Futuristic Transsolar

[Luminescent]

Nervous and shaking, Rea boarded the ship. What could be down there? A bunch of murderous beasts waiting to pounce? A herd of evil cannibals? She shook the thoughts away and buried herself in a seat next to Anu. She noticed him speaking quickly and was going to comment on it, asking him to slow down, but her nerves got the best of her, and she shut up. She closed her eyes and pushed her body into the back of the seat, trying to drown out the sounds around her with her own frightened thoughts.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked over those gathered and nodded, walking over to her own seat next to Rea and buckling in. She smiled to Rea and said, "Don't be so nervous, try to enjoy it. We'll keep you safe, I promise. And don't hold your breath when we fly, rookie mistake, it's not fun for anyone." Adira activated the comm link in her helmet. "Sammi, we're all good back here."

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami repeated his greeting, and the warning about checking if the seats were properly secured. After that he replied to the captain.


"Tell me if anyone panics or feels too uncomfortable. The flight is incredibly rowdy at parts, tell them not to freak out from some turbulence and a few red lights. I can't avoid getting close to some rocks." It wasn't the best planet to have a first flight on, and he knew some of those scientists were skittish as it stood. He'd try to make them feel as safe as possible, but the truth was that they just wouldn't be safe until they got back on board.


Soon after the ship loosened from the Lullaby again, this time slower and more gentle than first, with him manually turning down the lights a few seconds later so they would know it wasn't a malfunction. There still was no way he could prevent the occasional shock and flickering lights during turbulent parts, but he trusted the Captain would calm them down.


"We will arrive at the landing zone soon, I will alert you when you can commence with the drop." There was no way he could get away with telling them exactly how to drop, and though they had had training with the military before the mission, he was worried that some of the scientist might've forgotten, especially when their the nerves played up. So he switched to private communications with the captain again. "Make sure they go feet first..."

 

[Dragongal]

"Naturally," Adira replied. Louder, so everyone could hear her, she said, "Okay, there's going to be some turbulence. Ship's gonna be a bit rough. Expect red lights and shaking. That's kind of a good thing, it means we're not dead." Simple enough concept, and a little dark joke at the end. It'd work well enough. Adira wasn't concerned about Anu or Lydia, more for Rea. She'd come to like the young girl, and Rea had the least experience of any of them.

 

[Spazzycat101]

When Anu had poked her to inquire about what she thought of the trip, Lydia's mouth simply hung open as if waiting for a moment between his rapid-fire words to reply to the few that she actually caught and processed, though she found none before he turned away to test someone else's patience. With a mental shrug, she closed her own mouth and turned to face forward again.


Anu was absolutely right about anxiety, it was something that festered in her mind prior to almost every mission that she joined, but now it was far more prominent, far more noticeable. One heel wouldn't cease its bouncing, one hand wouldn't cease its twitching. Lydia's thoughts raced in a positively panicked dance, not afraid for failed protocols or sudden and ultimate death, but extatic for the oppritunity of unearthing new things, creatures, plants, unpredictable things.

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods' hud picked up the ship when it came within range, but then again you could hear it if you knew what to listen for. He flashed a hand signal to the team to form up before leading them back to the LZ. "Woods to Saami and Adira. We are setting up at the LZ and are awaiting your arrival."

 

[InsanEleven]

"Saami to Woods. Arrival will be within one minute, awaiting all clear for drop." After that he was too busy manoeuvring the ship into the correct position to really say much, the landing zone being closer to the ground than the other pillars, and therefore he had to focus on not crashing the ship against one of them while still getting into a decent position for the drop.


"We are awaiting permission to drop, do not move before the green light is on." This would still be the easy part, getting on the planet being infinitely more easy than getting off of it. For some the latter might even be impossible...

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods watched as the ship came into position, hovering lightly above the drop zone. "Saami, Woods. You are clear to drop."

 

[Marianne]

Meanwhile, a particular blue-haired female remained seated in her designated station on deck; checking, as one of her very many monitors, displayed the ship that had just dispatched itself from SSE-Lullaby with refined ease. Its tracer slowly blinking in and out of existence as she checked the terrestrial meteorology on one of Odias' many moons: Othid.


