Emerging from the cave, Defender Zik and Mizhakwan are amazed to find that the crystals have grouped themselves together and are merging into one giant mass! The crystal grows as the Temerity pumps out the radio waves at full power.
Once back on board, they head straight for the cockpit, where a concerned Amelia asks if they’re hurt. Francisco urges Zik to consider leaving at their earliest opportunity. When pressed for a reason, he explains that his study of the orbiting debris field has revealed that the passage of the ship caused a great deal of disturbance in the cloud! Some of the debris is now falling to the planet, and the Temerity itself is in danger of getting flattened!
Mizhakwan shows Defender Zik what she’s been up to in the cavern. Sitting in front of the thickest part of the crystals, she sings an Inuit lullaby. As she sings, a new crystal emerges from the mass and begins to grow towards her. An amazed Zik watches as it grows and glows in response to her song.
Once it is close enough to be uncomfortable, Mizhakwan ceases her song, giving it a playful tap. She explains that she’s managed to teach the crystal to avoid getting too close with this Pavlovian strategy of feeding it only until it has grown large enough.
Suddenly, their experiments are interrupted by a deep, overpowering sound broadcast into their helmets. All the crystals in the cavern begin pointing somewhere outside. What’s happening?!
DEFENDER ZIK LORE BREAK!
Mizhakwan speaks several languages, including a couple of Inuit languages. She’s singing a lullaby that also teaches the names of the fingers. Here’s the full song, with each line translated into English:
Kullu kullu kullu kullu naaniippi? (Thumb, thumb, thumb, thumb, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)
Tiikiq tiikiq tiikiq tiikiq naaniippi? (Index finger, index finger, index finger, index finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)
Qitirsiiq qitirsiiq naaniippi? (Middle finger, middle finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)
Miikiliraq miikiliraq naaniippi? (Ring finger, ring finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)
Iiqiquq iiqiquq naaniippi? (Pinky finger, pinky finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)
Defender Zik rushes over to the edge of the crevasse that Mizhakwan disappeared into and tries to establish radio contact with her. A weak, unintelligible signal comes back, but they can hear her voice!
As relieved Amelia asks how they’ll get her out, Trent interrupts with another problem he’s found. The crystals that are all around them are growing and moving closer! What’s more, they seem to get more energetic every time they speak!
A sudden realization dawns on Zik, and he gets everyone to stay silent for a moment. After switching his own broadcast settings to use a burst transmission, he explains how to do it to the others. This mode will compress what they say to each other into a tiny data packet so that they keep their emissions to a minimum.
It seems to work; the crystals react only mildly to Zik’s explanation. Everyone’s favorite space hero then begins to explain his cunning plan…
Having determined that nothing seems to be moving, our intrepid explorers keep walking toward a cave nearby. There, they find that the walls are absolutely covered with the strange crystals. What’s making them grow?
Before they proceed into the cave, Zik decides to check in with the Temerity to inform them of their progress. For some reason, Francisco isn’t responding to their calls. While Mizhakwan investigates a crevasse in the cave, puzzled Zik decides to check if their communications link is working, and calls on Zoot to help him troubleshoot the problem.
But just as Zoot activates the interactive hologram, there’s a blinding flash from the crystals that surround them! Zoot’s hologram frazzles out, and Mizhakwan slips! She falls straight into the crevasse!
The light fades somewhat, and Amelia and Zik dash to the edge of the hole. Mizhakwan has fallen out of sight!
Our hero Defender Zik descends into the nearby canyon with his friends, investigating a mysterious sensor shadow on rogue planet Hypnos. As they hike, Amelia notices that the regolith (space dirt) under their feet moves strangely as they kick it up. Zik reminds her that the planet they’re on has lower gravity than she’s used to; this is only the second world she’s visited!
Striking up the conversation, Mizhakwan mentions that she likes to keep her personal space suit’s gravity just a little less than Earth normal, to put a little spring in her step. Amelia loves the idea.
The team then notices that there are an awful lot of crystals growing along the floor of the canyon. They stop to inspect the delicate structures before noticing more of them further into the canyon.
