Annika Braun's Story

'Space is weird...'

And it was between a searing migraine (more like a headache) and several aching muscles that the fair doctor contemplated calling in sick and stay bedridden for the next twenty-four hours. Cryogenic sleep sounds great until you realise your back felt like it had lifted a walrus off the ground and your head wallowed in a mental state not unlike the hangover that was the result of a sterling night out. And as much as Annika relished the thought of going to bed more than working overtime, 'This wasn't exactly a five star commodity'. Weighing the pros to the cons, however, maybe she was lucky her qualms were solved instantly with the slip of a pill.

She had taken her sweet time leisurely assessing the medical wing of the Vladimir, taking stock of everything and giving the crew's records a quick once over (something she would've normally done preflight) before making preparations to join the rest of the field team and size up their new playground. She took to packing only the necessities at present, first-aid equipment mostly, and set off for ground-level; something of a spark of excitement brewing steadily at the thought of exploring alien territory. “Alpha-Seven”, a name made up by the most boring man in existence, wasn't it? 'Probably...'

The geographical readings, however, proved the planet was going to be anything but boring, and as the doctor planted the first step onto the planet's grassy surface, it took a great deal of restraint for her not to grin at the spectacle. Somewhere she did want to, but resisted in favour of taking a more professional attitude (although there was that obvious smile on her face). Trees almost the size of skyscrapers cast a thick, leafy roof that blotted out but the tiniest rays of sunlight, and Annika would almost forgive herself for thinking she was eight years old again.

She shook her head. There'd be ample time to drool at the littlest details later, and as she forcibly pulled herself from this daydream, Annika approached the already present crew members; A hand raising to her head as she gave the one on the ground a two-fingered salute. “Mornin'” Or afternoon. Was hard to tell with the leaves, really. Her sight trailed upward to find their captain already picking through the dirt and roots, apparently having the time of her life doing so. 'No restraint, that one.' Although it was difficult not to chuckle at the thought of a captain acting so... gleeful.

“Mind letting us in on your discovery then, Celcius?”

Celcius smiled stupidly as she cried out, "I believe it's a scale!" Her eyes paced the two companions who dared venture out with her but found a tingle of disappointment twitch through her circuits. The hope she felt was pale in them - at least outwardly. But that was a thing about bio-organisms: their wonder was suppressed by survival. Still, she stuffed the silver disc into a pack she had tied around her hips and began to climb again. Her limbs almost hugging a small portion of the tree as she wiggled upward, one hand and then the other. It was after about three of these reaches that she heard it.

A great scraping sound echoed through the forest, thin yet loud. The android's head had twitched to see its source but failed. In the direction, all that was seen were the trees. Without thinking, Celcius dropped her hold and landed flatly on her feet. Quickly she straightened up. A wide smile breached her features as she looked back to the cook and doctor. "Well?" She hadn't dared see their reaction. Instead she ran - bounded really - off the tree and onto the green grass. She slipped slightly from the distance but quickly recovered to jog deeper north of the ship. Her crew could follow if they chose but it was time for adventure.

Most of the trees appeared uninteresting compared to the first. All had twisting roots and branches with scaled bark and green leaves. Very few also bore the same splitter markings on their trunk, Celcius noted as she skirted between them. It didn't take long for her to stop running however, when a spark of silver crossed her path. She stood motionless and watched with wide eyes as thick silver monstrosity swayed through the trees. All she could see was a torso - maybe thirty feet in height - pass between the trunks until a clear fin swished by, tapered to the bottom of the mass. "It couldn't be..." She mused quietly. Slow to start, the woman jogged closer to the creature, arriving past the trees to see the monster in all its glory.

It was a silver fish, floating in the air between the tree tops and the ground. It was slow but deliberate, weaving between the trunks. It had a pair of pectoral fins that hung five feet above the ground and swished in turn to propel it forward as large, black eyes stared mindlessly from its sides. A mouth, suffering from a massive underbite, opened and closed to pull in air and filter it through the large gills on its side. A pair of orange dots slipped into the gaping mouth, found not to return out again. She watched as its tail brushed against a tree, which scratched the bark and rattled the leaves, as the monster slightly altered its course. As such, the mystery was solved.

With a modest grin, Celcius mused, "So it is a scale after-all." She paused, thinking on her situation for a brief time. Turning to whatever company dared follower her - or none, possibly - Celcius placed her hands heavily on her hips and stated with determination, "I believe it's about time we went fishing. Any idea on how to go about it?" She smiled with a very silly idea in mind.

Brax was reading the survey report on his way up to the top level. There he was to make sure all weapons and gear was to be accounted for in the armory. The information was little it seemed, the probes must not have been able to pierce the veil of clouds found on Alpha-Seven. Still the forests could hide many dangers within it's thick and abundant foliage. He just hoped none of the crew members would recklessly endanger themselves by charging headlong into it. As he reached the top level with a cup of water he saw out of a window one of the crew doing that very thing.

The member bounded so fast into the forest he would have missed'em if he blinked. There was only one person on the crew that could move like that and that must be the Captain! Spitting out his water in disbelief, he ran into the armory and geared up in what seemed like an instant. He was donned in his pneumatically sealed power armor suit and equipped his 4E-336 Recycler Rifle and .50 Sandlund Pistol. He read the survey far enough to understand the planet's atmosphere was hospitable but nevertheless wore his helmet anyway. Never know if you might run into toxic gas or any noxious fumes for that matter.

