Darth's Let's Play Blog

Currently Exploring the Euclid Galaxy

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Comaincungz-Takts

Viridescent Planet

Weather: Freezing Rain

Sentinels: Typical

Flora: Frequent

Fauna: Moderate

Pros: Nice grass, decent amount of water, interesting land formations, wildlife.

Cons: Really, really, really cold.

I’m not even sure this stuff is water, honestly. It’s either that or the atmospheric pressure is incredibly high.

Either way, there’s actually a decent amount of life here, which means a decent amount of exploring. In fact, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to encounter some aquatic animals!

Look, I get excited about fish, okay?

Weirdly, not far from my landing site, I found this trading terminal just floating around out in the open. Trust me, I looked; there’s no other signs of civilization nearby. Who is this for? Lost travelers? Construction workers? Sentinels?

???

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Endzibeboyogs

Corrosive Planet

Weather: Heavily Toxic Rain

Sentinels: Regular

Flora: Rich

Fauna: Empty

Ok, now we’re talking serious weather. I mean look at this:

That’s not good. That’s not good at all. That’s “stop every five minutes to recharge your shielding” weather.

Needless to say, I wasn’t going to stick around here very long.

Somehow, though, multiple sapients lived on this planet, manning comm towers and running trading platforms.

I mean, the landforms were striking, but I couldn’t see why anyone would want to come to this hellhole, much less stay here.

Then I saw it.

That ball of slime, esteemed readers, is Callium ore, and worth a good chunk of units on the galactic market.

I harvested a few myself, but ultimately, the cost of the oxides I was using to stay alive outweighed whatever haul I could bring in. I’ll leave this one to the professionals.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Opeatkopiokitus

Viridescent Planet

Weather: Torrential Rain

Sentinels: Low Security

Flora: Numerous

Fauna: Nonexistent

Not as dismal as some places I’ve been, but the constant stream of water running down my visor got real old real quick.

Shockingly, the only place I found where water had actually collected was this tiny puddle. We’re talking so small it wasn’t really worth it to jump in.

I think I know why there’s no animal life here: the damn planet’s a sponge!

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Fusinnos Admir

Irradiated Planet

Weather: Contaminated

Sentinels: Passive

Flora: Generous

Fauna: Deficient

Honestly, the rads weren’t that bad. I don’t even think that my hazard protection systems even kicked in.

Plus, the view was freaking beautiful, with these sinuous arches snaking their way across the horizon. If it weren’t for the lack of zoological life, I definitely wouldn’t mind giving this place a bit of a walkabout.

Well, there was another reason, too.

I don’t think I could take having these things stare at me for more than a few minutes. You don’t understand, they breathed. I couldn’t help but feel that I was looking at the heads of some subterranean hydra, ready to snap at me if I got too close.

Perhaps foolishly, I gave one a quick shot of my mining laser and...

Oh. That’s where albumen pearls come from.

Yeah I’m not touching that.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Encyclopedia Entry - Vaarden

A lush world with endless plains of verdant grass, dotted with woodland. This little slice of paradise is home to 6 terrestrial and 1 aerial species.

Tholophorobovis - “Dome-bearing Cow”

Gender: Rational

Temperament: Ambulatory

Diet: vegetation

Weight: 108.29 kg (239 lb)

Height: 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Common, usually seen in pairs

Notes: Not visible in this view are the long, horizontal eyestalks

Ceratotherium - “Horned Beast”

Gender: Vectorized

Temperament: Unconcerned

Diet: Absorbed Nutrients

Weight: 217.71 kg (480 lb)

Height: 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen alone

Notes: Yes, the cyan sacs are bioluminescent. Its terrifying at night

Trachodorsus - “Rough Back”

Gender: Radical

Temperament: Submissive

Diet: Absorbed Nutrients

Weight: 170.19 kg (375 lb)

Height: 3.60 m (11 ft 10 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen in small groups

Notes: Possibly closely related to Tholophorobovis

Hemicervus - “Half Deer”

Gender: None

Temperament: Shy

Diet: Absorbed Nutrients

Weight: 33.86 kg (75 lb)

Height: 0.6 m (1 ft 11 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Common, usually seen in large groups

Notes: Honestly, I’m as surprised as you are

Hexadromeus - “Six(-legged) Runner”

