Far From Home(Sci fi)(Reboot)(IC)

[Theyra]

OOC

Stuck, trapped, confused, and, more importantly, in an unknown world. The humans found themselves in an unknown world and separated from each other. Unsure of how they came to this world. They must try to survive in this foreign world and find a way to find the rest of the human team. Along with any other unfortunate souls that have found themselves trapped on this world as well. With unknown dangers and some secrets. Can these people work together and find a way off-planet and a way home or will they be stuck on this planet forever? This is their story.

Jungle
It was around midday in the wild jungle, similar to the ones on Agria, and when would reappear after being transported but not in the same place. Wildlife can easily be heard in the background.

Rvian finds himself next to a small river with some creatures, and when he suddenly appears. The creatures, scared of the sudden appearance of the newcomer, panic and run in several directions.

Julia finds herself on a hill, and if she takes the time to look around. She can see what looks like a crashed ship.

Willis finds himself in a clearing with what looks like an overgrown alien drone of some kind. Clearly old but still intact.

Underground facility
Meanwhile, would find themselves in a facility of some sort, Each one in their own metal room, and the air feels stale. The rooms are dimly lit with some flicking, and old machinery and equipment can be seen. Clearly passed their prime and broken. The doors are open and in varying states of disrepair.

Jaden would find himself in a dark room with little space as it is loaded with various objects and containers on shelves. Some were broken and broken objects on the floor.

Hierophant would find herself in a room with several worn-out bones and a broken skeleton of an unknown creature. It looks lived in like the lair of a creature.

Zena would find herself in semi-dark room with what looked like an office of some kind. With dim flicking light coming from a console on what looked like a desk.

Carlos would find himself in a dark room and would find what looked like robotic drones. Small things and covered in dust. Clearly, have not been used in a long time, and there is a setup there with all sorts of tools and a console on it. It is no longer working, and several small vents about slightly bigger than drones are in the room.
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Jaden Vale
Jaden, after being teleported, found himself on the cold metal floor. Opening his eyes and quickly realized that he is no longer at that alien ruin on that jungle planet. Slowly getting up with a confused sigh, "what just happened and where are I?" Spending some time scanning the room as his eyes adjust to the low light. "Okay, so some broken tech, and man, is it dark." Jaden turned on the flashlight on his helmet to get a better view. Then had the idea of getting on his radio and quickly tried to contact anyone. "Hello, this is lieutenant Vale, anyone respond over?" Static was all he heard, then trying to contact his commander. "Major Beni, this is lieutenant Jaden Vale do you read over?" More static, "Fricking A," he said in frustration. Either where ever he was blocking his signal or he is not in range of anyone. Both are horrible situations to be in when he has no clue of where he is. "Jaden calm down, Jaden just calm down." He said to himself, "Being angry is not going to help things..... thought what will?" Spending another moment to look around the room. For a clue of where he is.

Okay, so I must in some faculty of some kind facility due to the metal floor and wall. He thought, but with shelves and all sorts of things on it. The ones that are still standing, that is. A poorly kept one if the state of this room is an indicator." Making another sigh, as he decided on what to do now. Well, the only thing to do now. "Time to see if I am alone in this place, and maybe I can find the others." So with one last deep breath, Jaden with his gun at the ready. Left the room he was in and moved further into the facility. Hoping to find some of the team soon and unknown to him. Find out what lies in this place.

[Observation Post 13]

A vibrant jungle in the background.

There's a patch of clearing here. A narrow creek stretching east to west. A body from an unidentified species is lying half in the water, its upper body on a slope of dry land rising up the northern bank. On all fours, a Jungle Predator perches over the body and eats from it like a cat at a bowl. Its long teeth chew at the shoulder, pulling off thin stretches of stringy meat. Further along the bank is a protruding shape on the ground covered in moss, resembling an overgrown Attack Drone.

The Predator's ear twitches and its body coils up. It jerks its furry head away from the cavity of the body, looking startled and alert.

Something feels wrong.

The fabric of space is torn up in an instant.

Following the sound of shattered glass, a Man -wearing cool sunglasses, a biosuit, and holding a toolbox- is teleported directly in front of Jungle Predator!

---

Location: [Missing Data]
Detecting changes in the cosmic environment since [Last transmitted analysis]
Attention: Detecting changes in the position and presence of distant planetary and stellar objects

---

Willis stood there, dumbstruck. What the heck just happened? But his day is about to get a lot worse.

In his peripheral vision he suddenly saw this flash of beige-brown fur. He knew it was an animal. But how is that possible?

The animal grinned at Willis free food. In the next second, the animal leaped and grabbed Willis. It latched on to his shoulders and tried to bite down on the back of his neck. It felt like getting hit by a truck. Willis was slammed to the ground and it knocked the wind out of him; his toolbox flew right out of his hands, along with pieces of his broken sunglasses.

The big cat starts to drag Willis down into the creek. It has him by the back of the neck and he tries to punch its face but it didn’t have any effect. It drags him several feet and then readjusts its grip to over his left ear - So Willis gouged around its head trying to get the animal to let him go. And it did, jerking its head back and roaring in pain.

Willis fell out of its mouth and he instinctively drew an industrial syringe from his explorer's belt and thrusted away with his hand, but that went into its neck and tore on its skin, unloading 90u of Telazol into the Predator's bloodstream. The frenzied animal snaps its jaw around Willis' arm, tearing strips of inert hyperweave, but Willis manages to tear his arm away.

Willis scrambles up the slope, kicking dirt and peddles onto the Predator's face. The animal lunges, but Willis rolls to the side, and it misses. Willis picks up the plasteel toolkit off the ground and bashes the animal away as he regains his footing.

The Predator groans in pain and staggers to the side with its tongue hanging out. Seems like the tranquilizing agent is taking its toll. It attempts to strike Willis with its tail, but suddenly loses its footing and goes numb on the dirt.

The Jungle Predator is rendered unconscious!

---

The fear of dying overrides pain, but adrenaline is wearing off. Willis cringes as he checks his injuries. Besides being covered in bruises and scratches, his neck, ear, and arms are all bleeding, and his ribs are probably fractured too. But he can worry about them later.

Willis hurriedly stumbles back to the place where he was attacked, staring at the pile of broken glass and plastic in disbelief.

"Muh mothafuckin shades!" He cries out in pain. It was his favorite sunglasses and that stupid dumb cat ruined it. Willis' eyes glowed as his expression visibly darkened.

Not far away, the unconscious Jungle Predator rolls onto its belly in a fetal position, snoring loudly. That jungle cat is gonna pay for this crime against humanity.

[The Grand Western Empire]

Beneath a dense canopy of towering trees, a small creature approached a small watering hole. The hole was much like a well, deep and wide. However, it lacked a stone circle and roof like village wells. The animal was a Borig. It was short and plump like a pig but had the antlers of a male deer. It approached the water without suspicion and bent down to take a drink.

While it did this, it was completely unaware that it was right inside the sights of Rvian's sniper rifle, which he had been allowed to keep by the army after his term in the Sniper Corps ended. He was two hundred feet away from the Borig and disguised beneath a bush. He was wearing jungle camouflage and black Flexweave chest armor. With slow and careful movements, Rvian adjusted his aim as the Borig drank its fill. The center of the rifle's iron sights aligned with the location of its heart.

It should've been an easy kill, especially for an experienced sniper like Rvian. But, just as he pulled the trigger, the Borig shifted slightly. Not a lot, but enough to make the shot non-fatal. The round struck the Borig's lung, a fatal hit but not damaging enough to bring it down then and there. "...Damn it," Rvian mumbled in his native language as the Borig took off, blood dripping from its side.

With a disappointed sigh, Rvian pushed himself up, ejected the old shell, chambered a new round, and hung his sniper rifle's leather strap over his Flexweave-covered shoulder. Leafs and branches from the bush hit his back as he stood, but he didn't feel it. The impenetrable Flexweave armor shoved them aside with ease. Twigs crushed beneath Rvian's boots rang throughout the jungle as he walked toward the well.

The well was not natural like other watering holes. Rvian had dug it to attract nearby animals to halt while drinking, giving him an easy kill shot. Everything had to drink, so it was usually only a matter of time before a Borig or some other animal showed up. It sometimes took hours, but Rvian wasn't needed anywhere else. He hunted for a living, so he stayed in the forests for as long as necessary.

The hunting trip Rvian was on began three days ago, and he had enough supplies to stay for another week. There was plenty of spare ammunition on his hip and scentless food in his shelter, a dome of sticks and leaves he used as a base when hunting. It was under the tallest tree within a three-mile radius, so Rvian could always find his way back.

Crimson liquid was in a thin line near the well. It ran from the small clearing to the woods toward a small cliff face. Rvian drew his machete from its sheath on his right thigh and began moving forward. Using another round to kill a wounded animal would be a waste. Plus, it would probably already be dead by the time Rvian found it, so he didn't need the machete.

