Futuristic Transsolar

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia was busying herself outside the temple, investigating what was available of the local flora. She was unsure if, on the verge of the incoming storm, all the creatures that made use of a brain were hiding but nevertheless she vigilantly studied the plant life. She recorded images of almost all that she found and did what she could to mentally mark the exact location relative to the nearby pillars of the ruins. It would be almost hopeless to try and relocate each plant to an exact, but she wanted to be able to find them after the storm passed and test their reaction. If another crew member had found it mandatory to know why exactly she was going about all that trouble, she would have replied with either a dismissive grunt or given the a kindergartner's explanation of pine cones and clouds.


Speaking of clouds, Lydia couldn't refrain from glancing anxiously towards the sky every few moments, even tearing her gaze from whatever shrubbery she was antagonizing.

 

[Luminescent]

Rea was disappointed that the tunnels were collapsed. She was excited to see what treasures could have been stored there.


"This was a temple. It was built here to worship many gods, but when the species died out, so did their temple."


She continued looking around, and much to her surprise, there was not much more to look at. It was mostly carvings and other decorations.

 

[Anaxial]

Following the group into the ruins, Marshall seemed engulfed in the carvings on the walls. He ran the mechanical hand of the Power Armor against the grooves of the intricate designs.


"This is incredible... Seems both Mesopotamian in design while also showing remarkably architecture techniques." The suit weaved around as he examined the wide open caverns of the entrances and pointed as he traced a few lines on the ceiling. "I don't really see any evidences of support columns or burns from primitive lighting sources... torches and the like." When given an order finally however, he seemed to snap out of his own examinations and heaved the installed flamethrower forward, aiming it out of the cavern entrance, igniting the lighter on the front as he stomped back to the entrance.


"No arguments here, I'm not a big fan of the uhh... Let's just say I'm more than happy to stay outside." He said as the tin can anchored it's feet in the dirt outside the cavern. "Besides, I prefer taking things from behind. Ha."


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Anu also had began his own investigation, running his long fingers against the walls and scraping at the walls and collecting the samples that crumbled away. He followed Rea towards the tunnel and began to examine the cave-in.


"Surely we can excavate the tunnels. Or I could even try to squeeze through! I am quite malleable you know." Anu suggested as he began to whittle away at the cave-in until he managed to fit his hand inside the rocks. "I do not want to do something you would not approve however, Captain Adira Rik?"

 

[Marianne]

The half bred woman immediately became transfixed into the radar which conveniently displayed the weather patterns for this mission. Instead of admiring the exquisite way the storm was developing, she paid attention to its colors. What she was thinking about she hadn't had a clue, simply transfixed in the way it flickered on her screen before a very frustrating buzz brought her back to reality. She was confused for a while before the situation finally dawned on her, all of this based on the judgement her peers gave her. Jumping in her seat, the woman sat up straight as she immediately gauged herself into her monitors. "Sir? I will continue to monitor the comm and the storm. Also, please be very careful regarding regrouping. For now, you will be safer aboard the ship rather than risking the travel," squaring her shoulders, Saundary said, "It will take you longer to reach them by foot, and you might encounter the storm halfway, unless you believe otherwise, Sir." With this information, she stood by as she awaited a response. In doing so, she immediately sent Saami a file containing the storm and its where about's. If anything, it would seem to be a Category Three Hurricane that was slowly deconstructing itself into a Tropical storm, if not for the strange geography of the moon itself.


It was only a moment later that Saundary's ditzy behavior was placed on a platter as she turned to look at the woman, whom she had only just acknowledged, that was ranting beside her. Again, she hadn't even known she was there, and she looked at her fellow comrades as they regarded her with a sad look and a frightened gleam in their eyes. It took Saundary a moment as she slowly began to process the exact words that came out of the woman's mouth, flinching as she did so. With her innocent ruby eyes widening in realization, Saundary quickly added: "I believe this woman has a few words to say regarding the ship you dispatched," and with that, Saundary, better yet known as Sandy, innocently removed the comm from her ear as she allowed the threats, and promises the ranter made, to greet Sir Saami without missing a beat.
​

 

[InsanEleven]

"Understood miss Etrasmus." Saami was about to explain to Saundary that he wasn't going to leave the ship in case it got damaged during the storm, when he heard another woman yell over the communications so loudly it nearly hurt his ears. He easily identified it as belonging to their engineer, and he wondered how she had even got into navigation to start with. Once the sounds had drowned out and he was sure he had Saundary back on the comms he finished his reply. "I will retry my last message due to distracting circumstances. Due to the storm I shall remain in position. I will try to communicate with the team if necessary. Expect an update each hour, or once the storm has passed."


