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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 7, 2015 21:28:10 GMT -5
They had said it would be a chance to turn his life around. They had said that he would be able to leave the old world behind. Instead of being caught in the endless prison cycle, he would be able to do some good for humanity, help to colonize the stars. It seemed a good deal to Gavin at the time, if nothing else. Use his mechanical and programming skills to help maintain the Aurora on the cheap, and in exchange he got food, board, and a place as one of the ship's first colonists. He wasn't expecting to be the governor on the alien planet, but it was better than where he was and the excitement of discovery was something he couldn't pass up. The way he figured, even if he was bottom of the totem pole wherever the Aurora colonized, it would be better than remaining home where the little code on his neck kept him from earning enough money to buy some bread. That was what he thought. However, as the ship approached system 4546, Gavin had begun to notice something very peculiar about the ship's programming (not that he was supposed to be examining it). Now, the Aurora was a fine ship, state-of-the-art in exploration with equipment well-suited to the initial stages of terraforming and the machinery to personally see to a rudimentary colony once a suitable planet has been discovered. It was one of the finest ships humanity had ever made, and it was a note of pride to be allowed on it. So why in the name of all things good and pure was its emergency programming bone freaking stock?! He knew that there were some things that would remain similar enough, but this was the sort of thing that he had actually seen code line for line on one of his less-legitimate jobs! This was cruise liner emergency systems! Unless he was mistaken, those protocols were meant for ships whose escape pods were to be floating in space and were nowhere near a planet. And when the ship itself wasn't supposed to be anywhere near an atmosphere. Out of curiosity, he began running simulations, and discovered that prospects for those who underwent reentry in the current situation... well... the prospects weren't good. As they approached the second planet from the star (or so the captain said), Gavin was examining some of the escape pods' programming systems, trying to confirm his suspicions before putting his neck on the line for a simple hunch. After all, he was a thief, not an aerospace engineer, so he very well could be wrong about this. Still, as he examined Pod 5, he had an epiphany and realized that his fears were all too accurate: the pods would not launch in atmospheric conditions. Horror seized him as he realized this and he was just beginning to tamper with Pod 5's code to override this restriction when the ship suddenly jolted violently, knocking him clean off his feet. Alarm claxons rang all over the ship and he heard screaming from every corridor. The ship chimed urgently, "System alert! Engines 1 and 2 have suffered catastrophic damage. System alert! Engines 3 and 4 at less than 50% capacity. System alert! Thrust capacity insufficient to escape gravitational pull of planet. System alert! Speeds exceeding suggested reentry velocity. Suggest immediate evacuation." Gavin didn't need to be told twice. The moment he had scraped himself off the floor, he ran into Pod 5 and linked his PDA to the pod's systems, frantically trying to fix the ejection system. If he had time he hoped to link it to all the pods, but first and foremost was saving his own hide... and it turned out to be a greater job than he was cut out for. The ship began chiming in the time until impact. "Impact in T-minus 60 seconds." He frantically typed away, trying to get his pod fixed... and in the meantime the rest of the pods began to fill with people... HE NEEDED MORE TIME! "T-minus 45 seconds." He needed more time! He couldn't save the rest of the crew in 45 seconds! He could barely save himself! He couldn't... "T-minus 30 seconds." Closing his eyes with guilt biting back the fury of his conscience, he closed the door, finalized his pod's alterations, and hit the eject button. The pod jostled violently and he even in his jump seat he nearly got knocked out on the wall. Below him the world seemed to be ablaze as the pod reentered the atmosphere, and while he could feel the titanium parachute attempting to slow him, he knew that this was going to be a hard landing. The pod's internal countdown continued. "Impact in T-minus ten... nine... eight... seven..." This was going to be a rough landing. |
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23 
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Post by Jackie on Sept 9, 2015 11:21:28 GMT -5
The waters above the reef had been calm for the entirety of the night, the sky above cloudless and lit with millions upon millions of twinkling lights. It was on nights like these that Ferah (no horns) liked to come to the surface and gaze upwards at the night sky. She'd always been mesmerized by the twinkling little bits of light above, always wondering what they were and what caused them to shine like they did. Sometimes she'd see ones streak suddenly across the sky, those ones were Ferah's favorite. With a light sigh, the girl brought her knees to her chest before promptly wrapping her arms around them, resting her chin lazily upon her kneecaps. While the reef she called home had everything she needed to live on, the sense of loneliness and general boredom permeated her existence pretty much constantly. It was hard for her to believe that it had been over three hundred sunrises and sunsets since she'd been exiled from her village, did anyone back home miss her she often wondered? Ferah wanted to think that at least her parents did, though the image of them standing aside quietly, eyes averted as the village elder handed down his judgement was burned permanently into her mind, so fresh she would have thought it only happened a few hours ago. By all rights, Ferah should have been dead by this point, and as the young creature made her journey across the vast emptiness of the Barrens, death had almost claimed her several times. It wasn't uncommon for her to have nightmares of her time in that dreaded place, nightmares of the horrible creatures that stalked it coming to get her, only for her to wake up screaming just before they reached her. Yet somehow she'd beaten the odds and made it through, the Barrens giving way to a lush kelp forest, and soon after, the shallow reef she now called home. Before Ferah could think anymore on her depressing past or uncertain future however, something high in the sky above her caught her attention. At first she believed it to be one of the fast-moving twinkling lights, though generally by this time the sun was up enough to make seeing the twinkling lights extremely difficult. As Ferah watched it however, it quickly became apparent that this wasn't the case. With a look of confusion, Ferah rose to her feet and squinted at the object. It was bright, far brighter than any of the twinkling lights, and it seemed...closer. About half a minute after spotting it initially, Ferah's eyes would grow wide as the object came close enough for her to actually see it. Of course even then the girl couldn't have told you what 'it' even was. The parts of it that weren't engulfed in flames glinted as the rays from the rising sun struck it. Smaller pieces of whatever it was seemed to rip and tear of from it's form as it fell, raining down seemingly everywhere. The sound of the thing was possibly the scariest thing of all to Ferah though. The thing seemed to scream as it hurled towards the surface, and the closer it got the more deafening the roar became, to the point that Ferah found herself tucking her ears tightly against her head to try and muffle it. The feeling of intense fear and bizarre curiosity never left Ferah as she watched the thing get closer, and closer, and closer. It soon became clear that it would crash somewhere in the Barrens, past the kelp forest, but that didn't stop smaller pieces of whatever it was from raining down elsewhere, some even landing here in her reef. What happened next was easily the scariest part of the entire ordeal. With a boom so loud Ferah feared it would tear the world asunder, the