The blood trail continued into a cave with an entrance twice as tall as Rvian. He paused outside the cavern's maw and looked around. There were several jagged scratch marks along nearby trees. 'A Sawtiger lives here,' Rvian thought as he clutched his machete tighter, 'I had better move quickly; so I don't end up fighting it.'

With that, Rvian ran into the cave. His old military instincts unconsciously influenced his movements. Whenever a corner appeared, he slowed, looked around it while keeping his gut concealed, then moved on. He did so to protect his abdomen, which contained his vital heart organ. If one rounded a turn too fast, an enemy might strike the stomach before one could react.

The cavern kept going deeper and deeper, growing ever more winding. The trail of blood didn't stop either. Rvian frowned as he ran, 'My shot must not have done as much damage as I thought. I need to be more careful next ti-' Rvian's thought ground to a halt as he rounded another corner. Right into a space with some ominous room. He would've stopped, but the bones jutting out from his skull blocked his peripheral vision, making the presence of the bizarre metal chamber unknown to Rvian until it was too late for him to stop.

Before Rvian could react, green light exploded in his face, and he closed his eyes. To protect his sensitive Don-Gadorian vision, he also moved his forearms in front of his face. The glow dissipated, and Rvian slowly opened his eyelids and lowered his arms. Around him was a completely new landscape.

A river surrounded by little creatures and jungle replaced the cave Rvian had been in not a moment before. They had paused their drink to look up at the newcomer. Rvian looked down at them and moved slightly, causing them to scatter. 'Those animals... I've never seen them on my homeworld,' he glanced at the trees, 'Those are not native to Don-Gavdo... Our trees are all gray, no matter where you are...'

Rvian rapidly sheathed his machete and grabbed his rifle off his back as he quickly looked around. 'Different agriculture and unseen animals... Have I been sent away from my homeworld by those strange machines?' The thought struck Rvian like a tidal wave. He had never known anything other than the jungles of his home. A twig snapped, and Rvian swung his rifle around. The new environment caused him to be on guard. Anything could be a threat to him.

'God damn it. There went my hope for a peaceful life,' Rvian thought as he began to inch forward. 'I'll follow the stream until I find something. If I got teleported here, there must be a way to return. I need to find it.' He thought as he looked up. 'If I am on the nearest planet to Don-Gavdo, I should be able to see my homeworld tonight.' Equipped with the knowledge, Rvian began to follow the river, hoping it would help him find shelter.

[Cybernetic Socialist Republics]

Julia Montero
Julia woke up, laying on a hill, entirely unsure of where she was. She quickly kicked herself up and onto her feet, looking around her with her fists up, the two hundred pound, six and a quarter foot armored woman stood ready to harm any potential hostile force. But it wasn't long before she realized that it didn't see that anyone was coming for her, sheshe could begin trying to figure out more about her immediate surroundings. She smelt the air, beant down and grabbed and felt the soil and contimed to look around. She quickly deduced that more than likely than not, so how she was almost certainly on the planet she was supposed to be on. Nothing she had memorized before ariving at Agria was familar. However, she couldn't get a much better idea than that until nightfall, whenever that came, when she'd be able the stars in the sky could possibly help give her a rough idea of where she was in the galaxy.

Learning to get her bearings by looking into the night sky was something she had begun learning in her teens at her high school and into her studies as a UEC Navy Psiconics Officer. Human beings had been using the stars to navigate for thousands of years, it was just that interstaller travel added a new twist. Getting idea of one's location with the use of stars was just one of a variety of survival skills she learned early on. She'd was tempted to use her communicator, but decided against it, not wanting to make a futile call that could possinly end up just alterting people that could be hostile to her. Looking around, it wasn't long before Julia caught sight of what appeared to be a crashed ship and quickly decided that it would likely be prudent for her to check it out. So she walked toward it, keeping on high alert for possible dangers along the way.

[Ragnox]

Carlos Boozer

Carlos awakens to find himself in a dully lit room, with some old drones of some sort, and some various trashed objects around him. As he stands up to get his bearings, he hears his walkie go off but unfortunately it was just static. He tries the walkie anyway, "Hello, this is Boozer, is anyone there?" but he gets no response. He picks up his weapon and checks the drones and vents in the room to see if he can learn anything to help, but the drones are out of commision, and the vents are bolted shut. He suddenly realizes that a small closed door sits in a dark corner of the room. After bashing it with his shoulder a few times, it makes a clanking noise and shifts slightly to the right, allowing him enough space to force himself through it. The door led to a lobby of sorts, just an open area with a few hallways that seemingly could have led anywhere."Wonder where the heck I am? I got to find a way out though, the air doesn't smell that great in here."

[The Second Order of Life]

Hierophant finally woke up, going through a slow sequence of mechanical initialisation that put her in a temporary stupor. As soon as she was able to properly interpret her surroundings, she immediately froze, stopping any attempt to get up from the cold floor. There she laid, paralysed by fear, as she stared the piles of old bones, as well as the skeletical remains of a large creature that, hopefully, was the one responsible for this mess, and was now long gone, unable to pose any threat to her. After some tense moments, she sat up and scurried away backwards, watching the creature as she frantically moved away, dragging her body across the metal.

"W-was I caught? It can't be! I-I remember running and... Why can't I remember it?" She lightly beat herself on the head and squinted her eyes, as she tried to remember what happened after she ran inside the temple. 'This can't be a prison', she thought to herself, 'they wouldn't leave me in such poor conditions, no matter how cruel they are'. She searched her own body for any communications link, but had neglected to bring it when she hurried off her ship. Instead, she only found her pistol, and she tighly hugged it with her hand, pulling it off its holster and holding it firmly.

"Alright, alright, keep calm. They're... they're messing with your head, 'phant. Those damn Wasps probably applied some mind-purging drugs on you, t-that's what." She was hyperventilating. Despite being a purely mechanical being, she was outfitted with several forms of personality expression, but was unable to fully control them, especially considering her lack of proper maintenance, which she had endured over years being pursecuted by police and special forces. Her thoughts about the past, however, were completely interrupted by hurried steps accompanied by a low, droning growl, slowly approaching her from the darkness that covered the remaining bones of the creature lair.

She did not hesitate at all, and shot two plasma rounds in the direction of the sound, followed by a noticeably loud shriek of fear and more ragged breathing. She pressed her body close against the nearby wall, and looked towards the darkness, waiting for something to show up. Minutes passed, nothing did. She switched her vision to infrared, but nothing useful was found, aside from the faint heat signature of a deformed being, laying on the floor, unmoving. Whatever it was, 'it's dead, and I don't have time to think if it should be or not'. Using the wall as support, she propped herself up, and started to walk towards a semi-open door. By sheer luck, she was small enough to pass, being only 1,59 metres tall, and so she carefully stepped outside.

As she analysed the corridor left to right, she realised it only led to more corridors, leading to a maze she would have to explore if she wanted to get out of there. She made sure her grip on the pistol was tight enough, and hoped not to encounter any more of the creatures she briefly saw. Her thoughts started to be invaded by speculations about the alien facility. Could this be the place she was looking for? Could this be related to the occult creatures she so adored and feared? The truth was that she had absolutely no idea, and that terrified her trembled steps upon the metal surface.

[Observation Post 13]

Co-op Post Between Grand Western Empire and Observation Post 13

Willis is wrapped in bandages and injecting something into his arms when he sensed something approaching him from behind.

Rvian finds Willis recovering from his injuries near the river.

Rvian's immediate reaction would be to point his rifle at Willis.

"Where am I?"

Willis: "That's a pretty philosophical question."

Rvian, with a clearly unamused expression: "I'll reiterate, where and what is this planet? And who are you?"

Willis projects his thoughts into Rvian's mind: Umm, I don't know either. But I'm a psionic who knows a lot of skills. I think we can help each other figure out where we are. PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME!

Rvian glares at Willis a moment longer before lowering his rifle. "The Codes of Hunting forbid me from harming intelligent life. Though, touch me, irritate me, or do anything threatening, and I'll break your arm, Psion." Rvian shoulders his rifle and offers Willis a seven-fingered hand: "Wait... How do you know my language, and how do you speak without moving your mouth?"

Willis visibly relaxes once the barrel isn't pointed at him anymore. He gladly shook hands with Rvian, his eyes glowing as he responds: It's kinda complicated to explain, and typically I am not authorized to tell anyone about it. He blinks as he took a closer look at Rvian. However! Protocal says nothing about what to do if an extraterrestrial asks that question! Here's how I do it... Willis explains the basics of telepathy to Rvian as he packs up his belongings.

By the way! I'm Willis. Research Psi-entist Willis Philips, at your service. Willis grins. And who are you, my friend-from-another-world?

