Futuristic 𝕊𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕙 🚀 intergalactic mystery rp

[femslasher]

𝚂 𝚙 𝚊 𝚌 𝚎 𝙲 𝚛 𝚊 𝚜 𝚑
femslasher and PaleAbyss closed rp
OCs Julianna Pontes and TB-01 will be played by paleabyss.
OCs Erikia Rikeko and B-Boot will be played by biwheels.

Earthlings were not the first to explore the galaxy. Far from it.

Billions of planets had been registered, and the Earth was just another on the list. It took a few hundreds of years for humans to adapt to this new normal, to accept they were not special in the endless universe. But they got the hang of it. They had to. Their planet was drained, their petty wars unending, their people exhausted.

After centuries of environmental mistakes, the remnants of humanity are scattered across planets, searching every last one for an antidote to bring their planet back to life and inhabit it once more. Their base on the Moon is nothing more than cheap tourist attractions and desperate merchants. So, they search for a better future.

And they aren't the only ones... scavengers, traders, go far and wide to secure a better tomorrow.
Competition is fierce, for an answer that may not exist.

How far are they willing to go?​

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna jolted awake, eyes wide as she sat on her bed. Today was the day. Well, perhaps a bit early in this special day, yes, but today was the day. Her room was still doused in penumbra, save for the dim glow of the door lock pulsating to a slow rhythm. She threw her covers aside and hopped off from the bed, a skip in each step as she made it to the bathroom. A quick shower, a thorough brush of her teeth and some combing to her wild mane and she deemed herself ready for the day! Not, of course, before picking another outfit, loose and with plenty of pockets to stuff with tools and items and all sorts of little gadgets. There. All set.

Well, save for the fact that the numbers on her clock glared a very disappointing 5:41 in its red digits. Damn. She wasn't meant to be up this early.

Returning to bed would do her no favors, of course, as the second she rose from bed meant all remnants of sleep were purged from her body. Working wouldn't either, as she was on the verge of another punitive measure for 'disturbing the peace during ungodly hours of the night'. So she settled for passing the time browsing the news on her computer, taking her desk chair and squinting her eyes as the holographic lights shone against them. Something something about the newest Terran technology, something something about the new Lunar facility, something something about the newly charted systems... and ah, there it was. The goal of the day.

Listed under the SS Equador's news section, an article described how her mother ship would arrive at a promising system, where scans detected evidence of the elusive, wildly lush Gaia planets. The ship's high brass wouldn't immediately set out in search of such a planet, instead having scheduled smaller expeditions for supplies and other commodities on the other planets. To prepare for that, however, she had a plan: hijack a small, expeditionary craft, bring her trusty robotic companion TB-01 with her, and fly down to the planetside of this promising planet. If the high brass wouldn't take action, she would. Earth couldn't wait.

And quite frankly, she wouldn't live through another week of putting up with the Equador's snobby research team. Being out of the Engineering program was a relief, yes, but that meant she had to work hand in hand with some of the richest - and most arrogant - researchers in the Equador's Eden sector. Just remembering that she'd have to listen to Patrick's awfully nasal voice and Bonheur's snide comments whenever she deviated from the norm was enough to make her head hurt.

Suddenly, however, an alarm blared, and she almost jumped out of her skin in surprise. It was precisely the sort of annoying beeping one would use as a wake up call, and once she calmed her heart, Julianna deactivated it. But by now, her room protocols were already in full swing, and the sound of metal sliding aside followed by thudding footsteps meant her robotic companion had been awakened from its slumber.

"Good morning, Julianna. All systems nominal. Routine check-ups show no anomalies. Ready to--" It interrupted itself, and she looked over her shoulder, noticing its lends focusing on her seated position. There was a whir, followed by a series of beeps. "Unexpected variable in 'wake up schedule for The Big Day'. Julianna is already up."

Yeah, she probably shouldn't have named that line of programming... well, that.

"It's alright, Tee Bee. Just scrap the wake up routine, I've gotten up a little ahead of schedule." She replied, smiling warmly, before spinning her chair to face him. "Everything alright up there?"

"All systems nominal, as per set standards. No other variables detected. Elation levels: considerable." It paced around the room as part of its mobility routine, stretching its slender, metallic limbs and testing the strength of its joints before settling for a more neutral stance. "Will we mobilize for your personal project on schedule?"

"I believe so." Julianna replied, tapping her hands against the armrests. "Just gotta get some research progress out of the way, y'know. Keep some normalcy so people don't get too suspicious."

Her stomach froze at the thought. As exciting as it was... her little idea was also dangerously illegal by the Equador's standards; hell, it was illegal by any Terran space vessel's standards! She was, after all, committing theft and unsupervised research all under her superiors' noses. The mere thought of it left her unwell. But then again... Earth's situation worsened by every passing week. Despite the desperate calls from Terran authorities, the science vessels continued with their aimless research and neglected truly promising projects. And this one system was a golden opportunity, for she had hijacked the database for a peek. It was only natural that she did something.

"Detecting rising levels of adrenaline. Are you alright? Your countenance reflects some level of concern." TB-01's voice brought her back, and she shook her head, throwing an apologetic smile.

"No, it's alright, Tee Bee. Just a little nervous, is all." The robot tilted its head to the side as if doubtful, but a wave of her hand was enough to disarm its concerns. A little stretch here, a yawn there, and she got back on her feet, glancing at her room's door. "I think we better get to work. The earlier we complete the bills, the less suspicious we'll look."

The door slid aside and she was greeted with the pristine white halls of the Equador's residential quarters, lined with glowing golden lights simulating the rising sun of dawn. Some souls populated the halls, chatting among themselves, seemingly unaware of her presence as she strode by with TB-01 in tow. Good. The less human contact she had today, the better.

It'd make her escape a lot easier, she figured.

 

[femslasher]

The shrill ding of a bell hundreds of planets away announced the beginning of someone else's escape.

Although, to be fair, this one was nothing extraordinary. And completely legal, for that matter.

The bell sat on the counter of the Moon base's latest tourist hotspot: a food joint with the most vintage decorations, served by waitresses who wore, at best, vaguely accurate Terran clothes. It was most definitely a caricature, despite at least a few of the girls being part-human or quarter-human. Still, the intact trinkets were impressive by any merchant's standards and quite a few had offered a fair price for them, only to be denied. Even Terrans' memories of their species' old fashions and previously essential objects were starting to fail, hundreds of years after they registered in the Registry of Connected Planets.

Anyone living off their native planet long enough eventually moves on. For Erikia, she lived inbetween worlds, part Terran, part Pirphal. One home almost completely abandoned, and the other thriving in every way imaginable.

"Straight out of a magazine, huh?" Erikia's father gently nudged her out of the way, taking the apron she had just removed and putting it on himself. He was out of breath and dabbled at his sweaty forehead, still smiling a welcoming smile to any clients meeting his eyes.

"They don't know what a magazine even is. Neither do I, really." She huffed what was almost a laugh. He shook his head, for once not bothering to re-explain Terran customs and technology to her for the millionth time. They were both too tired for that.

On a few tables, young aliens of all kinds were scrolling through holographic menus and giggling, trying and failing to pronounce Terran words with their own accents. Most everyone had translators on hand, with the universe being so diverse, but they turned them off for entertainment purposes. Erikia let out a shaky breath at the thought, remembering how things were before she had any expectations put on her shoulders. Or, well, trying to remember. There hadn't been many years at all before she was sent off as a diplomatic agent for planet Pirpha.

It's hard not to feel tired to the bones from hours of work, hours of difficult trading negotiations, hours of flying her ship to different planets until she was nauseous and dishevelled only to make herself perfect on behalf of her fellow Pirphals before stepping out. Then, reporting home back to Pirpha with a few hours of meetings and getting a new checklist. Then, reporting to her second home to help her father with the business on the Moon base.

Last but not least...

Her father caught her smile at that thought, as usual. "Time to head out?" She nodded, her excitement hard to contain. "And you're sure you'll be fine on your own?" She nodded again, waving him off with a mischevious twinkle in her eye.

Her words were failing her this late in the day, and her back ached to relax in her comfortable shuttle seat, the one her father insisted on buying her knowing how many hours she spent commuting in the blackness of space. She had already stepped to the back of the shop to grab her gear and activate her trusty ladybug-shaped flying robot, which held items when her arms were full during explorations. A gadget the Pirpha committee always entrusted their diplomats with. It came in handy on the job, certainly, but even more off the job in her case. The bug bot flew over her head and hovered clumsily in a rather endearing way, as if sleepy from its time out of order. Her father patted it with his hand, and a cloud of red dust blew off of it. She really needed to stop shoving it into nooks full of unused crafting material that her younger cousins insisted they'd use someday. She always tried to bring back whatever obsession of the week they had from x planets, but here they all ended up, lost in her dad's cupboards. As always.

Erikia's legs were unsteady from all the activity, but she knew by the time she got in her shuttle her heart would start pounding and her focus would sharpen, and she'd have more energy than she had even woken up with. Being a notoriously obnoxious morning person, that spoke volumes on the effect these explorations had on her. No matter how many times she did this, it always felt like her first. She loved it, more than anything. She didn't want it, she needed it, especially today. The need had grown in her faster than usual after difficult work weeks and it being the busiest time of the year for the Moon base business. In a week, there would be a celebration day for Terrans and a time to showcase Terran history and culture to other alien races: the day they finally registered and obtained intergalactic help in setting up a Moon base, as well as a base on planet Mars later on. She wasn't complaining, not out loud at least, since the newfound business popularity was a blessing. Nevertheless, she sometimes felt the curse of it on her family's shoulders. Even vague relatives had come in to give a helping hand this year.

Every step she took away from the crowd helped her breathe easier. Every step she took was one step further away from all the responsibilities, not only here, but everywhere else in the galaxy. On abandoned planets, she was anonymous, dressed too simply by Pirphal standards, letting loose. Discovering the most beautiful sights and bringing back trinkets to sell or at least brag about. She started changing her clothes, taking off her typical pompous diplomat clothes, and felt her self-perception change as well, alone in the quiet of her small space shuttle, with only the white ground and its freckles-like lunar craters and the dark, starry sky on the horizon. The universe itself was beckoning her, challenging her to explore it.

Getting dressed, she forced the fluffy mess on her head to fit through her bodysuit, and despite it annoying her eyes when bending over to pack her bags, she didn't bother tying it up. The animated strands would eventually wrestle out of it, getting more agitated the higher her emotions ran. She could already feel their feather-like shapes twirling in anticipation. For Pirphals, hair strands were more like a dog's ears or hedgehog's quills, an extension of their being. They would calm down once she landed. Energy grew within her, as expected. Her bug bot buzzed in the air, despite its metallic wings not moving. It brought the clothes to a corner of the room, releasing them to plop unceremoniously on the floor. It definitely hadn't been programmed to keep her living quarters tidy, not that she cared enough to put them in the right spot either. She was too focused to bother.

She turned around in her seat and her fingers typed her way into the Registry of Connected Planets database, or RCP. Picking the next x planet ─ or XCP, any planet unable to be registered on the RCP due to lacking a native communicative population ─ to discover that day always felt like rolling a dice. She flipped through the list, searching for which paradise she'd call her own today, placing her bet carefully. The only form of gambling she indulged in.

The universe was calling to her, and she was finally ready to answer.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Despite living all of her life confined to the Equador's interior - save for the odd asteroid expedition, of course - Julianna never seemed to grow tired of this artificial microcosmos. High speed tram lines connected the habitat sectors between the ship's inner working, starting at the engine bay and ending at the crew's lodgings and the bridge. The habitat sectors were a wonder in out of themselves: holographic ceiling panels and sleek, thin lamps replicated daylight and moonlight, allowing its inhabitants to keep their biological cycle regulated. The streets were wide and decorated with benches, entertainment centers and lush parks, sometimes turning into intricate pathways leading to each sector's productive facilities.

Julianna's was the research center, a massive complex divided into multiple divisions for each area of science. The sliding doors parted as she approached from the street, and in she went with TB-01. It was even more pristine than the rest of the ship, and the lack of researchers at this hour amplified the feeling, as she only came in the presence of another human being on the hallways already deep inside the building. She followed a sequence of hallways and elevators before reaching the Engineering division, which was uncharacteristically empty of people working on its many workbenches and gadgets. Huh. So that was what it looked like when she arrived extra early.

Regardless of that, she figured it was time to start what could very well be her last day of work. Plopping down at her desk, placed right against the window overlooking the sector center outside, she reviewed whatever projects were up for the taking before getting to work on some basic ones. Next to what she was trying to accomplish, all of this felt trivial, mind-numbing; she caught herself staring idly at her reflection on the window more than once, her cybernetic hand split into its skeletal, wiry fingers, sending sparks against whatever trinket or gadget the Equador's Institute of Development and Research had assigned as 'important'. TB-01 itself continued to work on some other projects idly, positioned right beside her as it dedicated its attention to the work at hand.

She stared, at her loose jumpsuit of blacks, whites and washed out yellows, full of straps and pockets, at her tired eyes, at her lost, distant expression. Would this all be worth it, in the end? To sacrifice all the opportunity and privilege her family had earned her through their sweat and blood? Would it all be worth it, knowing her own limitations and her failures?

Her train of thought was broken the second she heard the door sliding, followed by the idle chatter of a group of people. Oh. Oh no. They've arrived. She recognized them, despite the muffled words and the distance. How couldn't she? They've been tormenting her ever since she enrolled in the Engineering academy, and they continued to do so, regardless of her own achievements in the Institute. The steps grew closer, closer, then stopped, followed by their murmurs fading into silence.

"Huh. Finally decided to work early, have you?" Bonheur. The 'prodigy' child. She glanced at him over her shoulder, her expression somewhere between upset and frustrated. TB-01 continued to work diligently, as she programmed it to. Good. He straightened his blonde hair and scoffed, shaking his head in disapproval. "Seems like the gears in your head finally clicked."

There were snickers and suppressed giggles coming from the other four following him. Why was he like this? They were well past their teenage years, and yet he insisted on this... juvenile behavior, if she was to be civil with her words. In the end, all she could do was roll her eyes and hide her tense trembling, returning to her work. It was always like so. She could expect three sorts of days when working here: days of torment, where their pettiness was at its height, then mixed days, where the most she'd get were crooked comments and odd looks. The best were when they never showed up at all. Those were rare, but a blessing nonetheless.

Today proved to be one such day, thankfully, as they left way before lunch break. Good. It allowed her and TB-01 to work in peace, and by the time the break came, she had completed just a bit over the required testing quota assigned for the day. Yes, very good. That would aid her.

Rising from the table, however, was when she felt the weight of her decision. It was now or never. Final preparations needed to be underway, otherwise she'd never get this chance again. Out the building she went, passing through different food joints and collecting all manner of non-perishable snacks to stuff in her bag. Julianna returned swiftly to her room then, settling on her chair and spinning around with tension running in her veins, eyes trained on the ceiling.

"Detecting high levels of adrenaline once more. Are you alright?" TB-01 droned in, prompting her to glance at her metallic companion.

"Yeah, just..." She hesitated, staring at her stuffed bag and then back at the robot. Now wasn't the time to think things over. "Just... taking a little breather. We should get to work."

She revised the plan in her head: she'd first patch TB-01 in to the ship's surveillance systems, making sure they malfunctioned or shut off whenever they were in frame, then make her way to the ship's hangar bay. The tricky part would happen right there: she'd have to use TB-01's systems to grant her a leaving permit after hijacking a personal exploration craft, then finally fly down to the planet's atmosphere. Hoo boy. It felt way too daunting when she put everything in perspective like that.

No matter! There was no time to fall back now.

"Alright, TB-01. Let's get this started." She said, standing up with both determination and fear clouding her mind. The robot approached her desk, and out of its left hand a small cable jumped out, sliding into her computer's entry slot. She could see its lenses flicker for a brief moment, followed by a confirmatory beep. What a relief.

"I have access to the ship's networking mainframe. Accessing surveillance systems... now." Its lenses turned to a gentle blue glow, and she fell back onto her chair, hands held against her temples. "Performing minor adjustments related to mission directive." Not being able to see all of that progress made for a rather tense trip-- "Access granted. Downloading malfunction protocols now." Oh. Well, that was fast. "Malfunction protocols installed. We have precisely 15 minutes before the surveillance systems are reset back to normal parameters."

Julianna hopped back on her feet, taking her bag and zipping her jumpsuit up. A breath in, then a breath out, and she turned to the door as soon as TB-01 jacked out of the computer, awaiting her confirmation. It was now or never.

The door slid open, and out they went.

