Submission (#6743) Approved

Word Count: 466

At last, Romulus had learned who had crashed the satellite and stolen his tools! After hearing a conversation from his neighbors at the local farmer’s market, he hurried towards the nearby town to meet the culprit. His neighbors had been chatting about a gigantic Terralien, one with a planet in their head — who had explained (in a rather gruff manner) that they had crash-landed on this planet alongside a precious, data-collecting satellite of theirs. Wanting to give this Terralien a piece of his mind for robbing him blind, he dropped everything that he was doing (quite literally, as his neighbors gave him an odd look as a pile of apples rolled to their feet, quickly followed by a “Sorry, please watch those until I can get back!”)

He arrived, out of energy, and immediately noticed the Terralien in question— their head peeking out several feet above the surrounding crowd. Pushing through with hectic apologies and “pardon me!”s, he finally made it to the front, reaching up and pointing at the Terra.

”You! You’re the one who stole my tools— you didn’t even ask, you know! And you crashed your satellite in my forest, and left those horrible weeds that bite and are impossible to get out all over my garden for weeks! I couldn’t even go out for a walk without risking losing a paw!” He burst out, his confidence slowly depleting as they gave him a puzzled look.

”Oh, I apologize— I was in an emergency, you see, and no one was around to ask. Even then, I just needed to get out of there! Come, come with me, I’ll explain. My name is Lydia.” The Terralien-, no, Lydia, responded. Despite the echoes of frustration amongst the crowd at their questions being ignored in favor of this late arrival, both Terraliens turned and walked into a nearby tent, the fallen satellite laying on a table.

”I hope you understand, I had a.. well, a family emergency. It has passed now. I apologize for my thievery, and I’d like to offer you something in return- if you are willing to help me make it. I do not believe I am capable of doing this on my own, as I am not familiar with this place. I promise it will be well worth your time.”

Romulus thought, conflicted between still feeling offended and his nagging curiosity. Ultimately, he landed on the latter. “..I accept your apology, as long as this is worth it. Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll be on it— I’m quite handy!” He exclaimed, his previous concerns now replaced by excitement at a new project. And so, Lydia explained the Astrohedron and what might be needed to help conjure the celestial object, and the two set off to work.