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Doc Epplendell happily complies with the crew's needs, healing everyone's wounds as she supervises the packaging of her most vital medical triage equipment for the temporary evacuation. As she does so, she provides you all an update on the condition of your crewmate, Lih Soloroh.
"Traumatic brain injury with occipital skull fracture and intracerebral hameorrhage. I've got him in subzero stasis for neuroprotection. He's likely to need a few more days in regeneration stasis before its safe to up-thermoregulate." She smirks at your blank stares in a nonchalant way.
"He should be right as rain when we all come back to the colony, if the medical care on this rock can be trusted."
"That's wonderful news. Thank you for your assistance."
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The crew of the Brilliance spend the evening getting patched up by the doctor, checking their equipment, and tracing their forthcoming journey on a locality map provided by Madelon Kesi.
"We will be relocating here," the damaya lashunta says, indicating a point on the map, "BTEP-1, one of the blue tin mines that we've established in the mountains. It is a defensible position with a decent amount of space for all of us, though it will be cramped."
By first light on their eighth day on Nakondis, the crew consider their options to transit to the crash site of the Azlanti ship.
JD nods at the Doc's assessment. He gives no other sign that he understands or if he is just nodding along.
"Do what you can, Doc. Thanks. Appreciate the stitches too."
JD looks down at the map. "Blue tin mines? How long can you hold out there?" He scans around at the other points of interest, his finger landing to the east of Madelon's Landing. "Dales-ko, Da-lesko? what's that?"
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At JD's question, Madelon's antennae droop and hang limply. He replies in a low voice. "You want to avoid that area. Dalesko was our second colony site, led by Tannia Helsedar, may the scales balance in favour of her soul."
Madelon takes a deep breath. "It was a fortnight after they had finished their first plantings; Jellik Fulson was the one who went to deliver water to their colony. Dalesko was abandoned - not a soul or a body to be found. There were signs of struggle...and a single pale yellow flower, growing seven feet tall within their barely-sprouted crop garden. We mounted a search party, but not a trace was found. It was a few days later that the Azlanti arrived."
Hopefully, at least one of the colonists can fly the ship. If so, we'll do as JD suggests and take the buggy and trike.
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A patched up Jellik Fulson finds the crew of the Brilliance just before departure. He salutes you cheerfully, his mouth still wired shut from the beating that he took.
"Ehr've pin toad we gon fish yer ship up wall you hunt some bigger fish. Eh just want to make sure dere ain't nuttin' security-wass eh need to know abowt yer ship before eh pallet her to the worksatt."
With a combination of partly-garbled words and gestures, you glean that Jellik will be working with Aibretta within the colony alone on upgrading your ship - the two of them abstaining from the colony evacuation. When asked about his concerns for their safety lest the Azlanti return, or worse, decide to detonate the colony from space, Jellik chortles.
"Eh don't got inny fear. Aibretta - she got fosh-holes amongst fosh-holes around Nakondis. Some of dem got lead-linin'. She's crezzy about dat pre-Gap metal-ergy. We good."
The mystery solved, the team retrieves their buggy from the Brilliance while a lone team member fetches their hover-trike from Ludvar Cresk's stable.
The journey to the reported crash site takes four hours, most of which is a relatively-pleasant journey along a trail carved through the jungle that leads north by northeast out of town towards the Blue Tin mountain range. The permanent mist maintains a wet chill to the air. As the trail turns to the west (about 2/3 of the way there), an ominous rumble signifying incoming inclement weather shatters the peace. By the time the team arrives at a safe perimeter to the crash site, what started as a light shower has progressed into a full thunderstorm. The electrified fog catches lightning blasts from the storm and diffuses them across the permanent fog for yards in multiple directions, blasting the ground with intermittent hot-white flashes of light. The effect is similar to being caught in a malfunctioning strobe machine and just as unpleasant.
The crash site clearing resembles an overgrown hill. Only a few crumpled exhaust ports and a rear stabilising fin jut out from the ground to the west, indicating that the bulk of the vessel must now be underground. The visible portions of the ship are all heavily weathered and corroded, except for a hatch between the exhaust ports and the fin. The hatch is currently open, and the inside of the hatch gleams with the shine of polished metal; clearly, the interior of the ship is in better shape than its weathered and overgrown exterior. To the south of the hatch, the earth has recently been churned up by something massive. There is a strange smell of ozone in the air.
New Map (the yellow line is the open hatch over a jutting tail fin)
Jarix will take the trike.
Jarix readies his pistol as he approaches the ramp. "Someone's been here recently. More recent than when Cedona came by, I mean. Keep alert." He starts up the ramp.
Verne heeds Jarix's warning, keeping his sensors on high alert.
"I'll check for an airlock hatch or other way to get in," he announces to his crew.