Not soon after the winds hit, and he was glad the ship was secured to the ground as even then it shook due to the fierceness of the storm. Even when he was far above the tree line, leaves occasionally slapped against the windows. Due to the snow and freeze he couldn't see anything, not even with his eyes. Navigating through there would be impossible, he'd be swept away within minutes.


"Captain Rik, I suggest you and your team remain inside at all times until the all clear from the lullaby is send out. No human could survive in these storms. The communications will most likely fail out soon. I expect to hear back from you once the storm is over." A few seconds later he saw the communications crash, and now he truly was alone on this mountain.


-


In the caverns, something peculiar happened. Things that should not be stirred, wakened by the sound and motions of footsteps. Hastily they scurried in the dark, searching for something, looking past the edges of ruined tunnels in search for what had woken them. Finally they found it, and the sound of clicking mandibles and a large, fast legs tapping on the ground could be heard behind the fallen rocks and tunnels. Slowly the rocks started falling from the block in the tunnel behind Rea, and a second later it burst with giant spider-like legs rushing through carrying a sticky net-like web.


It latched onto the first thing they could find, which in this case was a person, quickly dragging the meaty treat back away from the cold so they could devour it. As they did so dragging the person through the dust of ages in ruins that perhaps hadn't been collapsed entirely without reason. Muffled screams echoing through them.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira turned around just in time to notice the net grabbing Rea. "Rea!" She turned to look at Woods and Marshall for a second before running ahead. She had promised to keep Rea safe. Right when the girl had been comfortable on this mission, this happened. Adira's helm luckily provided some night-vision, enough for her to see the creature. It wasn't far off at all. Adira raised her phaser and took the shot, but it barely damaged the arachnid's hard shell. The thing turned for a moment and struck out with one of its sharp, pointed legs, cutting into Adira's right shoulder - it seemed like it had gone for her phaser, but missed. She fell back from the mere force and skidded along the ground some, the creature scurrying further away down the tunnel. Her hand moved to the gouge to put pressure over her wound; nothing important had been hit, that was what mattered. So. Phasers couldn't kill it. What could...?

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods had been right on Adira's heels the whole time and quickly laid a hand on her shoulder before firing a succession of rounds at the arachnid as he drug Adira back to safety. Once they were far enough back he switched the safety on his rifle and let it hang across his chest before pulling out his medical supplies. His hands moved instinctively as he pulled out an antiseptic, gently removing Adira's hand, before pouring some of the cleaner over the wound as he prepared to dress it. "Hold still dammit.", he growled as he finished placing the compression bandage over the wound. It adhered to her skin tightly as it was designed to.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia had just about finished with her beloved plant research and retreated quite reluctantly toward the entrance of the rather intimidating-looking temple. A small sensor that built itself into the helmet allowed the display of the temperature, wind speed, light intensity (which proved to be rather useless when using an artificial source of light), and various other statistics with little more than the slide of a command display menu that projected itself on the inside of the visor. It was easily noticed even without the electronic aid that the trees were beginning to sway and the sky to darken, so the biochemist carefully deposited the various bagged and labeled plant clippings just inside the temple's quickly-darkening entrance in an almost obsessive-compulsive manner, lingering for several minutes to rearrange them in this fashion... then in that, back to the original groups, and then onto another style entirely. Lydia quickly became almost unaware of her current surroundings, but had to strive to ignore the very prominent and unnerving feeling that was stabbing at her. It was only when she heard shouting that was muffled by dust, amplified unnervingly by the small microphones and speakers in her helmet that she cared to interrupt herself, one gloved hand almost flinching toward the energized pistol at her side.

 

[Dragongal]

Adira let Woods drag her back, though she didn't like how much time he spent patching her up - not when one of their crewmates was being taken by a giant spider. Her wound would have had to be treated eventually, but after Rea was safe. Rea was their greenhorn, her crewman, her responsibility. Adira stood up, her hand leaving a crimson print on the ground as she pushed off it to stand. "Thanks, but focus on getting Rea back!"

 

[Anaxial]

Unaware at first of the events transpiring inside the cave, Marshall had been quietly pacing back and forth and keeping watch on Lydia as she examined the plants outside the cave. When the woman retreated back to the entrance of the cavern, Marshall allowed himself to relax with no one in the direct line of fire aside from himself. However it didn't take long for the sound of pistol shots to ricochet outside and into the mechanical power armor suit. Immediately, the suit roared to life as hydraulics pumped into the legs and with a few loud mechanical whirs, Marshall ran with leaps and bounds into the cave as far as he could go. The Flamethrower unit gave a small test fire as he arrived on the scene and the torso swivelled around as he looked around the room, noticing the Captain had been hit.


"What the fuck? What happened?! Was she shot?" bombarding the two with questions, Marshall immediately began a head count and eventually found that they were missing a certain individual. Leaning forward as best he could in the cumbersome power armor suit he got as close to Adira and Woods as he could. "Someone needs to start explaining, who are we missing?"

