A gentle, warm light filters in, covering me, while the fresh breeze enters the ship.
The being's skin shivers beneath his armor as the cold air strikes him. Slowly, he takes one step after another until he finally exits the hatch.
An endless stretch of green unfolds before him, seemingly infinite, surrounded by rolling hills. Tall, lush trees rise high, with flowers and clear streams weaving through the land under a bright, cloudless sky.
The being's eyes widened in silence, mesmerized by the beauty of a planet once thought dead—said to be nothing but ruins, ravaged by war.
Slowly, he raised his hands to his helmet. Despite the computer's warnings against removing it due to the lethal radiation, he hesitated briefly before lifting it off.
As the helmet came away, the cold air caressed his skin, his hair dancing in the soft breeze, and the moist scent of the earth filled his senses. Closing his eyes, he surrendered to the moment.
For ten minutes, he stood in silence, immersed in the paradise around him. Finally, he opened his eyes to the haven before him and reluctantly placed the helmet back on.
"Gareth... is this place real?" the being asked in a low, almost inaudible voice, his gaze fixed on the blue sky now slowly being veiled by white clouds, dimming the warm sunlight.
The being began walking across the tall grass field, heading toward a distant hill about 10 kilometers away from his ship.
"Didn't your data—and the Union's—say this planet was a radioactive wasteland? So why do I see this paradise before me?"
Silence fell between the being and his AI companion as he continued his journey. Reaching the hill, he climbed it, and what he saw beyond took his breath away: fields, forests, and mountains that could rival the most beautiful paintings he'd seen from the noble-controlled planets across the galaxy.
This planet was a paradise untouched by the Union—a paradise he suddenly felt reluctant to leave.
"Why don't I find a partner and spend the rest of my life here?" he thought to himself, watching the branches of the trees sway gently in the light breeze.
He turned to look back at the spot where his ship had landed: a massive crater, unnatural in shape, one whose origin he immediately recognized.
"The Devil's River," he murmured softly.
"Wasn't it said that this weapon was only ever used on barren planets for testing?" he wondered aloud, his head tilting slightly in the opposite direction.
The being's thoughts began to scatter, the information he'd learned conflicting with everything he thought he knew.
"By the stars... was I sent here just to retrieve a jewel, or do they have other plans for me?"
He sighed, his gaze shifting toward an ancient, crumbling tower beyond a forest of towering trees. Slowly, he began walking toward the forest, marveling at the beauty of the world surrounding him.