Dr. Malek leaned his forehead against the cool panelled glass of the starcruiser, his three fingered hands leaving damp condensation marks against the pane, marring its view of the planet that soared on the horizon before them.

It was a beautiful planet, that he had to admit. The shattered moon next to it was a gaping maw, its fractured segments dangling around the blue world like a ring of courtiers vying for attention, the smaller pieces gradually dragged inwards and incinerated by the planet’s massive gravitational pull and atmosphere.

The commander-in-chief was at the helm, guiding the cruiser as its thrusters adapted to approach the planet, the patient and silent forcefield forming a fiery shell that encompassed the entire ship.

They landed fairly swiftly, the forward team disembarking and scanning the surroundings with pulsars on high, goggles and masks pulled over their faces to prevent them breathing in the lethal levels of oxygen and nitrogen that made up the atmosphere.