text: [Themes: sci-fi, science fiction]
  
  You easily guide your ship into the formation and the formation starts moving through space. Your ship appears more maneuverable than the other ships, so you find it easy to keep up with them. While you are flying, you look over at the other ships, trying to get a glimpse inside them, but you cannot see anything that looks like windows or any way to see outside at all.
  
  After a bit of time, you can see a planet starting to grow larger, and it looks like you are heading right towards the planet. You can see various swirls on the surface of the planet that look like clouds. As you get closer, those swirls look like they are moving very quickly and you can see lightning flashing, even from in space: there must be some incredibly violent storms on the surface, and those storms look like the cover the entire surface of the planet!
  
  As you get closer, you start to sweat and get worried about landing on such a planet, so much so that you almost miss the turn when the formation gently climbs up and around the planet. You watch as the incredible surface of the planet flies past you and you approach one of the moons of the planet. Getting closer to the moon, you can see the surface is covered with vast areas of green and blue. Clearly the formation is headed there as they move directly towards the moon. As you get closer, you realize the moon is much larger than you first though, perhaps as big as the earth you left behind.
  
  Nearing the moon, you appear to enter the atmosphere of the planet and can now see that the blue is indeed water and the green appears to be vast amounts of vegetation. This reminds you of pictures you have seen of the Amazon Rain Forests. The formation flies low over some of the water, then you see a wide open area in the green. The formation heads for the opening area and quickly slips over land and then all quietly land.
  
  A gentle breeze appears to be blowing, but then the vegetation erupts with movement: dozens and dozens of, well, creatures start appearing and walking towards the crafts. These creatures are about four feet tall, and walk on two feet. However, that is where the similarity to humans ends! They have three or four long appendages that end in vicious claws. On the top half of their bodies, they have massive maws filled with row after row of razor-sharp teeth. They move quickly and raise their claws in the air -- you can hear the clattering of the claws even through your pod's window. Then there is a high-pitched sound that scratches your ears, and you cannot tell if that is coming from the creatures or from something else.
  
  > get out and go with the strange creatures...
  You look down at the gauges and panels, and you see one that flashes "Environment: Breathable," so you figure you can head outside. Your pod door opens with a hiss and you immediately feel the warmth and humidity of the moon's surface. The high-pitched noise is even louder now as you step outside and your feet sink a little bit in the sand.
  
  The strange creatures run up towards you, their teeth gnashing and waving their claws in the air. A couple of them jump up on the sand and trip over their own feet, falling into the sand. Some others come out of the rectangular ships and head your way. You tower over the small creatures, but you don't feel very powerful next to their teeth and claws.
  
  As the reach you, you feel their warm claws against you, but they are not pinching you. Instead, they are touching you and rubbing up against you. You look down and one almost seems to be purring. You feel a nudge on your back, then another. They seem to be pushing you in a direction, and with so many of them around, you really don't have any choice but to go with them.
  
  You walk across the sand and into the jungle. It is even hotter in the jungle, as there is no movement of air, and it is very humid. The plants around you look a little like plants you remember from earth, but somehow they are different. After a short trip through the jungle, you come to a clearing filled with giant buildings.
  
  There are dozens of buildings, and they look like they are made of brown steel or some other steel-like substance. The buildings are very tall, nearly 100 feet straight up. They all have windows, and it looks like they have dozens of floors each. Before you have time to take in much more, they guide you into the first floor of one of the buildings.
  
  Inside the building, it is still hot, but you feel like you have stepped through a teleportation device: stepping out of the jungle and into an ultra-modern home. There is lighting and water -- the water flows in a fountain in two corners of the room. There is the light background hum of electricity flowing. There is a large dias at the far side of the room, and there is a taller one of the figures seated on what can only be described as a throne. There are fancy carpets woven from some strange fabric that you walk across as you head to the throne. When you get near, the rest of the creatures get silent and the one on the throne opens its mouth and makes some squeaking sounds. He is answered by the others, intoning together.
  
  One of the creatures comes up to you and you notice it has a cup of water held gently in its claw. It gives you the water and you realize how thirsty you really are. You drink it down quickly and the other creatures cheer. You finally smile, nod, and wave to them, realizing that you're now stuck on a planet with some strange creatures that seem to love you, yet you can't communicate with them at all...