Crazyon silently stared at the large cloud, he had been completely silent when he met with the other survivors, and had barely spoken during the construction of the makeshift camp. He sat on the ground, rummaging through the box he had salvaged from his lab, within it was a book filled with unknown symbols, two unique knifes, and an empty syringe. Sighing deeply, he continued to stare intensely at the cloud.
Wyatt sat rather closely to the fire, observing its flickers in the cold air. Their crash had been within the day, but it felt as if it had been so long ago. Nine, nine people out of 50-something, had survived. The problem for Wyatt wasn't that people died, the fact that people did was sad, but he wanted to know why he was one of the survivors. What was the significance of his survival? He wasn't one of the strongest guards, in fact, he didn't even want to be a guard. It was just a job, but he tried to protect people as best as he could, so he had obviously failed today. The closest survivor to him was 20 feet away, everyone around him had died, and he became unconscious. Give it up for Wyatt, everyone, greatest guard of the year. He started to feel like he had no reason to feel sorry for himself. He didn't lose a loved one, and had no family left behind, he lost friends today, but it wasn't the same. A soft blue light lit Wyatt's back as Polaris approached, who lightly hit Wyatt's back. "Hey, it's rough all over, bud. We'll be okay." He said half-heartedly. "We never did have a proper introduction." Polaris stood next to Wyatt. "Doctor Polaris Aldrich. Biologist and part-time cartographer." "Wyatt Banks, Security Guard." He looked over the Novakid for a moment. He was suprised by his sudden warmth during their situation. It was quite suprising, but he was glad he had said it. He gestured for the man to sit down. "Why don't you join me? The fire's looking pretty good tonight." He jokingly said. "Well, that's a good thing, this damn cold is gonna fizzle me out."
Gouto stared at the flickering fire with an odd sort of intensity. He had woken up a couple of hours ago, too weak to help with the construction of their meager fortifications. His wounds had already been treated at that point and strength was gradually returning to him, but he was mostly confined to the same spot until he was fully healed. Thankfully, his kind healed quickly. A bit of rest was all that he needed to put everything in the right place. He'd be able to help to work on the fortifications the next day. Hopefully. He shifted around his makeshift chair. He'd done absolutely nothing to help and night was quickly approaching, bringing freezing temperatures with it. His kind also didn't take extreme temperatures very well at all, nor were they very enthusiastic about staying too close to fires. It dried them up, and who knows if the water's safe on this damned planet. They could be here for a long while, depending on how long it could take for the techs to do... something. Anything. They had to be able to do something about it, they had to. He looked up at the group. He was glad to have another member of security with him, and although he felt bad for thinking it, he felt even better about being the only surviving Hylotl. That would have made staying here a nightmare. But there was enough time to think about it later. Shifting the gaze of his three eyes to the unoccupied survivors, he asked the question. "We're going to get out of here, right? Tell me there's a way to contact central command."
Glancing at the Hylotl, Crazyon shrugged and continued to tinker with what was in his box. While doing this, he simply stated... "I have no idea, most of the equipment was decimated upon impact." "Most likely, unless we can salvage some sort of communication device, I believe that we'll be stranded for now."
Centauri sat a little ways away from the fire, not necessarily eager to be near it after such a taxing day which largely involved flames. She wasn't too upset by the crash, seeing how she'd only recently been hired onto the ship and didn't really connect with any of the former crew, but it still bothered her how so many died or were still possibly dying in the ship. She looked in her medic bag, surveying what she had left after treating the majority of the survivors. About two thirds of bandages left, not bad... But still. Not good. To take her mind off of less than pleasant thoughts of what may occur when she does eventually run out of supplies, she instinctively went to grab the non-existent guitar case by her seat. Right... Don't have it. She sighed inwardly to herself. Centauri, slightly bothered by the lack of acoustic instruments by her seat, stood to go talk to Rowan, the only person so far that she knew understood her. Rowan replied, simultaneously speaking and signing, "The ship was huge, but since it was a merchant ship I don't know if it was top priority... either way I think it should have sent a signal back to headquarters once the generators blew out. That is, if there isn't anything around here that would interfere with the signal." He paused. "Uh, anyway we should be good until they come to save us. I think we're lucky to have such a useful crew of survivors. Speaking of the survivors, you can let me know whenever you have something to say to the group." The white Novakid nodded gratefully. "Thank you for being my voice." Centauri's faint outline of a mouth curled upwards slightly. "And I do hope someone finds us soon. Something feels..." Her hands stood still for a moment. "Off about this place. I don't like it." She sat down, shivering slightly from the tendrils of icy wind that snaked throughout the trees, hissing in defiance to the stark silence of the forest. "Something is definitely wrong here. Nothing is making a sound. No insects, no birds. Nothing. It's not right." She absently signed, staring into the inky night.
