Porthole

Stardate 4157 04 "Teal"

4157 04 "Teal"

I don't feel well.

I probably ate too much of Bobbie's teal-tinted cheescake. It didn't time-travel well, but here I am back in the 'present', well MY present.

We've approached a new-to-us world. It looks worn out. Believe me, one can sense this things. Too little metal as if it had been mined, straight lines as if it had been inhabited once. A bare spot here there shouldn't have been one.

Best to be cautious. I wasn't part of the landing process. My expertise was schmoozing on lively worlds.

Oh, that cheesecake! Even Guinan had smiled, winking at me. She knew my weaknesses.

We aimed for the edge of the bare patch where two lines seemed to enter. We've learned that many entities live on the edge of something. Adapting to two worlds gave them flexibilty and when they looked up at the stars they began to wonder.

I watched the screen. The landers were like a bomb-squad. Nothing could go wrong. If it did they no longer existed. Too risky. We'd leave. And they knew that and lived for the unexpected thrills of a new place, knowing that they would never die at home.

The brown lines crossed lighter rock slowly becoming covered with a shade of teal.

The lines were roads. How do we know? My crew companion was one of the galaxy's experts on roads. She said, "Roads". We all nodded.

Then ... "Building".

The landers approached it slowly. Not much left. "Looks like it has been abandoned for 'centuries', an old Earth concept that doesn't apply; we all used it.

"It's dry. Very dry and a bit radioactive. We're going in." It was their lives; it was their call.

And then on the screen: bones. Humanoid. Who knows whether they had fled to the stars or died out here. We have no records.

There's a certain sadness looking at old bones. After-all they could be our cousins, or our ancestors.

They took a couple bones, added a scoop of soil, a rust-colored rock, a small artifact, and a bit of teal whatever. They were coming back. Tomorrow or never would be soon enough to go back. It was the landers call.

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Space Blog  (ASR) Cruising WDC cyberspace and raiding ports for blog prompts! #2223838 by Sharmelle's Expressions

You have discovered a new planet. Describe what it looks like and what you found.

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