[center][h3]Onto Uncharted Land[/h3][/center]

The large metal ramp lowered, from the first creeks of it opening the android took immediate notice of the natural light streaming through. A smile on his face, brimmed with wonder. They had been briefed on the procedure, this was an exploration mission. The scouts that had flown over the world earlier did not note anything of danger. Still, they were expected to move with caution and frequently report back if anything unusual happened. Michael had no weapons on him, he sincerely hoped they would not need them. As he took his first look at the planet from exiting the Nyx he felt a calmness, comparable to that in Eden. 

He had his environmental suit on, along with others that were leaving the Nyx and taking humanity's first footsteps on this new world.  It was ironic to Michael that he would be one of them, not being a human. Yet to them all he would keep the lie that he was indeed one of them. He did not like the deception, his programming informed him that lies were not the right thing to do. Dr. Phillip's strict instructions overruled that programming. He had not yet come to a conclusion regarding the situation, humans lied often, his files on human history put truth to that. 

The android took his first steps down the ramp, his thick boots impacting loudly with each movement. His eyes looked intensely around at his surroundings as he reached the bottom of the ramp. The world's surface reminded him of Earth, or the images he had seen of it before the Devastator's arrival, before his creation. There was no movement around him other than other crew members of Nyx. No alien lifeforms, no artificial ones either. Michael stepped onto the ground of the world, underneath his foot the soil crunched. The science team could take plenty of samples from the planet, there were weeks of research they could do just from first landing.

Michael stared at one of the trees, it resembled the ones found in Eden but was different, had to be. The odds of finding a perfectly Earth like world numbered in the millions, especially out of a random hyperspace jump. He took a few steps towards the one his eyes were set on, then blinked. If the trees were indeed like those once found on Earth in their biological structure, then that would prove the existence of a breathable atmosphere on the world. He did not need such a thing, but for the others, it would be a breakthrough. Breathing real air, that would remind those from earth of the beautiful world.

A strange feeling went through his sensors, it made him shiver involuntarily. An overwhelming sense that he couldn't quite comprehend. He did not feel the same emotions he did while in Eden. Grief, sadness, despair, those all took a backseat to how his mechanical system felt while standing on the planet surface. Mere feet from one of the trees which dotted the area around the Nyx. He knelt down and ran a gloved hand across the solid ground. Michael carefully dug several of his fingers into it as he picked up some of the dirt. It slipped through his hand as he released it. His highly advanced 'eyes' watched every individual spec as they fell back to where they originated. 

The android rose back to a standing position, silent as he continued to gaze at his surroundings. His systems still felt the strange sensation, internally Michael felt differently than he did walking in the [i]Vitae[/i] or in Eden. It was likely his emotions were screwing with his programming, he'd never set foot on anywhere that wasn't the [i]Vitae[/i]. He was still filled the brim with wonder and excitement over such an experience as this. Soon the beast would launch from the Nyx, and the true exploration would begin.