As he ran out of the ship, cartridge locked and loaded, he noticed the Doctor and the Cook standing before him. "Both of you are out here too?" He asked, sounding concerned. "I saw the Captain bookin' it into the wilderness, there were no signs of danger right?" He asked as he held his rifle close to his chest. He continued to scan the area around them as his helmet's HUD display showed no hostile targets in their vicinity. "Hm, my display shows nothin' but that doesn't mean nothin' ain't out there. I'm goin' to check in on the Captain, if you two are coming it'd be wise to stay close to me." Brax suggested. He then headed north in the direction that Celcius went. Using what tracking capabilities the helmet's HUD possessed he would find the Captain standing before him. "Captain, Ma'am! You alright out here?" He asked concerned. He then noticed that she seemed distracted by something out there. As he looked his HUD indicated an moving target which happened to be a humongous fish swimming in...mid air!?

Defensively Brax raised his rifle into the air and called out, "Captain! Stay back!" He warned. He was hired to be a guard and that's exactly what he plans to do. Whether it be the ship, it's contents, or it's crew he was ready to raise his arms in their defense. He slowly approached making sure to not disturb the monster any further. As he came up to Celcius's side he looked over to her and spoke, "I don't think it notices us. We should move away from it before it does, Captain." He mentioned in a hushed tone.

Nico almost jumped as the doctor appeared, answering her salutation with a quick nod. He had been so absorbed by the possibilities of the captain's discovery, he'd not noticed her approaching.

“Mind letting us in on your discovery then, Celcius?”

"I believe it's a scale!"

"A scale?" So far up? Nico placed his scalpel and the sample he had taken inside his pack. "A type of lizard, perhaps?"

In which case, he thought, the size offered considerable reason to be worried. Perhaps they were landed on a planet of huge lizardmen, a concept he was only vaguely familiar with– he seemed to remember something of the kind in an old horror movie. He was about to speak when the captain continued her climb, but held his tongue at the risk of sounding like a worried mother. The android probably had functions far beyond his imagination– it wasn't his place to tell her what to do.

And then he heard the sound– the creaking of movement through the forest, plants bending in the wake of something large. It moved slow, deliberate but clumsy by the sounds of things. The captain was before him in a flash, high-tailing towards the source of the sound.

"C-captain," he began, "maybe we should wait for–" he stopped himself, getting a fillet knife from his pack. He was on a mission, now. No time for cowardice.

He'd barely taken a step after Celcius before Brax arrived. He must have seen her go from the ship, for the man seemed worried to say the least– Nico couldn't blame him. As much as he admired the captain's spirit, he was happy not to be charged with keeping her alive.

"I saw the Captain bookin' it into the wilderness, there were no signs of danger right?"

"Um, there was a worrying sound, just now," Nico said, but was at a loss for words when it came to explaining it.

"If you two are coming it'd be wise to stay close to me."

"Right behind you." Nico clutched his fillet knife close and walked a small distance behind Brax– probably disappearing with his small frame, and unable to see until the man stopped. Nico avoided crashing into his back by a millisecond, and carefully poked his head around to see what everyone was staring at.

"Captain! Stay back!"

It could be a mullet, though it was hard for him to see from his position and there was no way of ascertaining without getting a closer look at the fins. He probably had a book of the different traits somewhere. It could also be a perch-like: a family of fish mostly recognisable by their lack of definable traits and thusly just another way of saying he had no fucking clue. The fact of the matter it was huge, even by ocean-creature standards, which was not at all helped by the fact that it was somehow swimming through the air. He also noted the presence of orange dots– the nature of which was unknown. A food of some kind?

The underbite reminded him of a catfish, but the head was far too small and delicate where a catfish would have a rounded, compact skull. That being said, a normal salmon would have quite the underbite, but would usually be more slender in build than the monstrosity before him. His closest call at the top of his head and without a close inspection of the fins would be sooty grunter, a fish that rarely appeared in day-to-day conversation, especially since it was a freshwater fish, and mostly stuck in his mind because of the name.

Heh. Sooty. He tried to remember if it was particularly tasty, but freshwater fish generally was an acquired taste. Hopefully nobody on board had a seafood allergy. In short, it was impossible to say for certain whether the giant was edible.

"I don't think it notices us. We should move away from it before it does, Captain."

"If I may interject," Nico said, trying to speak low although he doubted the fish would care much for them. "I would at least not recommend shooting it, captain, at the risk of spoiling the taste. I may have a harpoon hidden away somewhere."

He paused.

"You know. For cooking," he added.

And there she went again, off to chase her own little wonderland. 'Mind the rabbit holes, I guess.' The doctor probably didn't feel quite as hard-pressed to investigate, just impatient to get on with their mission – An incentive that was currently disregarded by their commanding officer. And so Annika mused for a second upon the rationality of running into alien wilderness, tempted to shout after Celcius for want of something progressive to add to their first field day, but strangely didn't act on it (because, hey, captain's in charge).

The scraping sound echoing through the forest had done little to cement any indication of wanting to have a quick look, didn't sound friendly. Probably big, too, and the doctor didn't fancy becoming what was essentially this planet's equivalent of ants.