thing struck the water, causing waves larger than any the girl had ever seen in the numerous storms and squalls she'd experienced in her lifetime to go in every direction, including straight for her. With a heart pumping so hard it threatened to burst from her chest, Ferah would finally tear her gaze away from the spectacle and rush for the edge of the reef she'd been on top of, not hesitating as she dove into the warm waters. With a few flicks of her powerful tail she'd propel herself downwards towards one of the many natural caves and protrusions in the reef, taking shelter in one of them. Sure enough, within a few moments Ferah could see the water level lower a great deal, exposing more of the surrounding reefs as the massive wave passed overhead, she could feel the waters around her moving with it, with surprising force no less, the sands shifting and move along with what vegetation she could see. It would pass fairly quickly however, the waters quickly calming as the waves moved on. As Ferah peeked out from her hiding place, a crash on the water's surface above her promptly made her dart back into it. A larger piece of the thing had plummeted down right into her reef, it was big and round, and after hitting the water it would slowly sink down before burying itself in the sand just a short distance from her. For several minutes Ferah remained still and quiet in the small cave she was hiding in, watching the smooth, round object with intense curiosity and suspicion. Slowly the girl swam from her hiding place, and would slowly make her way towards the object, frequently stopping behind rocks and other debris on the sea floor. Closer and closer she went to it, and before long Ferah found herself within mere feet. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest, her gills flaring as excitement and fear threatened to overwelm her senses altogether. After several minutes of indecision, Ferah would swim out from the last rocky outcropping separating her from the object, and made her way towards it. The waters around the thing were warmer than usual, and as she tentatively reached out and touched it, she found the thing itself to be very warm, not to mention incredibly smooth. Seeing as nothing bad had happened when she touched the object, Ferah would relax a bit and examine the round thing a bit closer, curiously running both hands over it's smooth exterior. What could it be? What is it made of? What does it do? Where did it come from? These questions, along with countless others, raced through the girl's mind as she continued examining the strange thing. |
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 9, 2015 12:11:23 GMT -5
Gavin awoke rather abruptly to the sound of alarm claxons going off in his pod, a few panels askew as the computer blared plaintively for his attention. Ugh... he felt like he'd been in a car accident... every part of him ached. Thank goodness he had been in his harness on impact. Groaning with pain, Gavin took a few moments to collect himself, trying not to think too hard about the fact that he just survived an event that took thousands of people he'd been talking mere minutes ago. After rubbing his brow and fighting with a combination of grief, self-pity, and guilt, he finally shook himself off and undid his harness... only to promptly flop onto the floor as he lost his balance. Quite the auspicious start.
Grumbling to himself at his own ineptitude, he was just about to haul himself to his feet when he noticed a soft crashing outside the pod. Well that's odd... Frowning with confusion, he hauled himself to his feet, forced to walk diagonally thanks to whatever surface the pod had landed on being a little helter-skelter. "Computer! Talk to me! What's the system status!" God everything was slippery.
"System alert, hull integrity at sixty percent. Cause: thermal System alert, power cell four is inoperable. System alert, ballasts and floatation devices failed to deploy. Cause: manual failure."
Fuuuuuuuuck... Only so much that reprogramming could do he supposed. Wait... ballasts?! OH CRAP! I'm underwater! Smacking his forehead at the realization, he peered at the hatches both below and above and saw that the bottom one was quite clearly on a sandy sea floor and the top was partially jammed by a rock, though he could clearly see bits of what resembled barnacles or lichen on it, and in the distance he could see the telltale glimmer of sunlight filtered through water. Oooooh that was bad. "Computer, give me depth and atmospheric composition."
"Depth: approximately fifteen meters. Atmospheric composition: approximately 76% nitrogen and 23% oxygen."
Good, no threat of crushing or drowning from not being able to up in time. Lucky that the atmosphere was more oxygenated too. Still, this was bad. If this pod was toast, then he had nowhere to stay, nowhere to sleep... and that's assuming that whatever was out there was edible for humans and that he wouldn't be immediately eaten. Groaning and rubbing his eyes, he promptly began a manual check of the pod's systems, looking over everything by hand. Okay... three out of the four power cells were still online and the solar panels were intact enough to help keep them powered. The fabricator was a little dinged up, but it seemed to be mostly functional. He'd have to change his clothing into a wetsuit he'd wager... should probably get one of the local fish to have it scan and see if it was safe for consumption. He had his welder still, so that was something. He would need metal to weld with though. Immediately his thoughts went to the Aurora, and while they briefly held on the scrap that no doubt flew off it, he was rather abruptly distracted by the thought of those aboard. Someone had to be alive... anyone. He didn't care if it was fucking Heather from navigation; anything would be better than being stuck alone out here. "Computer, status of the Aurora?"
"Beginning scan."
Well, that would take a while. It was then that he noticed that the pod had blast windows. Odd decision, but nevermind. Suppose he should probably take a look at the situation outside before he made any final decisions on what to do. Flipping the switch, he took the moment to rub his face again, still in utter disbelief at the situation he had found himself in... and when his hand (and the blast door) slid out of the way, he was granted with a full view of a seemingly massive creature, at least the size of a man, and it was staring right at him. Gavin jumped like he had just seen the Reaper himself greeting him and scrambled backwards, tripping and falling on his backside and smacking his head on the pod wall. Letting out a yelp of pain, his hand went up to the wounded area on his head before looking back up to where he'd seen the creature, eyes wide with terror of the idea of becoming something's midday snack.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Sept 9, 2015 16:29:47 GMT -5
Ferah had moved up to the center of the flattest part of the object when she suddenly became aware of something, this thing was making noise. At first she believed that perhaps she was just imagining it, but upon putting one of her large ears against the warm surface of the object, she'd discover it was indeed the cause. The sounds were extremely muffled, in fact if her hearing hadn't been as fine as it was, Ferah likely wouldn't have been the wiser. The girl was positive she could hear a droning noise of some kind, and in two different tones no less, it sounded almost like a conversation really. It wasn't long after she'd first noticed the noise that it stopped altogether, and everything grew quiet once more, or at least for a few moments. Suddenly, a more steady droning noise would sound, and without warning the wall of the object would start to pull away, causing Ferah to pull her hands away from it. The sight it revealed made Ferah's eyes grow so large one would have thought they'd have popped out of her head completely. The thing was hollow, and within it was a creature the likes of Ferah had never seen before in her lifetime. It was shaped somewhat like her, albeit built bigger. It had a head, body, two legs and two arms like she did, but it lacked a tail as she had, and was incredibly pale. It had hair on it's head as Ferah did, but it was short, even more so than her own, and it also had a strip of it on it's face.
