The image started folding in on itself as they were sucked through what looked like a black hole or worm hole. When the image of the other side spread out before her it looked similar to Earth's galaxy.
"This is my galaxy and over here is Anguis Prime. And here is Anguis Minor." Viper pointed out. He zoomed in on Anguis Prime. "We will go to Anguis Minor, but I wanted to show you my home."
Anguis Prime loomed larger and larger. It was tan and green with patches of blue. Its ocean's weren't as vast as Earth's but they were numerous.
"This is the Campir plain." Viper pointed out the vast area of green, and she recalled the picture in their bedroom.
They got closer to the planet, shooting through the cloud filled atmosphere until Hope could see the flowering tundra, just as Viper had described it. The sense of flying nearly made her dizzy, but it was exhilarating. A herd of massive shaggy beasts that looked like woolly mammoths but with horns instead of tusks roamed and grazed on the grassland as they hovered hundreds of feet in the air.
They descended lower still, till finally Hope and Viper stood among the field of flowers extending as far as the eye could see. The graceful large blooms were all the colors of the rainbow and looked a lot like poppies. Hope ran her hand over several as they swayed in the imaginary breeze though it didn't feel imaginary.
"This is beautiful, just like the picture in our room."
Hope couldn't believe how cool the Anguis technology was or how similar and yet foreign his planet was.
Viper watched with amusement as she wandered through the waist high flora soaking it all in. He wore a grin on his face that Hope hadn't seen on his often serious visage. It made him look downright handsome. She couldn't help but smile back. It touched her that he thought to bring her here and share this.
Viper
Hope bent to smell the flowers and Viper laughed. As real as the sight and feel seemed, there was no smell to the flowers here.
"I forgot this wasn't real." Hope said in wonder as she twirled among the blossoms.
She looked radiant and carefree. Viper recalled what Hope said about the tiny birds from her planet. He walked over and tapped on the control panel.
A horde of darting twittering Toile, similar to her humming bird flooded the room. Their iridescent bodies flitted about as they swarmed around Hope. She looked positively gleeful as they landed on various parts of her, then took flight again.
Viper stood back taking in the sight, certain that he never seen anything more lovely.
"Would you like to see the ice canyon?"
"Yes." Hope said excitedly.
The scene shifted as they flew over the landscape to the Sorel Mountain range then plunged into the valley on the other side. The artificial environment cooled as they descended the sheer face of the rock. Finally they reached the bottom of the vast crevasse. The clear glassy smooth walls undulated to the east and west as far as the eye could see.
Viper hit a few buttons on the control pad and the sun struck the ice just right, radiating a kaleidoscope of colors through the tall transparent walls.
"This is amazing. Is all this made of ice?" Hope said in wonder as she stared at the massive formation.
"Yes amazingly it is." Viper smiled so wide at Hope it nearly hurt.
She climbed up on one of the giant formations and perched on it to look around the room like she was surveying her crystal kingdom. Hope then slid back down its slick incline with a bubbly laugh.
"Thank you for showing me this." Hope beamed.
Seeing how happy Hope was, Viper was so glad her brought her here. She had been so sad as she stared through the dome at her planet. He'd been at a loss as to what he could do.
Life would go on, and Hope would be a vital part of it. But that was hard to express without sounding like he was belittling her people's loss, something he would never do. Such a loss affected the entire universe.
Viper's greatest desire was that after seeing this, Hope might look forward to her new life on Anguis, a life that hopefully included him.
"I didn't want you to worry or be nervous about your new home. I can't replace your planet, but I'd be honored to give you mine."
8 Hide and Seek
Hope
"Their technology is amazing. I could do so much with just a fraction of what the Anguis possess here." Tara beamed as she looked around the medical bay.
Hope grinned at her giddy friend. Tara had spent much of her time here soaking it all in. Hope joined her today while Viper worked to keep from being bored, alone in Viper's quarters.
After her friends arrived on the ship, she assumed she'd spend most of her time with them, but Viper seemed to have other ideas, not that she minded much. Viper kept her entertained with tours of the ship, stories or videos of his home. He'd even taught her a game with colorful disks that reminded her of poker, called Bollo. She'd gotten pretty good at it. The time they spent together was never dull.