text: [Themes: sci-fi, mystery, science fiction]
  
  By the time the Orion enters orbit around the planet Folvan on the fifth day, you and your team are gearing up for your expedition. You change into your field uniforms and load a variety of supplies onto your assigned shuttlecraft. Then when the bridge gives you clearance to depart, you all board the shuttle and fly off into space.
  
  Only now do you get your first real look at Folvan: a large, drab-green world with no discernible continents, and with only one of its isolated oceans currently in view. The surface is otherwise one continuous landmass, with a cluster of large lakes scattered across a portion of the northern hemisphere.
  
  Earlier today, on your way to the Orion's flight deck, Hun-Spruk confided with you that she had spent almost all of her free time since the mission briefing studying Dr. Munro's reports from the last four years.
  
  "She says the Folvans are a vegetarian race," Hun-Spruk said, "but she suspects their evolutionary ancestors developed sentience as a means to avoid the planet's apex predators, some of which can attack by air. By forming complex social groups and constructing better shelters, the Folvans have beaten the odds and managed to survive in a harsh environment."
  
  Her enthusiasm for the mission--and for Dr. Munro's work in particular--was obvious. "I tried to read the doctor's reports," you said, "but I had a hard time getting through them."
  
  "To be honest," she said, "Lori Munro has always been one of my heroes."
  
  Now your science officer is manning the shuttle's sensor station as you make the final approach to the planet. "I'm not detecting any human life signs," Hun-Spruk says. The craft is starting to vibrate as it enters the upper atmosphere. "I started with the crater in the northern hemisphere where Dr. Munro is basing her research, but when I detected nothing there I scanned a much larger area. Still nothing."
  
  "That's not good," you say. There should be four humans down there: Dr. Munro, Ander Dyo, and the two assistants. "Ask the Orion to scan the entire surface of the planet. Maybe they've just taken an unannounced trip."
  
  Or perhaps that is just you being optimistic.
  
  A moment later your science officer relays the message from the Orion's bridge: no human biosigns can be detected anywhere on Folvan.
  
  "Well I guess this is about more than just a malfunctioning comm unit," Dansmith says dryly. But for you the implications are unpleasant to consider: are the researchers dead, or were they somehow removed from the planet?
  
  "There is another possibility," Hun-Spruk says after a moment of thought. "These crater valleys are laced with heavy amounts of iron, perhaps from the asteroid impacts that devastated the planet's ecosystem millennia ago. The iron could easily be interfering with our scans."
  
  "Wouldn't that interference be localized, though?" you ask.
  
  "Normally, maybe. But look at this." She is pointing to a holographic map, and particularly to a rather large and ancient impact crater with a semi-circular ridge of mountains on one side and a large lake on the other. The lake occupies the remains of several smaller interlocking craters, creating a giant blue snowman shape on the planet's surface.
  
  "See? It's not just one crater, but an entire series of them," she explains. "The asteroid broke up in the atmosphere and made multiple impacts. It left traces of itself over a region 150 kilometers in diameter."
  
  "So you mean we'll be in the dark, as far as our sensors go?" Dansmith asks.
  
  "Yes, it looks that way."
  
  "Where do you want to set down, Lieutenant?" the shuttle pilot asks. He is a no-nonsense Warrant Officer named Galin Hinju, an artist with the holo-virtual controls; by moving his upper body he can direct the movement of the shuttle. Judging by the ornate tattoos covering every visible portion of his body, you suspect that he hails from one of the coastal settlements along the planet Kaitoo's singular ocean.
  
  "My instructions are to set you down somewhere near Dr. Munro's last known location, but far enough from the native population to avoid being seen," Hinju explains.
  
  "As I see it we have three options," Hun-Spruk says. "The research team maintains three blinds in the vicinity of the largest crater, here." Again she points to the holographic map, and in particular an area at the southwest corner of the lake.
  
  "One station is located near a native village on the shore of Lake Syack," she says. "But because of the risk involved in accessing a site so close to the Folvans, they rarely go there."
  
