Long before the great floods this must have been a Terran planet. Urtak consulted his bio-scanner and sighed. As much as he hated to do it, collecting pulse crystals was his job. No matter how it destroyed the planets. The Republic simply needed the firepower.

His murky black eyes scanned the screen as he held his breath.

"Please no life signs please no life signs." he begged the monitor in front of him.

"No life-signs in the area, prepare for disimbarkment." The computer stated as he grabbed for his aqua helm.

Red lights flashed. "Warning! Warning! Incoming torpedo Warning!"

Urtak let out a string of curses. He looked out his side window, and watched the torpedo grow dangerously larger.

The last thing he saw was his terrified green face in the reflection of his window. Then the torpedo struck his ship out of the sky and it plummeted into the inky depths below. 

~~~---~~~

Jana Rezal watched from her nest as the star fell from the sky. She felt the vibrations in her gills as the star landed softly on the sandy ocean floor. But somehow the star still shone, with an unhealthy blue glow.

It seemed to be calling her toward it.

Without regard to herself, or thought of what she would do if she did find this 'star' she swam out toward the vibrations. Her dark blue tail blurring as her powerful strokes propelled her forward.

The star was not far off.

As soon as she saw it she knew.

That was no star.

She approached carefully and noticed a creature inside the cracked glass struggling to breathe. His fingers loosely clasped some sort of circular item, and his skin was a very pale green. She paused briefly in panic as she noted that this creature... didn't have gills!

Very quickly now she removed him from the glass and towed him towards the surface, her tail leaving streams of bubbles in her wake.

Jana tossed the creature on the shore. it was as she had expected, this creature seemed to have an oxygen based biology. (Not unlike Jana's ancestors.)

It appeared that he had taken in quite a lot of water into his lungs. Jana popped her head under the water to better catch her breath.

She watched some fish swim by as she made a plan about how to save this creature.

"Likely he has water in his internal systems, perhaps there is a way to get it out?"

She pulled herself out of the water using her long black nails to drag herself toward the injured creature. She stared at him momentarily he was unlike any other creature she had ever seen before.

His head was bald, and he had a proud forehead with ridges extending from the corners of his eyes and meeting on the top of his head. She should have found him terrifying, but to her he seemed strangely beautiful.

An Idea came into her head.

She placed her hands on his chest and closed her eyes as she pushed the water out of his chest and up out his mouth.

The man spewed water out his nose and mouth. Coughing as the air reentered his systems. He sat up violently and Jana jumped back into the water. The man's many black eyes darted around looking for signs of what happened.

"Hello is anyone there?"

Jana listened to the man's garbled speech. She had no idea what planet he came from or even if he was violent.

She looked up at him from underneath the water, her black hair spreading out like tentacles in the cerulean water.

Urtak's eyes were drawn to some movement in the water, and he cautiously turned to see what was causing it.

His eyes were met by the most striking green, the woman's eyes were so beautiful it was as  if she had seen heaven itself.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

The tiny framed woman tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Oh! We must not be speaking the same language. Let me get my helmet to translate." He turned away from the girl his six eyes scanning the shoreline of the tiny island.

"Ah here it is." He remarked to himself shaking some gunk out of the helmet and clicking it into position with the rest of it's suit.

He turned back to the girl, glancing at her through the cracked visor. The girl's eyes widened and she slid deeper under the water.

Urtak smiled at the girl his teeth gleaming in the light of the visor.

"Can you understand me now?"

"Yes. how are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That thing with your face... the..." She pulled back her gums awkwardly, revealing several rows of sharp pointed teeth.

He chuckled. "Where is my ship?"

"Oh!"

The girl disappeared and suddenly -with a great rumble- his ship came flinging out of the water. It landed right beside him on the beach, water escaping from the cracked glass.

Urtak clambered in under Jana's watchful gaze.

"Computer, run diagnostics. And start ship repairs."

Out of he corner of his eye Urtak watched as the woman pulled herself out of the water. A dress materializing around her as she stood.

He went over to the monitor and punched in some coordinates. Starting when Jana knocked in the door.

He turned around eyes wide as Jana stepped into the room, her long hair drying rapidly.

"Why are you here?" She asked suddenly.

"To get pulse crystals."
Her green eyes widened in horror. She stepped back from him her hand clutching at her throat.

"What's wrong?"
She slowly pulled her hair back, and revealed a crystal that was joined to her neck.
Urtak's eyes blinked.
"The republic doesn't know for sure there are crystals on this planet."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll go back home. As soon as my ship is repaired. But until then..."

Jana smiled as he extended his hand. "Let's go for a swim."