Crimson Catalysts {Role-Play}

[Cide]

Echanu watched as the one known as Aubren revealed himself. He couldn't help but to be dumbfounded; this man could destroy worlds? He was so...Small! He looked at Zecora, then back to Aubren and the group of soldiers. There was a firefight going on between the troops and the natives of the world they were on, and it looked like the troops were winning. The troops were surrounded by what appeared to be a force field of some kind. However, this would not stop Echanu. He had a mission, and he needed to complete it as quickly and efficiently as possible. So, without hesitation, Echanu walked to the hatch, pushed on it, and forced his way onto the planet.


Once outside, Echanu ordered the Sha'vael to stay in the ship. He spoke a few words in the Eckari language to them, coming up with a plan as he went along. Echanu took a few steps toward the group of battling forces, then turned into a jog, then a full-blown run. He grabbed one of the native warriors and used it to block the incoming shots from the troops as he got closer and closer to the troops and, more importantly, Aubren. He continued using the native as a shield as he spoke loudly, his voice booming over the firefight.


"Au-burr-en! I wish to conduct business with you!" Echanu bellowed, drowning out everything else.


=====Faerigan-Oceanus=====


Forsynth was trapped. He wasn't able to hold his breath much longer and water was rushing in, yet he still needed to escape with Kor. However, he was stopped by these foreigners. In a last ditch effort, Forsynth grabbed Kor with the blade whip before the foreigner could grab her, and held her in a sort of chokehold, holding his sword to her throat. He made it seem like he was taking her hostage, but in reality, he had reached into his pack and pulled out the rest of the little glass balls he had used on Kor and her forces in the past. Forsynth threw the glass balls suddenly at the foreigners and squeezed his eyes tightly as soon as they left his hand. Before the glass balls hit the ground, Forsynth was already charging forward with Kor, keeping her in front of him.


Being deafened, but not blinded, by the glass balls, Forsynth charged at the foreigners. He chose not to engage them, instead, he crouched low and jumped over them with Kor, diving through the portal. As soon as they hit the airs of Faerigan, Forsynth let out the used up air in his lungs and took a deep breath, refilling his deep lungs with the luscious air. Yet, he couldn't relax yet. He was greeted by the sight of a huge foreigner, which took him by surprise, yet he instantly came up with a plan. As soon as Forsynth hit the ground, he threw Kor at the giant and slung the blade whip towards one of it's legs, hoping to wrap it around the leg and rip it off, or at least topple it. He still had no idea how the foreigners worked, yet it seemed that conventional weapons were useless. But they still had to do something...

 

[Zekeziel]

=====Oceanus=====


The soldiers in the gateway hub put their hands against the sides of their heads after the glass balls hit the ground. They sound had disrupted their hearing and they were retuning themselves to normalize themselves after the disruption. The light did not blind them as one might have hoped but it made their vision a bit blurred. That too could be corrected by retuning but that would take time. They needed the remaining forces on Faerigan to either bring Kor back alive or keep her from being killed long enough for the soldiers on Oceanus to repair the damage to their senses and head through the gateway.


The soldiers soaked up water to increase their body size and give them more to work with in the way of weaponry. They used this extra bulk to form more armour on themselves and to thicken their existing self-made armour. This way, they could at least prepare themselves to face off against the Eckari when they repaired the damage and went through the gateway. It only took them a minute to completely retune their senses of hearing and sight and once that had been accomplished, they were rushing towards the portal with their shields raised.


=====Faerigan=====


The soldier was surprised to see Forsynth return through the portal with Kor. It saw Forsynth throw Kor at it and reacted quickly, forming a large cavity inside itself, filling it with Faerigan air before it caught Kor. It immediately ran electricity through its body to stun her and ensure that she would not struggle and fight her way out as they still needed her for questioning. This was also to keep her safe from Forsynth as they knew that the Eckari wanted Kor dead. The soldier quickly placed Kor inside the cavity in its chest before sealing it to prevent anyone from getting at her.


Forsynth's blade whip tore through the soldier's leg, causing liquid to spill all over the sands. This however, was not a victory as the soldier pulled the liquid back to its form to repair the damage done, forming a new leg. Now that it had Kor recaptured, it just had to head through the gateway to Oceanus. All that stood in its way was Forsynth and that would not be for very long as it formed one of its hands into a mace and the other into a shield. It reinforced the rest of its body with armour plating made from the very liquid which comprised it.

