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Description

The Hawking lowers its landing gear, and settles onto a sandy beach, in close proximity to the massive mountain, which forms its own island just offshore. Once a gas mask appears over Taylor's face, a result of nanites forming it, a headpiece with a full plastic shield, Taylor backs out, only to get stuck in the soft sand. Taylor shouts, "I'm stuck! Guess I got carried away and forgot I was driving into sand!" Tony lifts Taylor, chair and all, and flies him to the edge of the strange alien forest. Tony states, "Sand is not compatible for your mode of transportation." Taylor looks toward Tony, in his mask, joking, in a fake British accent, "Are you my mummy?" Tony flies forward, scanning the towering floral organisms that resemble Earth's trees. Outwardly, they resemble the baobabs found in Madagascar, but they have a second "trunk" growing inside their outer wall. Towering above them, mushroom-like organisms, though sparse, make up part of the vegetation skyline. Taylor ventures further into the forest, careful that he does not get lost in a place where no humans can be found, none except one in orbit far above.

On Pegasus ll, Jim, the cat crewmember, states, "I'm detecting a warp signature." Kelsey asks, "What makes it stand out? Seems starships are coming and going all the time! These beings, the Glaxur, are cosmic explorers like we're becoming. Now, we need clearance to pick our navigation officer up." Jim says, "It did not seem to be going to one of their spaceports, so it's pretty strange. Maybe it's a private spacecraft. Then again, it's near where our landing coordinates are located." Back on the ground, the main yellow dwarf star, same type as the Sun, has just set. The distant white dwarf, the remains of a dead star orbiting the main star, dimly lights up the sky. Tony excites the molecules in some rocks that he collected, heating them to an orange glow that keeps Taylor warm. Taylor looks up at the bright star, what the locals call "Uvgax", according to Tony. He asks, through his mask, "Boy, the sun seemed to set quickly! What's the rotational period of this planet?" Tony answers, "Glax, what the inhabitants, known as the Glaxur, call this planet, has a rotation period of 16 hours and 29 minutes." Taylor, amazed, remarks, "No wonder night came so quickly! But we should leave before it gets too hot in the morning. Average temps here exceed the hottest records on Earth, which could prove deadly to Taylor. TO BE CONTINUED...

Description

The Hawking lowers its landing gear, and settles onto a sandy beach, in close proximity to the massive mountain, which forms its own island just offshore. Once a gas mask appears over Taylor's face, a result of nanites forming it, a headpiece with a full plastic shield, Taylor backs out, only to get stuck in the soft sand. Taylor shouts, "I'm stuck! Guess I got carried away and forgot I was driving into sand!" Tony lifts Taylor, chair and all, and flies him to the edge of the strange alien forest. Tony states, "Sand is not compatible for your mode of transportation." Taylor looks toward Tony, in his mask, joking, in a fake British accent, "Are you my mummy?" Tony flies forward, scanning the towering floral organisms that resemble Earth's trees. Outwardly, they resemble the baobabs found in Madagascar, but they have a second "trunk" growing inside their outer wall. Towering above them, mushroom-like organisms, though sparse, make up part of the vegetation skyline. Taylor ventures further into the forest, careful that he does not get lost in a place where no humans can be found, none except one in orbit far above.

On Pegasus ll, Jim, the cat crewmember, states, "I'm detecting a warp signature." Kelsey asks, "What makes it stand out? Seems starships are coming and going all the time! These beings, the Glaxur, are cosmic explorers like we're becoming. Now, we need clearance to pick our navigation officer up." Jim says, "It did not seem to be going to one of their spaceports, so it's pretty strange. Maybe it's a private spacecraft. Then again, it's near where our landing coordinates are located." Back on the ground, the main yellow dwarf star, same type as the Sun, has just set. The distant white dwarf, the remains of a dead star orbiting the main star, dimly lights up the sky. Tony excites the molecules in some rocks that he collected, heating them to an orange glow that keeps Taylor warm. Taylor looks up at the bright star, what the locals call "Uvgax", according to Tony. He asks, through his mask, "Boy, the sun seemed to set quickly! What's the rotational period of this planet?" Tony answers, "Glax, what the inhabitants, known as the Glaxur, call this planet, has a rotation period of 16 hours and 29 minutes." Taylor, amazed, remarks, "No wonder night came so quickly! But we should leave before it gets too hot in the morning. Average temps here exceed the hottest records on Earth, which could prove deadly to Taylor. TO BE CONTINUED...