Discovery (standard:science fiction, 1985 words) [5/8] show all parts
Author: Goreripper	Added: Nov 22 2000	Views/Reads: 2907/1999	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The 'Discovery' crew begin exploring the surface of Arcana in a search for evidence of life past or present.

Our craft breached the atmosphere scarce minutes later and descended
through a mountainous bank of cloud comprised of water vapour. The 
weather appeared to be quite mild. Precipitation was nil, wind speed 
only a few spans per hour and though cloud was present it was only 
light and billowy, large towering white formations scattered across the 
arc of the sky. Below was a dense jungle of dark-leafed trees clustered 
tightly on the banks of a broad, muddy river which snaked eastwards 
through a series of tangled meanders from a range of distant mountains 
which poked above a far horizon. Judging by their distance from us, 
these peaks were very high. 

The basin below us was vast: this was a mighty river system indeed. Our
complement of exobiologists were champing at the bit. For the moment 
however, they would have to be patient. Our course took us over this 
landscape, but it was much further north and for a much different 
environment that our ship was destined. Our instruments had discovered 
a vast former river valley far to the north, now raised considerably 
above the level of the ocean by what our geologists suspected to be 
seismic activity caused by tectonic movement of the planet's crust. 
This valley was hundreds of spans wide and extended roughly north-south 
across half of the continent. During its youth, even into its middle 
age, a truly mighty river must have existed there. 

We flew for some hours over this mountainous jungle terrain until we
reached a vast expanse of open water, dotted occasionally with verdant 
islands, and as we continued perceived some very high cliffs looming on 
the northern horizon. Directly ahead was a broad cleft through which 
tumbled a waterfall, very high above the level of the sea. It thundered 
down the rocks with a roar so loud it filled our ears even inside the 
explorer. Great clouds of heavy spray rose from its feet. A thousand 
rainbows played amongst its hurtling droplets. We allowed the explorer 
to stop above this majestic vision for some time so that we could take 
in the beauty of this natural wonder.  The rarity of a waterfall of 
such size pouring into the sea led us to conclude that these cliffs had 
once been level with the waterline. 

Our craft followed the course of the river which fed this waterfall for
some large distance, until, at a point pre-determined by 'Discovery''s 
computers, we veered off towards the west and came to rest on a broad 
plain, dense with a tall yellow-green grass which swayed in a slight 
breeze that blew in from the northeast. There was a slight lurch and 
then a bump as the explorer touched down on this beautiful alien world. 
Our anticipation and trepidation grew as we heard the hum of the 
airlocks and the exit ramps unfolding and lowering. Professor Neffergi 
stood and moved toward the door which led outside. He fastened the 
helmet of his envirosuit and placed his hand upon the door. He paused 
for a moment as if he was about to address us, and then was gone. The 
rest of us quickly followed. 

Until that day I had never set foot on another planet. As I stepped from
the ramp to the solid earth, a feeling of immense elation swept through 
my body and I laughed, loudly and wildly. I laughed for some time, and 
others, hearing me or perhaps feeling the same level of supreme 
emotion, laughed also. We laughed until we wept, laughed until we could 
barely stand and we gathered in groups of two and three to lean on each 
other while our faces ached from the effort. 

When we had sufficiently recovered, something which took some time and
for which the professor lightly and good-humouredly scolded us, we 
began the task of establishing our surface base. Within a few hours, by 
which time it was dark, our living quarters were erected and fission 
units were pumping them with light, air and power. 

That night, I along with several others looked up into the sky from the
surface of Arcana. It was a sky dusted with a billion points of silvery 
light, so like our own but so very different. Not a single star could 
we put a name to; no single formation was familiar. Late in the night 
the moon rose huge and ghostly, its scarred surface like the twisted 
face of a man leering from the sky. The night was alive around us, 
alive with the noises of animal life-chirpings and buzzings and 
crowings and croakings. No creature of significant size came near our 
base, but we were able to capture several species of flying 
invertebrates. This excited our exobiologists enormously, and they both 
began immediate examination of the alien organisms. While the race we 
had come so far to study was obviously long dead, this was a planet 


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