So this chapter is fairly short, much as I've struggled to lengthen it... but as it just kind of sets up how they establish that This Is The Place, it works...

here's how I envision the planet to look...

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as usual, I don't own these characters... I just like to play and be all geeky with them!

Chapter Four: Planetfall

We landed the shuttle at dusk amidst some rock formations, to keep hidden. The two regular crewmen, John Todd and David Beckman, had us wait until they had checked around the immediate area and determined that it was relatively safe to be there. When we were finally allowed out, we scaled the rocks and perched there, trying to orient ourselves to the new environment.

This was a world of two suns; actually one sun and one bright day star, as this was a binary system. Both were down now, and the thin air was cold. The two humans shivered and fastened up their overcoats. I looked at the ground and realized why the planet had been red on the viewscreen; the sand was reddish brown and likely tinged the sky red. There was not much in the way of vegetation around us; this place looked much more like Bella's Phoenix than Forks. A desert planet.

I badly wanted to run as fast and as far as I could, to explore this new world with no holds barred. It was frustrating to have to move at the humans' pace, especially now that we were no longer under the confines of secrecy that had existed on Earth. Carlisle was planning to wait before he revealed our secret, though, until we were established planetside; he didn't want to scare the humans unnecessarily, where the ship was such a confined space.

He spoke now. "Shall we begin? I think my boys are eager to go exploring to see what life forms may be out there. The rest of us can gather what samples are needed."

John Todd nodded. "Jasper, Emmett, Edward, you're with me. The scans showed that there might be something that-a-way" – he pointed to the north, "whether it be animal or sentient species we're not sure."

I jumped down lightly from my perch, followed closely by Emmett and Jasper. "Watch out, kid!!" yelled John Todd, too late, his hands extended toward me in a useless effort to catch me mid-flight. I grinned up at him.

"The gravity seems lighter here," I commented politely. "Really, we're fine. I think even you could jump from that height safely." Bella jumped down to my side, a pout on her face, and I caught her about the waist as I watched the two humans gingerly scramble down the rocks. Alice jumped into Jasper's arms while Rosalie jumped onto Emmett's broad back. Carlisle and Esme joined hands and stepped off the rock they were standing on, landing lightly beside us.

I looked down at Bella and realized that she was unhappy. "What's wrong, love?" I murmured as I traced her lips. My voice was pitched too low for the humans to hear.

"I want to go with you." She kept her voice low, too. "Please?" she added, her voice pleading.

"Alice wants some girl time with you," I said teasingly. I nodded to my sister, who looked at Bella expectantly. I wasn't willing to risk Bella when I didn't know anything about this place, but I didn't want to say that out loud for fear it would make Bella obstinate. She often dug her heels in when she thought I was forbidding something in order to protect her. Better to play it light.

Bella hesitated, staring at Alice intently. Alice's expression didn't waver. Finally Bella let out a gusty sigh and bowed her head. I gave her a quick hug, wary about showing too much affection around these humans who knew her as my sister, not my mate. She scuffed her feet over to Alice, who beamed.

Beckman started passing out sampling equipment as our explorer party moved out. Bella and Alice were walking off together with their kits but turned back to pay attention to John Todd as he outlined the rules of engagement. If we ran across anything/anyone we were to make sure we couldn't be seen, and observe only. No interference. And we couldn't introduce ourselves until and unless the Captain himself deemed that we were ready to be official. He picked up the pace to a brisk human jog; the three of us loped along behind him easily, chafing to go faster.

After some time, I picked up a scent and stopped with a hiss. Emmett and Jasper caught the scent, too. A large gathering of something warm-blooded was not far ahead. Human perhaps, but odd.

John Todd stopped, confused. "What is it?"

"Something's up ahead," Jasper told him. "We need to slow up and take cover."

"How can you tell?" John Todd asked suspiciously.

Jasper favored him with a stare, raising one eyebrow. "Trust me on this one. There's a lot of them, whatever they are. Smells like your scan was right."

John Todd looked unsettled, but decided to proceed with caution. He had us move slowly and quietly to a standing of large rocks and pulled out a piece of equipment from his backpack, presumably to scan the area. I watched, fascinated, trying to see what all the toggles and buttons might be used for.

"It seems as though the scanner here agrees with you, son. Okay… how's your night vision?"

"Really good," Emmett assured him with a grin.

