Isha held her breath in wonder, closely inspecting the seed she held between her gloved fingers. It's slightly odd shape instantly struck her as being different. She cocked her head to the side. The thought of discovering a new type of plant brought both exhilaration and adrenaline coursing through her whole body. Since the Nuclear Wars one-thousand-six-hundreds years ago, almost all plant and animal life had been eradicated. The thought brought her a pang of sadness. There had been many controversial wars but the nuclear bombs had been the most heartless and destructive.
Briefly touching the small box at her hip, the closeness of her fingers activated the device, she issued a quick scan and the results streamed in long lines codes upon a weightless holographic screen.
"I knew it!" she laughed and twirled around clutching the seed to her chest. "And, you're alive!" If she hadn't been wearing her environmental suit, she would have been kissing it from the pure joy it brought her. She dropped the small seed carefully inside a clear bag, labeled 'Live Find - Sector 2053NT-4' and slipped it inside her shoulder bag.
The Elvan had been painstakingly searching the deserted wasteland for days. This was her job as a Green Keeper of her society and it could become a very lonely task but of the utmost importance. Isha grew to enjoy the quiet rustling of the wind through the rocks and dirt. She could imagine how it once had been to stand in a large wooden forest with hundreds upon hundreds of trees, singing together in harmony along with the wind through their large strong branches.
The few shrubs, she did come upon, lamented their grief softly and she wished she was able to bring them reassurance or some sort of comfort. But this land was dead and the poor lives wouldn't last long in the arid, radioactive land.
Isha extended her arm, issuing a command for her zero-point generator. She knelt, her full attention on the small life. It pinged and a green holographic grid was visible to her naked eye. A line of soft green traveled up and down, the slow pulsating coming from the small plant; chiming softly at each peak. Some intricate diagrams expanded above and around the plant, pointing to different parts of the bush with blocks of coded results.
"I'm sorry my friend. There isn't much I can do to help. One day we will restore life and balance to your kind… I promise."
The slight lonely pings slowed down at her words. She knew it understood her and the sorrow in her heart made hot tears flow down her face behind her smooth helmet.
A rumble in the distance brought her attention to the sky. The reddish-brown polluted hue was now tinged with unusual clouds - black as ink - rolling in from the west. A strange knot in her stomach formed; her throat suddenly very dry. She had never seen such a sky. It was grim and ominous and she had to force herself not to listen to her mounting panic and run.
The Green Keeper noticed something else arriving from the west; a humanoid form hunched over was struggling to walk. She cried in alarm and ran as fast as she could towards the person. Isha knew she was putting herself in danger by approarching the stranger. For all she knew it could be one of the Terrans seeking to create havoc in her sector. Isha always listened to her heart, foremost, and at this moment her heart urged her to aid.
The person was an old man with a long white beard, his hair and robes flew all around him. He held a long walking stick in his right hand and on his left shoulder, he carried a slender woman with very long golden hair. Her body hung limply; her dress whipping around with in the wind.
The first question that came to Isha's mind was why in the world weren't they wearing an enviro-suit like her. This sector was highly radiated and could poison anyone in mere minutes.
The old man's head raised, as if sensing her presence in front of him, and looked her over with piercing blue eyes. Even though her enviro-suit and helmet completely covered her body and hid her identity, she felt as if she had stood naked in front of him.
"You have no suit, you're unprotected out here! You will die!" Her voice rang loud and hysteric, "Come, you need shelter!"
Activating her second generator, she issued the command meant for emergency transportation and a round holographic platformed slipped out of thin air. It emanated a soft blue glow - shimmering and illuminating the darkened surroundings - it spun around on itself like a coin and finally set itself horizontally above her knees.
The toxic winds became suddenly violent and whipped all around them. The black clouds now covered the little bit of natural sunlight that remained. Thanks for the glow of her platform, she could still make out where the strangers were situated.
"Get onto the platform, hurry!"
The old man wearily looked at the woman he was transporting, then back at her and nodded in understanding. With Isha's help they placed the woman onto her back. Once she was resting onto the hologram, the wind stopped reaching her as if an invisible wall had been irrigated.
Supporting the old man's elbow, Isha helped him onto the platform. There wasn't enough space for her to hop on, they were three and there wouldn't be enough zero-point energy to support all of them together.
Knowing they were pressed for time - the clouds approaching at alarming speed - she made up her mind. Touching her personal generator - the one meant for her enviro-suit - she transferred its energy to the other two generators. The platform enlarged. Immediately, her enviro-suit dissipated and faded into nothingness as if blown away with the wind.
Wearing only her regular thermal jump-suit, and shoulder bag, she leaped onto the platform. In mid-jump, the force of the wind struck her hard. For an instant she thought she'd be swallowed by the sand and wind but a hand had grabbed hold of the front of her jump-suit and had pulled her back onto the circular safety.
Isha signaled with her hand and the platform began to move at an incredible pace. She coughed, feeling the nausea, she knew was caused by irradiation, slowly spread and intensify.
"You have been poisoned," the old man said gravely, a look of worry in his eyes. "You have put your own well-being in great peril to aid us. Thank you."
"I was exposed for just a few moments, I should be alright. I'm Isha, by the way."
Even though he looked tired, the man didn't seem to suffer from the effects of radiation, which was very odd.
"What about you and your friend? You must have been walking in this sector for miles. You shouldn't even be standing, let alone talking."
"We are not from these parts, our bodies are… impervious to this poison. Unfortunately, we have much bigger problems," his eyes looked towards the west where she knew the strange storm was brewing.
"Those clouds? What are they?"
They were zooming at high speed towards a large dome. It held a bright city of white inside.
"I will explain once we find shelter," a small smile formed upon his lips, "It's nice to meet you, Isha. I am Gandalf, and with me is the fair Lady Galadriel."