[IC] Life in Space

[MonsieurShade]

Rocky nodded in response to the greeting he received, "Good to see you too Do- er, Kabiri." he'd said before shifting a bit to give his acquaintance more room, completely ignorant of the strange looks he and Kabiri may have received for the oddity that was their casual interaction. The ride from the station to the planet was only fifteen minutes, but to Rocky it may as well have been fifteen hours. From the very moment he'd caught a glimpse of the endless expanse of tree tops that made up the upper canopy of Vazoon's jungles Rocky had felt a primal stirring from deep within him. How long had it been since he'd been on a planet that wasn't already colonized into an ever expanding sea of metal and lights? How long had it been since he'd breathed natural, unfiltered air? The stirring only intensified as the ship landed and he filed out along with some of the others in an almost trance like state.

The Skälen made it about three meters out of the vessel before coming to a sudden stop. A few people complained, most however moved around him quietly as a low rumbling noise came from somewhere within his chest. Rocky's eyes widened as his pupils contracted into razor thin slits, nostril flared as he took in clean oxygen, which, while not quite as concentrated as it was back home, was far and away cleaner than most anything he'd breathed recently. He stood stock still, drinking in the sights, sounds, and smells. It all felt natural: it all felt right. The rumbling sound made its way into Rocky's throat, and was expelled as a low and drawn out growl as he felt suppressed instincts spark to life with renewed vigor. The growl was punctuated by a hiss as Rocky snapped back to his senses and realized he had earned himself a concerned stare or two. With a sheepish chuckle and an apology to those he may have frightened Rocky shuffled off to the side to watch over the researchers as they filed out until someone issued him an order.

[ladyanglaise]

Luka listened for a while longer, enjoying the fact that she could do whatever she wanted for a while. Being Kabiri's bodyguard had it's perks, to be sure, but she often missed the freedoms that came with more typical mercenary work.
"Hey, Jim, wanna go get a drink with me? The bars should be starting to open about now." Luka asked, grinning widely.

Kabiri grabbed a backpack full of supplies provided for the researchers and calmly exited the vessel, stopping briefly to take a deep breath of the natural air. She grinned lightly and rejoined Rocky. "It's nice to be on solid ground every now and again." she said, looking around as her warm smile grew wider. "This planet is so beautiful, don't you think?"

[eemmtt]

Lyco found a seat at the back of the shuttle before the ship took off. As the shuttled took off Lyco went through checks on all of his weapons and the rest of his gear before the shuttled landed. Once the shuttled had landed the former-legionnaire unhooked himself from a seat and headed to the shuttle's ramp. Once he stepped out onto the ramp he pulled out a cigarette and quickly lighting it. Taking a quick drag he set of to scout the perimeter.

[bloonewb]

"Sure, I could use a drink," Jim drawled, standing up and stretching. "Though I'm a bit worried you won't be able to keep up. By the time I was sixteen, I had broken three bar records and was thrown out of four."

[MonsieurShade]

Rocky looked down at Kabiri and nodded a bit more enthusiastically than he intended to, still being somewhat giddy from the feeling of being somewhere a bit more familiar to him, "It's very nice here. Almost reminds me of home." he said happily. Out of the corner of his eye Rocky saw Lyco exit the vessel and walk off, likely to scout out the surrounding area. It was a wise course of action considering how unfamiliar this planet was. One couldn't drop their guard just because of how pretty something appeared to be, "I'm think i'm going to have a look around to make sure it's safe to set up a camp in case we end up staying for a while. You're welcome to come along if you'd like, might find a sample or two to bring back.".

[ladyanglaise]

"You kidding? Look at me!" Luka said audaciously, flexing to show off how huge she was. "My kind was built for two things: fighting and drinking! You're the one who should be worrying about keeping up."

Kabiri also watched Lyco go; she didn't know him very well, though she knew he was a mercenary and she found him to be quite intimidating. She looked back at Rocky and nodded.
"What's your home world like?" Kabiri asked as they set off. "I've traveled the galaxy a fair bit, but I've never been there."