 

[BookWyrm]

"Some kind of arachnids. Never seen any this big before, or of this species. One clipped the Captain but she is stable. It made off with Rea though." Woods grabbed his rifle before turning, the butt stock finding it's place against his shoulder as he slowly moved towards the crevice with the spider had drug away. "It looks like it is too small for your armor to fit. Captain, are you good?"

 

[InsanEleven]

Saami sat in the ship, watching the winds rage outside and listening to the communications trying to decipher what was said and happening. Due to the lack of satellites or other relaying devices it was impossible to communicate with the Lullaby without a direct line. Now he had no direct line to the crew he truly was without eyes or ears, except for maybe a distorted fragment of sound here and there. All he could do was hope they were okay, and in the meantime readying his weapons in case he needed it. Even if he was on top of a rock in a ship in the middle of a storm he didn't know what could possibly pop up after.


Quietly he took apart the separate pieces of the gun, cleaning them out and making sure they were still intact. This piece of metal had by far been his best companion, it didn't judge, whether it was on what held it or what it shot. Besides he could blabber on without repercussions, not having to pretend to be anything. So as he cleaned it he emptied his mind on it about all kinds of nonsense.

 

[Anaxial]

Even through the the filters on the mechanical suit, Marshall's heavy breathing could be heard. The viewport of the Power Armor stared directly at where Woods had aimed his rifle and eventually, Marshall broke the silence.


"Is the air here breathable?" he asked, the power armor whirring as it looked about their small group forming inside the cave. He repeated himself, louder and before anyone could really respond properly. "Goddammit, I'm not letting anyone get taken by some giant insect!" He continued, walking the armor as deep into the cavern as he could until it's size was too much. Fearing he'd become stuck, Marshall backed out a bit and stood the armor upright. The arms went limp as Marshall pulled them out of the power armor's slot and began fiddling with the small console in front of him, his elbows tucked tightly at his sides while inside the compact suit.

 

[Dragongal]

"I'm fine. I just can't move my right arm too well. I can still shoot, though." Adira took out her phaser again and rolled her shoulders a bit, grimacing at the sting in her shoulder. "The air's breathable alright. Don't get yourselves killed, though."

 

[BookWyrm]

"I've squared off one on one against a xyvir and lived. It'll take more than an overgrown spider to kill me." Woods took point as they pushed on into the cave. He moved with an almost casual air about him as he swiveled about, his training keeping him a few steps ahead of each corner and ambush point. "I'm not seeing anything yet."

 

[Anaxial]

Marshall paused, he stared straight ahead for a good minute before he eventually the torso whirred around to face Adira and Woods, if only for a moment. It was almost as though he didn't want the answer to the question he'd asked. With a heavy sigh, Marshall flipped a switch and the power armor torso hissed as it pressurized his cabin and opened up, allowing him to climb out of the suit. Taking in a few deep breaths, Marshall reached into the cabin of the power armor suit and withdrew his Keltor 11mm Pistol.


Checking the magazine, Marshall grabbed an addition two magazines and jogged off into the cavern to catch up to Woods, taking up his flank. Immediately his body began to beg him to flee from the dark of the cavern, a knot formed in his stomach and he unwillingly put a hand on Wood's shoulder.


"Hey, if I let go... I got grabbed. If I stop holding onto something... guess you got grabbed, make sense?" Quick thinking seemed to save the possibly awkward situation and yet, the darkness seemed to swirl around him... It only got darker the deeper they went.

 

[InsanEleven]

The tunnels ran deep into the needle like mountain, clearly made by other creatures than those that had created the ruins. After a few of the higher, larger rooms still made with care and sophistication, the tunnels turned into holes in the wall covered in webs. They were big enough to walk in, but just barely, and at some points you'd scrape your head on the ceiling if you were decently tall. Occasionally there were bigger, round caves and dead insects sucked empty hung lifeless on the ceilings, encased in thick, stringy web. Deeper in there were similar rooms, covered by tall conical pillars that on closer inspection were made with thousands of eggs.

 

[Spazzycat101]

Lydia drew both her weapons and nearly stumbled upon standing as suddenly as she did, watching the massive suit of armour almost flying past her. Such a huge thing moving so quickly looked so abnormal and out of place, as if it shouldn't physically be able to move with the speed that it was. Boggling to the mind of an amateur physicist.


It was too soon that the only remaining company disappeared from sight, and Lydia hesitated before moving on. She holstered one gun reluctantly in order to fiddle with the settings display on her helmet and eventually succeed in activating a helmet-bound flashlight (and grimaced as she watched the light intensity reading flicker and fluctuate). With that, she started off down the suffocatingly ancient-looking tunnel, the dull royal-blue glow that emanated from a small meter on one of her pistols illuminating the carvings where the flashlight did not reach in eerie, jumping shadows and pale shapes.