So it was, with hesitation, that the doctor followed behind the small group – Only dully noting Brax's arrival (the big lump) and rather uncharacteristic, and dare she say melodramatic, behaviour. Not that caution was unwarranted, mind, but Annika just didn't really feel a soldier of that man's stature, figuratively and literally, enticed certain... Herding traits. 'Honestly, Celcius can fend for herself you dolt.' And there was that.

“Better be a damned big harpoon” Annika commented, only capable of staring at the gigantic titan-fish lurking about the place, only wondering for a moment about what made this guy capable of floating in mid-air. 'Not to mention, how's it surviving off-shore?' Last she heard, fish belonged in the deep sea. Not exactly a sky-faring species. If it was a fish at all, even.

The android eyed each of her crew in turn, searching for some inkling of excitement. There was something, at least, in the military man who was taking to his job in a very inconvenient way for the robotic explorer. Fear was instead is maker for the occasion. So, with a mild smile, Celcius barked, "Simmer down, Brax. If I break, I break. I'll be safe when the time calls for it." Her hand lightly tapped on his shoulder in an awkward attempt to settle his nerves. She assumed it would work but most likely, it was a horrible, cringeworthy attempt. Her attention had flickered onto the next optimistic company, however. First the idea-maker, whom she lazily called 'cook', and then the good doctor.

Both retorts made her grin and set her mind into motion. "I like the way you think, cook, for food and science. I bet I could get the mechanic to craft something up for us. I'm thinking rocket propelled? Perhaps that's too barbaric." The woman had started to mumble as she mused. "Truth be told, I had considered trying to find a way into its mouth - maybe a fishing rod - and render it helpless from the inside but I like the harpoon idea leagues more." Her smile had turned more cruel as she pointed a strong finger at Nico. "Cook, go search for your harpoon and bring it to the engineering bay. If you can't find it, let us know right away. I'll go to talk to Mal about the details of his fish-killing wonder. Brax and doctor," She paused to ensure her stern look bore holes into their skulls, "don't lose the fish." Each word held significance as they were smothered in silent threats. While she would never physically harm a member for such a lazy act, she would, however, be very disappointed in them - which could be physically exhausting for both her and her disapointees.

Celcius gave a quick nod to all the members, "I hope you've all kept your communicators on. We'll have to reconvene when we're ready. Good luck." With one last nod, the android spun around rather calmly and began to job off. Her mind spun with all the potential in the plan but also all the potential failures. If there was no harpoon, they would have to craft something similar. If they lost the fish, they'd have to track another one down - if there was another one. While they weren't her current stations they were her worries as Captain but she had faith in them. Organisms may have called it hope, Celcius, however, called it the promise of statistics. There was a good chance they'd make their initial attack but the rest was still calculating.

With little time and much thought, Celcius arrived back into the Vladimir. The ship beeped its respects although mockingly so. Celcius ignored it and moved to the engineering bay. "Where's the mechanic, Vladi?" She whispered with wandering eyes. Vladimir beeped again, entirely sarcastic this time. In english it could mean something like 'why don't you look for yourself?' or 'how am I meant to know?'. The direct translation was actually 'cannot compute.' "You cheeky bastard." She hushly cooed. She heard something in the background. It was unsteady and pitched unlike the machines that cranked and clanked through the bay. Her feet calmly marched forward on a soft foot as she approached the pair currently chatting. For now, the woman interrupted them with beaming confidence, "Good to see you two up. Mal, I need something." She had given the man a nickname without asking but she often wondered why people asked to begin with. Names were names, nicknames were simply easier names. Personal emotion didn't bleed into that logic for her. "We've found a giant fish floating in the Elmers. How quickly do you think you could craft a harpoon-propelling unit? Also, potentially we may have to craft a harpoon ourselves. I'll know in a few minutes." The woman watched her two males casually while standing lazily a few feet away. "Oh, and it can't taint the meat. Cook wants to cook it." She smiled. She liked the idea too.

Brax looked back to see who followed him if anyone? Apparently both did and both didn't seem the faintest bit worried...well maybe the Cook was? It's pretty difficult to tell what a man is thinking or feeling with a mask covering his entire face. Of course he did read the report that the Cook needs it as an breathing apparatus amongst other things. So Brax may never get the chance to look upon their culinary artist's visage. In light of this the Cook's demeanor seemed very contrast to the Doctor's attitude even finding the time to add an insult directed towards him. Brax could say something in response to their youngest member but he understands that it would be best to disregard what she had said. After all last time he didn't he did kill a man.

Lieutenant Dustin Lattimore, he had quite the mouth on him. It came from being born a privileged child coming from a family quite famous for being in the military. One of those Military Lineages or some sort of extravagant title along those lines. Pissing off such an affluent family in your government will get you in a lot of trouble but now's not the time to dwell in the past. He merely rolled his eyes within his helmet as he looked towards the Captain. Sure, she is an android and he had no doubt that she could take care of herself quite competently. Nevertheless he knew of many combat droids and men and women with various cybernetic enhancements in the Service. Yes, it did make them better equipped to handle multiple situations that would arise but it didn't make them invincible. Plenty of robots and cyborgs were killed and destroyed like any other living being. Sometimes it didn't make a world of difference.