 

[femslasher]

The four blue monitors surrounding her seat flickered faintly, and her bug bot's buzzing around her clumsily was leaving endearing territory... and decidedly getting into migraine-inducing territory. In a different setting, she would be the middle-aged stay-at-home mother having just packed her car full of her family's bags trying to get an old car's engine working so they could get a roadtrip started. While her children screeched in the back seat. At least she didn't have the equivalent of a soon-to-be-divorced, unhelpful husband chattering into her ear to remind her of everything she was doing wrong.

Usually it was easier than this. Much, much easier.

She could blame it on her overworked, sleep-deprived brain, or blame her (state-of-the-art) technology, or even blame tourists sneaking in here ─ highly unlikely ─ and plugging a virus into her shuttle systems ─ even more unlikely ─ to ruin her technological abilities. She could, and for the first hour of pressing buttons and typing thousands of different commands, she did indulged in that petty blaming wholeheartedly. Yet as the chatter and noises on the base's attractions winded down, and she saw more pleasantly tired couples and families walking by to access their own shuttles, she had no energy left to be annoyed at innocent bystanders.

Without accessing the RCP database, she could not know the coordinates of the next x planet on her journey. Without an x planet to visit, she would be wandering aimlessly into space and possibly landing onto a connected planet, or worse, an NCP... antisocial lifeforms who refused to be listed on the registry, usually due to ongoing wars and other violent or unlawful behaviors with neighboring planets. Getting zapped, shot, stabbed, or who knows what with foreign weapons was not her usual vacation of choice after weeks of stress and endless work hours. She could even end up in one of the numerous intergalactic jail planets for "dangerous individuals" if the NCP native lifeforms perceived any actions or words as threatening. Which, often, they claimed no matter what action you did or didn't do, as they hated any strangers landing on their lands and saw it as proper punishment. With her usual restless energy and big ego as a diplomat she would not last long sitting in silence surrounded by criminals. It could also, worst of all, be seen as the Pirphals breaking friendship with that planet... and as desperate as she could be, vacation was not worth bringing war on her people.

She needed a plan B. And possibly a plan C, and D. But B would have to do. It needed to work.

This reaction was all a tad immature, and more than a tad dramatic. She had easier options with great outcomes. She could very well head back and ask her father to help, but she knew as kind as he was that if he had his hands full she would instinctively offer to help out the rest of the night. Cleaning up was the most hectic part of the job, and even with translators most foreign aliens did not understand that cleaning up after oneself was an expected, polite thing to do when visiting tourist hotspots. Some even saw it as a personal attack if you dared to ask them. Considering that the bulk of their business came from large families with messy young'uns and teenage couples... they were not the most considerate clientele. Her poor father was left with only a few bug bots to help carry trash into the garbage compost which melted or smushed different materials into small recycle cubes. Which he often helped her bring to a nearby gadget maker, who uses recycle cubes to make bots and other technological knicknacks. Throughout the toughest business months he collected dozens and dozens of them, too many to store, and they melted them instead into a disposable oil-like substance. She knew he was sweating buckets by now, carrying cubes to and fro, waving away leaving customers and gossiping loudly to his siblings through his earpiece. He would throw it all aside to help her... but that'd set him back a few hours, and that few extra hours were important. Rest was hard to come by. She knew the only way she could repay that was to help him finish, therefore rescheduling her trip to next week at best... more realistically, next month. Even thinking of waiting that extra time made her brain feel sluggish. Hopeless. Trapped. She needed that small freedom, she had more than earned it.

She patted her trusty, if cheaply made and poorly programmed, bug bot and in doing so pressed the sleep mode button. Its eyes went grey and it slowly spiralled down, the buzzing quieting down, until it sat in a corner peacefully. It shouldn't take too long. Out of all the people sleepily walking away, there must be one who knew of an x planet's coordinates and would tell her without screwing her over, and without asking for financial and/or trading compensation. She slipped on a red robe made of thin, flimsy, but sufficiently warm material. She doesn't remember from which planet she traded it or what she traded for it, but it's "wool" from a strange looking mammal. It feels as warm as a fur coat but as delicate as silk. Perfect for the chilly Moon base atmosphere; both her Terran and Pirphal roots did not do well with the chilly artificial air that the Moon base was graced with. The translucent air bubble surrounding the Moon, only visible in certain angles, kept the Moon and other RCP planets breathable for Terrans, as well as programmed for most RCP species' air requirements, thanks to gravity-defying technology. But while it was breathable, how it felt on your skin was not the most pleasant depending on the planet or satellite. Terrestrial planets felt rather cozy to her, gas giants felt swelting hot, ice giants freezing, and dwarf planets... uncomfortable, in an undescribable way. Satellites like the Moon base tended to feel dry and chilly. Her mixed origins definitely complicated what the typical Terran would feel on them, but either way, that meant the Moon base definitely required her to wear light outerwear.

Twisting the edges of her robe after tying it in a bow at the back, she starts to notice herself wasting time, hesitating. She hates asking people for anything... it was not the Pirphal way, with independence prioritized above anything else. Yet the Terran blood in her veins also cherished interpersonal connections, and helping one another in a community. Here, on the Moon base and on other bases open to tourists, different species (both RCP and NCP) interacted with ease, without debates or detached diplomats speaking on behalf of their respective planets. Maybe it was a community in its own way; maybe to some people coming here, this is their vacation of the month. At least they'd be relaxed, and more likely to pity her enough to help out.

The giggles of flirty teens from a reptilian, blue-colored species slowly strolling past her shuttle snapped her out of her pity party. She pressed the door button and it swooped up, letting her step out onto Lunar ground. She avoided the craters, but hurried their way. Not recognizing their alien race, she opted not to tap their shoulder; you never knew what part of someone's body could be venomous or sharp, or what weapons they'd draw on you out of instinct. The neverending struggle of intergalactic relations required tact... as a diplomat, she knew this better than most.

"Hello there, welcome to the base," she said in her best tourist service voice. "Could I steal a minute of your time?"

"We hear you speak." Odd phrasing, but open-minded expressions. Bingo. Thankfully her words hadn't come across as a shady merchant looking to sell illegal wares, or if it had, they were too friendly to let it show. The way they had walked away also indicated they were in no hurry, unless that walk was the norm for their species... it was hard to say.

"I wondered, respectfully, if either of you had coordinates to an interesting XCP."

"RCP database is what you seek," the alien on the left, with a longer tail and lighter scales on their face informed her. Not what she wanted to hear.

They both looked about to continue their lazy stroll again, and she stopped them again with a faint noise and a hand held up. An irresponsible thing to do, using hand signals, as to some species even a handshake could mean something aggressive... she breathed a sigh at her luck when neither grew disapproving or impatient, simply curious. "My shuttle's systems are... damaged, and I cannot access the database tonight." Not quite a lie, yet not quite the truth either.

They looked at one another and made strange clicking noises, which she assumed were noises of understanding. "Very well, then," the same alien continued. They then said a word, or what Erikia assumed was a word, and with further context clues assumed was the other alien's name.

That alien pulled out a thin circle screen, and made a waving movement, eyes glazing over. Telepathic technology.

A sharper version of that clicking noise came out of the alien, and their tail twitched. Eureka. "R205159D-18°06'431.43 can be for you."

Erikia lighted up like a meteor shower and the nerves from her exploration journeys finally started up again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she exclaimed, trying not to jump up and down. She barely noticed the two tapping at their translation comms, thinking they must be malfunctioning and repeating the words said. They incredulously welcomed her thanks and walked on, looking behind themselves a few times as if to make sure they didn't dream the whole encounter. At this point she didn't care if she completely lost her marbles in front of innocent tourists, leaving so fast she kept slipping and half-falling into craters. She hopped back onto her shuttle like a child, and slapped the top of her bug bot to reactivate it. She was already furiously typing the coordinates, the screen much too close for comfort, her heavy breath fogging it slightly. She was back on track and ready to escape.

Lifting off the base, her shuttle wavered a bit, as if drunk with excitement, and zoomed through the air barrier into the blackness of space. She knew her father must be wondering what took her so long, watching her familiar shuttle fading into the horizon from the ground. Yet he was used to her antics and surely wouldn't bother worrying on it. Her comms systems worked perfectly, anyhow, and he trusted her to reach out in an emergency.

Just me, the stars, and a vacation home for the next two days, she tells herself, breathing any remnants of stress out of her mouth. Just me.

If the worry that the big-eyed, eager aliens purposefully gave her an x planet with bad rumors ─ something her cousins always reminded her, with many species enjoying "harmless" mischief ─ crossed her mind, she was too relieved to let it at the forefront of her mind. If the worry that her shuttle's issues went beyond a simple connectivity error crossed her mind, she was too far gone to indulge it. Her autopilot was on. She was seated, eyes closed, arms crossed behind her head, long strands of hair twitching like quills and tickling her ears, twisting and curling once more.

She was on her way to the paradise of the month, and no one ─ not even herself ─ could ruin it.

 

[PaleAbyss]

The first of her plan was easy. Nobody suspected her walking around with rather determined intent through the ship's corridors, and she only had to give tense greetings to some passing acquaintances on the way to the tram station. The tram lines mounted on these vessels were as much of an engineering miracle as the ships themselves, allowing swift travel from tail to bridge and every other station along the way; Julianna wasn't particularly fond of them given the cramped carts and just how fast they accelerated after departing, but without rush hour to overcrowd it, the trip was peaceful.

"Now arriving at: Lower Equador Sectors, Spacecraft Hangar."

The announcer's voice snapped her out of another chaotic train of thought, full of insecurity and (mostly) ridiculous possibilities. The Equador's hangar bay was one of the most spacious sectors of the ship save for its residential ones, with wide, tall corridors of grey and black and magnetic lines hanging overhead to transport smaller vessels and other materials from the cargo bays. It was also one of its least populated... at least by humans. As she walked, robots of all shapes and sizes passed by, all ignoring her as they went about their routines and tasks.

"How are we looking, Tee Bee?" She asked, voice tense, giving her robotic companion a 'discreet' nudge.

"All systems nominal. No external or internal damage. Unfortunately, I am not outfitted with biological scanners to check for any health anomal--"

"No, Tee Bee." Sometimes the fact that it was a very, very literal robot escaped her mind. "I mean, uh... how's the status? Everything okay with our plan?"

"Yes." Its lenses flicker, as though 'calibrating' its thought processes. "The surveillance sabotage has gone largely unnoticed, and is still in effect. We have approximately 7 minutes to infilitrate the craft's hangar and ready it for the flight."

"Right, good." She answered, sighing. No matter how well this was going, she still couldn't help but feel nervous. One mistake, and it'd all be blown to high heaven...

She followed the plaques diligently, going past the rescue vessels and the mining crafts in search for the exploration ones. The halls grew smaller, yet still daunting in size, until they finally arrived at their objective: Exploration and Survey vessels. These were designed to support no more than eight crewmembers in the larger models, with the smaller ones having enough space for a modular robot and a pilot, as well as cargo slots for basic supplies and collected artifacts. She walked the halls with her eyes trained on the names of each bay, checking for the right number...

And there it was! Bay 38. It housed a single, decommissioned Peterson MK-02 exploration vessel. Old, yes, but she was allowed to use it for 'field research', which granted her many hours of tinkering and upgrading. It never involved actually flying the thing - it was decommissioned, after all - but she managed to install some training software into its systems, granting some semblance of the actual feeling of flying through the void of space. Another deep breath, and she stepped forward, punching in the code to open the door when--

"Julianna!" A voice called to her, and she froze in place. Oh no. Not now. She turned to face them, and oh God, this couldn't grow any worse. Chief Engineer Gudina, in all his smiling, tall glory, approached her with his usual sunny disposition. "Wasn't expecting to see you down here today! What's the occasion?"

She definitely looked like a deer caught in headlights, her poor heart thumping in her chest furiously. There was a beat, and TB-01's lenses clicked, snapping her back with a little jump.

"Ah, happy to see you too, Tee Bee. Though it's a little hard to miss you." Gudina chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Greetings, Chief Engineer." It answered, giving a short bow.

"Um, yeah, hi!" Julianna intervened, clearing her throat. "Nothing, Chief." She eyed the password panel and then him, then giggled. "Ah, well, something! I figured I'd tinker on lil' ol' Mark Two in there, you know? Finished my research assignments early, so..."

Gudina seemingly doubted nothing, telling by the lack of change in expression. Imposing as he was, with hard muscle and a bulky stature, he was perhaps one of the sweetest men alive, always understanding - and perhaps a bit too permissive for his own good. It felt dirty to cash in on his good will... but if she wanted to see this through, she'd just have to play along.

"Ah, that's fine! Take care as always, in that case." He started to turn around before remembering something, gesturing for her attention. "Although! Don't linger much. We'll be dropping out of the jump-drive in an hour or so... don't want to get locked in there again!"

She cringed with shame at that old memory, his laugh ringing in her ears. Still, he patted her on the back and off he was, leaving her alone once more. Thank goodness. The breath she let out was almost disorientating, and she leaned against the wall for a moment to recollect herself. Yeah, locking herself in the hangar was a bit embarrassing back in the day... but now, it was part of her plan. Once the ship dropped out of jump-drive, it would lock most sector entrances, with the Hangar locking all but a select few in case of decompression.

The rest of the code was punched in and the door slid open, revealing the ship's hangar bay. It was medium sized, decorated with numerous crates, cabinets and a few computers for monitoring the vessel's systems. A mess of tools, parts and cables hanging all around, and the ship stood proudly at the center, held up by a support rail. The Peterson MK-02 was a sleek vessel of angular design, outfitted with expandable wings for atmospheric fight and an ion engine; that, combined with its lightweight plasteel hull made for a surprisingly agile and swift vessel, precisely what she needed to get down to the planet.

In she went, the door sliding shut behind her and the lights clicking on one by one. Her bag was thrown to the side, next to where the ship was. It was time for the final adjustments.

"Tee Bee? Get working into hijacking the bulkhead controls. We'll leave as soon as the Equador arrives on the system." She said, popping open the ship's cockpit so she could crawl inside. The robot nodded and accessed the computers, jacking its connector cable in to access its inner systems.

Julianna finally allowed herself to clear her mind, now. It was in moments like these - elbow deep into wires and metal and all manner of contraption that everything became as clear as day. She checked the stabilizers, the flight computer, ran tests on the energy power, made sure the heat shields were still bolted on. The ship might've been decommissioned, yes, but it didn't mean it wasn't space-worthy. A bit wonky, as she never took off with it, but space-worthy nonetheless. She was so deep in her tests that, close to wrapping it all up, she was brought back to reality by a loud, horn-like warning sound.

"Attention. The SS Equador will leave jump-drive in five minutes." Damn, she missed all the other warnings? "For your safety, please remain seated, or find support against the provided emergency railings in case of turbulence."

"Tee Bee, how are you coming along?!" She called while poking her head out of the cockpit. "Everything set?"

"Bulkhead has been successfully hijacked. When am I to prime it to open?" It answered, still typing away in the computer.

"As soon as turbulence ends? I... give it 7 minutes!"

A confirmatory beep was given and she sat back inside. Now or never. Her fingers flicked switch after switch, pressing buttons and pulling levers. The panels lit up with all sorts of readings, and the seat vibrated just enough for her to notice it. A low hum swelled to a powerful, electrical growl and telling by the glow at the back of the room, the engine was primed. All systems nominal... it was happening. Her heart almost jumped out of her chest as she lifted a fist up in victory... only to recoil as it hit the metallic support of the cockpit. Ow.

Rubbing her sore knuckles, she peeked at Tee Bee once more, who just removed the connector cable from the computer. "All done?" It nodded, and positioned itself right beside the ship, where a box-like slot opened. TB-01's torso lowered itself close to its legs, which shuffled into the slot slowly, allowing a few mechanical arms to collect it and seal the robot completely within the ship. Once the hatch closed completely, she reached for a button and held it down. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." TB-01's robotic voice was even more processed as it came through the ship's internal communications, and she gave a sigh of relief. "All systems are green. I am securely stowed away."

She was about to sit down when not only the vessel, but instead the whole Equador shook, followed by an ear-splitting sound, as though reality itself was being torn apart by the engines. Julianna had little to do but hold fast, strapping on the safety belts and holding onto the flight sticks for dear life to keep still. She could hear the loose tools clattering about, crates being thrown violently against the walls - the ship was spared thanks to the support rail, but it still moved with the trembling mother vessel...

Until it stopped. The sounds died down and everything stabilized, a deafening silence soothing her ears. She glanced around, checking for any damage... and then the vessel was suddenly released from the rail. She tried to scream, but her shock only allowed her to watch wordlessly, the exterior of her cockpit changing from the familiar hangar bay to rapidly collapsing tunnel as her vessel was angled downwards. A thick, metallic sliding door grew larger at the bottom, larger and larger, and her eyes grew wide with panic.

"Tee Bee?! Shouldn't the bulkhead be open by now?!"

"Yes. Bulkhead will be opening in 5..."

