Beyond The Bounds (MK & Kujo)

GEAR

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#1
Lagrange Point 3
Restricted Territory Limit


L3.

For almost 50 years, rumor had abounded about the Directory's supposedly failed attempt at colonizing the furthest point from the Earth. Officially, a massive electromagnetic storm of uncertain origin made the area gravely unstable, and as a result it had been quartered off by the space forces of the Earth Sphere's resident superpower. On occasion, a space pirate or another aspiring treasure-hunter was able to slip through this net of secrecy, to travel beyond the territory limit...

Seldom did any return. Only a small handful of traumatized survivors ever made it back, blessed - or perhaps, cursed - by fate to serve as warnings to others, only to swiftly be hustled into the dark confines of a Terra Sentinel transport, never to be seen again. Whatever went on, it was known at least for certain - none were ever supposed to know.

That is... Until today.

As the vessel of Romme Kalas and his unlikely companion made its way towards the fringes of L3's airspace, they would immediately realize that the usual Directory garrison was entirely absent, whether by coincidence or design. In all likelihood, they had been recalled along with their kin to L2/L3, in the believe that none would be so foolish to approach the storm while the Lamalice roamed the dark passageways between islands of civilizations.

Sure enough, as they approached the exterior of L3 seemed to resemble a massive thundercloud of sorts - pulsing, fragmented clouds that roiled and shuddered with the boom of distant, corporeal thunder within its depths, supposedly easily capable of tearing a ship asunder.

Only time would tell if Romme's mystery device was indeed as good as its creator's word.
 
Nov 14, 2018
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#2
Romme had switched the ship back to manual and prepared to navigate the thunderous boneyard. As the ship entered the clear border between the greater expanses of outer space and the smoky clouds of junk, there was a distinct lack of action from the ship's new system. Although, perhaps the fact that nothing was happening was proof that it was working.

The only sounds at this point were the ship's thrusters accompanied by the subtle vibrations of the space storm and the occasional warning ping from the ship about incoming obstacles. A slight twitch of the muscles had settled into Romme's left arm as he sailed on through the clouds of scrap. Despite having complete control over the conduct of his body, Romme had trouble ceasing this spontaneous bout.

The farther they flew into the zone, the older and heftier the chunks of old ships appeared. Who knows just how long this point at L3 has been here?

Romme made note of several interesting bits of ships and wreckage and began devising trips back to this area.
 

MKR

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#3
In whatever recall of forces the Directory had done L3 had been left wholly unattended, a logical choice given the current circumstances but one he would gladly exploit for access. The space contained thundercloud was ominous on its own, let alone its contents spelling the tale upon tale of doom and disaster.

As they sailed through the expanse Derrick wondered whether the zone expanded outwards, it had some form of mass with gravity in its center or it was a simple case of newer arrivals pushing the older ones further inside.
From the looks of it Kalas was either nervous or excited, perhaps both, if the movement in his arm was anything to go off of. Regardless of that however the man sat silently and waited.

If the 'super structure' well and truly was that it would come into view before long, and then. He'd find out what course Abremalin set him upon.
 

GEAR

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#4
As Romme's vessel crossed the threshold of L3's airspace, the thundering storm about it crackled threateningly. It was barely even moments before a bolt of plasma arced out of the void, lashing about their ship, causing it to rattle underfoot threateningly. Tense seconds passed as they passed onward. peals of energy rolling about them - but, perhaps as a result of exception Lunarian engineering, perhaps luck... or the dread will of whatever presence it was that now held sway over Derrick's fate, the clouds eventually parted.

The first and most immediate thing they would have recognized was the presence of several large, oscillating canister-shaped devices arranged about the perimeter. Gaseous vapor poured from their surfaces, forming the cloud from which they had just arrived, and the presence of needle-like structures on their sides indicated that the lightning as well was manufactured.

The reason why... Would be immediately apparent.

All around them was debris - wreckage of vessels both known and unknown, all drifting listlessly. Many were in perfect condition, practically untouched - yet abandoned, and silent, the mammoth form of a Directory Albatross Class battleship even visible in the distance.

And, at the center of it all, impossibly vast, so much that it easily filled the viewscreen of the vessel was-

Swordian.jpg
CODENAME: "SWORDIAN"
 
Nov 14, 2018
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#5
Romme slowed the craft to a halt before the monolithic structure. He pressed a handful of buttons and the ship began analyzing the great gray mass in front of them. Once more there was relative silence as the ship's system's marked out various data points on the helm's screen, outlining the target in an array of colors.

