Had it not been almost six months since Kiera Whitman had resigned herself to this maddening endeavor, she would not have had her customized, personal ship dive down into the green, imposing sphere floating arrogantly into one of the billions of solar systems in the galaxy. Lead upon lead, nothing concrete emerged, until now. NG-449, a planet greener than Earth, or even Amaetra her home planet, due to a considerable lack of oceans and rocky mountains. This planet was completely covered in forests, with little variety when it comes to the surface world. The climate was very oddly regular, with only rare shifts that'd actually affect the environment in any considerable manner. Though this homogeneous nature could also be put on the complete lack of any disturbance from sapient beings or even outside forces. One could only speculate, as this planet remained virgin of any interference from the governments. Well, officially anyway.

The closest clearing in this dense conglomerate of forests would allow Kiera's ship to land neatly without any signs of possible complications. She would land onto this green, lush piece of land as an external, malicious microbe on an untouched, native organism that would not know what was coming. When she would eventually emerge from her ship once confirming that oxygen levels were acceptable and the atmosphere was as vanilla as it could get, she'd notice one thing in particular.

The rain.

This wasn't tropical by any means, and it did not resemble the rain forests from her native lands. And yet, it rained enough to create bogs. Once stepping out, the overly damp nature of the soil would almost suck her in as if the whole earth was one big puddle of highly viscous mud. Nothing too bad, especially with her unique suit, but noteworthy. It wouldn't help that the grey clouds in the sky spanned for miles, signaling no change in this godawful weather in the near future. No matter, she had a job to do.

Around her, nothing but trees, vines and slight alleviation of earth plateaus. The trees were tall, slightly taller than those commonly found in Earth's forests. Some resembled pines, others were similar to more generic types, those that could cover many meters with their expanding branches like a wondrous umbrella. Though even with so many leafs, the rain would pour through, a testament to the strong torrent that continuously befell the area. She had to march North, as the "signal" she had picked up from her latest lead would indicate her target to be in that area.

Though before she'd commence her adventure, something else other than Kiera would be deployed from the ship. A small, Soft Ball sized drone would leisurely levitate out of the vessel's confines and start to float in circles around the well equipped lass. Its one, red optical tool seemingly scanning the area with a flat, 'scanning' light.

"No threats detected."

A monotonous, robotic echo was released from the machine's vocalization module as it'd turn to face what was apparently its own. An awkward pause, before an 'arm' would extend out of it.

"... Except for the fact that you are a bum. That is definitely a threat to my well-being."

The monotonous tone was completely purged as if it were just an act, exchanged for a more quippy, sly voice combined with slight robotic filters. Its released appendage even seemed to gesture in her direction as the humor bomb was dropped.

"Can't blame you though, Kiera. This rain really doesn't go with the white suit. It's just going to get smudges all over! Anyway ..."

To the North, it'd point.

"Guess we got a job to do."

---

---

Waist deep in a stew of shit. This was the best living metaphor that has been Kiera Whitman's ever since receiving her father's will.

The question of "Why bother?" came up multiple times in the past six months since this whole laborious mission started. A mission that Kiera had privately considered one last backhand from her deceased father. Every day with no success in form of progression in finding this damned Legacy had Kiera's mind think of a new way her father was laughing at her. Some days it was just a chuckle, on rougher days it felt like he was in the room, laughing to tears. Even her father's voice varied as she hardly had a memory of him at all, leaving his voice and especially his laugh up to her imagination.

Still, despite the low morale, Kiera never did find the resolve to quit. She felt like she should have and had convinced herself multiple times that she was done but the fangs of guilt would sink into her if she left the Legacy to become some lost pipe dream. Nobody in the world cared, or maybe even knew, about what Kiera was doing but she somehow didn't need any convincing to keep pursuing leads. Did she really respect her father's last wishes this much? Did she love him even though he had no impact on Kiera's life? It sure as hell didn't feel like curiosity or some twisted sense of greed to profit from this. So what the hell was keeping her going?

The closest she actually came to quitting the chase came just before her last lead. An accidental revelation that some bumfuck planet, NG-449, was a location of interest and something at least worth a visit. Maybe after this lead would inevitable produce nothing, Kiera could finally quit this cruel crusade requested by her absentee father.

