Dear Jim,

This morning after loading the shuttle, our two colleagues descended down to Cluster 3. I asked them to send my greetings to all my friends - and also to the Pollaks, if necessary. While we waited, Alejandra and I had a long breakfast with lots of chatting. We opened a packet of the not very good orange juice we get around here and slotted two bricks of ham and eggs and pancakes into the insta-meal machine (she found those while gathering supplies yesterday). I've eaten better breakfasts in my life, but around here you have to be happy about not having nutri bars every day.

The others took their time and therefore it was already noon when they came back. We loaded the shuttle and had lunch together. There was lots of praise for Arthur's brunch and some curious questions about Candy, who filmed the visit as she always does. Then, Alejandra and I set out to Cluster 4. Soon, we were on our way down to the planet again, moving towards the mountains.

Alejandra reduced the speed and maneuvered the shuttle into a valley. All around us high snowy peaks were reaching to the sky, casting their dark cold shadows on the land even in the late morning sun. It is still too early in the year to bring light to the deeper valleys. Down at the valley floor we could see a creek winding between rocks and snow. Right now it was illuminated by the late morning sun, but it was obvious that it would only be a short visit and there was still a lot of snow. Only very few trees were scattered across the landscape and they looked different than out in the plains. Smaller maybe, fewer branches, a slightly different shape... it is hard to describe.

Then, after we flew around a bend, we spotted Cluster 4 higher up on a sunny spot on a mountain side. There was less snow up there as it seemed to be the sunny side of the valley. Most of the pods were standing very close together on a relatively even area, but a few seemed to be quite far away hard to reach. Very inconvenient in bad weather, I guess.

We set down on a landing platform in the middle of the cluster. When we got out of the shuttle it was cold, a lot colder than yesterday at Cluster 2. The snow had gotten mushy from the sun, but it was still very much there, except for the paths where people seemed to walk regularly. Alejandra and I both put on wool caps and gloves before we got to unload our cargo together with some of the local people. I looked around, looking for Darius, whom I had contacted concerning the crashed pod of the doctors and who had sent me several valuable messages. Unfortunately I could not spot him anywhere. When we were done, Alejandra asked me whether it would be a problem if she would just go over to a colleague of hers. She wanted to discuss a problem with her.

While Alejandra was occupied, I decided to take a walk and explore the surroundings of Cluster 4. I walked on the paths others had already left in the snow, away from the center of the cluster – if you can call it that. Just don't imagine it's like a city center. There is no subway and the night life probably consists of a few rodents fighting over food – and that's in summer.

I enjoyed the warm rays of the sun, but the air was still cold. The view on the mountains however was magnificent and I wondered what it might be like in summer.

There was a small bridge, not much more than a few planks, leading over a mountain stream. I stood there, looking down into the water, watching how it rushed down into the valley. Suddenly, I saw something white and shining between the rounded rocks in its bed. I got to my knees and leaned down to reach for it. I pulled up my sleeve. The water was ice cold, almost painful. I almost had to lie down to reach for what I had seen, but finally my fingers touched it. Just as I held it between two fingers I suddenly heard a voice behind me.

'Sarah? Is that you?' it said.

I turned around and saw a man standing near to me. He was tall with brown hair, with a strong face and very well kempt. He smiled at me brightly as he came closer. Suddenly I realised who it was: Darius. I got a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach. My fingers loosened their grip on the item I had tried to fish out of the river. The sensation passed quickly. I got up from my knees, embarrassed.

'Did you lose anything?' he asked concerned. 'Should I help you look?'

I shook my head.

'I just... I thought I saw something in the water,' I said, feeling more embarassed.

'Well, it is so great to finally meet you. I am glad you are here. Would you like to join me for a coffee? Or tea?' Darius asked.

Darius' pod was a ten minute walk from the center of the cluster, close to a rock outcrop with an impressive view over the valley. There was another pod a bit further away to the same direction. I was glad when we were inside the pod, out of the cold and the wind. Darius got us tea and we sat down to talk. His housemate was not there at the time, if there was one.

'Tell me about yourself. What brought you here?' I asked, as I sat down on the little couch and took my cup from Darius. He sat down on one of the office chairs, which he moved so we could talk.

'I was looking for a new challenge. Something I have never never done before... something hardly anyone has done before!' he explained enthusiastically.

'So, you like adventures, then?' I asked.

He nodded. 'Of course I do! Aren't we all here for the adventure and excitement? Doing things nobody has ever done before?'

I shrugged. 'Well... I guess we are?' I said uncertainly.

'This is just the beginning, we are only just starting to explore this world. Scraping the surface,' Darius said with shining eyes, grinning from ear to ear.

I smiled.

'Just think about what we may find here, what secrets this planet may hold that we didn't even dream about. And we will be the first to discover them!' he went on.

His enthusiasm was contagious, I thought.

Unfortunately, it was this moment when Alejandra called me to say we had to return to the Zephyrus. I was glad that Darius insisted on walking with me to the shuttle and we kept on talking on the way. When we crossed the little bridge, I shortly looked down into the water, but I could not see the shard I had found before. When we arrived at the landing platform, Alejandra was already waiting for me next to the shuttle. She watched as I reluctantly said goodbye to Darius, who smiled at me warmly and told me that he hoped we could meet again soon.

On our way up to the ship Alejandra gave me a few strange looks and chuckled, but she didn't say anything. I remained silent and looked out of the window until we reached the Zephyrus.

Now, I am lying in bed in my tiny room, thinking.

Give my best wishes to Filippa and the kids.

Love,
Sarah

Tavaron

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