Day 1:

After making landfall on planet JKS29714, I made camp and settles down to rest before exploring. My ship was settled on a plateau in the mountains, a nice steady slop down, crisp white snow litters the upper mountain slopes, with trees below as far as the eye can see. I sit down and admire the view, after a while something peaks my interest, a glacier on a valley not far away has some form of vegetation growing on it.

Grabbing my kit, I head out onto the slopes to get a better look, the closer I get the more the tree seems to shimmer in the afternoon light. Grabbing my scanner as I get close to the tree, for no other word comes to mind, seems more made of crystal than biological matter. I can see the roots biting into the ice and delving out of view beneath the ground. It does not seem to react to my presence, even when taking a sample for further examination in the lab.

As the sun started to drift behind the mountains, I made my way back to the ship. Putting the sample into the analyser to run overnight and send the results back, I head to bed ready for another day.

Day 2:

After the first discovery I was eager to explore this new planet further, I unloaded the rover from the ships hanger and made my way to what, based on satellite surveys, appeared to be a dormant volcano. It took most of the morning to get there, but with supplies to last an extended journey I was in no rush. Initial observations made it seems like most volcanos found elsewhere in the galaxy, with geo sampling suggesting it has been 174 years since the last lava was deposited.

As I made my way on foot around an escarpment I started hearing noises from the other side, breathing, shuffling. I quietly grabbed my scanner and kept low as I continued to peer around the edge, to my surprise there was a family of, what I can only describe as mammals, similar in appearance to a llama but with long shaggy hair. They appeared to be warming themselves on a secondary vent of the volcano. They were careful not to get too close and stayed below any fumes arising from the tunnel. I took as many readings as I could and used a holocam to gather detailed imagery that can be sent back. When I thought I could slips out of my hiding spot to not disturb them, I quickly grabbed a sample of fur that was clinging to a rock they must have passed. Heading back to the buggy, I quickly secure everything and settle down to spend the night here.

Day 7:

After returning the samples from the volcano it has been a quiet few days of study and cartography, today I head to a lake some distance away. I am taking as much kit with me as the rover can carry as I will be away from the ship for some time. Admiring the view as forests and mountains pass on my journey down, eventually the trees open up to a majestic view of what seems to be prairies as far as I can see, my destination nestled in the middle.

I slow my approach as to not startle any wildlife in the vicinity, then unpacking the rover and making camp in early evening ready to rest and get started cataloguing in the morning. I admire various life forms drinking from the lake, and washing themselves. Every now and then I see ripples spread out from deeper into the lake, something is moving in there, but finding out what will have to wait for better light.

Eventually drifting off, I awake suddenly in pitch darkness, groggily I check the chrono, but as I do the moonlight catches something floating over the surface of the lake. Getting dressed and grabbing some equipment I head out quietly onto the lake side. Fluttering over the surface are what appeared to be butterfly, but as I recorded I noticed that their light was luring some life form to the surface, which they then grabbed with pincers and then ate slowly, its blood dripping back into the lake. It was both a beautiful and terrifying site to behold. I will have to try and capture one of these butterfly for further study. After some time, I set the holocam to record constantly and relay the footage back to the ship, along with the readings I took from the scanner. The sleep was fitful that night, the sight was more disturbing than I had first thought.