Three measly steps stood between the crew and the feeling of actual soil beneath their feet in more than a decade for most, or in the cases of the mechanic JuJu Korhonen and the ship's doctor Jamal Seabrook, their first ever. Having resigned themselves to a fate among the stars, none of them could have anticipated a boon like this.

Yet, instead of rushing forward, the group looked to the Captain, waiting for her to do the honours of stepping first.

The Captain's eyes softened at the compliment. She cleared her throat and said, "Whatever our forebears did to ostracize us to space, we are not a race meant to be rootless. We are meant to be planted. So, for the next few minutes, let's forget our ranks, and just be human beings." The Captain walked to stand at the end of the line beside Karan and took his hand, nodding at the others to follow suit.

Teo's heart hammered excitedly in his chest, and his palm began sweating inside his glove. He kept his eyes glued to the edge of the ramp as he reached out for Mo on his left and Jamal on his right. They took his hands in a vise-like grip that belied their calm appearance.

When he glanced to his left, the twin suns reflected off Mo's face mask, but didn't obscure the big goofy grin he flashed. Teo grinned back, elation bubbling up inside him and making him feel as weightless as zero gee.

It had been fifteen years, three months, and twenty days since Teo'd walked on land. He'd only done it three times his entire life, anyway. The last time was when he met the Captain by rescuing her from a pair of Quans about to poleaxe her. She'd rescued him in return by taking him on as crew, and he'd never regretted a day. That planet's ground had been hard with a kind of rock mined on Hofwegen. The ground before them now that stretched out to the horizon looked soft and welcoming.

The Captain's voice came over the comm. "We step forward together. Ready, one, two, three."

Small puffs of rich brown dirt kicked up when they made landfall. Teo's sighed when his boots sank an inch into the soft layer.

JuJu groaned and began twisting her feet into the soil, burying them within seconds. She then dropped to her knees and flopped forward on her belly. Flinging dirt up and over herself, her yellow suit look like a ripe banana. She stripped off her gloves and began scrunching the dirt in her hands. "Oh Captain, do we have to report it? Can't we just keep it?"

"Maybe this find is big enough they will let us keep a part of it, JuJu," the Captain replied. Everyone stilled and cast cautious glances at each other.

Karan's deep baritone whispered, "You really think they would? All of us?"

The Captain tipped her head slightly. "Let's get the most accurate survey we can to curry more favour with them, alright?" Enthusiastic nods answered her all around.

"Dirt fight!" Polly yelled and threw a handful she'd picked up at Karan, then ran away before he could tag her.

"You're a fast pilot, Poll, but your short little legs are no match for mine!" By the time he'd finished his sentence, Karan had caught Polly around the waist and lifted her into the air. Her feet kicked up a shower of dirt that covered Jamal and the Captain. To everyone's surprise, instead of brushing off the dirt and standing back, the Captain smiled widely, then grabbed her own handful and lobbed it at Mo.

Shrieks of laughter and giggles echoed in the air as they all descended to the maturity level of five-year olds for the next few minutes. They chased each other around rubbing dirt in hair and throwing it into each other's face masks. One by one, they collapsed on the ground to recover and catch their breaths, with someone or other letting out the occasional chuckle of happiness.

"Captain," Teo watched JuJu bury herself completely in the dirt, and Jamal roll across to stretch out beside her and help. He wanted to bask in their laughter, not voice the thought that had been digging at the back of his brain since they'd first entered the planet's orbit and gotten a good look at it. In their excitement at the find, he hadn't been able to put his finger on it until just now.

"What's bothering you, Science Officer?" Teo closed his eyes at the use of his title. She knew him so well.

"Why hasn't this planet already been claimed? It's ripe for settlement. Barren, but with everything needed to change that. Yet, it didn't show up on any of the maps."

Mo sat up and dusted himself off. "We're pretty deep into the Nevingian asteroid belt, Teo. Probably only scrappers like us even come in here. This planet is probably just that statistical outlier everyone loves to talk about."

Teo pressed his lips together and nodded. He turned towards JuJu who was extricating herself from the body-sized hole she'd dug herself into and held out a hand to help her up. Her smile was as radiant as the twin suns shining on them. Planting her hands on her knees, she tipped her head forward and shook it to dislodge the dirt sticking to her short hair.

Icy fear gripped his belly when she swiped her ear to get out the dirt. For just a second, it looked like the dirt avoided her fingertip and headed into her ear.