According to the data, this superstructure was apparently some sort of space vessel; there were numerous docking points all along its length. After some moments, the ship's scan ceased in an irregular manner. Romme waited a bit, but the scan had simply shut itself down. The Scholar both squinted his eyes at the vessel and raised an eyebrow before telling the ship to begin landing procedures at one of the docking points. He would have liked to have taken more time to be sure of the overall situation in the area, but caution was the last thing on his mind when faced with the many mysteries to be learned in this stasis field.

As Romme's ship closed in on the large vessel, no port was visible, merely a great expanse of jagged, geometric metal shapes. Suddenly, glowing lines spread out from one point and the plates of the vessel slid over one another until a sizable hole, more than large enough for the ship, opened up.

As the autopilot guided itself through the hole and searched for a landing spot, Romme began to wonder about the true nature of this derelict vessel, and if indeed it was ruined at all.
 

GEAR

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#6
The lights on Romme's ship scanned the debris as he carefully navigated their vessel through the flotsam and jetsam of the stars. Nothing emerged to assail them as they drifted into the dock, the metal plating tesselating closed behind them. After a few breathtaking moments in complete darkness, a set of lights flickered on overhead. The hiss of decompressing air could be heard, and a set of clamps reached up to hold the vessel in place, as a cheerful sounding, yet utterly incomprehensible automatic announcement was made, barely muffled by the ship's exterior.

Were the two to step out once the decompression was complete, they would find that the air was - surprisingly - breathable, albeit stale, with no traces of harmful material being present. Connected to the ship was a kind of gangway of almost, yet not entirely familiar architecture - the material was like a woven form of brass, yet firmer and more dull than any of Earth's own metals, and it was this same material that seemed to pervade the bay.

Upon first glance, the interior of the dock seemed normal - stacks of crates had been piled up, each marked with an unreadable series of scratches and marks that constituted some form of language, yet their contents had long been torn free and looted, leaving only empty shells. A couple of multi-legged small machines, analogous to lifters or other cargo-handling devices, were present, yet inert, and attempting to pick at their mottled screens or controls would yield little result, their joints seemingly having carbonized with age.

What was unusual, however, was what was sprouting from the right side of the room.

A large portion of the adjoining wall seemed to have been overtaken by crawling vines, of some fashion. Metallic blue leaves burst from wire-like coils, seemingly woven out of the metal itself, forming a thick carpet that seemed to devour any kind of metallic surface it came into contact with, converting it to more of itself, having left dark recesses where once firm alloys had stood.

Of immediate interest and possible investigation was the overhead command center, a viewstation of sorts, whose window-like screens were clustered by the same strange creeper. Reaching it would be somewhat difficult, as the artificial gravity in the vessel appeared at least to be fully functional, but it would be the most immediate form of entry.

Alternatively, a pair of large double doors at the end of the hangar were clearly meant for the entry and exit of much larger machines - and now that the decompression had complete, had hissed gently open ever-so-slightly, perhaps affording the men the opportunity to venture deeper within, if they so chose.
 

Kujo

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Nov 14, 2018
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#7
Romme wasn't exactly expecting a proper docking sequence from what appeared to be a derelict ship, but here they were. Romme's ship blinked on screen that a breathable atmosphere was present and gravity was nominal. The Scholar pressed a few buttons before he unbuckled himself from his seat and rose from it; the ship's cockpit opened up and Romme headed to the back. "There's a suit underneath the seat," he said to his passenger. "You're welcome to yours, but I prefer to go without; I find them uncomfortable and ill fitted." With that. Romme stepped out of the cockpit and descended from the ship to the alien dock.

The old machines were of no interest to Romme, and he presumed just from their state that the same could be said for Derrick. What caught the eye of the biologist was the strange plants; it was as if they called to him since he had laid eyes on them. Slowly, Romme approached the vines on the wall. As he drew nearer the leaves and stems appeared to reach ever so slightly in his direction, and oddly enough Romme felt compelled to reach out to it as well. He put his hand out to touch one of the glossy, metallic leaves; it felt warm. Not precisely warm in the extent of temperature, indeed there was hardly much warmth at all in the large hangar. No, the plant felt warm as if one were being greeted by an old friend. As Romme continued to handle the foliage and simple thoughts and memories began to surface in his mind. The school was all too familiar with this feeling: the feeling of cells communicating. Romme reluctantly pulled his arm away from his new leafy compatriot and made note to return to this poignant research opportunity at a later time.