 

[Sadow-sama]

Aubren squinted at the charging giant that plowed through Native and Company Soldier alike as if they were... dolls. "Is that a... collossite? What the hell is th-" Before he could finish, the Commander stepped up with a massive machine gun fixed with several armaments; an attached shotgun, grenade launcher, flamethrower, and bayonet. He favoured it highly. He took aim, a Sniper Rifle scope flipping up for him to use with the flip of a switch. He fired a single round at the hulking giant, not really taking to aim and more hoping the armour-piercing bullet would penetrate both the now-dead Native and the hulking charger. Aubren watched on in awe, wishing he had more soldiers like this giant before them.


====Faerigan====


Several Haktu cursing clicks ran through Kor's mind as she was tossed around like a Vo'porian egg. She twitched her wings uselessly, the gooey slime covering her body and the electric shock preventing her from moving otherwise. Matriarch save these fools once she managed to get out, for they would need all the mercy they can muster to cope with the pain Kor intended to inflict upon them...

 

[Cide]

Seeing the man level the rifle at him, Echanu prepared himself. He crossed both arms in front of him and, when the round hit, the bullet barely pierced his incredibly thick skin, being immediately stopped by his bone. Echanu threw the dead creature in his hands at the man and crouched low, then propelled himself toward the man who had shot him. He though that he would find resistance at the force field, yet he was surprised when he met none. Echanu roared as he hit the ground in front of the man. He picked him up by the throat and disarmed him easily, his eyes narrowing at the foolish man. He knew that if he wanted Au-burr-en's help, then this man needed to live, seeing as how he was working with Au-burr-en. However, he needed to be taught a lesson. So, Echanu grabbed the man's arm and twisted it, snapping it like a twig. He threw the man aside, then set his sights to Au-burr-en, moving towards the small man, determination in his eyes.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth watched everything happen. He grit his teeth in anger, then formed a plan. He shouted an order to all of the Sha'vael, which, when hearing their commander's voice, they obeyed even though they were in a blood rage. All of the Sha'vael dismounted their Elor, the Elor digging into the ground. All of the Elor dug underneath the giant foreigner, this being unknown to it. The Elor tunneled from the portal to the giant, digging deep. Meanwhile, Forsynth charged towards the giant, as did the Sha'vael. One of the Sha'vael attempted a rescue attempt of Kor, jumping toward the cavity of the creature, trying to jump straight through.

 

[Zekeziel]

=====Faerigan=====


The soldier saw the Sha'vael jump towards its chest and swung the mace it had formed from one of its hands, knocking the Sha'vael right out of the air and into the ground. Had he even managed to reach the soldier's chest, he would have been met by armour covering the layer which had been created to seal the cavity. Still, the soldier did not want to take any chances with them as they possessed great speed and strength. The soldier saw Forsynth and the rest of the Sha'vael charging towards it and knowing that it could not fight all of them at once, had to resort to a more defensive tactic. The soldier quickly morphed itself into the shape of a sphere before rolling rapidly towards the portal. Any of the Eckari who got too close would be in for a surprise.


The soldiers coming from Oceanus exited the portal, coming out onto Faerigan soil with their shields and lances raised. The first thing they noticed was the manoeuvre which the soldier had implemented and that the ten soldiers which had stayed back had apparently been forced to combine temporarily in order to match the strength of their combatants. They cleared out, forming two lines with a space down the centre for the incoming soldier to travel down as they advanced. With forty soldiers now reinforcing the force on Faerigan, things were looking more in their favour.

 

[Sadow-sama]

Aubren stared at Echanu with a blank expression whilst the Commander grunted and lay on a lower level of the carrier ship's top "Did... that just happen?" The Commander, meanwhile, clenched his teeth determinedly and unsheathed a rather large hunting knife from the side of his boot. He ran up and, with one working arm, drove the knife into the back of the massive creature, climbing atop his back and removing a taser from his utility belt, driving it into Echanu's back as well as turning the voltage on as high as it could go. He would protect Aubren no matter what would try to attack him, even a bulky giant.


