Killer Planet

Prologue

The year is 2194 AD and it is now more than two centuries since men and women took their first hesitant steps into the vastness of space.

At first there were the tiny hops to the Moon, accomplished in ridiculously flimsy metal shells; then with advancing technology came the manned flights to Mars. Soon afterwards the invention of the Gemmell drive enabled the great spaceships from Earth to leap instantaneously from star to star. And now, suddenly, human beings are embarking on the ultimate adventure—the exploration of the galaxy.

Inevitably, there are awesome dangers.

In addition to the risks of space flight itself, there are myriads of deadly alien life forms to contest the ownership of each newly discovered world. It is as though Nature has set out to test her ingenuity at devising strange and terrible ways for brave men and women to die; as though this is the price they have to pay for daring to pit themselves against the immensities of the universe.

And, of all the implacable foes that space travellers have encountered thus far, the most mysterious—the most deadly—is undoubtedly the Killer Planet.

Discovered in 2191 AD and officially named Verdia, the Killer Planet prowls its elliptical path around a yellow G-type sun. Its entire surface is shrouded by dense vapours which cannot be penetrated by orbiting cameras. Those vapours preserve the mystery of how hundreds of brave men and women met their deaths on Verdia within hours of landing. Although no surface features are visible from space, the shield of cloud glows intermittently as electrical storms rage from pole to pole, evidence of the incredible bolts of energy being unleashed in the tortured atmosphere.

More than two years have passed since the Killer Planet claimed its last victims—and now it is hungry again.

Hungry, watchful, waiting…