This God Forsaken Planet

Chapter One

"Shmutle!" called Unna, Shmutle's mother, as she shook his shoulder gently. Shmutle, who had been really engrossed in his studies, startled and flashed yellow for a second as he glanced around his family's one room apartment, before returning to his normal pastel blue calm. Unna faded a dull apologetic purple for a few seconds then continued "It's time to go pick your straw."

Shmutle flashed yellow again, he had been so focused on studying for the trip he had forgotten that he had not been chosen yet. Professor Curly Pop had tested all of her researchers and Shmutle had done well enough to make it to the top ten, now it was up to fate to decide who would go with Pr. Curly Pop to the planet to explore it.

Before he left his family's quarters his mother stopped him for a good bye hug and nuzzled each of his cheeks.

"One for good health, and the other for Luck," said Unna.

"Mom," whined Shmutle fading from panicked yellow to an embarrassed pastel pink, "I'm not a baby anymore! Why can't you just hug me like a normal Toef?"

"Like it or not you'll always be my baby," Unna chuckled to her adolescent offspring as she released him from the hug.

"Now go and prove your family's luck!" Bopp said from the dining table. Shmutle nodded and gently hugged his aged father, Bopp, before running out the door.

"Don't run in the corridors!" called Bopp as Shmutle hurried away.

Shmutle dashed through the corridors of the ship towards his assigned class room. The clean white floors clacked under his shoes as Shmutle jogged through the halls and passed other Toefians who were on their way to work. The side of the ship he was on was just waking up, the lights were just starting to brighten. Shmutle passed a window that allowed him to see the stars as he rushed to his meeting.

Shmutle made it just in time but, before he and his fellow researchers could draw their straws Pr. Curly Pop made a short speech.

"I would like each of you to know that you proved to be the best among your fellow researchers and I am proud to have worked with all of you. This test will show who fate has decided who will accompany me as I go to the alien planet to study this new alien race and answer the question, 'are we alone?' once and for all. As many of you also know this will be my last trip off the ship as a head of the research division. Pull when ready." Pr. Curly Pop asserted.

Each Toef drew their straw, and Shmutle drew the shortest one. Shmutle flared from his apprehensive yellow to a joyful bright blue and then faded to a slightly embarrassed purple. His colleges congratulated him with cheerful woops and trills. This was it, the chance of a life time and fate had chosen him.