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|            Receiving Transmission From:             |
|              *** USS Pathfinder ***                 |
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--> Commencing Transmission
--> Parsing Message...Done!
--> Displaying Message: ID# QEC 1865AG1865GD51

Greeting from the Gamma 1 Octantis star system. This is
Captain Norton of the USS Pathfinder. I have an update
on the progress we are making on colonizing planet 5 of 
this star system, which our crew has named "Alluvium."

After a successful landing in a vast prairie alongside
a river two Earth weeks ago, we disembarked our vessel. 
I assigned several of our scientists with the task of 
analyzing the quality of Alluvium's air and water, and 
I am pleased to report that the air and water here are 
suitable for the habitation of humans. Earth's 
International Interstellar Colonization Organization 
made a fine choice when they selected this planet for 
our colonization mission.

I will now briefly give a general description the flora 
that we have discovered so far on Alluvium: The valley 
that we landed the Pathfinder in is largely filled with 
a fern-like species of plant, along with many small 
flowers that have a similar appearance to violets that 
are found on Earth, but contain a deep reddish hue. 
Most of the trees that grow in this region of the 
planet are absolutely massive in size! They somewhat 
resemble the redwoods that are found on Earth in 
California's Yosemite National Park, however, these 
trees appear to be considerably taller with a smoother, 
dark, mahogany-colored bark.  

Our crew is currently undertaking several projects in
the valley in which the USS Pathfinder is stationed.
Our main priority for the time being is to establish 
a lumber mill, which will obviously aid in the building
of future structures for which the plans are currently 
being developed. The next buildings scheduled to be 
erected are private homes for all of our crew members 
and a hospital.

I should also mention that one other priority near the 
top of my list is to identify what plant life here is
suitable for human consumption. Our food rations are
wearing thin after our long journey from Earth so we 
must establish some farms in the near future. 

I do have some unsettling news to report. Our radar
operators working onboard the Pathfinder have 
reported for the past three nights in a row that they
have detected what they believe to be two vessels
orbiting Alluvium at an altitude of approximately 
21,000 miles. Needless to say, if these were in fact 
ships, we hope that they weren't more rogue spacecraft 
like the one that we encountered when we entered this 
star system.

It is time for me to return to work now. I will 
transmit another update sometime in the coming weeks.

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