Rvian said nothing as Willis explained. The thought of talking by projecting words into another's mind was a jarring notion he normally would've laughed off. Well, he would've done that a few years back. But confronted with irrefutable evidence, Rvian could not object or deny what Willis said. Psionic powers were far greater than Rvian had originally thought. "...Rvian of the Lutos Region. Sniper turned hunter."

Don-Gador always introduced themselves by name, region, whether or not they'd served in the military, and their current job. But considering Willis was from another world, Rvian decided to hastily add another part to his introduction. "The Lutos Region is a section of jungle from my homeworld, Don-Gavdo."

Willis switched on an in-built microphone and began recording everything Rvian said. For the record, he tells Rvian. It is an honor to meet you, Rvian of the Lutos Region. I actually have something to show you, a gift to commemorate the meeting between us, from one civilization to the other. He pauses dramatically, smiling at Rvian. Gimme one sec.

Willis slides down the slope to the bank of the narrow creek, where there lays a huge, feral Jungle Predator. Even tranquilized, its weight alone flattened the patches of wildlife unlucky enough to be in its comatose way. He approaches the beast, while looking back at Rvian occasionally as if saying "Check it out!" to Rvian.

Willis now stops directly in front of the head of the beast, and inhaled sharply. He then reaches forward with his right hand and grasped its skull, mumbling something about dogs. A strange light radiates from his head in a faint phantasmagoric halo, like moonlight. The beast's hind leg began to twitch, its powerful hind muscles kicking shovels of dirt into the creek.

An involuntary shutter ripples across the Jungle Predator's large body, like static electricity passing through from head to tail. Its eyes behind lid rolls back in a blank expression, before awakening with a sudden jolt, jumping directly into the narrow river and splashing water all over Willis!

DON'T SHOOT! Willis projects the mental message across to Rvian. I got him under control!

He looks back at the Jungle Predator, now changing his tone like talking to a child. "Who's a good boy? The best boy? That's right, it's you..." As he slowly approaches the large cat. The Predator shivers intensely in the middle of the river, looking agitated as large droplets roll off its waterproof fur. However, it did not move, even as Willis inched closer... and closer...

Until he stops right in front of the beast. And he reached over tentatively with one hand. Stroking its head.

Willis slowly turns his head around, a large grin forming on his face as he winked at Rvian. Cool, isn't it?

Rvian watched this all unfold with wide-open eyes. Willis, despite not knowing anything about Don-Gador or their customs, had managed to check every box there was when meeting a Don-Gador. He had presented a gift of meat, the lifeline of Don-Gador, and used the proper honorifics. The Region a Don-Gador was from was the only thing they had akin to a last name. Unless you knew that Don-Gador well, you always mentioned what Region they hailed from after their name. But, more importantly to Rvian, the animal looked really good. It would make a fine dinner, he thought with a nod. A lot of meat and muscle, not much fat. It also seemed to be an adult, the perfect age.

But when it moved, Rvian's thoughts were shoved aside as the beast moved. He unconsciously began raising his arm toward his weapon. When the creature jumped, he drew his rifle and aimed at its head with three seconds. But, At Willis' behest, he reluctantly lowered his firearm and watched. He was clueless as to what Willis was doing. His actions seemed to defy all hunting logic. But Rvian's confusion reached its peak when Willis petted the animal. When he asked Rvian what he thought, Rvian snapped out of his stupor, "You can...control it? Or are you speaking it? And... Does this mean we aren't going to eat it?" If the answer to Rvian's final question was no, he would be a bit sad at not getting to taste a new species.

Willis tries his best to stop giggling. Yeah... it's a little unethical to do this... but then again I think the kitty wouldn't mind. Please don't eat them tho, Rvian! I think we could use a friend, y'know, to help us get around and stuff...

Willis looks back at the Jungle Predator big cat. Please open your mouth. Willis ordered. The big cat stretched its back before obediently opening its large maw full of sharp, inverted teeth, forming a crescent shape that eerily resembles a smile.

"Sheesh." Willis whistled. He picked up a thick branch from the ground and tossed it across to the other side of the creek. "Fetch, boy!"

The beast perked both its ears up as it began to wag its tail like a spinning windmill. It bounded across the river before proudly carrying back the stick in between its mouth, presenting it to Willis.

Willis gave a thumbs up to Rvian. He took the branch, before making his way back up the slope to where Rvian was posted up. Fun! You want to give it a shot? He offered the branch to Rvian.

The big cat trailed behind Willis, but clearly unnerved by the presence of Rvian. It tried to hide its large body behind Willis' back, which clearly didn't fit.

Rvian went blank at Willis' request not to eat it. Rvian saw no other use for meat except as food. Who would keep an animal as a friend? But the idea of using it to help them move around made sense. The creature's smile unnerved Rvian more than make it seem human. Mostly because the teeth reminded him of a Sawtiger. Then came when it chased a branch like a hunter chased its prey. The bizarre exercise made Rvian tilt his head silently. Was it some form of muscle-building, he wondered.

When Willis offered the branch, Rvian reluctantly accepted it and glared at the cat. He wanted to make it clear to the creature he was only befriending it at Willis's behest. With a silent motion, he threw it like a knife over Willis. "Is there a reason behind this? Shouldnt we be getting a move-on while we search for a way back to ours homes? Speaking of going back, how did you arrive here?" Rvian asked as the animal went after the stick. "And how did you subdue that...cat before I arrived?"

Willis, understanding the need for some privacy, ordered the big cat to chill while he talked with Rvian.

The animal leaped into the air, caught the stick between its teeth, and landed on its feet. It began to chase its own tail, before getting bored and laid down, rolling in the sand.

Darn it, you are right of course! Willis clutched his head comically. Sorry for the delay! Well, my ma would say that this was actually a bonding experience! This is important since we're gonna be working together as a team, we should get to know each other better.

Willis nods at Rvian. As for how I got here, I think I'm in the very same boat as you. You see, I was working with a team studying some alien ruins, and all of a sudden I was teleported here. My GPS is all messed up, so we must be in a corner of the galaxy far far away, out of reach of working signals.

Willis paused, thinking about something. He snapped his finger and the cat comes lolling back with the stick. It dropped off the slimy branch covered in corrosive saliva in front of Rvian as it flipped down onto its belly, asking for a belly scratch. I tranquilized the kitten. Willis admits. I know I'm being a bad person for doing that. But it does make domesticating them easier.

Rvian watched the cat with his characteristic silence. Its aerial prowess surprised him. "A team... Hm, been a while since I've been a part of one. I used to pair up with a solider on missions a few years back. He watched my back while I prepared my shot." Rvian nodded along with Willis' explanation, growing increasingly somber. "The corners of the galaxy," he mumbled.

A thoughtful expression overtook Rvian as he began to run a hand through his black hair, which was tied in a ponytail to keep it out of his sight. "The first thing we must do is find your comrades! The more numbers, the more secure we are. And we'll be able to figure out out situation easier. I was not with anyone when I came here. I was hunting something when I accidentally ran into a room and got sent here. Though, I wonder why we were sent to the jungle rather than a receiving teleportation chamber." Rvian looked to the sky, "There is a very slight chance we may be on a planet near my homeworld. But I cannot verify that until nightfall."

As the cat made its request for scratches, Rvian continued thinking. "Tranquilizing animals is not something to be ashamed about, it is just another way of procuring food. Except in this case. This creature will be of great aid to us," Rvian said as he crouched and looked at the feline's face. "I say we call it Ishmar, the name of a warrior from my home. He was a mighty soldier who had undefeatable luck." Rvian looked at Willis, waiting for his opinion on the name.

Willis beamed at the cat. What do you think? The big cat meowed loudly, before timidly sliding up against Rvian. They carefully rubbed their furry head gently along Rvian's body, purring.

I think they like it! Ishmar it is! Willis laughed. Back on Earth, we have this saying that cats have nine lives - hopefully, Ishmar will lend us their luck, to make us super lucky! Because we'll need it! He squints at the masses of silent trees behind Rvian, which obscured their vision. So, where should we go now, hunter? I would love to link back with the others too - but I have no idea where they are...

Rvian slowly patted the cat as he pondered the concept of nine lives. It was a crazy notion that was logic less, making Rvian confused about how such a saying came to be. But he brushed that off and shrugged. "There is no way to know where they are. We'll scour the nearby jungle to see if anyone else ended up in this area. Keep a close eye to the ground for footprints and watch to see if any wildlife seem to be fleeing from something. Those are the general ways to find specific things in forests. However, we'll need to be careful the we dont waste energy unnecessarily and dont run into a predator."

Rvian stood up and leaned his rifle against his shoulder, "I'll go first since I have experience in fighting. Though, my skills lies in ranged combat. My close-quarters skills are mediocre at best." Rvian said as he looked around. There were no vantage points that provided a view of the whole jungle, unfortunately. "We'll need to get a move on quickly if we don't want to risk anyone getting further away from us. If we don't find someone within a few hours, we'll turn our attention to finding some of the ruins that teleported us here. You might be able to discern something about them since you are a scientist."

