Sheen Rescue Squad...or...Welcome to Planet Sheen

Chapter 4-Hostile Territory

While King Goobot prepared his continued pursuit of Jimmy and vengeance, his arch nemesis was moving at a much faster pace towards his long lost friend.

Half an hour after the failed ambush, Cindy brought up a concern she felt prudent to address sooner rather than later. "Okay, Jimmy, I think before we land, we should know if the planet we're about to land on is safe."

Jimmy wheeled around to face her and the room at large. "Not to worry," he told everyone, "when Goddard scanned the universe to find Sheen, it didn't just scan his beacon, it also fed me information on the planet he's on. The atmosphere's pressure is more extreme that of good ol' Earth but still breathable. Goddard also picked up readings of some sort of civilization. The only problem is we don't know if Sheen's a prisoner or not, so I placed all my inventions into my Hypercube in the worst-case scenario if we have to rescue Sheen, we'll have everything we need to achieve success. Everyone understand?"

Everyone nodded except for Nick, who sat down reading a skateboard magazine. When all eyes turned to him, he glanced up and muttered indifferently, "Whatever."

Suddenly Goddard stood erect and barked. Jimmy looked up in his pet's direction. "What is it, boy?" Jimmy ran to the radar, gently pushed Carl aside, and checked the readings. They had arrived at the desired destination. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "we are now four million and one light years away from home." Jimmy moved for the controls and deactivated the hyperdrive. Returning to normal space, the crew caught sight of a planet that looked very much like an old cabbage. Jimmy began the landing sequence. "Planet sighted. We are one step closer to Sheen."

It was only then that Carl asked, "Can I take my vaccines now?" to which no one even bothered to answer to.

The surface of the planet, unknown to Jimmy as Zeenu, was nothing like what the team had seen from inside the ship. There was all sorts of vegetation everywhere. Even Nick had to stop and take a look around.

Jimmy was fascinated by the grand picture of it. "Wow, this place looks amazing; I'll have to remember to bring home some vegetative samples." If he had come here under different circumstances, he would've exploited as much of the planets scientific resources he could carry, which would've been a lot, courtesy of his Hypercube.

Libby was the first to come out of the awestruck trance that had enticed the group. She replaced that expression with one of fierce determination, the kind that would cling to any lead until forced to do so otherwise. "Yeah, yeah, it's lovely, where's the civilization?"

"I don't know," Jimmy admitted. He had tried to scan for the city, but all the vegetation was interfering with Goddard's scanners. But he recovered himself instantly. "That's why I propose we split up..."

He was immediately interrupted by Carl, who looked like he would pass out at any second, like someone who had just run a marathon. "On an alien planet with natives who may or may not be mean and ruthless? No way!" he shouted.

Cindy stepped forward. She said, "Carl's right," something she did not say often, "we don't know the land. We should stick together."Jimmy thought back to when he and the others had been forced to participate in an intergalactic game show gambling the fate of the planets the players were from. In their first event, Jimmy had tried to win alone, with no regard for the others' opinions; they had lost as a result. In the second round, they convinced to work more as a team, which allowed them to win the game show and eventually save the other planets at stake as well. I

f Cindy was agreeing with Carl, Jimmy decided perhaps he should listen. "Alright," he conceded. He walked up to Goddard, who by now had pinned down the readings towards their destination. "According to Goddard's readings, the alien civilization is this way. Let's go."