ℒɑsт ℒosт Woʀℓɗ ↫Literate RP↬ {Full!}

[Kikiro16]

Neoraptors
As the pack moved in, the shot alerted the matriarch that there was danger in the two little morsels. The scream from one of the males as the bullet shattered its ankle started a frenzy of calls back and forth and those closest to the tree all but vanished into the brush, leaving the now dead member of the pack out in the open. Of course, that didn't mean they were gone. There was still one human on the ground and he was hardly as smart as the girl in the tree. The small clearing appeared empty, occupied only by Raijiv and the dead raptor. Keening noises suddenly began echoing out from the bushes, foliage shuffling and moving on all sides but never revealing the cause. Even from high in the trees, the rain and dense undergrowth prevented a clear line of sight for the girl hiding in the tree. If the man had been smart, he would have taken the example said girl had set to heart. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't going to get the chance.

Movement startled Raijiv as one of the raptors darted across the clearing in front of him, making him step backward. Another came straight at him only to dart sideways back into the brush after another few steps. They were herding him, pushing him back and away from the tree where danger lurked. With their speed it was impossible to get a clear shot before they disappeared back into the jungle across the tiny open area. Raijiv was on his own. Each step backward brought him closer to the edge of the brush and, while he played his own little game in his head, the raptors had already won theirs. In a flash of movement from behind, the matriarch snapped her jaws closed around his neck, twisting violently to snap it. The convict's body hung limp in the air, not enough to feed her whole pack but a prize nonetheless. Her eyeless face turned up towards the girl's hiding place, almost as if in challenge. That female had killed one of her pack and raptors never forgot a scent. That human would be wise to keep her guard high from now on.

As if to make the point even clearer, the raptor shook her head again, tearing bone from flesh and leaving a bloody, spineless mess of a corpse on the edge of the clearing as a warning. The long length of connected vertebra hung from her jaws, dripping watery crimson liquid after her as she disappeared back into the gloomy jungle. By the time Anja glanced back around the clearing, the other raptor's body was gone, drug away by the rest of the pack to be cannibalized so that they would survive. Nothing was wasted in the jungle. Even the warning left by the pack's matriarch would find use as smaller carnivores and scavengers lingered closer and closer, ready to snatch up the still fresh meat. For now, the raptors were gone, content to eat their fill from their fallen member. But how long they would sit idly by while the human escaped was the real question. How long before they began the hunt to exact their revenge? It would probably be best not to ask but to run while there was still time.

[Kikiro16]

Cassidee Jane Shepard - CJ
Captain Shepard
The Captain

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Who decided right and wrong?
Who made sense of morality?X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Now you say I have to choose
But I didn't sign up for this s**tX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
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Location: Six miles east of checkpoint one XXX Company: Jayce XXX Temperance: Sleepy XXX OOC: N/A

Despite his words, that playful tone made her heart leap with excitement. She could feel electricity in her veins as he forced her to lay back. An involuntary shiver rippled through her at the feel of his hand on her skin, though it had nothing to do with being cold. If anything, she felt like she was about to burst into flames. That feather light touch left a searing hot trail in its wake, somehow making her want more. She had never wanted anyone to touch her like that and, strangely, she regretted that lack of desire now. Jayce wasn't trying to use her. She was trying to open up for him, trying to trust him with things she had never trusted anyone with. The brush of his lips against her hip was surprising and her lungs gasped for air at the sensation. Every touch was new and exciting, even the gentle kiss to her nose. And then he stopped.

It took a moment for her to realize that she was being denied anything more than those fleeting few minutes of feeling. She wanted more but she wasn't sure how to ask. Her cheeks pinked at the thought but he distracted her with a strong arm about her waist. As he tucked her body up against his she couldn't seem to quell the sudden desire to feel his skin against hers. It was an oddly enjoyable thought. As she laid there for a bit, reveling in the strange comfort of his arms around her, she had to wonder at the stark difference between this and what she knew. CJ was by no means an innocent but her experience had never been pleasant. If anything, intimacy had only brought pain, both physical and psychological. Jayce was gentle and careful, treating her almost as if he was afraid his touch would break her. Perhaps being treated like she was delicate wasn't quite so bad of a thing as she thought. In this sense, anyway, she rather enjoyed it.

His whisper tickled her ear but she couldn't help but notice her name was replaced, despite the playful note still evident in his voice. For some odd reason, she didn't like that. She didn't like it at all. It was as if he had suddenly thrown a wall back between them after trying so hard to break hers down. What was he running from now? She twisted in his arms until she was facing him, unintentionally using her hips to her advantage in the process. She felt him tense slightly at the contact, though it still didn't register why. She slid her knee forward, coaxing him into letting her settle her leg between his since it was more comfortable. Now more comfortable with how she was laying, she turned her eyes up to meet his with the only tool she knew all men had a weakness for. She pouted. "So, we're back to 'Captain' now?" Confusion filled her eyes as she searched his for an explanation but she wasn't patient enough to look for long.

She sighed softly, letting a small whine of complaint out in the process as she snuggled closer to him. "I'm really not tired." It was very true. Her senses were screaming from the contact and it was making her whole body feel like she had indeed been shocked by one of the wires earlier. So, he had put up a wall again. A thought occurred to her and her lips curled in a mischievous smile, even though her head was buried against his chest where he couldn't see. She wanted something, though she couldn't quite put a name on it. She wanted...more...and she was too stubborn of a woman to lay there asking for long. She wasn't entirely sure how to get it but she was certainly willing to try.

She shifted her weight suddenly and used the leverage to roll him onto his back, falling on her combat training to land her on top of him again. The smile was still on her lips, desire in her eyes as she tossed her hair to the side to look down at him. "You said I have to earn my kisses, right? You know that's cheating if you don't tell me how I can earn them." She carefully pulled her knee from where it still rested between his and shifted to straddle him. Reaching down, she took his hand and guided his feather soft touch along her bare leg, tipping forward as he reached the short hem of her shorts. She braced herself on her hands placed above his shoulders, her body reacting automatically to the undefined desires within her. Still, uncertainty flashed across her face and her smile faltered. In that instant, neither moved and CJ bit her bottom lip in frustration.

"I...Jayce? I don't know what I'm doing. I...need you to help me." Much as she wanted to be a sultry temptress like most of the women she had come across, she couldn't. While she certainly knew exactly how men took pleasure, she had no idea how to give it. She wanted to keep feeling that electricity in her own body but she wasn't so selfish to think she was the only one that could feel it. "Please?" The pleading on her face was so open, so vulnerable and genuine, that he could hardly tell her no. The hem of her shirt pulled up and she obliged the request, slipping out of the garment. No sooner than the tank top hit the floor, she found herself on her back once again. She moved without hesitation, wrapping her arms over his shoulders to meet him halfway and kiss him. Heat sizzled across every inch of her skin and, though things moved quickly, she let those feelings burn into her memory.

*********
CJ sighed contentedly, snuggled securely back against his chest. Somehow, Jayce had managed to return her to some semblance of modesty, though she couldn't be sure she wasn't missing an article or two as she wriggled further under the blanket. She had never felt like this, so vividly alive. Her breath still felt heavy and she could hear the quick thump of his heart still racing. Despite all that, her eyes fluttered softly, prompting a soft smile onto her lips. "Mmm...now I'm tired." She lifted her chin slightly, planting a light kiss on his collar bone before a yawn overtook her. "Can I stay here? Will you let me stay?" If he answered, she didn't hear it because her body finally decided that sleep was the most important thing.

