest building, the market, with a wrench in his hand.

Detective Zander said to the quadratops, "I see my Plozun pilot has no issues taking a camera. I thought you'd be more ferocious." He gave the thirsty creature one more scratch and walked back towards the various buildings.

Dirt crunched under his feet, Zander walked by a tractor, front tire flat and tipped on its side, and into the market. He stopped at the front counter where the Plozun had climbed upon and now stood on its tippy toes pulling a camera from the ceiling. "Seen anyone?"

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"No." The Plozun pulled until the cable gave up the camera and jumped down from the countertop. He took some wire snips to the end and hobbled back to the ship with his prize.

Detective Zander wandered the store looking at the empty shelves. He checked the back and looked for more goods or hints. The camera feed was blinking with an alarm about a missing camera.

Detective Zander flipped a switch and brought up the security log. Plenty of the data was missing but the last clean record was a herd of fifty quadratops stampeding through the town.

A crash and yelling followed by a roar and a second crash sounded out. Detective Zander pulled the memory cube from the camera system and ran towards the market opening. A Quadratops was shaking the spaceship puncturing holes in the hull and tipping the ship onto it's side.

Detective Zander fired a shot in the air and the creature ran back to the corral. Zander closed the gate and returned to the ship. He knocked on the side and plugged his nose as a rotten smell escaped from the holes in the ship. "It's safe, open up."

The engines attempted to fire up and a liquid sprayed out from a punctured pipe. Zander grabbed the brim of his hat and waited for the engine to spin down. The door opened and the Plozun hobbled out.

Detective Zander said, "I think you need a tow."

"A distress beacon has been activated."

"You weren't going to leave me here. That's not very professional. Look. I'm sure these can be patched up. What happened?"

"The dinosaur tried to eat me."

"I don't see any bite marks. You're fine."

"It was licking me nonstop and went on a rage after me."

Zander kicked the spaceship. "So you ran towards the ship?" He felt the liquid dripping from the ship's leaking pipe. "That's a fuel line. You're lucky your engines didn't blow. Where were you going to go with holes in the ship?"

"Worst customer ever."

"The Quadratops's, I agree. I told you don't let the dinosaurs in. How about you..."

The Plozun returned to the ship and closed the door. Over the ship speaker, he said, "I'll wait here until my rescue ships come."

"Okay, fine. I'll be continuing my investigation then." Detective Zander returned to the empty street. He stopped at the tractor and inspected the damage. Those quadratops were strong but seemed nice enough at first. The barren street showed no signs of answers and only more puzzles.

Detective Zander kicked the dirt and walked towards the Saloon. He looked back at the colony. Nothing. The Saloon was as old fashioned as the rest of the setup. It took him back to those old westerns. It even had a piano and a bar. Zander played a few short notes of a western piano twiddle that he recalled. The piano picked up the intent and kept on playing as he walked to the bar to pour himself a shot of something strong. The bar unlike the market was fully stocked, except for a book of the finest whiskey. He poured himself a tall glass of an off brand and sat down. Zander sipped half the shot down and set it on the bar. He mimed playing a few piano notes along to the song and went to reach for another sip when the shot glass exploded.

He dropped to the floor and spun around with his pistol drawn. Shadows of someone's legs running into the middle of the street streaked across the entrance as the saloon doors swung. Zander chased after.