Two scientists gazed upon the midnight sky with their hands behind their back, pondering on what happened to those who were sent to the new planet. It had been months since they heard any feedback from the space agency and were worried if SPANA now wanted to take the credit for the major breakthrough all for themselves, rather than share it with them.

Three months ago, their colleague, Dr. Silas Cider, discovered a new celestial object hidden in view among the stars. He had never seen a more optical view of the heavenly body through the many telescopes he had employed and was baffled on why this fleck of an atom has never been discovered till now.

He was so thrilled with this discovery, that Dr. Cider discussed his new findings with his two colleagues, Dr. Margaret Jones, and Dr. Nelson Fields. Both were also in awe after they saw the speck of light through the telescope.

They named the planet Decaorb for it was the 10th planet in the galaxy following the orbit. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and now the new planet, Decaorb would follow.

And they hoped it was inhabitable, so humans would be able to build another space station there to learn more about space. These lessons would make it possible to send humans farther into the universe than ever before. And to dream, the impossible was what flared in their eyes. To be noted in history books as the first scientists to discover Decaorb would thrill them. But they knew there would be risks involved.

Of what one might ask? Aliens ... ones that might bite. They needed to find a group of people stupid enough to take the bait. It wouldn't be an easy task as they knew that they just couldn't go up to the space agency and ask them to send some astronauts to find out if Decaorb was suitable for residential use. But it was worth the try to see if the space lab had a better idea.

The trio's greed for fame would come in time after they decided that (SPANA) the Space Aeronautics Agency would help them make their dreams come true.

The Inmates

The team leader was Martina "Marti" Wade, a dark-haired punk who was motivated to do the right thing, despite her gothic looks. She idled rock stars who jammed away in concerts and it was a known habit of hers that she'd be lip singing with them amongst the crowds. Marti had a skull within a heart tattoo on her arm. It was noticeable when she pulled off her leather jacket and was sure to show it off as she might be viewed as 'bad to the bone'. But the heart was a symbol that she still cared for others.

Marti had a girlfriend named Harley Grendel, who she met in one of those concerts she hung out. Harley was quite the opposite of everything Marti was. With long wavy hair and a baby round face like a young child. With fine features on her skin with a slender nose, you'd wonder how she was attracted to Marti. But it happened as the saying goes, "Opposites do Attract".

Roman Steiner Grendel was Harley's step-brother. He was a muscular-built man of a few words, but knew how to charm the ladies. Roman just needed to be provoked to do his duties. He was the one who was guilty of robbery as he lured the lovely cashier away from her cash register. His hair was long, tangled, greasy, and hung down, and you could see his eyes shining through as if he were hiding behind vines. Roman was often told to put his hair in a ponytail, but he refused to do so as he believed that leaving his mane down made him macho.

Their friends, Bonnie and Clyde joined the crew because they had nothing better to do. After meeting Marti at a club, Bonnie decided to join her new friends in whatever mischief they would land into.

Bonnie Ackles was a blonde-haired gum-smacking gal who had a mouthful of exploitative words to those who would call her another dumb blonde.

Her rugged partner in crime, Clyde McCarthy wasn't any smarter, as he was a clumsy fool who followed his girlfriend's orders, for he wasn't a manly man who could speak up for himself. No, Clyde was always doing what Bonnie wanted him to do as he lacked self-respect. And that's exactly how he got in this mess.

Named exactly after the infamous duo of the 1930s, Bonnie and Clyde were ruffians that didn't know any better but to be meddlers.

Their last days on Earth

The courtroom remained quiet as the guilty party awaited the jury's verdict. It was a stressful experience for the convicts charged with robbery and the murder of the prominent store's owner, but they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The suspects were trying to be Good Samaritans by reviving the victim, but the only eyewitnesses on the premises, falsely accused the group of murder since the original villains quickly fled the scene in a getaway vehicle.

Being involved in a risky situation such as this, made all of the suspects' quiver. Awaiting for the verdict of their sentence, their leader, Martina "Marti" Wade squirmed in her seat. She didn't want her friends involved in such a fiasco, but they couldn't stay away from becoming part of the attraction.

Intending to be known as heroes instead of the opposite, the crew expected to be known as anti-heroes of Star City. They were saddened when the police refused to believe their cries of innocence. Once all five were handcuffed, all knew that this would probably be the end of them.

The way they dressed and looked could have been a factor in why they were targeted as the vandals. Wearing hoodies and leather pants like the well- known gang - the Hellcats, who have been known to cause mischief around town; they were framed for this ordeal.

But, the final judgment of their crime was announced. Guilty as charged without parole.

