text: een seconds passed and you didn't reply, Uncle Croen continued. "I think you need to do this. I think you need to take on this mission. You are the type of person who craves responsibility, and will never be satisfied following someone else's direction--otherwise you'd be here now tending to your gava rice paddies. OK, I get it, you're still pretty young and you still have some doubts about who you are and what you can do. But if it's true what you tell me, and you are one of the top picks for this 'Grass Planet' assignment, then you will be cheating yourself if you don't take it."
  
  "I guess you're right," you said. "It's just that if I fail at this, it will be a bigger deal than miscalibrating a particle sensor. When you're in charge of a planetary mission, all of the decisions fall on you. Your team counts on you. Yes, I want this promotion and this assignment badly. But now that it might actually happen, it's kind of scary."
  
  "Look, did you call me hoping I would talk you out of this?" he said after the lag. "I remember you telling me about that time on Giri Minor, and those training missions to that Ishtrian moon. You had no problem taking charge then. And clearly your commanding officers see your potential now. So why all of this self-doubt?"
  
  "I don't know," you said. "Just nerves, I guess."
  
  "Nothing unusual about that. Look, kid, you'll do fine. Just trust yourself. I know if I was lost on some forsaken planet, I couldn't think of anyone better to come rescue me."
  
  Now, as you sit uncomfortably in your chair, watching the simulated darkness of night settle over the wooded mountains in the HoloScene, you wish you could resume that conversation with Uncle Croen.
  
  When you are in those mission briefings with Commander Diston, or discussing the preparations for your mission with Lieutenant Hun-Spruk and Chief Dansmith, your mind is clear; you can see the outcome that needs to be achieved, and the direct path to get there. As you've been planning the amount of supplies you'll need, or estimating the level of support you'll require from the Orion's bridge, no one has expressed the slightest doubt in your judgment. Even Chief Dansmith, who you feared would be second-guessing your every decision ever since that incident in the Sensor Array Control Room, has been notably supportive.
  
  Nevertheless, there are times when you're alone with your own thoughts when things seem less clear, less certain. But Uncle Croen is probably right. Scratch that: he is right. You will never know what your limits are until you go forth and meet them.
  
  It's just that you wouldn't mind hearing him tell you that tonight.
  
  All right, you think, the metal skeleton of your normally-comfortable chair is starting to cause actual pain. You can't concentrate on any of Dr. Munro's logs, and your mind is growing foggy from fatigue. Clearly it's time to go to sleep. So you change out of your duty uniform and follow your nightly hygienics routine, and then climb into your bed.
  
  Except that when you do, you find it to be nearly as uncomfortable as the chair. Note to self: Remind Chief Dansmith in the morning to have one of his friends in the ship's stores outfit your quarters with furnishings more appropriate for 2.3 Gs.
  
  > To begin a physical training regimen in the Gravity Gym, turn to page 121.
  You feel horribly out of shape, like you haven't run a kilometer in years, and have grown to the size of an elephant. You want to stop and bend over out of breath, but you know that will accomplish nothing.
  
  Actually, all things considered, you aren't doing that poorly. It's not that you've grown fat and lazy, but that you've adjusted the artificial gravity to your lane on the running track to match Folvan's 2.3 Gs.
  
  The track loops vertically above you around the circumference of the Orion's Gravity Gym. The other four lanes to your right are probably still set to the ship's normal gravity of 0.95 Gs, and a handful of other crewmembers are currently jogging past you there, as you struggle in your own lane. It seems odd to be passed so easily.
  
  A woman you don't recognize barely turns her head as she speeds by. "Good work, Lieutenant," she says to you. "Keep it up!"
  
  It's good to know that other people understand what you're trying to do.
  
  Because of the powerful gravity you will be encountering on your mission, you and your teammates will be logging as many hours as you can tolerate here in the Gravity Gym during the five-day voyage to Folvan. Today alone you plan to spend a total of five hours in the gym; there was a short session earlier this morning, and now this longer one before dinner.
  