====Faerigan====


Kor contemplated on a means of escape. She couldn't move, her sight was blocked by the liquid and the armour, and her conciousness was on the brink of failing. Think, Kor, think... Slowly, but surely, she moved her concealed extra-set of claw-like arms out from behind her numb wings. She was going to do what every animal in a situation like this would do: shred its way out. She moved her sharp talons out so her hands were open, ready to plung through the thick sack that contained the liquid and her. It tickled, trying to force numb limbs to move. Her main arms and, for that matter, the rest of her body was completely paralyzed but her extra limbs were protected a little bit by her wings. She didn't know what she was going to do when she got free, but she hoped by then she'd be able to move enough to kill Forsynth before being torn apart by those Sha'vael surrounding him...

 

[Cide]

Nearly reaching Au-burr-en, Echanu was stopped short by an unseen force to him. He felt something go into his back, the pain being only a prick to him. He reached his arms around, yet couldn't reach the assailant due to the size of his muscles. He suddenly felt an electric shock, sending small spasms throughout his muscles. Echanu roared in rage, not being able to reach whoever was on his back. He twisted around several times, still not reaching. He crouched and leapt high into the air, still feeling the thing on his back. The electricity still surged through him, yet it was now dulled to something of a tickling sensation, his body naturally numbing it. At the zenith of his jump, Echanu twisted his body and rocketed towards the ground, back first. He slammed into the ground, hoping that the force would crush whoever was underneath him. After the impact, he stood and proceeded to move towards Au-burr-en once more, not even bothering to look at the assailant.


=====Faerigan=====


Watching the giant soldier form itself into a sphere, plus the arrival of foreigner reinforcements, Forsynth knew that they were in trouble. Yet, he still had a plan. Forsynth had figured that they would send for reinforcements, as his plan had anticipated it. At the arrival of the extra foreigners, he felt the ground slightly give way at the movements of the Elor under all of them. He nodded towards the Sha'vael, in which they promptly responded. All of the Eckari simultaneously jumped into the air and hit the ground hard. As soon as they hit the ground, they all jumped once more, this time out of the way of the underground pit. The ground crumbled and gave way, forcing everything that wasn't out of the way into the deep pit.


The Elor had tunneled deep, causing the pit to be quite deep. Forsynth immediately ordered one of the Sha'vael to take an Elor and move towards the nearest village and gather reinforcements of every female Eckari, youngling, and worker male Eckari. The Sha'vael summoned it's Elor and raced towards the village, it being quite near. Forsynth in the mean time, assessed the current situation. In one hand, he had the forces of the enemy trapped underground. On the other, Kor was still down there. Forsynth ultimately decided that as long as she died, that's all that mattered to Forsynth. He sheathed his blade and pulled out his bow, drawing an arrow and firing it towards one of the warriors, getting ready to systematically kill each of them. Each of the Sha'vael that had a bow and arrows followed suit, firing barrages of arrows at the foreigners.

 

[Zekeziel]

=====Faerigan=====


The soldiers fell right into the pit as the ground collapsed beneath their feet. The situation was not looking good for them right now as they were in a deep pit with the Eckari waiting above and the gateway was currently outside of their reach. Their thoughts were interrupted by arrows being fired down upon them, to which they responded by raising their shields. The arrows hit the shields and rebounded, being sent spinning off like someone throwing sticks at a sheet of iron.





One of the soldiers began transmitting a message to Oceanus. The message read "We are unable to reach the portal with the Haktu commanding officer who was on the field but we have her in our possession. We will need you to relocate the portal to the following coordinates after precisely a minute." The soldier sent the message with the coordinates attached. The coordinates were that of an area of the wall of the pit they were in. All they had to do now was dig out the destination of the incoming portal.


The soldier who had sent the message signalled the others and sent them messages, informing them that they would have to tunnel into the wall of the pit by half a foot to clear space for the portal to be opened. The soldiers nodded to signal their understanding and six of them put grooves into their lances to make them like drills. The six made their way to the wall of the pit and started drilling out a section for the portal to open in, being careful not to drill too quickly. While they did this, they kept their shields raised to cover themselves.


The soldier that had morphed into the sphere earlier opened dozens of small holes in its body to exchange the air inside the cavity within which it stored Kor. The air which had been used up was released and fresh air was pulled inside before the holes closed. The soldier began monitoring Kor while it waited for the portal to be relocated. It found that she stirred a bit and apparently had a set of extra limbs ready to try and claw her way out. Still, the soldier doubted that if Kor thought it through enough, she would realize that even if she clawed her way out then she would not be in fighting condition.