However, all of this information barely registered in Ferah's mind as the pale creature dropped it's hand from it's face, it's green eyes raising to meet her sapphire ones. Ferah herself had been in a state of shock, not knowing what to do or how to process what she was seeing. When the pale thing suddenly jumped into the air however, it promptly snapped the girl out of her daze, and she'd dart off towards the safety of a nearby rock. Again her heart would begin to beat violently in her chest as Ferah pressed her back against the outcropping, out of sight of the hollow thing and it's pale occupant. She could barely register what was happening, her mind reeling from the idea that not only had something so big fallen from the sky, but that something alive had come with it, something not of her world. After a couple of fear dominated minutes, Ferah would slowly turn around and peek up over the rock she was hiding behind, only to spot the pale creature in the transparent square of it's object. Of course she would be easily spotted, and if it looked her way she'd duck back down. Despite her inherent fear and her natural instincts telling her to swim away as fast as she was physically able to, Ferah's intense curiosity kept her where she was. Slowly she'd peek back up again, meeting the pale creature's gaze once more. Ferah wasn't sure how long they ended up staring at each other, but when nothing bad happened or scary happened, she'd slowly slip out from behind the rock, coming to rest on top of it, her eyes never leaving the pale creature. Ever so delicately, Ferah raised on of her hands, webbed fingers spread, and waved it lightly at the creature.
Honestly Ferah had no idea what she hoped to accomplish with the action, she just felt the need to do something, why not start with a harmless wave of the hand? If anything she'd get to see how it would react, and what it might do in return.
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 9, 2015 18:28:59 GMT -5
When Gavin's eyes locked on the creature's blue orbs, he really didn't know what to think... besides the instinctual, panic-driven fear of the unknown. As he fell to the pod's floor, he fully expected the humanoid creature to start bashing away at the window, maybe use its claws on the glass or something equally terrifying. This is it! My reward for all those years of thievery is to be in some creature's digestive tract! Or... so he thought. Practically the moment he hit the floor, the other creature was off like a rocket diving for cover, its long pink tail whipping through the water like an eel attached to its backside. For a moment he sat there, stunned by the fact that his insides were still inside, eyes glued to the location where the creature had disappeared to. He didn't know if he was still staring there out of fear, curiosity, or some strange combination thereof, but he couldn't help but find himself fascinated as the creature seemed similarly trapped by indecision, poking its head back out before ducking away.
And with that strangely human display of uncertainty, Gavin found his fears beginning to evaporate... or at least regarding how dangerous the alien creature was. Slowly he began to get back to his feet, rubbing the back of his head as he gazed back that direction, trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just seen. Was this thing actually intelligent? Was it actually possible that he had just made first contact with a sentient alien? No... no it had to be sheer coincidence of body shapes. There was no way that the first creature he saw on this planet was going to be an intelligent indigenous population. Still, despite the fear of this new and unknown world, as well as a strong instinct to get the fuck away (even though he couldn't do so), he kept gazing that direction until his eyes once more met the creature's. And then... it waved at him.
He actually had no idea how to react to that, no idea what to think. All he was able to bring himself to do was wave back... well it was more of him just raising his hand uncertainly towards the alien, hoping that he hadn't just insulted it... or insulted it back he supposed. Assuming the creature didn't react adversely, he continued to look at it, finally considering the details. On second examination, he realized that the creature wasn't actually that big. Its tail and the curve of the glass certainly bloated the size estimation a little and the long rabbit-like ears didn't help, but as it came a little closer, he realized that the creature was actually smaller than him, a little on the short side if it was a human. He wasn't certain if it was male or female, as while it seemed to have that generally feminine hourglass shape, it didn't seem to have anything particularly large for the chest area and considering it was a different species he didn't know if it was straight-up female or a male with one of those reptile genital sheath things. How did he even know about that? Random trivia? Eventually he laid his hand on the window and waited for it to respond... he didn't know how it would take that, but he supposed it would be better than nothing... and it wasn't like he was able to go anywhere at the moment. Maybe if he was lucky she would be able to help him get out. Though what he'd do once he got out was a bit of a mystery.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Sept 11, 2015 19:05:10 GMT -5
Ferah's heart fluttered lightly when the pale creature raised it's own hand in reply to her little wave, she had no idea what to make of it, as she'd never seen another creature with any semblance of higher intelligence, just the usual 'flee from her or try to kill her' sorts. As they both stood there eyeballing each other, Ferah actually began to register some of it's physicalities. It was fairly broad shouldered, and had a stocky upper body (compared to her anyways), much like the males of her kind, good enough for her to assume it was a 'he' for the time being. The most striking thing was just how bare he was. No tail or fins, just hair growing out of his arms, head, and face, did he have hair over all of his body she wondered? One thing Ferah knew for sure was that whatever he was, he wasn't meant for living underwater, or at least he certainly didn't look like he was. Of course it dawned on Ferah that if he was indeed not from here, that if he came from the twinkling lights, that perhaps where he lived was much different than here. When he suddenly pressed his hand up against the transparent square of his pod thing, Ferah's ears perked up. She'd remain stationary for several moments, seemingly unsure of what to do from there. Slowly however, the girl would start to swim back towards him and the strange object he was encased in. The closer Ferah got to him, the more excited she became, though she was still a bit fearful of the whole situation. Before long, the pink creature was floating before him, her eyes on his hand as it splayed out on what seemed to be an invisible wall. Tentatively, Ferah slowly started to reach her own hand out, hesitating when it was mere inches from his own. Her hesitation wouldn't last however, her fear of the unknown being promptly overridden by her overwhelming curiosity of the pale man, and her own hand spread out across his own. The similarity between them made a shiver go up Ferah's spine, besides the the webbing between her digits, and all the swirling creases and lines on his palms and fingers, they looked to be made the same way. It actually got an excited smile from the girl, whom promptly shifted her eyes back up to his own.
Ferah also realized that there was actually another layer of something between them, whatever it was was just impeccably clear. Perhaps it was something like those crystals she sometimes found scattered on the sea floor? Whatever it was, it was far clearer than that though, to the point that she couldn't really tell it was there unless she looked at it at an angle. After a time, Ferah's hand lowered slowly from the clear crystal, and she'd clasp her hands behind her back as she continued to observe her strange guest. It occured to her that she could try speaking to him, but could he even hear her in there? If he could, would he even understand her? Only one way to find out she supposed...
"Hello?"
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 11, 2015 21:52:17 GMT -5
As the alien's ears perked and it... no he was going to call it a she for now... she started swimming back towards him, he felt confident that he could say that this thing was truly intelligent. The thought still boggled the mind: the first truly sapient species that humanity had come across, and this sole surviving poor bastard of an ex-con was the one to make contact. Despite being safe behind the glass, his heart was already pounding furiously away at the excitement and pressure of this moment. He was making first contact in all that that meant. He didn't know if he would survive long enough to ever get into any history books... but this was just so surreal. Even more surreal was that, once she was up close and had pressed her hand up against the glass over his, he realized with a nervous smile just how human this thing was. Oh, it had plenty of extras; coloration, fins, webbing between the fingers, long ears. But the body shape was the same. The face was strikingly similar. Those pretty little sapphire were similar to a human's. The hand was eerily similar to a human's, webbing notwithstanding. And she had hair; a bit short but hair nonetheless. It... wow... thank God they couldn't actually understand each other right now, because as he gazed into those beautiful blue eyes he was at a loss for words.
