What an adventure! Such an interesting, awesome world with interesting creatures. I adore stories with alien worlds that are really, really alien :D The imagery was gorgeous and the plot intense. For a moment I was terrified that J'hyla and all the inhabitants were going to be destroyed, and what it would do to John. I loved the Daedalus swooping in, because Woolsey was "Budget be darned!" for once (I could totally see him doing that). I liked that being able to turn into birds to escape was both a blessing and a curse, very nice twist, there.

And I adored that they gave everyone a ride, starting with John, because that's totally his dream come true :D

Wonderful story.