These small, gull-winged craft, once designated as strike bombers, found new life as exploration and research vehicles in the wilderness of 234.4a.c. Their extensible payload capacities–owing to the large available volume under their wings–were ideal for long expeditions where pilots often had to be largely self-sufficient in remote regions. This particular craft sports the matte green and yellow livery and insignia of the Concord Corps of Exploration.
Despite pouring countless hours over every photo, drawing, and recounting of the ancient structure, even the most accurate of those facsimiles paled in comparison to the real thing when Dr. Tareste first laid eyes upon it: a moon-blue dagger of a tower rising out of the undergrowth, flanked by a pair of eroded statues, almost luminescent in what watery light filtered through the verdant canopy.
The better part of xir academic career had been dedicated to the study of these sites–the remnants of an obscure culture, the bones of another people, of xir people–and now xe stood within hiking distance of this one. All those dreams of reaching out and touching the same walls that xir ancestors might have once touched, standing where they might have once stood… The thought inspired a burst of energy, and the doctor walked on with renewed determination.
Above: the beginnings of a village established on KHEPRI-1c. Though most of the planet’s population were transient researchers, some found their calling among the icy peaks and igneous valleys and sought to become permanent residents. Powered by geothermal activity beneath the crust, their massive radar tower was the main source of communication with the outside world, and it expanded into one of the biggest outposts on the planet. However, less than a decade later, misfortune struck: a major earthquake followed by a particularly harsh storm wiped out most of its population, and the remaining survivors elected to abandon the crumbling town to the mercies of 1c’s eternal winter.
A flight of VD-10s in the cold morning skies of HKC 2901 c.
The VD-10 Skate is a medium-range escort fighter, reconnaissance craft, and, historically, as fighter-bombers. More maneuverable than Cormorant-class seagliders, they often accompany the lumbering freight aircraft of Kaua Merchant Navy (KMN) in groups of three to six as they cruise along in-atmo trade routes. Though agile, its small load capacity and low aspect ratio wings greatly limit their range; its detractors commonly criticize the comparatively high fuel demands, its middling performance across its variety of roles, and the reliability issues that arose early in its development. With changing interests and a declining need for aggressive escort fighters, the KMN eventually phased out the Skate in favor of newer, more economic designs.
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The canyons were remarkably similar to certain geological formations found in southwestern North America: great sentinels of stone and rock, worn down by wind and water over eons, amber and ruddy in the afternoon light. Alero felt almost–what was it? Nostalgia? Disappointment?–for something they’d only seen in pictures. This was the closest they would get to seeing the original, light-years from the cradle of human civilization. They tipped their face towards the star, feeling warmth seep in; then restarted the engine, trundling ever onward to the next waypoint.