Within several minutes, she came upon the small group. Her eyes quickly took inventory. Lydia's mind worked with a harsh, cold precision now, wishing for the sake of the plants that this untimely detour would finish itself quickly. One wounded, one jelly-like blob still... there, and two on their way to advance into the tunnel. One missing.


'Sonar! Heat sensing? You don't go through tunnels with out either of those!' She managed to shout at their retreating shape, knowing how absolutely thoughtless it was to leave without either kind of equipment. While sonar was useful for making out shapes, paths, hollows and the like, heat-sensing tech would be more essential in finding a missing person. It would be useless against cold-blooded creatures, but Lydia had only a little idea what they would be dealing with. Shaking her head and causing the beam of light from her healmet to dance back and forth, she switched it off to direct her gaze to Adira without blinding her. In essence, she was asking permission to follow, and her expression (though, of course, hidden) conveyed both that and a 'mild' irritation.

 

[BookWyrm]

Woods looked over his shoulder long enough to notice that Marshall was right behind him....with a pistol. He sighed quietly, wishing for once that the man in the tin can had something a little more powerful as his back up. But beggars can't be choosers. "Check." As they passed under the area with the low hanging ceiling Woods couldn't help but feel slightly claustrophobic even though he didn't have to duck. It didn't help at all when they started to see the husks of long dead prey stuck in some otherworldly webs. "Why couldn't they have been alien ants?", Woods grumbled as they pushed further until they finally came into a chamber filled with conical pillars. Woods turned on the lights on the side of his helmet to illuminate the pillars, and he instantly regretted that decision. "Those pillars are.....eggs. Hundreds of....spider eggs. Marshall.....why did you leave your flamethrower?"

 

[Dragongal]

"Don't touch the eggs. We're not supposed to mess with the world or species too much. Touch them, torch them, they may hatch. Get Rea, and leave." Adira stayed close to Woods, constantly checking behind them.

 

[BookWyrm]

"If they stay right there I'll be fine but so help me Captain, if they hatch I am killing every single eight legged bastard I can." Woods switched his visor on to try and track Rea's signal. "I'm not picking up Rea's signal. Anyone having any luck down here?"

 

[Anaxial]

Keeping close to Woods, Marshall ducked under the low hanging ceiling and made a disgusted groan at the sight of the spider's nest. He was silent for a long while, holding his breath not wanting to smell the husks- if they carried any scent at all. When dealing with giant alien spiders on their home turf, it was difficult to think straight. Carrying on deeper into the cavern, Marshall leaned in closer to hear Woods and gently patted on his shoulder apologetically.


"The Tin-Can doesn't fit in the cavern... the Flamethrower is emplaced." he said matter-o-factly. "Besides, I don't want to roast Rea in here... If she's uhh.. still kicking." The last bit seemed a bit more somber than the rest.

 

[Dragongal]

"Woods, I will be right alongside you if one of those things hatches. Bit pissed that they took one of my favorite crewmen, you see. Let's hope she is alive, and keep the guns at ready. If you think you could hit her, then don't, unless she's clearly dead." Adira made her orders clear and concise, still in the hopes that Rea was alive. Her shoulder was throbbing, but pain wasn't something she was a stranger to in any way.

 

[Spazzycat101]

With groan, Lydia took off down the tunnel after the three. Idiots, idiots, idiots! In some kind of maze, one absolutely does not leave without some kind of tracking or mapping device, and something upon which to make the map. Dammit! Her footsteps echoed quickly up behind the group, and as she neared them she flicked the headlight back on again. Under her breath, she growled wordless curses and mumbled unintelligible swears that she took the liberty of silencing the small speaker system before saying.


As soon as Lydia noted the massive pillars of arachnid eggs crowding the room, a small gasp game through the helmet. Not of disgust or dislike, but more of awe and glee. Her mind was temporarily thrown into a bliss at seeing so many new specimen, and all gathered in one single place... This what where they had retreated. How did these creatures hunt? Did they simply wait for some kind of prey to scuttle down through the pathways, as they themselves had done? Or were there other areas full of other creatures' domain? Where were they? Even if there were more, how could they collect enough of these things, if any? Would it be safe to bring them back to the Lullaby for experiments? She'd beg Adira if she had to, she just needed one of these things for testing, absolutely.


Perhaps she should start with a sample of web?


Web, definitely arachnids, some form of spider-like creature, eliminating any scorpion-esque thing. Good. A less armoured exoskeleton. Good.

 

[BookWyrm]

"I don't miss.", Woods said in a very, very matter of fact way. The sudden sounds of footsteps behind them caused Woods to drop his rifle down, spin, before bringing his sights back up, his crosshair directly in the center of Lydia's head. "Dammit Lydia! What the hell is a science officer doing down this fucking tunnel?!"