Still, eventually their moment of realization, or at least his, came to an end and the creature lowered its hand, an action which he reacted to in kind, though he was still thoroughly looking the creature over, trying to take over every little detail of its anatomy that he could see. There was just so much extravagant to see. And it seemed to be thoroughly taking him in also... or maybe she was confused by the window. Judging from the lack of clothes, tools, or any manufactured goods of any kind really, he didn't think that she was developed in any real way. Well, suppose coming across a full civilization was too much to ask. However, as he started looking back around his pod, mostly looking at the hatch and trying to figure out how he would get out, he heard something from the direction of the glass. Immediately his eyes darted that way and he was surprised to see the alien's mouth midway through what seemed to be a word. It was muffled to the point of nonsense, not that he expected to understand any words anyways, but judging from the... cautiously friendly tone of their interaction he could guess what she was saying. Smiling again, he gently waved his hand like he had before and said nervously, "Hello. Um... I come in peace."
'I come in peace'?! That's what someone says when they don't come in peace! Well, it's not like she could understand him most likely, but at least he had made the attempt at communicating so she could see he at least understood her gesture. Still, wasn't much good that gestures could do for him now. Looking around again, his eyes looked up to the blocked hatch in a grim frown, still irritated by his situation. It was nice that he at least had someone here to help him, but trying to explain his situation was going to be difficult. Pausing briefly to consider it, he finally decided to just pantomime it out. Waving back to her in a more 'Look over here!' manner, he then proceeded to get up the top access ladder and pushed against the top hatch, looking back at her meaningfully as he pushed it a few more times to get the point across before hopping back down and beginning some gestures. He mostly displayed with a closed fist and an open palm, trying to show that when he pushed against the hatch it was supposed to lift up. Then he pointed towards the rock and gestured from the rock to his palm, then pushed them against each other to show resistance. He wasn't certain how good of a message it would send, but hopefully she at least understood that he was stuck.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Sept 14, 2015 15:18:55 GMT -5
To her delight, the pale creature registered her attempts to communicate with him, regardless of how futile the act was as far as them understanding each other went. Indeed he'd likely deduce by her disappointed expression and drooping ears, that she couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. Neither of them could really be surprised of course, but both no doubt understood the importance of the attempt at least. The man had Ferah's complete attention would he suddenly waved at her again, her eyes followed him as he went and climbed something sticking from the wall, pushing on the roof of his shelter when he reached the top of it. Ferah continued to watch him curiously, head tilted to the side as he came back to the crystal wall and proceeded to try and communicate with her through a series of hand motions. Fortunately for him, Ferah was very sharp, and she'd quickly catch on to what he was trying to say to her. It only made sense that there had to be an opening on the object, how else would he have gotten inside of the thing in the first place?
With a small smile and nod of the head, Ferah swam upwards over the pod, promptly disappearing from sight. It didn't take long for the girl to spot what the pale man had been pushing on. A circular portion of the object could be seen jutting slightly from it's main body, pinned against the rocky outcropping the pod had come to rest against. Upon reaching it, Ferah found a break around it's entirety, though it was tight enough to keep the water out obviously. The aquatic being put her back to the outcropping and, using her legs, would try to push on the pod, hoping she could at least take the pressure off of the bulging part so he could get out. Unsurprisingly however, it didn't budge an inch. With a huff, Ferah swam up above the thing a few meters, rubbing at her chin in deep thought as she gazed down upon it. Moments later, an idea struck her, and she'd hurriedly swim back down to the crystal window. The wide smile plastered across her face likely told the pale creature that she had an idea, and she'd hold up a single finger to him in an obvious 'give me a minute' fashion.
With that, Ferah flicked her tail and was off like a shot, quickly disappearing from sight over a nearby ridge. She had just the thing in mind that could dislodge the man's object from it's wedged position against the sandy bottom of the reef and the rocky it was resting against. Her people referred to them simply as 'Floaters', curious creatures they were, they were soft, pink, and most importantly, buoyant. Ferah had seen 5 or 6 of the little pink orbs lift sizable boulders, and better yet, she knew of a small colony of them that could be found nearby. A couple of minutes of swimming later, and Ferah would come upon said colony. Such a curious sight it was, chunks of rock weighing hundreds of pounds floating several meters off the bottom of the sea floor, covered with small pink creatures. Swimming up to them, she'd carefully start removing one of them from the boulder it had taken up residence on. Twas a fairly simple affair, all one had to do was stick a finger between the rock and the Floater, which in turn broke the suction seal and caused it to lose it's grip on the rock. With Floater in hand, Ferah raced back towards the pale man and his pod. She of course knew it would take more than a single Floater to dislodge the object, which she assumed weighed as much as a large boulder at least, but Ferah figured she could at least demonstrate what the little animals could do, that way he'd at least know what her plan was and could rest easy knowing she had a plan to free him.
As Ferah came back into view, she'd swim up to the crystal wall and hold up the small pink orb for him to see. Still smiling, she'd drop down to a small, flat stone wedged into the sand in front of him, and press the creature gently against it. Within moments the Floater latched onto it, and as soon as Ferah let it go, it would raise up, plucking the rock from the sand and taking it with it as it ascended. Assuming she got a positive reaction from him, Ferah would swim up and retrieve the Floater before taking it to the top of the pod and pressing it against it's smooth surface. Sure enough, one Floater didn't change a thing, but Ferah expected that. With intense purpose, she was off to the 'Floating Stones' as she called them, eager to get her hands on more Floaters.
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Hopefully the pale man had gotten comfortable in his pod, because the process of ferrying back the Floaters took Ferah a good fifteen minutes. It wasn't until she'd reached the teens of the creatures that she'd seen the craft first budge. Finally, as she attached the 18th Floater, their combined lifting force would pull the object free, the rock scratching the material the pod was made of and making a screeching noise as it lifted upwards. It scared Ferah, but she'd relax when it became clear nothing was damaged. After raising six or seven meters, the object came to a stop as the Floaters reached their preferred level of buoyancy. With an extremely pleased look on her face, Ferah swam back to the crystal window to see the man's reaction to her efforts.
