Shoot for Earth: MedSci Missions 3

Exhausted, Ramone lay for a time breathing heavily and wiping off the mucous. Eventually, he forced himself up, knowing he didn’t want to get caught in the wilds of the south at night. The south had bred the hunter race of baris, and dangerous flesh-eating creatures. It was quite a way to his personal pod, parked down in the flat rock at the base of the rocky volcanic mountain zone. The irregular crust that had slowly bubbled out of the earth for centuries was too lumpy for his landing skills. That had been his thinking when he’d headed out, anyway. Maybe he would have been better off risking a landing much higher up.
He found going down harder than he’d hoped. After his draining experience of almost being eaten, he was shaking and grabbing every hold in remembered horror. His heart was racing at an uncomfortable rate. Get a hold of yourself, his brain told him. Back in Panama on Earth, he’d grown up hiking volcanoes. He could do this.
Something moved in his peripheral vision between the naturally squared trunks next to the path, seemingly growing out of nothing. His nervous tension made him hum to himself gently as he tried to stave off a panic attack. To his surprise, an equine head peeked curiously at him from behind a tree. He’d never seen one in person, but he recognised the Fabarian version of a horse, called a snac. Automatically, he upped his voice to gentle singing, projecting now for his audience. He chose a ballad from his predecessor’s band, as it still came more naturally to him than his own creations that were much newer to his repertoire. The Snac responded, coming forward eagerly but stopping just out of reach to listen.
Horse riding had been very much allowed by his parents, unlike playing music. There was a farm down the road from where he’d grown up, with some beauties that had needed tending and exercising. So, riding had grown into a pleasant job as a teen. One that might serve him well now.