Previously: Episode 2
Graver & Varda navigated Narwhal, as it first jumped to the target location in Pluto, and started making observations of the Kuiper Belt. They were not too worried about being noticed by human satellites, as very few had ventured beyond Mars. Still, exercising caution, they had Narwhal's cloaking shield activated at all times.
The Troodonians had established colonies throughout their own solar system in multiple suitable moons of different planets. The team visited each of these locations, while carefully remaining hidden from the few human unmanned satellites (the Voyagers, Pioneer etc) who came that far.
Each site they visited was unique and has its own exquisite beauty. The numerous geysers on Triton (Neptune's moon), the vast methane oceans on Titan (Saturn's moon), icy seas of Encladus (Saturn), and Europa (Jupiter), the incredible terrifying volcanic eruptions on Io (Jupiter), and the breathtaking colours and sights of the planets themselves.
Graver & Varda were the on-site team whereas the rest of the crew handled the on vessel work. They spent a lot of time together, and Graver was struggling internally. Vrada respected him very highly as a mentor and he took his role very seriously.
But on the other hand he felt this strong connection drawing him closer and closer to Varda. The more he tried to quench that fire, the stronger it got. The more he tried to cut that invisible string drawing him to her, the more it tugged at his heart. He was elated, he was scared..scared of losing what they had...
After 6 months, finally it was time to cross the asteroid belt to Mars. Back in their home Solar System, Mars was a thriving hub full of activity. Here it was a ghost planet, but with a number of human satellites.
Varda briefed the team as they entered Mars - "Okay our honeymoon period is coming to an end now, here is where the real work and challenges start. Humans have greater visibility in Mars and then when we move on to the Moon and Earth itself, we have to be very very careful.
Despite their slow technological advances, they are still very far advanced in capability compared to when the last team visited during their world war 70+ years ago. The methods used then will not work now.
If our true identities are revealed, our safety may likely be at risk, even though we pose no threat to them. We carry no weapons as per the Troodonian laws in these trips, so be very very careful please.
Once at Earth some of us will remain in the vessel, and some of us will go down. Graver and I will go first, and once we are back the next pair will proceed. We will be in our human camouflage skins and be able to understand and converse with the humans with our translation tech."
(To be continued...)
Next: Episode 4
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