Romme headed to the great doors and peered through the opening as he waited for Derrick.
 

MKR

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#8
The presence of breathable air and functional gravity were pleasant surprises. After all those were not what one expected on something sectioned off from mankind's eyes for the better half of a century. The presence of cargo units and the 'foliage' in contrast were merely surprises. Unexpected things for a place like this.
The plant life Derrick would leave to the care of Romme. Despite their seemingly metal nature those things seemed to be more along his line of work then his. As such, while the High Scholar fondled the leaves the other guest to the ship would prod at the cargo carries. Their rusted nature indicated that a source of moisture was present on the ship and seemingly self sustaining over long periods of time.

A thought arose in the forefront of Derrick's mind, '

is this ship similar in nature to the EOT within Luna's shell'. If so they were standing in an untapped well of Extra Over Technology. And if it wasn't, then who made it and why was it here.

With those questions in mind Derrick would follow after Romme towards the great doors. Wondering at both the origins and nature of this ship alongside what could have been hidden in here for the Chairman to find.
 

GEAR

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#9
Slipping through the massive hangar doors would have required only a small amount of effort - the scent of rust, dust, and oil wafted up as they pushed their way ahead, chunks of carbonized metal flaking away under their fingertips. What awaited them was a low, dim hallway full of ridged metal slats, through which the occasional pulse of white light could be observed - as well as the winding coils of the strange "ivy" from the hangar wall, its silhouette visible.

Reason dictated that they were passing from the exterior of the superstructure to its interior, through the thick metal plates that served as the Swordian's defensive outer shell - and into the very heart of the structure.

At length, yet another pair of doors slide aside for the two of them - this time with practiced, electronic ease. Light, warm and radiant, spilled out into the darkness, to reveal-

A landscape that could be only described as alien in nature.

https://soundcloud.com/swintonmusic%2Frestriction-release
Silvery blue creeper intermingled with grey, powdery dirt that felt surprisingly firm underfoot, forming a curious latticework upon which they could tread. Canopies of what could only be described as parodies of trees, wracked with silver and half-wrought of scrap, clustered around them, jutting at uneven angles from remnants of what must have at some distant point in time, been structures.

Humidity rushed across their skin, the sudden rise in temperature akin to that of a tropical rainforest. An artificial sky, deep blue, hung overhead and the sound of trilling, chirping fauna formed a consistent background buzz. Strangely familiar earthy smells rose up to meet them, yet mixed with a distinctly metallic tang that slightly tickled back of the throat.

Piles of rusting scrap, ostensibly gathered from the surrounding debris field, littered their surroundings along with empty carts, and a tracked, abandoned vehicle of some unknown make and model, half-sunk into the ground.

In the distance, looming towers laced with gleaming lines jutted out of the mist, reaching up into the phantom sky like monuments to forgotten Gods. Beneath it, flickering lights of civilization - distant, yet not unseen.

A ring-winged insect alighted on the cracked visor of an ancient-looking Gespenst's wreckage, before fluttering away on a tiny emerald particle trail.

Not even the distorted crystal forests of Earth, left in the wake of massive Dimensional Energy surges, could compare to the strange sight before the two.

Overhead, there was a distant, yet persistent mechanical whine, as though something were approaching - yet it was not one either of the two men would have been immediately familiar with.
 
Nov 14, 2018
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#10
A wave of euphoria washed over the High Scholar as the duo stepped into the verdant, alien biome. He took a quick moment to soak in the "feelings" of the environment before noting the presence of the old, likely Directory relics. He also noted that his compatriot, despite being in an atmosphere rife with Vol, was unfazed. The virulent nature of the cells should have rendered some sort of adverse reaction out of Derrick even from the short time that the two have been in this environment.

Putting that mental note aside for further investigation, Romme produced a small sleeve of cloth holding several small glass vials from the inside of his shirt and went forward into the lush jungle collecting samples as he meandered in the direction of the lights on the horizon. Romme was so intent on this mission that he disregarded the strange sound from above.
 