Gouto cursed under his breath at the answer and stared at the masked scientist for a few seconds. He hadn't expected Crazyon to speak. Quite frankly, Crazyon made him nervous. He didn't like people who covered their face, it hid their intentions and made them seem... subversive, almost sinister. He'd have to keep an eye on Crazyon in the future. He finished contemplating the scientist and stood up. If they were going to survive until... something happened, they'd need to gather what they could from this blasted planet. He wasn't much of a leader, but the group needed someone to call the shots until they've gotten more accustomed to living here. "I'm going out to the forest tomorrow to look for anything we could use. If anyone wants to come with me, speak up now. Anyone else, stay here and continue searching the..." He turned to the wreckage of the Pelican. "...The ship. There might be more things we can salvage. Keep the camp secure and the fire burning, if it goes out we won't live through the night." With that said, Gouto sat down and hoped that the group had gotten the message.
James sat reclined against a log the group had moved near the campfire, watching as it crackled and popped. It was a long shot from comfortable, but the only resting place near the fire - the one thing warding away the unwelcome chill of the brisk night air. The atmosphere was rather depressing, here the survivors sat amongst the wreckage of their ship with only the occasional speech to break the eerie silence. While the others seemed more preoccupied with getting off the planet, James couldn't help but wonder what had brought them down in the first place. The energy shield should have been more than enough to stop any debris that the pilots wouldn't have to manually avoid. We must have been attacked. Pirate maybe? No, they would have hailed us first... He couldn't help but feel that something didn't add up about the whole situation, and something gave him the feeling he wasn't the only one who felt this way. One of the survivors spoke, starting a conversation about a comms device and sending a distress signal. Another responded saying any suitable device was likely destroyed. James recognised the voice as belonging to the person who introduced himself as 'Crazyon'. A strange name for a stranger person I guess. James didn't like Crazyon at all, despite having hardly spoken to him. There was just something off-putting about him; he almost never spoke, wore some kind of strange mask all the time and had a complete fixation with a box he presumably salvaged from the ship. James had never recalled seeing him onboard the ship either, which was arguably cause for even more concern. Gouto spoke up; "I'm going out to the forest tomorrow to look for anything we could use. If anyone wants to come with me, speak up now. Anyone else, stay here and continue searching the..." He turned to the wreckage of the Pelican. "...The ship. There might be more things we can salvage. Keep the camp secure and the fire burning, if it goes out we won't live through the night." "I'll stay back and look for anything salvageable, I'm probably the most helpful in that regard" James responded. "Besides, if that box managed to survive, I'm sure something useful did too..." He went on to say with a note of contempt, glaring at the box in Crazyon's hands.
As Wyatt continued to chat with Dr. Aldrich a question arose from Gouto, a Hyltol who Wyatt had carried out of the ship. Although a situation such as that may be seen as a small act of generosity, Wyatt found it to be an opportunity for them to get closer, even if Gouto had been mumbling unintelligibly, and couldn't have heard anything Wyatt was saying, in his mind, the experience was probably just like the two of them drinking cups of coffee while discussing the meaning of life. "I'll go with you." Wyatt said, a bit enthusiastically. "I'd rather go exploring than stay around here." It was a great chance to observe the properties of the planet, because as of now, all Wyatt knows is that the air is breathable, and the wood burns.
Jack sat still, staring at the flickering fire which were giving him visions of the crash and all the... People. Jack let out a deep sigh of regret... Or was it relief? He was alive at least... And he wasn't alone. "Y'know... This could have been much worse. We are incredibly lucky to be alive right now. And at least we're together, that's what counts." Jack looked at the one who calls them-self 'Crazyon' and began wondering who... Or what he is. Jack spoke under his breath "Hmph... I've seen stranger..." Then after a long silence, a survive spoke out. "I'm going out to the forest tomorrow to look for anything we could use. If anyone wants to come with me, speak up now. Anyone else, stay here and continue searching the..." He turned to the wreckage of the Pelican. "...The ship. There might be more things we can salvage. Keep the camp secure and the fire burning, if it goes out we won't live through the night." "Sounds like a plan. Count me in!" Jack then stood up to stretch himself out, getting excited about the following day. "I've always liked the unknown."
Dumping the contents of the box out, Crazyon picked the book, empty syringe, and the two knives that fell out of it up, and placed them within his coat. "Would you mind if I tagged along...?" Crazyon asked. "I've already seen the damage done to my lab, it's useless scrap now, but the planet may hold useful materials...You never know what you may find." Crazyon grimaced slightly as he remembered the state his lab was in when he came to, but of course, his helmet prevented others from seeing this.