  As she peruses the map, you notice there is no sign of her previous shyness; her enthusiasm is on display for all to see. Clearly, she has done a lot of research in preparation for this expedition and is prepared to assume the role of the mission's subject matter expert. Lieutenant Hun-Spruk is not particularly tall, and you wonder how she'll do if at any point you are forced to wade out through the tall prairie vegetation. But there is no reason to doubt either her commitment or her knowledge. You decide that you'll have to tap her expertise frequently during the course of this mission.
  
  "The main research station is way out here on this uninhabited prairie," Hun-Spruk continues. "But according to Dr. Munro's reports, the preferred observation post is this small one way up here in these mountains, above the village. Much of their data has come from here. I think either of these two sites would be a good place to start looking for our people."
  
  Hinju, who has been following along even while piloting the shuttle, points out, "I'm not sure we can land anywhere on the open prairie and remain unseen, but those mountains will provide good cover."
  
  > If you land at the post nearest the lakeshore village, turn to page 64.
  Hinju frowns when you say you want to land near the post closest to the lakeshore village.
  
  "This is the site where Dr. Munro and her team probably spent the least amount of their time," Hun-Spruk says. "Being so close to the indigenous people, they were able to make more detailed observations there, but there was a high level of risk involved in getting to and from this post unseen. None of Dr. Munro's recent transmissions came from here, so I wouldn't expect to find much."
  
  "But being that the hour is so early, this may be the only opportunity to explore this post," you say. "We can land at the other sites later, but the only time we'll ever get to this site is while it's still dark."
  
  "OK," Hinju says. "Let's take a look at it from a high altitude and see what the options are."
  
  With a slight twist of his torso, he steers the shuttle in an arc hundreds of meters above the village. Moonlight glistens on the calm surface of the lake, but the small village on the shore is completely dark. The layout of the town is surprisingly simplistic: a few dozen or so rounded structures encircling a larger mound. You expected more out of a civilization with a complex social structure.
  
  After one pass over the crater valley, your pilot presents you with two options. "I can put the shuttle in stealth mode, come in real low across the prairie, and drop you off right behind the blind. It's so early in the morning here that the natives are probably all still asleep; if anybody hears us, they'll think we're a gust of wind. Your team will have to be ready to hit the ground running, though, because I can't afford to hold the shuttle in place this close to the village more than a second."
  
  "What's the other option?" you ask.
  
  "I can set you down about a kilometer to the south," he says. "You'll have to hike across the open grassland to reach the blind, but it's less risky than landing just outside the village.
  
  "I should point out that either way I'll have to take the shuttle back up and well out of sight," the pilot continues. "If you guys get into trouble down here, it'll take me five minutes to return and extract you--but only if there are no implications with the natives. If rescuing you means exposing this shuttle to the Folvans, your hides won't be worth my head. And trust me, I've piloted Captain Ynthramanni around enough times to know he is dead serious when it comes to protecting these low-tech cultures."
  
  "Understood," you say.
  
  > If you tell Hinju to land next to the observation post, turn to page 88.
  "Just don't get us all court-martialed," Hinju says as he puts the shuttle in stealth mode, making it go dark both inside and out. "You better gear up now," he adds.
  
  He swoops the shuttle down low over the grassy surface as you and your search team don small backpacks. Then he comes to a stop at what appears to be an nondescript knoll just a few dozen meters outside the village; in the moonlight, the houses appear to be little more than dark, round mounds.
  
  "Go! Go! Go!" Hinju says, and within seconds you are standing in the alien grass along with Lieutenant Hun-Spruk, Dr. Wildon, Chief Dansmith, and Starman Quabiss. Before you know it, the shuttle takes off low over the empty prairie.
  
  You are briefly unsure what you're supposed to do, as you appear to be surrounded by nothing but grassy knolls, with no sign of Dr. Munro's blind. But a moment later, Lieutenant Hun-Spruk has located the hidden entrance, and you all step down into what looks like a dark cellar buried in the nearest knoll.
  
  When the door closes behind you, Hun-Spruk turns the lights on. You are surprised to find the room tidy and unoccupied; secretly you had expected to find the remains of the research team, or perhaps signs that a struggle took place--something concrete to explain their disappearance.
  