"Oh no..." She mouthed, almost breathlessly, trying to adjust the ship's throttle. Yet, there was no adjustment: the support rail was the one pulling them down. She figured it'd release them right at the mouth... "Do it faster!!"

"Four..." The bulkhead grew closer, and the rail showed no signs of stopping.

"Three..." The door slid, and she could see it! The void of space and its infinite stars! But the gap...!

"Two..." The gap was a little wider, but... not enough, unless she turned it...

"One..." The distance was closed, but the bulkhead wasn't completely open. Her heart rose to her throat as she twisted the flight stick with enough force to make her joints lock up. Sparks flew, followed by a rather concerning thud... but there was no stop.

Little by little, she opened her eyes, and what she saw nearly made her pass out. The endless expanse of space, right before her eyes, stretching into infinity... to the right, a massive gas giant reigned supreme with its twirling orange clouds, small only when compared to the twin suns glaring in the distance. She sucked in a deep breath, mouth gaping wide with excitement. She did it. She got out! She was free!

"All systems nominal." TB-01's voice came in as she took it all in, running a check of the systems. "Wings only lightly scraped. Heat shield, online. Tracking beacon, deactivated. Engine and inertia dampeners, online."

"We did it, Tee Bee." She spoke, watching the scene before her unfold with wide eyes. "We're out. We're finally out. We did it!"

"I share in your excitement." Its monotone voice betrayed the sentiment a little, but she knew it was just as happy as she was. "Shall I give the coordinates to the target planet?"

"Yes." She answered, then chuckled, bringing a hand to her head. Oh. Yeah, she shouldn't be touching that without any protection. After a few glances, she found the helmet tucked under the seat, strapping it on and closing its visor. While there was no threat of radiation thanks to the insulated interior, any hard movement could easily bang her head against the walls.

The panels flickered a little, and then, the flight computer lit up, transmitting the information to the windshield. Holographic projections appeared with a compass, reticule and a measurement of distance for the target planet. With her hands now firmly placed on the sticks, she tested them gently, performing small movements: it was a devilishly agile ship, responsive, though the deadzone was a bit off. No matter. She'd just compensate for it. After a few more moments, she placed the ship on course.

The course led her towards a rocky planet, seemingly devoid of life telling by its lack of clouds and the grey, ragged formations seen from space. Apparently this promising planet was a moon... so the ship turned ever so slightly, throttling up to avoid getting caught in the planet's gravity well. Little by little, she could see the planet rising in the horizon... though nothing would ever compare to when it fully came up to her view.

The scans didn't do it justice. Not even close. Even from a distance, it was a lush world, covered in vast oceans and sprawling continents, colored in greens, yellows and oranges that only faded at the poles, where white stretched as far as the horizon went. The thrusters flared once more and she started her approach, gulping her nervousness down.

Nothing could stop her, now. Nothing.

 

[femslasher]

Ah, the vast blackness of space.

Laying down on her comfortable shuttle seat, reclined so far it was practically a bed. Sipping some foreign, fruity hot drink replicated by her meal synthesizer. That was the feeling she had been seeking; comfortable silence, alone with herself, relaxing on her way to her vacation planet.

The blinking holographic countdown on her shuttle's cockpit's system panel reminded her of how few hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds were left before her grand arrival. The faint noise would get faster and faster as they got closer, in such a way she never bothered to look up. She knew it practically by heart. The rhythm told her she had less than two hours ahead, something she welcomed gratefully. Her impatience, for now, had been sated. She appreciated these few hours amongst twinkling stars, lazily watching planets and shuttles zoom by.

Two hours gave Erikia just enough time to eat a few more snacks and finally start listening to a fictional podcast voiced by some famous Marrvian show host that her youngest cousin was obsessed with, and recommended her each time they small talked. She needed some sappy filler noise, something easy to digest, unrealistic enough to turn off her rational side and entertaining enough to steal a chuckle out of her every now and then. Her cousin definitely had a bias, what with his latest obsession with a tech savvy Marrvian boy visiting the Moon base every now and then. He even let him tinker with his gadgets, knowing he'll take it apart in the name of learning and put it back together in worse shape, at times irreparable. Not that he spoke up against it, entranced as he was. She never quite understood the appeal of alien species with colorful skin, or tentacle-like appendages, but it was all the rage with young Terrans. Anything different was a sparkly, sought for love interest. And boy was there more differences than similarities in the infinite galaxy. Maybe Erikia's unique hair would've turned people's heads more than once, if she was part of the younger generation, but those her age didn't care nearly as much. They instead preferred staying within their planet of origin. Not that she minded either way; her alone times were already extremely limited, and having another being interrupting it would have more cons than pros. To her father's relief, and her aunts' dismay.

She sunk deeper onto her seat, almost purring in delight. Her flight already took 3 hours, 3 hours spent indulging in self-care of the highest caliber. She hadn't taken months to spend her hard-earned money on hoarding foreign snacks and fancy entertainment in her shuttle for nothing. She had been waiting for the exact right timing to go wild with it. This felt simply decadent.

Flipping through holographic article pages hovering above her head with swift movements of the wrist in their general direction, her thoughts, having been briefly distracted by ridiculous love columns and her cousin's disastrous love life, returned to the task at hand. Not of her own volition, mind you... a high-pitched beep alarmed her back up, nudging her seat into proper seating once more: an asteroid belt.

She tapped more deactivated miniature help bots lined on the nearby table, reactivating them to do calculations and mind the shuttle controls. Despite her regular shuttle driving she was far from talented enough to navigate a maze of asteroids without some form of A.I. support. Even with the support, she predicted it'd be rocky and leave at least a few bumps on her green, oval-shaped shuttle with the traditional Pirpha symbol engraved alongside the RCP logo. Hopefully nothing she couldn't fix before going back to work in it, or she would get her head chewed off by more than one being.

She glanced at the blinking green countdown numbers. 02h, 25m, 20s, 12.58ms. With another high-pitched beep, this time sounding unusually warped, she glanced at it again. 01h, 20m, 10s, 32.47ms. It couldn't have been more than 2 minutes since she looked, and yet... her eyes went wide, and as her hands typed commands frantically and she demanded multiple updates from her help bots, worry started seeping into her mind once more. No, not quite worry. Realization. The issue connecting with the RCP database was not a fluke. It was more serious than she thought, or at least serious enough that entering an asteroid belt with her shuttle in this state could bring serious trouble.

Once more, memories filled her brain and another realization struck. She had brought this very shuttle to an engineering friend-of-a-friend two days ago, to confirm her comm system was fully functioning before her next big trip. When it was ready for pick up, her father offered to drive it home while she handled the tourists. Since her aunt, her cousin's mother, needed to run some errands and was on a nearby satellite... her generous father came back with Erikia's cousin, and that Marrvian kid in tow. They stayed overnight. She had never wondered, up until that point, if that reckless teenager got tempted to mess with her shuttle's systems. Or if her cousin in that situation would've been naive enough to trust him with it just to impress him. Nor did she wonder if her father could've been distracted enough by driving for the kids to sneak around, digging into wires and pressing the wrong buttons. Or if they could've snuck out to goof off at night in the shuttle, stealing her snacks, messing with her shuttle's console as the household was asleep. Maybe she should've been more suspicious of it back then, back when there was enough time to have her shuttle checked for tampering.

05h, 14m, 50s, 10.25ms. Uh oh. It could simply be an error with the system's internal clock, but she had a grim feeling that wasn't the case. Any noise from the shuttle sounded glitchy, and her holograms flickered unpredictably. As if to mock her pathetic situation even further, her drink fell and spilled over her nearby bots... frying their programming and affecting the systems they had been plugged into, to give her system updates and predict oncoming objects. Great. Just great.

She was definitely not a great driver; according to her family, she wasn't even a good one. That was exactly why she relied on predictable, self-driven shuttles equipped with a precise GPS to guide her wherever she went. She absolutely hated going in manual mode. Especially without bots to guide her every move.

00h, 45m, 34s, 12.45ms. This was getting ridiculous -- how would she know if she was 60 hours away from the x planet or 10 seconds away? She came closer to the side windows, basically sticking her whole face onto them, trying to see if beyond the asteroids could be the planet she was searching for. There were a few visible satellites if she went around the asteroids, adorned with large, neon, holographic signs for travellers to stop on... but beyond the maze of asteroids was a reddish planet, with two rings of red clouds meeting in the middle, marking an x on it. It didn't mean it was an XCP, she very well knew that, although her mind still full of fictional nonsense urged her to consider it on the basis of fate, luck, and other idiotic concepts. It certainly wasn't a planet she recognized although, of course, that didn't say much. There were thousands of planets recorded in the RCP, and thousands more unmarked or refusing to sign in.

It could be a total mistake and cost her in the long run. She had already risked asking an alien for random coordinates, and her luck would eventually run out... it may already have, if this was a trick all along. She could land and be surrounded by space thieves, or get eaten by dangerous fauna, or get eaten by dangerous aliens for all she knew. She oh so easily could contact her father, or at least try to before her systems were fried beyond recognition from the asteroids mangling her shuttle. But she was in a mindset that wasn't easily changed; the mindset of well, I've already gotten this far. I'm no quitter.

She knew the smaller you were, the easier it was to navigate such a treacherous space maze and to land on uncharted territory... if it ended up being an NCP, at least she could conceal her arrival better. Assuming they didn't have top-notch radars for intruders, that is, in which case she would be in deadly trouble. But with enough stealth, she might fly off undetected, back to her shuttle, to safely fly all the way back home in disappointment.

She took in the messy sights of glitching bots, sparks flying from fried panels, tangled cords dangling out, holograms flickering in and out of existence... the cozy nest she had made and relaxed in the past few hours was now in ruins. It didn't get more than a tired breath out of her; so much went wrong on the daily, even as a diplomat, that she was good at improvising and thinking on her feet. It didn't lessen the annoyance, but it did get her into gear instead of mourning what could've been. She still had a chance at a good vacation, if she acted fast. Asteroids weren't stagnant, and even from a distance they'd eventually find their way spinning her shuttle around like a bird stuck in a tornado. It couldn't be avoided, and she just hoped by the time she was back it was fixable. Otherwise, well, she would need to pay for a room at a satellite motel and figure her way back.

She put on her spacesuit and pressed a button, manifesting an oxygen bubble into place. She had an emergency evacuation vessel, small, only a few times the size of her body, attached to the side of her shuttle. She would have to spacewalk. Not her favorite thing in the world either, yet here she was. Not the easy escape she had in mind.

She pressed the door to open, and it closed with a final swoosh behind her. Swimming in the void of space, grabbing onto the side of the shuttle, she can't help her heart speeding up in panic at the sight of how awfully huge the approaching asteroids and other debris are. It seems as though they are protecting the planet she seeks, something she wouldn't put it past an inhabited planet to do as a form of protection; but that would mean it wasn't an X planet after all, and she was too far gone in these shenanigans to think too hard on it. She was not ready to let her dreams die just yet.

The evacuation vessel took a bit of work to get open, rusty from lack of use, and her brain too sluggish to remember how to use it. Still, she gets the job done. She holds onto the top of the door and swings in legs first. It's as small as she remembers it to be... she has to bend her arms to use the controls infront of her, and use her foot to click the door closed. Her oxygen bubble pops off, and she breaths a sigh of relief. Small victory.

"R205159D-18°06'431.43," she whispers under her breath, entering the coordinates.

If the planet she saw is the one corresponding to those coordinates, she is golden. If the X planet is a bit further, she is still golden. But if it's far, and her vessel fuels start running low... it's useless to worry about a possibility. No need to add to her current worries. Erikia Rikeko does not worry about potential mistakes. Erikia Rikeko stays in the present, as overwhelming and bothersome as it may be. She reminds herself of that, her legs going numb in the tight space.

This evacuation vessel is not the best on the market, despite having been told again and again that she needed to upgrade it. Its technology isn't much more than entering a destination and waiting for it to arrive. A monotone A.I.'s voice repeats the destination to her, and the vessel is sharply propelled into space, too fast for her to catch her bearings. What it lacks in technological finesse, it makes up for in powerful thrusters. She yelps and holds on tightly, watching as her shuttle is left further and further behind her, and the asteroids grow closer and closer.

It takes her about an hour to navigate the rocky terrain. If another vessel was to fly past it would have heard many annoyed, pained yells as she bumped into stray debris, but the vessel's small size thankfully avoided large asteroids with its sensors. Her shuttle wouldn't have made it, she knows that for a fact; it wasn't a huge monster of a spaceship, but she still would've ended up crushed like one of her fathers' recycle cubes. This vessel, though not intact from the journey, at least got her this far without fatal injuries.

The vessel swirved past a few last asteroids, and made it into a clearing. There, the planet was now in full sight.

Moment of truth. The vessel would either go towards it, or far away from it, far enough that her fuels would be depleted and she would be forced to fly back in shame, or be stranded in the emptiness of space to slowly starve, waiting for her emergency signals to reach someone, anyone. Or go for the next planet, hoping it be abandoned, risking angering the resident species.

"I need this, come on," she said to herself, to the vessel, and to the universe, with as much vigor as she could muster. The vessel was now in prime position to descend and pierce the planet's atmosphere, prepping for landing. Or, alternatively, to continue in a completely different direction. "C'mon. Please."

The vessel sharply swooped downwards. She let out a scream, at first in fearful shock at the suddenness of it, then turning joyful realizing what was happening.

Time to gamble her luck one last time.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Well, maybe some things could stop her. For instance, the sprawling asteroid field growing closer on her cockpit.

"Scans indicate a dense formation of asteroids and minor rocky stellar bodies in the sector up ahead. Calculations may diverge in their results, but it seems that the field was formed by a one in a million collision between two massive, extinction-level asteroids." TB-01 droned on through the communication system, sending a small, pulsing scanner ahead. Telling by the density of objects caught in the scan... this would be rough. Yet, necessary; the engine would need to recharge via solar energy if she took the longer route around, and the thrust necessary to escape the gravity well could easily leave her stranded in space.

Julianna hummed as she throttled down upon approach. This was... unusual. Perhaps they were trapped in place, between this rocky, lifeless planet and the lush one? The gravity wells could do something about it, after all... still, some of them would be locked in the orbit of each body, leading to--

"Warning. Approaching asteroid field. Recommendation: employ evasive maneuvering and cautious flying." Ah, yes. She had forgotten about that. Focus, she needed to focus.

Gulping down her tension, she leaned forward a little in her seat, hands gripping the sticks hard. Each asteroid was about as large as her ship, if not larger, and the approach was marked by a swift, sudden dive beneath a larger one. She could hear the smaller ones banging against the hull, tossed around effortlessly in the weightlessness of space, her arms already growing sore with the effort. It was like constantly threading needles, through impossibly small spaces, all while a bump or two against the vessel's body would be enough to give her a heart attack.

Hyper-focus settled in and she continued to navigate, completely disregarding the distance measuring device poised on the edge of the cockpit window as she bobbed and weaved through the asteroids. Before long, however... she was out. The last asteroid loomed large over the ship, and then it was gone, with just a short stretch of space between her and the planet, which already dwarfed anything she had ever seen in her life. Breathless, she turned to the communications system, her stomach freezing with excitement and anticipation. "We're almost there, Tee Bee. Almost there."

The next minutes were tense. The closer she approached, the harder it became to see the edges of the planet until she was almost drowning in the green and yellows and oranges of the forests below. One button prompted the ship's heat shield to be deployed, covering the frontal hull to be covered in hard, heat-resisting metal. Then, the final maneuver. She pitched the ship downwards, slowly lifting it to avoid nose-diving into the atmosphere, teeth gritted as the vessel picked up speed.

It was a sight for sore eyes. The pitch-black void of space gave way to a turquoise-tinted canvas spreading its color as far as the eye could see; clouds stretching below, concealing vast expanses of plains, forests, mountains, and clear lakes draining into winding rivers. Her eyes widened with surprise at all the color simply blossoming before her eyes... at least before the reentry kicked in entirely.

"Warning." The ship's internal warning system boomed, sounding a brief alarm horn. "Atmospheric entry detected. Heat shields already deployed. Lower throttle and activate atmospheric flight mode." Her hands searched for the lever in question, but the ship was hit by a sudden jolt, shaking and bobbing for a moment. The edges of the windows glowed red-hot and stability was thrown to the wind as the entire vessel shook and trembled, requiring all her efforts to be concentrated on the flight stick lest she allowed the air resistance to flip it over. "Please, maintain craft stability until the entry is completed."

Easier said than done, she realized. Each jolt of the ship bordered dangerous levels, requiring her to violently throw the sticks in the opposite direction, only to compensate for the excessive force applied in return. The earth below grew clearer, larger, yet the fiery layers burning at the edges of the cockpit didn't lessen.

And then, something happened.