[The Endless Dreamer]

Simmers Tumic
♨The Firestarter ♨

I'm a young lover's rage
XXXXXGonna need a spark to ignite

When Lily threatened Simmers, there was a simple nod exchanged. Simmers knew that Lily would not hesitate to kill. One of the many differences between the two convicts. However, she understood that will Lily may dislike being touched, keeping her alive meant something to the convict. There was some level of trust between the two, even if it just meant they would not kill the other so long as they needed each other. As long as guards were on the ground, who knew just how long that could be.

Simmers was a bit more than glad when Lily simply pointed up in response to her question regarding shelter. She did not enjoy being out in the rain and she was drenched already. There was a time before Demetrius IV when she used to occasionally enjoy the weather, but that time was long gone. On Demetrius IV, storms like this meant death and lots of it. With no other words exchanged, Simmers followed behind her companion quickly.

As the two moved through muddy glens and pushed aside soaked tree branches, Simmers had to try to contain her discontent with the situation. Thankfully, their travel time was short as Lily reached one of the wider trees in the area and began to climb. Simmers looked at her surroundings, keeping in mind where they were in a mental map before focusing back on Lily. She watched where she grabbed the first few limbs, and then followed suit. Simmers could scale a tree like this with ease in a tight pinch. However, this was a tree Lily inhabited and it was best to watch at least the lower branches on the chance the girl had set some sort of traps for any who attempted to follow her.

The climb was quick and more enjoyable than the walk as there was at least some shelter from the pouring rain. It enabled Simmers temper to begin to calm, though it would take quite a bit of drying before she would be near content. Lily's shelter turned out to be an old cargo ship. Simmers glanced over it and tried to remember if this was one that had gone down before her time or during it. She was sure she had caught glimpse at it before, but she did not dwell on it long as she entered the shelter behind Lily, grateful to be out of the damn rain. The drying stage of the night could finally start.

Inside was not much different from the outside, just no skull decorations to ward off anyone. It was simple, but there was not much one could make elegant on Demetrius IV. There was no real point to it after all. As Simmers was making note of how the place was arranged, her attention turned to Lily as she spoke. It appeared that the less threatening and more friendly side of Lily had managed to come out. Simmers had noted the change a few times before and had talked with the girl. It was like flipping a switch the difference. It was a nice difference that made Simmers often wonder what sparked the personality disorder in the girl. She knew there was a story there, but it certainly was not one to bother asking.

"We're just keeping an eye out for each other. Something... odd is going on and it does not look good. Might be a chance to get off this planet with some luck," Simmers answered as she began to unwrap the makeshift mask and scarf from around her face. "As long as this storm goes on, we should be safe from that at least."

Simmers moved to take a seat across from the girl near the fire pit. A fire would do them both good. It would better Simmers mood and dry them both faster than air drying. As she set about gathering enough kindling for a good sized fire, Lily asked how long they had been outside.

"Long enough to get soaked but it is not hard with the storm going on out there." Using some of the rocks that formed the ring as flint, Simmers had the fire started in a few seconds and steadily growing. It would be comfortably warm within a minute and Simmers ran her hands over the heat of the flame for a moment before she turned back to the girl. "It's best we hunker down here for the night. No good will come from going out in that storm and even idiots can realize that in a few minutes. It's good besides, a night inside and I might be able to figure out what's going on. At the very least, it will be a decent night's rest and fresh start in the morning to figure it out. I don't mind if we talk some, it might help and at the very least it will fight off some of the boredom."

Simmers relaxed near the fire and began to stare into the center of it for long moments. She was going over everything that had happened through the day and anything similar to it that she had experienced or heard about. It was going to be a long night as she tried to figure out the newest puzzle set in front of her, but she would solve it. She always did. Hopefully she would just remember to actually try and sleep.

Location: Twelve miles northeast of Checkpoint One
Company: Lily
Temperance: Perturbed, Pensive, Calming

[Insensibility]

█████████████████████████████████████


ALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG ALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG AND TAKE YOUR MONEY
xxxxxALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG ALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG AND TAKE YOUR MONEY


█▌┇╳╳♛ (Zarola) ! M u irfinn ⁰⁰ 」⋮
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┏

It did not take long for Brody to make himself comfortable nestled in the mud, his back pressed firmly against Zarola’s pack. She felt his body become heavy against her own—it appeared as though the neurotoxins that he’d been exposed to earlier hadn't quite made their way through his system entirely. Perhaps he was simply tuckered out. Either way, the man would be unconscious again within moments and for all intents and purposes Zarola would be left alone to her own devices once more. The air around them dimmed as time slipped away and Zarola could detect small changes in the patterns of noise made by the wildlife that surrounded them; new creatures were awakening while others sought solace for the night. The sounds, the smells, the dampness, the great weight of the humid air and unrelenting rain were all keen to her senses—there was something about Demetrius IV that made her feel wonderfully and tragically alive. The desire to survive had roared awake in tandem with her tenacity to see their mission through to completion. If anyone had been looking on at her, they’d see that something had changed within her face.

Zarola allowed herself to enter in a state of being that freed her from the cravings of normal human interaction. Brody was going to be quiet for sometime, perhaps even the entire night, so it was important that she remained alert and vigilant of their surroundings. The voice that she spoke to herself within her mind silenced itself as her senses gained influence over her actions. All of the sounds around them amplified in seconds; each droplet of rain that fell and absorbed into her skin was felt individually; her joints and muscles were fluid; the pupil of her eye dilated. In the past, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be holed up somewhere in her current state for days on end, patiently waiting for the assigned mark to walk unknowingly into her cross hairs. She gave up many of her normal behaviors as her senses took over—it was an almost primal state of being.

Another buzz from Zarola’s portable comm link refocused her consciousness as the even metered voice of Captain Shepard came over the line. It was almost too good to be true and her whole body lurched forward as she listened. Because of the storm, a great deal of interference choked the line that the Captain had opened, but Zarola managed to glean all of the necessary information: CJ was alive, she was about nine clicks, or nine kilometers, East of their first checkpoint, and she was in good enough condition to rendezvous with herself and Brody.

As her body leaned forward, Brody’s body leaned back onto her, almost folding her over like a sandwich. All that weight felt wearisome and Zarola began to have second thoughts about camping out in the mud. With a single quick motion she slid out from beneath her fellow guard’s weight and turned about face so that she might allow his back to ease into the mud rather than slam into it. While she viewed Specialist Lewis as a lug to be babysat at times, she didn’t wish him any out right harm. An unfamiliar pang of benevolence came over her as she glimpsed at Brody’s face through the rain and through the muck. Hours ago, she’d thought about leaving him amongst the Carrion Flowers with Sergeant Faith, but there had been a nagging suspicion that his usefulness would far outweigh his doltishness down the road. She still had her doubts, and that was far from likely to change. A good dose of suspicion was always healthy.


“You know, I dig black chicks, too.” She revealed candidly as she moved to replace the branches she had borrowed from Brody’s unconscious body, “Maybe once this is all over, I’ll play wing woman for you.” Zarola was sure to hide his body well; only his mouth was left uncovered so that he might still breathe unhindered. She took one last look at her handy work before turning about face and scuttling up the trunk of the tree they’d hunkered beneath. It was no problem for her scale her way up about twenty feet to the first branch that could support her weight. She settled herself in the wide crotch of the tree and unholstered her rifle once more—she felt far more comfortable being high off the ground. It was a far better vantage point and on top of that she could still cover her comrade sleeping below. Above the muddy jungle floor, Zarola felt more at ease and she allowed once more for her senses to take control—one facet at a time.