Although it had only seemed to show only one form of life, it was strange for the Moon functioned as if it had multiple, to the point it might as well been no different than a Dwarf Planet. A storm, only a few hours away from the designated landing zone was coming, and because of its very existence the winds traveled at 100mph. With this information, Saundary, wasted no time in clocking in to her Comm link. Pulling the might closer to her flushed lips as she relayed the message to the Pilot in the opposing ship. "Pilot Saami, this is Saundary speaking for the Navigation's Department. I would like to inform you that a storm, with winds traveling at 100mph, is headed your way. Official encounter shall take place three hours from now. Thus, the subtropical jet stream you will be experiencing might be worse than its average within the hour. Please be careful, things like these can temporarily disable the ship, especially if you encounter erosion from any neighboring mountains, sir," as she said this, Saundary would angle her chair so she may properly face a shared monitor. "I will send you the acquired information, along with a new site that is worthy of safe travel. Its elevation is flat and even, away enough from the mountains and the canyons nearby. It shall also delay the encounter of the storm by half an hour. I trust that you and your crew will do their absolute best in ensuring that everything will be okay." By the time she finished speaking she had already sent the link to Saami, knowing full well that they were preparing to officially land.
​

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami got the message, though it worried him a fair bit. The data he received showed him enough about the path the storm would take, and that there was no escaping this one. The storm had a violent downward draft above the oxygen line that would pull any small craft down, and below the oxygen line there would be no way he could avoid the pillars in a storm like that.


"Saami to navigation; information received and understood. Miss Etrasmus, dedicate your focus to the current LZ, in case of emergency you are allowed to directly relay information to Woods or the captain. The current team will be dropped here, while I will land on the designated spot." Once he had this done, he switched his comms to both the captain and Woods.


"I received information regarding an incoming storm that will hit within three hours. I request the dropping be quick and fast, so the teams can find shelter in the rainforest. I have been assigned another landing zone but will keep communications up." He mentally shared his information with the both of them, after which he switched on the green light for the drop. There was still time, but he could not risk damaging the ship, they still had to go a long ways with it. It would be highly unprofessional of him to wreck it only a few days in.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira nodded, checking her suit one last time before grabbing the rope that was to be hers. "Alright. Everyone, just copy me. Rea, you especially." She normally would do an interesting or fun drop, however, she decided to do it plainly for their sakes. Once she was on the ground, she stepped back and looked up expectantly, turning on her comm to the ship. "Tell them if they're not out in one minute, I've given you permission to push them. But, don't actually do it. Help Rea if she needs it."

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods motioned for his team to move in after receiving the message from Saami. They slung their weapons around and went about assisting the team as they fast roped down from the ship. Woods walked under the first rope, which happened to be Adira's, and reached out, laying a gentle hand against her back as she slid to the ground. It wasn't that he thought she needed it, it was just a precaution. "We need to get the full team out of the ship and moving ASAP. The FOB is going to have to be improvised with this storm approaching."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked to Woods, nodding appreciatively for the help with balance. "As long as we can make it safe before the storm hits, that's all that truly matters. If it's not possible, I want everyone back to Lullaby before the storm messes everything up. What do you think?" He was her defense officer, so their safety was partially his concern too.

 

[Anaxial]

Keeping his distance from the repelling individuals, Marshall was of little use to the group inside of his clunky Power Armor. He'd be damned if he got out of it as well, air breathable or not; who knew what disastrous alien diseases could exist on this planet. Instead, he kept his eyes on the perimeter. The Flamethrower was kept level with the terrain, if something charged at them they would meet a wall of jellied magma.


"I suggest setting up INSIDE the ruins, or at least at the entrance... If there is one." Marshall said, his voice trailing off in thought as he really looked around and took in the alien ruins for the first time. "Hell these storms might of been the inspiration for this thing."


Meanwhile, on board the ship Anu calmly gripped the rope and watched Adira descend with curious focus. Mimicking her movements the alien slid down the rope at a surprisingly slow and controlled pace. His strong grip allowing him to control his fall with ease. When on the ground, his mouth hung agape with awe, eyes wider than they'd ever been before. It was almost like they were going to pop out of his head as he ran straight for the flora of the world.


