The Volta planeside science expedition was Phoenix’s first exoplanet experience, and it had turned out like this. He had elected to go to Volta because of its huge potential for edible plant life. All through his life he had wanted to explore exoplanets to find one that could grow plants edible for humans without intervention. Out of the list of expeditions he could have gone on, this was the most promising. Volta had an earthlike atmosphere, similar soil makes up, and was densely forested with plants that had resemblance to earth planets, except for the purple leaves.

The rovers that had been sent down to Volta had found microorganisms, which was a promising sign of more advanced animal life. This planet was destined to be a treasure trove for a botanist, like Phoenix, but now he was cursing himself for choosing this mission. He could have just gone to one of the planets being terraformed, but no, he had to choose this stupid planet. He was way too young to die of starvation or by being blown up by an Ishan fleet.

Now all Phoenix could hope for was that he could help save all their asses with his mad botany skills. Phoenix was also the specialist in space travel and communication for the base, so he was hoping to help in those areas as well. He had spent a year as a pyramid fighter pilot for his home planet, Tsitsi. He had loved controlling the pyramids; it was a bit like playing a video game, but his passion had always been in botany on exoplanets, and now look where that had gotten him.

Lark praising his idea about pushing up the edible plant life experiment felt amazing, but it only muted the voices that were getting louder in his head for a few seconds. He wished they would just shut up. The cacophony of voices telling him everything he had done wrong in his entire life was giving him a headache.

Phoenix absentmindedly grabbed the dagger earing that hung from his right ear. The only reason Phoenix wore jewellery was to fiddle with. He liked jewellery that was pretty and meant something, but it was really there to stop him from picking at his skin.

“You should all go get some rest. We’ll start to work on surviving tomorrow.,” Lark said to the assembled scientists.

There were some murmured good nights and sleep wells from the crew as they left the recreation room.

Phoenix got up and began to make his way to the door, but Lark put a hand on his shoulder. Phoenix turned around to look at Lark.

Lark looked at him in an almost parental way. “Make sure to sleep. Take some sleeping pills, I want you in working order tomorrow.”

“Will do, I’ll take some later.” Phoenix turned to leave again.

“Don’t worry, Phoenix. Everything will be okay. I’ll make sure of it.” Lark gave Phoenix one of their scanning stares. “If you ever need to get anything out, come talk to me. My door is always open.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.” Phoenix then left the recreation room and headed down the corridor to his bedroom.

Phoenix was always amazed at how well Lark could read people. No matter how hard he tried to hide his emotions, Lark could tell what he was feeling. Sometimes Phoenix was convinced they could mindread. Phoenix wished he was as good at reading people as Lark, he spent so much of school stumbling over social situations trying to figure out the right thing to say. Lark seemed to be able to pull the correct phrase or gesture out of thin air.

Phoenix’s room was small. The walls had poster after poster from his favourite video game, Command the Galaxy. It was a game where you were given a fleet of ships, and you had to command them to victory. A victory would often win you another solar system that could be mined to help expand your empire. Phoenix loved the game because not only was the play amazing, but the story around the battels was also deep and philosophical. It asked questions about what defines evil, how bad is subjective, and the morals of killing.

Phoenix loved that he had been able to decorate his rooms. The Volta expedition was supposed to last two years, so they had been kind enough to allow them to make a home out of the base.

Phoenix started to get ready for bed. First, he took off the ring and earpiece that connected to his AI, Ellaid. He had named his AI when he was twenty-five and had regrated it ever since. It was named after his high school girlfriend, Ella. He broke up with Ella soon after he turned twenty-six after a three-year relationship. Phoenix knew he could get it changed, but he had gotten used to the name, five years of using a name and it sticks. Also, the paperwork to change your personal AI’s name was so painful, Phoenix swore they made it as difficult as possible on purpose to turn people off from changing their AI’s name. It took about three months just to get the paperwork approved and another two months to have it actually changed.

Phoenix changed into the baggy shirt and the loose shorts he slept in. Looking in the mirror that hung on the wall next to his desk, he took off his dagger earring and small emerald stud, then put in his sleepers. He ran his fingers through his short blue hair. The moment Phoenix had turned twenty-five, he got his hair permanently changed to blue. It was the first thing he had purchased with his own grown-up money.