Gender: Exotic

Temperament: Shy

Diet: Vegetation

Weight: 73.83 kg (163 lb)

Height: 0.89 m (2 ft 11 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen alone

Notes: Surprisingly startling when encountered in the dead of night

Musanax - “Mouse King”

Gender: Exotic

Temperament: Passive

Diet: Herbivore

Weight: 81.64 kg (180 lb)

Height: 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Rare, usually seen in large groups

Notes: Sorry guys I didn’t know the name for armadillo

Tetrapterus - “Four Wing”

Gender: Exotic

Temperament: Unpredictable

Diet: Grazing Creature

Weight: 40.65 kg (90 lb)

Height: 0.97 m (3 ft 2 in)

Habitat: Aerial

Rarity: Common, usually seen in small groups

Notes: I seriously wonder how those things work aerodynamically

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Vaarden Biological Survey

Though I’m unhappy with my new ship, I can’t stay mad at this planet for long. Vaarden’s rolling hills of vibrant green grass are a beautiful sight, and the added color from the cone-like flowers makes it seem for all the world that one is standing in the middle of a vast, if odd, meadow.

And where there’s grass, there’s cows. Well, six-legged cows. With eyestalks. And gelatinous sacs on their backs. Look, I use cow in the broadest sense here.

They weren’t the only bovine-esque species on the planet, however. In fact this one is far more cow-like in it’s cowish-ness, evoking some ancient, majestic horned beast.

The glowing pustules kinda detract from the majesty, though. Yikes, what is it with this planet?

I continued onward for some time, largely aimless. Of all the planets I’ve set foot on so far, this is definitely the most inviting. No extreme weather, no vicious predators, no hazardous terrain. Not quite paradise, but a garden world all the same.

Noticing the grass rustling around me, I pulled up my scanner. Dozens of lifesigns were skittering about, but were hidden in the foliage. It was only by sheer luck that my scanner caught enough of a glimpse to catalogue it, and it took me several minutes of searching before I finally caught one with it’s head above the grass.

Aw, it’s like a tiny antelope! No picture can truly describe how tiny these things were. Even counting their horns, they barely reached my knees. This was one of those days that I wished for all the world that I could pick up a critter and take it home.

In my frantic chasing of the mini-lopes, I startled this poor fellow.

Sorry.

These were definitely the most spectacular creatures I saw that day, though. Part armadillo, part velociraptor, a whole herd of these things passed through the woodland I was taking a break in. Wholly unconcerned by my presence, they continued up the mountainside and over its crest, offspring in tow, warbling to each other the whole way.

That’s the sort of thing I explore all these planets for.

My scanner received an update while I was planetside, updating its software. The patchnotes claimed it was now easier to scan distant lifeforms, particularly flying ones, and after a quick test, I confirmed that that was indeed the case.

On the one hand, I’m glad I don’t have to keep shooting things out of the sky. On the other, I had just spent a lot of resources optimizing my multitool for just that purpose.

I guess that’s life.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Gostevaarden

Viridescent Planet

Weather: Mild

Sentinels: Minimal

Flora: High

Fauna: Typical

Landing directly at a transmission tower, I waste no time scanning the area for crashed ships. I figure if I’m going to do this, I may as well do it quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. With the waypoint set, I take off for possibly the last time.

After several minutes of flight (including a sub-orbital hop, seriously why are these things always on the other side of the planet) I spot the telltale plume of smoke. I land nearby and give it a closer inspection.

Not for the first time, I’m glad I’m keeping these ships for only one system apiece. As mentioned, big and blocky is the opposite of what I look for in a ship. I’m a circle or triangle person, not a rectangle one.

The winglets also leave a lot to be desired.

Seriously though, what are those?

Well, at least the paint scheme is decent. Can’t really say no to a nice cobalt blue.

It’s with a heavy heart that I leave ‘Murica behind, but thus is the nature of the scavenging game. At the very least, it’s a beautiful place to retire.

Say hi to Big Blue, everyone.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Ship Salvage Part 3

After a brief interval in warp, I arrived in the Geyungsunds XV (hereafter known as Sunds) system and immediately docked in the local space station.

Unfortunately, the clerk wasn’t in at the time, leaving me in the dark as to the dominant race of the system.