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 14, 2015 19:24:33 GMT -5
Gavin couldn't put into the words the amount of relief he felt when he saw the native girl swim up to investigate the top of his pod. He'd managed to successfully communicate to her... of course then there was whether or not she would be willing or able to help him out in the situation. He heard her feet touch the pod, but to nobody's great surprise nothing happened afterwards... so instead he was left to twiddle his thumbs waiting for her to decide what to do. Eventually she appeared in the view screen, and to his surprise she had a smile on her face and told him to wait there. Ignoring the joke, he nodded back and sat back down in his jump suit, waiting patiently for her to return, hoping that she had something like a crowbar or something else to help get this thing out... or at least a shovel to open up the bottom side. After a few minutes of waiting around and watching the different kinds of fish come around, trying to come up with names for them since he would need to think of them on the fly. So far he had spotted this weird fish with big eyes and he immediately thought up that song 'Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those peepers,' so he immediately went with the name 'Peeper.' Then there were the stingray looking things with rabbit ears... rabbitray. He'd have to sit down and come up with better names than these. No idea what to call his helper either, but at this point since she was an intelligent creature he wanted to actually get what they called themselves. Eventually he caught the distinctive pink of the alien girl coming back and he got back up to see what she'd brought... and was surprised to see some sort of big pink blob in her hand. This time it was his turn to tilt his head in confusion, trying to figure out what that thing was supposed to do to help their situation. It just looked a bit like a jellyfish... that was it. And then she displayed its special little trick: it floated! Immediately his smile returned and he nodded his understanding, excited that she actually had a plan that looked like it would work. Fit enough balloons to anything in the water, and it would start to float. Wasn't there a plan to raise the Bismarck or the Titanic with ping pong balls? Yeah, this might actually work... hopefully she was able to find enough. He wasn't surprised that it didn't move with one, but he gave her a thumbs up while she darted off. In the meantime he had his own work to do: namely to get into clothes that wouldn't sink like a stone once he was in the water. It was a simple enough matter--though he had to do a little finagling with the fabricator to get it to accept his clothing as materials to make a wetsuit. As she went about attaching those little pink balloons to his pod, the alien might have seen Gavin stripping and redressing, though he could only imagine what she thought. Normally he would've been embarrassed, but right now survival instinct was kicking in and he didn't really care if she saw him like this... though something she would have noticed is that he had a fair number of tattoos. The big one was his back tattoo, though he also had a set of tattoos on his arms, which were from the old days and he just hadn't been able to pay to get them removed... because he couldn't get a job... because he had those tattoos... Ugh...
Eventually he was in his swimsuit, just a simple thing colored midnight blue and gold, mostly because that was what was pre-programmed, though it definitely looked like something that would fit in around these waters, if it weren't for the rest of him. The goggles also fit well enough, though he had a feeling that they would get profoundly uncomfortable over time. Still, it was necessary to survive. In the meantime, his helper was still sticking those little balloon things to the outside of the pod. How long would it take? It felt like she would be at it for a minor eternity. And of course, just as he thought that, the entire thing shook and he damn near fell off his feet, only being saved from faceplanting by the ladder. The screeching of metal on stone was nearly deafening inside the pod, and he felt like he was going to be thrown off at the rate that this was going. Still, the pod stopped its shaking soon enough, and when Gavin looked around himself he was delighted to see that he was in fact floating... not on the surface, but he could see out the glass in both hatches and that was more than he could've asked for. When he saw the silhouette of the alien, he looked over and felt a big smile on his face at her pleased expression, intensely grateful for her help. He gave her a friendly salute in thanks and then turned his attention to the hatch. He learned how this was supposed to work from one of the engineers: that opening the bottom hatch wouldn't flood just from the pressure of the air inside. Didn't mean that he wouldn't be nervous about it. Sure enough, the door swung open, and while a little water splashed in, the pod remained completely intact, leaving him free to jump in at his leasure. Well, physics strikes again. After making sure that the goggles were on securely, he took in a great big breath and dove into the somewhat cool, but relatively warm water. Once out, he looked over to the person who had saved him, a big smile on his face, though he was holding his breath. It took him a moment to get his sea legs, but eventually he was able to swim over to her, albeit a little slowly compared to her comfortable speeds. It was kind of weird to actually be this close to an alien without any comfort barrier. He wasn't afraid per se, not after she helped him get out of his pod, it was just a little... unsettling. Of course, he wasn't able to focus on it much and soon enough he had to go up to the surface for air. He took in a few great big gulps of the pure, unadulterated sea air... with a hint of smoke. Instinctively his eyes turned towards the direction he thought it was coming from... And it was then that he beheld the state of the Aurora for the first time since landing. It was... horrifying. The whole thing looked on fire. Dear God. The sheer scale of the machine was striking and he realized just how many people were on board, and all the fires. But... maybe... somebody was still alive. " Computer, you still with me?" he asked, one of his hands going to his PDA briefly to make sure it was still online and that his implants were still working. They were. "Affirmitive." " What's the status of the Aurora," he asked hopefully, a bit of tears forming in his eyes. "Current scan status of the Aurora. Zero life signs detected. Lethal radiation levels detected in immediate proximity." Immediately Gavin's heart sunk and his eyes went wide with horror, all the while the pod's computer continued to blather on oblivious to his thoughts, "The main drive core has malfunctioned. The primary dark matter containment field has dropped at 36% amplitude. All escape pods except Pod 5 are still in their berths. Continuing to monitor." With that soul-crushing news delivered, he could only bring himself to stare in shock at the enormous gravestone that laid before him. Nearly a thousand people just... gone. All of them gone... and he had been unable to save them. And now... he was the last survivor. And he would have to survive in this world... alone. |
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Sept 15, 2015 9:36:17 GMT -5
The first thing Ferah noticed when she returned to the crystal window on the pale man's newly freed pod, was a change in his attire. What he'd had previously had been relatively loose, where as what he had on now was shinier and tight fitting, definitely better suited to moving around in water, though Ferah couldn't help but wonder why he wore anything at all. Clothing was non-existent in her people's society, all it could do was weigh them down and create drag when moving through the water, simple jewelry was all one would find if they were to examine that aspect of her people's culture. What Ferah found most intriguing however, was the thing strapped to his face. Of course it never occurred to her that perhaps his eyes just didn't handle saltwater well like hers did, or that he was trying to keep water out of his nose. Regardless, Ferah was happy that he was happy with this turn of events, and she'd smile widely at him. She found him raising his arm at an angle, extended fingers against his forehead, to be a curious movement. Of course Ferah had absolutely no idea what it meant, but she assumed it was something good so she'd happily mimic it, albeit improperly.
With that, it appeared the man was finally ready to exit his object, and Ferah observed with great interest as he lifted a small round piece of the pod's floor. Upon swimming downwards, she'd discover that it was an opening just as the top round part had been, and the man promptly jumped into the water through it. Here they were, no crystal wall separating them, just her and a visitor from the twinkling lights in the flesh. If she knew what butterflies were, Ferah would have told you her stomach felt like it was full of them, all fluttering around inside of her as the pale man made his way over to her. Her ears tucked back submissively when he reached her, though she wouldn't flee from him seeing how their interactions thus far had been friendly. Ferah was just a little intimidated by the whole situation still, not quite fully grasping the importance of what was happening, namely first contact between two sentient species. She'd just been entertaining the idea of doing the 'hand comparison' thing again when he suddenly made a break for the surface, Ferah instinctively recoiling a bit when he did so. The girl immediately relaxed however, and swam after him. Gosh he was awfully unwieldy underwater, how could he stand swimming so slow she found herself wondering. Twas definitely a good idea for him to stay in the shallow waters of the reef where it was safe, being a slow swimmer beyond them was basically asking for something to make a meal out of you.
