Just like with the last outing, Lana and Blaine filled her bracelet with food and other items they may need. She still had the wedding presents in there, so it was a bit full. Things were stacked as neatly as possible but all the closets, dressers and such were full. Everything they could prepare, including the furniture from her room, was packed. In fact, everything they and Dobin owned was in there.
Just after dinner, all three parties met the general in the room he requested. They were surprised to find him already there with sergeants Rage and Tanaka. Lana began wondering why it was always those two.
"I called you all here because you will be leaving early in the morning at 0500 hours. You will be going to planet Amazonia. You are all familiar with it as it was your second outing." The general got straight to the point, nodding to Lana at the mention of her planet.
"The mission is simple. There was suggestion that a Walker was present on the planet and it needs to be confirmed. Do not engage if one is found. This mission is exploratory only. We will handle it if one exists there."
"Where was one said to be spotted?" Lana asked
"The other side of the purple mountain."
Lana's eyebrows went up, "you want to take us through the purple forest?"
Nis stepped up, "we were hoping, with your ability, you might help us get through faster in case there is a real threat."
"Sergeant Rage, the Purple Forest is not friendly. They said I was brave for entering their area."
"Yet you and your friends walked out of there. Even the class you rescued was able to return."
Lana sighed. They didn't get it. At the same time, she thought they would be okay. Another thought of hers was spending more time on her planet would help her become friends with the plants that would be her neighbors someday. She decided to relent
"Will we be bringing the scanners this time?" Paul asked.
The general nodded. "I think it would be a good idea but that is not your primary objective. We need to learn if there is a Walker there and gain information from it if there is one."
Paul nodded, satisfied.
"Lana," Paul said, "I think your party may need to sleep in the lab to accommodate everyone."
She agreed, "we already packed everything from my room in the tree and washed it all so we should all be just fine."
"Will anyone else be joining us, General?"
He shook his head.
"In that case, we need to get some sleep. It's an early day tomorrow."
With that, she turned and left the room, not even waiting for leave from the general. She'd be going home in the morning. What that entailed, she wasn't sure. Everyone else followed her out.
On the way back to the dorms, those around her wanted to make sure they brought anything they would need.
"There is nothing outside the standard things to bring. I won't be carrying your bags this time, though. My bracelet has a lot of things in there. We've been shopping for enough supplies for the three teamsm so space will open up as time goes on. It's just very full right now."
"What if we encounter something like those monkeys again, the scimmia?" Alto asked with a shudder.
"There will be 20 of us and we are not slouches. We can handle them; it will just hurt. The scimmia are not what I'm worried about. Get some rest, guys. I need to study something before the mission in the morning."
She broke off from their teams just after entering the building. Kyle and Blaine were intrigued so he followed her. Paul followed as well since they were going to the same floor.
As they were entering their room, "do you mind cluing me in on your idea?" Paul asked.
She nodded her head toward their door in a motion inviting him to join them. Standing just inside their door, Lana looked at their room. "We have no furniture for entertaining guests."
Blaine laughed, "Really???"
She looked at him, "are we all going to sit on our bed to discuss this? The bracelet is packed and I really don't want to unpack it."
She sighed then sat on her bed with her school tablet. She brought up a drawing app and surprised the boys who sat on either side of her. She drew a wide-open area surrounded by plants and trees.
"Okay, this is the area we arrived at. The entry point is here," she drew an X. "Over here is the existing shelter made of hideous mud. It needs to be returned to the planet and we can build there. Now," she drew another X. "I have an idea for a shelter made from the trees with a mixture of willow and wisteria trees. I need to review growing the wisteria before we leave but I'm thinking I can grow one house for us when we arrive. It will give us sleeping quarters other than the domed shelter if we are in that area. I can give it the same commands I give my current trees to not let anything under it."
The looked between them, "thoughts?"
"Are you able to grow something that big? The tree will have to be huge," Blaine said.
Paul looked thoughtful. "Do you mean to intertwine the two species?"
Lana nodded, "it will take a lot of energy, but I'll still be able to talk to the trees and such while I recharge."
Blaine smiled, "I can carry you so you can rest and regain that energy. I like the idea of us having our own house on your planet."
She nodded, "okay. In that case, I'm going to review this information before bed."
Blaine smiled and removed her bracelet, kissing her on the forehead. "Enjoy your studies, I'm going to get living room furniture."
Lana chuckled, "okay."
As Blaine and Paul walked out, Blaine checked how much room there was in the bracelet. He nodded to himself and went to the library. Before long, Blaine arrived and started setting up a couch, two chairs and a couple of tables in the open area of the room. It was foam furniture but at least it provided a place for people to sit. By the time he was done, she was ready to sleep. Kent ate his second dinner then jumped on the bed to sleep with them.
Blaine turned off the overhead light and climbed in next to her. "Are you nervous about tomorrow? What are your thoughts?" He scooched in close and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her to him.
"It's the planet mom was on. What if the trees show me her death?"
"What if they show you her trying to find you? What if they show you how much she loved you before you were stolen from her? You can't let this level of what-if affect you. The planet is still dangerous, and you have us there to support you if something emotional does happen. I thought you'd be more worried about Kent's father wanting him to stay there."
Lana chuckled, "that thought never even entered my mind! I guess I figured he left Kent to me for a reason and I hoped it was permanent. I'm sure we'll see him again, though."
Blaine smiled, "I gave you something to worry about, didn't I?"
He didn't even wait for a response before he leaned in and kissed her. He made sure she would sleep really well through passion and pleasure then allowed her to sleep. When the alarm woke them before the sun, their bodies were still intertwined.
They fed Kent and allowed him to eat while they showered quickly. The DFAC wasn't open this early, but she was prepared for that. She had everyone meet them there and provided bagels, and several other things that would provide the level of energy they would be needing. At 5 am sharp, they were all waiting to be sent to the planet. This time, instead of having a teacher stand by and send them, Sergeant Tanaka had a bag of the powder used to activate the circle. A few moments later, they were all on the planet.
It was raining. Within seconds, everyone was drenched but Lana. She smiled. Blaine got to work as they discussed, tearing down the shelter. Dobin joined him. Lana found a spot for her tree and set up the saplings. She was creating a big place and was nervous. 100-foot diameter. There would be a front door and a back door and a second story.
She set up the saplings alternating between wisteria and willow. She focused her mind on what she wanted the trees to build and knelt in the mud. She placed her hand palm flat on the ground and channeled her energy with the image into the saplings with her eyes closed so she could focus.