Bound to the Stars (Xenophylia and TinyInconvenience)

[TinyInconvenience]

The fleshy leaves seemed to lose their rigidness when Alan shot the base of the plant, sloppily folding outwards from the centre, followed by Nona falling face-first onto the ground. She gasped for air as soon as she was free, as although the plant hadn't been close to suffocating her, there had been a significant lack of oxygen within it. She appeared to be unharmed, and the only notable thing about her was that her suit had been moistened by a strange fluid, likely a secretion from the plant. Tired because of her near-death experience, her eyelids seemed to struggle to stay open.

Still taking in the fresh air, she rolled over and stared right into Alan's eyes. "Wipe...", she started, pausing to catch her breath, "Wipe that smirk off of your face, you goddamn sadist". Her tone implied that she was annoyed, which wasn't exactly surprising, considering how happy he had sounded from outside the plant's cocoon. She realized that she would've likely died hadn't it been for Alan's convenient arrival, but he seemed to be awfully cheerful despite what had happened, and even though her head had stopped tingling, she couldn't help but be wary that this might just be another illusion.

Sitting up, she realized something more: "Why the hell did you spend so long", she asked, still annoyed, "I get that you might've spent some time figuring out what to do, but you spent too long for it to be just that". It could've just been the strange influence of the plant or that her entrapment felt longer than it was, but it felt like a long time had passed between when he had called out to her and when she was freed. Yet, despite her curiosity of what had happened, she kept going before he had a chance to reply. "Nevermind. Just- I'm going to head back to the escape pod, okay?" She sighed. The day had barely even started and she already felt tired enough to accidentally fall asleep. Either it had been the stress of the situation, or the plant's influence was meant to exhaust her, but regardless, she felt her legs struggling to support her when she stood up. "Which direction was it, again?"

[xenophylia]

“I'm smirking for several reasons. I've never seen one of these plants attempt to feed before. It seemed to be quite....efficient. My only regret is that I had to cut the observation short. That's one reason. And the second is that now I don't need to waste my time lecturing you about running off again. You're lucky you didn't run into anything that killed quickly. But there's always a next time. So don't do it.”

He began playing with a small device that looked like some kind of communicator. “Mmmm...perfect...” he said to himself as he watched the screen. Then he pocketed the device.

“Yes I think you've had enough for one day. We need to wash that fluid off you and let the med scanner have a look. You seem extremely weak so I'm thinking it might have envenomated you somehow. It will likely wear off on its own, but we should check just to be sure. Oh...and I'm curious....I felt the mental buzz...the plant had a telepathic lure, didn't it? What image did it use to lure you? A past lover? A favorite pet? These things are usually very good at finding just the thing that will draw you in... I also want to know how it felt. Do you think you could have gotten free on your own? Did you feel like you were in imminent danger?

He turned and began walking back in the direction of the pod. Turning to her, he smiled. “Come on, try to keep up. Don't want anything else to prey upon you before we get back.”

[TinyInconvenience]

"We won't need to use the scanner", she said, forcing a smile, "I feel fine". She did her best to try to follow him, but she felt as if she had suddenly become incapable of moving any faster than what she already was. In all honesty, she felt weaker than she'd ever felt before, but she did not want to bother going through any medical procedures. She just wanted to get some sleep. It would be over by tomorrow, hopefully. "And- just don't ask any more stupid questions", she continued, "Isn't it a bit selfish only thinking about your science when I could've died?" She stayed silent for the rest of the time it took them to get back to the pod, which they managed without any difficulty.

She pushed past Alan and proceeded to turn the vault to the door, or at least she attempted to do so, but she didn't manage to make it budge. She gave it another push before she fell to her knees from exhaustion. She was breathing heavily, seeming at the verge of collapse. Using the vault as support, she got back to her feet and ashamedly moved aside to let Alan open the door. As soon as she stepped into the pod, she collapsed onto the bedding Alan had set up for himself, not bothering to set up her own. She wasn't unconscious, but she seemed to almost have fallen asleep already. "Just let me rest until tomorrow", she mumbled tiredly, "I'll be fine by then".

[xenophylia]

Jenkins kept an eye on Nona as she stumbled more or less in the direction of the pod. She was right. If it was venom it would eventually wear off. Such creatures did often anesthetize their prey. That and the effect of the telepathic intrusion could do a number on human physiology. He wouldn't argue. Watching her recover would allow him to study the effects of the plant further.

“Science? Well yes, I was kind of interested to see what it would do to you. I've never seen such a creature feed before. But those things typically don't kill quickly- you were never in any real danger, I assure you.”

As they crested the rise right before the pod Jenkins noticed something alarming. The semi conscious Nona stumbled on, either not noticing the change or simply not caring. He thought about telling her to stop, but figured in her current state it wouldn't do any good. Best to get her in the pod and to safety. She fumbled at the door controls and he finally intervened while looking over his shoulder, scarcely not believing that she hadn't seen them.

He allowed her to collapse on his makeshift bed. Certain that she was out of harm's way, he stood in the entrance way to the pod. There were three huge boulders toward the rear of the pod that hadn't been there before, each one far too massive to have been moved by anything he'd encountered on the planet thus far. This certainly was not according to plan. He'd radio the major when he was outside of Nona's earshot and relay the new developments. Whatever had caused this was not part of the program. Major Adams had furnished him with a full list of the flora and fauna that had been used to populate the test zone. None of them had the sort of strength needed to move such weight. Was there some creature here prior to the terraforming? This would alter the study entirely and jeopardize years of work. If the higher ups suspected indigenous life the project would be scrubbed instantly.