  You had been hitting the gym in the week leading up to your promotion, but now that the expedition to Folvan is officially under your command you have been increasing the frequency and intensity of your workouts. Your normal Gravity Gym sessions are scheduled three times a week, and always after your duty shift is over. Those workouts are built around the need to meet your standard physical fitness requirements, and on some days to burn off a little steam; you set them to 1.2 Gs to remind you of Usul.
  
  However, this is a completely different situation. The ship's normal gravity is equal to that of the planet Ishtria, the main political and commercial hub for this sector. This is what your body has become used to since you entered the service. But on Folvan you are going to weigh more than twice your normal weight, and every physical action that you take—every step, every gesture, every heartbeat—will require twice the effort. You don't want to spend your entire time on the planet focusing on your discomfort, thus you feel compelled to acclimate yourself as much as you can, using the time available to you before you arrive at your destination.
  
  The gym is one of the more unusual spaces on the Orion. The main hull of the ship is spherical in shape, and rather than stacked horizontally like the floors of a terrestrial building, the decks are arranged concentrically, like the layers of an onion. The Gravity Gym is located at the very center of that onion, where the ship's artificial gravity is null. It is a huge spherical room where it feels like you can wander freely over the walls in every direction. There are dozens of hexagonal gravity plates that can be set to any strength, from 0.2 G to 10 Gs—or you can shove off into the empty space at the center of the gym and work out in a zero-gravity environment.
  
  The first thing you did after your mission briefing yesterday was to pick a secluded spot high up toward the top of the sphere and reserve three of the grav plates for your team's exclusive use. The gym's superintendent, Lieutenant Naudau Jakomil, agreed to keep your space available to you and your team members for the duration of your mission. You also secured the use of this running lane. Both the grav plates and the track lane are set to match the conditions you will be encountering on Folvan.
  
  However, it is clear you have some work to do before you can claim to feel comfortable functioning in the stronger gravity; so far the instant transitions to 2.3 Gs whenever you step onto one of the modified grav plates feels as though a pile of snow is suddenly falling on top of you; when you step off, the sensation is like you are being lifted to heaven by a flock of angels.
  
  As you run along the track, your WristComp is projecting a holographic timer above you and to your right—always hovering just ahead of you. This is just the second 5K jog you've tried to complete so far at this grav setting, and your splits are way off. There is no way you can match the paces set by the other runners in the neighboring lanes, unless you went all out for a few seconds in a sprint.
  
  One motivation for all this effort you've been putting into your workouts is that you don't want to disappoint Commander Diston. In your mission briefing the First Officer seemed especially concerned about the impact Folvan's gravity will have on the success of your mission. Chief Dansmith, however, insisted the first officer is worrying too much.
  
  "Habitable worlds of the size that humans prefer," he reminded you a little while ago, "are actually at one end of the spectrum. Many are actually much larger than Earth. Dealing with stronger gravity is a fact of interplanetary travel."
  
  You were stepping onto the track at the time, about to start your 5K jog, while Dansmith was resting for a moment before heading over to an uphill treadmill. So far the concerns that you had when you selected the chief for your team have proven to be unfounded; rather than competing with you, he has been encouraging you.
  
  "Until now, the largest planet I've ever been on was my own homeworld," you said.
  
  "You're from Usul, right?" he said. "I've noticed that oto leaf emblem you usually wear on your uniform. So yeah, as I recall that is one of the larger of the human worlds."
  
  "I have the gravity in my quarters set to 1.2 Gs to remind me of home," you said.
  
  "Really? I ought to get someone from Environmental Control to adjust that for you. I had mine set to 2.3 Gs for the duration of the mission. You know, for the full immersive experience."
  
  "So what is the biggest world you've ever been to?" you said.
  
  "Have you ever heard of the Miziri?" Dansmith said. "They almost never achieved space travel because they have to overcome a whopping 6.7 Gs just to reach low planetary orbit. A human weighs half a metric ton on that planet."
  
  "You've been there?"
  
  "Yes, about six years ago, when I was a technician aboard the Perseus," he said. "No human goes to Mizir without being outfitted with a special suspension harness, and even then you can't remain for more than a few hours. Pretty much my main job on that mission was to make sure the harnesses were functioning properly, because if one broke down the unfortunate person wearing it would break both his legs instantly, and probably a few other bones as well. But those things were a pain to rig up, because to be comfortable they had to be custom-fitted."
  