She could barely see it. Like a transparent sheet,, something gleamed against the sunlight, but there was no time to move away from it. The ship broke throught whatever it was... and everything went offline. "Warning: Electric systems overloaded. Detecting engine failureeee..." The AI voice dragged into a lower pitch before sizzling out into silence, and she was left only with the howling wind beating against the vessel.

"W-what?!" Her panicked voice broke at the sight of the earth growing closer, and the nose of her vessel tipping downward. "Tee Bee!! Are you still with me? The ship was hit with--"

"An electromagnetic pulse." His voice was lower-pitched than usual, as though his systems were failing. "Activating power saving mode. Transferring remaining power to the ship. Recommendation: activate sub-orbital wings."

"Wait, Tee Bee??" She cried out, but there was only silence, and a slight flicker of power through the ship. They were falling fast, and her hand shakily reached for the right switch; one wing stretched out, yet the other shorted out on power and remained retracted. Dammit. Overcome with desperation, she pitched the craft as far up as she could, growing lightheaded as gravity pushed down against her. The ship was stabilized, yes, thanks to her desperate pull... but consciousness faded, the world grew black around her, and her limbs went limp...

The only things she remembered before darkness took her were a thud, and the infernally loud sound of metal twisting and snapping as it impacted against the surface.

...​

Something hurt. Badly. It was the first thing that came to mind: how much her head, hurt, wrapped in a blanket of soreness that pulsated to an insufferable rhythm. A hand was brought up to the spot, and despite her gloved fingers, she could feel the humidity of fresh blood and the sting of a wound being touched. Her head flopped back against something soft, and she tried to pry her eyes open, immediately blinded by the brightness of a distant star. Something - no, someone - towering and metallic in nature came into her view, its skeletal arms reaching for her.

"Tee Bee...?"

And off to unconsciousness she went once more.

She awoke once more, this time with a sting. Something was pressing against the wound on her head while a hand held it in place, hard and cool against her fever-like state. It stung once more, and the smell of clean alcohol reached her nostrils... ah, it was being cleaned. A hiss escaped her mouth and she tensed up, trying to reach out to this impromptu medic, but instead finding nothing but empty air.

"Please, remain as static as possible. I have not been programmed for extensive first aid protocols. I am doing my best." Yeah, that was TB-01, alright. But didn't he...? She opened her eyes, and the blurry image of her dark grey companion looming over what looked like the ruined remains of her cockpit explained enough: two, blue panels stretched out of its shoulders. Ah. Her solar panel addition worked, after all...

Her head was released briefly before being held once more, and she could see white bandages being wrapped around the wound. It still hurt, alright, but the cut had been cleaned. "Avoid any sudden movements with your head. Take your time getting your bearings and standing up. You may have suffered some minor concussions from the whiplash and subsequent impact against the ship's cockpit."

It was now that she tried to move that Julianna realized just how the crash had beaten her up. Her legs felt stiff and heavy, and her hands struggled to grasp the edges of her cockpit, only to realize she was still stuck to the seat due to the safety belts. Once they were slid back, she stuck a leg out, then another, propping them over the edge of the cockpit and using what little strength she had in her to seat herself on that edge. Balance was hard to find, and the movement had her world spinning; her legs stretched and found soft ground beneath, and she allowed herself to stumble out of the ruined ship with a groan.

Wait.

Grass?

She blinked, noticing the waving blades of what looked like orange vegetation sprawling beneath her. A gentle breeze threw her hair to the size, refreshing as it caressed her sweat-coated forehead. Her helmet...! She drew in a desperate breath, when--

"Please, breathe normally." TB-01's heavy footsteps followed close, and it laid a hand on her shoulder to hold her steady. "This planet's atmosphere presents a mixture of breathable gasses which far suprasses that of the Earth in its most unaltered periods. This is, according to my scanners, perhaps the purest air any carbon-based life-form could ever breathe in the known universe."

And the breath was as pure as he described. It filled her lungs with vitality, cleared her sight... then she drew in another, and another, till she grew accustomed to the purity of it all. Everything grew to become overwhelming around her. The natural light, blinding her eyes whenever she tilted her head up; the verdancy spreading all around, from the forests just a walk away from where she landed to the vast plains where she stood. She looked all around, consumed by awe and the sweet taste of discovery lingering in her mouth, forgetting briefly about the ruined wreck that once was her ship.

Only that it remained there. A rather sore sight in all this beauty, smoldering and twisted, having left a trail of ripped grass and raised dirt until it stopped, having slammed in a rock. Oh well. She deflated for a moment, approaching it slowly. This... she didn't think this could be repaired without a proper facility.

"Oh, Tee Bee..." She wondered out loud, turning to the robot. "What are we going to do?"

 

[femslasher]

There was no describing the vivid feeling of a vessel nosediving through a planet's atmosphere, entering a new world.

Going from seeing a ginormous sphere from far away, to colorful lands mapped out as far as the eye can see, an entire world from a bird's view... to that ground growing closer and closer, the viewpoint narrower and narrower. Until the magic of flying above it all came to an end and all you could do was brace for impact. She would've preferred her shuttle's usual graceful landing, a beautiful entry onto a new world for her to discover. This evacuation vessel was clunky, unsteady, and surprisingly fast; leaving her feeling like a kid who ate too much cotton candy and jumped into a rusty roller coaster spinning and falling from great heights.

In any other scenario her mood would've nosedived along with it. This time she fully embraced the roller coaster... maybe due to her full-body exhaustion mixed with delirious relief at having made it this far to begin with. Her squeaks and giggle-like laughter accompanied her through the entire way down, something that would have painted a darkly ironic scene had the evac shuttle exploded, or had a fatal landing.

As one may have gathered by the wording, the universe answered her plea, and took pity on her once more. The vessel detected an appropriate distance from the ground, and appropriate enough sources of Terran-safe oxygen, for the ceiling over her head to slide open, letting two handles fall out and the monotone A.I. voice reminding her to hold tightly and secure her belt. The handles were easy enough to find, in such cramped space, thanks to them directly hitting the sides of her head when released. Damn, she really should've had it upgraded by now. As for the belt, she had to use the force of her hip and her thigh to get it unstuck, but it eventually rolled out, and attached itself around her waist. There. A bit of a struggle, but she was secured.

As impolitely designed as ever, barely half a minute after the belt tying were the sides of the evacuation vessel already folding out like wings and curling up into a parachute-like contraption above her head, leaving her feet dangling in the air. The wind on her hair made her breath and any previous laughs catch in her throat, every inch of her body and brain hyperfocusing on survival, trying hard to properly navigate the evac chute onto clear ground. She should've really gotten re-trained on how to use this thing... five years were more than enough for her skills to become clumsy. This exact predicament had never happened to her before.

Still, she was made to adapt.

"Arrived at evacuation destination. Release?" The A.I. requested, awaiting her command.

She waited a few more beats, swaying away from lush forests onto clearer grounds. A structure with five differently sized towers, connected by thin bridges, caught her attention. A dome was besides it, with what she assumed to be a greenhouse or some form of research centre inside. Remnants of past civilizations. Exactly what she needed. Shelter, potential nutrient sources, interesting historical facts, and trinkets to inspect. Maybe a few souvenirs here and there.

Her exploration, her vacation, her adventure could finally begin. It took her extra efforts to get here, but she felt herself slip into her usual exploration mindset. Comfortable. Confident. Curious. This was just like any other past adventure, and from here on out she more or less was in her element.

Odd-looking, ginormous plants surrounded the towers, larger than any she had ever seen before, but she thankfully didn't see any feral-looking fauna roaming the territory. She set her mind on landing inside the towers' territory, and cut her way out of the plant shield if necessary. Getting some form of shelter was one big task to check off her survival list.

"Release," Erikia spoke loudly and clearly, her hands tightening on the handles.

The evac chute kept it slow, uncertain descent, unresponsive.

"Release!" She spoke again, trying to control the chute's destination by determination alone, her fingers growing sore from forcing the chute's trajectory. It kept almost swaying back to foresty areas, or worse, to the huge circular lake of water-like red liquid, producing floating clouds of red smoke. She did not want to test out how warm, cold, toxic, or any other dangerous characteristics the liquid was. She also did not want to risk encountering hungry native fauna by walking in tree-shrouded territory. From a few unfortunate experiences, she knew that alien predators of all kinds preferred to stalk their prey in territories with good cover. Even prey species could be venomous or poisonous. There was usually a good reason a planet was abandoned... and she always tried to figure out what that reason is, so that it didn't come back to bite her in the ass. 90% of the time, fauna was the reason. The remaining % was dangerous weather, unbreathable air, or starvation.

Unbreathable air was checked out already. If she manages to be released outside of high-fauna, high-cover areas, that 90% will be moot. With the towers, weather would also be out the window. As for food sources, she had more than one option at her disposal even if the planet, somehow, was completely deprived of edible nutrients.

The thought energized her straining arms even more, forcing, with all her strength, the chute to dive down.

"Release," she kept breathing out, sweating with effort. "Chute, release!" Even with her focus and determination, it kept swerving out of where she needed it to be.

Then, once more, her evacuation vessel caught her off guard. Another roller coaster... this time emotional. Give me a break, she couldn't help thinking.

"Evacuation vessel released. Safe landing protocols engaged. Zero gravity landing function activated." It finally registered her command. Compressed air and a blue light came out of the evac chute above her, as if a water spray can was pressed; she caught on quickly enough and with a relieved sigh, released her tight grasp on her handles. She was floating, the chute keeping her in mid-air, gently going down, the ground so close she would touch it in a few more heartbeats.

Except the oncoming ground, though in the general area she wished to be released on, was the ground covered in gigantic plants.

"Oh," she dumbly said, at a loss for what to do, her arms trying to grasp the handles to govern it once more without success. "Oh, oh no," her feet tried to dangle, something awkward to do in Zero G. She felt panic rise once more, yet her destination could not be changed any longer. As she approaches, a few of the unusually colored plants' curled branches twitch. "No, no, no," he said, her paradisiac destination coming closer and closer. Possibly with a layover in a plant maze, her second maze of the day. She didn't want to test out her luck with potentially carnivorous plant life.

She landed gently, that she did. For a brief moment.

Her feet had a few glorious seconds of standing securely on giant plant roots before her evac vessel shut down its zero gravity and the planet's own gravity took its toll on her stance. Her feet slipped, and even her best Pirphal instincts couldn't stop her fro landing on her back with a loud oof. She felt the branches under wake from their slow slumber, and the branches above her move her hair around... their color reminded her of toxic insects and mushrooms from her Terran biology books, a natural signal of something you should not eat, nor touch. Well, it was much too late for that.

She took in big gulps of clean air, taking in her uncomfortable, potentially dangerous situation.

Delirious chuckles took over her once more. The whole trip here had been clumsy. Messy. Unlucky. This situation was still all three of those adjectives, and for survival's sake she certainly couldn't lay here amongst branches for longer than a few more minutes. But hey, she made it. She made it. This was the feeling she had missed so dearly, in all her overworked hours.

Erikia Rikeko is back in the game. Watch out, world, she thought, half laughing at herself. She had an entire planet to conquer.

...​

Dipping mandibles into red, smoking liquid, a strange insect about the height of the tallest Terran and the size of a large Pirphal mammal drank eagerly.

Besides it, someone stood patiently, patting its head. Although the hand did not quite touch the insect, flickering in holographic light, its eyes squinted in apparent contentment. Scattered around the lake were many objects visually similar to lamp posts, although metallic in nature with glowing red gems where typical lightbulbs would be. The person -- or, rather, the humanoid being -- turned around the objects, moving with purpose, and pressed a not-quite-there finger to three of them, one after the other. They all burst with light, and showed a holographic screen. Recordings played, of seemingly a different era having taken place in that same area. Many other beings of similar skin color, butterfly-esque wings where ears would typically be expected, dancing in the lake. Splashing one another. There was no smoke in the recording, where now the smoke was so thick you could hardly see the other side of the lake. The being smiled with nostalgia, watching it more out of habit than for particular reasons.

More creatures, all insectoid in nature, emerged from the colorful trees and bushes. Some chewed at plant life with fervor, others bathed in the red liquid, and others came to nudge the being. Their faces almost went through his transparent body in the action, yet this did not seem to deter the creatures nor the being. It was a strange, otherworldly scene.

The planet had survived beyond recognition. The cost of that survival didn't matter anymore; only this simplistic existence, caring for the remaining life forms in peace.

Unaware of any visitors, of any triggered traps scattered about the planet, of any plant life disturbed or creature stalking prey, of any crashing vessels or stolen artifacts, the being gives one last endeared look at the creatures and glitches out of existence, only to reappear in another part of the island to continue his day. Doing minor chores, unbothered. Having seemingly lived and breathed and walked this land for endless centuries, fathering the fauna.

The being continues on his way, secure in the planet's ability to defend itself. Leaving two intruders to discover it, and discover eachother.

 

[PaleAbyss]

"Compiling damage report."

This perhaps wasn't the smartest thing to do after crash-landing on a potentially murderous planet which completely disabled the systems on her ship, but hey, she at least wanted some level of control over this disaster. She had claimed the rock that broke their fall - and the ship, by extension - and sat upon it, staring at the sad, smoldering wreck of what once was one of her pet projects, face contorted in a half-scowl.

"Alright..." Julianna stretched back, working out the knots in her spine and listening for the little 'pops' her joints made before returning to her seated position with a deflated sigh. "The ship has completely lost its inertia dampening systems. Engine is busted, overheated after suffering structural damage. Internal systems are fried..." Oh, God, this was depressing. She was lost, wasn't she? This place likely didn't have a spaceport just waiting for her; whatever lurked in the atmosphere would shut anything with an electrical system attached to it. "Okay, let's just flip to what we have."

"About one week's supply of food. I can recharge my internal batteries with sunlight, which is abundant." TB-01 droned, pointing to its small-scale solar panels. "The planet is lush, however, and foraging may be a good option for continued survival."

Another sigh. This wasn't at all how she expected it to go. Sure, her idyllic ideas of how this would go were far too perfect to ever come to fruition... but then again, it didn't have to go this badly. She jumped off the boulder, hands on her waist, and glanced around. These plains seemed safe, the grass never going past her shins, which meant that any dangerous creatures could be seen beforehand... or so she hoped. Julianna paced around the surroundings of the ship with TB-01 in tow, hands going from her waist to her chin, then to the spot in her head where she had struck her head, trying to think of something.

Yet nothing came. Sure, her smoking engine could definitely act as a smoke signal, but to whom? With the ship's systems completely fried, she had no way to contact anyone, and while the Equador's crew may still be unwitting to her escape, they'd likely punish her greatly for her actions. Oh boy. That was another problem...

"Detecting high levels of anxiety and stress." TB-01 chimed in, setting a heavy hand on her shoulder. "While the situation is indeed dreary, I would recommend taking deep breaths and eating an item from your survival package. This will allow you to maintain nutrition levels and prepare for the day ahead."

Well, only some of the meals she brought were actually healthy in a traditional sense, and this disastrous situation asked for something a little more junky. Good thing she had packed a few slices of pizza... in a thermal bag, nonetheless, so they'd likely still be warm. So she stormed the somehow intact cargo slot in the ship's wreck and pulled out the bag, and from it, a slice. Still warm, still eatable. Still the mind-melting deliciousness of Paolo's Pizzeria... ah, she'd miss that place. Always comforting after a particularly hard day. And comforting now, as she chomped away her sorrows.

She wasn't that hungry, and one slice sufficed for the moment. Julianna could already feel herself a little less cranky and a little more motivated to do something about this mess. The question was, of course, what to do, but she'd figure it out. Wouldn't she? Yeah, not the time to go down that rabbit hole.

"I say we... scout the area around for a bit. Find some water, probably, maybe look for a settlement. And shelter, this sun is killing me." It was partially due to her jumpsuit, designed for the ever cool halls of the Equador, but she wasn't about to let go of it. All these pockets paid for the added heat. "And, uh, yeah. We'll live."

She started by moving east. Even with all her disappointment, the planet's sights were breathtaking enough to make her forget her woes a little. Everything was so vibrant, so teeming with life! Below her, lizard-like creatures scurried away, no larger than her hand; imposing, furry quadrupeds moved peacefully in the distance, similar to bulls and cows. Overhead she'd hear birds cawing so differently from Earth's, yet so similar at times that their song was almost mesmerizing. As she walked, the grasslands started to grow thicker, sporting more bushes and plants and even trees, leading up to what likely was a rainforest.

The closer she walked, the louder a very promising sound grew. Running water. At the slightest hint of it, she picked up her pace, throat already begging for a drop of water after all this walking and all this sweating under the twin suns. "Hey, Tee Bee! There might be a river nearby!" She cried out, picking up the pace. Almost mindlessly, she dodged colorful leaves and hanging vines, roots that likely shouldn't be moving, but she couldn't be bothered now. Finally, after a stretch, she could see it. "Right here!"