Brax did calm down at the behest of the Captain, if she didn't feel there was any real danger then she's probably right. Still, Brax kept an eye on the floating, giant fish for good measure. As for the other eye it was on everything else, giant fish in the air can't be the only thing out on this planet. It was then he was given the order to keep track of this floating monstrosity whilst the Crew figure out some way to kill this thing for study and a decent meal. Brax stood at attention and gave a firm, "Yes, Captain." He had no intention of failing in his orders, after all if he can lose something so gigantic then really, what good is he? When the Captain asked if they had their communicators, his was built in to the helmet so Brax gave an, "Affirmative." to confirm this. As Celcius's and the Cook left, Brax turned to look at the Doctor.

Besides the Captain's orders he would have to follow the overall objective of being a guardian. Not only would he have to keep track of this fish but also make sure nothing happens to the good doctor here. "Looks like we'll be working together for a bit, best we try and get along." He said as he holstered his rifle to his back. "Annika? Am I sayin' that right?" He asked as he drew out his pistol. He then took out a clip of pistol rounds that had a light emanating from it's tip. He then loaded the magazine into the gun, cocking it as he finished. He then took aim at the slow moving target, "Might want to cover your ears, just givin' fair warning." He said before firing the gun. Soon the bullet traveled from the barrel of his pistol flying up into the air and impacting itself into the side of the fish. As he thought the fish didn't even notice a thing, not even bothering to look for the source of the sound the gun created. He then said over Comms, "No contact, I repeat, no contact, fired a tracer round, over." As he finished with his Comms he then looked over to Annika. "Should help us keep track of the creature better," He said as he holstered the Pistol and re-armed himself with his rifle, "Still we'll play it safe and follow it anyway." He said as he moved, following behind the fish.

“Hey, tell that to Moby Dick over there.” She gestured towards the fish still looming over the group, desperately attempting to avoid the captain's stern glare lest she looked too hard and set off something unpleasant. Something about not pulling the wrong faces when your superior wanted something done, not that Annika expected failing operation big fish would result in dire consequences. At least, she doubted it'd warrant typical sanctions given to disobeying otherwise official orders (while this sounded more like a request than anything else). And, hey, it wasn't as though they were looking after the neighbour's cat or anything. Something nearly the size of a whale shouldn't be hard to keep an eye on. 'Could always track it if it does swim off.'

“Just hurry,” The doctor commented, watching the captain and cook walk back to the Vladimir. “Forgot to bring my leash.” And now it was just her, some glorified gasbag fish and muscles for brains.

Speaking off...

Maybe having him around would make things a little less troublesome, typical soldier was trained for this sorta thing after all. And if things happened to go south, at the very least she'd have a meat shield at the ready. He was a big man. Probably be good for, what, two or three shots? With that amount of armour, though, he could probably tank a rocket.

“Annika? Am I sayin' that right?”

The doctor gave something of a half-hearted shrug, her attention more drawn towards their new friend than her temporary partner. “Not too bothered how you say it.” In the end it was all the same call for attention, anyway. So long as she got you were talking to her, you could call her anything from birth-name to horrendous pet-names. There were exceptions, of course, but the soldier didn't strike Annika as that petty. Seemed too serious-minded for that.

She was probably overthinking it, he might've meant well (one of the few who asked, at any rate). “Brax, was it?” And so, Annika figured she'd return the favour and opted out of mentioning how ironic it was that a soldier had a name more fit to give a dog. “You expecting trouble?” The doctor asked as she followed her partner who had set on marching with their target, not so much fishing for answers as much as she was attempting to start conversation.

They'd be here for a good while...

It didn't take a socially adept genius to understand that the doctor was getting off on the wrong foot with Brax, the newcomer. Which was quite lucky, because while Nico wasn't the absolute opposite of a social butterfly, he still had some kinks to work out.

“Better be a damned big harpoon”

"It's not the size that matters," Nico protested, "It's how you use it."

He looked out at the floating monstrosity before them, his frown invisible to the others but nonetheless present. He wasn't an expert hunter, but he was at the very least experienced– his father had made sure of that, as soon as he discovered his son's interest in the culinary. The idea had been to somehow awaken Nico's latent masculinity, if he remembered correctly. His father had never been clear on whether it had worked or not. The fish presented an obvious disadvantage against smaller foes in that its belly was hanging some feet above the ground and was open to attacks. With enough force, a well-aimed harpoon would certainly do the trick.

"I like the way you think, cook, for food and science. I bet I could get the mechanic to craft something up for us. I'm thinking rocket propelled? Perhaps that's too barbaric."

"Barbaric, perhaps, but not too far from what we need," Nico replied. He hoped that sounded smart– he was becoming less certain that he knew what was going on. Gosh, space adventures were hard.

"Cook, go search for your harpoon and bring it to the engineering bay. If you can't find it, let us know right away. I'll go to talk to Mal about the details of his fish-killing wonder ... I hope you've all kept your communicators on. We'll have to reconvene when we're ready. Good luck."

"Yes, Captain," Nico said, nodding to the remaining two as he trotted awkwardly behind the android. By the time he reached the ship he had managed to pack away his fillet knife in the pack, and subsequently broke into a run towards the kitchen, holding the pack behind him just in case he fell over. Having half a head of metal sometimes threw his balance off, strangely enough.

The kitchen was made up of three separate rooms. The biggest room was where all the action happened: it consisted of a large cooking area, with two worktops surrounding a gigantic cooker. In the back stood nine shelves for dry storage– which he was particularly hoping to use for unknown herbs over the course of the journey. By the dry storage was a small work area where he kept the scientific equipment, which he would later use to test the sample he had taken from the plant outside, as well as the fish if they ever got hold of it. Past the shelves stood a pair of double doors that led to the cooler room, which he hoped the fish would become intimately familiar with, albeit post mortem. Then, hidden to the side in the corner was a single door without a lock. A badly scribbled post-it note hung around eye-level saying, "storage: misc."

