I landed in this planet without any issue. In fact, the ship’s sensors detected a clean atmosphere rich in oxygen and a mild temperature, so I could safely leave it without my space helmet.
To my surprise, the atmosphere smells like fresh mint. Charmed by it, I started walking, in hopes of finding the source of such scent. I literally lost the sense of time in such a way that it immediately became deep night. Looking at the sky, I could appreciate the three moons at work: they all reflected the light of the sun, casting a moonbeam that illuminated the surface of the planet with a gentle blue-ish green environment that made me feel cozy and warm.
Drugged by this whirlwind of sensations, I stumbled upon the source of the mint scent to my surprise: a giant, thick flower with a purple blossom. It was majestic. I spent a minute to smell the flower up close as if I wanted to take some of that scent during the rest of my journey in this planet.
I took a proper photo, collected some samples and moved on to my next target.
Abandoning the lush greenery of the fields, I headed north with my portable plane till I came across what seemed a cave formation.
Curious, I entered and started to descend into the endless darkness. The more I delved into it, the colder it was getting up to the point of freezing. It was getting so cold I had to put my special suit for harsh climates. What a change of pace compared to the previous greenery I was welcomed before this!
Amidst the darkness though I saw a spark of light in a wall which grabbed my attention. Curious, I grabbed a pickaxe (it was a difficult endeavor to grab it with my thick gloves) and started digging.
At a point, the wall collapsed, and I quickly stepped back before I would be swallowed by the rocks. The effort has been worthwhile though: I’ve found a chamber made of ice and crystals. A tiny beam of light from a hole entered the place, but the walls of the chamber were as polished and smooth as mirrors, which reflected and bounced the light on all directions, creating a light you would never believe you would find so deep in the earth.
Astonishing is not a word I would use to describe this.
But that room was not the only surprised that awaited me. A rapidly moving shadow passed by the room. At first I thought that my eyes were deceiving me because I was just dazed and blinded by a reflected light beam, but after a second look it was clear that I was not dreaming.
There it was, some kind of avian creature, with a sharp beak with fur instead of feathers. It was not like those birds called “penguins” my Earth biology book talked about. It was more like a blue phoenix, with a long, beautiful tail consisting of three appendices.
I tried calling it using my bird whistle to have a closer look upon it. Unfortunately no response. It got scared and flew off. What a missed opportunity…