Silicone Valley

Bridge 

''The bridge is arranged to permit operation by a single person, but additional stations are available to delegate ship's functions if needed. A main operations console is situated underneath the forward window, with a single seat. On either side of the primary console are two secondary consoles, each with a universal design so that they can accept operations transferred to them from the primary console. Each is equipped with a single seat. Behind the forward section, the bridge is arranged to be comfortable for those who are not involved with flying the ship. A pair of comfortably padded couches line the walls, and the floor has a rectangular area that can raise up to provide a small table if needed. The aft hatchway is situated on the rear wall, between a pair of light fixtures that provide soft lighting for the sitting area.

Tharsis shimmers into view in the pilot's chair, many of the ship's control systems lighting up on the boards.

"Mr Tharsis," says Sam glancing towards the pilot's chair. "According to your own data, we're ready to head out."

Tharsis nods. "All systems go. Fuel tanks are currently topped off." he says as the ship fills with the dull roar of the engines powering up.

Sam grins, "How does that feel?"

"Great. Nothing like stretching your engines after they've sat for a while." he says with a grin.

"Time to spread our wings," nods Sam. "Ask for clearance for takeoff."

Tharsis nods. "Comorro control, this is the ISS Tharsis, requesting clearance to depart." he transmits.

"Take off is cleared," comes a voice over the comm system, "All systems are go."

Sam Gideon smiles and leans back in his chair, "Mr Tharsis." He meets Tharsis in the eye, "Take us out."

Tharsis nods, and the roar gets a bit louder as he activates his ventral thrusters and anti-grav and lifts off from Comorro's bay. The view screen shows the cavernous interior as he swings around to bring the entrance into view, and as he throttles up his engines the ship moves forward and out into the blackness of space.

Sam stands and looks at the viewscreen, "About bloody time."

Tharsis nods. "Feels good to be in space again.." he says with a sigh. "Any particular course in mind, or just second star to the right and straight on 'til morning?"

"Works for me," laughs Sam. "Or we could scan for a nearby G4 class star and go have a look-see." He raises an eyebrow, "Kinda less romantic though."

Tharsis grins. "Several candidates in immediate scanning range. I'll just pick one and we'll see what's in the neighborhood" he says, the ship banking a bit. "Spindrive charging."

"Very good," says Sam sitting back down. He smiles, "Let's hope it's not the homeworld of an ancient and surly civilisation."

The Spindrive charge indicator lights on the board. "Or a place inhabited by metal eating parasites or something." Tharsis says with a shudder. "Spindrive activating." Beyond the viewscreen, the stars suddenly begin to swirl, and then with a flash of light they are zipping past, swirling past the ship like the ship was a drill tearing through space before it.

"Let's see what's out there Mr Tharsis," says Sam settling back in his chair.

"I estimate approximately 15 minutes until we reach the system." Tharsis says, settling back himself. "I wonder what'll really find out there."

"A few planets," says Sam. "And maybe a civilisation."

And after the fifteen minutes there is a flash of stars and Tharsis comes out of jump the star they've chosen showing three planets visible orbiting around it. The first looks to be a bright orange and red ball of gas, the third a cold grey color, and the last a sandy color with patches of blue and green spattered about it.

Tharsis activates the main sensors as they drop from Spindrive. "Hmm.. the first planet is reading as a hostile environment... but that third one looks promising." he says, banking a bit to bring it into view as he throttles up his sublight engines. "At least it looks inviting."

"I want a scan," says the Commander. "Let's not get too close just yet."

"I've got the sensors making a sweep. Atmosphere, lifeform and climate readings should be up in a minute or two." Tharsis says.

"Electromagnetic sweep too," says Sam.

Tharsis nods, monitoring the data as it streams in from the sensors. "Very good," nods Sam.

Information starts to scroll on the screen, Planet: Unknown, Atmosphere: Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon...Energy readouts...CONCLUSION: Atmosphere breathable, planet surface, 70% Minerals, 25% H2O....