The communicator came alive as he put his hand on the handle.

"No contact, I repeat, no contact, fired a tracer round, over."

He's shooting at it! Nico would have pressed his lips together in fury if it wasn't for the fact that he physically couldn't. The door swung open and immediately crashed into a plastic crate on the other side. He winced, entering a small and overcrowded room. All his personal belongings were in here. Nico's entire personal life, as though he had taken with him every trace when he left home. What a thought.

His hunting equipment was in a large container sent from the club. "To Nicolai S. Armitage," as though they were sending a professional letter. The only thing that would have made it better is if they'd ended it with "kind regards" just to alienate him even further. There– his rifle, still in good condition. He unpacked the container carefully, not wanting to set anything off. Almost at the very bottom he found what he was looking for.

"Captain," Nico's electronic voice spoke uncertainly through the communicator. "I found it."

Brax followed closely behind the floating fish, it's movements were starting to become predictable. It didn't take many turns and if it did it's because there was some food. It didn't seem to be a predator as it seemed attracted to eating the moss off of the huge trees. This thing probably eats a lot during the day it's stomach is probably the size of a whole football field or maybe even two? The Soldier then turned to look at Annika who called him by name or nickname in this case. "Yeah, that's right." He responded.

As they continue to trudge through the unexplored wilderness, Brax's digital mini-map was being updated throughout their experience, and while a professional survey would be more reliable and detailed, the helmet's HUD kept up a decent geographical representation. He could at least bring in the data and have it downloaded and examined by the more technical in their group. He then looked over to Annika which, surprisingly, seemed to be engaging in some small talk. Brax wasn't much of a conversationalist but he isn't anti-social either. Brax shrugged at her question, "I wouldn't know. It's what happens when you go off-world, 'specially to an alien planet you know nothin' about." Brax answered as he looked around. "The initial scans haven't detected anythin' but that doesn't give me any comfort." He then paused ,"I'd be more comfortable if the scans did find somethin'...anythin' besides this fish." He finished.

What he could figure was this: some of the plants were edible, although only the roots, and the process of digging them out was not at all worth the trouble. Had they been on the brink of starvation, perhaps– but from the look and the general build of the plants they seemed to have a lot more in common with ginger than, say, potato, meaning that the taste would be overwhelming and hard to disguise. Adding to the fact that they were currently on a planet where fish could fly, he didn't feel overly confident in serving the soil of the Earth on a platter until he was one hundred percent sure that none of the crewmates would instantly mutate once the plant had been ingested– and surprisingly that was hard to test without an actual test subject.

He should have brought the rats.

Nico spent the rest of his time trying to come as close to the fish as he could without scaring it. Which, granted, would have been hard considering the cyborg's tiny stature compared to the levitating monstrosity, but he had known whales to topple boats for less and would rather not take an unwilling flying lesson across the Elmers. His investigation revealed that there was a strange consistency to the hide beneath the scales– the latter of which were fragile and broke off easily against the plants as the fish went by. Where the removal of the scales of a normal fish would reveal the muscles, the giants of Alpha Seven seemed to have a second protective layer that reminded him of what one would expect to find beneath the blubber of a whale. He could only hope the harpoon coming their way was strong enough to pierce it– although he expected the captain would be happy either way.

"Really a fascinating creature," he said as he rejoined the others. "I can't for the life of me explain how it's alive, though. I've never seen anything like it."

It was around that time that Malachi's voice rang through the communicator. "Did someone call for a rocket propelled harpoon unit? Because I'm delivering. Don't forget to tip.”

The harpoon was done. Nico fidgeted nervously with his bag, pulling into the background as Mal arrived with the device. Now that the reality was setting in, he hoped to the Gods that the harpoon would work, and that his idea hadn't just wasted everybody's time– and the Vladimir's valuable resources.

Keeping up with the Fish was every bit as eventful as one would think. Thankfully nothing had occurred, it just raises the question as if they are truly alone on this planet. It would seem his rather menial task has come to a close as members of the crew began to file in. First, Brax noticed the Cyborg was the first to arrive still in awe of this floating creature. Then via the Communicator he had heard the Mechanic's voice as he brought in the harpoon launcher moments after. Finally the Captain herself had arrived as she gave it the once over and she seemed quite pleased with Malacahi's work.

Brax walked up to the Harpoon and took a moment to gauge the craftsmanship. He was no constructor but he could admit that it did look nice all things considering. "So, Brax, how are you feeling? Still a little cautious? I don't know who else I'd trust with firing such a wonderful weapon." The Soldier looked at the weapon and then back at the Captain, "If that is your command?" Brax asked rhetorically. He holstered his own rifle as he lifted up the harpoon and like with any other rocket launcher, rested it upon his shoulder. He then moved away from the group looking for a position that was optimal to both accuracy and distance.

The HUD gave him a rudimentary vantage point in relative to himself, the target, and the environment. Of course his HUD had no data on Harpoon Launchers but did take it's estimates from other rocket propelled weaponry like RPGs. Once in position he took a knee to steady himself as he called to the Captain. "Ready when you are, Captain." He stated. Now all he waited for was the order to take the shot.

