Captain Petey "Pip" Popp had great expectations when he joined the Air Force ten years ago. He had been on many exciting and dangerous missions since then but he never expected where his love for flying would take him next. While on a routine mission, one of the wings on Pip's jet caught fire. Soon he had lost all contact with the team below. Always cool under pressure, Pip calmly hit the 'Eject' button but it didn't work. He frantically pressed the 'Eject' button without success. It looked as though the jet was headed for a fiery crash. But rather than crashing to the ground below, the jet began to fly upwards.

Pip's jet was soaring through space at an accelerated pace. He held on for dear life as the jet finally began its descent onto a big green planet. After being roughly tossed around the cockpit, Pip was sent flying out of the jet, landing awkwardly on the hard ground. When he regained his composure, Pip looked up to find himself surrounded by a group of green beings. And no, they weren't Martians. "Are you alright Earthling?" one of the aliens asked. "Where am I? Better yet, who are you?" Pip questioned the strange green beings that kept staring at him in silence.

"You are on a planet known as Broccolini. We are located in light years away in The Dandelion Star System" the alien replied. "How did I end up here?" "We do not know. We were not involved in transporting you from Earth. Now that you're here though, we're hope you can save us." "Save you?" "Our planet is dealing with a terrible illness that is threatening our various existence. An infection known as Webmix-45 or "The Swarm" has ravaged our people. We're a species of aliens called Algeans. We prefer The Pea-Pod People." "This is all too much for me to handle. I need to lay down" a confused Pip stammered. "We will take you to our capital city where you can rest and receive medical attention."

"Oh good our transportation has arrived!" "What the heck? That's a giant grasshopper! No way I'm getting on top of that thing!" "You have no choice Pip. It's a 72 hour walk to the capital. We use these grasshoppers to get around from place to place. We'd be lost without them." "72 hours you say? Oh, alright then. Giddy up!" Pip sarcastically shouted. After a few massive leaps, the group had arrived at the capital city of Broccolini. "Ah, here we are at Bok Choy. That grasshopper ride wasn't that bad was it now? Pip?" Overwhelmed by everything that had happened to him, Pip had fallen asleep atop the grasshopper as he began to snore.

When he woke up the next morning, Pip found himself in some unusual surroundings. He was lying on a green sofa with an over-sized leaf serving as a comforter. "Good morning Pip. Would you like some mangoes for breakfast?" "Uh, sure. Sorry but who were you again? And where am I?" "I thought you'd be confused. You had quite a crazy few hours. I'm Kale-El. I was appointed leader of The Pea-Pod People on an interim basis. Let me try to put you at ease by telling you all about our species. As you can see we are a peaceful planet of alien beings. Everybody is treated as equals and our life expectancy is the highest in the galaxy because we survive on fresh fruits and vegetables. Green ones only."

"Our official species name is Algeans but everyone calls us The Pea Pod People because we hatch in groups of two from a large pod. We're all very close on this planet despite the fact that there are millions of us. We are also bonded to our fellow pod member for life." "Like two peas in a pod" Pip smirked. "Although it's rare, some pod members do not remain bonded forever. I had a falling out with my pod mate around the time I took on the leadership role. By the way, you are able to survive on this planet because the chlorophyll in our bodies helps to produce fresh air. We were such a happy and healthy planet. Well, that was until recently." "What happened?"

"We believe that a virus referred to as Webmix-45 began to infect our people. It literally invaded our planet overnight. We're not sure of its origin but we do know that it is very dangerous as it causes us to fade in color draining us of our chlorophyll. As Leader of The Pea Pod People, I've ordered everyone to remain inside and limit their social interaction until we have developed a cure. Unfortunately we do not have the technology to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. We're scared and we don't know what to do." "What is this Webmix-45 virus anyway?" Pip inquired.

"It's actually an invasive species of locusts that came from another planet. They attack our people in swarms, feverishly biting their victims. Everybody is living in fear because they are unsure when or where The Swarm will strike next. We have no idea how to deal with such a serious medical emergency. Until recently we've been getting our information from a big orange ball of hot gas." "You don't mean....." "The sun." "Whew! Thought you were gonna say something else." "We're hoping that with all of the knowledge you have gathered on Earth that maybe you could provide us with a cure." "But I'm a pilot, not a scientist" Pip implored. "You're our only hope. This crisis threatens our very existence."

"Come with me Pip. I want to show you something. This is where our citizens are being isolated once they've been attacked by The Swarm. As you can see, they have lost their healthy green hue and have become extremely pale. The lucky ones have been able to return to their former selves. Those who perish dry up into dust and are blown away like dust in the wind. As more us get sick, the less workers we have to harvest the produce that we depend on. Soon there will be a shortage of the essential fruits and vegetables that have sustained us for so long." "How are you coping now?" "We were lucky enough to get a helping hand from a friendly green giant but it appears as though he has fallen ill as well."

"HO HO.........

OH NO!"

"I'm still not sure how I can help Kale-El. You need somebody with n background in the extraterrestrial scientific or medical field. And that's not me. Heck, I failed Grade 11 Biology for crying out loud." Feeling helpless, all Kale-El could do was sigh. "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Is there any information I could review about this outbreak?" "The only media available on this planet are podcasts or pea-podcasts as we call them. They should prove to be very helpful." For the next two hours, Pip sat and listened intently to hours of content on the podcasts. Feeling restless, he decided to go for a walk while he listened, stopping occasionally to take notes.

Despite the warnings by Kale-El for all citizens of Broccolini to stay inside, a group of Pea-Pod People decided to go to the park and kick a head of lettuce around. Lettuce ball was Broccolini's national sport. Everything seemed fine at first until one of the aliens keeled over in a coughing fit. Soon the entire group was engulfed by The Swarm. With no help in sight, the aliens quickly succumbed to their symptoms and blew away. Frightened by what he had just witnessed, Pip began to run as The Swarm started heading his way. He wasn't sure if humans were at risk but better safe than sorry. He tripped and sprained his ankle as The swarm began to circle the fallen pilot. WHOOSH!

A giant praying mantis had swooped in and saved Pip bringing him to a secluded location. "Larry King?" Pip shrieked. "No, I'm Master Okra and I train young grasshoppers on this planet. It appears as though you need my guidance as well young grasshopper." "It's Pip actually and yes I do. An entire species is depending on me. I'm fearless when I'm soaring through the sky in my jet but filled with doubt when it comes to this mission." "Close your eyes. What do you hear?" "Uh, nothing." "Do you hear your own heartbeat?" "Huh?" "Oh, nevermind! The being you're looking for is both the cause and the cure." "That was deep. Where did you learn that?" "A fortune cookie" the mantis smiled.

Pip turned around to see a green being hiding behind some bushes. Before Pip could confront the green alien, he had escaped on the back of a passing grasshopper. "Oh great! Now what?" Just then another giant grasshopper appeared on the scene. "Hey! Follow that grasshopper!" is something Pip never thought he would say in a million years. The grasshoppers bounced throughout the city in a high speed chase straight out of an action movie. Pip nearly fell off a few times but was somehow able to hold on. Eventually Pip got close enough to where he could tackle the elusive being. He jumped from one grasshopper to another. After a brief skirmish, the alien gave up.