"Looks habitable... so far I am not detecting lifeforms." Tharsis says. "A large amount of land space compared to most worlds but it does have a water supply."

Sam raises an eyebrow, "We can't be that lucky." He glances at Tharsis, "That's pretty damned good for a first attempt, bring us in slowly, first sign of anything... anomylous I want a full stop and further data."

Tharsis nods, vectoring himself for an orbital approach. "I'm scanning for potential landing sites. There seem to be several suitable areas. I'd suggest a location near one of the seas. That would allow for more exploration of the planet's available terrain without having to trek too far."

"How does Sam World sounds?" smiles Gideon. "Nice ring to it don't you think?" He glances at the data, "This... is almost too good to be true."

Tharsis chuckles. "I just hope that old saying doesn't come around and bite us, and it truly is too good to be true." he says. "After all the hassle we've been through to get to this point, I'm not surprised if there's another curveball waiting in the wings."

"I have a cynical nature Mr Tharsis," says Sam with a small smile. "Which might come as a surprise to some, I'll hold off on the champagne until we have more data."

Tharsis settles into a parking orbit. "Activating short range sensors. Performing full geological survey. Infrared, UV, and topagraphic radar scanners in operation. Recorders functional." he says, as the data continues to stream through.

From the commander's chair Sam Gideon, daring explorer glances towards his holographic exec sitting in the pilot's chair, "Can you do a complete atmospheric analysis Mr Tharsis, I don't want any surprises if we pop the airlock."

Tharsis nods. "Checking atmospheric pressure and full chemical composition." he says. Sam Gideon leans back in his chair and swivels it around non-chalantly, "It's good to be the Captain."

Readouts start to scroll again, this time actualy mineral types showing, a large amount of them might be known as minerals present in sandstone and other sedementary stones. Lifesigns: present, silicone based. Several areas show up on a map with red areas indicating large clusters of life, one of them present near the largest of the seas.

Tharsis raises an eyebrow. "Interesting... lifeform readings. Except... they're silicon based." he says, a bit incredulous. "It's.. theoretically possible, but I've never encountered it thus far. I have mapped several potential sites that would put us near them if we want to investigate. I'm not sure if its intelligent or not, the readings aren't that specific."

"Can you zero in on one of their sites with your cameras?" asks Sam with a sigh. "Perhaps some observation first before we zoom on down with the shiny coins and beads." Tharsis focuses a camera on one of the sites and the image zooms in rapidly by several orders of magnification.

"Thank you Mr Tharsis," nods Sam as he watches the camera image.

Tharsis keeps the camera focused on the site as they move through the orbit.

The camera zooms in on what looks like large crystaline structures, mostly pink in color, but some green and oddly enough a few of an indigo or bluish hue. Mineral structure: Quartz, Calcite, Silicone, the screen reads.

"Any movement?" asks Sam from the command chair. "And some analysing of the area between them would be good, I want to know how they're communicating, if they do."

"I've got my motion trackers operationg... I'll know if one moves." Tharsis says. "I'm performing a deep scan of the area in question."

"Thanks," nods the Commander.

And onto the bridge comes Chief Castus, a half smoked but currently extinguished cigar clamped between his teeth. "Evening, sir." He greets the CO. "Evening Tharsis."

Motion detected Flashes across the screen. It's hard to see at first, but the camera might actually pick up what looks like a ripple in the sand, which slowly seems to creep up the side of one of the crystal structures.

Tharsis peers at the camera. "Something down there is twitching." he says. "But it's like it's beneath the sand..."

Newt enters the bridge soon after, "Hey." and, after orienting himself, heads for the engineering console and settles in.

"Evening Chief," nods Sam to Lucius. "Looked like we'd found the perfect place for a holiday camp, but some silicon lifeforms have spoiled the party. Still, we're gathering data and observing them." He glances at Newt, "All settled in aboard?"

