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a76809.jpg
Ribbon Prancer
a76809
>>198915
[You could load a rocks into an empty probe bay, but that requires actually getting said rocks from somewhere, so lacking rocks when first nearing a planet, unless you want to flit through space to get some from somewhere else, you would have to acquire them on sight]
>>198937
>>199185
I send down one of my three remaining probes to the clearing above the plains, looking to receive more in-depth sensory data before landing. Thanks to the relatively short-term nature of the information I seek (anything proximal to the clearing and by extension where I wish to set down the ship). Within moments of it's landing, the probe starts sending a wealth of information on plant life (this time I look for evidence of... larger.. plant forms, but none seem to evidence the massive underground root network or enough mass above ground to support flora based intelligence, and none seem responsive to the probes presence), before it starts sending me data on several examples of fauna. Most seems like various examples of scavengers and other smaller creatures... but four types of species are of significant size, and it is these I focus on, in the hopes of learning of a threat... or possible intelligence.
The first species I detect seems to stay nearer to the forested parts of the landscape, some distance away from the clearing, but their bodies seem highly conductive of electrical signals, and practically glow to the probe's sensors. Further, I see examples of multiple organisms from this species interacting with one another vocally that indicates they possess some form of audio communication (the probes cannot say if this is supplemented with pheromones are the reading of body language), and seem to be, on average, twice the size of one of my drones, and slightly larger than my core body. They seem omnivorous, consuming plant and animal matter alike, though they show no signs of cannibalism.
The second species I detect seems to have originally been based around flight, as they read to have partly hollow endoskeletons and plumage indicative of evolution made with flight in mind at some point in their ancestry, and I detect them traveling in what appear to be matriarchal packs (as opposed to the first species, which outside of communication seems to travel in completely random group sizes between one and six), the nearest of which has some two score number. These creatures are some two-thirds the size of my drones and dwarfed by my core body, and seem to forage in the planes and forests alike primarily for vegetation.
The third species I detect are the largest by far, large enough they could potentially pose a threat to the ship, but thankfully they seem exclusively based in the forests. I see no evidence of appreciable intelligence, as they seem to just wander about foraging and naught else.
The fourth species I detect, slightly smaller than my drones, intrigues me. All other species perceived offer it a wide berth, and from the way all examples perceived act, it is assumed their tail, rather than having a disposable stinger, has an injector and refilling poison gland, and seem exclusively carnivorous.
While the second species is the most prolific near the proposed landing sight, there are several examples of the first species also nearby... and one example of the fourth wandering about.
...I do note that even the plains seem to show evidence that a large portion of their vegetation possesses nutrients I require, some of which would not even require processing to render edible:
So, should I land here?
Should I try to avoid natives, or seek out an indigenous population?
Or should I do something else?
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