Brax's willingness to take on the challenge inspired a wide smile on Celcius, one so wide it almost looked suspicious. Still, she wore it proudly and placed her hands confidently on her hips. With a deep breath and a motivated point at the fish that still mindlessly swam forward, the android barked, "Now!" Her blue eyes would take in every second of the next series of events.

Once Brax shot the weapon, its tip would soar promisingly through the air until sounding a great gush as it anchored into the target. The scales flexed inward before shattering from the blow when the harpoon dug into the further layers. From the wound a blue liquid oozed and trickled around the crests of the lower scales. While slightly crooked - by either aim or craft of the machine - the shot would land on the lower half of the fish's torso causing a non-fatal blow that was immediately felt by the prey.

"Eeeeeewiiiik"

The monster shrieked as it slowed for an instant to winch. Yet, as the muscles quickly loosened from the tense twitch, the beast reared forward with a renewed vigour. Forcing its way further into the woods, it crashed into every tree that stood in its path. As a number of clumsy thuds sounded, Celcius watched the fish bulldoze a clear path through the wilderness and take a quick turn left before disappearing into the distance.

As the clashes dulled, the captain held up a hand to the crew and asked in a stern tone, "Do you see that?" Her attention was held on what caused the monster fish to turn: a large rock surface. She took a few steps to centre herself in the path and spot the rock at a more detailed look. "There's a cave." She murmured before turning toward her companions. "Well crew, while we lost the fish, we may have-" Before the captain could finish, a new sound echoed through the air.

"Wiiiiiiiiiek,"

The voice sounded different than before, it was low and wavering. It send shivers down her spine as the call reverberated in her guts. It was something all of her systems noted as she quickly turned to find its source. Instinctively she waved at her crew to take cover as she sprinted out of the open. While she rolled against one of the roots, she watched a dark blue tentacle drift into her sights.

“Certainly give us something to do, huh?” As much as the doctor took the uneventful trailing as nothing but a good omen, she had to give her soldier friend this; He had a point. Fish chasing wouldn't really make for good bedtime stories, and for want of staving of another sigh out of sheer boredom for their babysitting task Annika had taken to counting their steps not a mere five minutes after the rest had wandered off to get, well, whatever it is they needed to catch this air-born fish.

'Guess cook's harpoon isn't gonna cut it after all, then.' She kept her eyes on Brax, who was still as dedicated to his job as ever, only pausing her thoughts to catch up with the soldier (somehow he had the talent to take three paces with a single step).

“Hey,” she spoke up. “I'm not made for long walks y'know?”

Again she tried to remember why she went down with the ground team, when it was so obvious that the likes of her were more suited sitting around at a desk listening to some sap talking about how they might, might have come down with a terminal illness. Always turned out to be some new incarnation of the flu, too, so what did they know?

'Right, fishes.' The doctor sighed audibly in the face of complete and utter silence, safe for the few grunts from Brax and the fish mucking about in the trees, as there didn't seem much else to have a conversation about.

And finally the missing trio showed up, the cyborg cook being the first as he took a second breath-taking sight at the fish. “Could just be a novelty balloon for all we know.” The doctor shrugged, although the question hadn't failed to make her wonder the same thing. They'd find out sooner or later, though.

At least, if the harpoon cannon was going to do the trick. If not, well, she'd give Malacahi the thanks for trying award. Never fault the creator, but the creation and all that. 'Or the one shooting.'

Speaking of which...

Annika, and presumably the others, watched the whaling spectacle unfold in all its glory; failing to suppress a gasp as the cannon seemed to have done its job (in spite of her own doubts). The fish squirmed at his latest addition of a metal limb in its abdomen, and the doctor thought her ears would snap at the shrill cries the creature was capable of making.

Mere second later, and not a single fish to show for the effort, the action died down. Annika, who had taken cover at the captain's recommendation, had only managed to catch a small glimpse of what the android had pointed at before a second, lower howl drilled its way through her ears.

“Oh boy. The fun just doesn't end, huh?”

The captain once again appeared from nowhere. Specifically from the nonspecific brush that at first seemed non-threatening. The captain proved that such shrubs and the various other vegetation covering the forest floor could hide dangerous predators. However, they had yet to meet any such creatures that could be hostile to humans.

He felt the blood drain from his face for a singular moment.

”It looks fantastic.”

“On the house.”

The compliment made him smile on the inside. It seemed his choice to join this expedition did not prove to be soul crushing. Yet.

"I don't know who else I'd trust with firing such a wonderful weapon," she said to the soldier, Brax, as he hauled the weapon.

Frankly, neither do I. Mal thought.

Mal watched Brax, decked out in combat armor already, lift up his precious new creation. The mechanic’s attachment to it was about as short-lived as any other device he had been ordered to cook up in his life. He glanced at the cook, who preferred the background to the foreground. If anybody knew anything about detachment from one’s creations, it would be a cook. Mal thought the masked man to be an introverted and observant type.

As the soldier positioned himself along the tree-line and shouldered the rocket harpoon awaiting the order, Mal surveyed the surrounding forest. The trees blotted out any sunlight. The land felt damp and cool. Shadow covered the land for leagues. It reminded him of Intari as nothing but cool colors pervaded his view. A memory in particular stood out, when he walked on the seafloor and looked up to see the gigantic tendrils of the seaweed and the vast colonies of coral. The trees of Alpha-seven reminded him of that.