Despite the readings of a safe atmosphere and no obscure anomalies, Kiera suited up in her full EVA suit anyway. If there was one thing she learned from her experiences Homesteading, it was that anything could happen on a foreign planet. Odd it was to have such a technically livable planet to be devoid of an sapient life. Though it wasn't unusual for something to not evolve to that state, it was unusual that there had been no colonization effort recorded. An abundance of rain wasn't problematic for colonies, it might even be a good thing. Not that every planet had to be colonized but Kiera aired on the side of suspicion here. Something about this planet was off. Other than being forced to wade through a bog.

"No threats detected my ass, Hubert. I'm waist deep in shit. Any deeper and this would have been like quicksand!" Kiera's complained, her voice still with the speaker echo with her helmet still down. "And you're a butt who didn't warn me about the bog, which is definitely more of a threat to my existence." Kiera's voice sounded through her speaker again.

Hubert. What an ass. Kiera was convinced this was just another way for her rotting father to have a laugh at his only spawn. The bright side was that at least it wasn't boring.

"Right. I'm not worried. I'll just have you clean it off later." Kiera's turn for sarcasm. They both knew Hubert wasn't going to clean her suit.

Kiera took a few steps, each proving to be quite intensive and involved already through this dense mud. "I hope we're close, otherwise you'll have to carry me." Kiera said, glancing down at the mud before looking North. It might be a long haul. She pressed on...

---

---

"Carry your fat ass? I appreciate the admiration for my gains, but you're way over your head there."

Both appendages emerged as the robot posed for a quick five seconds to illustrate the joke. At least he wasn't one of these boring, purely factual companions in certain other medias. Hubert would be quick to focus toward the goal, however, as Kiera would soldier on at the direction of the target location. Back to the compact form, the drone would hover barely a meter over the lass, scanning the area as they ventured forward into the mysterious woods of NG-449.

The mud remained thick and viscous, but would lose the succion power it initially had as the trees would shield the earth from the merciless nature of the monsoon-level of rain crashing onto the land. They were still drenched, but mobility would not be as hindered compared to the clearing. Vines and trees littered the area, with medium sized grass caressing Kiera's knees was she'd walk through the conglomerate of wild vegetation.

"Huh. What do we have here?"



Hubert's scanner would be directed toward an element that stood out from all the green and brown they had been going through the past few minutes. A bioluminescent, blue life form had been detected by the robot, though would have probably been noticed by Kiera just as quickly. Hubert did not hesitate to hover around the peculiar 'plant', taking his time to analyze some details before one of th appendages would extend toward it.

"It seems ... It is a plant of sorts. But composed of something definitely not like any other plant here. One of the many oddities to be found in a mysterious and undiscovered plant, I would suppose. Would you take a sample?"

The drone questioned, leaving the choice to Kiera. Would she bother to take the time, or even the risk to gather a specimen, or would she soldier on and not let anything like this serve as obstacle? Hubert would not alert her of any danger, meaning he did not assess anything of the sort, though he did not say it was safe either. It was up to her in the end.

"... Kiera."

With enough time to make up her mind, Hubert would eventually warn the lass of something else. The single, glowing red 'eye' of the assistant drone would peer at the direction that would be considered East if using their Northern target as a reference. Something was out there, and the change in tone from Hubert did not promise anything good.



A red, quadruped creature had its red, prolapsed eyes fixed onto the armored adventurer. It stood on a tree stump triumphantly, in a posture that oozed dominance. On its four feet, its height would reach about Kiera's collar, but if it were to stand on just two, it would easily be almost twice her size. Not to mention the immense upper-body bulk of this animal. Hubert wouldn't hesitate to scan, though omitted the special 'flat laser' sensor module in order to not alert the animal.

Though as they noticed this one, they'd soon find out that at least three or four more were in the area, hanging from nearby trees or hiding behind random stone and fallen bark. They did not seem to be prepping any sort of assault, but rather their movements were similar to a society of apes asserting their dominance in a territory, essentially defending their home. The fact that Kiera and Hubert were quite alien to this whole biodiversity would have likely left the animals on high alert, and even overly wary.

"No records have been found on these things. They resemble baboons from planet Earth, but with similar characteristics to K'raths* from Amaetra."

*Species that resemble wolves in Amaetra.

There were only a few options offered to them here. The 'dominant' creature they had first seen, the one standing on the trunk, would lift itself onto both its back feet and commence humming a certain sound. 'Hunk. Hunk.'

"If we were to compare these actions to other creatures ... We should perhaps proceed slowly without any sudden movements. Unless you want to practice on them, of course. Or maybe a sample? You know how much I love new data after all."

In the end, Kiera was to choose her path.

---

---

"Then what good are you?" Kiera mumbled, only glancing at the flexing bot before carrying on.