"Think you can sneak up real quietly to take a peek?" The three of us nodded and dropped into crouches, moving soundlessly ahead, splitting up to approach the gathering ahead at different angles.

I crept closer, silent, keeping myself in shadow. I didn't know how sharp the eyes were of our target, and I wasn't taking any chances. I stopped at a good vantage point, crouched behind a rock, and took a good look.

Except for the strange environment, it looked like a page out of our history books on Prehistoric Man. Several man-creatures were in a ring around an open fire, roasting pieces of meat and eating them straight from the fire. They were dressed in skins and furs, presumably of animals they'd killed before and processed. They looked to be Cro-Magnon. I reached out to see if I could read their minds and was pleased to find I could; they thought in images. I listened for a bit; there was nothing alarming to be found. I saw the different kinds of animals they hunted. I saw how they perceived themselves in their world in relation to the animals, to each other. There was a leader… it was a shadowy image, indistinct, but he wasn't like them. No one had seen him in awhile; they'd been left to themselves.

I signaled; Jasper and Emmett circled around back to me and we touched heads as I told them, low and fast, about the man-creatures. We fell back to where John Todd was vainly trying to make things out with a set of night vision goggles, and I told him what we'd seen. He was impressed.

"Sounds pretty non-threatening as long as we keep a friendly distance," he observed. "Good to know there's no mythical monsters." I bit back a laugh while Emmett chuckled and Jasper smiled faintly.

"Shall we see how our shipmates are doing? I'd like to get out of here before the sun comes up." he started back in the direction we'd come.

"That's it? No more exploring?" Emmett looked disappointed. I still wanted to go running myself.

"No, that's it for now. This group you saw was the only large gathering on the entire planet according to the scans, so I think we got most of our questions answered," he replied. "Don't worry, we'll be back," he added with a grin.

We jogged at human speed back to the landing site to reconnoiter with the rest of the survey team. John Todd and Beckman conferred for several moments off by themselves, though of course I could hear every word they said. They were generally pleased with how everything had gone and planned to give the Captain a recommendation that we colonize here. I passed that on to my family in a low voice.

We climbed back into the shuttle and locked down for the flight back to the ship. Bella looked pensive as she stared out the shuttle window. I wondered if she was still upset with me for not allowing her to come with me.

"Are you all right, love?" I couldn't take her in my arms because of the seat harnesses we were forced to wear, but I could still hold her hand. She looked down at our hands and sighed.

"After all we've been through, I would think that you would have more faith in the fact that I can take care of myself," she said in a low voice.

"And after all this time, you should know that I have this overwhelmingly crazy overprotective streak in me," I answered lightly, trying to make her smile. The corners of her mouth did flicker, but she seemed to be determined to pout.

I squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, my love, I'm sure I'll let you out of the house eventually. Once I'm sure it's safe." She didn't dignify that with an answer and returned her gaze out the window as the shuttle headed for the mother ship.

~xXx~xXx~

We returned to our quarters once back aboard with exception of Carlisle, who was called into the debriefing session with the Captain. Emmett and Jasper told Esme, Rosalie, Alice, and Bella of our scouting trip and the humanoids we had seen. Esme was worried about the fact that the ground was so open to the sky, after centuries of being wary of the sun.

"Well, they're going to find out we're not human eventually," Emmett said with a shrug.

"It will take getting used to the idea, now that our situation is different. We are not mythological creatures here," I said gently, as Esme looked stricken.

"There are several mind sets that need to change," Bella said meaningfully, not looking at me.

"That may well be." I folded my arms across my chest. "Some are worth hanging onto, for caution's sake."

"Did you see – an alternative food supply?" Esme asked.

"Not directly," I answered. "But the – planet natives were wearing animal furs and skins, and were thinking about animals they'd hunted, which leads me to believe there is an alternative available." Esme looked relieved.

Carlisle came in then, looking delighted. "We make planetfall tomorrow, everyone. Our journey is over!" He crossed over to Esme and hugged her. "You can start to work on designing our new home."

"I'd best get started," she smiled back at him. "Come show me what I have to work with." They went into another compartment, hand in hand.

I reached for Bella and pulled her close. "Can you forgive an old tyrant, my love?" I whispered, nuzzling against her cheek. She ran her hand through my hair, ruffling it gently, her lips seeking mine. We kissed, and I swept her up into my arms and dashed to an empty compartment.

So... what do you think?

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