Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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Forward, to the Stars !!!

The moment of the launch was, perhaps, the most exciting for us. We could not even believe that we were just about to be in space again, and that would be the first step to our return home. And here we are in space !!! The stars shine in the portholes, the space shuttle gradually gaining speed, breaks away from the attraction of the planet, and after a while makes a supersonic jump. A few hours later, we were in the orbit of planet Z, where our friends lived. The permission for landing we received quickly, without any delay. Equally easy was landing in the intergalactic spaceport.

After landing, we were in the city. Some of us went just to wander the streets, to see the local sights, and the commander and his closest assistants went to the local magistrate to conclude a new agreement on deliveries of raw materials to this planet. At the same time, the unloading of goods, already brought to this planet, continued in the spaceport.
We, taking the opportunity, just walked around the city, looking at buildings that were previously unknown to us architecture, the inhabitants of this planet, how they dressed, their behavior.

Having reached the hotel and settled in it, we took a little rest, set up our electronic translators for the local dialect, in order to have an opportunity to talk with the inhabitants of this planet. In those few days that we spent on Z, we visited the local zoo, where I saw several exotic animals, sketched them and made a description. Then we had an excursion to the reserve and arboretum, where for me there was a lot of interesting work. Arthur, as he could, helped me in my studies, the results of which I was unspeakably happy. A lot of time left for me and the description of plants and animals, and their sketches. Several days passed by unnoticed, and we again went on a flight. Our path now lay in a neighboring galaxy to an uninhabited planet, on which, nevertheless, there should have been life.

It was not so far from this planet, only a few hundred parsecs, so we flew to it pretty quickly, without even going into hyperspace. This planet has not even been given a name yet, it was listed at number 95432, it was about the size of something like our Mars and completely shrouded in clouds. The view from outer space was not very attractive - small, white with glimpses of dark, a ball around which a small satellite was spinning ...
The ship gently entered the upper atmosphere of the planet and descended on the plain. Somewhere in the distance, the mountains were not very clearly visible. The air seemed too dense, fog spread over the surface of the planet. For some time we observed the planet in the portholes, released from the spacecraft, small robotic manipulators took samples of air, soil, moisture and transferred to the onboard computer.

To our great joy, the air was quite breathable, the water also contained a few impurities that did not pose any threat to us. The radiation background did not exceed the level permissible for the human body, and we, at last, decided to sally. And, actually, we did not come here to sit on the ship. Our goal was to study this, still unexplored planet because it might have the necessary natural resources for us.

On a new planet ...

And now, finally, we stand on the surface of the planet, breathe in its air, take the first steps ...

Surprisingly, the gravity on it, despite the small size of the planet, almost did not differ from terrestrial, except for a little bit.The air seemed fresh and slightly sweet as if there were flowering plants somewhere near, but because of the fog visibility was limited. Just in case, we decided to stick together, although each of us had a small walkie-talkie and weapons, and in the backpacks, there were tools needed for every emergency. But our commander decided so, and everyone agreed with him - there is little that can expect us here.

For the first time, we decided not to depart far from our ship in order to have time to return before sunset and to plan our routes, to make research plans for the coming days. Gradually the fog dissipated, and when we left the ship for several kilometers, the clouds parted slightly and the sun came out from behind them. Under his rays, the surrounding picture has changed significantly. The paint began to be visible - basically, it was a dark green grass, among which here and there-there were large flowers, mostly of dark tones. Somewhat in the distance, a forest was visible. It stretched to the very mountains, which were also covered with vegetation.

On the opposite side, a forest was also visible, along with the edge of the forest, the water glistened in the sun in a winding river. Having made an approximate sketch of the area, having decided on the parts of the world, we returned aboard the ship. The next morning, just before the dawn dawned, we went out for reconnaissance. Arthur and I got a piece of forest with a river. It was assumed that the duration of our journey along it was to be two days, after which all should return to the ship and share their impressions. With us, we took a tent, provisions that we needed to have, a walkie-talkie to keep in touch with the ship, blasters, just in case. Suddenly we will be attacked by some wild animals ...
Today there was no fog, and we vigorously set out on the road and pretty soon found ourselves at the river. Then we went no slower, carefully looking around the neighborhood, trying not to miss anything.

It was dry, warm weather. In the branches of the trees fluttered and chirped strange birds, now and then flew some insects ...
There was such a grace that we involuntarily relaxed and lost our vigilance, for which we nearly paid. In the depths of the thicket suddenly there was a terrible crash, and in our direction with a furious growl something terrible and terrible was heard. We barely managed to jump aside. We could not even look at this monster, as it disappeared in the opposite direction of the forest. For a while, everything in the forest was quiet and hushed, as it usually is before a thunderstorm. We also stopped for a few minutes, took a breath and checked the map. So far we have not lost our way, we moved clearly along the route. After a few more kilometers, we settled down to a halt. By this point, peace and silence reigned in the world, but we could not afford to relax.

While resting, I made a few sketches of those birds and insects, which had time to consider during the trek and halt. After the rest we did not go so far as it became dark, and we decided to get a night's lodging. The night passed relatively calmly. Outside the walls of the tent there was only a soft rustling, hissing, squeaking, but we were tired so that it did not bother us. The morning did not foreshadow anything extraordinary at first. We bathed in the river, the water of which was warm, some kind of affectionate, that it even seemed to me that I was on Mother Earth. Then they ate breakfast, drank hot coffee, brewed at the stake, and set out on their journey.

To begin with, we decided to go a little further into the forest, and somewhere from the middle of the day to turn back to have time to return to the ship at the appointed time. Unfortunately, our plans did not come true ... In a few minutes, it began to seem to us that someone was watching us. It seemed that even the forest beast was quiet, hiding somewhere in the bushes. We, without stopping and trying to remain calm, moved on until we reached a small clearing.

Stopping in the middle, we still decided to look around. It seems that we did not notice anything suspicious, but some kind of suspicion around all the same was noticeably felt. I sat on the stump, I made some sketches. It was possible to go on the return journey, and here we heard a suspicious rustling at first, and then we saw on the path along which we came here a few animal-like creatures holding spears and bows with arrows and unkindly boring us with their eyes.

To be continued...

2nd Photo by Brett Ritchie on Unsplash
2nd Photo by Stéphane Delval on Unsplash