MKR

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#11
As the pair moved further in Derrick observed the shift in surroundings. They had gone from what was to be expected from a space station to what could best be described as a simulated rain forest made by someone who had only read about what a rain forest supposedly looked like, to Derrick this explained where the Swordian received its oxygen supply from. Some sort of self sustaining eco system of this size contained within the ship would more then supply enough breathable air. The same sort of mechanism that had enabled life on the moon to begin with, and would be essential on a ship this size.
It also reeked of something else, whether the metal taste came from something inside the ship itself or was because of the litter and scraps left behind in the forest was unclear, but not something that mattered.

The scientist remained seemingly unaware of the lethal nature of the air he inhaled the noise above the pair caused him to look that way, and with it spot the distant lights. If anything would draw anyone's attention and cause them to head somewhere it would be light reminiscent of the skylines on earth. A hallmark of civilization, and given that Romme was heading that direction already its effectiveness at drawing one's attention was proven once more.
And by all means, he too was interested. As aside from discarded relics and a seemingly new species of insects there was little of interest so far in the forest. So he would let the High Scholar lead the way, keeping an eye on their surroundings for something more in his profession in the meanwhile. Something that would actually be more useful then possible inspiration for a post apocalyptic movie on a forest planet that is.
 

GEAR

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#12
Mwwwrrrrrrrrrr...

The droning noise that had been slowly growing in volume suddenly rose in pitch, the roar of plasma thrusters and scream of jet-turbines becoming clear as something swooped overhead, sending waves of heat cascading down on the two men.

A strange, almost avian aircraft suspended on two pod-like thrusters mounted on flexible arms, colored a sickly green, swung into view. Its head, not unlike a painted nail, gleamed a bright red as lines of data ran across its surface, scanning them as it hovered. No pilot emerged, no communication of any kind - for a few seconds, it simply regarded them in mechanical silence, until-

With a sudden grinding of metal, the twin-barreled weapon that hung from its abdomen came to life, a pair of laser-sights coming to life, dancing across the landscape before coming to settle on...

Romme.

With a burst of light and sound, the twin plasma vulcans opened fire, sending a hail of burning death lancing down at the Lunar scientist, pulverizing apart the surrounding foliage with indiscriminate fury that sent scorched pseudo-earth in all directions as it did so.
 
Nov 14, 2018
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#13

A sort of sixth sense kicked in as the enemy set its sights on Romme. Time felt as if it had stopped for him as he felt the cold metallic gaze of the flyer; Romme quickly weighed his options. As much as he would like to keep his EATER form a secret from Derrick, this wasn't exactly the time nor place to be keeping secrets. After all, Romme was Derrick's ride home.

The Scholar could feel the super heated projectiles encroaching upon him. A quick but steady thumping coursed through Romme's body as his cells went into overdrive and his organs prepped for the coming transformation. Piercing lances of power surged through Romme as his astral energy controllers pulsed increasingly harder. A vertical slit on his forehead showed itself and shot open to reveal a wicked, beastly third eye as the rest of his body shook and convulsed with strange growths shifting about.

As the plasma bolts appeared to hit their target, Romme's body let loose a great wave of dark energy. The impact of the projectiles along with the force of the energy kicked up a thick cloud of smoke and dirt. The particles began to settle and revealed a sort of pod. A large, black mass of coarse, veined tendrils and chitinous plates was stuck in the ground. The pod audibly cracked open; its form slowly pulling itself in to reveal a similarly dark, humanoid figure: the EATER Volfeed. As the pod continued to reconstitute its mass into the vol organism, Volfeed stared up at the attacker with red, alien eyes. Dark forks of energy darted across its form before a great pulse came from Volfeed's head. The eye in the center of its head opened wide and shot forth a sinister beam at the flying assailant.
 
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MKR

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#14
Derrick regarded the seemingly unmanned vehicle with some suspicion, raising an eyebrow at it as he took half a step back.
When it released its volley the scientist dove behind a nearby tree for cover, fighting was not his expertise. Especially not against what seemed to be some sort of aircraft. For a moment it seemed that they'd need to sneak around, but... It seemed the aircraft was only focused on Romme...

And the High Scholar's passenger didn't need to wait long to see why it was after who it was. From amidst the smoke and dirt rose something distinctly inhuman. Given where it was standing it was clearly the High Scholar. While the inhuman humanoid Derrick knew as Romme counterattacked the pilot of the Astranagant simply pinched the bridge above his nose.

