This was supposed to be an easy trip! Just a quick dip into a nearby nebula, in front of the Affini Compact expansion; preliminary scans showed no signs of life in this sector, so after filing the requisite paperwork they were permitted a small ship to sightsee with. Four affini with 5 florets, that's more than enough affini to keep them safe.

But midway through the jump, the shuttle shuddered and suddenly dropped out of hyperspace in what felt like an explosion.

Eryth Tarax, Fourth Bloom, quickly took stock of the situation, checking the control terminal before muttering to herself, “Our hyperdrive has blown, but otherwise the hull is intact. No imminent danger to our florets or to us. Thank the Everbloom.” She sighed, relaxing her vine weave around her core.

“Apologies for the delay captain, I was running simulations to determine what happened. Would you like to hear the most likely scenario?” The ship AI, which handles most operations for the shuttle, asked Eryth.

“Yes, if you would.”

“The most likely scenario is that we were hit with a hyperspace charge, most likely a mine from some unknown sophont conflict. I am unable to determine any origin sophont, or when this battle occurred. It could have happened elsewhere and the mine drifted here, too, considering I'm not detecting any other mines in the vicinity.” The AI rattled off the results of its simulations, as requested.

Eryth sighed in relief again, then walked out of the helm to the rest of the ship. Outside the command room was an atrium, decorated into being a small park, with 7 rooms around it. There was the engine room towards the rear, the helm at the front, three large rooms on one side, and the remaining two rooms opposite those, along with the airlock door.

The captain knocked on the door of the room closest to the helm.

“Zoysia, are you and your florets okay in there?”

The door slid open, revealing another affini cradling two terrans in her vine-woven arms.

“Yes yes, we're all quite fine. Thank the stars they were already napping in my vines, though they were jolted awake. Are you and the ship well?” Zoysia Paoles, Second Bloom, wore a gentle but concerned look on her wood-covered face.

“Yes. The hyperdrive took damage though and will need to be repaired before we can get moving again. I’d hate to tear you away from your precious little cuties here for even a minute, but could you spare a vine to look it over, maybe repair it if you're able?”

“Of course. Julia, Zeff, you two behave. If you're good, there's extra Class-As for you both!” Zoysia nodded to Eryth before looking down at her florets, setting them on the floor of the room after turning around. The terrans nodded and replied, in unison, “Of course mistress!” They then carefully walked over to the bed at the back of the room, their magnetized shoes keeping them gently attached to the floor, but making it hard for them to move quickly on their own.

Eryth smiled as the florets moved away, before herself turning away and moving to the other rooms, her vines hooking into microloops on the floor rather than relying on magnets to keep her anchored, knocking and informing the other two affini of the ship's condition and apologizing for the delay in their trip.

She then returned to the helm, whereupon the ship AI started dumping new information. “I double-checked our position and rescanned the local planets. We're outside of comms range at the moment, but given the local expansion plans there should be a relay close enough in a terran month. With luck, Miss Zoysia can repair the hyperdrive before then and thus render my information irrelevant. We might be able to secure any needed resources from this system’s planets. However, one of these planets differs from preliminary scans by a large margin. It appears to harbor intelligent life.”

Eryth’s vines tightened at that mention. “Pre-sophont?”

“Undocumented sophont species, heavily utilizing iron, stone, fire, and acid.” The AI sent a photo to Eryth’s tablet, showing this species. A bipedal creature, with wings on their back, tall ears with horns curving around the base, a short snout on their face. Their body was mostly covered in fur, with patches of scales covering joints and vulnerable areas. It reminded Eryth of a bipedal version of a terran rabbit, mixed with what they called a dragon.

“Dirt. That's the only planet in this system with life, yes? That'll make it hard to get new flora or nutrients to regrow and repair with. We might have to try and sneak down there anyway. I don't think any of us are trained for first contact, nor to start a cotyledon. Roots and rot.” Eryth slapped the nearby desk with a vine, careful to not dent it.

“At least tell me they are peaceful and calm?” She asked, already knowing the answer.