All right, I’m in it for the long haul, now.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX x║▌ xx× 𝔥 𝔞 𝔡 𝔢 𝔰xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 THE INVESTIGATOR ≪ ≪ ≪
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ` `ALL I WANNA DO IS » BANG BANG BANG BANG

[Kikiro16]

As with all things, Time moves forward. The storm continued to rage over the jungle through the evening and into the night, bright bolts of lightning flashing through the air and creating a charged atmosphere beneath the heavy clouds. Many unfortunate convicts that were caught out in the open fell to the high voltage strikes, dying almost instantly on impact. The rain flooded through parts of the jungle, creating deadly rivers of mud, brush, and hidden monstrosities. Where the flooding didn't reach, quicksand lurked in the darkness of night. The landscape of Demetrius IV was beginning to change, a sign that something was about to happen. While the guards, in their two odd pairs, remained safe for the most part, a series of events were being set into motion that would lead to more than they ever bargained for.

Nearly twenty clicks north of checkpoint one, the remnants of an ancient, sentient species remained hidden beneath thick overgrowth. With so much rain and the destruction caused by the lightning, what had once appeared as nothing more than a small, rocky outcrop was revealed to be much much more. The crumbling temple was unstable, unsuitable as shelter for beast and human alike. Yet there had been human visitors there before. Many years ago, an entire crew had given their lives to bring back a single, tiny sample of something amazing. It was in the center of this temple that the real mission will find its source. But one has to wonder why the mysterious item contained within these ruins would be so important that such a dangerous mission would be undertaken. And why is the team's captain the only one that knows about it? Perhaps there's far more going on than anyone realizes. And what of the convicts? With something so well hidden now revealed, will they take the risk to investigate the ruins themselves or will they continue to survive as they always have?

As dawn arrives, the storm settles into a steady rain but an ominous tension remains under the canopy of threes. This planet will not give up her secrets so easily and she has many more tricks up her sleeve. Convicts and guards alike should take heed and be wary for there will soon be no shelter for any of them. No one is safe.

[E for Eris]

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tab tab Val tried to shoot as many as the Neoraptors as she could but her efforts were clearly futile. Despite the fact that she kept the beasts at bay, she could do nothing to help the boy who literally just stood there and made a complete meal of himself. She recognized the herding tactic as soon as it began and it was at that point that she chose to simply give up. Though Anja cursed violently at her, the woman held the gun at bay, saving the rounds and watched casually as the boy was herded back toward the brush and right into the waiting jaws of the Neoraptor Queen who’d been lying in wait. She couldn’t say she was sad about his death really. He’d been someone who was fun to play with on occasion but still, he was a dumbass for playing into the beasts trap like that and people like that were better off dead in her opinion. s**t, for all the ammo she wasted, she may as well have shot him and ended him herself…
tab tab No sooner than the thought had entered her mind, she felt a familiar and unpleasant tug deep in the pit of her stomach and a wave of nausea that followed as the brat of a girl Anja forced her way forward and pushed Val back into the recesses of her mind. The move gave her a splitting headache, but she forced it away as Val cursed up a storm.
tab tab “Shut Up.” She grumbled angrily as she glared down at the Neoraptors who had ripped the poor boy’s spine from his body and left him there to rot while the mother of them all who’d made the final kill and glared back at her in returned. Anja grew tense as she stared at her, both species squaring each other up, before they took their leave. Even then, she didn’t relax, and she crouched in the tree and checked the rifle for ammo before scanning the brush several times but she saw nothing and it worried her.

“Great, thanks to you Val, we now have a pissed off Neoraptor on our case.”
“Oh please. Thanks to me, we’re alive. The b***h can be mad all she wants.”
“Yes, and she will be since she has our scent you idiot.”
“Val’s an idiot! Val’s an idiot!”
“Shut up!”

tab tab Anja rubbed her temple as they bickered, then slowly and cautiously made the climb down from the tree. She held the rifle at a ready, anticipating an ambush as she scoped the area but she saw and heard no telltale signs that any of them remained. Not wanting to take a chance on wasting time lest they return, she immediately gathered what she could scavenge from the boy, and took off. The rain came down even harder as she ran, and though she had once set course for one of her main hideouts, she quickly changed course upon realizing that the rain would wash her out no sooner than she’d arrived. She glanced around in the storm, eyes blinded by the waves of rain and senses clouded by the clashes of thunder and lightning that seemed to be following her as she ran. She had to find cover soon, but where? Nowhere on DIV was completely safe, not even her hideouts, but in a storm like this, she had no choice but to find cover somewhere, the only question was where could she go? A sudden strike of lightening hit too close for comfort and had her running further into the brush into area’s she wasn’t all too familiar with. Very soon, she came toward a cave and she paused.

“Ominous, dark, creepy looking…I vote we avoid that.”
“We have nowhere else to go…”
“Yes, we do. We can go somewhere else. Anywhere else but that cave.”
“Cave is scary!”
“Yes, cave is scary, but so is the lightening.”
“So we either get eaten alive by whatever’s lurking in there, or we get struck by lightning and pulverized. Good choices.”
“If I had to die, at least the lightening would be quicker.”

Anja warred with herself, but another strike of lightening had all of them shutting up and jumping in their skins as she dashed for the dark space. The cave was dark and dank like most caves were, and water dripped from cracks in its surface, but for the most part, it would do well enough for the time being. She listened cautiously for any signs of life within, but aside from the scuttling of a few bugs as well as the soft sound of bats ahead, she heard nothing threatening though she didn’t let her guard down for a second. Keeping her back against the wall so she could see in both direction, she sighed and held the gun at a ready.

“Well ladies, looks like we’re in it for the long haul. It’s not much…but it could be home.”
“Yeah, if you like dark moldy creepy holes for homes.”
“Shut up."

tab tab Anja sighed and hugged the gun to herself and prepared to settle in. She was cold, and wet, but it was for the best. At least it would keep her awake while the storm raged on….
Anja jerked awake with the gun held upright at the first sign of dawn. It had continued to rain through the night but it was much more manageable now, so much so that she debated on going on in the rain as her stomach growled. Anja stepped cautiously outside, and looked around, noticing first the destruction left in the storms wake and then the temple that had been unearthed. She stared at it in awe, never having seen something like that before on DIV in her time there. Watching her steps, she moved toward it wondering if maybe, just maybe she’d find something of interest there…if not something to eat.


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Needs: Food
Wants: Shelter
Company: No One
Emotion: Curious
Health:██████____________](70%)
OOC:

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[Exoskeletor]

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Brody swiped some of the mud off his cheek irritably as the rain continued to pelt him and his companion. So far this mission wasn't turning out to be quite so fruitful as Brody thought it might be. He'd only gotten to kill one convict, though it had been a nice gunshot straight to the face, he'd been promised a slaughter worthy of his talents. The specialist said nothing as Zarola mentioned something about a noxious plant and collecting it for research. What the hell did he care? Plants were nothing to him. If it wasn't something he could blow up or light on fire and hear it scream, he wasn't particularly interested. Brody grimaced as Zarola's deft fingers moved over his skull, which was pounding, as though his head were the anvil of one particularly large hammer. Her fingers ran across an open gash and he flinched away from her touch, his breath hissing inwards in pain. "Watch it! Bloody hurts.."

When Zarola revealed that Faith was dead, Brody's face didn't move from its casual frown. Faith had been on his squad, fair enough, been his teammate in all respects, but it didn't move the big man in the slightest to hear that he was dead. "Idiot." he grumbled, not knowing that it had been his own idiocy that had gotten Alexander killed in the first place. Nothing was ever Brody's fault, not in his eyes. The other person usually deserved it or had somehow put themselves in that danger, even if it had been Brody's own hand that had caused the incident in the first place. Having no great love for Faith, Brody felt nothing upon hearing about his demise, instead he merely calculated it as having one less person to have to watch out for out here. More time to watch out for his own back. Zarola made some remark about keeping himself under control and the specialist glared at her with his good eye.