"OH my! How magnificent! I thought the sands of the Arid Harbor were enchanting, this... This is overwhelming!" Anu hastily, yet carefully grabbed at anything he could get his hands around, opening up the khaki plates that served as armor and storing the specimens he found inside.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira looked at Anu, rolling her eyes. She barked, "Anu! Stay in the perimeter! Look before you run, for god's sakes." Adira looked to Woods and rolled her eyes, shaking her head slightly as she smiled, though he probably couldn't see her eyes anyway. She looked to Marshall, then back to Woods. "Do we know that the ruins are clear? It may be safer to quickly load up and get back to Lullaby... if we can move fast enough."

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods looked over towards the ruins. "Its a fifty fifty shot either way. We can move into the ruins with the whole team, clearing it as we go, or we can risk moving down into the forest and setting up there. As for getting back to the Lullaby we'd have to leave now, defeating the whole purpose of coming to the surface to begin with." Woods hadn't strayed from Adira's side the whole time. "Its a shitty situation for sure. I'd much rather have swept the perimeter and cleared a path before hand, but if we take it slowly, and no one does anything stupid, we can secure a FOB with enough time to get get shelters up and secured before the storm hits."

 

[Anaxial]

"I don't mean to brag, but I'm in a ten foot Power Armor suit with a built in Flamethrower..." He stomped as he turned around to face the ruins. "Whatever lives in that probably isn't going to stand a chance, if things do get violent. My vote goes for setting up in the ruins, I'll take first watch on the interior side if that makes anyone feel any better." As he talked, Marshall had slowly walked closer to the main group now that they had finished disembarking.


Anu snapped back into reality and looked over his shoulder at Adira. He did something very strange then, he ignored her. Turning back to the plants as he continued to investigate them and greedily harvest anything new he found. This only lasted a few more seconds before eventually, he seemed to snap out of it and turned to face the rest of the group.


"I... I'm sorry.. I don't know what's come over me. My 300 years of life have been surrounded by grey metal... These plants these sounds... It makes me think of the word... Heaven." Anu put a hand on his forehead as he seemed to nod to himself. His steps were odd and confused as he returned to others as well.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami looked through his window and scanned the perimeter, all the way to where he could see, which with his eyes was pretty far out even if his vision enchantments were off, let alone when he used them to the full. At that point his vision was only limited to not being able to see through physical objects and the capabilities of his own brain. Even if he saw everything, and recorded it, he couldn't willy nilly focus on two or more things at the same time unless he wanted to blow his own brains out after a week. So for most things he had to go back and pull up the images scanning it again for details he had mentally missed. As he was doing right now, wanting to see if there was anything that could offer more protection, or that would be dangerous to deal with.


"Saami to captain; I can't land here, and it would be impossible to scout for you from the designated spot. You'll have to do this with either no eyes, or the eyes of the Lullaby. The ruins might offer the most protection, stay up high in the frost, most bug-like lifeforms can't survive in cold, or will be seriously slowed by it. I have taken an image of the full landscape at this current time, and if I find any spots of interest on it I will let you know. For now my priority is to keep the ship intact." With that he fired up the engines again, having made sure everyone was off of it. Would be silly to accidentally take a scientist with him, but there was none left, they all had made it to the ground. Which meant there was also no reason for him to hang around any longer. Slowly he flew higher again, only to make his way out of sight soon after.

 

[Luminescent]

Rea listened closely to Adira's instructions. She cleared her throat and stood from her seat and step by step arrived in front of the rope. Her palms were sweaty inside her gloves. "I used to consider myself b-brave... N-not this brave..." She stuttered. She cursed to herself as she grabbed ahold of the rope with both hands. As quickly as she had gotten ahold of the rope, she was back in the ship, against the back wall. "Sorry, but if you think I'm letting you push me, you're dead wrong." Soon enough, with some coaxing and some pushing, she made it down to the planet with all of her limbs in tact. She sighed loudly. "Alright, captain, what should I do first?"

 

[Dragongal]

"Well, the ruins need to be checked, so we can hunker down for the storm. Woods, Marshall, and I will go down with you as guards while everyone else works on setting up - we're going to have a few working on shelters in case the ruins don't pan out." That was the plan, at least. The hope was that the ruins would be empty and safe.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia had waited for Rea to find the will to get herself to the planet surface, and was beginning to regret having let her go before until she finally found the guts. Her own palms were almost sweating, and her mind was a fuzzy chaos of incoherent excitement.