Walking outside to the opposite side of the pod he sent a quick message to the Major. He'd need to know how to proceed if there was such an unknown factored into the plan. Would they simply carry on as if nothing were wrong? He hated relying on the military to call the shots. But they had bankrolled the study and supplied him with a human subject. And all he had to do was document events. And, of course, keep her alive if at all possible. She was so wonderfully naive- he'd never find another subject like her and he knew it. He tapped the transmitter and returned it to his pocket. For now all he could do was wait for orders.

[TinyInconvenience]

She spent a while lying on the bedding, but her attempts at getting some rest were fruitless. She had so much on her mind that even though she felt too tired to move a muscle, she was not sleepy. Had she been too harsh on him? There was an overwhelming sense of guilt as she realized how ungrateful she had been. Fine, maybe he had spent a fair amount of time helping her from what he'd described as a pretty much harmless plant, but hadn't he brought her to the escape pod, she would be the equivalent of exotic fertilizer. He had saved her life not only once, but twice, and the only appreciation she'd shown was a bit of friendliness that had rapidly faded. It sickened her to think of how she had acted towards him. Forgive and forget, they say; he had repulsed her at first, but besides that, he hadn't been too bad.

She only barely found the power to lift herself from the comfortable bedding, but she'd long since realized that she would be unable to rest until she'd gotten rid of the pressing guilt. She stumbled towards the door, only to realize that she wouldn't be capable of opening it. At least it appeared that despite closing the door, Jenkins hadn't turned the valve fully. It would've been reasonable to assume that she'd give up upon noticing the immovable door, but Nona was abnormally persistent, especially when it came to making up for her past wrongs. Determinedly, she walked up to the door and tried to turn the handle, yet, it still wouldn't budge. The venom, assuming that was the only cause, was unbelievably effective at draining her. She turned around, seeking anything that could help. There was the helmet she'd been tinkering with, but besides empowering her through its testament of her efforts and skills, it was useless when it came to opening doors. There was also the cryopod, but she didn't feel the want to go back into it. The crash-landing had had a lasting impact on her, and despite the pod not being directly linked to the crash, it was still the last memory she had from before it. The cryopod was out of the question; Unless her life was threatened, she wouldn't enter another one. There were many other appliances around, but none of them seemed helpful. Then there was the medical cabinet. It was an incredibly old-fashioned piece of equipment, but just like when she'd gotten the plate in her leg, it didn't let her down when it came to short-term solutions.

Hurriedly, she scrambled through the supplies seeking anything useful. She knew there was one in here; These things always had one of those. And then she found it: A small syringe, the EpiPen, or as most people knew it, the adrenaline shot. Sure, it was a huge waste of precious supplies for the sake of a suspendable apology, but Nona was quick to inject it regardless.

Not too long after, she approached Jenkins outside the escape pod. Her right leg was a bit shaky, but besides that, there was no sign that she had taken the adrenaline shot. "Hey", she said cautiously, using the laid-back voice she had used when she'd first woken him up, "I should probably say sorry for the way I've acted. Oh, and also thank you for not leaving me on the ground when you first found me". Despite the informalities, the way she spoke, oddly enough, made the apology seem personal and genuine. "Anyways, what's that device you keep poking at?" she suddenly asked, "The one you're poking at right now, that is". She was curious, but it seemed more like a feigned interest to be polite.

[xenophylia]

Jenkins visibly jumped at the sound of Nona's voice. He certainly wasn't expecting her to be active for hours until the venom wore off. It was harmless stuff- more like a sedative to keep the prey from struggling too hard as it was bound. Still, he'd expected it would keep her down and out of his hair for a few hours. He hoped that she hadn't heard too much of the message he'd left for the major.

“Err...it's just another means of sending a message to the ship. I'm a little surprised they haven't showed up or contacted us yet. I'm surprised to see that you're up and alert. You should probably go back to the pod and rest though."

As he stammered through his response to her, he noticed that his transmitter no longer showed a signal coming from Nona's pod. He'd been using it as a relay to boost the signal. The damage to her pod had been unintended- apparently something in the stabilization module had failed on descent. Luckily she hadn't been injured. But he had expected to use some of the resources from her pod and now it seemed to be failing entirely. Not good.

As he stood there trying to decide what the implications of losing half of his communication capabilities was, something sailed over their heads, momentarily blocking out the sun. It was large- at least man sized- and flew very quickly. It landed on the roof of the pod, though from their position the couldn't see what it was.

All of the creatures that had been brought here were expected to remain in their respective zones. But whatever this was had apparently decided to break the rules. Lack of suitable prey had sent it hunting. Several of the creatures they'd brought here could fly, and it was imperative he identified it so he knew what he was up against. Jenkins couldn't become prey himself. That was unacceptable, and if it happened the mission was likely over. Nona- even if she were brave enough to attempt a rescue- would likely also fall victim. The predators here were all quite dangerous if the prey was alone. Again, this wasn't good at all.

“Get close to the pod, Nona. We're going to slowly walk back to the hatch. Stay as close to the pod as you can. Once we get inside we're safe.”

He'd left his weapon in the ship, having only expected to be outside for a few moments in an area without creatures. Btu now all bets were off. Whatever this thing was it was likely on the hunt.

“You first, Nona. We want you in the pod as quickly as possible. Walk slowly and do not speak.” The truth was he was using her as bait. If the thing showed itself he could at least assess the danger.