  "Looks like we picked the wrong research site," Dansmith says.
  
  "Maybe," you agree, "but since we're here let's look around and see what we can learn."
  
  > Page 164
  The inside of the blind is a cozy space with minimal furnishings. There is a holographic display that occupies the entire wall closest to the village; although currently deactivated, it would normally project a three-dimensional image of the outside world, allowing Dr. Munro and her team to observe life in the village without being seen themselves. In one corner of the room there is a collection of rudimentary bunks, and another corner is the home of a food pantry, a small stove, and a wash basin.
  
  "Wow," Dansmith says, taking in all these rustic furnishings. "Who is more primitive, the human research team or the bronze-age people they're researching?"
  
  Dr. Wildon is inspecting the first aid supplies next to the food pantry. "It looks like everything is here," he says. "Therefore if this is the spot where the team disappeared from, it wasn't for medical reasons."
  
  "What we need to find are any research notes they might have left behind," Hun-Spruk says. "Maybe that will provide some insight as to when they were last here, and what they were doing."
  
  You, Quabiss, and Wildon defer to the lieutenant's expertise and join her in that search--although with so few furnishings, and so few places for anything to be hidden, you are unsure what you should be looking for, or where to find it.
  
  > Page 38
  Chief Dansmith, however, is most interested in the holographic display. He activates it, and then steps back as the view of the sleepy village is recreated in meticulous detail along one entire side of the room.
  
  "Um, Lieutenant," he says, "you might want to take a look at this."
  
  You turn from your examination of the humble dining table—which provides no clues to Dr. Munro's disappearance that you can tell—and see a shadowy figure making its way from the village toward the blind. Folvan has only one moon, and though it is large and full tonight, its dark-reddish color reflects only a dim light across the nightscape. Therefore it is hard to make out the details of who is approaching your location, but who could it be other than one of the villagers?
  
  Of course, you're looking at a holographic projection of what is happening outside, so there is no chance that the Folvan sees you. Even so, everybody stops what they're doing to watch what the alien does.
  
  It approaches so close that it passes out of the holographic projector's field of vision. Then you hear footsteps overhead. Dansmith and Hun-Spruk both look at you in disbelief. Does the Folvan really know where the blind is?
  
  A long moment passes when you hear nothing at all, and you start to think the night-walking being has simply passed you by and is wandering out into the prairie.
  
  "That was close!" you say, but Dansmith hushes you. The entrance to the blind is opening!
  
  > Page 105
  In walks the Folvan, as naturally as if it has been here before. In the artificial light of the room, you can see its features quite clearly: tall, gray-skinned with a mane of wooly black hair extending down its back, long and powerful-looking legs, and large, yellowed nails at the end of its four thick fingers. A kilt-like garment made of interwoven grass covers the being from the base of its ribcage to just above the knees.
  
  It regards each of you with its dark eyes, and then the holographic display with its life-like image of the Folvan village. That's when a fleshy sac on its throat puffs out like a frog's, and the Folvan emits a strange series of hoots, chirps, and whistles.
  
  Is it trying to intimidate you? Quabiss, your security specialist, is hovering his hand over his holstered plasgun. "Lieutenant?" he says. "What are your orders?"
  
  Dansmith seems equally poised for action. "Protocol says we have to stun the local and take him back to the ship for a memory wipe. He can't be allowed to have any knowledge of us."
  
  "Hold on!" Hun-Spruk says, her face illuminated by her WristComp display. "I think he's trying to tell us something. I just need to call up Dr. Munro's translation app."
  
  Chief Dansmith shakes his head. "The orders from Captain Ynthramanni and Commander Diston were quite clear," he says.
  
  > If you stun the Folvan and take him back to the Orion for a memory wipe, turn to page 42.
  You know that Chief Dansmith is right, although it disturbs you profoundly to have to shoot the Folvan. So far it--he?--has not threatened you, but he is a member of a bronze-age civilization that has just encountered five space-faring aliens and a holographic image of his village. The implications for the natural development of the Folvan people would be far-reaching, and you know the Astral Navy has strict regulations about this kind of thing.
  
