SODIUM:6 Defiance Read Online Free PDF Page B

designated third in defensive command, Hershen and I flipped our BGS shields to full and fired our BHDs. We were soon gliding over the heavily forested landscape outside the high walls of the compound.
    The forests were a dark green and numerous small flying creatures could be seen swooping in and out of the branches or fluttering about. We came across a small raging river that twisted, turned and splashed around giant boulders as it made its way down towards the ocean.
    As we continued, the thick forests turned into savannahs where the local animal life was abundant. Large hairy buffalo-like creatures moved about in herds. Other predatory animals could be seen moving about in the tall grass surrounding those herds. We stopped to observe the circle of life as a pod of raptors crept ever closer to a smaller herd.
    The attack was savage but well planned. Three beasts were separated from the rest and the raptors then corralled them into an area of thick brush where they then pounced. Several dozen of the small raptors were soon feasting.
    We continued our tour into the DaCuban uplands and were soon flying over a gigantic lake. We flew low over the crystal clear waters where we could see schools of fish swimming near the surface with a flock of birds circling overhead. I found it interesting that life on a planet so distant from Earth could have evolved in such a similar way. I then thought about Hershen and how his race had many human-like qualities. It was a small galaxy.
    As we reached the end of the lake, it was being fed by an enormous waterfall. The water fell nearly a thousand meters off a high plateau. Several micro-bursts later we reached the crest and were drifting over the plateau. Life on the plateau had a distinctly different look to it. The animals were larger in scale and lizard-like in appearance. The plateau had a number of craggy rocky outcroppings that were covered with thousands of the five meter long creatures sunning themselves. The daytime temperatures at the higher elevations held at 20 degrees Celsius. The large animals moved about slowly.
    We next reached the high country where patches of snow still covered the ground in the shade. As we climbed higher in altitude the temperatures continued to drop and the dark green vegetation gave way to the pristine white snowdrifts. We set down on the second highest of three mountain peaks and looked back down at the sprawling continent below. The air was clear with visibility out to nearly 500 kilometers. The highlands sloped down to the plateaus which then abruptly dropped off down to the savannahs and sprawling jungles before finally meeting up with the ocean. It was a breathtaking sight of natural beauty.
    After a brief stay we headed toward the tallest peak to circle around it before heading back. We moved in close as we drifted and I discussed the scenery with Hershen. I told him he should set descriptions of the place in his head so that he could use them in his storytelling back home. He said that on the surface that sounded like a wonderful idea but in reality I was the only one who ever heard his stories, and since I had been there... well the descriptions were already known.
    As we drifted close to the back side of the highest mountain peak I took notice of a strange formation in the rocks. It was a small area of only several hundred meters but the formation was made of definite geometric shapes. They were heavily weathered and were not something that nature had created. We circled in and landed on a flat snow covered surface that was about 50 meters square.
    Several large fallen boulders covered what would have been the center of a back wall. We set out suits to minimum and then used our gravity pulse guns to push the rocks away. Two large stone doors now stood before us, each seven meters in height.
    Intricate carvings could be seen on the weathered stone as we stepped closer. They were symbols of different species of beings. There were four rows on each