"I can watch myself just fine, screw you." As usual, Zarola took the remark without so much as a blink. She'd always been so apathetic to Brody's crassness, something that angered the big man even more. She was an excellent soldier, but Brody had never considered her a friend. Not that he had many friends. The fact that he might be the problem had also never occurred to him. Clearly others were missing out when it came to not appreciating him, at least in Brody's twisted mind. Zarola muttered something about focus and it all went in one ear and out the other. Brody was a man who obeyed no ones orders, save for his direct commander. Even a friendly suggestion was usually thrown out the window in favor of whatever he saw as the more fitting solution. Even when it wasn't more fitting at all. His companion opted to take the first watch, and Brody was not going to argue. Normally he'd puff out his chest and declare himself the one to take the only watch, but right now his head felt full of cotton and his muscles like pudding. Before he could even grunt out a reply, the world slipped into blackness once more.

* * *

Something itched at his nose as the sun broke over the horizon. The sky was still dark with the storming clouds, though it had lessened considerably through the night. Brody had been so weak from the nuerotoxins he hadn't even stirred when the lightning had struck all around the surface of the planet, nor when their thunder had followed. The big oaf raised a hand to scratch at his face, groaning at the effort even that minimal movement took. The crinkling of leaves sounded all around him and he cracked one eye to try and see what was going on. "What the-" Slow as a turtle stuck on its back, Brody pushed himself upright. Piles of branches and leaves tumbled off of his face and chest and he cursed under his breath. "Again with the bloody leaves?" More than likely it had saved his life at some point in the night, but Brody was loathe to admit that something he didn't enjoy and didn't think of himself might have been his salvation.

"Zarola? Where the bloody hell are you?" he called weakly, completely forgetting that she had saved his life the previous day. Brody was a man of short attention span and when something was not relevant for the moment, he tended to toss the information out his ear and into the mud. Straining in the mud, the soldier pulled himself to his feet, wobbling as he stood. He caught hold of a branch and managed, just barely, to stop himself from crashing to the ground. "Let's get out of this dump. It smells like the wrong end of a neoraptor and I'm bloody sick and tired of these godforsaken leaves." he called, kicking at the pile by his feet. Grabbing his pack, Brody slung it over his shoulder, nearly sending himself hurtling to the ground with the swinging weight. But not he was in no mood to linger, despite what might have been better for his body or for his companion.











Location:
Sector 1

Company:
Zarola

OOC:
...

[Golden Eyed Saru]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxKamiinarix♛ 》 ⇣*JAYCE » ⋮ █ [NITEWELLE
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxKamiinarixWHERE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ACCUSE ME? THE ONES WHO BEAT ME DOWN AND BRUISE ME? THEY HIDE JUST OUT OF SIGHT CAN'T FACE ME IN THE LIGHT THEY'LL RETURN BUT I'LL BE STRONGER
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxKamiinarixWHERE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ACCUSE ME? THE ONES WHO BEAT ME DOWN AND BRUISE ME? THEY HIDE JUST OUT OF SIGHT CAN'T FACE ME IN THE LIGHT THEY'LL RETURN BUT I'LL BE STRONGER
█ █████ ♛ █████ █XXXXX █ █████ ♛ █████ █XXXXX█ █████ ♛ █████ █XXXXX ⊰★⊱⋆
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█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌█▌ xxxx ↷ .「 THE NEWBIE ；▌✕》


⌈ (▐ : ─ ❀ TWENTY-EIGHT ;- MALE 」⋮ ░░ SPECIALIST █ ║███) ⌋
XXXXW H E R E XXXX A R E XXXX T H E XXXX P E O P L E KamiT H A T XXXX A C C U S E Kami M E KamiA N D Kami B R U I S E Kami M E
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CANT FACE ME IN THE LIGHT THEY'LL RETURN BUT I'LL BE STRONGER. CANT FACE ME IN THE LIGHT THEY'LL RETURN BUT I'LL BE STRONGER.

xxxxxxxxxxJayce responded to every move she made, each touch felt as though there was electricity flowing between them. He could tell that she was looking for more, but he wanted her to make the move. There was no way he was about to take advantage of the redhead, especially after everything he had just learned about her. CJ's pout and comment was more than enough to draw a chuckle from him. "Sorry CJ, it is kinda habit." It wasn't entirely false. For the last six months he refused to call her anything but 'captain'. Unless he was really thinking about it, CJ was not his first go to when addressing the woman. However, he knew that it was also a way to keep her at arms length, a defence. But now he could no longer remember why he had done so to begin with. As the woman moved to sit on top of him he couldn't help but give her that mischievous smile of his and let everything else go. Right now it was just her and him. There was no mission, no storm, no others that were still out there stuck in this. He leaned into her and could think of nothing else.

*******************************

When she had asked him if she could stay, he could only chuckle and kiss the top of her head. Had she actually stayed awake he would have made some smart remark about how it was her bed in her ship anyways. That night had felt like a dream, although for the first time since he had killed Kyle, he didn't dream as he slept beside the redhead. For one in over six months, the nightmares that plagued the soldier were no where to be found. In fact he had slept for so long he hadn't even noticed when CJ had left, leaving him to wake up alone and in a daze. His eyes blinked away the sleep and his body ached as he stretched out the muscles. It wasn't weird waking up alone, although it was weird waking up alone in someone else's bed. It took him a moment to get his thoughts together, but the first thought that crossed his mind: Where the hell was CJ?

For a second he dreaded moving, knowing that it would probably be cold without having clothes to wear. With a sigh he moved quickly to grab hold of the discarded piece of clothing. Slipping on his boxers, he wrapped the blanket around him to keep warm and sat down on the edge of the bed. Biting his lip he couldn't help but relay the night. Last night plagued his mind still, threatening to draw a blush to his cheeks. It had taken quite a bit to get the woman to open up, but he was a little surprised she had in the end. After what she had gone through to get here... Had he seen the real CJ? The pout she had given him was so fresh in his mind. God she was cute when she pouted. He smiled and pulled himself off of the bed.

Making his way up to the bridge, he stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway and couldn't help but chuckle. There was CJ, cooking something up that smelt amazingly good over a little tiny burner. The man shook his head in disbelief. She was stubborn indeed. "You went outside, didn't you?" he asked as he walked through the door. He didn't really need to ask considering she was still pretty wet from the still pouring rain--at least the thunder had stopped. At this point he was basically just starting the obvious. With a sigh he shrugged the blanket off of himself and moved in behind her to draped it over her own shoulders. "Either way CJ, you should change into something dry soon." he said softly, brushing away her hair so he could kiss the curve of her neck. Eyeing the food she had, he frowned. "I'd offer to help, but I'm a terrible cook and would probably find some way to ruin it," he said, a hint of playfulness coming through his voice. He had never really bothering learning, as he had never really cared about the rations that he had most of the time; that or he had always had someone else there who would cook.

Moving to sit across from the redhead, he smiled over at her and shivered as a cold gust of air came in from the open door. Jayce eyed it for a moment, contemplating whether he should bother closing it. Screw it, he was already sitting. Turning his attention back to the redhead, he found himself smiling like an idiot. "You, CJ, have some kind of magical touch. I can't believe I actually slept the whole night through for once in a long time." He felt a little odd saying it, especially to CJ. He was sure that no one knew of his late nights or early mornings because of the nightmares that wouldn't allow him back asleep. Considering most of those nights were spent either in his room or the training range, he had never come across anyone else. Taking a piece of the cooked meal as she handed it over to him, he eyed it for a moment before taking a small bite. It was a little tough, but at least it wasn't rations.

With a smile he took another bite and looked up at the woman. He didn't want to say it, as he was much more enjoying his time alone with her, but he was well aware of the fact that there was a mission to complete. "Do you think we should start looking for the idiots? I'm starting to get impatient waiting for them to hurry their asses up." Jayce wasn't about to admit that he was getting a little worried. He hadn't landed that much closer than they had been and had made it here within the day. Then again, his trek had been pretty easy. Had they run into trouble? It was probably the only explanation at this point. Otherwise they should have been here by now.