[MonsieurShade]

"My home world?" Rocky mused aloud before his eyes flitted up to the surrounding jungle, "My home world was not too different from the one we're on now. There are dense forests like this were you could walk for days, even weeks on end before you find the great swamps that lie beyond them. The air was much...richer? No, that's not the right word...", he trailed off as he struggled to think of a word, "I guess you could say that there was just more of it. ". His nostrils flared as he breathed in, being somewhat disappointed at the thinness of the air he breathed, "Definitely more. As for the planet itself, everything was heavier. The colony that found my world said the gravity was nearly three times stronger than what was on terra.". Rocky's eyes scanned the foliage around them for anything that might be amiss, "Since a vast majority of the creatures on my planet were similar to the reptiles back on earth the colonists decided to name the planet "Creta"; said it was because it reminded them of a time when large reptiles roamed the land on terra. Since my people hadn't really thought of a name for our world beyond "home", we sort of went along with it.".

Rocky's eyes locked back onto Kabiri before he gave a shrug, "Not much to say beyond that. At least nothing that could be said without us actually sitting down to focus on that. We can do that later if you would like since I have my own questions about your world. For now though I don't wanna let Lyco scout all alone.".

[olcharlieboi]

@MonsieurShade @ladyanglaise @eemmtt
Scientists had already started to set up tents around the shuttle along with various equipment, knowing the routine since they've done it on many other worlds. This is usually the part most live for though, being in the field and seeing everything with their own eyes. Charles would be watching everything happen then look off into the forest feeling as if their being watched, he would nod towards some of the mercenaries who started to set up a parameter near the tree line.

[ladyanglaise]

"it sounds fascinating." Kabiri mused as she glanced around at the plants. She planned on doing a more thorough study of them later, once a base had been better established. "But you're right, we should go scout along the perimeter with Lyco." she agreed.

[bloonewb]

"Which bars do you recommend?" Jim asked. "I can't say I know many. There's one down on Main Street, I remember playing there once. Company was nice, I suppose, if a bit crowded."

[MonsieurShade]

Rocky nodded once more and stepped around Kabiri to start his own perimeter sweep, moving purposefully towards the dense foliage. As he went Rocky produced his communicator once more and, after a bit of awkward fiddling, managed to tune it to a frequency that would actually allow for communication, brought it up to his face, "Lyco, this is Rocky, I'm going to cover the area just east of you, let me know if you see anything off, over." he said. The Skälen stopped just before stepping into the brush to look back at Kabiri, "Try not to fall behind." he said mirthfully. With that Rocky plunged into the jungle, trying to move at just a slow enough pace to allow the doctor to catch up before he got far in.

Rocky's eyes darted back and forth, his nostrils flared as he tried to pick up any sorts of scents that were even vaguely animal like, his head twisted and turned every now and then as he tried to listen for the sounds of movement in the underbrush.

[eemmtt]

"Roger that Rocky, good hunting," Lycos said over his own communicator. Clipping it back onto his belt he turn his attention back to the woods. Flipping of the safety on his rifle the former legionnaire begin his sweep of the perimeter.

[ladyanglaise]

"Oh, that Terran place?" Luka thought it over for a moment, trying to remember if she'd been there before. She doubted it. "Sounds fine by me, let's go."

Kabiri tried to keep close to Rocky, though it was difficult for her to keep pace on the overgrown ground. Like most of her kind, the didn't wear shoes, as her avian feet were quite tough on their own. However, on such terrain it was difficult to keep up speed, especially after spending so much time on the station.

[MonsieurShade]

Despite his efforts to stay slow, Rocky still found himself inadvertently widening the gap a bit through the long strides that he took through the forest. Like all members of his race Rocky's legs were semi-digitigrade in nature, sacrificing a bit of speed for more stability and load bearing capabilities. While the load bearing bit had little affect on the current situation, the increased stability allowed for a slightly easier time moving through the dense vegetation. The fact that he also happened to be rather large helped as well, as it allowed Rocky to simply trample over most obstacles that happened to be in his path. Be it plants, rocks, or the odd overturned root, everything was crushed or kicked up, leaving a series of broken foliage and wide, claw tipped foot prints in his wake. The Skälen cared little for silence. Quite the contrary in fact- Rocky wanted to be heard by whatever may have lurked about. The reason for this was a simple one: Rocky was an apex predator, the top of the food chain where he was from. Apex predators did not slink about quietly unless they were hunting.

