Snippet #2683893

It was the first day on Alpha-Seven. The journey there had been expectantly average; the sleep cycling had acted flawlessly and the Vladimir navigated their route without incident. The crew had been awoken an hour before landing to prepare. A satellite circling the planet provided the Vladimir with a brief overview of the geographical information it recorded from space. It was sent to the crew who were meant to review it at their leisure before landing - even the cook.

The survey had very little information to share. Most of it pertained to a location named the Elmers that was almost entirely covered by plants. There had been movement in the foliage but the details of the cause had been shrouded by the leaf cover. A small opening in the green forest had been pinpointed as the landing spot for the Vladimir. Next to the Elmers was a series of mountains while the other half of the planet had a permanent thick cloud cover of which the bot couldn't read past. Currently no water could be seen from space which was their greatest challenge at the moment. They had the means to draw water from air but that took time and energy - things which were precious to their mission. Perhaps they had their first mission already.

Celcius had uploaded the information to her mental archive; a great benefit from being an android. She could recall what little was known in incredible clarity as her system filtered out the filler words and kept the main facts assembled. She had even erased any memory of the previous planet's locations to make room for the future world below her. There was so much potential, she could feel her clogs tick a beat faster from the anticipation. "Can you see it, Vladimir?" The captain asked with wide eyes peering down from the cockpit. The ship beeped twice in reply. Celcius chuckled a retort, "See what? See the potential. There's so much to know, so much to find, so much to see." She smiled and the time fell away. Nothing changed for Celcius until her feet stood steady on the new planet.

The opening was barely three times the area of Vladimir with level ground. Some roots had twisted their way into the landing site but remained near its outskirts. The tree tops towered over the area, reaching several hundred meters into the sky. Their pale green leaves blotted out the sun so that only a dim light reached the forest ground yet grass still grew in abundance around the thick roots. There was forest in almost all directions, with the exception of the west were a stone mountain could be seen peeking through the tree trunks. From grass to leaves, nothing grew in-between. It made the forest appear almost empty with small orange dots that floated in the distance, glowing in the dim light. The entire scene welcomed Celcius whom was left only to sigh at its brilliance.

With a large smile, the android let her curiosity get the best of her. Her feet swiftly drove her to the edge of a plant where one of its large roots twisted from the dirt. With her free hand she rubbed its exterior before tapping and scratching at its shell. "It's brilliant." Celcius whispered under her breath, "Thick, dry and hardy. These layered plates have some sort of order, like scales." Without hesitation, the woman began to climb up the root using the breaks between the plates as anchors. Her smile was still twisted onto her features as she arrived at the top and scurried to its trunk. "Even this is layered albeit slightly softer." She mused before circling the round base. Her eyes had caught onto a series of scratches on its side which had forced the tree to bow. With an eager hand the woman reached upwards to rub the grainy texture and splinters that had frayed. Among her textile adventure, she felt a whole new sensation: smooth. Her hands pinched the source before bringing it down to eye level. "A scale?" She wondered aloud as she spun a silver disk in her hand that was nearly the size of her palm.

Celcius took a brief moment to turn back to any crew members that were outside with a wide grin. "Do you see this?" She cried with excitement. She hoped to see the same spirited adventure that bubbled within her frothing in her companions. After her oil had simmered down, she would go back to commanding. For now, however, Celcius was wonder incarnate.