[Insensibility]

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ALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG ALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG AND TAKE YOUR MONEY
xxxxxALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG ALL I WANT TO DO IS BANG BANG BANG BANG AND TAKE YOUR MONEY


█▌┇╳╳♛ (Zarola) ! M u irfinn ⁰⁰ 」⋮
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┏

”Moments of the dark limped across midnight and well into the morning.”

There was the soft sound of a pencil tip swirling across the page as yesterday’s effect and tomorrow’s cause reached an agreement early in the morning. Zarola was busy making an entry in her journal; a habit that was most difficult for her to kick. Much valuable information from previous missions and time warps through her own life had been stored amongst the frail pages and it was a brand of entertainment for the young Guard to look back in time at past events and accomplishments. It was always in the back of her mind that history was damned to repeat itself, but Zarola was determined to keep that from happening too often—knowledge and the conscious recollection of past lessons learned succeeded in keeping her alive this long. She wrote of Alex Faith’s death; the crash landing of the A4; their group’s first encounter with the convict population; the Carrion Flowers, or the name she created for them herself, “Satan’s Violet Kiss,” and their powerful neurotoxins that rendered Specialist Lewis useless for nearly eighteen hours; and of course the planet itself:

“There were countless moments as lightening flashes across the sky swallowed both humans and animals whole—I have been witness to how the planet of Demetrius IV devours all that it can. Through storms, through fauna, through the careless actions of foreign beings fraught with the ignorance of their own mistakes and missteps.”

A great lesson Zarola learned during training to stay awake for thirty-six plus hours was that it was a mistake to remain sedentary; giving yourself mini goals to accomplish during the watch helped to keep a soldier’s mind and body from shutting down. You gave yourself a reason to stay awake. Tethered to a branch not far from the crown of Zarola’s head, were the canteens of both Guards and they were absolutely brimming with water. One of the first projects she had assigned to herself, after covering Brody with branches and sniffing out a perch, was to weave a small rain collection cone from some of the fibrous leaves found within the jungle’s canopy. It was likely cleaner than any ground water they’d happen by and from the looks of the sky, the wind’s howl, the rain wasn’t going to stop completely soon. They were in for a slow drizzle.

Zarola also took the time to replenish her bodily energy stores by consuming a full MRE. Beef Stroganoff wasn’t her favorite, especially since she was certain the meat contained within was something other than cow’s, but the need to eat overruled her apprehensions. An estimated hour after finishing her meal, an hour or so past midnight, a large creature came sniffing around Specialist Lewis’s sleeping body. Its large, scaly haunches; hunched posture; and rasping breath brought it immediately to Zarola’s attention—its uneven gate, a couple hundred feet off, gave away that it had been injured recently. Specialist Muirfinn’s single eye followed the lurching shadow across the ground until a bolt of lightening crackled across the sky and illuminating the silhouette of a Neoraptor. It took only a single hiss through the air and a hearty crack into the brain case to kill the limping beast.

Aim twice, shoot once.

Another session of weaving in the dark created a tough, yet malleable rope that she secured to one of the legs of the Neoraptor. With a rock tied to the other end, Zarola threw the rope up and over a branch so that she could hoist the reptile up off the ground just high enough to act as bait. The bait was hung about 500 feet from her original perch and within perfect sight from high up in her tree. She managed to pick off two more predators looking for a snack—she hoped that the pile of dead meat would act as a distraction as she and Brody left the area.

After all of that, she didn’t begin writing until just before Dawn.

A groan and rustle from beneath Zarola’s perch indicated to her that Brody had finally caught up with himself. She stashed away her notebook and writing utensil and quickly capped the two refreshed canteens. A certain rhythm in her legs carried her down the trunk of the tree to land just behind Specialist Lewis; she slung the canteen over the back of his pack,
“We should have you rehydrate before we go anywhere. And eat something—small. Maybe an energy bar from one of your MREs?” She made eye contact with Brody so as to make sure he saw that she was serious; not because she worried about his well being or anything sappy like that, but Zarola simply didn’t feel like having to log roll him around to their first checkpoint. If he were to fall victim to another unsavory situation, she had half a mind to leave him in the dust. She grinned to herself as Brody complained about the smell of Neoraptor a** and simply agreed, “Yeah, it does, let’s get out of here.”It would have been a losing argument if she’d said anything else—and he didn’t need to know what she was up to the night before, anyway.

Brody had started out unsteady on his feet, but appeared to regain some sense of equilibrium as he trudged forward through the vegetation. Zarola unslung the rifle from the back of her pack and crossed over in front of her comrade—this time, she’d be leading the way to the first checkpoint,”I received a transmission from the Captain last night,” she began, “She reported to be nine clicks East of our first checkpoint. If she starts out from her current location at the same time we do, perhaps we’ll arrive at the same time.” It was a most hopeful conclusion, but the Captain was a strong woman; it was one of the only facets of her character that Zarola could bring herself to respect.

As they walked on, Zarola fished a small energy bar out of the pocket of her skirt that she’d stashed away as a mid morning snack, but something told her that Specialist Lewis wasn’t going to eat unless he was forced to. She held her hand, clutched around the snack bar, behind her back and shook it a bit as to entice the hulking man, “Lewis, you have any family back home?” she inquired abruptly, “I suppose I just can’t imagine you being able to take care of yourself on a domestic level.” She hoped that he wouldn’t take her statement as an insult, but rather a genuine inquiry. Sure, Brody was capable enough in the field—a brutal and efficient killer—but Zarola had to wonder how he survived outside of the Guard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX x║▌ xx× 𝔥 𝔞 𝔡 𝔢 𝔰xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx𝔩𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 THE INVESTIGATOR ≪ ≪ ≪
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ` `ALL I WANNA DO IS » BANG BANG BANG BANG

[The Endless Dreamer]

Simmers Tumic
♨The Firestarter ♨

I'm a young lover's rage
XXXXXGonna need a spark to ignite

The night passed with quite a bit of small talk. Simmers only really remembered portions of it, when she was actually engaged in her conversation with Lily. When Lily was her 'normal' self, or the personality that Simmers imagined was dominant before Lily came to Demetrius IV, she was a bit talkative and Simmers had never minded it before. It was actually a bit more comforting to the silent Lily who she felt like she had to be on edge, just to make sure the girl did not try and kill her. However, both their lives were possibly more in stake than normal for Demetrius IV and Simmers was trying to figure out why, how they could not die by guards, and if there just might be a way off the planet in the process. Therefore, the conversation was pretty light and stale on her side.

If they were not talking, they were either grabbing a small snack from Lily's reserves or sleeping. For Simmers, it was more like naps. It was a bit of a habit she had picked up on Demetrius IV, she never really slept through a night fully anymore. She would just grab in a couple hours when she felt she was safest. A lot could change on Demetrius IV in a matter of minutes, not to mention hours. It was best to keep on your feet. Besides, she had learned some mostly proven theory in college that the human body was actually meant to sleep at most, four hours at a time. It helped her feel more accomplished then, and especially now when timing played into survival.

Once Lily had settled for the night, Simmers spent time between naps, and thinking about her new puzzle while watching the flames burn or Lily sleep. She pulled the puzzle apart and put it back together in every way she could think of and felt like she was making little headway. It did not take her long to figure out she was missing pieces of the puzzle, but that did not keep her from trying to guess about those pieces. There was only one thing she knew for sure: they could not wait it out.