As soon as her boots struck the ground, she just barely caught the last few words of what the Captain was saying, something about shelters and things not working out. A rather bitter thought suddenly came to mind, that if this trip didn't work out, she'd march right up to fate's door with a gun in hand.


Quickly though, her mind moved on and flooded again with more pleasant fantasies of dissecting new species, perhaps taking something back to the ship among the samples of plants to study...

 

[Luminescent]

(This is 90% explanation of the ruins, so skip to the bottom two paragraphs for the speech and actions etc.)


Rea nodded and was off to work. She trodded slowly and catiously to the ruins, taking in her surroundings. She had seen ruins somewhat like this before, but they were very unique and obviously made with a creature highly more intelligent than humans. She ran her finger along a tall column, noting the extreme amount of dust that came with it.


As she walked through the large entry way into what was left of an ancient, sacred temple, her jaw dropped. The carvings in the walls were 40, 50 feet up. This was old enough that the technology required to build up that high was almost not worth the carvings. This was either an extremely intelligent creature, an extremely tall creature, or a very sacred temple. The care and precision put into every detail suggested the latter.


As she made her way through the ruins, she noted many things, this temple was dedicated to the worship of many religious figures, not just one; The temple was frequently visited, determined by the extra erosion on the front porch steps, and hallways; The temple was not fixed up or remodeled during its standing.


That said many things about the culture of the specimens although with the age and erosion of the temple, she couldn't be sure.


"I've made several observations and I've come to a few conclusions, but I'd like to go a little deeper into the ruins to further my findings. Let's head into the cave near the back right?" Near the back of the temple there were several cave tunnels leading in several directions. This type of structure typically used for worship of individual gods, or personal worship. These was also typically used as oracles and quiet, serene places to find your future path.


Rea smiled as she followed the group toward the back of the ruins. This was her calling.

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami

​

Saami soared through the pillars to the designated landing zone, one where he could actually land.


"Saami to Navigation, I am about to land. It is priority to maintain communications with the key group first, if so necessary you can put all manpower on maintaining it. You have permission to break communications with me if it keeps up the other lines." He knew he'd be fine, all he'd have to do was land and use the gravity tethers to stay in place. All in all he wouldn't even need to go outside the ship except perhaps to whack the ice off once the storm was over. Maybe he could communicate with the Captain and Woods to give advice, but there wasn't much he could do from his position either way.

Nadanya

​

As she stomped through the halls on her way from Engineering to Navigation most others stayed clear from her, recognising that look and knowing it didn't offer much good despite only having been near her for maybe a week total, some even less. Word of her temper had already spread, and she gladly lived the part. Wielding her wrench like a sword she entered the Navigation department where the crew was busy preparing for the storm.


"Where did that cursed roboboy go?! You!" She pointed her wrench at a girl looking easily manipulatable by her anger, even if she clearly was busy. "Tell that damn piece of organic scrap metal not to dare put a dent in my baby!" She hadn't been told when the launch would take place, and thus been unable to install her message into the INANES, which had clearly left her in a bad mood. In fact she cared more for that ship than most of the people on the ship, probably why she called it her baby in the first place. Swinging around her wrench in a fury, she continued her rant, describing in detail exactly what punishment hurting her beloved project held. She'd already lost interest in the girl she had been yelling to in the beginning anyway, more stating it to herself than anything else.

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods had taken point as he, Adira, Rea, and Marshall had gone into the ruins. Thankfully the whole area seemed to be clear. When they had made it into the back where the tunnels split off Woods called a stop. "We are going to need to tackle these one at a time. Marshall, that tin can is too big to fit down some of these, but you can make one hell of a rear security. The Captain, Rea, and I will check and clear these one at a time and then regroup."

 

[Dragongal]

Adira, Rea, and Woods checked down the tunnel but only made it a short distance as all of the tunnels were collapsed, so they returned to the temple. Adira looked at the carvings on one wall, though she kept her phaser at her side. "Odd that so much work that was put into this is just... unguarded, abandoned... but I try not to make a habit of questioning luck."