There was a crystalline stream running through a small formation of rocks, dropping down into a small fall into a wider stream. She immediately rushed to the edge, hands cupping the clear water... then hesitated. Yeah, this probably wasn't a good idea without boiling it. What were all these emergency survival classes for, after all? TB-01 noticed her pause and crouched besides the stream, its lenses flickering in analysis.

"No harmful microorganisms or substances detected." Impossible.

"But..." She hesitated, still, staring at her distorted reflection on the water. "This is water in the wild. It should have something..."

"Scans show no harmful items in the water. It is, therefore, safe to drink."

Huh. She stared at the water, then at TB, then at the water once more. Ah, well. She had meds in the first aid kid, didn't she? But what if the water was poisoned by a substance never charted by human biologists and chemists? But she was parched...

To hell with it was her final conclusion. She brought the water to her lips and gulped it down generously, letting out a happy sigh. She needed that.

Now to hope she wouldn't fall ill because of it.

 

[femslasher]

Erikia learned a valuable lesson in patience, laying with her limbs slowly being poked and entangled by foreign plants.

She hadn't landed in the most lucky spot, certainly, but she was closer to her current goal than she thought she would be: the mysterious buildings which can offer her shelter, and most likely sustenance, or a map of somewhere she can get sustenance. It was protected by the same circle of potentially toxic and/or carnivorous greenery that she landed in. This would indicate that her goal was very valuable in survival scenarios... only valuable things were this heavily protected, right?

She had wiggled around, hit, bit, kicked, and thrown objects at the plant branches curling around her body. They didn't seem to have violent intent, although, to be fair, plants rarely displayed the classic signs of aggressiveness before consuming their prey. She made some progress already... she was a few steps away from where she originally landed, thanks to her sudden burst of energy and determination. The original branches that had taken grip on her ankles had given up after particularly fierce kicks but for every branch she conquered, a dozen more came.

The more she moved the tighter the branches became. The longer she stayed still the more they loosened their grip. But she didn't have all day to sit pretty and be gentle on her way out ─ the daytime could only stay up for so long, and it was anyone's guess what monstrosities and dangers lurked in the dark. With all the similarities to Terra, there was a very low chance this was one of the planets where light never went down. X planets were always more work than you expected them to be, and she didn't give into naive hope. She needed to be prepared for the worst, and welcome the best if it came to it.

Erikia heard them before she saw them.

Wings batting together frantically and the quiet sound of insectoid mouths... or what typically was a quiet sound. It was as loud as a bear chewing on a bone, if not louder. She froze almost despite herself, feeling her heart go from steady confident beats to rapid rabbit-like thump, thump, thump.

She had only seen native flora thus far, not yet going face-to-face with fauna. She was already in an unfortunate predicament with the former threat, she wondered if she could handle fighting off the latter. Twisted up in plants inspecting her and playing with her like a spider with a fly, she was in disturbingly perfect position for something to come gobble her up. She was typically much smarter from the get-go, equipped to the brim, mapping out the territory before landing, and relying on every survival tip in the book. This time around things had went comically wrong from the very minute she stepped foot in her own shuttle... a shuttle which now was hovering away from the planet, beyond an asteroid belt... she would usually camouflage her shuttle and use it as her main base, finding a second base somewhere else but always able to return and use technology to keep herself safe from situations such as this one. She had done this for years and never felt like such a naive beginner, fumbling and improvising as she went without any plan B, C, and D to fall back onto. Still, she did not have time to worry. The next few hours would determine whether she could make a meaningful trip out of this mess, perhaps with some positives to go along with all the negatives so far, or if she would have to send a distress signal to her father and go home with her tail between her legs. Waiting another three, maybe even six months to try again. And that time around she would be scrutinized and babied, offered to be accompanied times and times again, not trusted with her own hobby anymore. She was not ready to give into that yet.

The creatures were moth-adjacent, yellows and pinks, fluffy fur. The design on their wings was unrecognizable from anything she had ever seen in Terran educational books, and they had what appeared to be numerous whiskers. Their wings were strange, the ends swirling beyond their body. She counted eight of them, although it was hard to keep track with the flutter of them bypassing the tangled plants. She had the passing thought that they seemed to look backwards an awfully lot, as if waiting to see if anything was behind their group. They were in the exact spot she was trying to get had, but she didn't feel fear anymore after having a good look at the insectoids. Very few Terrans and half-Terrans would, she assumed, with the physical instinctual urge to link fluffiness and pleasant colors to feelings of safety, of needing to protect, or even to wanting to turn said creature into a pet. She wouldn't indulge her naive instincts and try to get any closer before the group left, but her heartbeat had considerably slowed down and she watched them with open curiosity. She barely even noticed the plants sliding off of her body, she assumed to seek out another moving thing. With the flowers that stood as tall as a house, and creatures so visually appealing, she was already starting to forgive the planet its clingy flora and enjoy its more appealing qualities. She felt a small smile make its way on her face. She was fascinated.

Then, the creatures looked her way ─ their eyes having what her brain processed as eyelashes, and a few of their heads tilted endearingly ─ and, struck by sudden panic, their wings fluttered in a chaotic hurry. Erikia felt as if she had disturbed the peace by perhaps breathing too loudly or staring too visibly... she had a small tang of disappointment, pulling her smile down into an apologetic grimace. Knocking into one another, they clumsily flew away from the area they were investigating and the huge tree-like flowers they had been nibbling at.

The fantasy was over. Just her, herself, and the dire need to painstakingly slowly make her way out of these greens.

She didn't have time to brace herself or breathe out a sigh before she heard a bone-chilling hiss.

She physically could not look backwards, but her body worked before her brain did at the noise of legs, too many legs, tapping their way onto the greens towards her. She used the fact that the plants had grown bored of her while she enjoyed the moth show to press her foot firmly on the thickest root and push herself slightly onto the air, grabbing onto a hanging branch to play acrobat and swing herself out. She felt many branches tickle her ankles and had to give one last kick to another thick root on the way to fully propel herself out of the plants, onto the area once occupied by the creatures.

And yet she knew that if they had flew out of this spot, then she was not any safer. Especially being so much smaller than they had been. Whatever was behind her must be huge, hungry, and ready to bite into any part of her body it could reach. She had no time to wait around for it.

Running into the woods ─ not populated by trees, but by bigger-than-life flowers, plants and mushrooms ─ she pressed the button on her escape vessel, triggering the evacuation hovering parachute once more. When before it couldn't pull her out of the plants and only wasted battery power trying to do so, now that she was freed it needed to not fly too high as to prevent getting caught in the huge flora, like a balloon in a tree... Erikia was making one mistake after another at this point, but she was athletic and adaptable enough to think on her feet. She zigzagged her way out of the creature's grasp, frantic but goal-focused.

She kept coughing from the red smoke she was approaching. It didn't seem to be toxic, thankfully, and she wouldn't have had a choice out of it anyhow. She needed to find a cover and then use her Pirphal camouflage skills to escape with her life. With each minute running away she was running further and further from where she needed to be... being surrounded by towering flora, she had completely lost track of directions. She had gotten desperate enough that anywhere close to firm ground, away from tightening plants, seemed good enough. It sounded mad, but she knew the plants must have on some level attracted her away from the buildings. They seemed intelligent enough, from the way they inspected her and her equipment, even throwing certain objects out of her reach... seemingly knowing how to trap her. Although they didn't bother her once she made it out; they were protecting their territory, nothing more.

Erikia wasn't the type to blame animals or plants for trying to survive. She was simply a tourist on their planet, after all.

Still... in the moment she was not grateful for the trampling... beetle? Centipede? Caterpillar? Who knew anymore.

She swerved to the right and took that precious second to glance at what was chasing her. So many legs was her first thought. Then the fear multiplied. A green and black spider-like creature, although with even more legs and longer fangs, drooling a thick green liquid that she assumed was poisonous. It had faint webbing all over its body, even over its face like a veil. It was straight out of nightmares. She couldn't help emitting a loud squeak, which only emboldened the creature.

The red smoke was now getting thicker and thicker, and she only knew she was still being chased by the rapid noise of legs approaching. Her quills, normally passable for hair, were almost fully upright and as sharp as ever from the stress. Time became blurry and her head was blank of thoughts, only focused on her breathing and going as fast as she could.

Erikia ran and ran and ran as far as her legs could take her. Beyond her own endurance ever took her before. It was a wonder her body was still going.

When she approached the red, smoking lake she had already taken notice of any other place to hide nearby and came empty. She knew the creature was getting closer and closer to biting her leg or her arm and, seeing the liquid it was oozing, she knew even one bite could knock her out and have her served as the next meal. The creature could very well simply be running her out of its territory and not mean to eat her... but she would be moronic to test that theory.

She didn't hesitate. There was nowhere else to go, and if she had a negative reaction to the water she would simply swim out of it onto some other hiding spot and care for her wounds, camouflaged properly, hopefully having confused the insect into abandoning its search... still, she took that risk wholeheartedly. It was like jumping out of a burning building rather than staying and facing the flames.

With one loud splash, she ran into the lake. Not feeling her legs burning or hurting from it, she took one big breath and plunged her head into the water.

Unaware of what, or who, was watching her.

Or of attracting the raging creature right into someone else's camp.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Out of all the (very uninvited, if she may add) surprises she had so far, Julianna was happy to realize this water had none in store for her. It was what it was: impossibly clear and fresh water, just cool enough to not only quench her thirst but help against the sweltering heat lingering in this patch of the forest. She guessed it all came from what this 'forest' presented: instead of actual trees, its larger organisms were instead massive flowers, their blooming petals forming blankets that only allowed fillets of pure sunlight to pierce through. While that kept it nice and shady, it also left this patch of wilderness sweating under its heat, the humidity of the air doing nothing to lessen its temperature.

Without much care for the world around her for a moment, the girl allowed herself to gorge in the coolness of the water, taking generous gulps until her thirst was sated. TB-01 remained attentive at her size, running scans and glancing about, even taking a few steps around the vicinity to check for any possible dangers. This spot was mostly silent, much to her relief, with only the running of the water to keep her company.

Julianna sat back on the grass when she was satisfied, sighing out as she glanced up to the multicolor blanket blocking most of the sunlight above them. This was... nice. Aside from the oppressive heat, there was something about that mosaic of colors above her, the petals swaying under the influence of a gentle breeze that simply melted her worries away. Had she even seen something organic so close in her life, after all? All her years spent in confinement, stuck inside a massive ship drifting through the endless void of space... they swelled into overflowing awe and amazement, enough to put away her concerns for a short moment.

Until, of course, reality reached her once more. But this time, it was... new.

"Detecting another life signal, of humanoid origin." What? She rose from her seat, eyes wide as she glanced up at TB-01. Its lenses flickered with light as it ran a scan ahead of itself, pointing a metallic finger to its general direction. "Target humanoid seems to be fleeing something. Movement analysis displays great levels of desperation."

Julianna clambered to her feet, glancing around. She didn't need to search much, however, for a sound gave away this humanoid's position. Water splashing hard, then settling into silence once more. And it was closeby. Whoever this was... maybe they could help her. She shouldn't be the only one on this planet, after all!

"Come on, Tee Bee! Lead the way!" The robot gave a confirmatory nod towards her and paced ahead with Julianna right on its trail.

Their path was a short one: they went up a small climb, using the many rocks for support against the mossy surface which made for difficult footing. Without much difficulty, however, they were greeted by the stream widening into a lake - no, a pond - where the water shifted to a bright red color. Julianna raced to its edge, but hesitated, glancing down at the brightly-colored liquid with suspicion.

"Target has dived deep into the pond. Recommendation: swiftly retrieve them to avoid any adverse effects which may stem from its reddish color." TB's suggestion wasn't comforting in the slightest, but there was a rising sense of urgency in her. She could see the silhouette of this mystery person in the water, moving ever so slightly, just inches away from reaching the bottom in their effort to... escape something?

Ah, that'd be damned. She took a firm step into the water, and the lack of any burning sensation emboldened her enough to take another, then another, the girl swiftly changing her stance to swim. The pond was deceptively deep, telling by how her feet soon lost firm ground to step upon... but no matter. All those swimming classes had to serve some purpose! Julianna filled her lungs with and and then dove down, hands blindly palming around the water - she wouldn't dare to open her eyes in this liquid, obviously - till she grasped something. Ah, their wrist!

And just as swiftly as she dived in, Julianna started to drag this person out of the water, her feet kicking back to pull them both back to the banks of mud and sand. Soon, her back was against the soft ground, and she emerged with a deep inhale, heart thumping in her chest. She couldn't make out who this person was, their body slathered in the crimson liquid, but she was at least glad to have pulled them to safety, allowing herself to collapse back on the patches of grass flanking the edges of the pond. "Ah, we got them, Tee Bee. We got them..."

"Pursuer identified." TB-01 stated plainly, stepping in front of the two. Between its steely legs, however, Julianna could see this 'pursuer': a horrid, fighter-sized spider with far too many legs and poisonous green welling in its fangs, which clattered together as it stood on what looked like the edge of a thicker section of the forest. "Please, stand behind me for your safety."

"Christ on a bike!!!" Julianna squealed, her feet kicking against the sand as she retreated further, inadvertedly dragging their rescuee with her. "K-keep it away! Don't let it get close, for the love of everything!!!"

TB stepped onward, seemingly unaffected by the creature's grisly appearance, and planted its feet firmly in the earth as it faced the creature. "Activating guardian protocols. Turn back, so this conflict may end without injury to neither party."

The creature simply hissed, daring to place one of its wiry, smooth legs closer. TB-01 remained stalwart, however, its lenses flickering once more. "Warning. You have but a few moments to comply, or defensive action will be taken. Please, step back."

Of course, there was no rational response from the spider-like monstrosity, aside from a vicious hiss which sent drops of its viscous 'venom' flying towards the robot's hull. Oh boy.

"You have been warned." A hum could be heard, swelling into a high-pitched flash, much similar to that of old photo cameras. Light flashed into the creature's eyes, emanating from the robot's lenses, and the spider retreated a step. Another flash blinded it once more, and the creature finally turned tail, its skin-crawling skittering growing fainter and fainter until there was nothing but the fearful panting of Julianna left in the air.

The girl released her rescuee's wrist in relief, collapsing back onto the patches of grass, eyes closing as tried her best to calm her shaky breaths and her drumming heart. "We're... safe. We're safe, Tee Bee..." And she lifted her head a little to glance at the person they likely saved, her face growing pale. Oh. Right, she should probably say something. "I... uh... hello? You alright there?"

 

[femslasher]

Erikia was swimming away with a simple goal in mind when it grabbed her ─ and no matter how she wiggled or kicked at it, it still dragged her out of the red liquid.

The whole ordeal had her dizzy, out of breath, coughing out water with her quills sticking out, ready to camouflage or to stab any insect's mouth or legs going towards her face. And top to it all off, when she opened her eyes a blinding flash of light made her squeak in surprise. The thing had her in its grasp, even washed of any dirt like a fresh apple ready to bite into, so why did it need to throw the equivalent of thirty flashlights at her? To confuse her? Or simply out of malice?

She was in for a sobering surprise when she saw human legs, or at the very least humanoid legs, kneeling beside her. Followed by more and more human ─ humanoid? ─ limbs and a soothingly familiar human(oid) face. She either has knocked her head a little bit too much escaping that giant creepy crawler, or reality was playing a sick joke on her. She rarely, if ever, encountered other Terrans or part-Terrans on X planets... most preferred the Moon base, sticking themselves on spaceships for their whole life, or at best going to RCPs for scientific research. Earthlings were focused on restoration efforts, and on their blooming businesses across galaxies as their planet slowly succumbed to years of maltreatment. They were not the aimlessly exploring type.

The woman ─ being? ─ greeted her and asked if she was alright, her eyebrows furrowed in polite concern. That was when she knew this wasn't a dream or a hologram or some hallucinatory reaction to the spider's venom. Erikia sat up abruptly and practically jumped backwards, splashing her hand into the red lake in her shock. Looking up from where the two women were sizing each-other after her outburst, Erikia's breaths loud in the silence, she gasped again when seeing the lanky robot with its head tilting side to side assessing who she was, certainly running basic analytics to check for further injuries or judge her threat level.

As Erikia emotionally came down from her near death experience, calming her own nerves in this unusual but not unheard of situation, faint laughter came out of her as she shook her head, soothing her quills down into a more humanoid hair-shape. "Terrans, here?" She stood up from her position on the ground, and put her hands on her hips as she assessed things. Well, at least the creature had left her alone. "I was fine in the water, you know," she added, with a slight smirk despite being a little shaken up by the whole affair. "But I do appreciate the sympathy."