When morning came, Simmers went through Lily's reserves and picked out a few things to make for a decent breakfast for the two of them. Just the two of them still felt like it would not be enough. Perhaps one more might make Simmers feel a bit more at ease, but that required finding another convict who had survived long enough to know how not to die and would be willing to not kill Simmers or Lily. Newbies would do the pair no good, they would die sooner than be of use. Simmers began to run through a list of the convicts she kept mostly in her head and weed out potential candidates to find, assuming they did not die in the storm or by something caused by the storm. At least it had eased up.

Lily was beginning to wake up by the time Simmers finished putting together something of a makeshift civilized meal on pieces of metal that served as plates. Simmers left one next to the girl as she moved back to her side of the fire. It was not going as strong as it was in the night, but it did not need to be. It was warming up slowly and regardless, they would be leaving the shelter soon enough.

"As lovely as it would be to stick around here, we need to get our feet on the ground. Best to try and see if we can figure out if the guards lasted the night or least why they were here. While doubtful, this may have just been the first team sent down like this and there might be others on the way," Simmers said, taking bits between each sentence. "Best to be careful though, that storm is still going and who knows what it has disturbed or brought out. Nothing on this planet happens without reason or cause, not so long as I have been on it."

Simmers paused for a moment as she considered a few things. "Probably best to for you to carry as many weapons as you can without them weighing you down. If you have more, I would kindly ask I carry it. I may be handier with my lighter, but that is best with distance or planning. Sometimes we get neither. Plan is to head closer to their little station not to far from here. If they are still alive, they will be meeting up there most likely. If they don't show, we know not to worry until we see more ships. We're keeping our distance from them though, at least until we figure out what's going on."

Just as Simmers began to finish her meal, she took a bit more of a serious tone than she had before. "If we by chance manage to stumble into them, fight to survive, but don't kill them. You can't get information out of the dead." She let a silence fall on her side from that point in case Lily might have something to say about all of that. If Lily had not woken up with her more silent personality, by the end of the conversation she was sure there would be a shift. Any mention of a fight or weapons, and the dark side seemed to show up. Perhaps it was a matter of protection. Either way, Simmers was going to need the dark side of Lily to survive just as much as both sides of Lily needed Simmers for what she was going to figure out. At least, that was the way it seemed so far.

Location: Twelve miles northeast of Checkpoint One
Company: Lily
Temperance: Pensive, Curious, Determined

[Exoskeletor]

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Ain't no rest for the 『Wicked』
until we close our eyes for GOOD

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Lily blinked idly as Simmers explained their position. She was more than used to the constant blanks in her memory by now. The other side of her, the one that made most of the decisions nowadays, had let her out for a moment, but who knew how long that would last. Every time she took over, everything was left a mystery to the real Lily. What she'd done, said, where she'd been, she couldn't recall any of it. It was like waking up from a long sleep that could last anywhere from five minutes to several months. The other side had never taken over for such a long extent of time, until they'd arrived on Demetrius IV. She was better at surviving. She could kill when the situation demanded it. Lily was not so...immoral. She was a delicate being who could hardly bring herself to harm a fly, whereas she trumped around with a human femur strapped to her leg. And Lily noted with disgust that it still hung there. The girl carefully pulled it from the strap of her belt as Simmers explained what exactly was going on. If Simmers didn't think it looked good, then there was no way in hell it was. The idea of getting off this planet however, that did interest Lily.

Lily sat across from Simmers, watching her over the growing fire. Of all the people on D-IV, she trusted the pyro the most. The woman wasn't insane. Lily couldn't really talk when it came to trusting insane people, but...this side of her wanted to keep as far away from the other lunatics on this planet as possible. It seemed everyone either arrived batshit crazy, or quickly found themselves dissolving into the madness of the world around them. Lily was the former. To look on the brighter side she always told herself, "at least you're aware you're crazy". There were others that walked around thinking this planet was a shopping mall before they were quickly consumed by one monstrosity or the other. It was almost refreshing to be around someone that was in their own right mind, and someone handy with fire to boot. Simmers was a survivor and as much as Lily hated to admit it, so was she. Together they had a stronger chance of living just a little longer than anyone else on the planet. If there really was a way out, Lily would be more than glad of Simmers's company. The two companions talked a bit before the weariness finally overcame and Lily found herself drifting to sleep in her makeshift bed.

When the dawn came, Lily awoke, pleasantly surprised to find herself still in charge of her own mind. She wouldn't have known the difference if she hadn't been in charge, but still it was nice to actually be able to wake up. As she rubbed at her eyes, she noticed Simmers hard at work over the fire, frying up bits of meat Lily had stored most likely the other day. Chances were it was either neoraptor meat or lyrinx. Either way unappetizing, but either way it was all they had. Lily graciously accepted a plate and sat herself by the crackling fire, stretching out a stiffness in her shoulder from sleeping on it for too long. But they couldn't idle for long. Simmers was already starting on a plan and Lily knew she was right, no matter how much she didn't want to be a part of some sort of mission, it was the only way if she was going to get herself out of this hell. "If they were foolish, and lucky enough, they might have made it to the station already. The guards usually aren't versed enough to blend in, their tracks should be easy enough to find...or their bodies"

This side of Lily hoped there weren't too many corpses being dragged away by the raptors. If many guards had shown up, it could mean Brody was down there with them. If he were killed she would have well and truly lost everything. He already hated her, that much had been obvious since the day she was born and in truth, she didn't blame him. They said she'd given him that scar, cost him his eye. Who could love a sister that did a thing like that? Simmers continued her instructions, ordering Lily to grab as many guns as she could handle. Frankly, she didn't know how many that was. She was no weapons expert, she was. And she wasn't here right now. No doubt that other side would make an appearance soon, after all they were heading out into dangerous territory and like a defense mechanism, she always seemed to appear when they were in danger. "If we by chance manage to stumble into them, fight to survive, but don't kill them. You can't get information out of the dead." Suddenly she felt it. The darkness closing in on the corners of her mind, getting deeper and thicker until it threatened to overwhelm everything. Lily looked at Simmers with a face unreadable as stone. "Only takes one to tell a tale." she hissed before grabbing the long bone club propped against the door.

Location:

Lily's place

Company:

Simmers

Good With or Bad Witch?:

Switching

OOC:

[Exoskeletor]

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Brody watched Zarola climb down the tree graceful and quick as a Lyrinx. She secured his canteen to the back of his pack and ordered him to get hydrated and eat something small to settle himself. Unfortunately for Zarola, Brody was a stubborn a** and child-like in the way that the more someone told him to do something, the less inclined he was to do it. Luckily, the specialist shared his ideals about getting the hell away from their current position and she quickly grabbed her own pack before getting a bearing and starting out. Brody felt like he was pulling his legs through a river of maple syrup. Everything was heavy and ungainly, not that he was the most graceful of people when in perfect health, but he was fit and normally had fair control of his body. It was annoying to have to put so much effort into putting one foot in front of the other. But as he moved, the muscles seemed to remember their way and started to flow with more ease.

Zarola took the lead this time, a position he would gladly let her fall into. Look where it had gotten the last leader. Brody wasn't about to end up as something's dinner, not this time. Alex had made the mistake of heroics, a stupid decision. Zarola wouldn't follow in that path, Brody was sure of it. Which meant his a** was grass if he made another mistake. For once in his life Specialist Lewis was compelled to behave. "I received a transmission from the Captain last night. She reported to be nine clicks East of our first checkpoint. If she starts out from her current location at the same time we do, perhaps we’ll arrive at the same time." Perhaps. Perhaps not. "We ain't got any other option, even if she doesn't make it in time." There was only one place they could hope to meet up with what remained of their team, even if they didn't make it at the same time, they'd hopefully be reunited unless there was another onslaught of rabid plants or possibly something worse this time around.