”Ready when you are, Captain.”

The harpoon tip pierced the creature’s scaly abdomen. It did not explode, which meant Brax did not kill it. The soldier did succeed in killing Mal’s appetite if he had one to begin with. He could see that it began to ooze a blue liquid, probably its main body fluid like human blood. He looked at his bandaged finger, then back at the giant fish.

He had to remind himself he was not a voodoo doll.

The creature proceeded to provide another clearing through its own effort. It was like watching a starship take a fatal blow to its main plating, the best analogy a mechanic could think of. The Captain stood up to see where the fish floated, Mal followed but only after a glance behind to ensure nothing caught them by surprise. The tiny insects buzzed at a barely audible level. He looked on in the distance as the captain said something that he did not catch. He saw instead some shadows that seemed to have darted behind the many trees in the west. He blinked, nothing. He looked at his datapad,

"Well crew, while we lost the fish, we may have-" the Captain’s bold announcement cut short by a loud groan of sorts.

It was an echo, a haunting one, like the ghost of one’s mother whose funeral they did not attend.

Captain Celsius waved at them to take cover, which prompted Mal to sidestep to the trunk of a large tree without hesitation. He peered from behind a pair of large pinnatisect leaves.

“Oh boy. The fun just doesn't end, huh?” the doctor quipped.

Mal glanced at her, he thought she was screwed a bit tight. Well, to be fair, they were on a planet with potentially hostile creatures that could rip each of them to shreds in seconds. Still no sign of them yet. It was good reason for anyone to be sarcastic.

Except robots who chose to stay on board the ship.

Like Asimov.

There was a moment of hope as the harpoon went off, quickly vaporised as the wounded giant fled, taking half the forest with it. Nico wasn't sure how to feel about it– on one hand his suggestion had worked, and clearly wounded it. On the other, he hadn't taken into account how most fish reacted if they weren't killed immediately on impact. They were slippery, for sure. With a screech Mal's efforts had disappeared, and with it, a memory of home.

"My harpoon," he said, weakly– not quite sure what else to say.

"Do you see that?" Nico first turned to the Captain, following her gaze towards the clearing created by the fish, but he wasn't quite sure what she was referring to. His gaze drifted to the last place where they had seen the fish, missing what the Captain was referring to.

"There's a cave," she said. Brow furrowed, he took another glance around them, before settling on the rocky surfaces further away. It was hard to see, but with some imagination employed he could understand which part she was referring to. His effort made him miss the next thing the Captain said, until a horrid sound brought him out of it–

"Wiiiiiiiiiek."

Nico almost jumped out of his skin, a hand on his bag fiddling for some kind of protection against whatever it was. For a moment he thought it could have been another fish, but as he followed the Captain's instructions and dived for safety behind a bush, he caught a glimpse of the blue, tentacled offender up ahead.

“Oh boy. The fun just doesn't end, huh?”

It was hard to tell what it was from his position. Giant floating octopus? An eldritch horror Man Was Not Meant To Know? He supposed the first one was more likely, particularly given that the planet seemed to have a way of sustaining sea life mid-air which they had not yet explained– nor were they ever likely to find a suitable explanation for it. So far he was happy to go with a quote from his teacher in Esoteric Cooking 1: Cooking the Cosmos;

"Space is weird, but mostly edible."

That was upsetting, but he supposes that's what he gets for firing homemade, improvisational weaponry instead of military grade tech. Still it was an admirable attempt and plenty of effort was made into this rocket harpoon. Too bad it didn't terminate the target perhaps it was his fault? Maybe he didn't enter such a decent position as he was originally led to believe, they did say back in training that no amount of A.I. can ever substitute instinct. He also didn't have all the faith in the universe that this would work either but he would never mention that.

Instead Brax found himself quickly tucking into a barrel roll, narrowly missing the falling tree that would have flatten him in an instant. Yeah the optimal safe distance clearly didn't take into account the possibility of uprooted trees. Sometimes he wished he had the upgraded model. Brax stood up, launcher in hand, as he watched their target swim away or is fly away more correct? Of course now what? There mission looks to be a failure, they can't even track it as it seems the fish's rampage damaged the tracer round he shot at it earlier. A shame but then his attention was directed by the Captain towards a cave of some sorts.

It was then he heard a strong noise come from that direction and of course the Captain ran out into the open. "Captain!" He shouted out to her. It was then he saw it, his HUD indicated movement from the cave and that movement came in the form of a tentacle. Diving for cover behind the fallen tree, Brax aimed his rifle at the tentacle. He wasn't in the best firing position as the HUD indicates but for now, moving could be a bad idea. Instead Brax initiated over Comms, "Captain, what are your orders?" He asked. He could perhaps move into a better spot, providing there was some sort of distraction. At the moment he couldn't tell if they were in trouble or if the tentacled creature is even aware of their presence. Regardless, this is a dangerous situation and one that needs to be handled carefully.

Celcius was silent as she watched the wiggling, blue limb stretch into the open. In the background, she could hear the mutterings of her companions as they quipped about the situation but they were little more than a buzz to the woman as her mind ticked through its thoughts. Her mental list checked off their first accomplishment as 'done', not 'succeeded' but it was certainly over. The real elements of their mission were about to take place and she needed to shift gear from camp councillor to captain.

