Still, there was nothing in the animal kingdom nearby sizable enough to come their way looking for lunch. Everyone was a bit jittery, including Julia. This could have been the simple anxieties most explorers feel upon setting foot on new territory. After all, the ports of call on the Eos University circuit were already much explored. This was the real thing, and it had no youth hostels, no beach resorts, no amply provisioned way stations. They were on their own. The ground beneath their gondola was covered by a rugged, ground-clutching ivylike grass similar to that found on a number of worlds. The place also had trees, or life-forms similar to trees. They were hundreds of feet tall, taller than any known tree species. But there were no birds or flying reptiles or anything that flew. Young Bobby Gessner was at the windows the entire two hours it took to run the biohazard scans, and he gave everyone constant reports on what he saw or didn't see.
