themnemosyne

EVENT

As L3Th3 predicted, Mnemosyne reaches the found planet on the 15th. The first view of the planet is both awe-inspiring and perplexing; a world fractured into countless floating landmasses, orbiting a radiant core that pulses like a living heart. The core's golden-red light casts shifting hues across the fragments, where forests cling to jagged cliffs and rivers spill into the void in endless waterfalls. Despite the chaotic appearance, the ship's sensors confirm the presence of a breathable atmosphere, stable temperatures, and signs of life. Strange energy readings does emanate from the core, while metallic signatures suggest ancient remnants of advanced structures scattered across the fragments.

The ship's cameras capture even more details - bioluminescent foliage shimmering under the core's light, clouds of mist swirling between fragments, and glimpses of winged creatures darting through the open air. L3TH3's systems report unstable yet navigable conditions for a shuttle, but urges caution while exploring.

When descending from the Mnemosyne, the landing shuttle's autopilot will navigate the surreal landscape of floating islands. The fragments are larger on the outside, breaking into smaller pieces the closer to the core they are, and reveals alien forests, glowing moss, and grassy plains. Here and there, vines stretch like natural bridges between landmasses, making the navigation a bit rough without an experienced pilot. Weaving through shifting gravitational forces, the shuttle's engines hum as it adjusts to the planet's gravity.

As the shuttle nears the landing zone - a stable plateau near the edge of a larger fragment - the core looms in the distance, its pulsating glow bathing the surface in warm light. The shuttle's landing gear extends with a soft hiss, touching down gently on the alien soil. The engines wind down, leaving only the faint heartbeat of the core and the distant sound of wind rushing through the fragmented terrain. The planet waits, silent and enigmatic, for the first steps of exploration.

Welcome to AG-001!

In the spirit of world-building... here is one! Characters are welcome to create and build this planet within the frame of the setting. Creatures, flora, anything non-sapient. In the end, it will not be a good planet to create a settlement on, but markers to survey it will be added.

On the 22nd, the Mnemosyne will continue the journey.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Baizhu is slowly dragging himself away from the creature when he hears Rin, and holds a hand out towards them - more to signal 'stay put' rather than to ask for a hand to get up. ]

I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a bit startled.

[ He collects himself a bit and holds up the scanner to try to get a good reading of the creature, but it's proving difficult with the way it moves. ]

Whatever it is, it reminds me of a jellyfish. No tendrils, however, and the main core is interesting. Almost like the nucleus of a cell.

[ ...which sends some amoeba warning signals into his mind for a brief second - but this thing is far, far too big to infect anyone. In fact it's very friendly(?), almost begging the good doctor to touch it. ]

[If there's any ambiguity to the gesture, Rin nevertheless must interpret as the first, as they stay out of range of physical contact, their helmet turned to track the strange creature.]

Sure.

[They're really not a biologist, or a xenobiologist, so they're just going to take Baizhu's analysis on that, rather than digging out an analysis program.]

That doesn't look like a threat display. [A beat.] Probably.

[Then again Tellus has - had? - some sort of old creatures that got round to try and scare off predators, didn't it? Maybe its natural form doesn't involve the bubble.]

Maybe a bad one.

[ Baizhu isn't any kind of biologist either, so they're both on equal level of 'what the fuck is that'. Still, the doctor is fascinated, and would very much like to study the creature if it's not about to eat them... or poison them, or whatever an alien lifeform can do. ]

Hmm... it could be, but wouldn't it run away if I backed off? Or is it guarding something?

[ The thing - creature - makes another 'maomaow' sound and gently bounces up and down in the air, the rabbit-like ears - antennae(?) - wiggling. It really does seem friendly... but they're on completely new ground, here. It could mean anything. ]

Do you see any others?

Or it's wind-propelled. Like a jellyfish.

[Not that jellyfish are airborne, but - whatever. This thing does look like a strong breeze could knock it entirely off the island. They start to scan the surrounding shrubs and ferns, looking for signs of additional odd energy signatures as they do.]

That's true. It does look like it's 'swimming' in the air.

[ He continues the scan of the colorful creature, hoping to grab at least a bit more data. It keeps floating around him without any threatening actions, so Baizhu finally gets back on his feet. Wiping off the white suit's knees, he only manages a few steps in Rin's direction before there's a loud noise by the island's edge.

A huge whale-like call.

Between the islands, a massive manta-ray creature breaches the clouds. It's oddly transparent, organs easily seen underneath the skin. It flips artfully in the air before heading down again, mouth(?) full of pollen. ]

Oh my stars... did you see that?

[They sure did see it - and even took a step back, slightly towards the nearby foliage, head twisting towards the echoing call.]

What the fuck -

[They cut off, remaining silent as the see-through creature skims through the air. It's hard to define the boundaries with the strange transparency of its body. They're tense, tracking the bounds of the creature, only slightly relaxing on catching all the organic material in its mouth and the lack of other predatory things. Like giant claws or teeth.]

Why is it that big? [Yes, they'd like to file a complaint with the universe.]

Well, it... it must be something like ancient whales on Tellus. Massive body, but sustains it with something microscopic like plankton... or in this case, pollen. The ocean provides buoyancy for large growth, so perhaps the clouds are similar.

[ Bazhu is tapping things down on his CL-10 as he speaks. Something as massive as that thing wouldn't be easy to study, but if he can get at least some readings, that would be wonderful. ]

Seems 'transparent' is an ongoing theme so far.

[ Something jellyfish-like but colorful, and now a gigantic ghost manta ray. ]

Wonder if there's a predator they need to dodge.

[... Well that's an ominous thought. Rin promptly scans the cloud bank, hunting for more signs of impressively large and possibly equally transparent figures among them.]

Hmm... perhaps, but whales do not really have predators once they reach maturity, do they? It's possible that it's just too big... but I suggest keeping out eyes open anyway.

[ They do not really need to spook themselves any more than 'being on a new planet' already is. ]

[It'll become routine, for the rest of their time on this floating island, glancing up for one of those giant fuckers now and again. Maybe searching over the available sensor data to glean more information about them.

For now, Rin just takes a step back.]

We should investigate the flora.

[You know, where there's cover.]

[ That goes for Baizhu, too. He's definitely not going to stray too far away from the shuttle or Security any more. ]

I agree. That seems more productive.

[ Both for their survival and his scans. ]

[They're going to focus on the scanning and sampling, for a while - it settles into a pattern, easy to drift into, even with the periodic pauses to search for potentially-hostile fauna or new problems that might arise from a potentially-hostile alien world, but for the most part, Rin seems perfectly content to settle into their work, remaining quietly in Baizhu's proximity.]

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