So the pair walked on, trudging through the dense jungle that only seemed to thicken with the rains from the night before. Mud pulled at boots and dew dripped from the tip tops of the trees to land on Brody's forehead. It was going to be an intensive journey to the checkpoint, the land only making the miles feel twice as long. They walked in silence for awhile until Zarola reached behind her to shake an energy bar in front of Brody like a piece of meat to tempt a bear. Normally he would have slapped it out of her hand and made some sarcastic remark, but as it were his stomach was rumbling and Zarola was right, he needed to eat something or risk passing out again. With a low grumble, he snatched the energy bar out of her hand and noisily unwrapped it. The taste wasn't fantastic, but nothing they packed with them really was. That was the life they'd signed on for, unfortunate as it may be. "Lewis, you have any family back home?"

Brody was silent for a moment, chewing the energy bar, not thoughtfully, more with contempt. "I suppose I just can’t imagine you being able to take care of yourself on a domestic level." Zarola wasn't far from the mark. Living on his own Brody's life consisted of a lot of eating out and rarely ever cleaning. "Not anymore." he answered, his voice low. Someone else may have left it at that, but Brody was never the mysterious type. "Not since my sister cut my dad's throat and drowned my mum in the bathtub." Brody sniffed, but showed no emotion other than the lingering hate that shown in his one good eye. "b***h landed herself here. So I guess it's a ******** family reunion." With that Brody scarfed down the rest of the energy bar and tossed the wrapper over his shoulder. The hallucinations had Lily fresh in his mind, something he hadn't wanted to think about while he was down here. With the ships fried and the two of them on their own, they were on the same playing field. Save for the fact that Lily was a murderous psychopath who'd survived down here for years like a wild animal.











Location:
Sector 1

Company:
Zarola

OOC:
...

[The Endless Dreamer]

Simmers Tumic
🔥The Firestarter 🔥

I'm a young lover's rage
XXXXXGonna need a spark to ignite

Lily brought up an important note: Guards would be easier to track. It could be a positive and a negative note. It would definitely be a negative for the guards because convicts were not the only thing capable of tracking on Demetrius IV. The negative in the Simmers and Lily in that case would be happening across something feeding. Interrupting anything feeding on Demetrius IV could cause a lot of problems. Some would pay no mind, particularly if it was a fresh meals. Others would be more than happy to add more fresh meat to the pile.

After Simmers had finished the most important part of her speech, there was a shift in Lily. It was almost as if emotion simply faded from her face, but not quite. Her face just became... darker? It was hard to describe but there was difference, clearly evident by the response she received. "Only takes one to tell a tale." Simmers just nodded. It might it easier to kill the one they caught or that much harder. At the same time, with this Lily, if the survivor refused to give information, well, time wouldn't be wasted trying too long to get information from someone unwilling. It would be easier on the survivor to just give up the information and die quickly than be subjected to Lily's torments.

Simmers did not dwell on the thought long as they prepared to venture outward. While Lily grabbed her weapons, Simmers put out of the fire and grabbed a small stone from the floor, likely one fallen after being stuck in the sole of a shoe and placed it in the pocket of her pants. She took whatever Lily had to offer her and made sure it was somewhere she could easily grab it and unlikely to simply fall out while running, fighting or whatever they would have to do.

When the pair appeared ready, Simmers turned to Lily. "Time for a bit of hunting," she said simply as she began to climb down first. She moved as quickly as possible without risking falling. She looked around to the floor and the surrounding so there might not be anything to stumble upon when they reached the ground again. Things looked slightly rearranged, likely from the flooding. Simmers had seen it enough her many years on the Demetrius IV, which was why she paused before stepping on the ground.

She took the stone she had grabbed and dropped it to the floor beneath the tree. Unlikely as it was, Simmers wanted to make sure she was stepping on sound ground and not a newly born sandpit. She gave it a few seconds and the stone did not stink. Simmers dropped to the floor and picked the stone and replaced in it her pocket with a small breath of relief. She moved over to the opposite tree to let Lily drop down as well. In the small moment of privacy, she moved her hand to the tree, closed her eyes and whispered as if she were talking to it, "Only a couple days more. There's a good chance. Just a little bit longer."

When Lily was on the ground, Simmers turned to her, "Time to get some ground covered, but no running. Grounds too wet to run and stay silent or stay on your feet." She left out other dangers such as quicksand. They would deal with that if it came to it. Simmers was sure Lily was just as aware of where they were headed as herself. She started off in the direction for the day. It was going to be a long walk.

Location: Twelve miles northeast of Checkpoint One ⇉ On the Move
Company: Lily
Temperance: Determined, Protective, Pensive, Cautious

[Kikiro16]

Cassidee Jane Shepard - CJ
Captain Shepard
The Captain

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Who decided right and wrong?
Who made sense of morality?X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Now you say I have to choose
But I didn't sign up for this s**tX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
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Location: Six miles east of checkpoint one XXX Company: Jayce XXX Temperance: Focused XXX OOC: N/A

CJ's body was finely tuned to the time, so much so that she was wide awake just before dawn. Years of early training and sharp senses had given her the unfortunate side effect of waking with the sun every morning, regardless of whether it was visible or not. She slid silently from the bed, carefully gathering her clothes and slipping into them. Her eyes wandered to the man sleeping in her bed but her expression barely flickered to a smile. Jayce had bloomed something in her that she hadn't believed was possible but she wondered how long it would last. The pleasure was fleeting and the emotions that came with it ebbed as soon as reality began to settle back in. What would happen when he found out the truth? Would he push her away again? Would he try to stop her? Save her? She honestly didn't know what he would do and it bothered her greatly.

With a small sigh, she wandered over to pick up the med kit they had used before. Tapping a lock code in quick succession on the hidden panels of the box, she pulled out the false bottom and glanced over the syringes that hid there. Only seven left and she was already on the edge of moving to three per day. Her doctor had said that the progression was getting worse but she was lucky to have made it this long as it was. Still, she wasn't keen on anyone finding out she was on any sort of medication, much less why. Pulling one of the syringes out, she tucked the medication back into its hiding place before walking over to the mirror. Carefully as always, she pushed the needle into her skin at the joint of her neck and jawline, right below her ear. She barely even registered the metal piercing her skin. She had been giving herself the medication on her own for years now and each time felt a little less painful. Whether it was the progression of the disease or simply her body getting used to daily injections, she didn't know.

Careful to dispose of the needle and syringe where no one would find it, she set the med kit back in its place and checked the stitches on her forehead. They were healing nicely enough. The low rumble of her stomach reminded her that food was a bit of a necessity. While the rations were decent enough to get her by, she wanted something real to eat. Gathering up her sickles and a pair of hunting knives, she cracked the door open to peek around the foliage outside. It was still gloomy despite the sunrise but she could see quite well. The trees formed an almost perfect bridge here, branches crossing and weaving through the canopy of trees. If she used those natural bridges, she could go hunting without facing the dangers on the ground. A her face remained impassive as she scanned the area. Another thought occurred to her and she grabbed Jayce's dirty clothes, hanging them out in the rain to naturally wash the dirt and grime away. It would do in a pinch. That task done, she quickly darted outside into the rain and closed the door behind her, leaving Jayce to sleep in safety while she hunted.

She crept silently through the branches, using her natural stealth to her advantage as she moved. Smaller creatures fled in fear despite her quietness but something else moved up ahead. It was one of the few creatures she had encountered before on a drop, a lyrinx. It didn't look to be as big as some of the others but she was fairly certain it was full grown. Judging by its immediately aggressive stance when she moved closer, it was probably a female. CJ slid her sickles into her hands and tapped the sensor to activate the white-hot laser that ran the length of the blades. Despite the creature being small, she wasn't taking any chances that she might be a hair to slow or weak by comparison. She planted her feet and waited, knowing the cat-like creature would make the first move.