=====Oceanus=====


At the gateway hub, there was a clean-up going on to remove contaminants which may have been brought in from Faerigan and the scratched left by Forsynth's blade whip during the fighting and the cut in the gas tank. That was when the gateway operator received the message to relocate the gateway. He immediately closed the portal upon going through the contents of the message. He altered the existing coordinates to match those that had been sent by the soldier. He checked the location which the portal would open while the minute counted down. Upon finding that the coordinates were sound, the new portal was opened as the minute expired.

 

[Sadow-sama]

As the hulking creature descended, the Commander jumped off of him and pulled a parachute string attached to his uniform, allowing him to glide down to safety. When he found that the fall had not affected the giant, he pulled out a side-arm Submachine gun and began peppering the giant's back with gunfire, emptying it. When he landed, he pushed a button on his chest poundingly and pulled out a can of chemicals that would act to burn one's eyes as the parachute folded back into his rear-mounted pack. "You are a resilient monster, but everything can die. What is it you want with Lord Aubren? Do you seek revenge for a planet rightfully claimed?"


====Faerigan====


Kor saw it. One of the Liquidic soldiers. Quickly, she drove her claws through the sack of... well, whatever it was that these things were made of and grabbed the soldier's... "head"? She hissed out at him in her tongue "Lo'kil ma'kaia jess't!" In English, it would've translated as a demand for her to be freed. She followed up with spouts of her not being a trophy to be sported for. In truth, she lacked the strength to kill the soldier and delirious demands of her rights as a hunter were all she was capable of doing at this lowering stage of conciousness. All of her energy had been wasted escaping and now she was slowly drifting asleep, gripping this warrior's head...

 

[Cide]

Echanu had not crushed the assailant. The man still came at him, this time pulling out a small weapon which was used to send many bullets into his back. The majority of the bullets were stopped by his thick skin, the deepest of them only going a few centimeters deep. This, however, got Echanu's attention. He looked at the man as he spoke and demanded an answer from Echanu. Revenge for a planet rightfully claimed? Is that what the assailant said? Echanu though for a moment, then instantly prepared himself as he saw the small canister in the man's hands.


"You are a strong, resilient man. You would have made a great Eckari. I do not seek revenge, rather, I seek the destruction of my enemies. I need Au-burr-en's help with this matter." Echanu said, continuing to hold a defensive stance.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth watched as the arrows simply bounced off of their shields, so he decided to take aim at the foreigners who were digging. This worried Forsynth, making him think that they had a plan. He noticed the portal had disappeared suddenly. Were they planning on creating a new one in the pit? He couldn't risk it. Forsynth nodded to the rest of the Sha'vael and put his bow and arrows on the ground. He unsheathed his sword and jumped into the pit, followed by the Sha'vael, just as the Eckari reinforcements arrived. They were a rag-tag group, mainly made up of females and younglings. The other Eckari males were either too crippled to fight or too young.


As Forsynth hit the floor of the pit, he immediately went on the offensive, swinging the blade whip left and right, taking full advantage of the narrow space of the pit. The Sha'vael all piled up behind Forsynth, setting their swords forward. Forsynth and the Sha'vael moved forward, Forsynth continuing to flip the whip back and forth and the Sha'vael stabbing at any foreigner who got too close. Meanwhile, the Eckari reinforcements did what they could, either shooting at the foreigners with arrows or throwing large rocks at them. Three of the younglings all worked together and picked up a huge boulder, then dropped it towards the diggers, hoping that the distractions of everyone else would cause them not to notice and be crushed.

 

[Zekeziel]

=====Faerigan=====


The soldier whose head Kor had grabbed pulled her hand from his head before pushing her back inside the larger combined soldier where she would be safe. The combined soldier sealed itself after Kor's arm was pushed back inside him. He created a thick layer of armouring on his exterior to ensure Kor's safety and prevent any arrows, rocks or blades from doing any damage. The mission priority was to keep Kor safe so she could be interrogated back on Oceanus and the soldier intended to do so no matter how much resistance the Eckari put up.


