Team Lightyear woke up when XR's firm voice announced that 42 was approaching Planet Pulu's atmosphere. It was only thirty minutes before the landing, and therefore the team members had to start preparing themselves. Mira yawned and stretched her arms; she had slept with the space-uniform on and felt a little uncomfortable –after all, the suit was not her usual one, but a spare-suit for Buzz. The captain rose up, too, and tried to open his sleepy eyes. He went to the mirror and his stale reflection shocked him.
"Oh… I look just horrible… My skin is dry; do you have moisturizer, Mira? Blast, I forgot the shower last night… I must stink!"
"Don't worry, Captain, the last time I was in shower, was three weeks ago", Booster snorted from his bed.
"Yuh, you guys can be so disgusting sometimes!" Mira grinned. "Let's go to the flight deck, XR is probably waiting for us already."
"Uh… you can go, Mira. It takes me a couple of minutes still… not to mention Booster…"
Mira entered the deck and sat on her seat. She began to braid her hair and asked XR if he had already located the hunting-box. He had not.
"Our radar shows what it likes, I see… as if there would be population all over this planet, and at least I don't see any kind of settlement here." Mira wondered, as the starship dived near the wood-top level, 120 feet from the ground.
"And the grounds are all covered with that thick forest, here. We have no place to land."
"Can you locate the Twin and the Peak, then?"
XR showed two spots on the radar screen, which were surrounded both with dozens of circles.
"Their height must be at least twenty miles!"
"No, not even near. Twin is eighteen and Peak is seventeen and a half."
"Anyway, you laser-brain… But how come we don't see them? They should be at least rising from the horizon!"
"See, that is the problem here. They are covered with thick veil of clouds. And I'm not talking about any kind of clouds, but poisoned ones. You can look there at the left –see that odd haze? It covers the mountains from us."
"Are they far away?"
"About three hundred miles."
Buzz and Booster entered the flight deck, still in somewhat sleepy condition. They wondered what Mira and XR were so keenly staring at. Buzz went to sit on his comfortable seat and turned his eyes towards the hazy view.
"Seems that we are at our destination."
Mira looked at him in amazement:
"Do you know this place? I never knew you have been here!"
"I haven't. I just guessed –you and XR seemed to be so excited." Buzz laughed.
Buzz switched the manual control on and changed their route towards the mist. He slowed down just before the poisonous clouds got too near, and ordered everybody to look at a proper landing area. Mira pointed out a rather large open place in the middle of the woods, and Buzz led 42 down.
"According to the radar and the map, we are now two miles far from the place where the mountains meet each other." XR told. "What did Mr. Nurminen say about the accurate location of the hunting-box?"
"Two hundred meters south from the spot where two rivers form a waterfall, quite in between the mountains. It is surrounded by a bush area." Mira remembered.
"We have to walk these two miles, then. There's no other place to land on." Buzz said and began to search for something from under his seat.
"But where do you need that… that scythe?" Booster scratched his head and eyed the sharp weapon in wonder.
"Have you not looked outside?" Buzz grinned.
Mira was trying to make her suit more fitting, and without succeeding in it, sighed,
"Yes, Buzz, I have observed our surroundings… How tall are those club-rushes? Ten feet?"
42 was like a little beetle in the cover of the bulrushes. When the door was opened, nothing could be seen but green vegetation.
"Alright, rangers! Let's move on!" Buzz said, swinging the scythe menacingly in front of the others.
"Why won't we just use our jetpacks?" Booster wondered.
"Because we must spare our crystals. And avoid any kind of attention. Mr Nurminen told me, that this planet is inhabited by various birds, and we must avoid disturbing them. Emperor Zurg and Darkmatter may get a hint of our approach, only by observing the animals' behavior."
"Besides, I don't have the jetpack. I have this Buzz' old suit, which doesn't have any reasonable equipment." Mira grinned, although she was truly annoyed of that fact.
"Hey, don't you mock my old, dear suit. That is the first one I have had. I mean, since I came to the Academy." Buzz cut the first bulrushes down. "Follow me!"