Yessah! Understood! Willis salutes Rvian. Ishmar does the same, imitating Willis by standing on their hind legs to give Rvian a full cat's military honor. They almost lose their balance mid-salute, and had to bail.

Ishmar bounds over to Willis and stuck their nose in his ear. Willis began to nod, looking back and forth from Rvian to Ishmar. Hey Rvian, Ishmar here knows the jungle and they volunteer to scout ahead, to look at the tracks. They also said that they know a lot of places with fresh water and edible food in the region, in case we get hungry. Willis translates helpfully.

Ishmar meows in agreement.

Rvian's lips almost formed a smirk as he watched Willis and Ishmar, but before they could, he suppressed it. "Good. Those will both be useful. Tell Ishmar to search in a wide circle," he directed. "Last time I ate was only an hour or so ago, so I have plenty of energy left. What about you, Willis?" He asked as he scanned the jungle for threats again. So far as he could tell, no nostile life was nearby. Ishmar's presence must be causing other creatures to keep their distance, Rvian thought.

"Also, dont call me sir. I havent been a soldier for years and would like to forget I ever was. Sgrak was a hell hole I'd like to leave in the past." Rvian said flatly. His tone left no room for argument. "Hm, one more thing I believe I should mention. I can't eat plants. Nor can any of my brethren. Meat is the only thing that can sustain me, so have Ishmar hunt something for us."

Willis nods excitedly. Aye, we're just two inter-galactic tourists going on a wild-wild adventure!

Ishmar playfully knocked into Willis from behind, only to be wrangled by their chin-fur as the psi-entist swung his leg over the side of Ishmar and hooks his feet beneath their stomach, leap-mounting the huge feline in one fell swoop. Ouch! Darn these weird back-spikes!

Willis tipped an imaginary hat at Rvian while sitting on top of Ishmar, albeit a little uncomfortable. I'm ready to rock n roll! He declared while desperately grappling onto Ishmar, struggling to maintain balance amidst protesting meows.

An adventure I'd like to end, Rvian thought as be walked toward Ishmar. He nodded at Willis' impressive leap-mount. "You know, those spikes could be poisonous. I wouldn't recommend touching them. Also, Ishmar seems to object to you being on his back." He noted as he tried to calm Ishmar with a head pat.

"Though, I'm not sure what you mean by... rock n roll. And we perhaps might have to consider going on foot to avoid complications," Rvian stated. "We can move more stealthily by walking than riding a large predator. Though, perhaps using him as transport would lower the chances of your teammates from assailing Ishmar." Rvian grew increasingly frustrated as they wasted time. He wanted to move as quickly as possible. Even wasting a second was unacceptable in his mind. But he did not voice those thoughts lest he annoy his new comrade, who Rvian was taking a liking to, but the fact Willis was a Psion was something Rvian was having trouble ignoring.

Willis was about to respond to Rvian when Ishmar finally snapped. They hoisted Willis off their back using their tail and flung Willis into the air in an arc. With soft forest detritus breaking his fall, Willis gracefully skimmed the ground like a skipping stone before finally landing just beneath Rvian's feet.

Ah, there goes my dream of being a rock n roll space cowboy. Willis lamented, bouncing back onto his feet as he brushes dirt from his hair. He then reached behind his explorer's belt to take out a featureless, disk-shaped device mounted on a harness. He secures the straps around Ishmar, who has calmed down by now thanks to Rvian's head pats.

Willis then grabs his PDA, a silver hologram bracelet clipped to his wrist, opens the tracker app, and activates the tracker which is now mounted on Ishmar. The harness' shoulder-mounted LED pings with a soft green hue, signaling its activation, before going back to its original state.

Willis also relays Rvian's instructions to Ishmar (Search for others, hunt for food). The big cat nods, and meows at Rvian one last time before taking the lead to head into the forest. For their size, Ishmar moves with surprising grace; ducking under branches and skirting around fallen trees. They're so confident and wiry, they move through the forest silently, like a dancer, quickly disappearing from view.

I've planted a tracking device on Ishmar so we know how far he is from us at all times. Willis tells Rvian as he turns around and showed the hunter his PDA, a red glyph dancing on a diaphanous holographic screen symbolizing Ishmar's relative position from them.

Here, take one too, so we can keep in touch. Willis hands Rvian a spare UEC standard-issued PDA. You'll need to set up an account, create a profile, then add me as a friend. My username is Littlebitzs#9857, the one with a rising mushroom cloud as my pfp.

"Convenient," Rvian mumbled as he looked at where Ishmar had disappeared. The PDA was unlike anything he had seen. He hadn't heard of anything akin to PDAs either. Perhaps there was technology like it in the Caplis Region, the home Region of the Council of Huntship and largest city on Don-Gavdo. When Willis offered Rvian a spare PDA, he accepted and looked at its square screen.

He stared for a few moments longer before looking at Willis. Words danced across the screen in bizarre patterns Rvian couldn't decipher. He looked up at Willis, "I can't read anything on this." There were dozens of languages used by the Don-Gador. Because of the forests, they lived isolated from each other for centuries. Many developed their own languages. Though they all looked vaguely similar, there was almost no overlap grammar or word-wise. However, the letters on the PDA didn't resemble anything spoken by the Don-Gador.

Don't worry. Once we get to a safer place, I'll teach you about our language, so you can use our devices.

Though, the PDA and tracking device made something clear to Rvian. It seemed like Willis' species was far ahead of the Don-Gador in terms of technological advancement. Not to mention it seemed like tech was better distributed on Willis' homeworld. "Come on. We should get a move on ourselves. We'll go the opposite direction of Ishmar," Rvian said as he nodded toward the jungle.

Willis unzips an inner pocket, and takes out a roll of fabric which quickly expanded into a thick ripstop poncho. He wraps it around himself like a cloak, making only his face visible.

Let's go!

And so, the two made their way deeper into the forest. Rvian in front, Willis following behind, carrying his toolkit.

[Ragnox]

Boozer in the Tunnels

Boozer keeps walking down a long corridor, and he feels like its been hours since he was in his little room. "I need a rest, I'm gonna set up for a while." He lays his pack and his weapon on the floor and opens up his pack to see that he still has some rations with him, and he proceeds to pick out a Beef Stew MRE and opens the pack,"Thank god its still good." He starts to eat but slowly starts nodding off to sleep. What he presumes as 2 hours later, he wakes up with the MRE still in his hands, unfinished. "Good thing I got a nap in, I need to stay vigilant in here." he says to no one. He eats the rest of the MRE and tries his radio again,"Hello, this is Boozer. Anyone there?" Initially he hears no response, but after 2 minutes his walkie goes off for a split-second, with a unknown voice saying "hello?" Boozer tries to get another response as he frantically picks up his walkie, but to no avail. "God dangit! This is Boozer, is anyone there? I'm alone out here!" All of a sudden, a whiring noise sounds from around a corridor, and two low-hovering drones appear, and seemingly scan Boozer. With out warning, the drones open fire on him and he is forced to run down the corridor and around another corridor,"Freaking drones, one of hit me!" He looks at his left arm, and the drones weapon had skimmed by his arm leaving a small cut on his forearm. Realizing that he had left his main weapon on the ground, he pulls out his sidearm and turns the corner, letting 8 rounds fly toward the drone, hitting one, making it crash to the ground with a large "thud". Hearing the other one approaching, he pops out again and nails it in two shots, also bringing it to the ground. He thinks to himself,"Where the hell did those drones come from? Whatever, Ill figure it out later, I have to move. Boozer goes and picks up his pack and his weapon, wraps some gauze around the cut, and starts jogging away from the fallen drones saying,"I hope you buggers aren't the only thing down here...."

[North American Commonwealth of Nations]

Heat.

That was the first sensation that swept across her scales as Captain Kaar found herself falling into soft, muddy ground that smelled of plant rot and fungus--a jungle floor, though not any that she was familiar with. Her massive head jerked up as she registered the shift, golden eyes scanning her surroundings swiftly to search for any threats. The scents that filled her nostrils were alien, and the plant life that choked out the sun to cast everything in a dark green pallor was unlike any she had seen before. Her massive hand reached down to the belt around her waist and retrieved her communicator, pressing the broadcast button to try and reach her ship's rudimentary AI. A series of hissing, growling, and sharp clicks rang out in the silence that surrounded her as she said, "Dart, this is Captain Kaar... Respond Dart!"

Silence filled the air for a breathless moment as the massive reptilian alien used her other hand to sweep the dense jungle that she found herself in using her P-19 rifle, using her thumb to flick the safety into the off position. When only silence greeted her the Raathi chuffed before placing the communicator back on her belt.

