Starship Kingdom

[rikkaiemperor]

Stuff to go here later.

Comments

[crimsonmoon]

And easily spooked too, it turns out. The moment Akaya takes a careful step towards it to investigate further, it flies out of there in a hurry, heading straight for them before launching itself upward. A flurry of leaves and debris follow quickly behind, and Akaya barely has time to shield his face with his arm.

He glances up to watch the creature’s silhouette against the sky. Something like a bat, maybe? Definitely not bird.

“Uh. Hopefully it’s running from us?”

[courtstrouble]

That's not a good sign.

"It wouldn't run towards us if we were the threat," Niou reasons, and focuses more heavily on the vicinity beyond the bush. "Be ready."

Just in case. There's a considerable size difference between them and that creature; if it's the flying creature's natural predator, that could be enough to scare it towards them without it necessarily spelling trouble for them. On the other hand, hunger can be a powerful motivator, and humans are remarkably lacking in natural defenses against the food chain.

He sees nothing. Hears nothing. It's the air that changes. A stench of decay.

"Smell that? Rotting flesh. It's coming."

[crimsonmoon]

That’s not a great sign. Akaya tucks his tricorder in his belt clip and arms himself with a phaser instead, pointing it toward the bushes. They part, and out comes a fleshy looking beast, almost like a hyena but taller, lankier. Its eyes seem to look glazed over, casting a pale yellow hue.

Akaya notices that its skin seems to be peeled back, exposing the rot that Niou so aptly described. He stays still, so as not to alarm the thing into attacking.

“You know,” he mutters under his breath, “I was really hoping it was your stinky breath in the air. Not some fucking zombie alien.”

[courtstrouble]

It looks diseased.

No assumptions for alien life is the rule-- this could be its natural state. Maybe. It's a sorry sight, though. Niou gets the impression it's not fully aware of its surroundings yet.

Staying still has its merits, but it's going to notice them sooner or later, and it's an open question how it will react. Niou shifts his hand to his utility belt and releases a small drone from it, activating it with his thumb. It rises in the sky with barely a sound.

He notes a couple of trees nearby that look scalable and tests a few slow steps back. It gets the animal's attention, but its body language communicates confusion and alertness more than danger. No fundamental change in its posture.

If they can remove themselves without engaging it, that's the best option. Calm, subtle movements to redirect course and cede the area to the being that actually belongs there.