Planetoid 17-Z
Planetoid 17-Z, or simply 17-Z, is a small planet with a hospitable atmosphere and green rocks. It is home to a species of squirrelly little guys.
Fiction
When the Cosmos Confederation Cruiser Space Warp came under attack by alien forces, its crew were forced to abandon ship and take lift crafts towards Planetoid 17-Z, the nearest available world. Before evacuating, the Space Warp's captain recorded this incident on the ship's video log. The Space Warp eventually crash landed on Gorkel without a soul on board, and the Gorkels avoided investigating it due to their superstitions around advanced technology.
Years later, spacefaring foundling Planet Terry wound up on Gorkel and discovered the ship, which he had learned was once captained by his father. After listening to the video log, he and his friends Robota and Omnus plotted a course to 17-Z.
Setting down, they initially found no signs of life, until Terry caught sight of two of its skittish natives, who hightailed it when he tried to talk to them. One of them came face to face with a Devourer, The Secret of the Space Warp a monster Terry recognised from video games. Robota tried to zap it with her robot ray beam, but the Devourer ate the beam itself. Omnus took it on hand to hand, knocking it about so forcefully as to launch it over the horizon.
Omnus's defeat of the Devourer caused three aliens to come out of the woodwork and chitter excitedly in what Terry believed was a show of gratitude. Terry tried to communicate with them and tell them about their quest, but the aliens were left confused by the blank picture frame he showed them. Nonetheless, after consulting with each other, one of the aliens led the trio over a ridge, urgently pointing out two humanoid figures: Terry's parents. The Saga of Princess Ugly part 6
Notes
- In Planet Terry issue 3
as originally published, 17-Z is noted as being in uncharted space, requiring the use of uncharts to navigate to it.