Amidst the conversation Yury sat quietly next to his tent and scribbled into his notebook. Day 1: rations: 2 weeks, generator: 1 week, survivors: 9, deceased: 3-4 dozen, sick: none, injured: several. "A very bleak outlook indeed.." Yury said to himself with a grimace. It had taken the remaining crew several hours to salvage what they could before nightfall. Yury noticed while scavanging the Pelican that nobody mentioned on how they would deal with the remains of the deceased. While understandable, it was an issue that had to dealt with quickly, else disease and rot would set in. The engineer gazed at the main camp, "I suppose I'll have to address the group with my concerns..", Yury thought to himself as he lifted himself off the forest floor. Slowly making his way towards the other survivors, he began wording the proposal in his head, keenly aware of the eyes that turned to look his way.Yury halted infront of the bonfire and remained silent for several seconds, taking those few seconds to compose himself before raising his head to speak. "Hello, my name is Keith Landen, I was one of the engineers stationed in the maintenance deck for those of you that don't know.", Yury cleared his throat trying to quell the apprehension stirring in his gut. "I had only signed on a few months prior to the.." he shot a quick look at the vessel. "..accident, so I only knew most of the crew in passing. However, I'm sure that some of you had friends or even...loved ones who didn't survive the impact. Which brings me to my main point.", Yury paused for a moment before continuing, "It would prudent to tend to the deceased as quickly as possible before the..smell..begins to attract unwanted attention. And, I'm sure that some of us wish to say their goodbyes aswell." Yury scratched the back of his head, "Since the Pelican is host to five main decks, I figured it would be best to separate into groups of two in-order to cover the most ground possible. I can handle the maintenance deck alone since only a few people resided there.", Yury face bore a grave countenance as he gazed at the group. "I'm not going to force anyone to do this, however; I'm sure some of your fellow shipmates would appreciate it. Thank you for your time and understanding." Yury offered a weak smile before returning to his tent on the outskirts of clearing.
It was decided that the issue of the bodies was not as urgent as being rested and recovered for the day ahead. The bodies were an issue, but not as pressing as survival. After such a stressful day rest came easily, even if not peacefully so. By morning, the fire was merely hot charcoal and glowing embers. However, not everyone in the camp was in whatever they had scrounged up for a bed. About a foot from the fire pit was a little figure. The little thing was small, just under a meter in height and half that in width, it was a light grey and while humanoid, the shape was oddly blobby. On its back, a concentrated burn that looked quite painful. As it sat it began to make a whimpering noise, similar to a human child verging on tears. This awoke Centauri, who, in her numbness and surprise, moved to treat the wound. With a gentle touch she applied sterilizer and a bandage. The thing turned around, it had a large lump instead of a face. A limb of sorts extended, offering a small crystal, purest sky-blue, to Centauri. It moved back after dropping it in front of her, looking shy and a bit afraid.
Rather hesitantly, Centauri reached out to grab the odd, blue crystal. She didn't take her eyes off of the grey little creature, however. That's kinda cute. It gave me a... Rock? When she touched the crystal, a jolt was sent up her arm, causing her to let out an audible gasp in surprise and snap her hand away. She wasn't sure whether it was hallucinations from exhaustion or something similar, so she went to pick it up again. Nothing this time, so she chalked it up to tiredness and held the crystal up to the dim light of dawn breaking through the trees. It's beyond beautiful! Centauri thought excitedly to herself, signing "thank you" to the little gooey thing, nodding her head. She put the crystal away in her pocket to keep it safe after the creature seemed to give no response, just stare in slight fear and curiosity. Centauri inched forward to whatever she helped out, holding out her hand gingerly...
Crazyon stared intensely at the small figure, he was examining it. It seemed almost amorphous, as if it had no distinct skeletal structure....He would love to dissect it, if he could, but only if it died of natural causes... Maybe he should befriend it...? Having a strange sleep pattern, Crazyon was still awake, so he was watching this silently. As Crazyon watched this, unmoving from his original location, many thoughts were occuring within his head. What is that object? Why did the she gasp? Curiosity got the better of him as he simply asked... "Excuse me, may I see that object later...?" He asked this quickly as to not startle the creature she was approaching. Suddenly talking about a completely different subject, Crazyon asked her something, while eying the creature. "I could take care of the deceased that litter the area, if you would like, I believe a simple cremation would be best, as to prevent decomposition which could attract unwanted attention." "I would, of course, mark the mass grave of deceased ashes with a form of marker...." "Do you think the others would have an issue with this...?" He said this with a tone of seriousness. "Oh, and I do not believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you before, you can simply call me Crazyon."
