48 Silent NightThe sounds Flash heard within the whale merged with, and then were replaced by the familiar sounds of his ship. He was not sure how long he had slept, and he looked down again on the planet Olo, which now looked completely different than when he first saw it.
What had been a drab little speck now danced with color. He had never seen a more beautiful planet.
Flash watched anxiously until the whales, with their enigmatic riders came into view.
Did they need his help? They were far below him, skimming the thermosphere while the mother ship orbited much further out.
Weighing his options, he decided to jettison the TNI2 and head down to investigate. He’d be safe within the craft while testing the atmosphere and the stability of the planet’s surface.
Olo’s characteristic sounds had ceased, along with the seismic activity. All was still and silent.
After a breakfast of waffles and maple sausage, Flash suited up for his long awaited descent to Olo. The planet which had intrigued him for so many years had only become more compelling in the light of recent events. There was always danger in any excursion from the mother ship, but Flash was undaunted. After all, this is why he had come.
Granted, he hadn’t planned on encountering orbiting whales. Come to think of it, there were ten other whales that were unaccounted for. They had shown no signs of aggression as they swam up past his ship, and his dream further comforted Flash Meridian as he prepared to disembark for his journey.
After checking the air pressure gauge, he opened the hatch and floated through the portal into the TNI2.
The view of Olo’s surface from the pod was stunning.
An equipment scan showed all systems “GO,” so Flash sealed the hatch and released the craft from its moorings. The slightest touch of booster rockets separated the pod from the mother ship and he was on his way.
Because the mother ship was in geosynchronous orbit, Flash circled the planet several times looking for anything unusual. It was all unusual. The color fields over which Flash passed were mesmerizing. The closer he spiraled down toward the surface, the more detail he saw, photographing every bit of Olo’s surface. These images were automatically uploaded to his computer and compiled into a satellite map.
The longer Flash stared at Olo’s surface, the more he saw, noting the relationships of the shapes and colors, and he began to see cryptic images within the landscape. An enormous purple rabbit. A fish head. A woman hanging laundry on a line, a boy flying a kite on a frozen lake with fish swimming below the ice. Flash felt he could spend eternity staring at it and never exhaust the combinations of forms.
What had appeared to be flat color shapes from a great distance were actually mountains, canyons and extravagant prominences in every conceivable shape and size. Glimmering lakes had looked metallic from the mother ship. They were fed by rivers that cascaded through the newly formed terrain and dropped in shining falls like liquid silver.
As the TNI2 gradually descended, Flash’s mind was completely focused on the resplendent vistas below him until a warning alarm sounded. The radar screen detected a collision course with a large, slow moving object.