"Silicone lifeform? Are they sentient?" Asks Lucius, lighting the cigar and grinning at Newt. "Heh, didn't know you made it through. Good to see you."

"Insufficient data to make that determination at this time." Tharsis says. "All I can tell is that they're alive, they're moving, and they apparently are subterranean creatures." The 'sand' that was creeping up the side of the crystal begins to creep faster, slowly starting to engulf the large crystal.

Newt replies to Lucius, "Totally. Exploring broken universes isn't much fun." before looking over at the screen, "Cool."

"We'll find out," says Sam. "That looks sort of messy." He keeps his eyes on the screen. "This might be interesting."

"Atmosphere breathable, Tharsis? We could always go down to take a look if that's the case." Suggests the Chief, puffing his cigar bit.

"The atmosphere is reading acceptable for maintaining humanoid lifeforms." Tharsis reports, watching the screen as the 'ripple' begins to swallow up the crystal. "Hungry, possibly? Silicon life, silicon chow."

Newt asks, "So can we go, then?"

"See," says Sam looking up with a smile, "This is why I get to be the Captain. Looking before we leap and all that." He glances towards Tharsis, "How far would your sensors be able to penetrate the surrounding terrain underground. I want a fair warning underground crystal-eaters are approaching before I set foot down there."

Lucius chuckles at that but otherwise watches with rapt attention

"Once in physical contact with the ground I'd be able to sense miniscule vibrations, but in addition to that my sensors should be able to penetrate the ground by at least 20 feet, assuming there are no heavy mineral deposits we can't detect from orbit." Tharsis replies.

Soon the crystal structure can no longer be seen. The sandlike being stays fully upright, seemingly wrapped around what could be called its dinner. This is followed by more movement, soft ripples in the sand heading toward more of the numerous crystal structures.

"Works for me," nods the Commander. "Take us down." He glances round at Newt and Lucius, "Want to set foot on a real honest to goodness world boys?"

Newt grins, looking over his console before saying "It's why I'm here."

Tharsis angles himself for atmospheric entry. "De-orbit burn commencing." he says as the planet's atmosphere draws closer. The viewscreen begins to distort as the ship makes contact with the atmosphere, the friction of re-entry becoming evident. "Heat shields active... velocity nominal."

Newt watches his console, not saying anything for now. Occasionally he looks up at the screen but most of his focus is at his console.

There's a bit of turbulance, the ship getting rocked about for a moment when it descends lower into the atmosphere Warning, Warning Flashes on the screen

Sam Gideon glances at the warning warning, "Mr Tharsis?" The Commander remains calm, "Small problem there."

"This will be fun." Lucius puts out his cigar and slips it into a little metal tube, into a pouch on his vest. He sits down and secures himself in.

"Diverting power to maneuvering thrusters..." Tharsis says. "I'm adjusting course to find a less turbulent route.. if there is one."

Newt bites his lip but continues being silent. His attention, though, is completely given over to his console.

Computers kick in, and with the course adjustments, the ship starts to level off. Danger Averted Flashes on the screen

Still calm, Sam keeps his eye on the screen as the ship levels off he just nods and glances towards the holographic image, "Good work Mr Tharsis." His voice that deep resonant tone of his, "Now bring us down."

Lucius is strapped into a seat near the entrance of the bridge, his rifle secured at the rack by the door. "Lovely. Well, at least our pilot is second to none."

"I like it how he spells it out there," Ren chimes in, from next to Lucius. "Real reassuring." The grizzled old man gives the back of Gideon's head a curious glance every now and then.

Tharsis shudders as he fires his braking thrusters and the ship slows to a more manageable speed. Banking around, the shoreline becomes visible in the viewscreen as he maneuvers towards a wide open area amongst the crystals that line the shore. With a whine of servo motors, his landing gear emerges and locks into place as he comes into a hover over the landing spot. "3.... 2.... 1.... touchdown." he says as he bounces slightly on his landing gear as the roar of the engines slowly fades.