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Jarix spies the fallen form of an Azlanti solder off the back edge of the ramp leading up to the hatch. He sees that the form lies in a darkened area that still appears moist, and the dirt looks slightly churned up near the body, as if something has been recently digging.
Verne takes in that most of the ship is buried under the mound of earth that it crashed into. This tail fin (and the hatch) is the only visible portion of the ship. There is likely no other way in or out.
Slide 2 for some lovely art of the scene
As Jarix tries to make heads or tails of this, and as Verne comes up behind him, a three-foot-long worm bursts out of the ground next to the corpse, spraying the two crew members with a white-coloured viscous substance!
Slide 3 for a pic of this horrid thing
The dark green-grey thing coats the two advance members of the Brilliance in a shock-inducing effluvium, stunning the android!
Verne sways in place, his cybernetic neural network overwhelmed the synaptic shock delivered by the worm's mucoid spray. The worm sees another potential meal and lunges forward at the android!
The worm bites deep into the android's neck, wrapping itself around him!
Jarix gets to a better position and fires at the thing. "What is that?"
Mallura shouts in alarm as the creature explodes from the ground and quickly puts Verne in severe danger. She rushes up, grabbing her semi auto pistol from its holster as she shouts encouragement to Verne, "Come on, get yourself together, Verne! We've got a job to do here!"
The sound of heavy footfalls and hydraulic actuators gives way to the shots ringing out from JD and Sh-Ux as they March forward towards the creature.
Verne, snapped out of his dazed state by his captain's cries, writhes as he attempts to escape the worm's slimy grasp.
Jarix tries to kill the thing to get it from around his friend.]
Mallura moves around JD and Verne to attack the worm from the other side together with Jarix.
The drone and mechanic fire at the creature again.
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JD misses but Sh-Ux scorches the worm. It doesn't make a big splash, sadly.
Verne squirms and claws at the worm to no avail. The worm goes for the kill.
The worm penetrates into Verne's trachea as the android's eyes roll back and he buckles, pitching onto the earth.
"Let's put an end to this." Jarix fires again at the creature.
JD and Sh-Ux continue firing at the creature that took Verne down.
Mal fires a round into the worm as well.
Can we pull Verne into the ship?
Jarix will go to his friend to get him away from where the creature went to ground.
Mallura runs up the ramp to cover Jarix and Verne, shouting over her shoulder as she trains her gun on the churned earth where the worm had disappeared, "JD, get your giant tin exo-butt up here and help me cover the retreat. We gotta get off the ground and inside before that thing tears someone else's throat out!"
She stands ready beside Jarix, prepared to shoot at the first sign of the creature returning.
"Ooof, good idea" The mechanic utters as he and the drone maneuver up the ramp onto solid decking and off the dirt. "I'm more comfortable with steel under my feet anyway. Been planet side too long, and it's not going well. How'se he doing?"
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The thing does reappear, winding its way through a hailstorm of bullet and blaster fire. Only JD's bullet finds a bit of the worm, which unfortunately isn't enough before the creature spews its synaptic mucus once again at the crew!
The worm slimes the captain, the mechanic, and Sh-Ux v2.0 in a sheathe of acidic, synaptic goo, dazing the mechanic and temporarily short-circuiting the drone! More concernedly, it damages the unconscious Verne, hastening his demise!
Mallura pulls out her laser pistol and fires another shot at the worm!
Hanging in the riding harness of the drone, JD stirs back into mental clarity after staring off into the distance for a moment. "Woof... what the..?'. He collects himself and looks about, trying to asses the drone's condition as well. He sets about restarting the sensor bank on the new chassis, and the drone's optical light flickers back on into a resting green state.
JD clambers down and out of the drone. "Keep an eye out for more, Sh-Ux"
JD will grab Verne's medical kits and attempt to repair some of the damage to the android.
Verne is our healer, isn't he? We rest here for a bit so that, hopefully, he wakes up.
Jarix will try to help or help by treating deadly wounds or aiding someone else if there's a better skill bonus among us.
Mallura, not being trained in medical procedures, waits anxiously for Verne to regain consciousness.
Mallura turns and kneels next to Verne as he wakes back up. "Hey there, Verne! Welcome back. You feeling alright?"
Even as she speaks comfort to Verne, Mal is running through questions in her mind, 'Do we have any healing serums on us? Do we retreat to the colony? Do we have time for that? Are we all going to die out here?'
"Not...particularly..." Verne groans and coughs. "Is the worm gone?"
"Yeah. It's gone. Will you be able to go forward?"
The android gets to his feet, stumbles a bit, and rights himself. "I don't think I could make it through another fight. Perhaps I should return to the buggy, or try and make myself useful in another way?"