ENTRY 006
SURVIVAL LOG
BEGIN DICTATION:
Today, I took to the skies.
My ship's self-repair subroutines guided me through fixing the launch thrusters and pulse drive, and helped me deduce what I needed for fuel. I assumed all I needed was to look for plutonium crystals, but no. This "new" galaxy demands a mix of ferrite and di-hydrogen - and seems devoid of plutonium, anyway.
It took me awhile to figure out how to gather di-hydrogen, but some methodical exploration and scanning soon found deposits in small, azure crystals that seem to litter the surface of this world.
Once I had the fuel crafted and loaded into the launch thrusters, I brought The Refuge back to life and sat in the cockpit listening to the reassuring thrum of the engines. I needed to test her air-worthiness, and decided to take a quick jaunt across the surface of the planet to see if I could find any signs of life. If all went well, I would consider a return to space tomorrow or the next day.
So, I eased the throttle upwards and with a "whoosh," The Refuge lifted into the air. Then I gingerly engaged the horizontal thrusters to begin my expedition - and I was off!
As The Refuge surged forward, I saw a desolate - but strangely beautiful - landscape of yellowish plains broken up by deep valleys and soaring mesas. After maybe 30 minutes of such cruising, I decided to land and get a closer look.
What I found was an austere, desert beauty teeming with life. My training quickly kicked in. Yes, I am in a fight for survival and a quest to find home, but I've also made a life and career of studying extraterrestrial life, and here I was surrounded by it on all sides.
My repaired scanner and analysis visor are, I'm afraid, fairly basic - but I put them to heavy use as I tracked several surface species and one skittish bird that proved hellishly difficult to scan. When I had finally captured the data I needed, I couldn't contain my glee and shouted aloud.
It was then I made a decision: if I must travel a path through this strange and unknown piece of the cosmos, I will do so as a scientist and explorer. I owe it to my science, to my colleagues and myself.
END DICTATION
The winged species that gave me (and my scanner) fits today.