text: [Themes: sci-fi, science fiction]
  
  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 continue to the observation post, turn to page 54.
  Lieutenant Hun-Spruk agrees with your decision. "Dr. Munro spent nearly all of her time on Folvan at these three research posts, or making the short hikes between them," she says. "That's where we need to begin our search."
  
  The valley between the two ridges soon becomes a narrow gully, and before it makes a steep descent into the crater valley the lieutenant begins to climb the ridge on your right at a long angle. The eerie shrieks continue unabated on the far side of the neighboring hill; you scan the dark landscape, but you can see no signs of movement over there.
  
  The ridge you are climbing is a barren expanse of rock, with pockets of gravel between some of the larger protrusions of bedrock. Although the valley before you is a lush savannah of grass, this range of small mountains is nearly lifeless. Climbing the hill is unusually tiring in this strong gravity, even after all the time you spent in the Gravity Gym.
  
  But soon the bushwhack course that Hun-Spruk has been leading you on levels out as you near the end of the ridge. The site before you is awesome, even in the dim light cast by Folvan's large, reddish moon. The mountain range comes to an abrupt end here, with the terrain dropping steeply down to the grassy prairie below. The large lake spreads toward the lightless horizon, and although you can't see it very well in the moonlight you know there is a Folvan village on the shore.
  
  Just as you reach the far end of the summit, where there is a precipitous drop down to the grassland, Hun-Spruk veers sharply right to the base of a rock knob. There before you is the research post, an artificial cave hollowed into the rock right at the edge of the mountain.
  
  > Page 55
  You are surprised to find it fully exposed to the night air. Observation blinds such as this are supposed to be concealed to prevent discovery by the indigenous population, but this one is in plain sight.
  
  "This is not right," Hun-Spruk says. You enter the post and find it to be virtually empty: no equipment, few furnishings except a stool and a metal cabinet, and most significantly, no people.
  
  "I'd say no one has been here in years," Chief Dansmith says.
  
  "That can't be," Hun-Spruk says. "I was reading Dr. Munro's most recent reports as we prepared for this mission. She said she spent three months up here this past spring, trying to observe the Folvans' seasonal migration back from their southern grazing grounds."
  
  "By any chance, was that report an optical recording?" Dansmith asks.
  
  "No, it was written..." Clearly, your science officer has been caught off guard by this turn of events, where the physical evidence is at odds with the written record.
  
  "It appears the Grass Planet is hiding a really big secret," you say.
  
  You take a moment to report your findings to the Orion. Lieutenant Aolin Wyte is your mission's assigned liaison with the bridge, and as you explain how your findings at the first research post are out of alignment with expectations, you sense that he is strangely unimpressed. "The captain has no new orders for you," he says. "Continue your investigation."
  
  That wasn't very helpful, you think to yourself. But then, that more or less sums up Aolin's reputation among the ship's crew: somewhat self-involved, and not known to contribute any more of himself to a group effort than he deems necessary.
  
  You look around the vacant observation post, with its panoramic view across the crater valley and the distant moonlit lake. Other than the stash of dusty rations that Dr. Wildon found a moment ago in the metal cabinet, the place is clearly abandoned. Even the holographic equipment that would normally hide the dugout from view is nowhere to be found--not just damaged or destroyed, but completely gone.
  
  "So it appears we've hit a dead-end," you say. "I think the next step is to proceed to the main research post located out on the prairie. If that was Dr. Munro's base of operations, we should have better luck finding useful information there."
  
  "Agreed," Chief Dansmith says, with Hun-Spruk and Dr. Wildon nodding as well.
  
  > Page 56
  "Lieutenant, it's possible we might have another option," Starman Quabiss says. "If you come out here, I can show you what looks like a clear trail leading down the mountain."
  
  Quabiss has been outside the dugout the entire time, as if standing guard or simply reluctant to come inside. Curious, the four of you head out of the blind to see what he has seen. "It's hard to tell in this crazy red moonlight," he says. "But I've been looking at it the entire time you all were inside talking, and I'm pretty sure that's a foot trail leading down in that direction."
  
  You shine your handlight at it briefly, and indeed Quabiss is right: a trail leads downward from the post and across the slope of the mountain. Whereas the slope is far too steep to descend straight down, the trail cuts sideways across the mountain at a reasonable slope.
  
  "Could just be a game trail," Dansmith says. "Nothing but wild critters using it--and Folvan has more than a few dangerous critters we'd prefer to avoid."
  
  "Plus, it could be dangerous descending a trail like this in the dark," Hun-Spruk adds.
  
  "But it will be morning soon, right?" Quabiss says. "We could hang out here a bit and start down at the first sign of light."
  
  Hun-Spruk pauses, consulting her WristComp map. "Well you know what? This trail does point in the direction of the main research post," she says.
  
  "So basically, our choices are to fly to the next research post, or walk there?" you ask.
  
  > If you return to the shuttle and fly to the next research post, turn to page 90.
  "Flying will get us there more quickly and safely," you say, and it is obvious that everyone agrees with you. If Quabiss is upset that you didn't take his suggestion, he hides it well.
  