Kiera was quite relieved that the landscape changed from that a waist deep marshy bog to just a muddy forest. For awhile only the rattle of Kiera's equipment, the pattering of rain, and Kiera's own breathing were the only sounds to reach her ears, making for a rather eerie experience through a forest that should have been filled with the calls of animals. It wasn't until Hubert beamed to life with his discovery of some curiosity.

Kiera turned to her companion, following him over to the luminescent plant. She tapped the side of her helmet to lift her face guard, allowing her study the plant with her naked eyes. Strange, Kiera thought as Hubert ran his diagnostics on the plant. The way his wording was composed made Kiera think that this plant may have been introduced through a foreign means. Accidental or possibly on purpose. Theories and speculation circled through the lass's head as she considered the plant before her. Was it significant? She didn't really care about being some pioneer discoverer but there was a chance that this plant may be somehow related the Legacy. How, she did not know but if this planet was noted as having some importance then there would have to something unusual about it. This plant was the first sign of something unusual.

While still making up her mind, her companion called her attention again. Kiera turned and followed the her companions eastward attention, finding a large quadruped. The size alone was enough to convince the lass that this thing could be dangerous, what's more is that there wasn't just one. She caught the movement of two more in her peripherals, betting that there might have been more as well.

Hubert was on the spot with his analysis which Kiera was thankful for. It allowed her to better understand the situation. "Right. No sudden movements." Kiera's voice wavered as she gulped down a feeling a fear caused by the intimidating size and number of these things. In truth, she probably could confidently handle these creatures but without knowing the extent of their strength or numbers, it was hard to be confident.

While she wanted to just respect the territory of these creatures and give them their space, the plant was a an anomaly she shouldn't pass up on. "Hubert. I'm going to cut the plant slowly. Hopefully it doesn't provoke these things." Her voice sounded more sure as she took a step back, towards the plant. Slowly she reached back and grabbed the blade that was secured to horizontally in a sheathe across her waist, drawing it slowly and carefully out from its protective covering. Then carefully she stepped around, putting the plant in between her and the alpha creature allowing her to both keep her eyes towards the creature and safely cut a section of the plant off.

She did so and clutched the sample tightly in her hand. " Alright. Got it. Let's just take a few paces west and continue towards the mark. Alright?"

And that's Kiera had planned to do. Once she was sure they had given those animals their space, she'd offer the sample up to Hubert to either further identify the material or she'd secure it in a small vacuum sealed tubing for later.

---

---

Kiera made the choice of severing pieces of the plant. Evidently the whole thing wouldn't quite cut it as a sample, some sacrificing was needed. If she were to take some of the strange bulbs, stem and roots, then it'd be enough for further analysis.

"Pocket it, Kiera. We'll analyze this after the task. No way I'm working this thing when ..."

He'd peer toward the menacing onlookers.

"Well it's like peeing when you're being watched basically. No way I'll be able to with these bozos. Or you."

The next initiative would be to carefully march toward the West, essentially opposite of the alpha beast's stand. Though it seemed to work at first, the ruffling of leafs would indicate otherwise. They were now being followed, prompting the bot to turn around multiple times as he'd follow the woman's path.

"Heart rates are increasing. This is strange. They're congregating. Either they think you're a meal or something's up."

He kept his voice rather discrete, as to not alert the animals that had been stalking them. The more they progressed, the more they'd notice these creatures in the trees and foliage. The pack was getting quite aggressive, and one could start to see why there'd be a general lack of fauna in the area. These Boonharks were extremely aggressive, and seemingly carnivorous. This was their territory, and they did not take kindly to intruders.

Though this theory of territorial critters would be put to question as Kiera would end up stepping on three carcasses of the same species that had been pursuing them. They were quite decomposed, but clearly mauled. From the quick glances they could take, it'd seem to fit the claws and teeth of the Boonharks.



As they would eventually have to face North, the two would notice the immense bog standing in their way. While the option of walking around it seemed plausible, even if risking meeting more of these, the pack of now nearly a dozen of the baboon hybrids was starting to become disconcerting.

GWAK!

Cried the alpha, as it grabbed a hold of two thick branches on the tree it stood upon, shaking them as the other members of the pack commenced rallying in war cries.

"Guess this is our cue to fuck off. I dunno what's their problem."