In a flash, the lyrinx launched itself at her, aiming to bring her down with a single bite to the jugular like most predatory cats were wont to do. She moved with deadly accuracy and swung one blade at the advancing cat, ending the confrontation in one fell swoop. The animal's head dropped to the jungle floor far below but CJ caught the body in her arms, bending her knees to take the extra weight and momentum. Her balance wavered slightly but she kept her feet. Having had the training to survive in a wilderness like this, she quickly cleaned the kill there, not wanting to draw undue attention to where she had called home for the night. Satisfied that the meat would easily feed two, she draped the carcass around her shoulders and slipped back through the trees to her ship.

By the time Jayce ambled up to the bridge, she was nearly done roasting the animal. His clothes were already dry thanks to a little finagling with the stove before she had started cooking, though they were set aside out of the way. The affectionate kiss made her skin tingle and she offered a sheepish smile before turning her attention to the cooking lyrinx. She could tell her meds had started to kick in and the tension in her shoulders relaxed under the warmth of the blanket he had wrapped around her. His next comment earned a quirk of her eyebrow, however, and she started at him for a long moment. She hadn't realized she wasn't the only one that had trouble sleeping at night, though she should have guessed after hearing his story the day before. They all had their demons. They all had nightmares. Except maybe Brody. That man was nothing but a brute and probably didn't have the mental capacity to retain memories in the first place.

"I could say the same thing about you, you know. I haven't slept that soundly since...I can't really remember. Something always kept me awake." She blushed slightly, memories finally circulating back to her mind of what had transpired before sleep had taken her. She quickly sectioned off some of the meat that was done and handed it to him. She munched on her own portion, enjoying the solid meal despite the odd taste and slight toughness of the meat. Real food was much better than those horrid rations. At his mention of finding the others, she sighed. She would much prefer to stay sequestered here in their little makeshift treehouse but she knew that wasn't possible. Rather than answering him immediately, she stuffed another bite of meat in her mouth and rubbed her arms to bring a little feeling back. There was really no point in changing into dry clothes when she would soon be venturing back out into the rain but it was certainly cold for the time being.

"We should try to meet them at the checkpoint. That's where they'll be heading if they're still alive. At this point, we can't afford to stay here and hide, much as I wish we could." She really didn't want to leave but she knew they needed to get off the planet's surface as soon as possible. Sitting around in a busted ship wasn't going to do them any good unless they had the parts to fix it, which they didn't at the moment. They would have to make the trek through the trees to the checkpoint and hope that nothing horrifying happened on the way. Honestly, she hoped nothing horrifying had happened at all but that was far too much to hope for on a planet like this. As soon as they met up with the others, she was going to have to start making preparations to complete her own side of this nonsensical mission. Why the government had gone to such lengths to hide what they were really after, she didn't know but orders were orders.

She clicked off the burner and split what was left of the meat between them, sealing hers in a small bag for later. They would need something to keep their energy up if they wanted to go slogging through the jungle. "Your clothes are over there, by the way. Clean and dry. I thought you might want them back since it probably wouldn't be fun traipsing through the jungle in your boxers." She giggled softly at the mental image of him trying to do exactly that. Poor dear wouldn't last two minutes like that. Shaking her head, she started gathering up supplies. Most everything she gathered was weaponry, blades of all sorts and a pair of handguns. Regardless of what she had brought from the station, her ship was a veritable armory. CJ was nothing if not prepared. She also loaded a small pack with the med kit and her bagged meat, stashing a couple ration packs in there as well to supplement what they already had. The pack itself was water-proof but she was fresh out of rain gear since her appeal last month had been denied. At least now she had a reason to ream the bastards for not getting that to her team.

Glancing back at Jayce, she smiled and nodded towards the door. "The branches make a nice little highway from here out in almost every direction. It'll probably be safer to keep off the ground as much as we can but watch your step." She paused, considering something else for a moment before shaking her head in dismissal. There would be time for that later. She kicked the door wide and motioned for him to take the lead. "I'll get the ship locked down. The checkpoint is due west of here so take a right and go. I'll be right behind you in half a second."

[Insensibility]

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█▌┇╳╳♛ (Zarola) ! M u irfinn ⁰⁰ 」⋮
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A crinkle and a toss; the methodical chew of densely compacted nuts, oats, and garbage created under the microscope of a food sciences laboratory funded by The Guard. The quality of their food during her service always made Zarola’s heart sink. Before being in The Guard full time, it wasn’t uncommon for her to indulge her love of good food and good drink—tons and tons of it passed through her hands while she traded upon the Intergalactic Black Market. The energy bars that her and Brody forced themselves to choke down could barely be classified as actual food, in Zarola’s opinion. It was one of the only pitfalls of her service—well, that and having to slop her way through mud and plant life hungry for human flesh. Certainly another pitfall…or two pitfalls, depending upon how one looked at it. As Brody obliged to answer her questions, Zarola could feel a tug at the corner of her mouth. Brody was not a man of many words, but he wasn’t a liar, either. It was always pretty safe to assume that anything that came out of Specialist Lewis’s mouth was the truth and she liked that about him—it meant that the information he relayed was accurate.

As Brody’s story lilted up and over her shoulder and into her ear, Zarola’s eye widened slightly as he concisely described the gruesome murder of his mother and father. While he failed to go into the details, she could imagine the scene in her mind as if the act had been committed right in front of her. A light hmm escaped her mouth as he went on to say that his sister had been banished to Demetrius IV; no doubt for the murder of their parents, though she couldn’t just assume. With one noisy, sloshy step after another, she remembered the photograph carefully stowed away in Lewis’s pack and made the conclusion that perhaps that was the sister in question. But what had happened to her? What could make a child turn so cold? The chastity of Brody and his sister’s innocent faces soon replaced the ugly image of a man slaughtered like a lamb and a grown woman waterlogged and blue in the face—her brow furrowed and Zarola hmm’ed once more.

A silence fell over the two Guards for a spell as Zarola racked her brain for something thoughtful to say. It was difficult as Brody, much like herself, was no fan of being pitied. As she trudged through the mire, she bent at the knees mid-stride and travelled her hand over the soft mud to collect a small amount upon her fingertips. Straightening her legs out once more and regaining her gait, Zarola smeared the mud across her face and the exposed flesh of her neck and collar bone,”She sounds like a real basketcase, Lewis,” she replied not unkindly,
”I hope that we find her.” Zarola stooped down a second time and collected another glop of mud, this time applying it to any exposed flesh on her legs and thighs—the objective was to camouflage herself. Thankfully, she was smart enough to wear colors found within the natural world of Demetrius IV and the smell of the mud would hopefully help in masking her scent from the curious and hungry noses of the planet’s fauna. For a moment, she thought of how Brody must think of her as a bit nutty, but the self-consciousness quickly dissipated as she reasoned that it was far more important to survive than look good. Besides, she wasn’t interested at all in looking good for Brody. And any convicts that crossed their paths would most likely be greatly intimidated by a mud-covered woman brandishing a rifle. And being in the company of a C4 carrying brute certainly helped to amp up the intimidation factor.

Zarola turned her head slightly and glanced at Brody from over her shoulder; he looked gloomy and she wanted to take his mind off his murderous sister roaming the jungles of Demetrius IV like an animal,“I don’t mean to change the subject drastically, but has the Captain mentioned to you any other objective, as pertains to our mission, outside of eradicating all found convicts?” She turned her head forward once more and adjusted the weight of her rifle in her hands,”Its a stretch for me to believe that that’s the sole reason for our presence here. I mean, if we wanted to be efficient about it, why hasn’t the Intergalactic Guard just blown the hunk of junk to bits?”

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