Once they surfaced, Ferah promptly figured out why he'd had to come up here in such a hurry. The way he was gulping down air told her he apparently couldn't breathe underwater. Now that she thought about it, Ferah didn't recall seeing any gills on his body anywhere. Her own, three slits on either side of her abdomen below her breasts, allowed her to filter oxygen directly from the water, so she could stay submerged indefinitely. Indeed it wasn't uncommon for her people to be born, live, and die without ever having surfaced. Ferah was different than the others though, and she liked going to the surface. Unbenounced to her, their species had yet another thing in common, a pair of lungs. The very first time Ferah had gotten out of the water, her lungs had been so weak that she couldn't stay out of the water for more than a minute or two. As time went on however, and her trips to the surface became more frequent, her lungs had grown stronger and stronger. Years later, Ferah could remain on the surface seemingly indefinitely. In fact, as soon as her head broke free of the water, Ferah could feel her lungs rapidly inflate within her chest, and she too would take a deep breath of the open air, such was the speed at which her body was able to shift between using her lungs and using her gills.
The problems his lack of gills would pose for him didn't last long in Ferah's mind however, for a pecular smell struck the pink creature's own nose and diverted her attention. Upon turning around, Ferah spotted what had caught the pale man's attention. Her own ears drooped at the sight of the gargantuan thing, lit up brightly by the many fires burning upon it, thick black smoke raising up from it's husk. Even being as far away as they were, the object looked huge. Was that his home perhaps? Or what was left of it at least? It had to have been something like that, for he appeared saddened by the state it was in. Ferah's ears perked up when she heard him speak, his voice smooth and crisp sounding now that there wasn't anything between them, not even water. It had a deeper tone to it than Ferah's, whose was a good deal lighter by comparison. "Huh?" She'd respond pointlessly, though humorously enough, he'd probably have understood that universal vocalization for 'What?'. A reply wasn't necessary though, for Ferah quickly realized he wasn't addressing her, rather he was talking to a glowing crystal square in his hands, which replied in a very monotonous tone. While she had no idea what was being said between him and his crystal square, whatever it was only seemed to make him even sadder. Ferah's people were extremely adept at reading body language and expressions, even she could read this alien's emotional state somewhat by it. Coupled with her empathetic nature, and it was no surprise that Ferah felt genuinely sorry for the pale man. Deciding to take a risk, the pink creature would lightly tap him on the shoulder. When/if he elected to turn to face her, he may have been surprised when she suddenly embraced him, their torso's touching as Ferah's arms wrapped around him and squeezed him gently. Hugging was a fairly common way of showing affection or comforting another person in her people's society, and Ferah hoped it would have the desired effect and he'd not react adversely to it. Of course if the pale man did have an unpleasant reaction, she'd immediately release him and give him some space.
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 15, 2015 12:17:13 GMT -5
Gavin had no idea how long he sat there, just staring out at the Aurora, heart sinking and despair washing over him. So many people dead. His one ticket off-planet gone. The place that promised him a paycheck to a life free of his past mistakes: gone. It was over, his life was finished. In the midst of his depressed, despairing thoughts, he felt something touch his shoulder. Looking over, he was unsurprised to see the native girl there, a soft, empathetic look on her face, at least near as he could tell. He wasn't certain if these aliens had the same body language as humans, though he supposed he could assume so from what he'd seen. Not that he was in a scholarly mood. Then, to his utter surprise, he felt her arms wrap around him and her chest press against him... in a hug. His initial reaction was a sudden gasp of surprise, his body briefly stiffening at the unexpected contact. But... then he realized what she was doing and his entire body relaxed... taking in the comfort of this stranger. Instinctively his own arms wrapped around her, holding the alien up to him while he softly cried. It wasn't a deep wailing or anything like that, he didn't know the people well enough for that, but they were still people that he knew and he couldn't help but feel the guilt of being unable to save them wash over. After a short time of quiet, shaky sobs he regained his composure and broke off the hug, offering the alien a sad, grateful smile for her empathy, "Thank you." Amazing how humans wouldn't give him this sort of treatment, yet something so strange and different from him showed such kindness.
After lifting his goggles up to wipe his tears a little, he stopped and considered his situation, a slightly more determined expression on his face. The Aurora was lost to him. He had a sunken but functional escape pod, a welder and general repair tool, a PDA, a wetsuit, and a native alien who seemed willing to help him out, at least to some extent. He didn't know how long it would take for a rescue operation to get started, but at best it would be around a month; and that was the most optimistic. He needed food, water, and shelter. Water he wasn't worried about; so long as the fabricator kept working, he could just have the thing separate out the water, salt, and anything else inside. Food... he'd have to check with the alien as to what was poisonous and hope to high heaven that he didn't have an allergic reaction, but there wasn't much he could do. That left shelter. Obviously that meant that pod, at least temporarily, but underwater it would run out of air. Okay... that meant getting it back up, and those pink balloons wouldn't be enough to keep it afloat. What had happened to the ballasts anyways? Weren't they supposed to auto-deploy if water was detected?
Taking in a deep breath, he dove back under to examine his pod, going to the area where the ballasts were supposed to come out. Weirdly he didn't see anything of immediate note that seemed off--it almost looked like they didn't deploy. Odd... Cracking open one of the panels, he started poking around inside, pushing away the bright orange fabric to look for the mechanism. He quickly found the problem: the air tubes had broken, probably on impact. Easy enough fix. After popping up for some more air, he started looking around the sea floor for some pieces of the Aurora that had fallen off... sure enough there was plenty to go around. Swimming down in all of his slow, cumbersome glory (in comparison to the alien's graceful movements anyways), he swam down for the piece. Along the way he noticed that there were plenty of creatures around the reef that he hadn't been able to see from his position in the pod. Some of them looked kind of familiar, like the coral-equivalents... though he also noticed some odd lights in the distance, bright gold and in clusters. He'd investigate later. Once he had a piece of titanium about the size of his forearm, he went about hauling it towards the pod. Any help the alien gave at this point would be much appreciated, because he quickly discovered that he was going to be swimming pretty darn slow with one of his hands taken up.
Once to the pod, he slipped the piece inside (boy was it heavy out of the water, even considering it was titanium) and told the pod to turn it into some titanium. If the alien joined him, he wouldn't mind, though she might find it a bit cramped for two people... he could only imagine what she thought about the fabricator. It probably looked like magic from where she was standing, seeing the metal disintegrate into the blue beams and rearrange into easy-to-use strips. While the machine worked, he tapped into his PDA and quickly told the pod to temporarily disable the flotation devices; didn't want it automatically reactivating with his arm still inside. Amusingly, while he didn't say anything, the pod's computer reported calmly, "Flotation device disabled." Then, once he had his titanium, he took a deep breath and dove back under, feeding a strip into his repair tool and sticking his head into the offending panel while he worked. Bright lights came from the building tool as he patched the holes, and he had to pop back up occasionally to get his breath back.