Remarked Hubert as he'd direct his singular gaze onto the bog before them. The apes were swinging about through the vines and branches, descending ever so closer to Kiera and her drone. They were undeniably hostile. Aggression would only accumulate as small stones and pieces of branches would be tossed at their direction. Clumsily, but the message was clear. Running could be an option, albeit the duo was most certainly surrounded, and by an unknown amount of assailants, given more popped out of nowhere quite often. They could also go for a swim, though one should be careful, as the branches reach down to the surface. Or, take a total dive.

It would be obvious that diving would be a risky gamble, given how the wildlife had been oh so welcoming. But it seemed to be either that, or combat. The radar would indicate that beyond this bog, the target site would be extremely close by.

---

---

"I can assure you, relieving oneself isn't the same as scanning."

Kiera mumbled her rebuttal as the two of them had backed off from the Boonhark threat. There was no use in arguing, however, so she obliged her robotic companion by stashing her samples in a detachable compartment on her built, hissing as the mechanism closed to seal off and perverse its contents.

Of course, it wouldn't be that simple as Hubert would chime in to warn of their pursuers. They were keeping their distance, at least Kiera had assumed, but she didn't quite like the analysis that they were converging. Or becoming a meal.

"Terrific..."

With the threat increasing, Kiera took the opportunity to sheathe her arc knife and increase her own pace. She was equipped to the teeth with her equipment but again, it seemed like the complications that came with conflict could be avoided if she simply found out how far was far enough. She could honestly give a rat's ass if she had to kill some dumb animals but it might be a bit messy, certainly more messy if she just got to whatever signal she was looking for. Most likely, Kiera was guessing, that there would be some small facility that'd be safe. She just had to get there, and soon judging from the noise all around.

A slight complication would present itself, however. A bog was certainly a rather annoying obstacle to deal with, in that going around especially with her harassers was more bothersome than trying to cut through... potentially? There had been enough publications and media presenting the idea of something always being 'under the surface', like a monster just waiting for a distressed traveler to make the wrong decision. Stopping at the edge of the bog, she turned and considered her options as the primarch Boonhark rallied his pack into a flurry of noises.

"Cue noted. Hope you're ready for a swim."

Kiera said ignoring the rock that had been intercepted by the faint glow of her shield project. She reached up and tapped her helmet to lower her visor, then drop that same finger to lightly press something on her wrist. The externals of her helmet lit up with a grand purple light with her ultraviolet cameras and sensors changing Kiera's perception of the world from drab to almost everything having a filter of purple over it. Then she leapt backwards, just a frenzied Boonhark tried to take a swipe at where she had been standing.

Landing in the water with a splash, Kiera let herself fall a ways from the surface before turning around and keeping herself buoyant at this level underwater. The ultraviolet view gave her better vision underwater, but the UVs of this system's sun had a lot of things to go through before it reached this bog.

"Uh. Hubert. Threat assessment? I can't see shit down here."

Whether it was wise or not to leap into unknown waters in such a reckless manner would be up to the Gods to decide, but it certainly helped at repulsing the Boonharks. They weren't frightened by the water, nor did their physiology suggest any form of impairment when it comes to bodies of liquid. It was clear that with Kiera's gear she'd have an advantage over the primitive beings in this area, but only by a small margin. Something was deterring them from going any further, as they'd instead stick to the many branches over the swamp, looming over their 'prey' as if waiting for her to emerge.

The dirty waters were difficult to see through, even with specialized visors. The cold waters mixed with immense amount natural polluants made it an overall chore to navigate. Hubert wasn't far behind the lass, his mechanical body being adapted for underwater travel just as well as airborne. A halo of light would be emitted from his orange glowing 'eye', serving as a form of beacon for better visibility to his associate. The bog wasn't deep whatsoever, barely five meters, with the giant roots of the ever present forest manipulating the levels of depth to remain irregular. It was also quite dark, and with enough depth and zig-zagging, the Boonharks would quickly lose track of Kiera.

There wouldn't be any jump scares today. They would see it right away.



It swam almost elegantly just a few meters before Kiera. A serpentine critter of at least eight meters in length, and with a head as large as the woman's, passively navigated in the murky waters of NG-449, between the accumulation of weeds and roots. Its only forward appendages seemed to butterfly crawl in a slow pace in order to move, though upon further inspection it was obvious they served little in the overall locomotion of the animal. Its whole body was moving as a serpent would, every part cohesive toward one another, in order to move one single body flawlessly through the oppressing gravity of the waters' depths.

"Dunno about you, but I'm starting to think the animals here are to be avoided, even if they look cool."

Hubert communicated via the suit's integrated communication systems, instead of vainly speaking underwater. Though he may have tried, unbeknownst to the captain of the ship.

