Don't Fu¢k the Flowers by Many-Eyed Hydra

Once the initial wow! factor wore off it was the same old lugging heavy packs through rocks and dirt. "Where we going, Ezquerra?" Finney asked as they picked their way up a steep hillside. "Sumfink I found," Ezquerra said. "It's fucking awesome." Ezquerra's definition of 'fucking awesome' included a wide variety of things, some of which were totally gross and disgusting. Finney followed him anyway. The sky was a constant reminder they weren't on Earth. It was a roiling mass of purples and pinks, like bruised flesh. It always looked like it was on the verge of a storm, but Finney had never experienced one, or even seen rain.

The vegetation looked like clumps of grass and small shrubs, but it was red--like blood--instead of green. It also had a disconcerting habit of moving when not looked at directly. The scientists said it was an optical illusion. One of the theories was H-Space had weird magnetic fields that screwed around with perception. They certainly screwed around with the equipment. Nothing electronic worked correctly out here. It was like being back in the nineteenth century--grunts and shovels. They were about a week's hard slog from the entrance camp and they had to rely on guys on bicycles to courier messages back and forth. Crazy Click for part2