So, separated from her vessel--likely somehow in another system, considering the alien nature of the flora that she found herself surrounded by--with no clue as to how she arrived in the area other than the flash of light that had filled her vision only moments before. She began to hiss a curse before she froze as the sound of claws digging into wood carried through the air, causing the tip of her tail to flick nervously.

Her nostrils flared as she sought the source of the sound, catching a whiff of musk and rotting meat coming from behind her, before she turned and let out a growling roar at the same time that the jungle felinoid pounced upon her. It was only through her lightning-fast reaction that she raised her rifle in time to push it sideways into the predators toothy maw and hold the beast at bay. Its needle-sharp teeth still pierced the Raathi's hands and caused her to snarl ferociously, millions of years of primal instincts taking over as she twisted her neck, opened her jaws, and clamped down on the beast's neck until she felt the rush of piping hot blood flood her muzzle.

And it was then, with a mighty crash that echoed through the dense jungle, that Shaalic threw herself and the beast to the ground and began to roll. The combined mass of the two apex predators caused the ground to shake and trees to fall as the Raathi released her weapon and focused her entire being on ripping this creature's throat off of its body through nothing but centrifugal force. it only took five rotations before the beasts entire head came loose and Shaalic found herself kneeling, panting heavily, as she held the head of the massive beast in her jaws.

Captain Kaar ripped her rifle from the creature's jaw before tossing the head to the side, letting out an annoyed growl as she looked down at her injured hands.

"Spirits, that stings. Now... where the in the hells am I?" the Raathi hissed as she looked around what was now a small clearing in the woods after her little showing.

[Puranas]

Unexplored Planet - Surface Ruins

Eilonwy Prydain ran her hand along the smooth stone of the fallen buttress. The unfamiliar material wasn’t a mixture she recognized, but scans had shown it as an eclectic mix of various types of rock which naturally shouldn’t be combined like this.

“Sorry, ma’am,” the Dalta looked up as a Sergeant in a more militaristic counterpart to her own smart armor approached, “Captain appreciates the value of these ruins and has sent word back for a survey team, but our task force isn’t optimized for it.

“Shuttle’s being prepped for launch….and engineering expects remaining issues to be fixed by time we’re back aboard.”

Eilonwy sighed, half in frustration. If not for part of their drive overheating, they wouldn’t have stumbled upon this find. Still, she had joined this task force as part of a first contact mission to these rumored ‘humans’, so she was lucky the higher ups were interested enough to send the shuttle down to take a short look around…especially as it kept so many out of the engineers’ hair.

“Thanks for letting me know, Indal,” she addressed the young man, his trio of brightly colored mohawks easily identifiable from a distance, “I’ll stay here and get some final readings. Let me know when Vunger is ready to take off.”

Indal nodded before pivoting smoothly and sauntering off towards the nearby camp site. Eilonwy rolled her eyes and smirked - though old friends, those two Daltai loved poking each other’s buttons. Of late, Indal’s hair versus Vunger’s lack of it had become the core of the ship’s entertainment the past few days.

“Yo, Vun-,” Eilonwy never got to hear the rest of how Indal was going to tease Vunger as her senses were overloaded by some kind of burst of energy.

Location Unknown - Jungle

“Ugh…”

Leaf litter rustled as Eilonwy roused. Pinching the bridge of her nose thanks to a splitting headache, she reached up with her free hand and pulled herself up to a sitting position, ignoring the detritus falling off her. The Dalta barely was upright for a second before falling to her hands and knees to empty her stomach.

“Feels like I got turned inside out several times,” she groaned, wiping her mouth and blinking rapidly.

Using a branch to pull herself onto unsteady feet, Eilonwy began taking stock of what she had in her possession while keeping an awareness on her surroundings.

[Theyra]

Jaden Vale
Jaden had been walking the empty and old-looking corridors for some time, but when he rounded a corner. Did he spot something, and Jaden made sure the coast was clear before investigating. "What is this thing?" Jaden wondered as he looked at what he found and his flashlight almost scanning the body. A corpse that was clear and one that was clearly eaten. Barely any flesh was left, and it was mostly bone at this point. It looked like an creature's corpse but none that he has seen before, and it looked off to him somehow. Either way, it raised questions for him. What is down here with him, and is the thing that ate this thing still around? Something he did not wish to stick around and find out. "There has to be a way out here," he said quietly to himself.

Then as he went to move out, he heard what sounded like gunfire. Must be someone from the security team, he thought. Then he heard what sounded like a roar and then heavy feet. Like it was running at whatever made that sound. Shoot, it must be going after the sound. He thought, alarmed and not knowing if whoever made that noise could take down whatever is heading their way. Jaden quickly made a decision, and he was not one to leave someone in danger. So Jaden made his way to the source of the gunfire, running and hoping to get there before that thing does.
---------------------------------------------------------

Julia Montero
Julia would not find danger on the way to the crashed ship, though she would notice that there were animals on the way. They would not bother her, most getting out of her way. Though some, what looked could be birds, simply watched her. When she arrived at the crashed ship, which would be the same size as a UEC scout ship and a design she would not recognize, she would see signs that this ship had been here a while. No fires, rusted metal, and if she looked inside. Then she would find what looks like the nest of an animal. An old one and one that looks like is no longer in use. However, she would not find anything of value still working. If she would look around the crash then, she would find some raised dirt piles with a metal symbols on the end of each one.

Carlos Boozer
After the gunfight, Carlos would hear a creature's roar and after some time. Start to hear something approaching him in the distance.

Hierophant While the mutant is on its way to Carlos, it spots Hierophant on the way and heads straight towards her. Quickly gaining speed at the sight of her.

[Western Fardelshufflestein]

Zena Arzen

"See anything, Psi?" Dazor's voice flowed through her ears, a disembodied presence that filled her mind with an alertness that sharpened her anxiety. She paused her crawl over a rock jutting from the pale grass to survey her surroundings. The site looked as somber as it had from afar, but the details were thrown into relief: the rocks curved outward from the ground, lifeless and gray, forming a sort of ring around what appeared to be a sort of cave formed from jumbled slabs of stone. It had appeared natural at first glance, but Zena was growing more and more certain it wasn't.

"More or less the same. Nothing to report. There seems to be some sort of cave in the center, but it looks like it was made by Elathrim. Maybe it's some sort of religious site?"

She stood and took a few steps forward in the time it took for her superior to give a reply. "Tread carefully, Psi. I am not a superstitious man, but a cursed ruin is not something I would be surprised by anymore."

"Understood." Zena started to pick her way laterally along the site.

As she made her way around the structure, she noticed an opening in the center of the rocks. She couldn't see into it, but perhaps there was someone there, huddled round the last scraps of food. Whether they were alive or not was another question.

"There's an opening in the central structure. Permission to investigate?"

Dazor's reply, when it came, was shaky. "Permission granted."

Zena rose almost to her full height, spear angled in front of her and balanced in both hands. It would be imprudent to let herself slip fully into investigation mode in a terrain where hostiles could easily be obscured from sight. The thinning grass parted beneath her boots in silent grooves before it gave way to tan dirt just outside the opening; where grass met dirt, little clods of crumbling dust broke off from the ground and rose to get crushed beneath Zena's feet. She peered into the cave, hardly surprised by her inability to see anything beyond a dim grayness fighting to be seen in the dark. She could have turned on the light affixed to her visor, but she didn't. She wasn't afraid of the dark.

The entrance was misshapen, just high enough for her to step through without stooping, and it seemed to her teetering on the edge of stability. Like someone had taken slabs of rock had balanced them against one another, then left them there once satisfied they wouldn't fall. She scanned the area one more time to ensure she was otherwise alone before she dared enter.

Maybe now was a good time to turn on the light.

To her surprise, the weak beam of light illuminated what appeared to be a sort of office: cabinets in the corner, a potted plant, a beeping device atop what looked like a desk. Zena started, rather uncertain of how something such as this came to be contained in the ruin, but when she stepped back she found herself against a wall. "Dazor," she sputtered, breaking protocol by referring to her commander by his first name, "there's--"

Silence.

Zena's left hand flew to the side of her visor. "C-Commander?" He always responded promptly, he was--

The cave was gone. Behind her was a wall, solid and smooth with no suggestion an entrance had ever been there. She pressed her hands against it, felt for some type of trick door or a device that was perpetuating the illusion. She'd heard things like this had existed onworld, once. Don't panic.
Think, Zena. Think. The device on the desk was blinking before the shaft of illumination projected by her visor. Her breath unsteady, she crept toward it, ready to tap it with her spear. If it was an energy bomb....She couldn't think about that. This thing was jamming her remote system, more likely. All she had to do was find a way to dismantle it.

It's just an illusion, Zena. You're just trapped inside an illusion.

