Case File 01: Lux Viridis

The planet Lux Viridis loomed large and verdant across the cockpit viewport of the Crossflyer. It was the fourth planet in the Lux star system and widely populated not only by the native inhabitants - the Viridians - but by many other species as well. It was an overwhelming verdant planet, covered from pole-to-pole with plantlife.

"Coming in now," the pilot said. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

A face appeared on a viewscreen to the right of the main viewport. It was a woman with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She glanced down, furrowed her brow, then looked back up at the screen.

"Confirmed," she said sternly. "Lux Viridis has now had multiple reports of child trafficking. We are short on leads for Monoceros' location, but if kidnapped children are winding up on Viridis, it's as good a place as any to start. You're good to go, Acrux."

The pilot smiled. "Alan, Mimi," he said. "My name is Alan".

Mimi shook her head. "Not while you're on duty, it's not. You're Stellar Guardian Acrux, and I'm Becrux, at least while we're on comms. Got it?"

"Sure thing, Becrux," Acrux said, still smiling. His hands flicked across the controls of the Crossflyer, setting it on a steep descent into the planet's atmosphere. The comm screen crackled for a moment as Becrux ended the connection, leaving Acrux on his own to concentrate on landing the craft.

The Crossflyer was Acrux's personal vehicle. It was small, as far as spacecraft go, and shaped very much like the letter 'Y' with a long, protruding cockpit and control system and two flaring wings at the back. It was designed to manoeuvre between small space objects and certainly not for long-distance travel.

To even get to the Lux system the Crossflyer had needed to be transported aboard a larger vessel. Thankfully, Lux was on many different cargo routes and it was easy to negotiate a ride, and people were happy to help once they knew what the Stellar Guardians were doing.

They were looking for a missing child.

Monoceros was the prince of a different star system, far away from Lux. He was an adolescent and had gone missing less than a year away from reaching adulthood, with no sign of how or why he had disappeared. In the absence of any clues or reasons, the Stellar Guardians had been called in to see what they could find out.

After all, the Stellar Guardians had long been nicknamed the 'space cops'.

Three siblings - Alan, Mimi and Gavin - had formed the Stellar Guardians almost ten years earlier. At the start, it was only Mimi, the eldest; Alan and Gavin were both far too young. Alan joined a few years later with Gavin finally joining not long after Monoceros' disappearance. Mimi had spent years negotiating agreements with a number of space-faring civilisations to provide technology, funding and authority for their mission - to keep the peace in space, before things could ever get out of hand.

Their base - a floating space station called Crossguard in the Alpha Centauri star system - was also their home because... they did not know where their home truly was. They had never lived on a planet, or even a moon. Raised on a starship themselves, the Crossguard was the first and only home they had ever known, and it was one Mimi had crafted herself.

Acrux sighed. He rarely thought about where he and his siblings actually came from. He doubted he would ever know.

He moved his hand over to the comm screen and flicked a switch.

"Crossflyer to LV station," he said. "Do you acknowledge?"

"Acknowledged, Crossflyer," came a static-diffused reply. "Welcome to Lux Viridis. You're good to land."

Acrux returned his hands to the controls and pulled the ship's nose up, sharply. He looked out the viewport before committing to land. Lux Viridis was a very, very green planet. Aside from two enormous, metallic cities he had seen while descending, the entire planet seemed covered with dense plant life, mostly green, some brown, some red and some yellow. It was very different to the planets he had seen for most of his life and entirely different from the stark, metal world of the Crossguard. It was different, but he liked what he saw.

The Crossflyer settled gently down onto a clear landing strip. A small, wooden structure was nearby with a tall, metal antenna extending from its roof.

That's what passes for space control on this planet? Acrux thought.

Four figures approached the Crossflyer, gesturing for Acrux to disembark. Each had bright green skin and short, close-cropped red hair. They wore identical uniforms - grey and black jumpsuits. They looked surprisingly similar to Acrux. He wore a dark blue, silver and teal jumpsuit emblazoned with the emblem of the Stellar Guardians on its back, had pale white skin and close-cropped black hair with streaks of silver and blue on the left side.

He nodded to the figures below and lowered himself from the craft.

"Welcome," one of the figures said, smiling. At least, Acrux thought it was a smile. As he got closer, he realised they had no lips - their mouths were a thin line across the lower part of their faces, and their noses barely stood out. "We are pleased to have one of the famed Stellar Guardians here on our world. The people of Lux Rubrum told us many things about their encounter with your sister."

Acrux sighed. Mimi had never mentioned visiting Lux Rubrum, but that was what she was like. Whatever the mission was, it was done. If she didn't feel it was relevant, she felt no need to mention it.

"I am glad to be here," Acrux replied. "I have never seen a planet like this before."

"We like to think ourselves unique," the figure said. "Among other things, we do not tolerate violence. That is also likely very different to the other planets you have seen, but I am sure you understand."

Acrux nodded.

"I am here to investigate missing children," he said. "Violence should be unnecessary."

The figure raised a hand. The other three figures nodded, turned away and headed back to the small building. Acrux realised they had been there to support the one who was speaking. The message was clear - violence was not tolerated, but if they needed to defend themselves, they would.

"My name is Berk," the figure said. "I have volunteered to escort you to the city. It's not a place for everyone, and..." He trailed off.

Acrux stuck out his hand.

"My name is Acrux," he said. Berk did not react. Acrux reached out with his other hand and placed Berk's hand in his. "Thank you for taking me to the city. And..."

Berk's eyes widened.

"... and we will find whoever you know who has gone missing."

Berk smiled again.