Still, after about ten minutes of work and swimming he had the thing patched up. Making sure to take another breath before doing anything else, then closing the bottom hatch and gesturing for his alien companion to 'stand' back a little bit, he brought out his PDA and told it to reactivate the flotation devices. Sure enough, two bright orange tubes inflated instantly and the thing rocketed to the surface, the pink blobs surprisingly remaining on through the ordeal as the thing breached, got a little air, then came back down with a soft smack on the surface. Smiling triumphantly, he gestured to his alien companion that she was free to join him as he headed back into his pod, opening the bottom hatch and climbing in as he checked the state of affairs inside. Everything looked perfectly intact, minus the damage taken from impact, but now that he had his building tool fed with titanium he could easily fix that, and was more than eager to do just that if for no other reason than to keep the thing from sparking or filling with smoke.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Sept 15, 2015 19:01:30 GMT -5
Ferah kept the hug going for as long as the man needed it to go, his light sobs and sniffling didn't irk her in the slightest and keeping them afloat with her tail was an easy feat for her. There had been times in her life when she needed a shoulder to cry on, and it twas only right for her to give this alien one at a time when he needed it. Of course she had absolutely no idea that not only had the pale man lost his home, but over a thousand of his people had met their end aboard it, turning it into one massive grave. After he'd gotten the worst of it out of his system and broke off their hug, he'd find Ferah countering his sad smile with a warm, comforting one of her own. She didn't understand the words he spoke to her, but she didn't need to be a genius to know it was likely a thank you of sorts, to which she'd simply nod her head. Once he'd recomposed himself, Ferah could practically see the renewed sense of purpose and determination in his eyes, it was good to know that he hadn't given up the will to live. When her new found friend took a deep breath of air and dove back underwater, she'd promptly follow him, keeping up with him effortlessly. It seemed the pale creature had a plan in mind for himself, and Ferah was more than happy to help him in any way she was able, it wasn't as if she had anything better to do after all.
While curious as to what he was doing, Ferah was very mindful to stay out of the man's why as he examined his pod. The pink creature remained quite as he poked around inside of the craft's innards, pausing only to surface for more air. When the pale man eventually made for the seafloor, Ferah was right there alongside him. While dangers here in the shallows were few and far between, they were present, and she took it upon herself to keep an eye on him and make sure he stayed safe. Before long, it became obvious what he was looking for, a piece that had fallen off the giant thing. It was almost painful to watch him try and swim with the hunk of material, Ferah couldn't help but grimace at the sight. Rather than just standing by and watching, she'd swim up to her new friend and, if he allowed, take the piece of debris from his hand. Of course Ferah would make it clear that she intended to carry it for him and follow him, not run off with it or something like that. Assuming he was fine with this arrangement, and continued swimming, Ferah would join him, easily able to keep up with her tail and feet even though her hands were full. When they reached his pod, Ferah helped him heave the chunk of material up through the hole in the floor of the pod, and after the pale man himself climbed up into it, Ferah went ahead and poked her head in. The inside seemed cramped, more so than it had from the outside, and for that reason she'd not climb all the way in, boy did she want to though. Instead Ferah rested her arms on the edge of the hatch and watched her new friend take the material to something mounted on the wall.
The pink girl watched in awe as it unfolded when he touched it, and after he set the metallic chunk on it's little platform, bright blue beams of light would make it disappear before her eyes, it was as if it were magic. Almost as soon as the chunk disappeared, the blue beams would materialize small metallic strips in it's place, which Ferah assumed were made of the same material as what had just disappeared. Once he'd collected the strips and prepared to dive back in, Ferah went back under herself and got out of his way. For the next ten minutes she'd watch him work, ever curious but also knowing better than to get in his way or interrupt him. When it seemed he'd finished fixing his new home, Ferah would obey his gestures and swim away from the pod a few meters. What happened next gave Ferah quite the start, as two orange tubes popped out of the pod's side and caused it to hurl upwards, all the way out of the water even. When her new friend motioned for her to join him, Ferah's eyes lit up and she'd eagerly follow him. After he'd heaved himself up into the craft, she'd promptly join him, slipping out of the water effortlessly and having a seat along one of the walls, her legs crossed. It was awfully cramped in here Ferah noticed, barely big enough for two people his size to lie down even, but at least he had somewhere to stay. All in all, the pink alien couldn't help but clap lightly, clearly quite entertained by everything she'd just witnessed.
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 15, 2015 19:37:24 GMT -5
Gavin was truly grateful for the alien's help hauling the bit of metal and definitely showed no signs of complaints when she picked it up, silently acknowledging her help. It was kind of amusing to see her watch the fabricator work--he could only wonder what kind of thoughts were going through her head at watching it. No doubt it seemed like sorcery or something of the like. She didn't seem credulous enough to think he was a god or anything stupid like that; not like he'd displayed anything that would warrant such thoughts anything. He actually preferred it that way. He didn't want to be even remotely tempted to pull a Columbus or Cortez out here, not that he thought he would but the idea was still unpleasant.
Nothing made him smile more though than when the pod was ready and he got to see his hard work come to fruition, climbing up inside along with his new helper. It was admittedly a little awkward inside; it was about the size of a decent camping tent, so it wasn't like they'd be able to throw a party, but at least it was something. Her entertained clapping made him chuckle, smiling a little at her while he took care of the remaining damage. Satisfied, he grabbed a bottle which had come with the survival kit, filled it up at the hatch, then took it over to the fabricator, where it quickly removed the salt and put it in a nice and neat set of cubes. With fresh (and still slightly salty-tasting) water in hand, he took a seat across from her to take a breather and let his eyes rest from the goggles, a little winded by the swimming. It wasn't anything terrible, but he wasn't exactly the best swimmer ever and it had been a while since he had any food. As he offered her a sip from the bottle, he realized that the ship had probably crashed around lunch time. Hrmm... he could go for a burger about now. After he had gotten his breath back, he looked up and asked her, "So... what do you eat around here?" and then made a burger eating gesture and repeated the word, "Eat. What do you eat?" Man, if he was allergic to the stuff out here or if too much of it was poisonous, this might be a depressing case of boomerang fuck-ups.
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Jackie
Child
Professional lazy grump.