[Theyra]

Jaden Vale
Jaden was running as fast as he could to the sound as the mutant ran onwards. Hoping to at least save the person that the thing finds. Running down barely lit corridors and not bothering to check his surroundings. He could hear the mutant move, and then for some reason, the sound of it running stopped. Curious about why it was when he rounded a corner and when his headlights were focused at the end of the hallway. Did he realize his why, for he could see the mutant, all white and with multiple limbs. Since Jaden was close enough to hear the mutant run, the thing during the chase had heard him running after it, and now it looks at its new prey.

Jaden was staring at the mutant as it stared back with predatory eyes. Each side waiting for the other to make a move as Jaden slowly brought his rifle to bear. Aiming it at the mutant and it was when after what seemed like forever. The mutant started to run forward toward him, and Jaden fired back. Some of his shots missed, and some hit since the mutant was moving faster than he thought. Running one four limbs instead of two. But was still seemly hurting the thing, but it did little to slow it down.

Then the worse happened, his rifle jammed, and as he tried to quickly unjam it. The mutant rushed him and, using one of its arms, forcefully knock him back and onto the ground. With his rifle knocked clean from him and the mutant would try to pin Jaden to the ground with one of its claws. The first attempt succeeded, and Jaden could not reach for his pistol, but Jaden would quickly draw his knife and repeatedly stabbed the claw that was pinning him to the ground. He caused enough pain to cause the mutant to bring his arm back but would, with its other arm to pin Jaden to the ground. Roaring a menacing call as it was frustrated that its prey was hurting him like this. Jaden would continue to resist, but things were not on his side.

Underground Lab
The shots fired by Jaden and the roar by the mutant could be heard by all, and those humans could recognize the sound of the shots as a magnetic weapon. A sign that one of them was here with them. But for how much longer is unknown.

[Ragnox]

While walking, Boozer could here a roar and gunshots coming from the end of a hallway. Knowing the sounds made by the rifle, Boozer runs to the end of the hallway and turns the corner to see a large white beast, with multiple limbs, attacking what appears to be a human. "Hey! Get off of him!" Boozer unloads 20 rounds from his weapon and hits the beast's side 10 times. The beast roars even louder and starts to charge at Boozer, but before the monster reaches him, he unloads another spurt of rounds into the beasts head, dropping it. After assessing the beast and determining "He looks dead", Boozer walks over to the soldier on the ground and starts a conversation,"Hey, I'm Carlos, Callsign Bravo 1-3, what's your injuries?

[Theyra]

While walking, Boozer could here a roar and gunshots coming from the end of a hallway. Knowing the sounds made by the rifle, Boozer runs to the end of the hallway and turns the corner to see a large white beast, with multiple limbs, attacking what appears to be a human. "Hey! Get off of him!" Boozer unloads 20 rounds from his weapon and hits the beast's side 10 times. The beast roars even louder and starts to charge at Boozer, but before the monster reaches him, he unloads another spurt of rounds into the beasts head, dropping it. After assessing the beast and determining "He looks dead", Boozer walks over to the soldier on the ground and starts a conversation,"Hey, I'm Carlos, Callsign Bravo 1-3, what's your injuries?

"Jaden, Alpha 1-1 and I think I am fine." Jaden takes the time to examine himself now that he is safe. Bearing some minor cuts he was fine, and he slowly got up from the ground after putting his knife away. "Well minus some cuts but I am fine and it is nice to see a friendly face here wherever we are at." He gave a small smile and turned to pick up his rifle off the ground. "So Carlos, have you seen anyone else? I have tried to contact anyone by radio but it seems that something in this place it blocking the signal and..." Jaden looked down at the dead creature that almost killed him. "This place seems to have its show of beasts and we need to find a way out of here and try to find the others." Jaden made an annoyed sigh, "Which is going to be tough since we do not know where we are in this place. Jaden thought for a moment and looked around before speaking to Carlos. "So you happened to notice anything that might lead to a way out or anything?"

[The Grand Western Empire]

Rvian and Willis have been traveling for nearly an hour through the thick alien undergrowth. A gentle breeze blows through the forest. Night will bring the cold. The two have been sharing stories of their respective culture as they walked, making the journey more bearable.

Gah damn, can't even walk right in Ohio. Willis quipped with Rvian as he detaches his ripstop poncho from a nearby tree branch for the 25fth time. Oh by the way, Rvian, as a fellow member of the UEC Research and Explorations Team I have decided to name this planet 'Ohio', because it shares so many similarities with the one back on earth. Willis projected his thoughts idly, just as his wrist-holo pinged with notification, the holographic interface showing a red dot rapidly approaching their location.

Thanks to her Daltian senses, Eilonwy still felt like her insides had been turned inside out from the unexpected teleportation. The sudden change of input was part of why Daltian experiments in the field had taken a different route.

”Blegh,” the woman’s first thoughts as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, ”Mental note: never do that again!”

Blinking wearily, she reached out an arm and pulled herself to shaking legs via low hanging branch. For a few minutes, she fought the ringing in her head and tried to get her bearings. Just as she was able to take her first steps feeling steady enough to not instantly collapse, a burst of motion caught her attention. Outside of the range of human senses, the Daltian picked up on Ishmar’s movements when the animal initially approached and then pulled back in a decidedly unnatural style.

Suspicious, she pulled the hood of her smart armor up over her head and activated the nanoweave’s camouflage mode. Visually invisible to a degree that would make fiber optics jealous, she unhooked her bow and linked its settings to her armor, watching as it also shimmered into invisibility. Glancing down at the cooling pool of vomit, she closed her eyes and cast her senses out to get a quick mental map of her surroundings.

Testing her legs again, she slowly began to circle the area. The way that animal moved, it felt like it was reporting to a superior. She would find a good oversight point and wait.
Oh look! I think Ishmar is back! Willis burped happily as the jungle cat silently strolls back, a curious glint in their slitted eyes.

"What is Ohio?" Rvian asked as he looked around for Ishmar. "Is it a Region on your homeworld?" He looked to the sky, then at the sun. "In about two hours, we might be able to see Don-Gavdo, provided we are on its neighboring planet, like I hope." If they were near Don-Gavdo, they might be rescued if they survived for a decade or three. Don-Gador were working to reach the planet nearest to theirs, but there was no telling how long it would be before they finally managed it.

Ishmar bounded out of the forests. Rvian flinched toward his rifle out of instinct, "What is it, Ishmar? Have you found something?" His voice broke the silence that prevailed in the jungle. No chittering as nocturnal monsters stirred or twigs breaking as small creatures scurried to their dens like in Don-Gavdo's large jungle. Only the occasional chirp from unseen birds. 'The silence is good, Rvian thought, 'It might make hearing approaching hostiles easier to detect.'

"Willis, keep an ear out. You never know what might ambush us when we lower our guard. And avoid being too loud," Rvian instructed as he walked to Ishmar and crouched. Ishmar rolled over, begging Rvian for scratches. Though apprehensive, Rvian obliged, "Do you know what Ishmar found, Psi...Willis?"

Hey c'mon man! We don't talk about Ohio. Willis noted darkly.

And no need to worry about us being too loud. I'm projecting my thoughts directly into your mind! Right now, we're as quiet as two sneaking snakes. Willis furrowed his brow, watching Ishmar knock over a small tree with their hind leg as Rvian scratched their belly. Strange. Ishmar said that they spotted a queer ape carrying a strange stick vomiting near the tree in-between-boulder not far from the direction where we are facing. What should we do now, I wonder?

With her eyes closed, Eilonwy was focusing her other senses outward. Normally she could ‘feel’ out to a good distance, but right now she could only get a read on a fraction of her usual range. Though not trained in what the Daltian experts considered stealth, best she could do was tap into her martial training; centering her thoughts and cleared her mind. With her mind blanked from telepathic detection, she passively ‘listened’.

Within a matter of minutes, bow held at the ready, she sensed a large animal on approach. Similar to what she remembered from before, Eilonwy was already feeling around so the two, smaller humanoids were no surprise. Tilting her bow, she adjusted her aim. With how next to impossible it was to sneak up on a Dalta, the impaired Eilonwy was still able to make out the trio even through the ‘static’.

"Crouch." Rvian told Willis as he moved through the bushes at a slow pace. Basic Don-Gador military doctrine dictated that a soldier always crouched or crawled through the jungle. Which meant you always crouched or crawled since Don-Gavdo was only forest. While it did suck to move through the dirt and rocks on your hands and knees, it was better than getting shoot by an enemy sniper.

Rvian was current crouched as low as possible, with his left arm acting as a support. In his right arm, he held his sniper rifle. To him, everything on the new planet was an enemy until proven an ally. "Move faster, too. If we take too long, the sun will set and I won't be able to see. I would have a lot of trouble making a shoot if we encountered a hostile."

'Though, we should have the element of surprise. And unless whoever Ishmar saw can teleport, we should be able to find them.' Rvian thought. May the luck of the warrior Ishmar bless us.'

Roger! Willis immediately complied with Rvian's order, flipping down onto his belly going prone, hiding his body amongst the trees and shrubbery. Willis' chest tightens painfully as broken ribs slosh around every time he crawls forward.

