Planetfall Mission 1: The Beacons Are Lit

Thank the gods they were finally able to get off the colony ship and feel dirt under their toes.  Daniel and Kira were going to be the first of the colony crew to land.  Those freelancers that came with the Administrator grounded first, and they had heard rumors of pirates or smugglers or something else that might have been down there.
And the damn converted, which the freelancers claimed they took care of.  At least enough to convince Unity to let them begin.
The mission was simple.  Shuttle down, quick hop to the edge of the colony site, set the three beacons, and get out.
What could go wrong?
Ten million things, but there's no need to dwell on them.
Daniel and Kira were out and bounding as soon as the shuttle touched down.  They paused at the edge of the site, and visually scouted with their nocs.  Everything looked clear, but scanners were indicating odd atmospheric anomolies.
Daniel took off for the first beacon site; as he started moving, a cloud of mist, hypercharged with ionic energy, appeared in the deployment zone, and floated towards Point-A, where he needed to plant his first beacon.  He wasn't sure what that cloud could do to a person, and was in no hurry to find out.
Kira jetted off towards Point-B.
Daniel carefully closed on Point-A, trying to avoid the cloud; it moved slightly away from Point-A, but it was still blocking him.  Kira was closing in on Point-B when a second and then a third cloud appeared.  They were moving randomly - or so it appeared, although they were heading towards Kira.But, she was able to plant and activate her beacon.
With the clouds moving away, Daniel was able to jump up and plant his first beacon as another cloud appeared.Kira began her dash towards Point-C.
Daniel smiled as he glanced at Kira.  The race was on.  The clouds were merely another obstacle.
They both continued their dashes towards Point-C, but Daniel was able to get there first, planting and activating his beacon while Kira let out an exasperated growl.
Better luck next time, Kira!
The two scouts had gathered decent data on the clouds, and carefully made their way back to the shuttle, and then back to the colony ship.  A couple more quick missions - one by the professors and one by the muscles, and they'd be landing their colony ship and start to make this site their new home.