  With that, you notify Hinju on the comm that you found nothing here and that you will be returning to the shuttle. Lieutenant Hun-Spruk leads the way back down the barren ridgeline and into the secluded valley where the spacecraft is waiting for you.
  
  When you step back up into the shuttle, the pilot has the ship ready to fly as promised. "Where to next, Lieutenant?" he asks.
  
  "We want to go to the next research post, the one out on the prairie."
  
  Hinju looks concerned, staring into space as if making a mental calculation. "OK," he says. "We can take a look. My concern is that it will be dawn shortly, and therefore we'll be in full view of anybody who may be watching."
  
  "Understood," you say.
  
  Hinju reengages the holo-virtual controls, and with a gesture of his shoulders the ship lifts off. The shuttle keeps low over the rocky summits before dropping into the crater valley. The reddish moon is dipping behind one horizon, whereas on the other the faint glow of daylight is already visible. At this northern latitude, the nights are apparently very short and the mornings come very early.
  
  To avoid being seen, Hinju flies so low over the ground--about twenty meters or so--that you are able to watch the grassland below for signs of wildlife. You seem to be heading toward no place in particular, with the low mountains arcing partway to your right around a sea of flatness. There are no trees, few hills, and nothing but dry streambeds connecting the highland to the distant lake. If it weren't for the fact that Hun-Spruk had the coordinates for the research post uploaded into the shuttle's controls, there would be no way to find the hidden shelter in this landscape with no landmarks.
  
  > Page 91
  When the shuttle starts to bank in a turn toward port, you surmise that you are nearing your destination. "Hooh boy, would you look at that," Hinju says. As he steers the ship out of its turn, you can see what he sees through the forward viewport: a herd of large black beasts gathered on the prairie. In the dim morning light you can make out their massive, muscular bodies--hundreds of them. From your perspective they look imposing, but for the moment they seem to be stationary.
  
  "Mumpaqs," Lieutenant Hun-Spruk explains. "Grazers. But look at the trail over there. They've recently stampeded."
  
  She is pointing to a trail of trampled grass about a kilometer wide. "Stampeding? From what?" Dansmith asks.
  
  "Most likely from garda beasts," Hun-Spruk says. "Fast and venomous predators hunting in prides, and extremely deadly."
  
  "Dr. Munro hikes across this landscape from post to post?" Dr. Wildon asks.
  
  "Yes," Hun-Spruk says. "She knew her way around this planet."
  
  "I hate to say it, but those coordinates you gave me are right in the middle of all this," Hinju says, nodding toward the herd.
  
  The shuttle is now circling this heavily trampled part of the prairie. "Wait, what is that over there?" Dansmith is pointing to a spot on the fringe of the herd that looks like an unusual shadow in the grass. Hinju twists his torso slightly and the shuttle arcs gracefully in that direction. When you reach the spot Hinju brings the shuttle to a stop, hovering over a group of mumpaqs. Gray and bearing four rows of tusk-like spikes down their bodies, the beasts scatter from your position without ever looking up.
  
  Ahead of you is a strange hole in the ground; its rectangular outline is a clear indication that it is man-made, and not a natural phenomenon. A wounded mumpaq languishes inside the pit; one of its front legs appears to be broken.
  
  > Page 92
  "Did it fall into a trap?" Dr. Wildon asks.
  
  "I don't think so," Hinju says. "We're practically on top of the coordinates for the research post."
  
  "Then that means..."
  
  "This is Dr. Munro's post," Hun-Spruk says, finishing Dansmith's thought. She immediately activates the shuttle's scanner. "No signs of human life," she reports. "No remains, either."
  
  "So this makes two shelters that appear to be abandoned," you say.
  
  "Again, it shouldn't be," Hun-Spruk says. "Not according to Dr. Munro's reports."
  
  "All things being equal," Chief Dansmith says, "I'd say the visual evidence we've gathered in just a short amount of time proves that our xenoanthropoligist friends have been filing false re-"
  
  Hun-Spruk, still scrutinizing the sensor readings, cuts him off. "Oh god, we've got to get out of here."
  
  "Why? Please explain?" you say, but Hinju is already reacting. "I see them," he says. "The natives have spotted us."
  
  Before you can say anything more he is piloting the ship fast and low over the prairie, further into the vast unpopulated expanse. After several minutes you shoot upward into space.
  
  Everyone else in the shuttle is perplexed about the need for this sudden departure. "Let me show you," Hun-Spruk says. She calls up a recording of the shuttle's external visual logs, showing the scene from just minutes before: the trampled grass below the shuttle, the rectangular hole that used to be the hidden research post, endless grass beyond.
  
  Then from the grass five gray figures rise up, vaguely humanoid in appearance and spaced out in a large circle. They are pointing straight at the shuttle.
  
  "Our sensors never picked them up?" Dansmith says.
  
  "No," Hun-Spruk says. "Not until they emerged from underground. But now that I see this again, look what they're holding." She zooms in so that you can see that each Folvan is armed with a plasgun.
  
  "What is going on here?" Dansmith says.
  
  What indeed. Perhaps there was something to investigate at that research post after all. But for the moment, your mission has been compromised and there is nothing any of you can do now but return to the Orion.