—used as a function word to indicate an alternative
//coffee or tea
//sink or swim
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/or
The pine freshness soon gave way to pungent ammonia as condensation built up on the inside of my Remlock. I clambered up the ridge my salvation or my damnation lay just over the brow.
Having talked the ears off the DSSA Buurian Anchorage support crew I was back in the black and making my way to Colonia. I had lost count of the jumps, but I found myself in System SCREAKI LC-C D4275, a reasonable sized system with a Class F white main sequence star at its heart a selection of rocky metal bodies, a handful of class 3 gas giants, a Class Y brown dwarf and a class 4 at the outer most edge of the system.
I scooped the main star and proceeded to 12 C A, a rocky planet with some metal making up its composition which orbited the furthers planet to the star. The 100% ammonia atmosphere from initial scans looked to be a yellowy green instead of the more common red I had been coming across. Either way I was going in for a closer look, the texture of the planet was fuel enough for my curiosity, looking like a dusty biscuit ball.
Cresting the glide altitude, the Hiraeth bobbed up and down as I tried to cycle through the bio signatures, their area maps telegraphed to the ground below. Eventually I brought us down on to a plain, bordered on one side with sweeping dusty hills and a steady gradient on the other leading into an excessively bouldery, boulder field hugging the edge of an extensive mountain range, which scans dictated should be heavy in fungoidia samples.
The system star shone bright, casting a peachy pink hue over the sandy rock. With the neighbouring planetary body keeping a watchful eye over my activities as I deployed the SRV and began my exploration. I followed the plain up into the boulder field, taking it easy and enjoying the still sereness. As I started to climb out the dust bowl, I had landed in patches of frutexa were visible, sprouting from between rocks as if to reach for the looming ball of rock slowly making its way across the sky above.
I pulled over to take some samples and with our heavenly neighbour I just had to take some images. The frutexa is a strange plant, a pod on the end a long stalk idling in the breeze, the pod is surrounded by support structure, presumably evolved to stop the pod bending and snapping from the stem under its own weight.
As the day progressed the hue turned ever more crimson, the peachy mix of dirt and atmosphere now a dull burnt orange. The SRV was starting to take more damage the further into the mountains I adventured, but I was yet to stumble across the fungoidia samples. Giant rocks littered the valleys and lowlands between the peaks, making it near impossible to recall the Hiraeth and with the navigation on the drone out of action, trying to pinpoint samples my way out was proving to be a challenge.
However, as luck would have it as I bounded into the next hollow, protruding from the dirt, massive clusters of pink fungoidia waving in the air as if to grab my attention. They were close to the colour of their surroundings; I may well have missed many of these while I had been concentrating on avoiding rocks and chasms.
Losing the light, I decided I had to get out of this mountain range as I did not want to risk further damage to the SRV by slamming in to rock I cannot see. The long dark shadows of the peaks now filled the passes, and I was not sure if I was even going in the right direction.
A hammering beep interrupted the whir of the electric motors; Fuel 25% flashed up on the instrument panel. Great I thought, no where to land the ship for help. I pulled the SRV over and climbed on top to see if I could get a better lay of the land. Before us I could make out a dip into another valley, but this appeared to be smooth, the Hiraeth may be able to land there. Just further on lay a peak and an adjoining ridge. If I can get up there, I would be able to see for miles.
I took 3 additional energy cells from the SRV and left my camera; I would have to prioritise the Artemis suits life support at this time. I was going have to recon on foot to save the SRV’s power to get out here.
At first, I ran, jumping, vaulting, yelling parkour as I pulled of little gymnastic feats. But soon realising that this was just exacerbating my problem and running the energy cells down quicker, I slowed to a more mature and sensible jog as I replaced the first of my energy cells I would have to be more conservative with the remaining.
I ejected the second spent energy cell as looked up at the towering rock before me and began my climb. The pine freshness soon gave way to pungent ammonia as condensation built up on the inside of my Remlock. I clambered up the ridge my salvation or my damnation lay just over the brow.
The top of the climb proved more difficult, my feet slipping, struggling to gain purchase on the loose rock. After much panicked scrambling my feet found an outcrop and from its solid base I was able to propel myself and swing my elbow over the top of the ridgeline. Pulling myself up to eventually peer over the ridge, I knew then that…
The Javi Times 