Whoever they were, though, they had one heck of a view.

A few minutes later, I wandered back out to the docking bay, taking some time to get a feel for the models of ships in the system. One of them would wind up being my transport for the next several planets.

Alas, most of them weren’t my style, though I admit that this particular one does have some charm to it.

This is something more to my taste, though I have to wonder if it comes out of the factory like that. It’d probably be a disaster to fly without the piloting computer.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but it’s not looking good.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Encyclopedia Entry - Remidli

A scorched world, dotted with craters and home to an array of spectacular ruby flora. 6 terrestrial and 1 aerial species inhabit this planet.

Osteolophus - “Bone Crest”

Gender: Non-Uniform

Temperament: Submissive

Diet: Absorbed Nutrients

Weight: 87.43 kg (193 lb)

Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Common, usually seen in small groups

Notes: Shares it’s dorsal plates with another species, convergent?

Rubeotherium - “Thornbush Beast”

Gender: Unknown

Temperament: Anxious

Diet: Oxide Elements

Weight: 51.84 kg (144 lb)

Height: 0.44 m (1 ft 5 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Semi-common, usually seen in small groups

Notes: Small but dense. Probably all muscle given how fast it was.

Leptocneme - “Slender Leg”

Gender: Rational

Temperament: Docile

Diet: Absorbed Nutrients

Weight: 68 kg (150 lb)

Height: 1.46 m (4 ft 9 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen in pairs

Notes: Tired of the leg day jokes

Cristausuchus - “Crested Crocodile”

Gender: Symmetric

Temperament: Shy

Diet: Oxide Elements

Weight: 58.4 kg (129 lb)

Height: 0.88 m (2 ft 11 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen alone, but with other species

Notes: Made the most horrific noise when I startled it

Kosmerotigris - “Decorated Tiger”

Gender: Indeterminate

Temperament: Unconcerned

Diet: Grazing Creature

Weight: 141.04 kg (311 lb)

Height: 3.06 m (10 ft 1 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Rare, usually seen in pairs

Notes: I suppose with the tusks it’s more of a boar, but whatever

Skelocneme - “Leg Leg”

Gender: Indeterminate

Temperament: Amenable

Diet: Absorbed Nutrients

Weight: 234.55 kg (517 lb)

Height: 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Rare, usually seen alone

Notes: Named at the behest of @miodiodavinci

Ponerobios - “Useless Life”

Gender: Unknown

Temperament: Migratory

Diet: Oxide Elements

Weight: 72.39 kg (160 lb)

Height: 0.72 m (2 ft 4 in)

Habitat: Aerial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen in small groups

Notes: I’m not salty, you’re salty.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Remidli Biological Survey Part 2

If I was going to scan those damn bats, I needed a new strategy. Namely: lasers.

The idea was simple: instead of relying on my nonexistent ability to lead a target at range, I’d instead be able to use the speed of light to my advantage, instantly closing the distance from the barrel to the target.

In order to pull it off, though, I’d have to almost completely strip down my multitool and rebuild it from the ground up. For that I needed resources, and quite a few rare ones at that. My only option was to locate a trading station, and the best way to do that...

... was to follow the traders.

Now, it’s not a perfect method; it’s difficult to get anything more than a general heading, but that’s better than picking a random direction.

The trip was long, but largely uneventful. I did stop briefly, though, to get a few shots of a monolith I found along the way, because I’m a sucker for monoliths.

As I approached the small trading post, I did locate one last new species.

This lonesome beast stood with my head slightly below its shoulder. Though not quite as large as the biped I had encountered earlier, it was no less spectacular. It ambled about a bit, seemingly humoring me in my photographing, before taking off in long strides to rejoin its mate and lone offspring.

It was a long, tiring endeavor, but after more than a little wheeling and dealing with the local pilots, I managed to optimize and supercharge my mining laser, turning it into a swift and lethal weapon... if you happen to be a small flying animal.

And with that, the survey was complete, and with it, my business on Remidli. In fact, with all six of its worlds mapped, it was time for me to move on from the Pinni system as well.

Sadly, this also meant leaving ‘Murica behind as well. Come the next system, I would replace it, as I had its predecessor. Thus was the trouble of my ship-upgrading method: sometimes you had to let gems go as you progressed up the line.