Of course, of course. Romme had been odd before now but of course it had to be something of this magnitude, of course the High Scholar had to be some alien organism instead of simply having a limp and a stiff back.
Still now at least he knew what that aircraft seemed to be after. Not that he'd go out of his cover, he wasn't chancing that right now. It was a theory not yet confirmed.

He sighed at his predicament. He was becoming too normalized to things like this happening and he didn't like that.
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#15
As Volfeed emerged, a warning siren trilled from the metallic monstrosity overhead, flecked with static. Red sirens gleamed into being as it reoriented itself, apparently intent on shredding the obstacle below into nothing more than fleshy ribbons.

Romme's blast smashed into one of the drone's turbines, causing it to pitch in the air with a whine, flames billowing from the ruptured metal. Doggedly, the turret below adjusted itself accordingly, sending another spray of exploding bolts down towards Volfeed, the drum-like chatter alone from the weapon enough to send pain shooting through the ears of those who heard it.

Meanwhile, Derrick stumbled through the metallic-hued undergrowth in search of cover, plasma-bolts tearing apart the ground around him as he dove for the safety of a tree. As he did, there was a sudden noise-

CLONK!

"Eyah!"

A sharp pain would have shot through Derricks' forehead as he collided with something... or rather, someone, sending the two sprawling to the ground with a thump and a cloud of dirt.

Through the confusion, he may have noticed about his heels that the vine-like metallic coils present in the foliage pulled away from him, as if... reflexively. Even the tree boughs seemed to be trying to sway as far away from him as possible, though as to why... It was not immediately clear.

What was certain was what he felt. A warm, pillowy softness, right by his face. Strange. You wouldn't expect that in the undergrowth. The sound of breathing as well, and the beating of what could only be a heart. Were he to turn his gaze upward, he would have come face to face with a young woman.

"...Um..."

She couldn't have been older than her mid-twenties, with pinched, oriental features that radiated a kind of delicate beauty, even when smudged with dirt like they were at present. Two brown eyes peered uncertainly at Derrick in confusion and embarrassment, from beneath long, wiry dark hair currently tied back into a ponytail.
 

Kujo

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Nov 14, 2018
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#16
Now fully unfettered by the earlier protective pod, Volfeed whirled around as a thick, cloak-like membrane of flesh unfurled itself from the organism's biomass with an unsettling flapping sound. The towering EATER moved with a disturbing amount of grace as it brought the literal meat shield between itself and the enemy's projectiles. The plasma distended and charred the flesh, but was unable to penetrate through to its target; thick, black veins in the membrane pulsed as the tissue rapidly repaired itself.

Volfeed raised its arms at the flyer. Within its dark hands opened two eyes that gazed out intently at the enemy. The eyes glowed and two spots in the air around the target ignited with astral energy. The EATER continued to launch a volley of cosmic flak for some time, the many explosions closing in on the enemy as its movement became limited.

Finally, the Vol spread its arms out. All eyes focused on the enemy. Sparks of black energy crackled around Volfeed as the great eye on its chest bulged and pulsed. The eye blinked and then opened wide to release a great bolt of dark lightning at the flyer.
 

MKR

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#17
The flying, thing... Made a lot of unbearable noise that was for sure. Even as he dove for cover the ringing in his ear was still present-

The sudden collision didn't make things any better for him, first he noted the fact that the foliage seemed to avoid him, but that was less important then what was above him. Or who rather, as a girl around his age was basically face to face with him. Which... Was very unexpected to say the least. He had expected this place to be deserted, at best echoes of people who used to be here but what seemed like a regular human being in front of him proved that aside from the foliage, insects and the ship assaulting Romme there very much were people present here.

Well, at least one person.

The girl letting out an um shook him out of his surprise, the Lunarian scientist returning to reality.
"Uhm, hello?" He said, frankly he had no idea if she could even speak or the inhabitant(s) of this ship had developed their own language, so a cautious dip would do for now.
 

GEAR

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Jun 15, 2018
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#18
The gunship reoriented itself in midair as its turbines sputtered, trying to keep its aim doggedly on Volfeed, driven by a determined, single-minded consciousness. Booms rang out as more rounds impacted the area around Romme, but the final discharge of energy from the great eye lanced out, at a crucial moment the thing was adjusting its altitude...

