Claiming Indigo Omega

This system had been noted in an old survey by the Scouts a few years back. It had no name, only a number, but for some reason they had named its two gas giants. Indigo and Omega. There were 6 planets orbiting the white Type A Star, four of which were burned rocks near the sun and two of which were gas giants. Indigo had six moons and was the one nearer to the star. The Scouts had thought this moon might have deposits of Unubtanium, but hadn’t had the time to do a deep survey. They named it Omega in the survey, and Red had come to think of all of this as Indigo Omega.

The surface was pockmarked with craters and a number of volcanos thrust high into the sky. From the tops of these black cones rivers of orange lava flowed. At their bases lakes of the liquid rock formed over miles. Surfaces away from these lakes were mostly covered in a dark black sand but, because of various minerals in the mantle of the planet, not all the sand formed was black. There were glittering colors of red, yellow, silver, and green. They formed stripes in places, but mostly mixed lightly in the black.

When Red’s boots made the first human imprint on the surface, the black glittered with many different colors. Each step put more dark color on her bright red boots, until she reach a low hill not far from the ship. In her right hand she held a staff of gold about half a meter long.

She stood on the peak for a moment taking in the vista before her. Perfectly round circles of craters dotted the surface. Not far from her one of those circles was at the base of a small cone formed millennia ago from a small hole in the surface. Then thousands of years ago a meteor hit creating a perfect circle, and breaking a new hole in the volcano. A bright sliver red lava leaked out and fill the circle. It glowed and flowed ever so slightly. Still liquid after years. No atmosphere to radiate the heat away, preserving it in a stark beauty she had never seen before.

She glanced up and to the left. The HUD on her clear bubble helmet saw her eye movement and a square appeared before her. She looked again at the lava lake through it. She blinked once and a time display appeared next to the rectangle as her suit recorded video of the scene. After about a minute she blinked twice and the rectangle disappeared again.

She reached to her waist and pulled a small flying disk from her belt. She tossed it away from her. At the top of its arch of throw it stopped and floated. Another image appeared on her helmet and she could see herself as the drone did. Behind her was her flying saucer. She waved the stick slight to one side and the drone moved. Soon she’d composed the perfect shot. Astroboy was on the line of the left third of the frame. She was on the line of the right, with space between them. In the distance you could see multiple dark volcanos with lava rivers flowing down them.

Space Girl Red flicked the gold rod in a special way and it expanded to a full two meters in length.

“In the name of the Light That Is All Colors. For the Glory of Home. By the hand of Space Girl Red of Rainbow Capricorn.” She stabbed the rod into the ground at her feet.

“I claim this planet for the Light.”

From the top of the rod a white flag unfurled. It waved in a wind that didn’t exist on Indigo Omega. As it rippled, all the colors of the rainbow cascaded across it periodically.

She stood there for a moment looking heroic. Her left hand on her hip. Feet shoulder width apart. Back straight. Shoulders back. Light of a distant sun highlighting and revealing the halo of her bubble helmet.

Then she felt a silly. She relaxed and waved the drone back to her. It zipped to her hand and she put it back on her belt.

“Astroboy!” She said as she turned and headed back toward the flying saucer.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Edit that video down to the declaration and my heroic stance, then send it to Space Girl Blue.”

Flying saucers don’t really sigh, though Astroboy managed conveyed one. “As you wish, Ma’am.”