Finally, Phoenix went to the bases shared bathroom to finish getting ready for bed. Phoenix gazed at the Volta landscape from the small bathroom window as he brushed his teeth. It was covered in purple-leafed trees and snow, the sun was as high in the sky as ever.

The plants on Volta had a very similar make-up to plants on earth, but the soil was deficient in most things that make leaves green on earth. Volta plants had minimal amounts of chlorophyll in the plants chloroplasts. Volta soil had limited amounts of potassium and phosphorus but elevated amounts of anthocyanin. Phoenix was still amazed that plant life was even able to grow in such harsh conditions and with such a dim sun.

Volta was three times the size of earth, but half of it was uninhabitable for humans. The dark side of volts had rarely gotten above negative fifty degrees Celsius. The temperature on Volta along the equator only got above negative ten degrees when its orbit brought it closest to 58-Normania, the M-Dwarf at the centre of the Normania solar system.

Phoenix finished brushing his teeth just as Penny came in.

“Oh, sorry, Phoenix. I’ll come back in a minute.” Penny began to leave the bathroom.

“It’s fine, Penny. I just finished.”

Penny walked back into the bathroom, and Phoenix began to leave. “Wait, Phoenix. Are you all good? You seemed really on edge before.”

With a forced smile, Phoenix said, “I’m okay. Just a lot to take in, you know, the moon base.” He gestured upwards with a fake laugh.

Penny nodded. Phoenix then left Penny to her ‘night’ routine. He was a bit surprised that she had noticed he was stressing out. Phoenix had always thought he was good at hiding his emotions, but Lark and Penny had read him like an open book. He supposed that they had known each other for some time and they knew his history, but still, he would have to work on hiding his emotions.

When Phoenix got back to his room, he fell onto the bed with a long sigh. He culched his head, waiting for the voices to stop. He was ready to get some sleep.

He grabbed the small container of sleeping pills from his bedside table. He took two with a sip of water. “Now I just have to wait for them to kick in,” Phoenix muttered to himself.

Phoenix lay back on the pillows and picked up his small display screen. He pulled up the book he was reading. It was a high fantasy gay romance. It was one of his guilty pleasures but was a great escapism book.

The sleeping pills finally hit after half an hour. Phoenix put his display down and pulled the blankets over himself. He got to sleep quickly for the first time in weeks. Modern medicine was a magical thing. He didn’t even have a single nightmare.

***

When Phoenix woke up, he felt well rested. He checked the time; the clock on his bedside table read, five thirty-one am. That was two hours later than he usually slept.

Stolen story; please report.

Even so, the rest of the base wouldn’t wake for another half an hour. Phoenix stretched before getting out of bed. He put on the carrier for his AI and slipped on both his earpieces. “Ellaid, play my morning after I had a really good sleep playlist.”

The upbeat music began to play, washing away the cobwebs from his mind. Phoenix danced as he pulled on his clothes. He loose princess-sleeved white shirt and flowy black pants held up with a heat regulation belt. The bases temperature was well regulated, but Phoenix’s body was not. He would often have hot or cold flushes, so he just used the belt to minimise them.

Once he finished getting dressed, he moved to the small desk in the corner of the room. With a scan of his ring, he connected his AI to the display system. He booted up Command the Galaxy. A small hologram of his empire emerged from his holographic device. With spoken and gestural commands, he managed to conquer two more solar systems by the time his ‘time to get your ass to work’ alarm went off.

He disconnected Ellaid from his personal display after making sure the auto save was really working. He wasn’t going to lose his progress again. Giving himself a quick once-over in the mirror, Phoenix left his room to face the consequences of no longer having a moon base.

When Phoenix left his safe haven, the reality of the world came crashing down on him. He was now stuck on a frozen wasteland for seven months. The original mission was meant to last for another year, but at least then they had had a way off Volta. Now if anything went wrong, there was nothing Phoenix or any of the other scientists could do but hope for the best.

When Phoenix entered the recreation room, some of the others were already eating. The voices in his head had started again.

