Story - Kauthen Expanse

Undesignated planet in the Kauthen Expanse Mid day

"And what have we found, mister Jeffords?" An inquisitive but patient voice asked over the comms.

Keith "Turbine" Jeffords, Doctor Callister's assistant, heaved a sigh of weariness before activating his audio pickup. It had all started with the promise of an extra course credit! Now he was hanging off the outside of a spaceship hovering next to a floating alien obelisk on a planet no one had ever heard of! To make it better, the planet was just awash in wind and sand. Every few minutes you could be sure of a sandstorm. Oh yeah, and to top it off he was now, by proxy, an interstellar outlaw! He calmed himself before replying.

"Doc, we've got similar readings to the first 3, but the inscription is more extensive. Transferring glyphs now."

"Remarkable!" He heard, "...Yes! Yes, mister Jeffords I believe this is what we've been missing! This sequence might be a large enough sample for the translation matrix! Come on inside."

Keith gratefully detached from the wall and reeled himself in. The Canopus Coast, his Trailblazer shuttle now outfitted for quick maneuvering, was a tight fit for the two of them with all of their supplies and the doctor's equipment.

The doctor was his usual blustery self, picking through scattered notes and scratching at a curly white beard as Keith sealed the hatch. "Mr. Jeffords, are you familiar with Zehil's hypothesis?" He asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Um." Keith was just so tired. All he could focus on was searching around the cockpit's crowded containers for his canteen. "I think that-"

There was static on the comms. Someone was in contact! Keith rushed to adjust for the interference.

"---bine, Turbine! We're on our way! Tell Doctor Cal we've got it! It's just like he said! We're preparing to send the--" It was strange, what was this new source of interference?

Keith peered out into the sky and saw those telltale silhouettes. He rushed to the transmitter. "You were followed! Get out now!"

Keith wracked his brain. The hunters were about to be on them. He wiped sweat and sand off his forehead.

Then he had it. The thing that had made this survey so difficult, that had plagued them since they'd arrived. This damned planet. He almost chuckled.

The damned sandstorms would save them.