And with a terrific roar of shearing metal, the reward of Romme's effort was immediate: A clean core of molten metal and glowing circuity through the very center of the drone, almost a perfect cylinder.

Engines wailing and sputtering, the construct collapsed to the ground, small explosions rocking its frame as it ground the dirt apart, coming to a halt shortly to Romme's left. Metal pinged and pelted out as superheated debris shot from its chassis, like miniature fireworks.

For a moment, all was quiet, save for the crackling of the flames.

But for Romme Kalas, or rather, Volfeed, there was... something more on the wind.

Something he had never felt before, yet which was distinctly innate to his being, as if every cell in his body were immediately on high alert, sensing something... off. There was nothing else quite like it in human terms, the only comparison perhaps available to the well-studied doctor being an out-of-body sensation - or the sense that "another body" was drawing near.

"One like him".

"GUUUOOOOOOOOOGHHHH..."
A sudden noise cut through the quiet. A distant bellow, one that shook the very trees themselves, sending a cascade of the curious creatures they had observed earlier scurrying for cover, flocks bursting from the treetops into the air as they fled. Even the grass beneath his feet seemed to flatten itself, trying to make itself as inconspicuous as possible, as if the entire world were shrinking back.

Meanwhile, for his part Derrick would immediately find himself accosted as the young woman blinked at his words. She had watched the downing of the drone with something approaching wonderment in her eyes, giving a gasp as it slammed into the ground. At the mage's question, she opened her mouth uncertainly, as if trying to form the correct words - or, at the very least, seemed to be thinking of the right thing to say.

Yet, at the same time the roar broke across the treetops, her own body bristled, and her hand reached out to close about Derrick's mouth. She leaned in close to his face, giving him a vague waft of... something floral, yet unplaceable.

"제발 입 닥쳐 ." She whispered, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"나중에 말해 줄게..."
 
Nov 14, 2018
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#19
Almost as soon as Volfeed settled down, the howl rang out and set the EATER on alert once more. Involuntarily, Romme could feel his biomass shifting on its own ever so slightly, as if gearing up to change at a moment's notice; The tall form of Volfeed writhed and pulsed minutely as sinews strengthened themselves and the black, glossy plates of the EATER's armored coverings bulked up.

Volfeed went into a defensive stance as eyes opened up all around its body; the sickly, bulging things darted back and forth, peering through all manners of biological lenses to obtain information. The eyes on the creature's head turn dark as it cast its gaze into the astral plane. Romme focused on the "aspect" of the target and slowly peeled back the chaotic haze of astral power to get a look at it long before he could possibly do so in the material plane.

The scene was like something out of a nature documentary, alien fauna not withstanding. Everything was tensed and still. This new creature "felt" like him; while he had wished to meet another EATER, he would have rather liked it to have been on less uncertain terms. Unfamiliar with what the ecological response is to avoid conflict with a fellow EATER, Romme worked his astral energy organs and sent out subtle waves of what he figured would be friendly and non-aggressive intent and hoped that the waves got to the target before it decided to do something agressive itself.
 

MKR

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#20
Derrick's eyes went in the direction of the new noise. Something else was roaming these parts. And it seemed to either be reacting to anything new entering the area, the plane being destroyed or perhaps Romme in his... Unusual existence, had provoked another of the inhabitants.
Of all the places that his travels prior were to be of use, Derrick did not expect it to be aboard a spaceship covered in alien greenery. His Korean was far from great, speaking it was mediocre at best. But he understood it fine at least. As such he gave a simple nod in response. With his eyes he would try to trace the source of the noise, while also keeping track of the woman right next to him.

The woman speaking Korean, let alone the seemingly same version of the language spoken on Earth meant that they had either managed to preserve a language in full, learned it from a source brought here when the Directory came or she and maybe whoever had come before her hadn't been here long enough to split their language from base Korean.

Which in turn heavily implied that she, or whatever generation was before her, were left here. In two of the three cases it meant that this woman was originally from either earth, the colonies or Luna itself. And in the third, it meant that somewhere else a species looking just like humans in appearance had evolved.
Both of these options had vastly different though worrying implications. One meant people had been abandoned here by the Directory and its then future chairman, the other meant that they had known about very human aliens trapped within the solar system from the start.