“Half rations! Half. I’ll be nothing but a stick by the time the fleet gets here.” Alex was complaining loudly to Iris.

Iris slapped Alex across the face. “Stop being dumb. None of us are happy about the rations, but it’s the only way to make the food last, so suck it up.”

“Morning Phoenix, there’s some tea for you on the bench.” Newt said, sipping at his own overlarge mug of tea.

Phoenix grabbed his tea and sat down next to Penny. “Thanks Newt. Sleep well, Penny?”

“No. The fucking moon was blown up, and of course I didn’t sleep well. I couldn’t shake the very odd feeling that we may be blown up as well. I have no idea where those thoughts came from,” Penny said sarcastically.

“Those thoughts really are a mystery,” Phoenix replied with a laugh.

Lark sat down next to Phoenix. “Phoenix, did you get any sleep?”

“Yep. Those sleeping pills work wonders. Somehow, I had the best sleep in a few days despite the recent events.” Phoenix knew he could take the sleeping pills more often, but he hated the thought of becoming dependent on them.

“About the events yesterday. I’m pushing up your experiments on edible plants. I really hope you find some because I cannot take much more of Alex’s complaining and it’s only been one morning. I want you to start planning and experimenting as soon as possible.” Lark took a bite of their breakfast. “Have you eaten yet, Phoenix, Penny?”

Penny got up. “Was just about to get some food. Are we thinking full meal at breakfast, half at dinner?”

“Yeah. I think that will be the best way to do it,” Lark replied.

Penny nodded, then went to get food. “Can you make me breakfast?" Phoenix called after Penny fluttering his eyelashes.

“Fine, but only because I’m a nice person,” Penny said, not bothering to look back at Phoenix.

“Very kind, Penny. Truly the kindest.” Phoenix took a sip of his tea. “Newt! Make the tea stronger next time. This practically water with some milk.” Phoenix exclaimed.

“Tea is water with milk.” Newt called back.

“No, it’s flavoured water with milk. This tea is missing the flavour.”

Lark put a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder. “Stop shouting. It’s too early in the morning for that.”

“Sorry Lark.” Phoenix said as he hung his head in sarcastic gesture of shame.

Penny came back with both their breakfasts. "Thanks, Penny, you’re a real one,” Phoenix said as he took the plate from Penny.

Phoenix stood up, his plate and mug in hand. “I may run away now. I want to start planning the experiments.”

“Stay for another few minutes. I want to talk to all of you.” Lark said, resting a hand on Phoenix’s arm.

Phoenix sat back down and started eating his breakfast.

Lark stood up and took a spot that overlooked all the Volta scientists. Everyone went silent to listen to them.

“So, we don’t have a moon base. We have enough materials to last us till the Anapeza fleet arrives. The water reclaimer, solar panels, wind farm, and basic communication are all working smoothly. I’m cutting down and prioritising certain science experiments. We can’t do a lot of the experiments anyway, without the moon base. The first experiment I want to get started on is the edible plant life one. Phoenix, a lot of this one is your speciality, but I want Newt to help you. Penny, I want you running frequent checks on all the bases hardware and software. We want to catch everything early. Me and Iris are going to start testing the purity of the snow and groundwater. I don’t expect our water reclaimer to fail, but I want a backup for everything. Alex, I want you to check the weather for as far into the future as possible. I want to know what to expect. Any questions?” Lark finished.

Everyone shook their heads.

Lark clapped. “Good. Get to work when you’re ready. If you do have any questions at any point, ask.”

“I’ll finish eating then we can get started,” Iris said to Lark.

Phoenix walked over to Newt, his breakfast and mug in hand. “I’ll meet you in the lab.” Phoenix gave Newt a two-figure salute before heading for the door.

“Don’t eat in the lab, Phoenix!” Newt yelled after Phoenix.

“Too late,” Phoenix called back, flipping Newt off.

Newt stood up and shouted, “Fuck you.”

“Please do,” Phoenix laughed as he retreated further down the corridor.

“You are insufferable!” Newt said as he sat back down.