Posts: 248 Likes: 23
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Post by Jackie on Sept 15, 2015 20:15:39 GMT -5
Honestly, if he'd crashed near her home village then her people may have very well dropped to their knees before him. Like any budding culture, Ferah's people had a crude religion and who knew how many stories for how the world came into creation. She'd never really bought into all that stuff though, as she was the sort that liked to think there was a reason why things were the way the were. Why did things come down when you threw them up? Why did the sun rise and set at the same time every day? What was the sun and moons made of? How big was the world they called home? Ferah had pondered these questions and possibly hundreds of others over the years. There had to be reasons for why the world worked like it did, an answer of some sort to every question, figuring these things out was just near impossible for her. The village elder liked to use the 'It's the will of our god.' excuse for nearly everything, and Ferah frequently challenged him on it, questioning why they should pay homage to some all powerful being(s) they didn't even know existed. Looking back on it, it was those questions that got her in the situation she was in. It saddened Ferah that they were so willing to cast her out for her curiosity and willingness to question everything, but it saddened her even more that her people seemed more than happy to live in complete ignorance of the world around them. Ferah watched curiously as the man took an empty container and filled it with seawater from the hatch before taking it to the thingy on the wall, which zapped it but didn't appear to change it in anyway, aside from making it clearer and putting some cubed things in it. She'd tilt her head to the side when he brought the bottle to his lips and drank from it, and she looked unsure of what to do when it was offered to her. Slowly, Ferah reached out and took the offered water from his hands, regarding it curiously before slowly bringing it to her lips and taking a sip. She was surprised to find it very cold to her mouth, but not unpleasantly so. The pale man might have not known it, but this was the first time Ferah had ever actually drank anything. While she didn't know it, her body got the moisture it needed by absorbing minute amounts of what was constantly around her, her skin acting as a natural filter of sorts. After a few more sips, Ferah handed the bottle back to him. The girl's ears perked up when her new friend spoke to her, the pink creature looked at him questioningly with a tilted head. Of course when he made the eating gesture she immediately picked up on what he was getting at, he was hungry. It only made sense that he'd ask her for help in this matter, since he was a stranger here, one could assume he wouldn't know what was safe to eat and what wasn't. With an enthusiastic nod, Ferah sprang up from her sitting position and gracefully dove into the open hatch, darting off immediately. Over the next few minutes, she'd occasionally pop back up into the pod and drop various types of fish on the floor, among them was one with large eyes, a curved one, one whose eyes were on stalks, one that was partially transparent and looked like it was filled with air, and lastly, one with many legs. When she came up with the last one, the man would find that Ferah had already taken a few bites of it, and she'd go ahead and take another after getting re-seated against the wall. There were several types of edible vegetation around as well, but she felt it would be better to start with fish. |
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Post by aardvarklord on Sept 15, 2015 23:29:43 GMT -5
Gavin actually didn't register the thought that the alien might have never actually drunk water until after he offered it. She was an aquatic creature; he wasn't a biologist but he figured that anything fish or fish-like had some way to take care of the hydration needs other than drinking it through their mouths. Still, he was happy to see that she seemed to like it well enough and smiled as he took it back, making sure to rub the bottle mouth before taking another sip of his own, savoring the water a little bit. That all said though, when he asked about food, he had been expecting for there to be some hesitation as she tried to figure out what he meant... instead she almost immediately jumped up and headed down the proverbial rabbit hole, leaving him to wait as she swam off. In the intervening time, he started considering all the other things he would need, or at least as much as he could in the short time and past his grumbling stomach. He only got as far as fins and a scuba tank before he was surprised to find that the alien had already come back from hunting with one of those 'peepers,' as he'd dubbed them. Before he could even get so far as a "Thank you," she was headed back down to look for more. Dang, either she wanted to be sure he knew what was edible, or she was hungry too. Maybe a bit of both.
While she was away, he spent some time trying to wrangle the peeper she'd dropped down, struggling to hold it thanks to how slippery it was, even dead. Eventually he got control and brought it over to the computer for it to scan. He had no fear that the alien was trying to poison him; he thoroughly trusted her, at least as far as being a friend was concerned. But he didn't know biology well enough to make any educated decisions on this situation. Fortunately, the computer very simply stated that it was edible and, surprisingly, high in vitamins and fatty acids. Worked for him. By the time she had the rest in, the peeper had expired and he was setting it down on the fabricator to cook it, which went quite well, though it smelled a little rank. Well... no more so than any other fish. As he sat down with his meal, he made sure to look over the other fish that she had brought in. Most of them looked pretty normal... ish. They didn't look like Earth fish or anything, but the curved one reminded him a little of a flounder, the eye-stalk-y one made him think of a flying fish crossed with a parrot fish, the air-filled one was a little odd he had to admit and didn't really look like that good of eating, and then there was the thing she was chewing on which he wasn't actually convinced was a fish at all. It didn't really look like a fish. Still, they were pretty distinct shapes, so he wasn't afraid of forgetting which ones were edible. He gave her another 'thank you' and bit into his peeper, and was surprised to find that it tasted remarkably smoky. Put him in the mindset of a barbecue, really. Wow... that wasn't bad.
As they ate, he would be more than happy to cook any of the fish she wanted him to, if she made any indications of interest, and again was more than happy to share, though it looked like they had enough for both of them. Come to think of it, cooking was probably another thing which had passed her by, though in this case it would probably be good for her, what with microorganisms and parasites and such things. He eventually moved on to the eye-stalky fish, since it seemed the less meaty and after the peeper he didn't know how much he could eat, and was definitely very pleased with its flavor, though he had no idea what he'd call it. He never ate meat that reminded him of the tropics; maybe seasonings, but... As they ate, he found his eyes tracing over the alien thoughtfully, trying to actually take things in now that he was no longer in "I'M GOING TO DIE" mode. For the most part there wasn't any substantial new discoveries, though he noticed things that certainly looked to be breasts on her; small ones but large enough to suggest her kind breast fed. Possibly live birth then? He couldn't think of any egg layers with mammaries. Wait... did platypuses produce milk? Platypuses? Platypi? Platypus? Also, it was hard to tell from his angle and he didn't care enough to stare and risk irritating her, but he thought he saw something vaguely like a female vagina down low. Not that it particularly mattered--as Blind Stan liked to say, "You shouldn't care about what's between someone's legs unless you intend to get in them"--he was just kind of cataloging for the sake of cataloging. Heh... poor Stan. He was the reason that nobody in the gang named themselves after a body part. Calling yourself "Eagle-Eyed Stan" was just asking for trouble.
Once they had finished their food, the strange little airbag fish was left. There wasn't much to it really, and he figured they'd probably wind up just saving it as a snack for later or something. Picking it up by the neck, he looked at it thoughtfully, trying to figure out what it would be good for, besides maybe the basis of a volleyball-type thing. There was some food sure, even the sacks looked edible, but he just wasn't sure if it would be worth the effort. Then he poked the sack out of curiosity, and it developed a slight tear... from which water started leaking out. Eyes wide with realization, he quickly grabbed his water bottle to catch the remainder, then got up and grabbed the one other bottle and filled it up with the other bladder. Well, now that's a neat discovery; and you still had a fish to eat left over. He'd have to check if it was safe to drink, but that's neat. Soon enough he offered the fish to the alien, and would either cook it up or preserve it with some of the salt he had left over from the water making.
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