And so, high above Remidli’s atmosphere, I plotted a course to the next system.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Remidli Biological Survey Part 1

Things started off well enough. It took a bit of walking to find my first signs of life, but they were at least nice signs.

These pig-sized animals formed fairly common herds. Honestly I find them somewhat charismatic; not too spectacular, but not particularly boring either.

Most of the wildlife here was very flighty, and I had quite a bit of difficulty getting pictures of anything but their backsides as they fled from my approach. Overall, though, the assemblage was looking pretty standard: a small collection of herbivores and mineral grazers, ranging in size from that of a small cat to that of a horse. I was about to write the place off as typical when I spotted something on a ridgeline in the distance.

This was easily the tallest animal I had ever seen; I barely came up to its knees. Despite its fearsome claws and armored hide, it was completely docile, merely giving me a curious glance as I approached.

I encountered several species on this planet, but this is the one I’ll never forget.

Unfortunately, this was the planet where my stroke of luck in cataloguing flying species ran out. I was able to easily shoot down one of the flock, but quickly lost it in the scrub when it fell. A second attempt yielded the same results. Without a sentinel in sight and with my terrible depth-perception, I didn’t have much chance of finding the body. Embarrassingly, a few sparse patches of grass had foiled me twice. Still, I pressed onward. Clearly, all I had to do was move to a rockier area and continue the hunt. Easy, right?

Oh how wrong I was.

See, the one major problem with using the homing bolt modification is that one must first hit something for the shots to home in on it. In a dense flock, this usually isn’t much of a problem, but as I was harshly reminded, my aim is terrible.

Imagine if you will, a lone traveler, standing out in the middle of the desert. The air is scorching hot, the planet’s star bakes everything in sight. The only movement is the rustling of the plants as a gust of wind kicks up eddies of fine dust. Then, the traveler spots their quarry: a small cluster of vaguely bat-like creatures, circling overhead. The traveler unloads their boltcaster into the hazy sky, but fails to hit any of the animals above them. They reload and try again, jogging between clips to keep up with the flock. They climb on rocks and trees to get better vantage points. With their eyes on the sky, they trip over more than a few smaller plants. But still, clip after clip, they hit nothing. This goes on for several hours before, broken, out of ammo, and hoarse from screaming in frustration, the traveler slumps to the ground. The sun sets as the creatures continue on their way, blissfully unaware of the humanoid below, furiously wishing death upon them.

Long story short: missed.

Clearly there was a better solution, but every idea I had required completely reconfiguring my multitool. That would have to wait until I had found a trading post, as chances were high that I would need yet more rare materials.

For now, though, my only shot was to find a sentinel or two. The last thing I needed after this frustration was to lose yet another catch in the grass.

Of course, as soon as I located one, the birds were nowhere to be found, not even a blip on my scanner. And of course, after not seeing one in so long, this one just couldn’t stay out of my face.

I take back what I said about liking this place.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Uzumonscau Remidli

Hot Planet

Weather: Sweltering

Sentinels: Low

Flora: Abundant

Fauna: Ordinary

You know, if it wasn’t for the fact that the place averages about 75 Celsius during the day, I wouldn’t mind sticking around here for a while.

The plants in particular are a fantastic ruby shade, with a spectacular translucency to them. Though I should probably be glad I’m breathing filtered air; most of the flora here reproduces via windblown spores. That can’t be healthy to breathe in.

The landscape is also dotted with some pretty nice craters, big enough to be impressive, but shallow enough to be climbable.

Yeah, I can tell I’m going to like surveying this place.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Avonacocoyanesi

Empty Planet

Weather: Clear

Sentinels: Low Security

Flora: None

Fauna: Empty

And right back to the barren worlds. Excellent. This one in particular had virtually no atmosphere, which, while a strain on my life support, also allowed for the proliferation of various minerals thanks to the lack of erosive forces or oxidizing gases.

While they’re not particularly rare, finding one with relatively docile sentinels is a bit of a boon. In the interest of seeing if I could make a quick buck or two, I gave the place a cursory exploration on foot.

