The 999 arrives on a planet containing a large mud pit that Maetel warns Tetsuro to not go near. When he does, Tetsuro is dragged into the pit and forced to live in a bubble with a woman who also calls herself Maetel. When a reward is offered, the woman brings Tetsuro back to the 999, and as a reward demands Tetsuro himself. She is permitted passage on the 999, but soon crumbles into mud. Since she was in the mud pit so long her body became dependent on it to stay in that form.