She didn't particularly want to stick with this group and help show them around, or hear their sad story, or risk them taking goodies before she did. But, knowing Terrans better than most from being partially one herself... they were social beings that would align themselves with whoever seemed a friendly or neutral fellow humanoid for survival. Until they flew off the planet she would most definitely knock elbows with them. No matter how large the planet, or how far away she went. Brilliant, she thought bitterly. More tourists to deal with. It wasn't this woman or her bot's fault and she bore them no ill feelings. Certainly not after giving her an empathetic hand as she jumped into unknown waters. It was Erikia's own fault for not camouflaging better. And for running screaming like a little girl away from the first predator she encountered, like a beginner. What a way to start the day.

"First time on an X planet, is it?" It was clear to see. Even the robot seemed out of its element, something she never thought a robot could express.

Looking around, they were lucky no one creature had ventured and eaten them alive... being in plain sight, near an essential water source. It was prime territory for predators and common intergalactic thieves. She took out a rectangle remote from her pocket, thankfully not lost somewhere in all her struggles, and pressed it before throwing it onto the ground. It expanded into a very small, triangle, tent-like bag. She hadn't gotten to use it on this planet yet, not with the plants that would have most likely crushed it if she activated it. And definitely not with the furious chase or the jump into red waters.

In the tent she had a few rations, heating blankets, a warm cloak-like coat that could weather her through the lowest of temperatures, and... ah, there it was: one of her trusty bug bots. It could assist her in locating food, and most importantly shelter. Not knowing if or when the planet could be cloaked in darkness, Erikia needed to get back near those buildings for shelter as soon as possible; she didn't have her space shuttle, with its strong defenses filled to the brim with rations and comfort, to rely on overnight as she usually did. Instead of going the way she just ran away from to brave more venomous insectoids, finding a vulnerable part of the guarding plants to exploit for entry seemed like the best bet. Something only her bot could help her with.

Not minding the two strangers ogling her, she pressed her palm on its head and it activated with a beeping noise, shaking its wing and floating into the air.

She then grabbed a ration and bit into it, before pressing the top of the tent to fold it back into a rectangle remote. The bot, programmed to fulfill survival tasks, opened a latch from its "stomach" and promptly unleashed a holographic net from it to gather water from the lake. It seemed to carry more water than such a small bot should be able to, before folding it into a compressed inventory. The extension technology that most of Erikia's gadget worked with turned even the largest of objects into the size of a small mouse, easy to store in the bug bot's inventory. It was a life-saver when she went on unpredictable X planets.

She almost forgot social etiquette, pleased with herself for making it out of danger and starting her vacation on the right foot. She always tended to be a bit on the introverted side when letting go of the week's stress on foreign territory; still, she knew if she stuck around much longer they would be small talking and asking one question after the other. It was already a bit of a let-down that she would have someone so reminiscent of her daily life with Terrans hanging about in her oasis of the month... she might as well put some physical distance between them as soon as possible.

Erikia watched her bug bot do a few more tasks in preparation, indulging these strangers for a few more minutes. Hopefully it would sate their curiosity, and soon enough they would go back to their business and let her deal with hers.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna didn't know what to think of this person right from the get-go. She looked... human. Well, she was at least part-human, yes, but the hair was too feathery in its texture to make her pass for, well, human. What was that species called again? Pirphos? Pirphians? Pirphals? Bird-like humanoids from a far-away section of the galaxy, known among humans as one of the most compatible species for reproduction, as well as wayward explorers leading brave expeditions into the unknown. Then again, it wasn't her species that bugged her...

But rather her demeanor. She was way too calm for someone who had, from the looks of it, just escaped an insectoid creature bent on devouring any intruders to its territory. Even worse, she displayed some surprise at 'Terrans being here'... didn't she notice the massive EMP field blanketing the entirety of the upper atmosphere? Julianna's brain was starting to run at a million miles an hour, mixing her already built-up stress and panic from her crash-landing with a level of disbelief at what was unfolding before her.

The girl was wordless as the half-human, half-Pirphal went about her business as though she weren't there, treating this whole situation as though they had merely bumped into one another at a tourist attraction. Wait, was she a tourist to her? With a freaking robot in tow and a bandage wrapped around her head doused in fresh blood?!

Okay, maybe she needed to slow down a bit.

Little by little, she helped herself get back on her feet, head spinning for a brief moment thanks to her concussion. Once she was more or less stable, she turned to see the girl pulling out a tent-like bag, filled to the brim with supplies, and then what was likely a scouting drone to hover about and collect not only water, but information on their surroundings. TB approached her, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder, but she gestured for her companion to remain where it was and let her take the helm of... whatever negotiation was needed to straighten things out with this mysterious stranger.

Clearing her throat, she opened her mouth to speak... then hesitated, instead faking a cough to make things a little less awkward between them.

"I believe the situation calls for a mediator." TB's voice droned suddenly, breaking the tenuous silence. "I am a custom-built engineering robot, designation TB-01. My manufacturer is Julianna Pontes, the woman standing before you."

Oh, she wasn't expecting him to go ahead and make introductions.

She could feel her cheeks burning already, but diving into the water had done no wonders to her concussion, and thus all she could muster was a sluggish gesture. "What he means is, um... I'm Julianna, and he's Tee-Bee." The girl gave a small, weak smile, one that swiftly twisted into a grimace as her skull swelled with pain. "Ugh... so... I don't really know how to say this, and I don't mean to rope you into anything but..."

There was a pause, another deep breath, and she spent the next moment rubbing her temple in hopes of making the pulsing ache go away. God, it was hard to focus like this...

"Do you live here? Or... say, didn't you go through the EMP field on the atmosphere?" It was a bit much to drop on the shoulders of a total stranger after crash-landing into an unknown planet, of course, but she needed some sort of answer. This woman wouldn't be literally setting camp if she knew there was no way out, right? But what if she had a way out...? "I know it sounds like a bunch of balooney but, how...? This was marked for the SS Equador's recon team to explore and..."

Yeah, her head wasn't cooperating. Maybe diving into the pond after her brain got slammed into every possible angle of her skull wasn't such a good idea. The pain pulsated harder this time, blocking off her train of thought and making her head spin once more. Groaning, Julianna stumbled about before her arms reached towards TB for support, who gently laid her back down on the grassy surface.

"Evidence shows that you have suffered a mild concussion from the crash-landing. Recommendation: lay down and avoid any extenuating activities. I shall take over negotiations and seek appropriate shelter afterwards." TB-'s voice was soothing enough, though Julianna couldn't help but to close her eyes, teeth gritted as she tried to while away the aching in her head.

The robot turned to the woman, its lenses flickering. "Greetings. I apologize for the occurrence, but can guarantee you that my companion is safe. If you would be willing, an exchange of information regarding your arrival on this planet would be greatly appreciated."

 

[femslasher]

She opened her mouth a few times, almost answering but waiting some more.

The Earthling was slurring her words a fair bit, as well as swaying side by side. It made perfect sense when the android diagnosed her with a mild concussion and insisted on laying her down to rest. She had been rather hard to hear over the wind and the many noises of the flower forest, and it was a relief to instead deal with the level-headed android and its perfect pronunciation. It would've been a chaotic, and emotionally loaded, conversation otherwise. Talking to this TB... whatever the numbers attached to the name was, was soothing in comparison to the conversations she had with customers and diplomats the past few weeks. It was matter-of-fact and logic-based. You could sense some advanced artificial intelligence behind those flickering bot eyes and the way it talked showed a certain degree of artificial emotional attachment to the woman. She did have a soft spot for robots advanced enough to feel things and make empathy-based decisions, even if it was a synthetic process. It was one of the best miracles of science. And the worst part of it, she often debated with her tech-obsessed cousins, was making mechanical objects humanoid and giving them a sense of self, a sense of feeling, enough to be comparable to human lives, coding an A.I. into them, yet still expecting them to service its makers. What a complex dynamic. It played with morality in a very existential way that Erikia's brain was not ready to delve into. And, at the moment, it entertained her enough to indulge this stranger's plea. She had plenty of dull hours stuck on the shuttle, and then even duller hours stuck entangled in vines. Talking to an android was a bit amusing. Enough to stay for another twenty minutes or so, as her bots flew about.

It ─ they, he, she? Do androids choose themselves how to be referred to? Do their makers? Are they still simply an it? ─ was of course requesting an exchange of information, something to be expected with her impulsive arrival onto their camping ground. She truly wasn't the type to socialize too much or reveal her whereabouts and her plans on these X trips; you never truly knew who was friendly, and who wanted to know where your shuttle was only so they could deactivate your systems' invisibility cloak device and take off into space. Heck, more than once aliens had played coy with bandages wrapped on their heads, only for her to be knocked out and wake up gasping with her bag and her bug bot stolen. She swore that people visiting were getting less and less mature as the years went by... it was turning into an immature game of laser tag, a game that she did not have the patience to entertain this week. The knowledge that androids rarely participated in such tricks brought down some of her defenses. Perhaps that was a sort of lawful culture among androids. Having a mechanical "brain" that ran analytics, after all, tended to prioritize rational choices based in how high or low a percentage of risk was. Jumping on a random traveler to steal, for the off chance she may have good resources and wouldn't take them on in a fight, wouldn't be a typical behavior of choice for mechanical people. Erikia knew that much. So, then, she would give it the benefit of the doubt in these circumstances. Give it her basic story, and let them both run off into the sunset without further troubles.

"Alright then, mister android." Why was it, again, that masculine terms were the default, when it came to machines? Another topic to discuss with her cousins someday. She gave a neutral smile, to show good faith. "I'm your average XCP explorer, and this," she waved at their surroundings, "is just another planet on my list. I stay for a week somewhere every month or two." She sat down by the red river and scooped up some water in the palm hand, watching as even then it emits a puff of similarly colored smoke. Without any heat or toxic effect. How odd. How entertaining! "I had to leave my shuttle behind and use an evacuation vessel to make it. Hence why, if there is any EMP field, it didn't notice me." She turned around to meet TB's eyes. Took a pause, a breath. "I'm not here to babysit other travelers, or to guide you two around." She needed to be firm on this one, to ensure she had some guaranteed personal space.

Still, despite herself, her extroverted Terran habits were hard to ignore. She needed to soften the blow.

"But," her voice softened a bit, "I ain't heartless. And if there's anything I own that you absolutely, and I do mean absolutely need, ask me before I leave."

Erikia felt an unavoidable pang of guilt at wanting to leave such a vulnerable duo out in the wilderness. This Julianna woman had clearly not done well so far on the grounds of this XCP. And an android, even one with such strong defensive technology and diverse skillsets, wouldn't necessarily keep her afloat for longer than a few days either. Androids as beings were like space shuttles; they could get their systems fried, be deactivated by some foreign technology, or require replacement parts. It was the equivalent of knife wounds or a head injury in humans. And much harder to find help for, out here in nature.

Still, she didn't know much more than they did about this planet. She was very knowledgeable about general survival, sure, but she couldn't prevent any surprises this planet had in store for them or teach them where to go for such and such necessities. She simply wanted to find her own private shelter to settle down in, and relax while watching the greenery. Maybe have her bots test out a few native fruits on edibility, and munch on a snack before the sky went dark.

If these two fools expected too much of her, well, they would be sorely disappointed. With the endless long work hours under her belt, her stress levels in dire need of a break, and all the extraordinary efforts she put in to finally make it here, she wasn't going to assist a team of fumbling survivors on a whim without getting something out of it. And boy would it have to be something exceptionally good to get her to stay another hour being talked at... with her vacation time slowly running out, a migraine beginning to settle in, and the terrain getting more dangerous each hour she was travelling without shelter.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna had settled nicely on the patch of grass, weakly dragging a large enough rock nearby to keep her head up and help with her circulation. The concussion made everything near impossible to focus on: her head spun at random intervals, her sight grew blurry out of nowhere, and her thoughts were too slippery to grasp. The only thing that persisted - aside from the pulsing pain and the nausea, of course - was her mounting concern. How would she get out of this one? Sure, she was still conscious enough to retrace her steps back to the ship... but her food supply would only last her for so long, and this one explorer they came across didn't seem too keen on comprehending the gravity of the situation.

TB's lenses flickered as they always did as the stranger introduced herself. Julianna angled her head on that little rock so she could better watch what she was doing; crouching next to the lake and scooping water, all while explaining that she was an explorer who spent around a week or two in these uncharted planets for the sake of... discovery? Relaxation? Wasn't she the tourist, in that case? Of course, the girl would never have the courage to call out a complete stranger despite their dreary situation, but her head swelled with irritation alongside the persisting headache. Was this just a game to her? Just another hobby?

"Wait, so..." She tried to sit up, but was interrupted by a sharp jolt of pain and instead returned to her original position. She mentioned how she left her shuttle in orbit and came in through an escape vessel. How did she plan to even get back? "You're... here for the sake of it?"

"Please, refrain from any extenuating activity." TB droned in, holding a hand towards Julianna to keep her seated. The girl huffed but complied, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her gaze to the leaves above. "I shall continue negotiations in your stead."

TB continued to listen to the stranger's short words. There was some barely concealed urgency in her tone, and from the looks of it, she didn't intend to talk to them for much longer. This only served to aggravate Julianna further, but the robot remained neutral, clasping its metallic hands together in a respectful stance.

"You do not owe us anything, given our status as unlikely acquaintances." It reiterated. "However, I am afraid you have yet to comprehend the scope of the situation. While further research is necessary, the EMP field which struck down the vessel through which Julianna and I arrived here is seemingly strong enough to severely damage the electrical systems of even the largest vessels fielded by the space-faring civilizations of our current time."

A pause. Its intonation betrayed the weight of their problem, making it seem as though it were merely stating widely known facts to this stranger. "While I can assure you it is not within our interests to bother you and your planned activities, as long as the field remains active and we are in possession of a working vessel capable of space flight... we are essentially trapped in this planet."

Julianna huffed once more, bringing a hand to rub her temples, perhaps hoping that her annoyance could be soothed through mere massage. "Look..." She piped up, closing her eyes for a moment. "My ship was fried... the second we breached the atmosphere. Banged my head pretty bad when we crashed, ship's pretty much a goner unless we can haul it to some... agh..." Another jolt of pain, but this time she seemed intent on speaking. "Some high-level workshop. I... we are pretty much stuck in here. God, this was such a stupid idea..."

She sunk into the patch of grass a little, hand over her eyes in shame. She had one shot to prove herself, one shot to potentially aid in humanity's plight... and now there she was, stranded on an alien planet with a banged up brain and a faulty ship.

 

[femslasher]

The woman's question didn't irk her so much as tire her out.

It was actually very common for young adults to travel around on XCPs "for the sake of it." Not that this stranger seemed to know much about outer space norms.

By the look on the woman's face and the tone used by the android, they hadn't ran across obstacles like EMP fields before on explorations. Although they weren't particularly common, especially one so damaging to a ship's systems, Erikia had more than once disarmed one to get off a planet, after a clumsy arrival on it. It took a good few hours once she got her hands on the EMP source, usually playing with wires and buttons with the assistance of a bug bot, but as long as you found the source it was as easy as pie. Or, at least, as easy as making pie while the house is on fire and alien fauna is trying to nibble at it.

Her metaphors tended to get out of hand, but her point was still standing.

"I hear you. I hear your worries. But it's not my first rodeo with such a thing, far from it." She sat next to the woman, to keep her from needing to raise her aching head again and again to maintain eye contact. "A week is more than enough for me to find the EMP source, disarm it, and get back to my shuttle. If you survive by then, well... you're welcome in advance." She sighed as a breeze gently brushed her hair quills. How could these people be so full of anxiety on a planet as green, as beautiful, and as full of life as this? They needed a class on relaxation. And in survival, she thought to herself, looking at the sorry sight on the rock holding her head. Although she was sure the android did all the protocols for a concussion, and clearly seemed caring towards her, they were in dangerous territory. An injured Terran near a water source was a snack ready to be chewed by any and all creatures living here. Even the android's protection couldn't help if they were assaulted on all sides, or by the looming flora. They hadn't seen much of the territory yet, she presumed. They didn't even know of the buildings nearby.

Now came her moment to flip a coin, and decide whether she should mention these buildings. Her safe haven, her shelter.

Ah, screw it. "There is shelter, from where that spider came from. Buildings. Encircled by potentially carnivorous plant life, but I'm planning to either jump from above it with my bug bot, or find a way to slice through it. I'll bet you some snack bars that the source of the EMP is in there. Then you can fly off, and I can enjoy my vacation in peace... no offense," she added, with a genuine (if small) smile. "I have two... well, more like three full-time jobs. These weeks of freedom are my oasis, y'know? And I'm not alone in that. There are many like me out there hunting for XCPs. Xplorers, if you will."

