Prompts:
31. Colors
32. Exploration
33. Seeing Red
34. Shades of Gray
35. Forgotten
Against the black backdrop of space, the new planet was a vibrant shade of deep blue, broken up by landmasses of brilliant green. Zemus had never seen such colors before, even on their lost planet. He stood there, watching the Lunar Whale's viewscreen in dumbstruck awe.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kluya said, breaking Zemus' spellbound stupor. "This could be our new home."
"I see opportunity," Zemus said, dismissing Kluya's tendency to romanticize. "Any intelligent life?"
"Possibly. It's hard to tell while in orbit," Kluya answered, then peered up at Zemus with a boyish grin. "Would you like to find out?"
The idea of exploration excited Zemus, to discover new things that had never been seen before, and Kluya's enthusiasm was brilliantly infectious. Zemus looked out over the planet – the Blue Planet, they had aptly named it – and thought, This could be our new home.
"Wait, what's that?" Kluya asked, pointing to the Lunar Whale's monitor. Zemus looked and saw along the ocean's coast a series of crudely built houses. Small figures moved around, and when Zemus looked closer, he saw they resembled Lunarians. Somewhat.
"Intelligent life!" Kluya exclaimed, excitedly, as always.
"Are you sure?" Zemus asked doubtfully, desperately hoping Kluya was wrong.
"We cannot just take the planet," Kluya insisted. "Primitive or not, we mustn't disrupt the natives."
"This could be ours!" Zemus shouted, infuriated by Kluya's constant calmness. "We could rebuild our home and make it better! We could rule the skies and stars, we could—"
"No," Kluya interrupted. "We must observe, and wait for them to evolve so we can co-exist—"
"Co-exist?!" Zemus repeated. The idea made him suddenly see red, the crimson haze obscuring his vision. No, he thought, not anger, but something else, more visceral and primal.
It was hatred, Zemus realized. He hated them all.
"As Lunarians, we must be a beacon of light, shining the way for others to follow," Kluya lectured, pompously righteous. He paced back and forth in front of Zemus' lunar prison. "And with the light, comes shades of gray. You have committed no crime, yet we must imprison you, for the greater good."
"Another moral gray area?" Zemus sneered. "Shadows thrive where the light cannot reach. See what happens when you leave me in the dark."
Kluya said nothing, only turned to walk away.
"I won't be alone for long!" Zemus yelled at Kluya's retreating back.
Then all went black.
Zemus was alone in his lunar prison of eternal sleep. He sensed the minds of the other Lunarians, deep in slumber, but they remained closed to him. Kluya was dead and Fusoya held a tight control over his own mind to keep Zemus out.
Zemus was forgotten by all who had known him.
Until, weeks after Kluya's death, a new mind cried out in anguish and grief.
Mother!
Zemus groped after the mental link, then heard a baby wailing while a young child cried.
A vile thing, isn't he? That brother of yours… Zemus asked, slithering into the boy's mind.