The travelling was slow. Buzz got sweaty in five minutes from cutting the vegetation, and let Booster continue with pleasure. The Jo-Adian was a little upset, but did not say anything. Mira and XR were conversing about the accurate direction; they both had their own opinions. Every now and then, a weird rustle came from the surrounding bushes, but it did not disturb them.
"Hey, I stepped on something!" Buzz cried suddenly. "This seems to be… a nest?"
Everybody turned to look at his feet.
"Oh, uh, if that is not disturbing, Captain, then what is?" Booster smiled widely.
"Luckily only one egg went broken. The others are still entire", Mira said.
XR stretched his arms to pick up one of them. Buzz was cleaning his boot from the mess, darning his bad fortune.
"Hope that the mother-bird doesn't show up! She would not be happy to see this."
"Ok, Buzz, you don't have to worry about that bird", XR said, with infirm voice, "These namely aren't bird eggs at all."
"What are you saying, XR?" Mira raised her eyebrows, "They are certainly not kilppari's or krokotiili's eggs, either, we are that far from the sea."
"No. They belong to another kind of reptile. One, which lives in these kinds of meadowlands, where it is easy to hunt."
The others now looked at the robot very angrily.
"Again trying to scare us, eh?" Booster scowled.
XR only shook his shoulders: "Look from your holo-maps, what this meadow is called."
"Mira, you do so", Buzz ordered, "Booster, continue making us the way. We have to get forward. And remember to watch out the nests, if there are more of them."
"Buzz, listen, about this meadow…" Mira began, "It is called Ju'Ras Ic. And it is marked with a warning signal."
"Ju'Ras Ic?" Buzz' felt his blood getting solid. His face went totally pale, and his eyes were just staring at nothing.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Mira asked, getting nervous.
Buzz seemed to get his senses back in a flash: "Run! I said, RUN! As fast as you can! NOW!"
Startling a bit, the others got some movement to their feet. Booster took XR under his arm, and puffed forward. Buzz followed just behind, and Mira was the last one. Wondering what this all was about; she turned her head around, in order to see behind her. Right at that moment, two evil-looking animals appeared into her sight.
"What in the galaxy are those?" She shouted at the others, "They look like Sebulba but seem to be less intelligent."
"They are velociraptors. Remember, those, which we saw in John Hammond's zoo on planet Isla Nublar."
"I didn't get any sight of them. They were so much covered with the palm-leaves. But I remember that they ate a cow in seconds!"
"That is why you should stop blabbering and just run!"
The animals did not cease to follow the group. Moreover, they multiplied: in addition to the two, which had first begun to chase them, there were now three more.
"Look out, Mira!" Buzz bawled, as he saw one of the new velociraptors jumping right behind the woman's back. But he was not able to prevent the happenings: the animal had already attacked. With its crooked laceration cloves, which were the most deadly part of its feet, it tore a deep wound in the princess' back. Mira bellowed and fell down.
"No! Mira!" Buzz halted his running, and turned around to see what has happened to her. Booster and XR were already far away, and did not come back.
Five angry raptors had gathered around Mira's motionless body. One of them was still standing on her back, and mused where to begin the 'dinner'. Buzz felt insecure, for his laser did not seem to have any effect on them.
"Blast! Mira, how are you? Alive, still? Give me a signal if you can hear me!"
She did not react anyhow.
"Don't you give up, Mira!" Buzz' voice was breaking, as he shot at the beasts in vain.
The raptors stood still, not caring about the ranger's attempts to hurt them. The one who had got the princess, opened its jaws, in order to take a bite of Mira's foot. A wide row of sharp, tiny teeth came in the daylight. Buzz concluded, that this one was the leader, because none of the others tried to get their share of the game.
"Awful monsters! Now I have had enough of you! Let go of her!"
Buzz' anger was sizzling inside, when he returned to the place, where Mira was just about to lose her femur. Even though the ranger knew that he could not kill the animals with his current equipment, he was bold enough to go among them to save his friend.
All the raptors laid their eyes on Buzz Lightyear, as he stepped in front of them. A slimy gleam in the reptiles' eyes proved him, that there were no humanly feelings inside them.
"Alright, step down from her back." Buzz targeted his words towards the leader. "Or else I will kill you."