Willis whistles to Ishmar, who swags their tail in acknowledgment. They sprint up a nearby giant tree. Using all four of their retractable claws, Ishmar manages to spider-monkey up to the forest canopy, leaving behind inch-deep scratch marks on the thick trunk. Ishmar quickly disappeared into the uppermost spreading layer of the forest.

Willis follows the path Rvian has opened, the psi-entist crawling like a caterpillar behind Rvian. Ngl bro, you got a juicy ass fr fr. No homo tho. Willis muses, his left eyelid twitching violently as sweat rolls down his face in fat drops.

Something feels wrong.

They are being watched.

It's a familiar feeling. When someone has watched him in the past, when it's light that's betrayed his presence, Willis made a friend of the darkness. Willis pulled his shades low over his eyes. Willis stepped behind the cover of an UEC banner. But he feared those who watch them now watch in spite of such simple obstructions. Their sight isn't mediated by the rays of a gleaming star or holo-wrist but by something much colder, something mechanical.

Willis' brain tingled as he craned his neck and briefly gazed into the distance, detecting glimmerings of calculating sentience. One such presence locked onto their positions, prying eyes scanning all over their body. Another is much more subtle, and stealthy, doing everything it can to blend into the background. But the cover has been blown now.

Rvian, we got company. A sussy stalker is shadowing us. Willis transmits the urgent message to the hidden sniper, highlighting a vague outline of Eilowny's estimated position inside Rvian's mind. Unfortunately, something is breaking up Willis' concentration, making the stalker harder and harder to track.

OMG, dude I just realized, this is just like that one scene I wrote about in my NationStates roleplay!!! Willis starts to feel giddy. Rvian, if we survive this, I'll apologize for making fun of your booty.
...

Eilonwy ‘watched’ as the quadruped split from the approaching trio and the two bipeds dropped to the ground. Though not through senses familiar to a human, her focusing through her natural abilities instead of tech was serving as a form of meditation and way to work without being bogged down by the teleportation after affects.

Her mind clear of active thoughts, she currently had no plans regarding this trio. They didn’t feel like Daltai, but that wasn’t really indicative given in the known universe. More concerning was the timing of their approach so shortly after the teleportation was suspicious.

"I'm going to kick your face if you mention my ass again," Rvian hissed, "And remember, I'm wearing boots." Rvian sounded angrier than he wanted. He was unsure what course of action to take against whatever was out there, if there was anything there at all. Everything around Rvian no sense to him. Even the slightest swaying of leaves made him jump. His grip on his rifle tightened as he looked at the area Ishmar claimed to see a biped.

Rvian stopped crawling and laid down. He spread his legs in a V and raised his rifle to eye-level. He glared at the clearing through his iron sights. Night loomed ever closer, giving Rvian a sense of haste that he tried to supress, so it didn't cause him to botch a shot. 'There's the pool of vomit. Ishmar wasn't wrong. No one seems to be here, though. Perhaps they noticed Ishmar and fled out of fear. But I shouldn't believe that unless I have any actual proof. Revealing my position now would be disastrous...'

"You'd better apologize for that if you want to keep your teeth," Rvian mumbled. "Are you sure we are being watched? Can you give me an exact location?" He asked as he moved his rifle to the outline. He scanned the area for anything that would reveal the stalker's precise location. Like a plant in an abnormal position or lighting looking weird. Rvian didn't want to fire unless he knew their position with 100% certainty. If he fired too early, he'd give away his and Willis' position. However, killing the stalker wasn't his intent. If possible, Rvian would try to incapacitate them. They weren't a confirmed hostile, so going for the kill then and there would be an overreaction. But if wounding them while preventing them from fleeing proved impossible, he'd show no mercy or hesitation when he lined up a kill shot. To Rvian, killing another, innocent or evil, was little more than another number to his tally. "Try to narrow down their location if you can. And do it fast!" he growled.

On it, asshole! Willis salutes Rvian with his holo-wrist arm. He retrieves a syringe the size of a pen from his explorer's belt, the label reading in neat cursive: Space Heroin - 0.5u, before promptly injecting himself.

Willis' pupils dilate, and his heart beats faster. The throbbing pain in his chest dulls.

The high that follows launched Willis off the dirt. He somersaults over Rvian and cartwheels forward before stopping at a clearing within Rvian's sight. Willis' holo-wrist glows as his fingers rapidly type in commands. A holographic disco ball suddenly appears above his head.

"Ahem, ahem!" Willis clears his throat dramatically, his voice amplified by the built-in microphone suite. "MUSIC IS ONE OF TWO UNIVERSAL LANGUAGES. AND SO I DEDICATE THIS SONG FOR OUR SHY GUEST, THAT WE COME IN PEACE." Willis turns around and winks at Rvian, giving him a double thumbs up, before quickly snapping back to face the wider forest, now adopting the coolest rapper pose ever.

Shitty Ohio beatbox suddenly fills the once-tranquil forest, the obnoxious noise alerting flocks of birds who take off in droves. The muted disco ball hovering over Willis flares to life, lines of laser rapidly spinning in a rave-like pattern.

Willis took in a deep breath. And then he began to rap.

"Excuse me! Excuse me? You! Yes, you. (Points at a random patch of grass)
May I talk to you?
Well, my name is Willis Philips, yo. (Points at himself proudly.)
Psi-entist from the UEC, yo.
My friend and I come from a coven of intergalactic civilizations, yo!!! (Wobbles, almost trips on himself)
Uh-huh.
We mean no harm! Wanna be our friend? yo."

The music dies down. Willis licks his lips, waiting for a reaction. "Seriously, tho. Please come on out. I won't bite. I promise."

The first effect Willis’s attempt at music had was Eilonwy opening her eyes. Frowning in distaste at the chaotic noise the man was putting out, the Dalta sent a quick mental command to her quiver before pulling out a very non-weapon looking arrow. She then collapsed her bow and, after fiddling with the string, began running the modified arrow against it.

The distinctive sounds echoed back towards the two humanoids, but were totally different from what Willis apparently called music. The observant ear would note how it mimicked the normal songs of the previously calm bird life, but with an annoyed aspect to it. If anything, a critic might describe it as a mother bird scolding her hatchlings.

Though only lasting seconds, Eilonwy’s response was just as much her critique of Willis. Now that she had her eyes combined with the sensory input of her horns, she turned her gaze towards the direction of the two men. Though the foliage in front of her wasn’t dense enough to block an arrow shot, it did block line of sight; if not for her horns, she wouldn’t know where the two were.

"....Kill me," Rvian muttered as he hit the ground with his head. [/i]'There went the element of surprise and he revealed our position...'[/i]

His rifle was still pointed at their stalker's estimated positioned and Rvian still planned to attempt an incapacitating shot, if possible. Though, unexpected, whatever was out there reciprocated Willis'...music with their own. This unintentionally allowed Rvian to narrow down their location a bit more. The music, however, sounded less like a tune for a song than it did some form of...mockery, perhaps.

Rvian tried to trace the music to their stalker's exact position, but before he could, it stop. 'Damn!' he hit the ground with his fist. His chance at getting his opponent had vanished. Though, not one to accept defeat gracefully, Rvian decided to attempt to find them manually. He slung his rifle over his back, drew his machete, and crawled backward a bit. "Willis, stay there and be distracting. I'm going to try something."

With that, Rvian stood up a little and walked about two dozen feet away from Willis, far enough that leaves blocked any chance of the stalker seeing him, and began to walk in a wide arc toward where he believed his and Willis' opponent was. However, Rvian only intended to threaten them with his machete, not attack them. He'd only do that if it was necessary.
Observation Post 13 (Willis) — 11/26/2022 6:34 PM
Whatever you say, chief! I got Ishmar covering you from above! Rvian heard Willis' voice inside his head as he made his way across the jungle. BTW Rvian, did ya know you can still talk to me without speaking aloud? Just think really hard inside your mind!

Willis, on the other hand, tapped his temple twice, contacting Ishmar who has been waiting quietly all this time above the forest canopy, to follow Rvian and make sure he's safe. The shadow of the jungle predator passes overhead, ruffling a few leaves.

Meanwhile, Willis waves his hand and a holographic flute materializes in his palm, replacing the disco ball. He brings the holo-flute to his lips and began a melody.

The playful tune sweeped through the woods, weaving into Eilowny's own music as the trees and vegetation swayed gently to the rhythm. While Eilowny's songs mimicked nature's tranquility, Willis' flares with a flamboyant air that pushed and pulled, like riding on a wave. Each cord, each stroke, indefatigable, a playful beat one second, an unrelenting march the next...

Willis watched Rvian from the corner of his eyes. And as Rvian crept ever closer, Willis' own music grows triumphant, signaling its approach to the finale.

Eilonwy blinked slowly. Though lacking direct line of sight on any of the trio, the ‘image’ of them splitting up was noted.