After a few more steps Rocky turned to look back at Kabiri, and after realizing the rough time she seemed to be having, came to a stop. It seemed like a good time to catch his breath anyway.

[bloonewb]

As the two of them walked through the entrance, Jim was hit by that wave of nostalgia he always got when he came to this joint. It looked exactly like a bar back at home, where he and a couple of buddies would lie their age and get a few drinks. A couple of people raised their glasses in his direction and called a greeting, which he returned with a wave. They'd seen him play here not too long ago.

[ladyanglaise]

Kabiri stopped by Rocky and took a moment to catch her breath. "I'm sorry, it's been a while since I've been out scouting. Thanks for stopping, though." she said. She tried to look over the nearby foliage to see Lyco, but she couldn't see anything over the huge shrubs and vines. "We must be close at this point. Can you see anything?"

Luka grinned and looked down at Jim, lightly punching him in the shoulder as the bar patrons raised their glasses to him. "Looks like you're a little famous 'round here." she said. Luka approached the bar and ordered two shots of something called ukudubula. "Got a little challenge for you, music man, if you're up to it."

[olcharlieboi]

@MonsieurShade @ladyanglaise @eemmtt
A loud roar would come from the forest a the nearly red wood like trees start crashing down a distance away.. coming straight towards the camp site, something large and dangerous from the sounds of it. most of the camp would suddenly go in distress mode, as scientists start to worry and act hysterical sense they wasn't use to danger. Charles on the other hand would simply just walk into the path of where the sound is coming from and stand between the direction this unknown creature is coming from and the ship.

Birds that have been watching them take off into the air swirling like a funnel into the air before taking off away from the beast, tons of small critters and other creatures would come rushing out of the trees to escape this huge creature. creatures resembling wolves to elks, and much more. There would even be a creature that had the resemblance of both feline and canine. almost like most of the creatures here developed similar to old earth, but there was a slight difference as well.

[MonsieurShade]

Rocky looked down at the doctor and gave a small shrug, "Don't worry about it." he said simply as he scanned the forest as best he could through the vegetation. No signs of Lyco yet, but they couldn't have been all that far apart. Rocky's train of thought was interrupted by the bone jarring roar in the distance, and with it came the sound of trees being knocked down, each one's fall slightly louder than the last, as though whatever knocked them down was moving in a single direction. A direction that could very well be the campsite. That was a risk that he wasn't all too willing to take. Rocky's eyes darted back down to Kabiri, "Sorry." he said quickly.

The almyst would be granted practically no chance to ask what he meant, as the answer came in the form of the skälen plucking her from the ground and making a mad dash back towards the camp with her tucked beneath his arm. Rocky's breath came in loud snorts as he sprinted, jumped, and tore his way through the jungle with surprising speed for a creature so large. His heart pounded loudly in his chest as what little air he could take in from the surrounding area was immediately put to use in the muscle's pumping of oxygenated blood through the body it supported. On the way back to the camp, the growl that Rocky had earlier been made to suppress was renewed in between each breath he took.

[bloonewb]

Jim took the glass of drink, as confused by what it is as how it's properly pronounced, and gave it an experimental sniff. The strong scent of alcohol wafted up into his nose. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea . . .

"Intriguing," he mumbled. "Do tell about this challenge."

[eemmtt]

When Lyco heard the roar he turn to face the direction that the sound come from. Quickly discarding his and stomping out the lit cigarette. Quickly putting on his face mask Lyco made his way over to Charles "so what are the chances that its just a loud bird?" he asked the scientist flipping the safety off his rifle.