"Chief," says the Commander turning around in his chair. "Take your friend and a scanner. See what you can find out there, stay in touch over the comms."

"What's the intel on this place?" Ren asks. "There's life? You c'n breathe the air? Any gravity?" He unstraps himself and watches the shoreline uneasily.

"Air's good, and there's supposedly silicone life. Sir? Anything else? I just kind of walked in before you landed." Lucius notes, unbuckling and grabbing his weapon from the rack.

"Gravity is earth normal," says the Commander. "Atmosphere lacks anything dangerous, but this life form might be, so be careful, pay attention to Tharsis' depth-scan for signs of approach." He nods to Newt, "I want a check on engineering first, then you can join them if you get the all clear."

"I'm a need a gun, then," Ren says, his brow falling. He gives the commander another quizzical sidelong look before adjusting his armor. "You got anything with a scope, Lucius?"

Lucius grins broadly at Ren. "I got two weapons that you might like. But one in particular that'd be useful for you. A bullpup six-point-five like mine. The holo sight on top can be zoomed, to a degree, and compensate for bullet drop and wind if it needs to - or just act as a reflex sight. And we have a standard seven-six-two sniper rifle. Take your pick."

"Reflex scope's good enough for me. We didn't have any of that fancy shit when we was killin' Fleeters," Ren says. "Let's hustle, then. You got the scanner?"

"Now we're gonna go all dick size. Shit, Ren." Lucius shakes his head, moving to hand the bullpup weapon to Arnassis. "You got webbing on that vest of yours or you wanna just cram ten mags full into your fucking pockets? I got a lot of extra, loaded mags ready up in the other room. Whatever it may be, let's get moving ASAP."

Ren Arnassis checks the weapon's chamber and safety before slinging it on his shoulder in a manner similar to how Lucius has his own. "Just gimme the clips," Ren says, loading up with ammo before gesturing. "Show me the airlock, pal. I'll follow you."

"Right on, then." And Lucius does that, handing Ren a few things - an extra pair of NVGs, ten mags, a small cleaning kit for the weapon and a full canteen. Making sure he himself is topped off on everything, he finally gives Ren the scanner. "You're the guest, you do the honour." He grins, sliding a magazine into his weapon and cocking it. He clicks it on safe. "But I can lead." He reaches down to his hip and chambers a round in his handgun, too, safeing it. Then he moves towards the exit of the ship, clipping his helmet closed. He looks behind him. "Ready up?"

Outside the air is dry, warm, and almost stale in smell. The ground is covered in sand..for miles. To the south side of Tharsis would appear to be an ocean, or a sea and not too far from that what could be called a forest of large crystaline structures all between three and eight feet tall. Most of them seem to be of a pink hue, but others of a light indigo or bluish hue and some green also. Wrapped around one is what looks to be some sort of sand like substance nearly covering the entire structure.

"Sheeeeit," Ren murmurs, stepping off the ship not far behind Lucius. "Looks like some kinda drug coma out here." His eyes roam, then stop and linger on the sand and the structure in the middle distance. "Figgers," he says. "They need a fuckin' biologist and they send two mooks with guns."

"That was the thing that was moving." Lucius says, keeping his weapon at the low posture and pointing towards the sand stuff which covers the structure. "Or something. I kinda came in late and it was moving pretty fast. We'll get within fifty metres and do a scan." Without waiting, moves south, slowly.

Ren Arnassis growls uneasily, low in his throat, and follows, not moving for his weapon. Upon closer inspection it can be seen that the 'sand' covering the stucture is actually a clearish sandy color, the structural outline somewhat visible through the substance, which almost appears to have a glistening gelatinous look to it. With movement from the new comers the substance begins to recede from the crystal, the point of it obvously worn down considerably, if the other crystals around are of any indication.

