The Asteroids of Shimballil is the title of a pilot

Television pilot

A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...

 for a proposed animated adaptation of the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 series, Valérian and Laureline, created by writer Pierre Christin

Pierre Christin

- Biography :Christin was born at Saint-Mandé in 1938.After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and became a professor of French literature at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. His first comics story, Le Rhum du Punch, illustrated...

 and artist Jean-Claude Mézières

Jean-Claude Mézières

Jean-Claude Mézières is a French comic strip artist and illustrator. Born and raised in Paris, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis...

. The pilot was never made, however, the concept art and storyline have been published.

Synopsis

The story takes the form of an oral report sent back to Galaxity by Valérian and Laureline.

Report begins:

Valérian and Laureline's astroship approaches Shimballil under its invisibility screen. Laureline fights off a swarm of metal-eating termite

Termite

Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...

s as she repairs the ship which has been damaged by the storm.

The astroship lands in the marshes of the asteroid known as Zakitab. Lashing up a barge, Valérian and Laureline make for Zakitab-The-Great-Market where they are to meet their contact.

Having searched the city for many hours with no luck, Valérian and Laureline are surprised to hear a song in a language known to them. Reaching the group who are chanting, one of their number reveals himself as their contact and asks them to follow them to Balbinful.

Following their guide through the streets of Zakitab, they are surprised by a group of creatures who kill their contact. Valérian and Laureline are left to contemplate what to do next.

Report Ends.

Setting

The Asteroids of Shimballil orbiting the dead planet of Shimballil. Although inhabited, it is a primitive place. The approach to the asteroids can be hazardous thanks to lightning storms and space termites. Asteroid number 14,112 is called Zakitab and is home to the market city of Zakitab-The-Great-Market. The city is surrounded by densely vegetated marshes.