[Gift] Follow-up Survey Expedition submission

Ziggy was ecstatic, to say the least. He had been waiting to go on an expedition for a while, and two of them opened up. While he wanted to go to both, he was one individual. Sadly, if it was possible, he would undergo mitosis to simply attend both events. It took a few nights for him to decide.  

On one hand, Tidix-c II was the site of construction and mining. The purpose of this expedition was to study the ecological environment and the effects of the mining/construction on that environment. It’s not hard, per se, but a lot of conservation goes towards making sure that the biodiversity of an area isn’t harmed at all. Sadly, there wasn’t anything Ziggy could do to rewind time and prevent what had already happened. Despite this, the point of this was to survey the surrounding areas and report to the leaders of the mining and construction projects. Changes would have to be reported and made to the orbital refueling station, obviously, but no one was sure what exactly. There’s only so much a grunt can figure out. That’s where the scientists come in. By studying the effects of previous actions on the environment, there would be a way to determine the maximum amount of comfort for the flora and fauna living on Tidix-c II. Ziggy had already made a list on what exactly could be done to determine these changes, and if he chose this expedition, he would put this list into action. If he didn’t, though, he would hand it off to another captain. 

On the other side was Kiah. While Kiah already had a movement dedicated to it, there was still more to be done. The Blight had affected this planet majorly. It had taken a huge hit to the ecosystem, even if some creatures had adapted rapidly to the changes. It was so bad that it was visible even from afar. It was a genuinely horrible event, and Ziggy was glad the Blight had been defeated before it got to the rest of Kiah. There was a lot of work to be done for the planet, really. 

According to the studies he had been handed, Ziggy drew up a list of what would exactly help the planet. To him, Kiah’s main goals were to restore the plants there, recording local creatures, editing the terrain using machinery (it was much easier that way than trying to do it by hand, and there was a large scale the researchers had to work with), staying in the environment overnight, watching the local avians, and comparing every trace from the fauna. As he mulled it over, Ziggy did like observing and planting flowers. He had a knack for it. After all, it was the only efficient way to receive an on-going supply of Ru berries. He wasn’t as good with his eyes than he was with his hands. Observing the natural wildlife could be tricky, and it was hard to tag living creatures to get the density and foot patterns of them. Ziggy did like the idea of terraforming, but it was a bit nerve-wracking and he didn’t know how high the risk of ruining the actual biodiversity was. What if he terraformed something and uprooted all of the researchers’ hard work without realizing? What if he ran over a poor animal? He would feel so guilty! Camping, on the other hand, he liked a lot. The purpose of it was to record nightly patterns of the flora and fauna, so he wouldn’t get much sleep. He’d have to switch his sleeping schedule, and it was hard to alter. Bird-watching was easy enough, but again, he was much better with his hands than his eyes. Birds are tricky to get a sight of unless they’re staying perfectly still and all of the plumage is in full view. Some birds looked completely alike while being different species. Along with that, he’d have to compare traces from different animals. It wasn’t a pretty job, since most of the collections done by researchers on that front were usually waste. He particularly didn’t prefer to do that. Ziggy glanced over the list again, sighing to himself. 

The choice was actually easier than he thought. He was going to choose to captain a team over the site on Tidix-c II. The only thing in common between the two lists was surveying the density of the fauna, and that was pretty much unavoidable. Kiah’s expedition had a lot more work that he necessarily wasn’t good at–not because he didn’t want to do it, but because he wasn’t exactly observant or confident enough to do what it took. 

When the day of the expedition came, Ziggy had the jitters. He was insanely nervous, but almost ecstatic at the same time. It was a weird kind of mania where he was giddy all day, but had that sick feeling at the bottom of his stomach. He repeated an affirming mantra in his head over and over just so he didn’t focus on the negative feelings that came with being anxious. The Xero sighed and glanced around at his assigned crew. All of them were focused on something else. He huffed and shifted in his seat. Tired of visual input, Ziggy closed his eyes and ended up dozing off for the remainder of the trip. 

When the crew arrived, there were many Xeros already doing their part to assist the project. Ziggy got off of the ship and surveyed the environment for a moment, strangely proud of his species. Sure, he was their ambassador of sorts, and this is what he hoped to instill in every Xero that he met, it still was comforting to see his efforts in action. He wandered over to the research tent and signed in, motioning for his team to do the same. While waiting, Ziggy continued to look around and make mental notes. It seemed that everyone was pretty busy with their assigned/preferred activities, but he noticed that there weren't a lot of Xeros by the water. He wandered back and skimmed over the project list. Apparently, not many signed up to check the temperature, salinity, and acidity of the water in the nearby area. He waited for his team to finish getting registered and gathered them around, leading them to the next tent. 

The “water tent,” as it was called, had a bunch of crates and containers for supplies to use while in the water. Ziggy promptly located the thermometers, salinity meters, and pH meters. He handed them out, and informed the other Xeros on how to use each instrument properly. The thermometer was simple, all one had to do was submerge it two-thirds into the water and wait for a minute. He explained that the location of which the thermometer was inserted was also important–it had to be placed into a central flowing location. The inexperienced but eager Xeros took notes in their mandated field notebooks as he continued to demonstrate proper technique with a thermometer. Once he was done, he had to show them how to use the salinity and pH meter. He motioned over to the jars of deionized water for them to rinse their meters in, and then he explained the purpose of each button on said meter. When the meter’s results level out, then the crew could record the results. The pH meter was a bit different, though, even if it was similar in name to the salinity meter. To use the salinity meter, it was important to collect a sample of water instead of testing it in the actual body. To start, one had to rinse off the tip of the meter in distilled water. Then, without submerging the device, the tip had to be inserted into the sample. He grabbed a demo sample and did the process as he spoke about this, swirling the probe in the water cup. The group all waited for a moment to get the stabilized reading. Some students came up close to observe the reading, and then noted it in their books. Once Ziggy was sure that he had exhausted every instruction, he set his team free to measure the water’s contents. 

The rest of the day was a blur. Ziggy had been running errands for other groups of researchers and doing testing himself. He barely had any time to sit down and review the results. At the end of the day, he retired to his room in the temporary housing building and read through every single report of the day. To be honest, he was too weary to analyze the numbers, so he set aside the papers in a neat pile and flopped into the makeshift nest that was provided for him. Once he hit the soft blankets, he vaguely recalled how successful the project seemed. While he had to be here for a few weeks, he couldn’t help but admire the tenacity and determination of the researchers. Somehow, everything was going to be just fine.