"Oh this is gonna be a fun one. I can already tell." Lucius mutters to himself, eyes peeled but especially keen on observing the substance on the structure. He raises a hand in a halt motion. "You get a reading on that thing from here?"

"Sure," Ren says, looking down at the scanner. He deadpans, "It's movin'." But he does train the device on their granular host, standing warily on the balls of his feet.

Lifeform: Elements: Silicone, Carbon, Oxygen.. The words scroll across the screen of the scanner, each mineral amount reading at a progressivly smaller percentage.

The gelatinous substance almost seems to flow down the sides of the crystal before oozing its way toward the two, almost like a moving puddle of water.

"This can't be good." Lucius remarks, keeping his weapon at the low ready. "I wish there was a way to tell whether it was sentient or not." Looking like an idiot he raises his hand to wave and calls, "Hello!" To Ren, "Keep scanning, buddy."

"No," Ren agrees, "it ain't." He starts to back up. "It's movin' kinda quick and it eats the stuff that's in our bodies," Ren points out. "Made more of silicon than carbon and oxygen. But it's made of that stuff too."

Organ structure: Flashes on the screen, followed by an outline of the being and following this several organs are outlined within the outline. None of them are labeled, except what the computer labels brain with a level of electical activity shown beside it.

The form stops short and begins oozing in an upward direction, a face forming at the top of it, resembling Lucius very closely. A tendril snakes out taking on the form of an arm and hand, which it waves back at the Chief.

The ship hatch opens and a Newt bounds out of it, "Hey. Wait up!"

"Alright. Well, it could very well be sentient. Too bad we don't have that universal translator." Lucius lowers his waving hand to rub at his chin. "You don't speak Terran, do you?" He says wryly, grinning. His tongue switches languages, saying in Martian Latin, "How about this?" He looks over his shoulder at Newt, hollering, "Slow down there, pardner."

"It's got a brain, anyhow," Ren says. He frowns. "I'm a little more concerned about the claws an' teeth, but I ain't seein' that on here." The Lunite squints at the scanner, and shakes it a little.

The form lets the 'hand' slither back in on itself, but the face stays for now, mouth moving to immitate Lucius, but only sounds issue from it, almost like sand sliding when its stepped on.

"Warning! More approaching!" Comes from Tharsis. Indeed the ship starts to shake, the ground beneath it seeming to roll and slither beneath it.

"Time to get the fuck out of here I think." Lucius decides, moving to beat a hasty retreat back to the Tharsis.

Newt comes to a halt, staring at the creature (in the distance!), "Oh wo- Back?" He looks back at Lucius.

Ren Arnassis starts to backpedal, fishing in a pocket. "maybe it is," Ren says. He glances at the commlink that he pulls out of his pocket, at the silicate, then back to the commlink. In a slow movement, he turns the commlink on to a particular channel, then sets it on the ground. Then he continues to back away."

The creature oozes along, keeping it's form for now and trying it's best to follow along with the group as they retreat. With the commlink set down it stops, seeming to look down at it, and one long gelatenous appendage comes out to prod at the device.

The ship continues to rock, the ground seeming to roll from beneath it, and then two more creatures appear, both these of an amber color. They stop on either side of the ship ramp, oozing up into a semi-humanoid form

"Maybe, yeah, not a bad idea there. Maybe we can talk to them through electronic means. Or through electric pulses." Postulates Lucius, shaking his head. "Listen to me, grunt trying to be a scientist. Fuck, Newt, what do you think?" He asks, edging backwards and slowing his retreat to match Ren's pace.

Newt's shoulders slump as he begins his retreat, "Damnit! We just got here!" He sounds annoyed.

"I think he's tryin' to figger it out," Ren says. "And I think we've got company." He glances over his shoulder and spots the other creatures. "The one we met is thinkin'," he says. "Means it might not jus' try to eat us outta hand." Sweat forms on his forehead. The smaller of the three, the one that has been met already continues to prod at the commlink, and finally the appendage takes on a hand shape, picking it up and another appendage joins it, poking at it more.

