"No Trespassing"

     Science Officer First Class Gary Cleaveland knelt at the edge of a small stream, on a nameless world, ten parsecs beyond the boundary of charted space, holding his breath, and desperately rinsing out the filter from his suit's respirator. Something in the atmosphere kept clogging it at an alarming rate, something the ship's sensors had not detected, which should have been impossible. None of which mattered at the moment; he needed to find his way back to his ship and quickly. He'd had to clear the filter three times in the past three hours, and each time it clogged faster than the last. Also there was the small matter of the distinct feeling that he was being watched.

     From the moment he'd landed Gary had found the planet fascinating. Nothing about it seemed to follow any known biological imperative. The red grass in the clearing where he landed grew in random spirals from the ground. Through the grass he'd glimpsed a lizard-like creature with yellow and red scales pulling itself along with two thick arms that grew out of it's head. A gigantic mountain loomed in the distance and a mass of what looked like clouds swirled in deliberate patterns around it's peak. It was hard to tell at such a distance but Gary would have sworn those clouds had a face like a cat. The forest past the clearing was filled with impossibly tall trees that seemed to end in bare stalks at the top. Each rested on a squat base of roots that snaked out in thick tendrils before finding the ground. The roots glistened in the dim sunlight filtering through the trees and closer inspection revealed tiny, spike-like crystalline structures that vibrated almost imperceptibly. He could have spent days cataloging his findings but after his filter had clogged the first time Gary had decided to head back, no need to take unnecessary chances after all, except it seemed whatever was in the air was affecting his scanner too, dispersing the homing signal from his ship. Which wouldn't have been a problem, if everything in the forest hadn't looked the same and the planet's thick atmosphere hadn't hid the position of it's sun. But put all that together and he thought he might just be lost. Three hours of fruitless wandering later he was certain he was.

     Gary had just finished rinsing his filter when a crash came from the underbrush on the far side of the stream and the bloody lump of something that had probably once been alive came hurtling through the trees. Gary screamed and ducked out the way just in time as the carcass collided with a nearby tree and exploded in a spray of purple blood and viscera. A shapeless mass, barely visible through the thick vegetation, shifted slowly back and forth, like a predator preparing to pounce. Gary scrambled to his feet, jamming the filter back into place, and took the biggest breath he'd ever taken in his life. Adrenaline chilled his veins as the creature slowly and effortlessly pushed it's way into the clearing. Gary's mind recoiled in terror at the sight before him; it was huge, easily a dozen feet tall. It stood on three thick legs, each ending in four, splayed appendages that looked disturbingly like human fingers with too many knuckles. It's body was round, almost spherical, and covered in tiny tentacles that waved and spiraled in random patterns across it's surface. In the center of the mass stared a enormous, black eye, dull and emotionless, like a shark. There was no recognition there, no sense of consciousness, nothing but pure, predatory malevolence. Whatever it was it would not be reasoned with. The tentacles parted as a thin slit spread across the surface of the creature's “face”, revealing two rows of jagged, hooked teeth. It's “mouth” then burst open and emitted an ear shattering roar like Godzilla gargling broken glass and the fear paralysis Gary hadn't even realized had taken hold of him broke. Gary ran... like all the Demons of Hell were on his heels.

     Cooling fans in his suit's helmet kicked on as the internal temperature rose to unsafe levels, clearing the fog that had been threatening to obscure his vision, and Gary chanced a look back. Behind him the density of the forest seemed to be impeding his pursuer's progress but only just barely. Every time he thought he might be gaining ground the creature would come crashing through the trees beside him, or even somehow ahead of him, pushing him (herding him?) in a different direction. He was certain that, at the rate he was going, he would tire long before he ever found his way back to the ship. Which was why it was so shocking when he suddenly found himself doing just that; bursting through the trees into the clearing where his ship sat, waiting for him like the most beautiful thing in the universe. How had he managed that? Luck? Subconscious navigation? Who cared? All Gary knew was that he might actually get out of this alive.

     Halfway across the clearing Gary looked back again as the trees exploded outward, four foot thick trunks pinwheeling like matchsticks into the clearing, one of which missed Gary's head by inches. The creature stumbled and lurched forward and immediately started gaining on the open ground. Gary jammed a button on his wrist and the ship's systems sprang to life.

    “INITIATE EMERGENCY LAUNCH PROTOCOL!” Gary screamed into his helmet.

    The ships engines erupted in blue flame, bypassing warmup procedures entirely, and the entry hatch slammed onto the ground. Gary leapt inside and scrambled into the pilot's chair. Ignoring his safety harness he frantically began flipping switches and jamming buttons. The creature would be on him any second and he could only hope that his science vessel's minimal armor could withstand it long enough to get in the air. As he reached to trigger the launch engines he took one last look out the cockpit window and froze. The clearing was empty. The abomination was gone, as if it had never been there, even the trees were back where they'd been, unbroken. And among those trees he saw dozens of tiny, primate-like creatures, with dark emerald skin, and wide bat ears. Each one stared at him through three large eyes that glistened with rainbow swirls like oil on water. He was about to power the ship back down and go out to investigate when a chorus of voices erupted in his mind, so loud it made his eyes water.

    THIS HOME! YOU NO WELCOME HERE! YOU GO NOW!

    And there was more, an emotion behind the words, and he understood it completely. It was the same feeling he would have had if he'd awoken to find a stranger roaming his house. He was an intruder, so they'd conjured a monster from his nightmares, and used it to make him to leave. Had it all been an illusion or had he somehow stumbled onto a world of little gods that could control reality? He supposed it didn't really matter. This was their home and he was not welcome here. Gary pulled on his safety harness and fired up the launch engines. As his ship rose up and cleared the atmosphere he heard one last message whisper faintly through his mind:

    no come back

    Gary sat in orbit above the nameless world, ten parsecs beyond the boundary of charted space, and pondered what he ought to do. Regulations were pretty clear on what he was supposed to do and he had to admit that the scientist in him longed to unlock the secrets of that bizarre ecosystem. As the sub-light engines powered up he picked up his data pad and typed up his final report to Command:

SECTOR: THETA

PLANET: T-42919

Planet is uninhabited. No life or known components for life. Resource levels minimal, unsuitable for mining operations. Classify: Barren.

    Gary hit “TRANSMIT”, settled back into his chair, and smiled as the ship's engines launched him into the void and on to the next world.