The small transport shuttles engines hummed quietly as it descended towards the surface of Biotera, a secluded backwater world that drifted along on the outskirts of Solar Empire territory. The planet was home to a small colony entitled Torus, which had been doing extremely well considering how little they relied on outside assistance, though in recent weeks they'd been forced to request help from the core worlds following a string of grisly animal attacks on their livestock which had put quite a strain on their food supplies.
At first, the core world had written off the reports, having decided that they'd be able to fix the issue on their own and that the attacks had been a simple case of bad luck, though when the attacks persisted they'd quickly sent one of, if not the most, renowned Xenobiologists to investigate. This, of course, was Twilight Sparkle, a mare who'd made quite the comfy life for herself following her graduation from a prestigious university of Xenobiology on the home world Equuleus.
She was currently eyeing the planet below from her quarter's viewport, arms crossed over her chest while a thoughtful expression donned her face, the mare already coming up with theories as to what animal could be attacking the colonies livestock. However, the pictures and information she'd been given confused the mare, as the wounds inflicted upon the animals didn't seem to belong to any of the identified predatory animals native to Torus, and the smaller carnivorous creatures were mostly scavengers so it was unlikely they would attempt to take down large animals, let alone attack a heard of cattle.
It was indeed a curious case, and Twilight was excited to get started and figure out exactly what was going on...while she was a bookworm and preferred to work in a controlled environment, she could not deny that venturing off to these little backwater worlds and facing the unknown was rather alluring to her. She was pulled from her thoughts however as the shuttle jolted slightly and was engulfed by bright orange flames as it pushed its way through the planet's atmosphere.
Soon enough the flames dissipated and the journey down towards Biotera once more grew smooth, and Twilight relaxed with a sigh before moving to collect her things, shoving what little she'd brought into a rucksack before throwing it on and turning to face a mirror, only to give an amused chuckle at what she saw.
She was currently dressed in her usual attire that consisted of a dark purple suit and matching trousers while her purple mane had been styled into a neat side bun. She looked more like a tourist from the core worlds than anything else, something she found somewhat amusing. After a short while of examining herself in the mirror, she moved to pick up her PDA and pocketed the small device as the shuttles intercom came on with a gentle beep, and the pilot spoke.
"We're approaching Torus now, the colony manager will be waiting on the landing pad to greet you." He explained before the intercom shut off and Twilight moved to look out of her rooms viewport, smiling at what she saw. Resting below, nestled in the center of a heavily forested valley, was the colony.
Torus was a pleasant enough looking colony, resembling an early twentieth-century town and boasted a healthy population of seven hundred colonists, a number that grew every year...with time and proper care, the colony could very well turn into one of the most prosperous on the outer rim of Empire controlled space. Soon enough the small shuttle entered colony airspace and headed towards the colony's spaceport, and as they approached one of the four large landing pads Twilight gathered up her things and headed out of her cabin, heading towards the shuttle's airlock.
Soon enough the shuttle landed with a small thud and following a short while the airlock hissed open and Twilight stepped out into the cool, crisp air of Biotera, shivering a little as she looked around before she was approached by a small group of security guards and the colony's leader.
"Twilight I presume?" The mare asked once in front of her, offering a hand to her guest, which Twilight was quick to shake, grinning.
"Yes ma'am, you must be the administrator?" Twilight spoke, releasing the mare's hand while the other mare nodded, lifting a hand to adjust her small spectacles.
"Indeed, I do hope you had a pleasant flight, though I will admit that I wish you were visiting under better circumstances." Came the mare's reply. The mare was slightly shorter than Twilight and dressed in a smart looking grey suit, a pair of blue eyes resting behind her golden spectacles while her grey mane was left to its own devices, poofy and free flowing. Adorning her somewhat skinny frame was a dark grey suit, complete with a matching set of trousers and light blue tie, giving the mare an overall official and a rather important look.
