midday
He cursed again , for the tenth time , and stood uncertainly in the dimness . From tall , moss-shrouded trees , wrist-thick vines hung quietly , scraping the spongy ground like the tentacles of some monstrous tree-bound octopus . Fitful little plants grew straggly in the shadows of the mossy trunks , forming a dense underbrush that made walking difficult . At midday some few of the blue sun 's rays filtered through to the jungle floor , but now , late afternoon on the planet , the shadows were long and gloomy . Alan peered around him at the vine-draped shadows , listening to the soft rustlings and faint twig-snappings of life in the jungle . Two short , popping sounds echoed across the stillness , drowned out almost immediately and silenced by an explosive crash . Alan started , `` Blaster fighting !