Several other tentacles had also slithered outside of the cave, probing for potential prey. They snaked blindly through the air, bumping into the ground and the odd tree before recoiling and changing course. While tantalizing, they weren't ready for this and she knew it. Calmly and quietly, Celcius instructed into the comms. "Everyone, get back to the ship. We'll reconvene in the dinning room in an hour. Don't be late." Her pale eyes glanced at each member briefly, ensuring they understood the situation. The android then nodded once before crawling away as proudly as she could. With some time, and grass stains, she arrived back into the still-standing forest to jog to the ship.

Her curiosities had been smothered with business. She didn't care to watch the orange, floating dots that jiggled away from her as she ran. One had come dangerously close to hitting her in the face but it picked up its shuffling pace to a panicked bounce and avoided the collision. Celcius barely noticed. Instead she could see Vladimir standing in the distance and hurried her return. The Captain's system connected to Vladimir's consciousness with a beep as it began to spit out an insult. 'No foreign life detected.' It's translation would be something between 'where's that fish you were meant to catch?' and 'I see you failed'. Celcius ignored the taunt and began her orders. "Send out the probs. Concentrate on the west forest where the trees were broken down and a cave on the rock face. The words fell confidently from her lips as she marched into the ship. Vladimir beeped a confirmation.

Several whirling sounds began to buzz from the engineering bay. They were dull whistles that held a constant pace. Little, circular bots clicked from their resting homes to fly through the ship and out of the landing stairs with their little propellers that kept them in air. They flew forward by Vladimir's AI which tracked every scan they took into its logs. Hoping that they would get some type of information from the AI's minions, Celcius prepared for the meeting.

His eyes went wide as he saw the squid or octopus like appendages writhing in midair.

“Oh, what the hell?” Mal whispered.

He watched Brax step into position, assault rifle primed on the target. Mal was unsure how much damage one soldier could do against what seemed to be some gargantuan monstrosity. Mal pulled out a computer rod and slid open a transparent sheet screen from its side. The sheet screen was so thin that its height seemed indiscernible. Mal tried to raise the sheet so that it could capture the creature better than his eyes.

Nothing but tentacles. A better view could not be found. The captain and Brax had the best view so he watched and waited on them. What kind of world was Alpha-seven? He wondered if they would find swimming birds. It seemed anatomically impossible and contradictory to the laws of physics. Or rather, the laws of physics as he had known them. The floating fish could be explained, but swimming birds, now that was something to look forward to.

The captain’s voice came on the comms, “Everyone, get back to the ship. We'll reconvene in the dining room in an hour. Don't be late."

“Aye Captain,” Mal nodded as she glanced at him.

The group dispersed, Mal would have struck up some conversation with the cook or the doc, but he decided the dining hall would be a more appropriate locale. Down the brush and onto some steady ground filled with grass. A throb of pain jolted his cut finger, and he had to shake it until it was numb again. Mal left the rocket launcher with the soldier, he’ll probably return it to the armory, he thought.

He wandered down a different trail led by his panel’s navigator system. The little orange spots dispersed as he approached them. Mal spotted several glowing purple caps that could be this world’s equivalent of mushrooms. He had a brief thought about his days back in university, and he remembered why he would never do mushrooms again. The nav system’s blinking tone interrupted his thoughts and he continued on.

As he neared the ship, he watched as little orbs departed from the opening like metallic pollen from a steel flower. Their multicolored scanning beams washing over him as they whirred past him. They disappeared beyond the forest behind him.

Mal waved at them as he knew they were sort of like the ship’s eyes, “Vladimir,” he addressed the ship AI, “Can you get me a systems scan and a status report on the engine? I had to repair a damaged panel in there.”

"Everyone, get back to the ship. We'll reconvene in the dinning room in an hour. Don't be late."

He did not have to be told twice. Nico rolled from his hiding place, unceremoniously rising from his knees and legging it over to the ship's entrance. Safe inside, he was able to calm himself as he walked to the kitchen. He still had a perpetual tingle going down his spine, as though the octopus-tentacle-thing had somehow followed him inside without his notice, ready to pounce on him the minute he turned his back. Standing at his counter, he removed his satchel and took a few deep breaths. The Vladimir was probably protected. He'd be fine until the Captain ordered him to charge the creature head-on, which given the way his day had been so far wasn't completely out of the question.

First things first. He removed the samples he'd taken from the plants and started the machine at the back of his kitchen. In a few hours he'd have more of an idea of what parts were edible, if any. Then, he went through his storage, making a mental note of the inventory and picking out a few things for lunch. Or breakfast. Food, anyhow. His suspicions that the storage was inadequately stocked was soon confirmed, which worried him a little. The fish seemed out of the question, and he had no more harpoons to try out on the octopus. So far the plant was their greatest hope for a fresh meal, and according to his investigations it would be a boring meal at best.

Even so, he got the cooker started, deciding on a nourishing stew to get everyone's energy up and running. He made a few reasonably sized portions (saving, saving, saving) and got out the plates while the stew boiled. Then, deciding not to chance carrying the plates by himself, he went looking through the equipment storage. Eventually he found a two-floor trolley, the top tray of which he put the plates. He turned down the heat on the stew to let it simmer for a while, and prepared some refreshing drinks, which he put on the bottom tray.

As soon as the stew was finished, he filled the plates and pushed the trolley in front of him into the dining room, a little before an hour had passed.

"Anyone hungry? I made a little something," he said, gesturing to the meal in front of him.