The leech-like monstrosity did not seem all that interested in Kiera, or at least had not done anything warranting sudden reactions or closed any sort of distance. It was there, serving as a form of barrier to the easiest route. She could always go around, under roots and the such, but what else could she find? If the girl were to move forward, Kiera would be on a direct course to her target location, with very little obstacles in her way.

"Naming those things up there Boonharks. And this ... A Flarg. Wanna mess with it? It isn't like there's more than one. Then again ... You do kinda suck underwater. Your call. Pretty sure we'll get to the spot one way or another."

---

---

Kiera glanced up at the surface, hardly seeing a thing but thankfully the surface seemed to be calming after her leap in, meaning she wasn't be followed anymore. For the time being, she was safe but her present environment certainly did not the her feel that way. With her minimal vision, she was essentially bumbling around in the dark and on a planet with unrecorded creatures. Even with the risk her previous occupation had, this was on another scale.

Kiera finally allowed herself to sink to have an easier time of traversing through the water on her feet. In a measure of self defense, she drew her knife, keeping the more eccentric properties of her weapon off for the time being as being submerged underwater was not the best place for heated plasma.

Carefully, Kiera proceeded forward, her previous navigation point being her only sense of direction at the moment. Thus began Kiera's eerie journey through the silent dark of this foreign bog. Nothing had presented itself until at the range of Kiera's vision, she could see a thin but long serpentine appendage. Closing the distance, it was but a small section to a rather lengthy creature. Leech-like was certainly one way to describe it but it reminded Kiera more of Earth's Lamprey, a long bloodsucking fish, only this creature before her had plenty more defensive apparatuses. Bony spikes were likely an evolutionary adaptation to something that ate these things. Something larger than this.

"A Flarg? That's all you got?" Kiera sassed her companion, her natural reaction to the nerves she was having at the moment. "Let's leave it for now. We'll go around its tail end. I have the feeling there is something much larger down here with us. Call it a hunch." Her instruction was quiet, almost whispered in her mic as if afraid to disturb this creature.

That's what Kiera would do. She slipped around to the rear of this creature and planned to press on past it.

---

---

"I don't see you formulate a better name. I win."

Hubert's mechanical voice buzzed through the lass' receivers loud and clear. He would not add anymore input as she would make her choice however, and instead reluctantly follow as the evasion maneuver was employed by the intergalactic explorer. The Flag seemed to be pleasantly roaming as it had always did, focusing itself on the same area while Kiera attempted to bypass its intimidating being and avoid another potential confrontation.

As she'd proceed, there would be no change whatsoever. The eel-like animal did not appear to react too much, though its long swirls focused themselves more and more to the opposite direction of the girl. Subtle, but clear to a machine like Hubert. The aquatic organism wasn't too keen on assaulting possible 'prey', or was it all deceit? In any case, as Kiera would advance, the Flarg would remain calm in its little territory, no longer minding the distracting existence of the woman.

"Whew ... Guess these teeth truly are just receptors ..."

He admitted just as the ordeal was traversed. Looks like this little drone had been omitting suspicions, though perhaps for the better at times. It was up to Kiera to decide. For indeed, the Flag's 'teeth' served as more powerful receptor-like antennas for food it'd suck through its minuscule oral orifice. The shape of teeth could be attributed to an intimidation defense mechanism or an evolutionary quirkiness. In any case, Kiera was safe, and the Boonharks had long since abandoned their coveted meal.



As the armored adventurer emerged from the filthy bog with her drone companion, they'd bear witness to quite the astonishing sight. Covered in moss and surrounded by exceptionally invasive flora, a base with the emblems of the United Federations littered in various surfaces would be presented right before them, arrogantly serving as a stain onto this otherwise virgin land. All in all, it wasn't too big, as the base didn't expand beyond the slightly impressing complex. Chances were that it went underground, but that was up to Kiera to find out.

An entrance would be available to Kiera from where she'd emerge. A half-open, horizontal metal door that led into the dark entrails of the facility was offered to her like an appetizer fancily opened before her in a chic restaurant. This was her target, or at least, whatever it held inside was what she was looking for.

"Guess that lead wasn't such a dud after all. The fact that this is not only open, but also apparently abandoned gives me the heeby jeebies. Some crazy Area 51 shit there, Kiera. No time to be a bum."

They could approach this in a few different ways. They could find another entrance, though there weren't any guards so she should weigh the value of such an alternative. They could create an entrance, though that would be loud, and it remains unsure just what's in there. Or wait and ponder some more, hoping no Boonharks find their way here.