  "Starman Quabiss, stun the Folvan, please," you say. Lieutenant Hun-Spruk is clearly disappointed, but after a brief flash of light the Folvan falls to the ground, knocked unconscious by the beam from Quabiss's plasgun.
  
  "Clearly there is no information for us here," Dansmith says, "and now we have an urgent need to get this fella back to the Orion."
  
  "Right," you say.
  
  And with that you call Hinju on the comm and advise him of your situation. "I'll be there in five," the pilot says.
  
  "While we're waiting for the shuttle to return, let's get this guy outside," you say.
  
  It takes four of you to lift the Folvan, for not only is he big, but everything here is heavy with this planet's large size and more powerful gravity. Dr. Wildon has been monitoring the Folvan's condition, and opens the door to the blind for you.
  
  > Page 174
  Once in the night air, you set the stunned alien on the ground. "We're not alone here," Hun-Spruk says.
  
  You turn, and there standing atop the small knoll above the observation post are five more Folvans, dimly lit by the large, red moon. They say nothing—not that you could understand them if they did—and you can only imagine what they must be thinking. After all, here are five humans standing over an unconscious Folvan, who as far as they know may be dead.
  
  Silently they descend from the knoll in your direction. Quabiss starts to reach for his plasgun again, but the Folvans are spread out, meaning you would all have to fire to stun each of the newcomers—and who knows how many more Folvans are on their way over the knoll?
  
  > If you draw your plasguns and prepare to defend yourselves, turn to page 104.
  You draw your plasgun, signaling that the others do the same.
  
  "Stun setting only," you say. It will be a few minutes before Hinju arrives with the shuttle, and cultural contamination or no, you have a right to defend yourselves should the Folvans act aggressively.
  
  But then the unexpected happens: each of the five Folvans reaches under their grass-fiber garments and pulls out shiny metallic objects. Swords of some kind? It's only when they hold the objects straight out and point them at you that you realize the natives are armed with plasguns, the same as you.
  
  One of them speaks in a similar manner to the one who entered the research post, but you have no ability to understand what it's saying. You realize you're in an indefensible position: the Folvans have the upper ground, and possibly reinforcements behind them. Your plasguns are set to a low-grade stun setting, but who knows about theirs? What do naval regulations say you should do in a situation like this? Are you expected to try and stun every Folvan in sight so that the Orion's medical staff can perform memory wipes on everybody?
  
  Just then you hear a trilling sound on the comm unit attached to the back of your right ear—there is an incoming transmission from the ship.
  
  "What is your status?" It's Lieutenant Aolin Wyte, your mission liaison to the bridge. You make a point of turning away; you doubt the Folvans can understand your words, but you want them to at least understand you're not directing your words at them.
  
  > Page 41
  You try to summarize your situation as quickly as possible; this is an awkward moment to be speaking with the ship. For all you know, the Folvans think you're speaking with some invisible god. But then there they are training plasguns on each of you, so who knows what they really think.
  
  But Lieutenant Wyte is alarmed to hear that your expedition is in what amounts to an armed standoff with the Folvans—an alarm that he apparently shares with the senior officers.
  
  The Orion's first officer takes over the communication. "This is Commander Diston," he says. "Are you able to reposition yourselves to gain a tactical advantage?"
  
  "Negative," you say. "We're standing in the open prairie. The Folvans are on the side of a knoll. There is nowhere for us to go."
  
  "All right, then," Diston says. "Stand tight. It looks like Hinju will be there in about thirty seconds. When he lands, just back off until you're out of range. We're sending a security team down. Obviously, something has gotten out of hand here, and we need to change our strategy."
  
  "Understood," you say.
  
  But the exchange with Commander Diston has upset the Folvans—as if they understood what he said too. The central figure lets out a shrill chirp, and immediately they open fire. You and your four companions are felled by plasma beams on the first volley. The beam that strikes you burns through your left shoulder, knocking you backward into the stiff grass.
  
  You hear Hinju's shuttle swooping in, but at least one of the Folvans has trained its weapon on the spacecraft. Even a handheld plasgun, if aimed properly, can bring down a transport shuttle. The last thing you see before your world goes dark is a flash of light in the night sky.