Shockingly, an abandoned ship was close to my landing site. It’s not often you stumble across one of these randomly; I’ve only found one other by chance before, on the planet I woke up on (14 slots, rounded, and neon yellow, if anyone was wondering.) Though I knew I wouldn’t be taking it with me, I still gave it a look over for salvage. I received a respectable amount of heridium and thaumium for my troubles, plus a sprinkling of a few other oxides and silicates. It was nothing worth selling, but I would eventually put it towards repairing a ship I would actually end up flying.

Some time and several heridium deposits later, I stumbled across something... interesting.

A small building lay abandoned in the middle of a crater, it’s doors either malfunctioning or blown open. I couldn’t tell how long it had waited here without maintenance; the very lack of weathering that let this planet become a miner’s paradise also left the structure in almost pristine condition.

The inside was another story.

Yeah, I don’t know what sort of organism can grow in a near vacuum, but I’m not touching it, exosuit or not. I’m glad there’s no sound in space, because the way it was pulsing assures me that it must have been making some nauseating sounds. The other room wasn’t much better.

I don’t know how long those lanterns last, but I do know that I’m not sticking around. I’m getting off this rock post haste.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Encyclopedia Entry - Yallenie

A rocky planet with severe temperature extremes, yet also supporting life in shocking abundance. 5 terrestrial and 2 aerial species call this planet home.

Mycocyanis - “Blue Mushroom”

Gender: Prime

Temperament: Shy

Diet: Herbivore

Weight: 93.28 kg (206 lb)

Height: 1.95 m (6 ft 4 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Rare, usually seen alone, but in association with other species

Notes: Each of the dozen or so heads had it’s own pair of eyespots

Hemiserpentis - “Half-Snake”

Gender: Male

Temperament: Cautious

Diet: Grazing Creature

Weight: 75.85 kg (167 lb)

Height: 1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Common, usually seen in large groups

Notes: Made the most adorable squeaking sounds

Canipterus - “Winged Dog”

Gender: None

Temperament: Migratory

Diet: Grazing Creature

Weight: 54.85 kg (121 lb)

Height: 1.20 m (3 ft 11 in)

Habitat: Aerial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen in small flocks

Notes: Finally, a reasonably dense flier

Dracornis - “Dragon(fly) Bird“

Gender: None

Temperament: Erratic

Diet: Herbivore

Weight: 50.76 kg (112 lb)

Height: 1.13 m (3 ft 8 in)

Habitat: Aerial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen in large flocks

Notes: The two wings per side beat together as one unit

Compsalticus - “Beautiful Leaper”

Gender: Female

Temperament: Anxious

Diet: Vegetation

Weight: 97.24 kg (214 lb)

Height: 1.51 m (4 ft 11 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Uncommon, usually seen in pairs

Notes: The fronds had a slight iridescence to them

Pelorophytus - “Monstrous Plant”

Gender: Rational

Temperament: Amenable

Diet: Oxide Elements

Weight: 183.42 kg (404 lb)

Height: 4.48 m (14 ft 8 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Rare, usually seen alone, but in association with other species

Notes: No

Achromatis - “Without Color”

Gender: Rational

Temperament: Shy

Diet: Herbivore

Weight: 88.28 kg (194.6 lb)

Height: 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)

Habitat: Terrestrial

Rarity: Rare, usually seen alone, but in association with other species

Notes: Clearly, the scanner couldn’t handle its true form, so I’ve attached a photo of it in the wild

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Yallenie Biological Survey

For a planet with all the plant-life of a canyon wall, the sheer density of the fauna was a welcome relief from the endless searching of the last survey.

Large herds of creatures were scattered about the landscape, with species mingling as their groups wandered to and fro. In particular, these moderately-sized hopping serpents were incredibly common.

I quickly noticed that every terrestrial animal was legless, moving about with the same bouncing gait. On the serpents, the motion was amusing, even a bit charming. The larger, more spherical ones, however...

I needn’t say much about the lumpy potted plant on the left. The creature on the right deserves description. At first it appears tamer, but upon closer inspection, one sees that it’s skin constantly dripped and melted, flowing over its form before, I assume, it absorbs into the base. It looked for all the world like an animate ball of orange mud. With a dozen eyes. It was so alien that my scanner couldn’t catalogue it properly, being able to only register those glassy eyes. A cursed thing indeed.

