The journey through the wormhole was uneventful. It went normally. As I emerged on the other side, I steered my ship towards a planet called Pretia. This world was green, much like Earth. It appeared capable of holding life. It had water, plants, and some animal and insect life. The only problem? The air was unsafe for humans. It was similar to prehistoric Earth, except with higher levels of carbon dioxide. Still, it was always an exciting opportunity for me to study and explore the planet. The other issue with Pretia was that it was located in an asteroid field. Seven other planets were also located in that same asteroid field, and they all orbited a blue star that I named Techcrone. I wished I could study the star, but the star’s volatile nature made it difficult for ships to pass safely.
As I headed closer to the planet, I carefully avoided the asteroids. I took out my reader and got a reading on the planet’s oxygen levels. Oxygen levels: 35 percent. Carbon dioxide levels are 3 percent. Nitrogen levels: 18 percent. I steered my ship closer and made an entry point into the planet. The entry was always rough, even though my ship was built to handle it. It always rocked around, fire surrounding the outside. A few lightning bolts flashed next to me. As soon as I got through, I noticed a large storm near me. I steered faster away from it. Higher C02 levels meant more dangerous storms, and I’d witnessed a few freak storms that I’d never see on Earth. A lightning bolt lit up. It appeared to be a gigantic rotating structure that stretched from top to bottom. It almost reached the edge of the atmosphere and was pitch black at the bottom. The intense wind shear almost swept me into it, but I managed to get away. I landed a safe forty miles away and took a breath before preparing to leave my vessel. I put on my protective suit, grabbed my science tools, and made my way out. The humidity was horrendous, even through my protective suit. I pressed a button and sprayed a water mist on my face as I walked towards my field of study. As I walked there, I looked behind me and happened to see the tornado in the distance. It reminded me of a sequoia redwood, and I paused for a few minutes to make sure it wasn’t coming towards my way. After a minute, I saw it slowly dissipate into nothing. Satisfied, I walked into the forest. I cut down thick underbrush and vines as I walked towards my destination and made sure to make my presence known to the predators so I’d be less of a target.
Giant bugs with needles flew around, trying to sting through my suit. I swatted them away and stepped through the forest until I reached where I was looking for. I took out my scientific tools and began recording data from a creek. A few small animals walked by. Strange in appearance, reminding me of dinosaurs in a way. Sharp teeth protruded from their mouths as they walked by. A dragonfly the size of an orange flew by them, and the small animals ran away in the opposite direction. Chaos and uneasy order surrounded everything in this world. The animals didn’t move in the way I expected them to. The animals avoided the insects for good reason. The insects seemed to be the apex predators here. They made up most of the living species, far as I could tell.
On one of my first trips, I’d come across a giant spider web. I caught just a glimpse of the spider, folded in a cave, waiting for something to disturb the web. A giant fly walked towards it, the size of a dog. I was surprised how normal it was for a fly. It flew towards me out of curiosity, but I swatted at it, and it flew away quickly. I carefully backed away a safe distance. I took out my science equipment, ready to record. The fly walked towards the web and touched it. I’d nearly jumped out of my skin as I saw the true size of the spider. It dwarfed the fly and made me feel small, too. It grabbed it and pulled it back towards its web. I remember feeling in absolute awe and amazement as this happened.
I continued to sit at the creek and watch for any potential exciting encounters. As I did so, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It wasn’t in the creek but in the sky. I looked up and saw nothing. But then I heard something, and before I realized it, a huge blue and white flash exploded and engulfed the entire planet. Before I knew what was happening, I was thrown backwards and knocked out.
Helenmollybooks 