One of the new comers oozes over to join the first, both looking at it now. The third stays near the ship ramp, what passes for a head tilting to look up at the three retreating. What passes for eyes blink up at them.

"Wait out, then. If you wanna talk to the fucking one next to the ramp, Newt, then have a great time doing it." Lucius cradles his weapon in his hands, still pointed at the ground harmlessly, and stops moving when he's a few metres from the ship's ramp. "I'm gonna send a message to your comm. What was your channel and frequency?"

Newt stops near Lucius, "Ok... But I could do with a gun or something."

"I named the channel gumball," Ren says, watching the silicate near the ramp warily. He rattles off the series of numbers attached to the name. He blinks back at the silicate form. "Don't say anything offensive, ok? Now ain't the time to be rude." This, coming from Arnassis.

The two poking at the comm continue doing so, buttons and everything getting pushed. At one point static comes from the device and the first one nearly drops it, the second there to catch it and continue looking over it.

The creature near the ramp snakes an appendage out toward those there, its general aim seeming to be for Newt. And if it gets close enough it taps his arm lightly with its gelatenis substance, a small amount of it left behind on his suit.

Lucius does two things, next - he grabs a stun gun off of his hip and, looking towards Newt for a moment, tosses it towards him. Next, he pulls out the programming box on his commlink, which sits on a vest pouch, and configures it for Ren's channel. He points at the creatures, then his headset. Then he clicks a button and transmits, "This is how you speak." Whether the poorly concieved lesson works or not is another matter.

"These things," says Ren, "they're like dogs or monkeys." He keeps his tone neutral. "I don't think they're all the way sentient." The Lunite finds the ramp with his foot.

Newt catches the gun and looks it over then at the approaching tentacle and jumps back, not quite willing to be the recipient of the loving touch of silicone just yet, "Hey!"

The one now holding the comm looks at it curiously as Lucius voice issues from the comm. It looks over at Lucius, then back to the comm and holds it to what servers for a mouth. The mouth moves and an attempt at speech is made, "Hhheeee.." coming from it as it seems to try and form words.

The creature near Newt pulls its appendage back, looking almost stricken as it slides back just a bit from the ramp.

"Monkeys, maybe. But smarter I think. I think they're quite a bit smarter." Lucius looks over to Newt, smirking. "Don't get too jumpy there, cowboy. I'm not really sure what it is we do at this point."

Newt looks up at Lucius and then back at the... thing near the ramp, "Uh... Sorry?"

"Holy shit," Ren exclaims, as the creature with the commlink forms a syllable. "Sure learns fast."

"Hhheeeeelll..." The creature with the commlink tries again, this time with a small amount of success. It's attempt issuing from the speaker of Lucius' comm. The other two look to Lucky's comm when the voice comes from it, both blinking curiously. Newt touching seems to be out at this point as the one near the ramp slides around closer to Lucky that appendage coming out again to try and touch him this time.

"They're tasting you," Ren cautious Lucius, mildly. "I think he's tryin' to say hello." Newt says. "Yeah... I figured I didn't wanna be eaten..."

Lucius's immediate reaction to the creature trying to touch him is to sidestep quickly out of the way. "No." He tries to scold the creature, as if it was a dog.

The one with the comm brings the device away from its 'mouth' and simply watches now, its partner beside it doing the same thing.

The appendage going for Lucky stops, drawing back on itself a bit, head tilting to one side as if observing him for now.

Newt grins, "Ha! You don't wanna be touched by it either."

Ren Arnassis watches the creatures in turn. At length, he holds up his hand, showing all four fingers. He's missing one. "You only live once, right," Ren says. Then he holds the hand out towards the other creature, slowly. "There ya go," he says. "This is how we do it. You gotta buy a body dinner afore you c'n just poke 'em by way of sayin' hi."

