Despite always having praised the illustrations, this time I wish to mention them first, as their quality has been further improved. My favourite ones are the meditation and junk pile ones, absolutely love those fine details.
The episode itself feels longer and more detailed than the previous one as well, and this impression may be due it being in a single location. Nevertheless, it doesn't get stale at any point, with the desert constantly showing its different sides.
Of course, the "hit by space debris, landed in an uninhabitet desert" setting is not the most original one, but the emphasis on the nature and survival tactics definitely makes it stand out.
Speaking of which, Arq is finally in his element, being able to put his intelligence to good use, even if a bit stuck in the ways learned back on his homeplanet (arguably, they didn't let him down either). Zekra doesn't seem to be a fan of it, trying to regain the initiative from time to time, but in the end they make up a good duo by combining their abilities. One might also say this is one of the rare times when Arq feels not only as a kid to look out for or a convenient muscle, but a full-fledged party member.
The scene with the predators attacking Zekra is also interesting for using the biological difference between species. I guess, those animals don't like the smell and taste of ammonia either. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Again, the tribe situation was not the most original one, with multiple variants of "sand people" spread across vast universes. It is interesting though, to see Caroukarans consider Unicomlang as a secret language of the gods, while a "modern" civilisation exists on the same planet. It implies that a contact was made at some point in time, but then the tirbe was left to their own devices.
Good thing they didn't bother to destroy any "WItchcraft" they encountered, and just piled it up in a designated place (did I mention the junk pile looks awesome? :D )
That notorious computer has let down Zekra again, but now it gets company in a form of a bigger, better one (that can't obviously be worn, but at leas has some reasonable wireless connectivity).
Speaking of the technology department, the "intra-atmospheric vessel" made me smile. Quite a fancy way to say "airplane". I'm sure it was used in earlier episodes though.
The "honourable mention" section this time goes to the visual consistency of all of the desert species (which I also saw beforehand on a separate drawing of yours, too).
Random thought: It would be nice to see an episode dedicated mostly to character growth, instead of flat out adventures. Not saying there wasn't any during the past episodes, but the protagonists sometimes feel a bit stuck in the personal department, although it is not a major problem for an adventure-centric series of course.
As always, looking forward for more episodes!

Interestingly, those two were the ones where I cheated by tracing from an actual junk pile and a resonance pattern to speed up the process or get the perspective right.
It's also the longest chapter so far.
To be fair, I don't recall having seen that setting so far in sci-fi, but then again, I can't read or see everything in existence.
Yeeeh, it was about damn time Arq got to take the lead for once. I really need to come up with some plots that involve him more, although there are some scheduled for later episodes.
Well, as said, it is toxic to a number of biochemical profiles. If it weren't, the results of the confrontation would have been way worse than just a leg wound.
Yep, they did have contact with xenologists in the past, but due to them being associated with the Baykao, contact with them fell out of favour and memories of those events became muddied.
Maybe they destroy the "witchcraft" in a specific location as they travel or wait for a specific time to do it.
I have used the term for quite some time, it encompasses pretty much any flying device unable to leave the atmosphere; planes, helicopters, antigravity levitators and so on.
The visual consistency of the species is a thing that is sorely lacking in a lot of sci-fi media and is one of my pet peeves.
Methinks the reason they feel stuck has mostly to do with their character development being spread over significant text mileage and developing gradually, and there's still some significant stuff to happen that hadn't been hinted at yet. I'm not sure how a character growth episode would work narratively, though; I prefer it to be tied to significant events and happening along a plot. It being the main course would be kind of hard to pull off properly in this scenario.