”A flanking maneuver,” she noted, ”with a distraction.”

Having to decide quickly, she popped open her bow and pulled a second arrow from her quiver. Taking a moment to aim, she sent it racing to embed into the trunk of a tree on the opposite side of Rvian from where she was; the unique shape of the arrowhead generating a whistling sound as it landed through the air. As soon as the arrow had left her bow, Eilonwy began slowly circling around towards the lone Willis.

At the halfway point, she popped a second whistle-arrow into another tree near where the first had landed before again collapsing her bow. This time, Eilonwy plucked at the string once she was satisfied and filled the forest with something sounding similar to country-western music of Earth. This time, however, it wasn’t a planned stopping point which ended her response, but a snap-fire of a third arrow. Looking up at the thud, Rvian would find the skewered corpse of a large, brightly arachnid-snake hybrid that had been ready to pounce onto him.

'Just be a normal distraction. Stop acting like a musician, damn it!' Rvian thought as he heard Willis playing a flute. However, during that moment, Rvian was paying attention to Willis, not to what was in front of him. So when the arrow hit the tree trunk, he reflexively lurched to the side, grabbed his rifle's hilt with his spare, and used the forearm of the arm he was holding the machete with to steady his aim.

'It landed harmlessly...Either a poorly aimed shot or a warning.'[/] Rvian snapped a branch off a nearby bush and ran it against the arrow's tip. Part of the bark on the branch was cut off when Rvian raised it to eye-level, so he could scrutinize it. [i]'Arrow's real. I'll take that as half hostile action. Don-Gador military protocol dictates that if the stalker does that again, they are an enemy to be subdued with lethal force.' thought Rvian as he tossed the stick away.

Since it was an arrow, Rvian could trace where it had came from. He aligned his iron sights with the arrow's tail and followed its approximate arc. Finding the stalker's exact location wasn't possible, but it would give a rough area. As Rvian half expected, the stalker hadn't moved from the general spot they were in earlier.

Once again, an arrow hit the ground next to Rvian. He responded by pointing his rifle at it. Only this time, he was shocked and interested to see it had killed a beast of monstrous appearance that was likely hostile. '...I guess that means they can be considered friendly. But how can they make such accurate shots despite all the foliage in the way?' Rvian thought as he crouched and examined the dead creature. It had many bright colors, so it was likely poisonous. 'No meal for me.'
.
"Well then... I suppose I go off the assumption they aren't hostile, but aren't friendly. As per Don-Gador military doctrine, I should try to befriend them..." Rvian stood, slung his rifle over his shoulder, sheathed his machete, and walked toward Willis holding the dead snake monster. “Willis!” he yelled as he chucked the corpse at Willis’ feet. “Our stalker killed this before it attempted to harm me. Which means, according to what the army taught me, they can be made an ally. So, fuck it, we are trying a diplomatic approach.”

With that, Rvian turned toward where their stalker was. He put his rifle and machete on the ground, and raised his hands with his palms displayed to reveal he was weaponless. He then slowly began to walk toward the location of the stalker.

Eep! Willis made a funny face as his left leg instinctively swung around, and caught the coiled body of the arachnid-hybrid. Its bright-colored corpse stained Willis' boots in blood. Willis seized the animal by its spine before carefully turning it in one way or another, examining its alien features. The holo-wrist snapped pictures from all angles.

The butt of an arrow is sticking out from the body. The snake-thing died before knowing what hit them.

Willis laid the snake-thing down onto the dirt, his other hand setting down the toolbox, opening the covers, and retrieving a slender foam gun from inside. Willis continued to rummage until he found a cartridge of shiny plastoid, which he inserted into the cubic arsenal of the foam gun. Hue vapor bubbled on the crest of the barrel as the power is switched on.

Willis shot the arachnid-hybrid with the foam gun. A transparent bubble of plastoid enveloped the creature, with the texture of bubblegum. Willis attached the bubble to his explorer's belt, which began to fill the capsule with formaldehyde.

The snake alien has been preserved, and is ready for further study. Willis packed his foam gun into the toolbox, and got the specimen ready for transport.

Rvian, please come back. I think our stalker-friend wants to surprise us. Ishmar sensed them circling around toward me. Willis projected his thoughts to Rvian as he highlights the outline of Eilowny inside Rvian's mind. Willis has pinpointed where Eilowny is, thanks to the amount of feedback generated, closer proximity, and Ishmar's alert.

Willis then raised his hands as if he was surrendering, the capsule jiggling as he moved, before walking forward to meet Rvian halfway.

Willis wouldn’t get far before the distinctive shimmering as Eilonwy’s smart armor resumed its base white coloration while she stepped out from behind a tree next to him, lowering her hood as she did. With surprising speed and strength, the Dalta had a firm grip on the man’s forearm and brought his smart watch under the multi-lensed gaze of her headset. Though clearly not a grasp meant to injure, it was clear she held some interest in the device.

For a good few seconds her attention was on the device alone before she turned it to the human wearing it. Panning from top to bottom, Eilonwy’s frown deepened as she took note of the internal injuries Willis had been forcing himself through. At the same time, Rvian and Willis might notice the holographic interface of the smart watch apparently bugging out. When the displays returned to normal, Willis was released but barely would have time to react before she was indicating for him to get down.

As she gestured at Willis with one hand, her other sent out her own hologram version of him. At first the holo-duplicate was identical before the torso and other sections phased into skeletal views with the injuries both on display and highlighted in various colors.

Casting a glance at Rvian, acknowledging that she recognizes he was there, she tilted her head towards the hologram in a gesture full of meaning. Though not a soldier herself, it was hard to miss the way the Don-Gador carried himself and, as far as Eilonwy knew, most soldiers recognized the harm of bulling through such serious injuries.

"I'm not coming back. I'm fairly confident our potential ally isn't going to try to kill us," Rvian stated plainly while following the stalker's presumed trail. He was trying to give them they impression he knew where they were as an more less intimidation tactic. "Tell Ishmar not to attack and just hold still," he said as if he was planning to see through the bizarre attempt at diplomacy no matter what. In actuality, Rvian was positioned so he could dive for his machete and rifle if he needed to. Though, he kept his eyes off his weapons, so he didn't give away his plans. Accidental body language could accidentally ruin his plan, so Rvian tried his hardest not to make a move that would reveal his intent.

But when EIlonwy moved and grabbed Willis, Rvian, without thought, dove to his left. He slid across the ground smoothly and grabbed his rifle. Without bothering to stand up, he leveled its barrel at Eilowyn before realizing what he had done. '...God damn leftover war instincts,' he thought as he made an apologetic gesture and laid his rifle to rest. Evidently, the Sgrak Civil War still affected him worse than he thought. He could add instinctual actions on top of nightmares and occasional flashbacks. "...Sorry," Rvian mumbled as he stood up and scrutinized what Eilowyn was doing.

An outloud apology seemed appropriate, despite Rvian doubting Eilowyn spoke his language. Catching his eye at that moment, however, was the weird device on Willis' arm blinking repeatedly. Even Rvian, who knew nothing about it, could tell that wasnt normal. Well, 'normal,' nothing was normal about that day for Rvian. He stalked over slowly and watched the fake Willis highlight parts of its body to show what Rvian assumed to be injuries. 'Ishmar fucked him up more than I though. The fact he can still move is impressive. But that might just be drugs,'

Rvian responded to Eilowyn's nod by walking over to Willis and flicking his ribs.
It was an old field medical practice used by Don-Gador. Apply pain to the injured area and determine, on a scale from grunt to scream, how badly they needed medical attention. It was malpractice in other societies, probably, but it was run it the mill fir Don-Gador. Though, Rvian could already guess it wasnt good. He turned to Eilowyn and spoke, "I've nothing to treat him." He said as he gestured to Willis' injuries and shrugged. "Do you?" He asked as he gestured at broken ribs and pointed at his own in an attempt to ask if she could fix them.

Sending some thumbs-ups into Rvian's mind, Willis ordered Ishmar to be in 'Stalker Mode' while perched atop the trees.

Willis obediently laid himself flat on the ground per the wishes of Eilowy. He spotted two neon Olive-blue eyes staring back at him through a visor with 3 optical pieces. For some reason, Willis feels that he can trust this person.

And then Eilowy sent out a near-identical holographic projection of Willis himself, flickering into view! Willis looked at his holo-twin in awe; a see-through version of himself, like the photos taken at the x-ray machine. Awesome!

Willis cried out in excitement as Rvian walked over to Willis and flicked his ribs.

Something inside Willis' chest explodes.

The pain is too immense to scream. It pushes air out of his lungs, and blood droplets leak out of his mouth. Willis began to see double as his vision turn into a blur of red-gold with burnt orange specks.

With his last remaining willpower, Willis blasts Rvian with two middle-fingers before going unconscious on the dirt.