As if to prove her point, the sky changed hues as the two rings crossed in an X that encircled the planet rotated. The red-pink sky had flickers of yellow and orange, red smoke working as clouds among it. Flying giant insects, some similar to the moth-like creatures, flew past as birds would on Terra. It took her breath away for a moment, as XCPs tended to... they were abandoned, yes, but always had some hidden beauty. It was a humbling feeling, to know you may very well be the only one to have set foot on a gorgeous planet in centuries. It made you feel bigger than a galaxy. Worthy of the sight.

"I said more than I usually do. You," she gestured at Julianna and TB, "on the other hand, must have some pretty special reason for being here." There was an air of gravity around them both, and the huff Julianna kept throwing her way meant she had some much bigger plans than Erikia. No one could judge her for indulging her curiosity in a moment like this. They had interrogated her more than she had ever allowed a stranger on an XCP to, and she had actually given answers.

Her bug bot came beeping at her, full of goodies collected nearby that it tested for edibility. She had hoped to eat once she reached the buildings, but obviously she was running late on time with this unexpected social event. She pressed its latch and two fruits came out. They were odd-shaped, as they usually are on XCPs. Swirly and orange, like the top of an ice cream cone. She put the other on the rock next to Julianna's head, as a peace offering. As much as she tended to let loose on her exploration journeys, and no matter how hurried she was in getting her alone time, her father raised her right. Sharing is caring, or so she was told over and over again as a rambunctious child. She didn't want to make enemies if she didn't need to, although she didn't particularly like this woman quite yet. All her furrowed eyebrows and huffing risked putting a damper on her oasis mindset, and that was the last thing Erikia needed.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice, but then she had to stop because forcing herself to do it was actually making her headache worse. She wouldn't throw around assumptions, even in her own head, but the girl before her was slightly patronizing. Sure, she was a complete beginner to this save for her perfect attendance to survival classes, but these were all in simulations and controlled environments. Plus, while some scenarios did account for landing accidents, none prepared her for what was likely a closed off planet, with a concussion to boot. Damn, she was getting stressed already...

Their situation was so discrepant that it left her head spinning just thinking of it. Here she was, potentially earning a lengthy spell in prison - if she ever makes it back, of course - or an untimely death by either exposure, intoxication or mauling by some unknown predator... and this woman carried herself with grace and tranquility, as though it was nothing more than routine slightly inconvenienced by a rock in her path. She resorted to listening for the time being, about how she'd find the EMP within a week, about how she was experienced in this, and so did TB, still as a statue, but alert nonetheless.

The mention of shelter had Julianna paying attention once more. There were structures here? Ones with operating machinery? This made things far too complicated, and the more she thought of it, the more her list of offenses to the Human Exploration Doctrine grew. It was a conscious effort to not break down in desperation right there. One deep breath, then another, and little by little she staved off a potential event of hyperventilation, even if by a short margin.

TB remained adamant, however, as expected of its fearless disposition, and looked ready to explain what their objective there was. It was but an equal exchange of information, after all, as the robot had proposed earlier.

"Tee Bee, it's alright... lemme explain." Her mouth was flooded with the sour taste of adrenaline, eyes dropping to her stretched legs in shame. She cleared her throat, then held her head a little higher, still avoiding any eye contact.

"I'm not just some tourist... I'm part of the SS Equador, you know, humanity's last, best hopes in the shape of big ships?" She paused to draw in a breath, her head swaying a little. A hand patted over her chest, where, on her smudged jumpsuit, was a small embroidered piece with her initials and her last name. "Part of the Engineering division. Yeah, I know, the whole terraforming thing is the Biology crew's job, but..." She lowered her volume a little, cheeks blossoming with shame. "I just had to do something. The heads of science and recon up there are all useless bastards, we passed so many promising worlds on our journey without even as much as landing on them..."

TB approached her, slowly, and set a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There is no need explain everything, your concussion--"

"Yes, Tee Bee, thanks... I can take this..." Julianna gave a small smile and patted its arm reassuringly so it moved back. Her expression grew distant now. "And... this one was just too good. Ratings off the charts, scans like nothing we had ever seen. But I knew they'd just send a small crew to collect flora samples at most... and here I am."

She threw her arms out for a moment, shamefully giggling to herself. "I... don't mean to be a bummer, but... ugh, I can't just see this as a vacation. This planet has something that can help Earth, and we had the scans to prove it. And... I obviously won't rope you into this..."

Julianna flopped back down, careful not to just slam her head back on the rock. She looked defeated, arms deflating to her side. "Sorry, I just... I don't know what to do. Don't mean to be a woobie and, like, ruin your time off, but..." Her head was a maelstrom of shame, fear, disappointment, a mixture so debilitating that it all culminated in her current state of lethargy. "It's all just pathetic, I guess."

 

[femslasher]

"SS Equador, huh..." Erikia gave a heavy sigh, thinking of their grim reputation in her social circles. "I hear they can keep people for their entire lives on there, never setting foot on a planet." She shook her head, shivering in metaphorical goosebumps. "Scary."

How unnatural, treating Terrans like working livestock. Still, everyone had to admire their resolve to save Terra.

Terrans weren't the only species with thousands of explorers living and dying on a ship, working 24/7 to keep the search for resources going. All to keep their native planet alive, with hopes of repopulating it someday... no wonder this girl was so stuck in her own ways, having lived her life with a never-ending schedule, breathing in the stuffy ship oxygen day in and day out. The ambiance on such a goal-oriented living space, having your life structured down to how many minutes you took eating or showering, would choke out all creativity from even the most intelligent minds. Erikia had visited the SS Equador, once or twice, alongside other diplomats to negotiate Terra's goals for survival. But her father, who actually had friends on the flying thing, always warned her they were lucky for their freedom on the Moon base. That, often, if you didn't have a business or a family you were pressured by top Terran officials into joining 30+ years-long missions on a research ship. That people expecting a child even opted to have that child raised on the research ship, putting the planet-restoring efforts over their own child's mental (and often physical) health. It was a strange mirror world, that Erikia or her family never got to see.

She was only half-Terran as well, something she always saw as a privilege ─ most full-blooded Pirphals never saw space, with the culture insisting they stay on the planet their whole lives ─ but she never thought of the other side of that coin. How full Terrans also had their own customs. And instead of being "stuck" on a gorgeous planet full of life, with people like you, bettering the community... you were on a ship with grey walls, bland food, working from a young age, endless laws to abide by, unable to wrap your mind around how restricted life on there is to outsiders looking in. Only a special few ─ the Biology crew, from the sound of it ─ were ever allowed to explore and test out potential planets.

While it was admirable for large groups of people to do the upmost for, as Julianna put it, "humanity's last, best hopes" it still left a bad taste in her mouth that life was so restrained. This must have been the only time in over 20 years Julianna made her own decisions. Erikia now knew she should show more patience to these strangers. Forgive a few mishaps, both social mishaps and survival mishaps. They were both extremely smart, no doubt about it, being in the Engineering division and whatnot. But out here in the real world they were as naive as newborns. Even the android's extensive programming didn't exactly mean it had the experience needed to really put that programming to good use, and upgrade itself from real-life mistakes. Her own bug bots had more real-life experience than TB did.

"I've never run into one of you on an XCP before. Planet-restoration officers, I mean... I would think such a ship would stop on every XCP to test it. I lost count of the amount of breathable, survivable abandoned planets I've been on. It's why they're an oasis to me, y'know?" That managed to puzzle her. "If your scans are right, then this is phenomenal news. They couldn't jail you for saving Terra, could they?" She means it in jest, yet at this point she didn't know how to feel about Terran customs in outer space anymore.

No wonder someone as passionate as Julianna seemed about the restoration project would try to take things into her own hands. Although many would have expected the endless years following orders and being taught what to think and feel would have brainwashed her into... ah, Erikia was being rather bitter there, wasn't she. One shouldn't assume that someone on SS Equador was doing so against their will, or that the entire ship was just one big jail cell with undertones of a cult. Still, thinking of it made her rather uneasy. What secrets were the higher-ups keeping? If they were so honest, Julianna would have asked them outright and gotten a reasonable explanation on why they were skipping on so many XCPs open for resource gathering. Or even as a temporary home for these Terran souls lost out into space, travelling endlessly.

"By the by, you're no woobie, I assure you." Erikia reassured her, a laugh escaping her at the word. "Well, maybe a teeny," she stretched the word comically as she put her fingers together, barely touching, "tiny little bit." With a smirk, she bit into the fruit. It tasted almost like caramel, with a bit of a berry taste. Delicious.

At least she now knew more about these strangers, enough that it wouldn't be too bothersome if they bypassed each-other on the planet.

As she had this indulgent thought, the ground beneath them trembled as an excruciatingly high-pitched noise made the tree-like flowers curl up. Many flying insects twisted up in the air in surprise, and frantically began flying away from it. From what, she had no clue. She could see what appeared to be blueish electrical zaps in the distance... either huge ones, or very far away ones. Or both. As it happened, she heard heavy steps all around the lake as giant insects on the ground migrated in distress. They had already tempted their fate by staying here this long. If alone, she would have found high ground and set up traps, camouflaged as she made way to her potential shelter. She couldn't blame these newcomers too much, but they were in even more danger than she was, with their limited experience.

"Never stay at a water source too long. Sorry to cut your recovery short, Julianna, but we need to get out of here and find higher grounds. Fast." Her bug bot flashed in red light, sensing the danger. She wasn't sure whether to go towards the sound, or away from it, but the latter sounded smarter until they knew what it came from. Dismissing her previous plan to break up the little group as fast as possible, she pointed at TB. "Either carry her, or make her move."

She didn't have time to put it in more polite terms, nor to address the concussed woman. They could be trampled, or worse, at any moment.

"The forest gets heavier this way, which is great cover," she said, pointing to the other side of the river. It wouldn't be too difficult to cross, not being too deep. They would be running further and further from the buildings, which was disappointing... although not as disappointing as dying. If the planet's fauna was running away from it and shocked by it, then it was either an unusual event or a dangerous natural phenomenon they had learned to avoid. She gathered the last few objects she scattered around, and the bug bot collected them into its inventory. "We'll find somewhere hidden to let Julianna rest, and I'll go further to secure the parameter." She gestured towards the river. There was hurry in her voice, but no panic yet ─ if they followed the steps soon enough they would be out of danger.

This is what always happens, she thought, thinking of all the moments she let her guard down on these explorations or talked a bit too long with fellow explorers.

At least the journey wasn't boring any longer.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna could only give deflated, dismissive gestures when she mentioned the ship should be stopping at every possible planet to look for clues. She thought that too, at the height of her naivety and innocence; that her superiors were intelligent and selfless, diligent and always striving to a brighter future for humanity. But time turned her prospects into pure bitterness, seeing her projects be thrown aside for useless trinkets and merely commercial products. Science on the SS Equador had been taken hostage by trademark commercialization, all for the sake of profit. What would it matter to the higher ups in the end, if the Earth just became a lifeless husk? They'd have their comfy lives on the ships, a good spot reserved in the colonies... as long as their stuffy backsides were comfortable, nothing else mattered.

She was brought back to reality, however, when the woman mentioned that she wouldn't be jailed for it. Oh, how she wished that were true. She had seen others drown in fines and debts for things far, far lesser than what she was doing. In their eyes, this whole operation was a mutiny of the highest order. Still, there was a ghostly smile on her lips at the mention of her being a tiny bit of a bummer, even if it was immediately replaced by the dread of her situation.

Yet, this world wouldn't allow them respite. The ground shook beneath them, and an ear-piercing shriek assaulted her ears hard enough to worsen her headache. Something was coming, and it was coming fast; she could see the insects brushing past the edges of the clearing they were in, their skittering limbs tearing through whatever could be found in their way. They weren't coming for them... but instead fleeing something. TB-01 already stood up straight, head spinning around its neck axis as it searched for the cause of this mass flight, finding nothing in return.

The woman didn't need to tell them twice to move. Julianna stretched her arms outwards and TB collected her with ease, helping her latch herself onto its steely back. With her head rested against its shoulder, she could at least keep herself from bobbing too much when they started moving out.

"Understood." TB droned, its head spinning sporadically as it ran scans of the surface around the lake. The river, as pointed by their unlikely companion, was perhaps the safest spot to follow through, leading them towards a clearing to their right with enough shelter from a formation of boulders. "We shall take the path along this river and move to the right on my mark."

And without much warning, TB took off at a steady pace. By watching it, it was easy to tell that the robot was finely crafted: each of its sections could be moved independent to the other, allowing its torso to remain mostly free of movement and keep Julianna's head from worsening her concussion. The path was a simple one, with naught but a few rocks dotting the stream's edges and a number of colorful bushes spread about. The further they went, the more distant the stampeding insects grew until eventually there was nothing but the whispers of a breeze coursing through the gigantic plants of the forest.

Stopping on its tracks, TB turned to check if the woman was still following them. "To our right, my scans have showed an outcropping of rocks. The area has few vegetation for visual cover, but the eroded surface should provide good shelter from the weather and any predators."

"Tee Bee..." Julianna piped up, voice still weak. "We should... get the food from the ship... and my tools too..."

"Task scheduled. Taking you to safety, however, is my biggest priority at the moment."

The girl simply clung closer to her companion's shell, gathering what little strength remained in her to peek over its shoulder. TB was on the move again, this time slowing down to a brisk walk, and she could see the spot he had pointed to: the base of a rather large hill where years of erosion had likely worn the ground till rocky formations were exposed to the surface. The rocks, of a pale, marble-like color were coated in green moss, and a number of fissures likely led to either a cave system or small refuges, perfect for them to take shelter in for the moment. Once the scans showed no signs of approaching wildlife, TB gently lowered Julianna onto her feet, and the girl stumbled for a moment till she found her balance again.

Turning to the woman, the robot flickered its lenses in acknowledgement of her presence. "This location likely fits the description of your suggestion for shelter. If you are willing to reconnoitre the surrounding area, I shall swiftly retrieve useful items from the crash site."

 

[femslasher]

She breathed out in relief as the group's footsteps slowed and all three reached safe shelter. As safe as it could be, out here in the wilderness, anyhow.

"Got it." Despite her final tone, she couldn't help hovering for a few seconds longer. "Sorry about your head," Erikia cringed in sympathy at Julianna. All the sudden moving and loud noises definitely did not do that nasty concussion any good. As mild as it was, Erikia knew first-hand how debilitating it could be. She put down her deactivated bug bot next to Julianna.

She left with a nod to map out the surrounding area. If she was alone, the mystery of the situation would keep her bubbly and light on her feet. As if was, she stomped her way through the flower trees, hiding behind mossy rocks each time she came too close to an insectoid scurrying by. She couldn't help the instinctual habit of caring for the injured or the lost. She was reluctant and a bit resentful, yes, but she was reaching some form of acceptance. She would give these strangers a few days of her life to ensure they weren't about to get their heads bit off ─ as difficult as the android's head would be to chew ─ before moving onwards with her own journey. If anything, she could add another week to her vacation and come in to work late for the first time in years. Blame it on a life-threatening emergency or some other moronic lie.

She yelped as vines tried to curl around her left ankle. Okay, maybe it wouldn't be a lie.

She was ready to stomp it out before making the disturbing discovery that the "vine" was, in fact, coming from a creature sniffing at her. Her blood froze in her veins as she slowly looked up. The sight wasn't as upsetting as she thought it would be, although far from pretty ─ it was adjacent to a hermit crab and its mouth was dripping with saliva, its head tilting with curiosity at her. "Not again," she told herself, kicking at it. Uselessly, considering it had already retracted its... arm? Leg? Tentacle? She wasn't all too knowledgeable on what to call it, but it leaned away from her. As if to give her space.

It made a noise akin to whining. Erikia realized it was trapped in a net.

How odd... was the net left by a previous explorer? It couldn't be left by the native civilization. It would have gone weak with age, if it was. This creature was rocking back and forth as much as it could while entangled in the cords, and its legs tried to weakly reach at whatever they could. It must have been trapped there for long enough to grow hungry and tired. Fine by me, she thought, turning her back to it. One less enemy to worry about.

The creature whined once more.

Damn this Terran heart of hers. As much as she tried to convince herself this wasn't some space puppy with its leash tangled in need of a treat, her legs were already moving against her own will to cut the rope tied around the nearby flower tree, a dandelion-like flower that moved with the wind far above Erikia's head. The rope was heavier than she thought and she had to push her foot on the tree to get traction enough to slice through it. Sweat built on her forehead.

She made a noise of victory as the net detached and fell on the ground in a heavy thunk. But as she looked up, an odd sight awaited her.

The net fell... through the creature, as if glitched through. The creature was still hanging up high, despite the net having been undone. In fact, now that she took enough steps away from it, she realizes it was never the net that trapped it up there. The angle she had watched it from had made it appear as such, but it was simply sitting on a branch above where the net had been stuck. It kept whining, on and on, looking around as if seeing through her.

