THE PLANET MINGLE

[princessia]

Who: EVERYONE!
Broadcast: Maybe, if you want?!
Action: The Planet
When: From May 11th until the end of the month

[ Willing to venture away from the casinos and investigate the nearby green planet? Here's your chance, now that it's in range!

THIS IS A MINGLE. GET HERE. ]

[ Make your own prompts, explore the planet, spend a night there, piss it off by taking its plants, whatever! MAY STAR SYSTEM OOC POST for your reference on getting through the orbit, what's on the planet, etc.! ]

Comments

[dancingmd]

Kairi...

[Beverly's initial thought is to order Kairi to not go in any further, but she has to remind herself that this isn't Starfleet and Kairi is not a cadet. Allen's right, the rest of them are not used to ranks, nor did they agree to it. Simply ordering her probably won't work.

But there's also no way in hell she is going to just let Kairi go wherever. It's one thing to put herself in danger, but quite another to put a child there. Not to mention the look on Kairi's face when she was staring into the forest... it was not particularly comforting. What if whatever triggered the Noah is affecting Kairi in some way too?]

You're right, which is why I'm not plunging in there with no plan. We absolutely need to know we can find our way back to the shuttle safely, and I don't want to depend on the GPS for that, not the way the electronics have been reacting to this planet.

[destinyembrace]

[Internally, Kairi braces herself for an argument. She's going in, somehow or some way. Preferably, she'd like to go with the doctor, but she's stubborn enough to go in on her own if need be. Something affected Allen all the way in the space. It was up to them to find out what.

For better or worse, the arguing doesn't happen, not yet. Instead, Bev makes a good point, and Kairi finds herself staring at the ground in thought.]

Maybe... do you have a knife or anything sharp? To make marks on the trees, so we can find our way back?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly reaches into her backpack and pulls out a small knife, hijacked from the armory.]

I do, actually.

[She frowns a little though.]

Normally, I wouldn't advocate doing this but... I don't really have any other ideas.

[destinyembrace]

I don't either. Unless we had a long of string or rope. I think we'll be okay. I can climb trees pretty well, so if we need to get our bearings I can just climb up.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly doesn't say anything right away. Twirling the knife in her hands, she stares at it thoughtfully as she debates with herself. She is still not entirely comfortable with the idea of Kairi going into the forest, but she is worried Kairi might try to go in without her and she's certainly not having that.]

Alright... we'll go in. However, we need to stay within sight of each other at all times, and, no matter what, we're turning back around in four hours. We can always return tomorrow if we need to. Okay?

[destinyembrace]

[Bev, let Kairi tell you about the time she and her friends were gonna build a little raft and sail out into the open ocean. With like, three days' worth of supplies. This is tame.]

I think that'd be smart, yeah. Don't worry, Beverly. As long as we keep our ears out we should be okay.

[dancingmd]

[That story would not make her feel better about this.]

Alright. Let's go.

[She starts off into the forest, tricorder in one hand, knife in the other, held out for both defense and for marking trees. She's moving very carefully and slowly, all her senses on red alert. Periodically, she looks behind her, to make sure Kairi is fine and to see how far they come. When she first loses sight of the mesa, she stops to make their first marker: a small, shallow "X" in a nearby tree trunk.

Beverly won't notice it, but Kairi might sense some sort of... reaction from the tree when Beverly marks it.]

[destinyembrace]

[As promised, Kairi keeps close to Beverly. Truth be told, she wouldn't want to go in here alone, and losing sight of Bev would be terrifying. But coupled with that fear is wonder. Kairi is practically entranced as she makes her way into the forest, staring at all the unusual plants (and occasional critter) she sees.

However, a jab of alarm sears through her after Beverly marks the first tree. Something does not... feel right. She can't quite tell what, but something has shifted ever so slightly. However, with no proof or adequate explanation, she ignores it.]

Is your device picking up anything?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly stops, takes out her tricorder, and, holding it out in front of her, spins in a slow circle, her eyes fixed on the device. Unsurprisingly, the readings are still fluctuating wildly. With a sigh, she snaps the tricorder shut and shakes her head.]

If anything, it's gotten worse than before.

[destinyembrace]

Worse?

[Now that seems strange. It should have stayed the same, right? Or perhaps since they're deeper in the forest...

No, none of this seems right. What was this place?]

I guess we just... keep going.

