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[color=#695B25]Richard was walking through the empty Lincoln Park. It was a cold and quiet night, with few clouds in the sky. He looked up and could see a crescent moon in front of the black backdrop of space, stars dotted about on the vast black canvas. He took his metallic helmet off and it instantly turned to feel like cloth.

[color=#B5DFED]"Still so cool,"[/color] he muttered to himself as he tossed the now cloth-like helmet around his back and caught it with his other hand. After being in space, Richard always missed the feeling of a gentle breeze on his face. The wind whipped through his brown hair and gentle spots of a drizzly rain were being carried on the wind. His hair began to get wet so he replaced the cloth helmet back on his head. It immediately turned metallic again.

[color=#B5DFED]"I still have no idea what it's made from but this helmet and suit is pretty neat,"[/color] he chuckled to himself from within the Nova Corps helmet.

He was making his way to the rusty old gates on the Peter's Avenue side of the park and was only a few feet away from it when the Worldmind started talking with it's strange computerised voice,

[color=#7E4234]"Richard, I've received a message. It says that Tolmeria in the Andromeda Galaxy has gone dark. No communications in or out for a few weeks. With so many soldiers falling in the Battle for Xandar and the Shi'ar Imperium seemingly quiet in our galaxy, we should venture to Tolmeria and try and establish communication with the planet."[/color] Richard had been dreading telling his family that he was part of an intergalactic police force! He had been mentally preparing himself as soon as he left Xandar, convincing himself that it was the right thing to do, constantly running the scenario through in his head, overthinking and stressing about their reaction to his news. He was, after all, still a kid. A kid that was supposed to be in school and doing homework not flying around in space, protecting planets and galaxies that few people on Earth knew existed.

[color=#B5DFED]"Now isn't a good time, Worldmind. I've got a lot on my plate,"[/color] he replied, hanging his head as he stopped walking and leaned on a nearby tree. As he was contemplating whether to leave and do his duty as a Nova soldier or talk to his family, the internal strife within him was halted by a resounding sense of duty to an entire planet. Worldmind interupted his thought process,

[color=#7E4234]"I'd send a message to Tolmeria to tell them we won't be there, but their communications are down,"[/color] the emotionless voice remarked. Richard let out a heavy sigh.

[color=#B5DFED]"Dude. Not cool. Fine, we'll go to..."[/color] he paused, trying to recall the name of the planet he was about to visit.

[color=#7E4234]"Tolmeria, Richard. The planet is called Tolmeria and it's in the..."[/color]

[color=#B5DFED]"Andromeda Galaxy! I know that one!"[/color] he shouted louder than he anticipated. He looked around and there was no one around.

[color=#7E4234]"Yes, Richard. Thank you for interrupting me. Shall I take us there now?"[/color]

[color=#B5DFED]"No time like the present, Worldmind."[/color] Richard braced himself to take off and excitedly said to his computerised companion,

[color=#B5DFED]"Punch it, Chewie!"[/color]. [b]Nothing![/b] Richard was expecting to be clear of the atmosphere, looking down at his beloved planet. He looked down and could see he was still stood in the same spot, looking rather foolish.

[color=#B5DFED]"Worldmind, we should be in space by now."[/color] Richard said with a tone of annoyance on his voice.

[color=#7E4234]"I was waiting for the command, Richard,"[/color] the deadpan voice in his helmet stated.

[color=#B5DFED]"Worldmind, take us to... Tolmeria. I'll explain what 'Punch it, Chewie' means on the way there,"[/color] Richard said as he was blasted into space in his suit, leaving small scorch marks on the path at Lincoln Park. After a few minutes in space, he entered a spacegate and made his way to the Andromeda Galaxy.

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Richard had been flying in the Andromeda Galaxy for a few minutes. Worldmind had set a course to Tolmeria and the visual heads-up display showed him the way and how long his journey was expected to take.

[color=#B5DFED]"So that's why I said 'Punch it, Chewie'. You're my co-pilot!"[/color]

[color=#7E4234]"But that would appear to be the only similarity. I am not a tall furry alien who growls at you and I don't think I am your co-pilot,"[/color] the Worldmind disagreed

[color=#B5DFED]"You kind of are my co-pilot. We're almost here, shall we slow down and stay out of the scanners range?"[/color]

[color=#7E4234]"I don't recall saying this much, but that is a good idea,"[/color] the voice said objectively as Richard and the suit slowed. As the suit slowed, Richard could see that vast emptiness of the space he was in. He looked around to see if he could see any planets or stars nearby. There was only one in the near distance, Tolmeria. Everything else seemed lightyears away. That begged a question, why had an entire planet stopped any communication from being sent or received when they didn't seem to be any immediate danger?

As Nova got nearer the planet, he stopped soaring through space. He slowly floated through the void of space towards Tolmeria. He could see that the planet had feint white-green cloud systems which blocked his view of the surface of most of the planet.

[color=#B5DFED]"Worldmind, can you give me a scan of the planet and tell me everything you know? Umm, scratch that, not everything, just the important bits I need to know,"[/color] he said as he corrected himself. The Worldmind was a fountain of knowledge and given half a chance, would literally bore people to death with information that it had collected.

[color=#7E4234]"Tolmeria is a terrestrial planet in the Andromeda Galaxy. It has a rocky crust and molten rock mantle, with an inner core of liquid metal, as yet unidentified. The radius is 5,829 km. Gravitional pull on the surface is roughly 9.65 m/s². Atmosphere is made of 67% Nitrogen, 22% Oxygen, 5% Xenon and 4% Radon. There are also many trace gases but none that I perceive will be harmful to you. I think you'll find it very similar to the conditions. It is similar to your home world of Terra, Richard."[/color]

[color=#B5DFED]"Thanks for that, I'm sure to remember it all. Let's get a bit closer. Give me a scan of the planet to see if there is still life there. Let's land on the planet where there isn't a major city so we can try and find out what happened without alarming the locals,"[/color] Richard replied to the Worldmind.

As they flew closer, Richard could see mostly green and brown on the surface, there was very little water, at least from his view. They broke through the atmosphere and Richard could see what looked a large forest in the distance, which bordered a dry and cracked plain, devoid of any plant-life.

[color=#B5DFED]"Let's land at the edge of that forest-looking place over there,"[/color] Richard told his 'co-pilot'. Nova soared through the air and landed just outside the wooded area. He landed with a small thud, landing on the hard, dry mud.

[color=#B5DFED]"Worldmind, what did the scans show you on the way? There doesn't seem to be much life in this area,"[/color] he asked as he surveyed the area with his own eyes.

[color=#7E4234]"Richard, the planet is sparsely populated, reason currently undetermined. Scans indicate a large concentration of humanoids a few miles north-west of our position. I'm detecting something in space above the planet. Something quite powerful..."[/color]

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