Nonetheless, a theme was quickly emerging. From flamboyant to streamlined, they shared similar body forms.

Chances were high that all the animals here shared a rather recent common ancestor. I couldn’t help but feel that they were in the process of radiating outward, filling empty ecological niches in the wake of some cataclysm that had wiped out all of the limbed organisms. Well, all the terrestrial ones, anyway.

Two species of avian creatures flew through these skies, having more traditional body plans than the animals below them. Though nothing more than wild speculation, I imagine that these were the last remnants of a lineage of limbed organisms, their terrestrial relatives long gone.

Fortunately, shooting a specimen for study out of the sky wasn’t difficult. I was starting to feel like I had a working relationship with the Sentinels. I’d down a bird, it’d go over to investigate where it landed, I’d follow it, it’d buzz angrily at me, I’d scan the body, and the sentinel would fly off impotently. I could live with this.

Membrane-based wings seem to be a common thing in this system. Then again, considering that they evolved three times on Earth, perhaps they are merely a morphologically simple way to achieve flight.

The same couldn’t be said for the other aerial species. Though the wings appeared insect-like at a glance, they were made of the same skin-like material as those of the former creature, but with far more supports, scattered seemingly haphazardly throughout the wing. For the first time on this expedition, I was both disappointed and relieved that I had no means to investigate the specifics of an alien’s anatomy further. I both do and don’t want to know how its limb girdles are set up.

Before I could snag more photographs of the wildlife, a particularly severe firestorm rolled in. While the natives seemed unconcerned with the sudden and extreme rise in temperature, my environmental protection systems were struggling to take the strain. Rather than risk walking all the way to my destination, I instead opted to take shelter in a shallow cave and wait for it to pass.

In the meantime, I took advantage of the dense clusters of plutonium, netting more than enough to keep me fueled for some time to come. The green crystals are all emeril, by the way. Jackpot.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Yallenie IM658

Bleak Planet

Weather: Temperate

Sentinels: Regular

Flora: Full

Fauna: Common

Now this is more like it. I will say, though, I’m not quite sure how this climate qualifies as temperate. If anything, the place looks like some sort of rocky desert. And like a desert, it drops below freezing at night, then gets uncomfortably warm during the day.

And then there are the firestorms.

I mean good god, I don’t know how the creatures around here aren’t literally boiled alive.

Did I mention the creatures?

As it turns out, I think this planet was trying to make up for the difficulties I had surveying Izsach. The animals were not only pretty abundant, but there were actually several within sight of my landing site.

It just took me a few moments to realize they were animals. Imagine my surprise when that greenish, plant-like creature its buddy, an orange glob of slime, startled from my movement and rapidly hopped away.

Clearly I was in for a treat.

[darth-plays-stuff-blog]

Tayduhsh-4 Tepl

Viridescent Planet

Weather: Wet

Sentinels: Passive

Flora: Moderate

Fauna: Lacking

Aw, and it looked so promising from the air. With the largest seas I’ve seen (the place was about 50% water) I was hoping to break in my diving gear to do some subaquatic scanning. Alas, the only things moving around on this planet are the sentinels.

Still, I wanted to get at least a slight lay of the land. Even if I wasn’t going to stay here long, I figured I might as well check out the views. Trying to save my plutonium, I scanned the ground for some sort of landing pad, or at the least a docking pylon. When my efforts proved fruitless after several minutes, I spied a small squadron of ships in the distance. I figured I’d follow them.

Also, Murica’s got a pretty nice cockpit, if I do say so myself.

Unfortunately, I picked the wrong group to tail. After a few minutes, they collectively pulled up and exited the atmosphere, certainly bound for the space station.

In frustration, I gave up on finding a proper landing zone and touched down on the next beach I found.

As I walked across the narrow strip of sand to the water’s edge, I immediately noticed something glowing brightly beneath the surface. All my troubles in locating aqua spheres came rushing back to me, and out of curiosity I dove in, swimming towards the light to investigate. Were they really this simple to find once you found a body of water big enough?

It turned out that the spots of bioluminescence belonged to nothing more than an ordinary, if oddly fluorescent, cluster of plants, with no treasures to hide.

I will say, though, that even when I knew there were no sharks in the water, the depths were still fairly unnerving.

I left the planet soon after.