The rest of the soldiers raised their shields to block the swords wielded by the Sha'Vael and Forsynth's blade whip. Thankfully, the armouring which they had created from the water on Oceanus was coming in handy as the arrows had little to no effect on them. The rocks would be another story and as a precaution, the defending soldiers put grooves into their lances to turn them into drills like those used by the diggers. Some used these drills to destroy the rocks being thrown down onto them while others thrust them forward at Forsynth and the Sha'Vael with him from behind their shields to try and push them back.


Upon sighting the boulder falling towards them, the group of diggers split into two groups of three. The first group finished cutting their way into the pit wall to clear space for the portal whilst the other group used their drills to split the incoming boulder into pieces small enough so as to be harmless to them. With the path for the portal now cut and with seconds to spare, they took a step back. The portal appeared as planned and the diggers motioned for the rest to follow as they ran through the portal.


The soldier who held Kor in custody quickly rolled his way through the portal with the rest of the soldiers following in formation, ready to defend him. First were the rear guard, then the soldier and those to the sides of him and lastly were the soldiers who had been fending off Forsynth and the Sha'Vael. In moments, the entire force retreated into the portal at full speed and shields raised.

 

[Sadow-sama]

Aubren stepped down from his elevated platform to confront the creature "Ahem. Hello, big... scary... hulk-guy! I am Aubren Kinder of Kinder Industries, heir to it's success. I heard something around the lines of enemy and was wondering how I could be of service and, better yet, my reward for said service." He smiled cheekily while standing at an upright posture proudly, though he stood only up to the giant's stomach. Strange... it looked like every inch of it's body was muscle... He was curious how they bred.


====Oceanus=====


Kor lay cradled, silent and unconcious in the cavity-made prison. She was so deep in slumber, in fact, she couldn't even dream. Everything was numbing fog to her at the moment...

 

[Cide]

Echanu looked the small figure up and down and listened to his words intently. He seemed to want payment for the destruction of the Haktu, which is what Echanu expected. So, he whistled loudly. The whistle could be heard over the gunshots easily, as it was an ear-piercing sound. A few moments after the echoes of the whistle faded, there came a barrage. Thrusters from the ship that they had flown in on appeared over the tree lines, being hurled by the Sha'vael towards the natives of the planet that were firing at Au-burr-en's forces. Echanu knew that Bordon was going to be protesting the Sha'vael, however, Echanu had ordered them to ignore his words. After the thrusters had all been thrown, the Sha'vael all charged towards the natives, actually carrying the ship between them. They used it as a battering ram, crushing all of the natives beneath it. Some of the natives moved out of the way, but the Sha'vael instantly began attacking them with their bare hands, literally ripping them to pieces and ignoring the weapon fire, brushing it off like it was nothing. Echanu looked back at Au-burr-en and nodded his head.


"I offer to you these warriors. Give us time, and we can create hundreds, even thousands, of warriors of this caliber." Echanu said as the Sha'vael ripped through the natives.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth witnessed the foreigners retreat into the portal with Kor again. They were tenacious, he would give them that. But he could not lose Kor. He rushed after them as exited through the portal. He managed to get his left arm through before he was stopped suddenly by the Sha'vael. They were holding him back. Forsynth struggled against them, but they were all larger and stronger than he. He continued, however, struggling toward the portal. They all pleaded with him to stop, that they needed a leader until Echanu returned. Forsynth knew what they said to be the truth, but he was so close! He continued fighting against the Sha'vael, inching his arm through the portal.

 

[Zekeziel]

====Oceanus=====


The entire group came through the portal, finding that the water let in earlier had been drained back out into the global ocean. The soldiers formed two defensive lines in the event that the Eckari tried to follow them through a second time. The soldier who had Kor in custody rolled over to a gas tank which had been prepared some time ago. He returned to a humanoid form before picking up the gas tank and pushing it inside himself, his body letting the tank sink through his chest and into the cavity where Kor was being held. Small tendrils formed inside the cavity and manipulated the control valve for the gas tank to make it begin releasing what air was inside it but at a rate consistent with the rate at which Kor's breathing used up the air.


The operator of the gateway hub closed the portal after he was assured that the last of the Liquos soldiers had passed through. This meant that anything not all the way through the portal would permanently be lost to time and space in the form of energy. As was routine, they were to wait for a contamination scour to take place and they would not have to wait long as a group of automatons were on standby while the soldiers were on Faerigan, waiting for them to arrive so they could be cleaned.


