Miles above the rocky planet of Myka, a modest ship by the name of The Lady Vespertine hovered. Inside, the co-pilot and resident botanist, Nel, swiped the glass surface of the control panel furiously. To most, the planet appeared barren and empty of life but with the help of advanced technology, the native fauna could be found and tracked.

Nel tapped the many sectors repeatedly, each time a quick scan was carried out and dozens of tiny squares jiggled on screen momentarily before vanishing when it was determined the object they locked onto was nothing of interest. She sighed, irritably then scanned the sectors over and over in vain.
In the near silence of the cabin the voice of the ships captain and Nel's friend, Yuvi, rang loudly.
"Hey, did ya find anything yet? I'm burning up down here."
Nel zeroed in on Yuvi's location and scanned the area for any signs of life but nothing came up. "No, sorry Yuv'. Looks like we're in a dead zone. We'll have to relo-Wait!" Nel zoomed in on a nearby sector and tiny squares jiggled and vanished until one remained. It slowly creeped across the sector and was headed towards Yuvi."Head's up, unknown lifeform headed your way."
"Unknown? I'm gonna need to know more than that, Nel."
"I know, I know, but the scanner can't lock onto it. It's moving too quickly." she responded as she frantically tapped the target to try and get the computer to scan more quickly.
"I'm gonna go for it. Have the tractor beam ready."
"Yuvi, we can't unless it's a Saluugan. If anybody finds out we're just shooting up wildlife-"
"Get ready, it's coming!"
Nel grumbled loudly but quickly moved over to the middle of the consul where the trigger button waited. "Ready when you are."

Yuvi pressed her back against the boulder and listened for the sound of rapid footsteps. She was beginning to wonder if the computer had malfunctioned when she heard the loud snorting of the beast as it quickly approached. She counted down, each second bringing the beast a yard closer.
"5-4-3-2, Now, Nel!"
"Firing!"
Yuvi spun out with her gun poised and ready to fire the tranquilizer but she stopped just before pulling the trigger. However, the tractor beam shot down through the atmosphere seconds before a crazed looking man ran into it. The enraged Saluugan pursuing skidded to a halt the second it noticed the beam and trumpeted loudly. For a moment she thought it was going to charge but instead it turned on it's stumpy heels and galloped back down through the canyon all the while wailing.
"Nel, wait! It's not-!" Yuvi shouted into the head piece but it was too late. The beam swallowed the frozen man and he was reduced to an orb of light which shot up into the clouds and back into the ship.
Yuvi pressed her earpiece and waited for Nel to respond. Moments later, Nels voice rang through the earpiece. "Yuvi! This isn't a Saluugan!"
"That's what I was about to tell you before you sucked him up into the ship!"
"You know the beam is automated! Where's the Saluugan? We can't lose it!"
Yuvi looked up to where she'd last seen the beast but all that was left of it was it's dust trail. "Shit, I lost it. We'll have to come after it again but for now, let's figure out where the hell that guy came from and get him back to where he needs to be."
Nel was quiet on the other end for a moment then she spoke, "It shouldn't be hard to get him to talk. Getting him to talk calmly will be the trick."
Yuvi exhaled and she looked up to the clouds as if she would be able to see the waiting ship. "I'm coming up."

When Yuvi arrived back onto the ship, she ran from the teleport deck to the holding bay where Nel was standing, her arms akimbo.
"You haven't let him out yet?" Yuvi asked as she approached.
The man gripped the bars of the cell, his face contorted into an expression of irritation and impatience. "Hey! What the hell's going on here?! I was in the middle of something important!"
Yuvi put her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "Oh, you mean getting trampled by a Saluugan?"
He blinked and in an instant he went from annoyed to confused. "Wait, that thing's already registered?"
Yuvi and Nel exchanged looks then looked back at him. Yuvi crossed her arms and stood up straight. "Yeah, dude. There aren't a whole lot of them but, you won't get a whole lot for one. You'd probably spend more for fuel than what you'd get for turning one in."
The man grasped his face and groaned loudly. "Goddammit! All that work for nothing!" He slumped and held the bars again. "Well anyway, are ya gonna let me out or what? Trust me, you won't get much for me either. I already tried."
"Yeah I'm getting there. We had no intentions of turning you in anyway, that's not our line of duty." Yuvi grumbled and moved forward to enter the passcode. "Not unless you're some kind of wildlife threatening or disturbing the locals but the only disturbing thing about you is that hair of yours."
"Disturbing? Chicks love the hair." He proclaimed then produced a come which he ran through his hair haughtily. "But let me guess, you're more of a muscle gal, aren't ya?"
Yuvi snorted. "Not even close."
The man rose his brows, "Boobs?"
Just as she swiped the screen, the large monitor behind them flickered to life and a loud voice boomed behind them.

"Greetings crew of the Lady Vespertine, I am , captain of the Carnegie Lemon and I demand to speak with your captain!"
Yuvi and Nel spun around and were subsequently surprised by what they saw."How did you access our system!?" Yuvi blurted. "Who do you think you are?!"
The enormous ape-man furrowed his brows, visibly irritated. "Let me speak with your captain or I'll do more than hijack your channel." he growled.
"I'm the captain. My name is Yuvi and I demand to know why you hacked our systems!"
Gel chortled. "You're in no place to be making any demands. I am the captain of the CarnegieLemon, of the seventh fleet of the Gogol military." he began. Yuvi and Nel became rigid. "You have something I want." He looked up from Yuvi and behind her to the caged man.
"What? This guy? Uh.." She looked back at the man.
"Oy, this guy again." He grumbled.
Nel came to her side and motioned for her to stoop so they could conference in whispers. "We should probably do it. The last thing we need is to get tangled up with the Gogol military. We don't know him and we stand to gain nothing from denying demands."
Yuvi nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah but..it is the Gogol Empire. Let's see just how much they want this guy."
"Yuvi, think about it!"
Yuvi stood up and crossed her arms. "500,000 woolongs for him." she smirked.
Gel glared for a moment then shouted, "What!? You're out of your goddamn mind! My having contacted you was merely a formality! I intend on getting what I want by any means necessary. I also intend on holding the both of you for interfering with military operations!" Gel smirked now himself, "Bea!" he called off to the side while his eyes remained fixed on the screen. A small man ran on screen and Gel continued. "Send over a few soldiers. These two were nice enough to package Dandy up for us, the least we could do is pick him up."
The man complied then disappeared off screen again. Yuvi looked back at Nel who was still staring at the screen. After a moment, her trance broke and she was shooting daggers at Yuvi.
The screen went dark and for a moment, the two weren't sure of what to do. They were already in deep and maybe if they stood aside, the soldiers would come ago peacefully.
"Yuvi!" Nel blurted. "What the heck?!"
"What? It was a perfect opportunity to bulk up our funds, yanno?"
"Well now we're probably going to be imprisoned!"
"Don't I get any say in this?" The man interrupted.
Yuvi and Nel turned, "No!"