Gouto woke from his deep slumber. After almost dying in the fiery wreck he'd expected his dreams to be riddled with horrifying nightmares, but sleep came easily and was uneventful. He quickly took stock of his belongings in anticipation for their expedition. There was his trusty sidearm. Old and outdated, but it was sturdier than the newer models. The fact that it survived the crash was proof of that. His armored vest had been pierced in several places by the debris, but it was still structurally sound. He'd rather not risk being gored by the local ruminants. Everything was in order, he'd get everything else that they would need once everyone was awake. He heard a voice outside the tent, so at least two people were awake. Gouto quickly got dressed and stepped outside his makeshift tent, where he was met with the sight of the masked scientist, the mute medic, and- What is that thing? His hand slowly shifted to the gun holstered on his vest as he stared at the odd creature. He'd never seen something like it before, but something about it made Gouto uneasy. He'd been trained not to trust the indigenous fauna of a planet, but these two didn't seem to understand the dangers. In fact, the doctor seemed to be trying to touch it. For all he knew, the creature could be poisonous or aggressive. Gouto raised his voice at the two. "You, doctor! What do you think you're doing?" He shouldn't have expected a response.
Centauri was a bit surprised by the two men. After a moment's hesitation she slipped the stone in her pocket and signed a few words. Seeing that neither of the other survivors seemed to understand (and Rowan was sleeping a ways away), she was forced to revert to charades. Why don't more people know sign language? I should really get Rowan to help me teach some of them. She began to move, doing so slowly since she did not want to startle the little creature, which may in turn have surprised the Hylotl. She patted her bag of supplies, and then pointed at the little thing. After a moment's hesitation, she pulled out the stone, held it in her outright arms towards the creature, and drew it back in, holding it close to her. She was fairly certain they would be able to understand this, but could only hope that the guard would understand not to shoot.
Oh, she's a mute... Crazyon thought to himself. Sighing, he examined her as she performed her sign language, then charades. He had already witnessed what had occurred between the odd creature and her, but he supposed she was doing it due to the fact that the fellow who had just woken up most likely missed what had transpired. Turning his head to stare at him, Crazyon chuckled. "I'm simply trying to examine a unique creature, I am a scientist, after all." "Do you have a problem with this...?" "Also, my name is Crazyon, not 'Doctor'."
Gouto stared blankly at the Novakid as she gestured with her hands. He'd seen her use those motions before to communicate with one the other survivors, but she'd never actually spoken. He mentally sighed, this was going to take far too long. He'd have to get that one human, Rowan, to help him decipher exactly what she was saying. He started turning to Rowan's tent in hopes of getting him to translate, but something the Novakid did caught his eye. She'd taken out something out and held it towards the creature, then just as quickly took it back and held it close. Gouto couldn't see what she was holding at the distance he was standing, but it seemed to gleam in the light of the sun. Was she implying that they should give the creature something, or that she'd taken something from the creature? His thoughts were broken when the masked human (Human? He hadn't had the chance to ask.) spoke up. Gouto turned his head from the creature to the scientist. "I wasn't talking to y-" He stopped. "Nevermind. Look, just don't touch the damn thing." Gouto then pointed at the Novakid. "That goes for you, too. I'll be back." He finally turned towards Rowan's tent and a few steps. There weren't any solid surfaces for him to bang against, so he'd have to settle for strong words. "Hey Rowan, get the hell up!"
After a few seconds, the sound of shuffling came from the tent followed by tired words, "시끄러워!" Rowan emerged from the tent in only his underwear and the unbuttoned white dress shirt he was wearing before. "Ugh, what do you want?" Rowan muttered, looking at the hylotl and the... presumably male humanoid thing next to him. Centauri quickly gained his attention and signed, "They can't understand me, I've been trying to tell them about this thing." She pointed at the small creature next to her. Rowan's eyes opened wide at the sight of the little blob. He looked back to Centauri for an explanation. "It's kind of cute, right?" she signed. Rowan sneered- he thought it was kind of creepy. Centauri continued, "It gave me this blue crystal. I've been trying to tell these guys what happened but they're not too good at charades." Rowan chuckled and turned to the two beside him. "The blob thing gave her the crystal." he said to them. Centauri began to sign again. Rowan translated for them, "And she says it seems nice, so don't attack it."
Turning his head to the new person who had just awoken, Crazyon yawned. "I know this, I have yet to sleep yet, and was able to witness what this strange little creature has done..." "Oh, I wouldn't attack it...Perhaps I'd examine it...?" "I wouldn't harm it, just a quick physical and such." "If not the creature, I'd love to see that crystal..."