The beast, however, just looked simple-mindedly at the ranger, and soon concentrated on tearing Mira's suit, again. Buzz was at a loss what to do, until he saw something shiny on the ground. His scythe. He had thrown it away only half a minute ago. And there it was! He picked it up, and roared one time still:
"I said, let go of her!"
Now all the raptors startled and took a couple of steps backwards. This scythe, which they thought to be Buzz' toe clove, had scared them a bit, for none of them had as handsome 'nails' as this. With the help of this new weapon, Buzz made his way right next to the half-unconscious princess. The wound, which reached across her back from right shoulder to the left flank, was terrible to look at. Especially when the tattered suit was all over in blood.
"Good gracious… Mira, try to rise up. Please…"
Buzz had to put the scythe down, when he helped Mira to sit. When seeing this, the raptors recollected their courage, and a low snarl filled the air from every direction.
"We must hurry, Mira… I am sorry."
With these words, the ranger lifted her lightly in his arms, and stood up. The animals were only at a couple feet distance.
"I hope I don't hurt you much, I try to avoid touching your wound", Buzz whispered to Mira, and launched his wings out. Using the jetpack, he then dived in the air, and flew away. The five velociraptors were left in the club-rush field, without their dinner.
Meanwhile, Booster and XR had reached the forest. Resting now for the first time after their flee from the field, they began to converse.
"At last we are safe! The raptors won't follow us here, where the shelter of the bulrushes is not available." Booster knew. "And I must say, we are in the right direction. That path seems to be used pretty often."
XR looked at him wonderingly and then said:
"I didn't know that you were familiar with those beasts. You surely have your clever moments, too."
Booster was totally taken by this sudden compliment, especially when it came from XR, the wisest robot of the galaxy. But his happiness was not supposed to last long, for soon after the robot continued:
"However, Booster, have you not noticed, that some of us are missing?"
True it was, that neither of them had seen Mira and Buzz in many, many minutes. This made Booster go very pale, and also XR seemed to have lost his eternal sarcasm skills. He only said:
"I hope they aren't dead!"
Bringing the idea into words made them both panic.
"Dead! Never! We cannot survive without them!" This was Booster's first cry.
"Oh, let's calm down, now! I will contact them with the wrist communicator", XR decided.
"Yes, that you must do. Perhaps they have just got lost, and are in some other part of the forest."
XR opened the communicator and tried to call to Buzz. However, nobody was there to answer, no matter how many times he tried.
"You can try Mira, Booster", XR said, worry in his metal-sounding voice. "I will keep trying to contact our Captain."
Booster did as the robot had told him to do, but was not successful either. Even Mira did not answer.
A grave silence fell over the two rangers.
However, the truth was that Buzz and Mira were not so far away. Buzz had been still in the air, when receiving XR's calls, but could not answer because Mira was lying in his arms. Now he had landed in the forest, some half a kilometer forward from the place where the others were, and put Mira down. He found her a soft, mossy place and settled her there on her stomach, so that her wound would not get dirty. Then he opened the wrist communicator and called to XR.
"Roger, XR? Where are you? We are in the forest, about 800 meters from the club-rush field. Mira is hurt. I repeat, Mira is hurt."
The relief and joy in Booster and XR were enormous when hearing their Captain's voice. XR immediately answered,
"We roger, Buzz. We will track you with my in-built radar, and be there in a minute."
"Hurry. Mira is not doing so well. I need you to check out her injuries, XR."
"Then, we'll be there under a minute."
The communication stopped. From XR's neck rose a funny-looking, little radar, which beeped continuously.
"Buzz is in that direction", he told Booster, "Let's go. With jetpacks."
Buzz was carefully trying to get the rags of Mira's space suit out of the deep wound.
"This trip hasn't started so well with you. You didn't even have the time to get your own stuff with you, and now the only spare space-suit, which I got in 42, is useless. I think we better get you back to Tangea, into a hospital."
Mira gave a silent cry, and opened her eyes. Her gaze was straying, and she did not recognize Buzz.
"Just don't try to rise up, princess", the Captain was truly worried about her, "XR will be here, soon."
Right after these words, the robot appeared in sight with Booster.
"Hi, Buzz! We found you!" the Jo-Adian yelled from the air.
"About the time. Get your butts down here, and quickly. Mira needs help immediately!"