[dancingmd]

[After a moment of hesitation, Beverly nods once, slowly. As they go further in, she realizes the ground is sloping gently downwards at the same time that the trees are getting taller. Less and less light is filtering in through the canopy far above, which at least means there isn't as much undergrowth the wade through, so they can move a little more quickly. Every thousand meters - the tricorder is at least capable of doing that much still - she marks one of the trees. After the fourth or fifth tree, even Beverly can pick up on some ... presence here with them. Shivering, she comes to a stop.]

Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels that.

[destinyembrace]

[Maybe it's the lack of light, or the way the trees are getting taller, but Kairi is feeling like she's back that night when the island was destroyed. Or even in Hollow Bastion where the Darkness all but permeated the air. In her heart she knows something is not right, and she's been feeling that for some time when Beverly finally speaks up.]

No, you're not. Something hasn't felt right since we marked that tree. I... we might want to turn back. There is something dark.

[Her head is throbbing a tad, another sign that the Light is weakening here.]

[dancingmd]

I agree.

[She goes to turn around but hesitates for a moment.]

What you're sensing... does it feel anything like the Noah?

[destinyembrace]

Mm... kind of? It's Dark and unsettling, but here it's more subdued. The Noah was just overwhelming. I don't know if it's because of proximity or if it's something different. Everyone - well, most people have Darkness inside them somewhere, so I guess it'd be the same... feeling. Just different levels.

[She's not an expert on this, though. This might be something to save for Riku.]

Sorry, I don't think I'm helping much.

[dancingmd]

No, it's still more than I would have been able to gather on my own. So this Darkness [Whatever it is, exactly, Beverly will worry about the science of it later] ... does it attract other Darkness? Draw it in in some way?

[destinyembrace]

If it's powerful enough it might. Lesser Heartless do seem to crowd around the more powerful sort, and Maleficent was even able to control them. That's... not what we're dealing with here, exactly, but the concept might apply.

[dancingmd]

[She nods.] I'm thinking this ... force... may have somehow attracted the Noah to it. Have you heard of anyone else in the fleet experiencing anything like this when they came near?

[destinyembrace]

I think you'd be right. But as if it's happened to anyone else, though, I don't know. Are there a lot of people in the fleet who would be affected?

[She should ask Riku if he's felt anything, honestly. If she can keep it in mind long enough, she'll try to send a message to him when they return to the ship.]

[dancingmd]

I don't know.

[She frowns.]

I met someone earlier... I thought they were a native of the planet, but now I wonder...

[destinyembrace]

Someone who? Did something happen?

[dancingmd]

Oh no! [waving her hands emphatically] No, nothing bad! In fact, they were very nice to me. They couldn't talk, so I don't know their name, but they were some sort of reptilian... like... well, like a dragon from an old fairy tale. So naturally, I assumed they weren't from the fleet, as I'm not aware of anyone like that but...

[She frowns.]

Now I'm not so sure. I know some people can change form so maybe the planet triggered something in the person I met, like it did with Allen.

[destinyembrace]

A dragon? [Eep. Last dragon she ever saw was Maleficent and that was terrifying. Well, technically she saw it "through" Sora, but details.] I never heard of anyone transforming into one in the Fleet, but I don't know a whole lot of people outside of our ship.

[dancingmd]

[Seeing the alarmed look on Kairi's face, Beverly seeks to reassure her.] A very sweet dragon! They didn't try to hurt me... in fact they were very careful to make me feel safe.

[She pauses.]

Then again if they already knew me from the fleet... but I don't know anyone who can change into a dragon. I don't think. But of course, probably not the best idea to go announcing to a bunch of strangers that you're a dragon, is it?

[destinyembrace]

Then it definitely wasn't a monster of some sort. That's a relief.

[But it certainly did give her pause. The wildlife they'd seen so far was less than friendly. It seemed out of place that a dragon from this forest, of all things, would try and make her feel safe.]

Mm, probably not. Some people in the fleet might not react well to that.

[She goes to say something else, but over Beverly's shoulder she sees... something move. Her brow puckers as she steps back, shoulders tense.]

Something is here.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly turns around slowly, phaser at the ready. At first, she doesn't see anything but then - there! A movement to their right. It looks like... one of the plants is moving towards them, blocking their path back the way they came. Beverly lowers her voice to a barely audible whisper as she speaks.]

Maybe if we move really slowly...