"The only person I want stroking me right now is that fiesty captain, and she isn't here." Lucius explains to the creature (and Newt too, probably), for reasons known only to him. He fingerpoints, and then shakes his head. "Comorro? You guys know Comorro?"

That appendage forms into a four fingered imitation of Ren's hand, the creatures eyes blinking as it touches to Ren's. Surprisingly the goo would feel firm, much like a fully formed jello mold. The appendage even jiggles a little on contact.

It's the other two that take up the question of Comorro, the one with the comm holding it up to its mouth and calling into it "COMORRO" loudly, the word issuing from Lucky's comm in stereo.

Newt just watches for a while. "Anything happen? You still there, Ren?"

"Feels I just shook hands with a fake titty," Ren informs the other two. So much for parental control. He releases the appendage, pulling away slowly but firmly.

"Well I don't know if that's good or bad. Maybe they know about it. If they do, then that pretty much means they're sentient. Then again, maybe not." Lucius says, frowning. "Comorro." He repeats, pointing up in the sky.

"Or maybe they're just repeating whatever the hell you tell 'em," Ren suggests to Lucius, at least a little amused.

Newt looks over at the ones near the commlink, "Well at least they're curious and stuff."

Ren might be correct in this as the one with the comm points an appendage upward and calls out "COMORRO" just as loudly as before, but not into the comm this time. It looks over at Lucius, its 'mouth' forming into what would be a bright smile on most humans.

Ren would notice a gooy substance left behind on his hand, the light amber gel easy to see through, and somewhat sticky.

"Makes me wonder why they're repeating that word out of the bunch I'm saying." Lucius looks over to the creatures. "So, why exactly do you keep repeating the same word?" He ponders aloud.

"Cuz they have no idea what it means," Ren tells Lucius, turning his hand around and inspecting it. "Great," he says. "I bet I'ma be stuck on this damn ship for a week now. Doctors call this 'contamination.'" The Lunite looks over at Lucius before fishing around in his pockets for a nutrient bar. "Hey, guys." He holds out the bar so they can see it, but tugs it out of range if they reach for it. "Check this out."

All three suddenly seem facinated with the nutrient bar, all crowding around the ramp and the three there.

Newt just watches, "Reckon they'll like it?"

"And they know what everything else is? C'mon. The word Comorro has common currency around here. It's the only word we know carries into different languages." Lucius says, moving towards the ship somewhat, and watching Ren's trials with nutrient bar. "Dunno, they're not carbon based life like us. I don't know if they can eat it."

"That's not the point. Hey guys," Ren's voice becomes cheery. "Let's play a game." He lobs the nutrient bar off in an arbitrary direction, clear of the ship. "Fetch."

One of them moves off to follow after the bit of bar, the other two staying near the ramp and watching. And when the bit lands on the sand it does a good imitation of a nose dive, form shifting into more of a giant blob as it lands on the bar. It rests there for a moment before backing off, the majority of said bar left behind.

"Huh. Right. Let's wrap things up. We don't have enough equipment to really do anything more. Take another reading of them, Ren. Just to make sure." Lucius says.

"That was kind of the point," Ren says. "I'm tryin' to git 'em to give us enough space to git outta here without accidentally burnin' em with the engines. As for a reading," Ren waggles his hand at Lucius. "I think we got all the samples we need."

Newt awws, watching that one leave the bar alone, "Can't we stay out longer?"

The one that went after the bar oozes off toward the crystals, the other two finally starting to follow after.

"No. Get back inside." Lucius states to Newt authoritively, backing up until he's on the ramp of the ship. "Alright, let's get back inside." He waits for everyone else to go in before he does.

Newt's shoulders slump but he moves off, looking in the direction the oozies went.

Ren Arnassis nods, inspecting his hand as he disappears inside.