They landed, and XR rolled next to the weak girl.
"Cheesy moon, what has happened to her?"
"It was the raptor. Now, can you do anything about the matter?"
"Let's see… Yes… For her luck, the wound is pretty tidy. I mean, it can easily be stitched, and I would say she will not get even a bad scar from it. But it will be painful for many weeks, still."
XR took out his surgeon tools and began to heal Mira.
"Uh, this would be much easier if she was unconscious. Now she is trembling all the time!"
Buzz looked at the robot's attempts to save her. A cold sweat had oozed onto his forehead, and he was eating his nails, without noticing that he still had the gloves on. Booster did not dare even to glance at the scene, and was wandering around the place nervously.
"Please, XR… Make her be alright. She is like a sister to me."
"She is dear to all of us, Captain", the robot said silently, and continued his job.
At the same time he was giving relieving stuff to the princess, he was also cleaning, stitching, and bandaging her injury, and this whole action seemed to be so complex that Buzz began to wonder if anything good came out of it. But as the robot had done his work, nobody could have said a single bad word to him: he had done it wonderfully.
"She will be totally fine, if only she will rest for a couple of days", XR blurted, at the same time that Buzz was embracing him in gratitude.
"Uh, ouch! Eeks!" Booster's voice came from the bushes, and made the others (except Mira) jump in the air with fright.
"Booster? What is it? Are the raptors here?" Buzz roared, and was looking for his scythe, which, however, had been left to the bulrush field. "Say that you are alright!"
After a short moment, the Jo-Adian came back to them, his suit wet, and massaging his knee.
"No raptors. But something else you really should see. I think we are not far away from our destination, any more."
"What do you mean? We should have at least a mile left."
"Go and look what I found. It is right there, behind those two tall Koipallo-trees."
"XR, stay with Mira, when I am going to check this place out."
Booster led Buzz some twenty feet far from the point where XR and Mira were left. Warning Buzz not to get frightened, he pointed
towards a statue, which was standing in the middle of a small pond.
"Holy quasar-balls, what is that if not a huge stature of Warp Darkmatter himself!" Buzz burst out laughing. "Oh my blasters, he is more egoistic than I ever thought him to be!"
The statue was made of blue marble, and was quite pompous. Darkmatter's right, huge weapon arm was pointing straight forward, towards a path. In his other hand, the stature kept a helmet, which obviously was an accurate copy of the one that Agent Z had.
"Look at that expression on his face, Booster. He looks so self-centred and proud! Oh, I gotta have a picture of this. XR probably has a holo-camera." Buzz just could not stop laughing. His tension, caused by Mira, was bursting out, and Booster wondered what was wrong with him.
"I don't think it is that funny, Captain. That root there made me fell down, and I smashed onto that pond. Now look at me, I am thoroughly wet."
"No, you aren't! The space-suit is water-proof."
"Well, anyway, my knee hurts!"
"Let's get Mira and XR here, and follow that path. By the way, you will have the privilege to carry her, while I am showing the way." Still giving a couple of titters, he went back to get the group together.
The path, which started from the statue, was obviously rather often used, because the hummock had not conquered it. It was surrounded by the forest from both sides, and the trees just kept going taller and taller. The haze of the mountains was soon hanging above their heads.
"Is everybody's visor down?" Buzz confirmed. "That white stuff is the poisonous mist."
"I don't need a visor, because I am a robot. The poison does not have an influence on me." XR grinned.
"You should still put it down."
"No! It is so hot, here! I need this refreshing wind to get into my lungs…"
"XR, you cannot feel heat, nor have you got lungs, so stop blabbering insane things, and concentrate on our journey. And moreover, obey your Captain", Buzz snapped at the nosy robot.
But before XR could do anything to put his visor down, a huge accident encountered him: a gigantic bird had made a fast dart towards him from the air, and napped his head in its beak. Then it flew away, and left XR's headless body behind. Booster, who was carrying Mira, almost dropped her, as he saw what happened.
"Aagh! What was that! Smashing pumpkins, XR!"
Also Buzz was terrified. XR's distant yell could be heard somewhere in the middle of the mist:
"Help! This bird is going to eat my head!"
…To be continued…