  "So what you're saying is we should feel lucky to have it so good?" you said.
  
  "Ha, yeah, I guess," Dansmith said. "Folvan might be large by Earth standards, but its gravity will not be debilitating. I know Commander Diston made a big deal about it at our briefing, but don't let anything he says get to you."
  
  You hope Dansmith is right. As you plod along the running track making your final lap, you daydream about what it might be like a few days from now if your body starts to accept these new conditions. What if each time you exit the Gravity Gym and return to the ship's normal 0.95 Gs, the transition starts to seem jarring in the opposite way? Instead of feeling too heavy here in the gym, you start to feel too light elsewhere in the ship?
  
  Maybe the best way to achieve that outcome is to add an extra kilometer to your run.
  
  > To proceed directly to your mission, turn to page 122.
  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 mountain research site, turn to page 36.
  "In her reports, Dr. Munro says she likes the mountain post because of the elevated perspective it provides of the Folvan village," Hun-Spruk explains as Hinju pilots the shuttle towards the rocky range. "It is farther from the settlement, but from here she has always reported she can observe the movements of the people better."
  
  This side of the planet is in darkness; Hinju announces it will be the wee hours of the morning when you arrive at your intended destination. The landscape below speeds past you, illuminated by a single red moon that is already sinking low toward the horizon. This may be the Grass Planet, but there are a few more ridges and lakes than you were led to believe. On any other world, these rocky ridges would hardly be considered mountains; but because Folvan is predominantly a vast, open prairie, the gray ridges rising out of the grasslands are a stunning sight, even in the moonlight.
  
  "The best part is we can park the shuttle there indefinitely," the pilot says. "If we were landing at one of the sites on the open prairie I'd have to drop you off and then shoot back into orbit. But these little mountains look like they have lots of good cover."
  
  Hun-Spruk feeds the coordinates of Dr. Munro's post to Hinju's navigation display, and the shuttle swoops down over the night landscape. You give the Folvan village on the shore of the lake a wide berth. Hinju locates a small valley high up between two bald summits and brings the ship down for a steady landing.
  
  "The observation post is less than a kilometer from here," he says. The hatch opens and you lead the way down into the Folvan night.
  
  The increased gravity is the first thing you notice, as your body is now 2.3 times heavier than normal. Your team assembles on the gravelly soil outside the shuttle, each person adjusting a small pack for the short hike to the first of the observation posts, which you expect will take no more than fifteen minutes.
  
  Meanwhile Hinju watches you from the hatch. "I'll keep this bird on standby, Lieutenant," he says. "At the slightest sign of trouble just return to this position and we'll be off in a matter of seconds."
  
  > Page 37
  Then your expeditionary party sets off with Lieutenant Hun-Spruk in the lead, guided by the coordinates locked into her WristComp. The rest of you follow close behind her, not eager to be left behind in the dark on this unfamiliar planet.
  
  You see Dr. Wildon scanning for human life signs again. "I was hoping we might have better luck now that we're so close," he says, "but I'm still getting nothing."
  
  Just then the nighttime peacefulness is broken by a loud shriek.
  
  The call echoes off the rocky slopes around you. It is followed by a second shriek, then a third.
  
  "Any idea what that might be?" Dansmith asks, searching the surrounding slopes for signs of movement.
  
  "Not sure," Hun-Spruk says.
  
  "It looks like we have some wildlife up on that ridge," Dr. Wildon says. "About 120 meters away. Whatever it is, it's big."
  
  "The blind is still four hundred meters along the opposite ridge," Hun-Spruk says.
  
  "Did Dr. Munro ever mention anything about sharing this place with the local fauna?" you ask.
  
  "Not that I recall," the science officer says. "In her reports, it sounded like there wasn't much life up here at all. That was the value of this post: no one but she and her team ever came here."
  
  "At this time I feel it's important to remind everyone of our mission briefing," Chief Dansmith says, "particularly the part about the apex predators on this planet: large and extremely deadly."
  
