How the Brain Works in Space

chapter #5

     In a few hours, Venus was in view. Aahori, Ferris, and Ryuu stood in the dining area, admiring the stars and the oncoming planet. Venus's surface was covered by heavy clouds, they all swirled, creating patterns on the planet.      "It's just a bunch of clouds?" Ferris asked, looking out the window, pushing up his glasses.

     "Humans only scratch the surface of what they could find." Ryuu grabbed ahold of the ladder leading to the cockpit, "We'll be landing in a moment."

     "You said that as if you're not human...you are, right?" Ferris followed Ryuu up the ladder.

     "Not really, I look human but it's just how I look." The captain reached his seat and began piloting through the clouds of Venus.

      "You've seen sci-fi shows with aliens that look human but have an extra heart or pair of lungs?"

     Ferris nodded his head, waiting for further description.

     "It's like that."

Silence filled the room as Ryuu navigated his way through the rocky terrain.

     "Hello, this is Landing Tower of Venus, do you copy?"

     The captain pushed a button and then spoke: "Yes, this is spacecraft Selene, pilot Ryuu Myer permission to land?"

     A moment passed

     "Twelfth gate, permission to land Selene." The voice replied.

     The flight was silent, even when Aahori entered the cockpit. A piece of land lifted and revealed a spectacular tropical planet.

     "How?" Was all Ferris would say in his state of awe.

    "Venus is close to the sun and they're able to get light from the many volcanic structures around the planet," Ryuu answered.

    

     The whole planet in the inside seemed to be one large rainforest. Ferris would hardly believe seeing the many stunning trees, rivers, and streams. It all seemed unreal, and he barely noticed his oversized glasses slipping down his nose again.

     "The main crust died from volcanic eruptions and fires on the surface of the planet, but as the civilians dug into the ground, they found that the destruction of the crust didn't mean there was a lack of life. They built civilizations and created a home in the jungle." Aahori almost sounded like she was quoting someone, but Ferris could see the look in her eyes, though she wasn't exactly pleased to be here right now, she still loved this planet dearly.

     They arrived gently on landing pad number twelve as instructed and were greeted with a few guards in small armor pieces over baggy clothing. Only four for standard checking.

     "Grab the air filters, anyone not born or raised or accustomed to the air here will have a hard time breathing." Aahori pointed at the air masks on the side of the wall.

     "And, Fer, bring the amulet with you." Ryuu glanced up at Ferris.

     The young man made sure that the leather straps of the amulet were tied tightly around his wrist. It looked like a gauntlet made of leather bindings with one large green stone in the middle of the back of the hand.

     The captain shut down the ship and left the cockpit, followed by the other crew members, masks tightly covering the boys' faces. A wall of heat knocked into the three of them.

     "How are you today, what is your business here?" One of the guards asked through her helmet.

     "Good Afternoon, we're only here for visiting," Ryuu answered, already wiping his brow.

     "Do you know the way into Market?" She asked, her honey eyes glancing over each of the visitors.

     Ferris uncomfortably hid his hand with the stone behind his back.

      "Yes." The leading visitor nodded and politely smiled.

     "Have a nice day on Venus." The guard nodded back and signaled to leave.

     The three visitors made their way into town, the newest one being fascinated by the different nuts and berries being sold along with different types of animal meat. These creatures were entirely foreign. Ferris tried to make his smushed glasses more comfortable under the tight mask to read the signs better. He desperately tried to adjust the mask without taking it off, settling with the fact that it would never be as he wanted it. "What is all this?"

     "Well, these are all things that these people can find to eat on this planet, also it's a good way to make money, though other people do get business jobs inside the capital, Aphrodite, the Greek version of Venus," Aahori said, unaffected by the heat.      

     "How do you keep cool?"

     "You really don't stop asking questions, do you?" Ryuu began walking backward for a moment to face Ferris.      "Sorry," Ferris apologized softly.

      "No need to apologize, It's just how laid back you usually are, I don't know what I was expecting though, you've always been good at getting the details out of people." The captain smiled at his college, his friend, and began to head off down the road again. "More answers will be given when we get to Solstice."

"If we get to Solstice." Aahori corrected.

     Ferris buried the burning questions and began to just admire the lively planet he didn't know existed. It was strange to think that this whole civilization lived just under the surface of what Earth believes to be Venus. People bustled around, going from store to store in a small town square.

     The moon came up in a short amount of time. Starting a new day on Venus.

     "How long has it been?" Ferris asked looking up at the rising moon.

     "A little while, we should stop to get some rest soon." Aahori nudged Ryuu who looked like he was a man on a mission, who looked like he had enough energy to run around the whole planet. 

     

     "Right, I know there should be a small Inn on the older side of town, it's just ahead."

     "We need to make sure we're rested and have the information before Andromeda gets here. I'm sure she knows where we are." With wonder still in her eyes, but a logical mind, Aahori began to stress.

     "We can stop at the Inn for the short night, and we'll get going in the morning, Solstice's house shouldn't be too far away after that." Ryuu pointed though the old worn down path.

     Ferris found how tired he was after all the excitement of his first, maybe second, conscious day in space.

     "Let's go." Ryuu clapped as he spoke and continued to march toward the building in the distance.