
Another seat-of-the-pants adventure story in the Academy series. The planet, unofficially called Deep Six, is about to be destroyed and ships, both scientific and in the media and tourist trade, are there to witness the collision of the planet with a gas giant. It was believed only primitive life existed on the planet, but when scans reveal signs of a past civilization, an Academy ship is rerouted so a small landing party can spend a week investigating before the planet's destruction. Unfortunately, the approach of the gas giant begins to destabilize the planet leading to the destruction of the only landing craft available to the small landing party now marooned on the doomed planet. With time running out and the conditions on the planet rapidly deteriorating, the landing party and those in orbit in space must brainstorm to come up with a rescue plan. The tension and action never let up as the small group crosses a land teaming with dangerous flora and fauna to reach one possible solution. This is a well-written tale with great character development.
Another seat-of-the-pants adventure story in the Academy series. The planet, unofficially called Deep Six, is about to be destroyed and ships, both scientific and in the media and tourist trade, are there to witness the collision of the planet with a gas giant. It was believed only primitive life existed on the planet, but when scans reveal signs of a past civilization, an Academy ship is rerouted so a small landing party can spend a week investigating before the planet's destruction. Unfortunately, the approach of the gas giant begins to destabilize the planet leading to the destruction of the only landing craft available to the small landing party now marooned on the doomed planet. With time running out and the conditions on the planet rapidly deteriorating, the landing party and those in orbit in space must brainstorm to come up with a rescue plan. The tension and action never let up as the small group crosses a land teaming with dangerous flora and fauna to reach one possible solution. This is a well-written tale with great character development.