(Vessel: Type-7 Shuttle, Arizona)
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From the Shuttle Arizona, when we left out, all seemed normal. Sgt Carter was piloting and serving as our engineer. As we went through the atmosphere, the entire terrain changed -- still quite amazing, but definitely different. The alarms went off, and the Marines began to banter about the ship disappearing and other shuttles as well. As we landed at a clearing by a lake.
As usual we came out established a safe area. We did not realize until later in the night that we were on a different planet. One of the Marines, who greatly enjoys astronomy, pointed out that the stars and constellations were different. It was then we realized how "lost" we were.
2nd Lt Lewis had us set up shelters and establish a safe area, in the event anything snuck up on us, and in case other shuttles did reappear. As our Lt, she exemplified true leadership, especially this being her first assignment out of the academy.
We sent out a scout team, which Lt Lewis had me lead. It was an exciting adventure, and fortunately, I brought a camera to take pictures. During our scouting party, we came across a sugar glider that we eventually named Slider, due to the fact that when we landed, the glider would actually slide to a stop. I dare say it was enjoyable to watch, even funny. During our first day, one of the Marines was bitten, by accident, by a rattlesnake of sorts. We got him back to the camp and began to treat him.
One thing throughout the whole adventure that we noticed, was how absolutely amazing pristine the area was. The rivers were clean and crisp, you could smell the amazing breath of fresh air.
As we explored the area, we saw the most pure environment ever known. Not a single sign of humanoid life, nor pollution of any kind. What was even more fascinating, was the wildlife was extremely interested in us. They followed us everywhere, it was almost unsettling, yet quite unique. The longer we were planet side, the more the animals began to interact with us. To say this it was an experience of a lifetime, is an understatement.
On the last day, during the morning hours, a humanoid made himself known, to which we greeted in typical Marine fashion, but he posed no threat to us. He introduced himself as Ceraquel, wearing a white suit with blue eyes and brown hair. He spoke in a calm manner. After he introduced himself, he said he was a messenger of the Most High. stating we don't belong here -- that this is not our time, and he is here to help us return. When Lt asked him who the Most High was, he stated "the Creator of everything". Ceraquel did tell us this planet was only 23 days old which, if true, was absolutely amazing. I was inclined to believe him, due to the fact that he, and this whole planet, seemed to be so different. I did ask if I could keep the sugar glider, which he said no cause it "belonged here and I belonged there". We gathered up all our stuff and loaded back up on the shuttle. Once we were done, we lifted off, and are now back aboard the Enterpise.
The experience was breathtaking, and I will be uploading photos to our Marine page. Thank you all for your support, and thankful to be back home.
Sergeant Andy Markus
Enterprise Company Marines
USS Enterprise-D
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March 4, 2365 -- (Original Devron Timeline)