It wasn't long before she heard another creature stomping near and hid behind a large berry shrub with a gasp. The insect from earlier? It was huge, many legs making a ruckus on the forest floor as it circled the tree where she found the other creature. As she risked a glance away from her cover, she saw it take a huge fruit in its mouth and throw it at the creature. Its... baby, Erikia belatedly realized. Well, that explains that.

Still, the previous view of a physical object phasing through that creature still made her eyes squint in confusion.

She didn't stick around much longer, inspecting the surroundings as told to do. Outside of the area full of berry shrubs where the mother and child duo were, there was another area with rocky terrain. The rocks were covered in colorful moss and were of varying heights, some as high as the flower trees. On the other side, there was the tallest grass she had ever seen, with flying insectoids buzzing over it as if on patrol.

She snuck out back towards Julianna's shelter. She didn't see any more stampeding insectoids on her way back.

"We are in an interesting spot, to say the least," she announced to the resting woman. TB was nowhere to be seen yet. "There's a mother insect and her baby to the right, with berry bushes. To the left, tall grass. Straight ahead is all mossy rocks, for miles and miles."

Her finger reactivated her bug bot. "Water, ladybug." A cup fell roughly into her open hands, and water came rushing down from the bot's reserves. It filled up her glass just fine, splashing everywhere ─ including on Julianna's legs ─ in the process. "Whoops! Bad bot." The bot made a noise and went off patrolling for more nearby resources. She smiled apologetically and handed Julianna the water cup as a peace offering. Hydration might help deal with this whole mess.

Peace offerings... she would need many more of those, she expected. They both were not used to such circumstances. Her with having troubles on an XCP, and Julianna with surviving on an actual planet. And with the strange events going on, there was no doubt that she, Julianna, and TB needed to be as friendly as possible while they were still a group. For survival's sake. And sanity's sake.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna could barely give a pained smile in return for the half-Pirphal's sympathy. As much as she wanted to set things straight, maybe even set a plan in course for them, her mind was much too burdened by the concussion to even think properly, and thus the woman settled underneath the rocky formation. The coolness of the stony, uneven walls and the lack of sunlight glaring down on her were welcome prospects in this tropical region sweating under a summer-like heat; one moment later, she moved to lay down, her bag used as a pillow to support her head. Naught but lazy moans and grunts came from her, confirming TB's task of retrieving their belongings with a thumbs up.

She heard the footsteps growing distant and more distant, until she was left with nothing but the rustling of the leaves around. There was no peace, still. After all, what was she to do? She and TB had brokered some help with this mysterious traveler, yes, and her experience would likely prove invaluable to them... yet, everything remained murky, uncertain. Julianna huffed, head heavy not only with pain but also the concerns of what awaited her. And even in the shade of their refuge, the heat irritated her, prompting her to unzip the upper part of her jumpsuit, peeling it down to her waist so she could enjoy the coolness of her Equador Engineering team t-shirt underneath.

For once, however, she leaned into her exhaustion. Little by little, her conscience escaped her, as did her thoughts, growing harder and harder to grasp. She was lulled into a gentle sleep, finding much needed comfort as she slipped into a dreamless rest. Julianna had no idea for how long she slept, only that she was brought back to her senses by the Pirphal's voice, waking up with a jolt and with a surprised look on her face. Admittedly, she missed whatever the woman had said at first, but the following words were clear to her.

Julianna glanced around - as much as she could, with stone flanking the edges of the natural shelter - and nodded, seemingly still slow from her nap. The offer of water, however, perked her up a little, and she couldn't help but giggle as the bot filled the glass a bit too enthusiastically and showered her boots with the overflow. "It's okay, I don't mind." She said, weakly, accepting the cup with care and following with a nod. "Thanks, really."

Sitting up, the girl gulped down the glass in a matter of seconds, seemingly still parched despite their stop for a drink not an hour earlier. It helped clear her mind a little, and by the time she was done, she sighed contently and set the cup aside, stretching her legs far and planting her hands on the ground to prop herself up against a wall. Apparently, TB still had to return from its trip. Oh well.

"I..." She didn't know what to say. Where to begin, even? She was, of course, far less exasperated and desperate than earlier, but now she had her own awkwardness to deal with. A fiddle here, a thrown glance there, and she finally settled on something to converse about. "Thanks. For, y'know, sticking about. And sorry if I was a bit, um, harsh back there... didn't mean to come off as a hard ass."

Still, she couldn't be all bummers and apologies, right? She had to stretch a helping hand, throw a suggestion of sorts; she wasn't an engineer on one of humanity's most prestigious exploration ships for nothing, after all! Even if this situation was completely out of her playing field, she still had some dignity.

"But, I... suppose we could wait for TB to come back. I packed some food in my belongings. We could have a brief snack, get our energy up, set a plan... maybe?" She glanced about, eyes bouncing from spot to spot uncertainly. Admittedly, Julianna was stepping on eggshells, as she often did when working outside of her expertise. Add in the fact that this was a total stranger, and it was a surprise that she didn't just clam up and take up whatever this traveler suggested just for the sake of avoiding confrontation.

Last thing she needed out here was for a fight to break out, after all.

 

[femslasher]

Being around Terrans wasn't uncomfortable, but it was definitely odd.

She was used to her father's Terran antics, yes. but seeing foreign Terrans in the wild was a completely different experience.

Being treated more Pirphal than Terran due to her appearance meant she subconsciously separated herself from Terrans when she encountered them. This Terran seemed especially predictable. Stubborn, easily confused, slow to act, and not very resilient. All traits she saw in her family. Except this time, there wasn't any familiarity to make the traits particularly endearing. She was patient with this woman and didn't think badly of her. But being with foreign Terrans filled her with a certain antsy feeling. As if she was overstimulated by it. Being with Pirphals, or her Terran family, was much more comfortable.

Erikia couldn't help letting out a startled laugh at the term used. "Haven't heard my father use that term before. How entertaining." She sat on a neighboring rock, her legs crossing at the ankles, her quills moving slightly in the wind. "I don't hold it against you. But I do appreciate you not being a," she looked slightly upwards, as if looking for the word, "hard ass anymore." She nodded, a friendly gesture on Pirpha.

Strange sounds came from two different directions, one a wheezing-like buzzing noise, the other as if water was flowing. They sounded too far away to bring worry on her mind, perhaps it was simply a weather event... but it still made her breaths quiet down and her body tense up. "This planet is only getting stranger and stranger. I wonder how deep the mystery goes." A small insect ran across her finger, and she watched as it vibrated, and its holographic body zapped away, only to reappear on her wrist. She tried to flick it away but her hand went right through. "Hopefully we won't stay long enough to find out."

Before Julianna could answer her musings, the now familiar sound of Julianna's android came from behind her. She didn't bother glancing behind her, but he walked up to Julianna and dropped more items than Erikia was expecting.

"You had quite the treasure packed back there. No wonder you wanted it back." Medical items, tools, a small but not negligible amount of preserved food... not bad. "I wouldn't say no to a snack or two. I would've tested the natural food around here," she gestured to the tall tree-like flowers, the odd insects, and other fauna surrounding them, "but I would have risked my tongue if I tried. My bots are not programmed well enough to detect safe foods from toxic ones yet." She kept meaning to bring them to one of her cousins for repairs, but one thing always led to another and before she knew it, it was 5 months later and she was still up to her neck in work to do, no time left for her bug bots or other hobbies.

When she left she hadn't mind having slightly outdated technology, as long as she got out of there into the vastness of space. But this place made her regret not having brought better tools and better bots, what with the humongous insectoids roaming about and surreal glitches all over the place.

She found herself getting chattier than usual; perhaps the adrenaline from escaping danger made her giddy. "You know, Julianna," her mouth strained around the unfamiliar Terran name, "I rarely see Terrans out in the wild. You seem right out one of those of a sci-fi VR movies." Her younger relatives had put their virtual reality headset on her without asking many times, where she saw larger-than-life Terrans with huge laser guns fighting cyber-galactic wars, trying to protect the Earth. The games were relics, but still enjoyed by many Terran children. Older Terrans found them more depressing than anything. "Usually during these adventures of mine my father is the only Terran for miles and miles. And I sure don't look like one." She touched and twirled a few of her quills, as if to prove her point.

She watched as the two dug through their possessions in search of food, taking stock of everything. "What is so special about this planet? Are you planning to bring all Terrans to live here?" She chuckled at herself, trying to picture Terrans running about on this chaotic planet. "Or... is there some miracle cure? It's hard to believe. The Earth has been as good as dead for so long."

Her eyes grew distant, as she remembered her father's voice describing how things used to be, years and years ago, when humanity still had a home. He would tell her stories that his great-great-grandfather heard from his father when he was young. It was passed from generation to generation. There was no longing, no hope in his voice, because it was much too long ago. Things had been the way they were for what seemed like forever. He was a Moon dweller now. His entire family were Moon dwellers now. Earth was just a dying rock.

And yet... she eyed the two before her.

These two seemed like such amateurs, out here on an x planet. It was hard to see how they were humanity's best hope. Would they even be able to return to their ship and show their findings to their superiors without being thrown in a jail cell, their magic solution ending up in the trash? What would they do with it? There were so many questions on her tongue as she watched the strangers get comfortable in their temporary shelter. They were such an odd pair, and they seemed closer than most humans with their androids, as if they shared a real friendship. That was also fairly uncommon, or at least uncommon to Erikia... all the androids she saw in the past had a matter-of-fact, master and servant type of role. She felt attached to her bug bots, sure, but friendship was something else.

How odd. She felt vaguely fascinated by the way her journey was unfolding. At least she wouldn't be bored.

 

[PaleAbyss]

Julianna still found herself in too much of a dazed state to properly think at the moment, but resting up under some shade and drinking some water did wonders to her situation. With her back against the rocky wall and some hydration in her system, she was conscious enough to listen to the feathery woman before her, chuckling at her repeating the word 'hard-ass'.

The situation they were in dawned swiftly, though. Unlike a bad dream, dispelled by her waking up in a cold sweat, her ship was still busted, her brain had still been thrown around like a bouncy ball in her skull, and she was still in full breach of her ship's directives. Dreadful as it may be, having this Pirphal about was distracting enough to keep her mind from wandering into a full-fledged panic attack... and so was that weird, holographic bug crawling up the stranger's finger, to which Julianna frowned curiously.

But not too hard. Goddammit, concussions sure were a bitch.

TB-01's return was met with a pleased sigh from Julianna, sitting up a little straighter to check the new items brought over. They were all neatly organized into her travel bag, just a little smaller than the average duffel bag: bandages, some painkillers and basic antibiotics, her pizza box, nutrient bars and a bottle of water. Oh, and of course, her engineering kit: tools from basic wrenches to more complex-looking precision equipment, miraculously undamaged from their rough landing. Tee Bee crouched beside it, voicing out an inventory check. "Thanks, Tee Bee."

With their supplies secured, Julianna relaxed a little more, turning back to the Pirphal just in time to hear her comment about humans. The girl laughed, if only a little sorrowfully. "Ah, well, most of us are clinging to Earth, the others are on the Moon and Mars. The rest of the rest, like me, are on the ships looking for the solution to Earth's salvation."

Her face locked with a mixture of longing and slight anger at the mention of their purpose there, and Earth's situation.

"Not sure what the Pirphals think of it, but the planet has hope. Even if it's slim." A beat, and she sighed. She shouldn't get worked up about this. "Our scans for this planet were like nothing I've ever seen... or well, anything the ship's records have ever seen. So much life, a pitch perfect atmosphere, perfectly distant from its suns despite the whole binary business..."

"In short, our last, best hope is to find enough tools to terraform Earth back to its healthy state. Our current terraforming methods aren't exactly fast enough, and..." She sucked in a breath. "Billions will die if we just keet waiting for Mars to turn green."

As if to rescue her from dwelling on this matter any further, Tee Bee announced the conclusion of its inventory check with a little beep, standing back up straight after organizing the items into the correct spots. It was enough to distract Julianna from the weight of it all, and she glanced up at it with a little smile. "All items accounted for. We should be adequately stocked for the approximate estimate of a week, giving us a considerable time frame to forage and find other sources of nutrition."

"Sounds like we're... solid, I think?" Julianna turned to the Pirphal, wondering just how much she'd be willing to put up with them. "All things considered, I mean. We should probably come up with a plan, though... you mentioned a building not far from here, didn't you?" She asked, tilting her head a little. "Maybe that could be a good pointer, for starters."

 

[femslasher]

She looked down thoughtfully as the Terran talked of hope and death and urgency.

It was rare to meet a Terran with such conviction, who actually thought they still had a chance at healing their planet. Most were moving on with their lives, even just mentally. If they were near Terra it was because they wanted to see it before it fully died, to make peace with it. Every year more of the fauna and flora died and the air toxicity worsened, the water drying up. Most alien species kept far away from it, seeing it as a lost cause. This hopeful woman was intriguing.

Erikia prayed that Julianna's hope didn't die as all the others' did, but a part of her was expecting it to be the case... after all, how could one woman do what thousands of Terrans didn't accomplish in hundreds of years of trying? Still, it wouldn't help to be pessimistic in front of Julianna. She was sure Julianna already knew how insane she sounded.

At the mention of the building, she looked in its direction. "Yes, I agree. That building is our best chance at getting more resources and learning more about this place. It doesn't seem inhabited, but we best be on our guard ─ not all explorers adhere to a code of honor. They could steal all our equipment in a heartbeat, and would expect us to do the same." She was starting to sound like her father, always so cautious. "This lake leads to the left side of the building, so we could follow it. I wasn't able to fight my way through the building's plants but we may have a better chance now. Strength in numbers and all that. Once we go through the building we can set up camp and stay the night there."

She grabbed a snack from an open bag and chewed it as she whistled at her bot, who buzzed its way to her.

"I hope your concussion won't cause trouble? We could stop here for longer, but I don't want to know how this place looks at night. If there even is a night-time on this planet." As if to prove her point, strange noises came from the forest around them. "I could always go up ahead and find better shelter for us, if you need rest..." Despite her offer, she had an inkling that Julianna wasn't the type to let others do things for her. She had rested for a bit, but probably wouldn't want to for much longer. She seemed less sickly than she had the past half hour and her voice was steady.

If Erikia had worked alone, she would already be back at the building by now. Her body was much faster than a Terran's body and she wouldn't have to stop and make a plan; she would have simply worked on instinct. Still, she wasn't complaining. It was nice to not be facing the building's entryway alone. Julianna seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and TB was more complex (and more helpful) than any of her bots. Alone, she would have a much harder time surviving.

Then again, groups attract trouble... her father always insisted she didn't bring a friend along.

Strange lights, colorful lights, came from the direction of the building. They all turned to look at them, but even Erikia didn't have a comment for it. It was, like everything on this island, odd but didn't seem immediately threatening. For a second her heart pounded as she wondered if they really were alone, if perhaps some native culture hadn't survived... but no, X planets were X planets for a reason. There were regular check-ups to make sure the planets were inhabited and various measures were taken to prevent illegal settlements.

She had never experienced anything like this before and for a childish few minutes she got lost in how much she wished her father was here. Yet she was also glad he wasn't, in case things turned dangerous. Her father, despite all his energy, was getting older each year. He didn't need something hurting his back or something worse, and he would be extremely worried if he knew everything strange they had seen. One of his main rules were to get out the second things turned weird. There's no reason to risk it, since there were thousands of X planets and they could go anywhere else. They would simply jump in the ship and leave.

Right now she couldn't do that. And she wasn't using her dad's usual advice either. It was hard to when she had a Terran and an android to entertain.

Holographic bugs crawled around and over her feet and despite not feeling them, she tried to shake them off on instinct. They were less endearing looking than the one she had on her finger. It didn't do anything, of course, and they set on their initial track without any worries. It was a strange feeling, to see something touch you yet not feel it. It was like hugging someone in a dream. The ghost of something that is there yet isn't there. The brain tries to add feeling where there isn't, to make sense of it.

Whatever that building was, it better have answers. Not out of urgency but simply out of curiosity ─ being with people on her vacation proved to be stressful, and the least this X planet could do was give her some mystery, and feed her curiosity. It was one of her favorite things about travelling to these abandoned planets; you got to see the skeleton of them, the remnants of cultures long past. Objects of no value from thousands of years ago, perhaps even millions. The knowledge that any remaining building must have been built out of some fascinatingly sturdy alien materials. The different creatures and plants. The few fellow explorers every now and then, who at times would sit down and share a meal with them and tell them stories. It helped her regain her energy after weeks of excruciating work. It was her oasis.

All she wanted was for this building to give her a good story to tell later, and some useful resources for her newfound group.