The machines looked like robotic squids and each tentacle ended in a shape like a conical nozzle with the thinner section facing outwards towards whatever it the tentacle was aimed at. There were only two of them stationed at the time and that was all that would be required. They bathed the soldiers in a sort of light meant to destroy any contaminants they may have picked up on Faerigan. While the Liquos were immune to the sicknesses of biological creatures, the creatures which they had on their planets might be vulnerable. That and having a clean work environment helps with efficiency.


The soldiers remained absolutely still while they were cleaned, being bathed in the bright, white light. Now with the contaminant scour complete, the automatons returned to their stations and the soldiers went their separate ways to get certain tasks completed. Those who had taken in water to increase their bulk went to deposit the water they had taken in so it could be returned to the global ocean while the ten who had fused to create to single large soldier rolled along, heading for the animal habitats as that would be the only location which could cater to Kor's environmental needs.


The soldier deposited her in a large, rectangular room which had been set to mimic the environment on Marash Ker'al. The only thing it lacked was the local wildlife of the planet as it had the specific composition of gases which comprised the atmosphere on the Haktu homeworld. The inside of the room could be viewed from the outside, via security cameras and the transparent wall on one side. The soldier left after ensuring the door was securely sealed, leaving Kor to sleep. He split into the ten solders which fused to mkae him and they reported to Tropico to give their report.

 

[Sadow-sama]

Bordon was frantically screaming like a small girl everytime a Sha'vael would come to tear off one of the many thruster units on his ship to throw at the natives. What the hell were they doing?! Zecora merely hid behind a maintenance panel, scared out of her mind and hating loud noises. When they were picked up, both were huddled together and screaming like children as they were used as battering rams against the native forces. Aubren, however, had his jaw dropped completely and eyes spread wide at the skill and tenacity of this species. A wide grin formed on his face at the man's proposition "I want all the soldiers! Higgins! Prepare a shuttle craft to land down here and pick our new friends up once this planet has been secured." The butler nodded "Yes, sir." and gestured to the Commander, who lowered his weapon apprehensively.


====Oceanus====


Kor awoke on what... appeared to be Marash Ker'al. She looked around carefully, noting the similar vegetation and smell in the air. But something was not right. Where were the creatures trying to kill her? Where were the other Haktu? Why was she so... alone? No... no, no... this wasn't right. She clenched her teeth angrily as she recalled the events leading up to this moment. She wasn't on her homeworld! This was a trick! What did they think she was, some sort of... animal that wouldn't distinguish its own home from some... zoo?! She let out a high-pitched screech of rage and used her Mantis-like arm blades to slash away at the mock-plants of her homeworld, intent on defying her captors in everyway she could until they screwed up. When they screwed up and gave her an opening... she'd make them pay.

 

[Zekeziel]

(Hope nobody minds that I made some slight edits to the contamination scours mentioned in my previous post. Just replaced the chemical spray with a type of light.)


One of the scientists present noticed through the one-way screen that Kor had awakened and began tearing up the vegetation in the room she was in. He noted her violent outburst upon realizing that she was not on her homeworld and was instead in a habitat meant for studying flora and fauna. It would take considerable work to deal with her. She would most likely not be willing to cooperate but there were other ways of getting the information they wanted out of her without harming her. He sent a message off for one of the scientists who specialized in research on the Haktu and the environment of their homeworld to come and assist with getting their guest to cooperate.


In moments, the scientist came walking in. His body model was standard to non-military personnel and more focus in his current operational settings was on capabilities most relevant to his work than on other functions such as weapon and armour creation. Kor wouldn't be able to kill the scientist with her primitive methods of attack and they doubted that it sank in yet that in the current situation, it would be best for her to cooperate. If they had the intention of harming her, they would have let the Eckari kill her back on Faerigan or even have killed her themselves.


The scientist had the door to the room opened. There was a sort of barrier in the doorway which prevented the gases inside the room from escaping and the gases outside from entering. He walked through the barrier without any issue before the door slid shut behind him. He had the Haktu language in his databanks so speaking with their guest should not be an issue. He called out in the Haktu tongue "I have questions for you. We mean you no harm and once we get the information which we require, you shall be sent back to your home planet."