With her short red hair tossed aside as she blew a raspberry towards the jury, Harley's attorney Mr. Winslow facepalmed himself. He did all he could to keep Marti and her friends from going into the slammer or worse ... to be on death row. But obviously, he and his team of lawyers didn't do their best as they lost their case.

But a last-minute decision between the cruel judge and some Space Aeronautics engineers caused the verdict to be delayed. The decision to send the inmates off into space was unheard of, but the judge ruled in favor of it.

Five human beings were stranded on a terrestrial planet with a surface consistency similar to Earth's hottest deserts. Each one walked away from each other with their hands crossed since they started to blame each other for this mess. They were dying of dehydration as the coolness from their spacesuits were no longer efficient. But in truth, no one was to blame for their abandonment; they just didn't read the fine lines on the contract they signed before they were sent to space.

Within the dotted line, it said,

I HEREBY AGREE TO STAY ON THE NEW PLANET TILL I FULFILLED MY MISSION.

But none of the five cared to ask questions on what that mission was about. They just wanted the get out of prison card, not knowing what the circumstances might be.

The voyage was supposed to be simple as one, two, three since they were told to study alien life on a new planet called Decaorb and report their findings back to Earth through the space utensils they were given. They were also told to pick a leader and to write in a journal daily.

And bribery was what they all fell for. Little did they know that their first arrival on this new planet was a test - one that would change their lives forever. The convicts were saved by the bell, or that's what the poor souls thought was going to happen to them when they all signed the plea agreement going to a 'no man's land', instead of spending a lifetime behind bars.

And as the shuttle known as EXPLORER went into orbit, the smaller chamber where the prisoners were, detached from it.

Within the shadows of the darkness, the astronauts felt sorrow for what was left of the crew.

Nothing but dust remained. And due to their curiosity, each took a giant leap on the flat plateau to find any survivors.

One of the astronauts, Mike, spied a handsome yellow insect tap dancing on the edge of the reddish tube of a green plant nearby. He was even bewildered to figure out how ticks like these existed in space, so the thought of life on another planet crossed his mind.

As Mike got closer to view what the insect was going to do, the astronaut saw that it had a wingspan too large, so it could not crawl inside the flower's tube. She teetered on the edge of a death trap, sticking her tongue out at the danger. The aphid then unfurled her tongue and stole the flower's nectar. But as horrible as it sounded, the plant's petals engulfed her as his prey fell inside.

As the astronaut was curious about what just happened, he dared to come in proximity with the plants just to see if they were similar to carnivorous plants.

He heard the distressed cries of other insects that weren't so fortunate. They were trapped inside the plant's interior, dying. The live ones at the top of the pile buzzed in desperation to leave, but there was no way out. A tear came upon his cheek as it could be seen under his space suit's helmet. It was indeed a sad story to report back to his colleagues.

The astronaut walked further around the crater and noticed a journal lying there. It looked familiar as it had the words of his agency written upon it.

SPANA

Mike picked it up, noticing that some pages were torn from it since it felt lighter than usual. He knew that his agency gave spare journals to their employees for note-taking and they usually felt heavier than a leaf-loose notebook.

In his spacesuit, Mike quickly hopped over to find his fellow astronauts and pointed to the book with awe as if he just discovered a natural treasure.

"George, Davis! Look at this. It must be about what that team found."

When the other two astronauts hovered over to Mike, they all took turns to read the daily journals.

Day 1

My partners and I, Marti Wade, have arrived in Decaorb. I am writing this after the SPANA astronauts have dropped us. The planet seems to be empty of intelligent life, except for the remnants of these green leaves that appear to be like plants, but the top portion looks odd. From where I'm observing, I believe it has small rings like teeth on the tips of the bud, so I don't want to touch it. It seems as if it were alive, ready to bite you at will. Resembles to be like one of those ... Harley says it's like a carnivorous plant.

Day 2

Bonnie and Clyde somehow got involved in an argument. Guess boredom got to the best of them. How long do we have to stay here? I'm starting to get paranoid myself and it's only the second day. Harley found a plastic spoon in our hovercraft and is now testing it on the plant she saw the other day.

Day 5

Eek! Roman and I were roaming around the other side of the craters when we saw it. The one with the red eyes!

What has become of the prisoners that were sent here on a mission a month ago? Was this their destiny to fall prey to the planet Decaorb?

A barbaric decision that none of them expected to happen; as they were the same astronauts who were told by their superiors to drop them off. No other explanation was given, but now they felt remorse after leaving the convicted felons alone in the desolate territory.

The rescuers were too late.

They didn't hear the felon's cry for mercy.

Their cry for help.

A squad of prisoners, punished for their wrongdoings. Lost in the terrain.

And SPANA got their answer, the new planet wasn't inhabitable as they thought it would be.