  "So here's a theory," comes a voice from the rear. Everyone turns because until this point Starman Quabiss, the expedition's young security specialist, has not had too much to say. "Maybe whatever creature is out there is new to the neighborhood. And maybe Dr. Munro and Mr. Dyo came up here not realizing they were in danger."
  
  Chief Dansmith looks at you with a raised eyebrow, as if to say Quabiss has an interesting point. Perhaps he does. However, the observation post is what you came here to see.
  
  > If you investigate the source of the strange noise, turn to page 45.
  Although you cannot see anything, it is clear that to find the source of the loud shrieks you're going to need to climb the slope to your left. You flash your handlight up the hill, finding a large slab of bare rock with about a 30-degree pitch.
  
  "After you, Lieutenant," Dansmith says, winking. You turn off your handlight and begin climbing, the way illuminated by the glow of Folvan's large, reddish moon.
  
  As you near the crest of the hill, you draw your plasgun along with Dansmith and Quabiss. Lieutenant Hun-Spruk and Dr. Wildon follow cautiously behind, studying their WristComps.
  
  The rock levels off, and crouching low you follow the sound toward the far edge. Before you, the terrain slopes back downward toward a small basin sheltered by rock ridges on two sides. It is perched atop a tall escarpment, overlooking the moonlit crater valley about 240 meters below.
  
  Three large creatures have made themselves at home here, and two of them seem to be having a disagreement. At first they remind you vaguely of emus, with round bodies perched atop two spindly legs, and long necks counterbalanced by a short, spiky tail. But their bodies are covered with fur instead of feathers, and when the largest one spreads its wings in a show of dominance, it reveals two leathery membranes, each one longer than you are tall.
  
  > Page 46
  "That's odd," Hun-Spruk says. "These aren't supposed to be here."
  
  "I wouldn't be so sure," Dansmith says. "It looks like they're quite at home."
  
  "No, seriously," the lieutenant says. "These are teek-teeks. They live in the high alpine lake country of the southern hemisphere."
  
  So far, the creatures haven't noticed you. They seem to be having an argument about a large bone; the smaller teek-teek has it, but the larger one is determined to get it. It's hard to tell the significance of that one bone, because the entire ledge is strewn with them; some are getting kicked over the edge as the two creatures circle each other.
  
  "A grisly thought just occurred to me," Dansmith says. "What if Quabiss's theory about Dr. Munro is correct, and she fell victim to these predators? Her remains could be somewhere down there on that ledge."
  
  "I could tell easily enough," Dr. Wildon says, "but I'd need to get a lot closer to get a good clean scan."
  
  "We could try and scare them off," Quabiss says. "Shoot a couple plasgun blasts over their heads, convince them to leave the ledge, and give the doctor a chance to see if any of those bones down there are human."
  
  Hun-Spruk and Wildon look at each other, and then shrug as if to say they can't think of a better plan. Everyone looks to you; this is your mission, and therefore your call. You look at the teek-teeks; the large one has finally gotten the bone it wanted, and the two smaller ones are now surveying the valley below from the precipice. Are they getting ready to take off on a hunt?
  
  > If you try Quabiss's plan to scare off the teek-teeks, turn to page 47.
  "How much time will you need to examine those bones, Doctor?" you say.
  
  "Just a minute or two," Wildon says. "But it's such a mess down there that I need to get close."
  
  "Well then let's make this quick," you say. "Shoot right over their heads, hope the noise and lights scare them away, and then get out of here."
  
  You pull your plasgun along with Quabiss and Dansmith, and you each pick one of the teek-teeks to target. And then at your signal, the three of you fire over the heads of the creatures.
  
  The rock ledge is lit up brightly by the flashes of your plasma beams, but the reaction of the teek-teeks is the exact opposite of what you expected: instead of becoming intimidated into leaving, all three turn to find the source of the energy beams. When they lock eyes onto you, they charge up the slope--straight at you and your companions!
  
  The strong gravity may be slowing you down, but the teek-teeks were born on this planet and are in their natural element. When you try to shoot directly at them, they leap up with their great wings extended, and then drop down to finish you off.