Arrival

As the scouting crafts approach the planet, the surface is obscured by a semi-permeable atmosphere and condensational cloud layers. As the crafts descend through these layers, the first visible points are bright dots of light. It becomes clear that these are cities that were created by intelligent life. This comes as a surprise as they didn’t receive any communications upon entering the Glieseian system or any visitors once they reached static orbit while they prepared an exploratory mission. It seems like whoever, whatever lived here, didn’t want to communicate with the visitors — but knew they had arrived.

As the crafts descend, they wonder how they will be received. Will they be welcoming? Will they be hostile? Will they be curious? A combination of these reactions? They’ve come too far to worry about the negative possibilities. As they descend further, they choose some lush and green areas that seem uninhabited. With the landing legs’ anchors deployed, they open the landing doors.

As they traverse the ground, they see new biota that harkens back to Earthly versions: trees, shrubs, grasses, and a variety of other carbon-based plants and lifeforms. As they test the air, they realize that this atmosphere could be viable without the need for spacesuits and life support structures — albeit with some acclimatization. Like acclimating to high altitudes during a mountain summit, the human body is remarkable in its ability to adapt. The crafts communicate their findings to the orbiting fleet and bring up the soil, air, and water samples for further testing.

With the carbon tests and biologics in order, they decide that they will send the majority of the fleet down to establish a base camp in this promising area. As for the current inhabitants? They decide that they will make contact in due course — if they don’t get contacted first.

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“Contact” (Part 5 of 6) drops here on 11/11 at 7p.m. EST.

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