Lt JG Imril - The Hundred-Amps Wood
Chris Taylor
((The Edge of the Forest - Callis I))
Jaran: Anyone want a close look at this stuff, off your clothes?
Silveira: Maybe after we settle Doc.
Imril: Definitely after we settle.
There was no taking chances with anything here. The yellow stones remained where they lay as the team passed, unclaimed by the engineer. As the team walked on, Imril tried to make sense of the trees. Strong enough to support (if briefly) a many-ton escape pod. Some with trunks thick as a shuttlecraft. How could such behemoths survive on air thin enough to send four humanoids searching for lower ground?
A light cracking and rustling sound from behind Jaran caused them to whip around.
Something had moved in the darkening trees. So, they weren't alone here.
Jaran: ::loud whisper:: I'm ::hesitating nervously:: not sure if anyone heard that, but something just moved in there. I'm just gonna ::starts backing away:: move back to you all.
Good plan.
There was another rustling sound in the shadows. Jira moved faster to rejoin the group.
Munro: Silveira, keep the doctor safe. Let's start to slowly back off.
Vitor quietly nodded, and the Doctor had already come closer. He raised his improvised weapon slightly as Imril saw Munro picking up a boulder.
Silveira: On it.
Imril shifted their pack, bringing the bulk of it forward over the front of their torso. A shield, if nothing else. They straightened their posture, but not so much as to become rigid and intimidating, and walked on with confident strides. Their intention was to display movement with purpose, a purpose which had nothing to do with the ‘anteater’ or its presumed territory.
Imri: .oO(We’re just passing through. We leave you alone and you do the same. No one has to expend energy chasing or fighting anyone else.)Oo.
Jaran: You know, I'm terrified right now. But I'll admit to being very curious about what kind of fauna this place has spawned.
Munro: :: quiet and keeping her calm :: Me too, Jira. Me too.
A growl. A rustle. And a relatively small animal emerged from the shadows. Very small, considering the size of the trees, which could accommodate much larger beasts among their sizable branches and root clusters.
It wasn’t terribly different from an elongated echidna. But it wasn’t terribly similar, either. It had larger forelegs than rear legs and looked built for climbing. Or clawing.
Munro: Hold steady.
Vitor held still as the animal sniffed and lapped at the black goop oozing from a broken branch.
Silveira: Looks like an herbivore.
Jaran: Either an herbivore. Or those ::with a spooky voice:: aren't trees at all!
Imril chuckled. But decided to offer a more practical assessment.
Imril: It could be sniffing around for evidence of insects or grubs or something like. Those forearms look strong enough to rip up the trees to get at a meal.
Imril wasn’t much of a planetary scientist, but the very existence of the big trees suggested the existence of a robust and varied ecosystem. Herbivores, scavengers, micro-organisms to process rot and waste into substances the trees could thrive upon.
But what about carnivores? Why was this creature so nonplussed about the presence of strange new creatures in its foraging grounds? Did it have no predators to be wary of? Or was there something about its biology which made it unpalatable and therefore fearless?
Munro: :: calm :: Let's be good neighbours. Nice and calmly we'll back off. No sudden movements, Spiky here just wants to sample the local delicacies.
A crack of thunder caused the animal to run squealing for the safety of the trees. It may incidentally have made Jira jump a little.
Silveira: This can’t be good
Imril: ::Wary:: No, it can’t.
Lightning cracked down into some of the yellow mineral formations, splitting it into pieces and causing Vitor and Jaran to flinch. Imril as well. Imril was already looking for the least-yellow path forward when Munro called out…
Munro: Keep away from the yellow rocks!
A piece of yellow stone, ejected from a boulder, rolled Imril’s way. They skittered away from it.
Munro: Keep close! Head for the trees!
Silveira: C’mon Doc, stay near me.
Munro: Response
Imril’s shorter legs worked all the harder to keep up with the three taller evacuees. Thicker air dredged up by the coming storm was blessing and curse both. It gave them breath to move, but resisted any attempt to move in a straight line.
Silveira: At least it isn’t raining…
Jaran: ::sighing:: Come on, man...
Imril: ::Huffing:: There should!… Be a!… Regulation!
Munro: Response
Vitor pointed at a sturdy tree with some large leaves.
In the diminishing light, those leaves were eerily dark. Living shadows settling down ahead of the encroaching darkness.
Silveira: There, let’s cover there…
A branch leaned low with a few of the oversized leaves. The Doctor grabbed onto it and pulled it lower. The leaves couldn't provide that much cover, but it was better than nothing. And at least the wind wasn't quite as bad now that they weren't in the open.
Imril huddled up with the others, holding their breath against whatever came next. Eyes on the darker, denser shapes of the deeper forest.
Imril: Watch out for a stampede.
Munro: Response
Lightning hammered down from the purple sky nearby. With it, the first drops of rain began to fall.
Jaran: Thanks, Silveira!
It only needed to be said once. Imril kept focused on spotting or hearing any evidence of a mass evacuation of wildlife. None seemed forthcoming.
Silveira/Munro: Response
There wasn't a large amount of rain falling, but it was enough to begin soaking through the uniform, regardless of cover.
The wind, the wetness, the cold, all conspired to dig into Imril’s body and make them feel all the physical effects of the crash. Their ribs ached, their arms and legs too where they’d been rattled against the escape pod’s chair. Their shoulders might as well have been pulling on Jaran all over again.
Jaran: ::nearly shouting to be heard over the wind:: This can't last long, right?
Imril: ::shouting:: … I asked a hundred times on Ferenginar!
Munro/Silveira: Response
Trees were groaning with the stress, and a couple sticky branches fell nearby. The mist had found its way into the trees, as well, and everything was tinted lavender with it. Jira backed further up against the tree and pulled their leafy branch closer.
Lightning struck again, a bulkhead of white slamming down over the dark purple haze and everything else for half an instant. The stink of ozone hammered Imril’s nose.
When the world returned, a tree a few scant metres away was cracked and burning. Burning branches thudded to the ground, and a sickly sweet smell filled the air. The leaf over Jira's head and face was spattered with smouldering black goop and sizzled in the rain.
Jaran: Everyone ok? That sap burns like napalm.
But Imril had received no such burn from the sap of the first tree. Or even a sensation of heat from through their clothes. The only new factor was the lighting.
Imril: ::shouting:: The stuff may be capable of retaining electrical charges!
Every living thing on this planet would have had to evolve some way of living with the Maelstrom’s effects, after all. The ability to absorb and ‘feed’ off electrical discharges could be one way.
However the sap was accomplishing the feat of burning, the fact was no one could afford to be splashed by any of it. They all had to get out of the firing line of the next fallen tree.
Somewhere in the distance, how far away impossible to tell in the swirling wind, another tree exploded. Something howled in what was probably pain.
Munro/Silveira/Jaran: Response
Imril: ::shouting:: We could try another tree? Look for a hollow to duck inside?
Of course, any opening large enough to accommodate the four of them might already be occupied…
Munro/Silveira/Jaran: Response
Another flash of white, and this time Imril saw sparks of yellow reflecting the light back. Another cluster of the yellow rocks. Near them, no sign of broken or exploded trees. They pointed that way with a pale, trembling hand.
Imril: ::shouting:: Or move closer to the yellow rocks! Let them be our lightning rods!
Munro/Silveira/Jaran: Response
TAGS/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12