Phoenix and Newt were pretty good friends. They just liked to joke around with each other. Newt found Phoenix funny, and Phoenix respected Newt as a scientist. Newt had many awards for his discoveries on exoplanets about how planets recovered after mass extinctions. That was why he had come to Volta.

Volta had been through a mass extinction after the atmosphere got thin, allowing the temperature to go so low on Volta that parts of the atmosphere began to freeze, and the ultraviolet rays began to break up the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The only living species to survive were microorganisms living deep enough in the planet's crust that the temperature was survivable.

But Newt was most intrigued by Volta because, since it was a frozen planet, there was a chance that the whipped-out species had been preserved in ice. He was going to be pissed if he couldn’t conduct his expeditions to try to find persevered species from before the mass extinction.

When Phoenix got to the lab, he sat down at his workbench. Phoenix connected his personal AI to the lab network and booted up his display.

Phoenix put in his second earpiece. “Eallaid, play my chill lab work playlist.”

He opened the AI system he had designed as a university project. It took the data from surveillance drones about soil make-up and plant species distribution to make guesses about where edible plant life was most likely to grow. Phoenix had a hypothesis that a lot of plants on Volta would be toxic to humans due to the elevated amounts of selenium in the soil that was a source of nutrients for a lot of the plants on Volta. With the amount Phoenix had found in one of the large leaves of the most common tree on Volta, a person would be lucky to escape without organ failure if they ate most plants on Volta.

Phoenix started by putting all the data he had collected from the general surveillance drone into his AI system. It would take a minute or two for it to come back with answers because of the sheer amount of data it had to process.

Phoenix had been so excited when the mission organisers had said they wanted to use his AI program. Phoenix had only been able to use it on small sample areas during university from public databases, so to be able to use it on a whole planet was a dream come true.

The surveillance drone technology hadn’t been new when he had trained the AI model, but no one had used the technology to analyse the likelihood for edible plants.

Phoenix was lost in his work and music, so when a hand appeared on his shoulder, it made his fight or flight instincts kick in. Phoenix leapt from his chair and slapped the thing that had scared him.

It was Newt.

“Shit! Sorry Newt! You scared me.” Phoenix stumbled over his words, his heart still beating at an unhealthy rate.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Newt said, rubbing his cheek where he had been hit. “How’s the analysis going?”

Phoenix sat back down, pausing his music and taking out one of his earbuds. “I’m just running the surveillance drone data we took a few days ago through the AI. It should have the results soon.”

Newt pulled a seat up next to Phoenix. “Do you need me to do another sweep of an area with the surveillance drone?”

“No, not yet anyway. I’ll wait for the data, then we’ll do a thorough evaluation of the areas the AI says are most likely for edible plant life. Once we get that data, we’ll collect samples and run some tests on them in the lab.”

Newt nodded, scooting his chair closer as the AI’s analysis began to come through. “That sounds reasonable.”

A map of Volta appeared on Phoenix’s screen. The map was marked with a mixture of greens, yellows, oranges and reds. Most of the map was either red or orange, but small pockets were marked with green and yellow.

Newt lent closer to the screen. “I’m guessing the green areas are most likely to have what we’re looking for?”

If they hadn’t been working, Phoenix would have made a sarcastic comment, but he did have some amount of professionalism. “Yep. Those are the areas we want to look into most, but I think we should probably look into the yellow and light orange areas as well, just to be safe.” Phoenix used a pen to point at the areas they would start their search.

“What is the AI basing its assumptions on?”

“It’s mostly going off the soil composition and the makeup of the leaves and seeds. It uses some atmospheric data as well. Mostly for Volta, it doesn’t need to investigate atmosphere. It’s nearly identical to earth. We should look into the areas it’s marked green a bit more. Could you please investigate these areas?" Phoenix pointed out three of the six fully green areas. “I want to know what the landscapes are like. I’ll do the other three. We can start with that, then move onto the yellow and orange areas.”

“I’ll get started on that.” Newt stood up and sat down at his own workbench, powering up his display. “Could you send me the map?”

Phoenix nodded. “Eallaid, send the surveillance map to Newt.”

Both men began work on examining the landscapes marked green. Compiling all the information into one shared spreadsheet.