Might be a good idea to get a little info out of Dividi now that you have a translator

Huh... Well that's not a no. Just a very convoluted "Yes Sorta". So broadly speaking Cellog should be able to translate for you.

Before you can finish your sentence Cellog spins around and immediately goes to open the door. One swipe of the keycard and a dramatic pose reveals the copper lined floors of ...

That place, yeah. Apparently. She looks eager to start a tour.

2/3

[SUBMIT COMMANDS]

[INVENTORY]

Hmm, looks like someone backstage thinks you're not funny, step up your game!

You’re not quite sure what exactly you’ve done wrong, but Dividi seems quite perturbed. Practically slung over their shoulder, they hop and stride and run through the crowded undergrowth of xenoflora, the strange structure and console receding into the distance.

The whole trip feels like a blur and you are roughly tossed to the ground. Though not without a few friendly sounding words from Dividi. You were busy investigating a mystery box. What could be more important than that?

Glistening water, a grove of Earth-shaped trees (from Earth no less!), a field, ships, and the gleaming reclaimed metal surfaces of a colony ship repurposed into an habitat ideal habitat. Lying in repose against snow-capped peaks ahead of you, the Midsommer Colony awaits.

Maybe go help Dividi, but. You really need to try and think about stuff from before the crash. What was this planet called, how much information did the Corps have on its native species and their technology, has contact been made already or did they go in blind? Do you remember? Do you remember anything?

Yes, let’s do that. They’re both rather attached to that stick thing. You wonder what it’s meant to be.

That rough and slightly embarrassing scuffle over with, you decide to sort this whole “Junk Monster” thing out. In the meantime, you give “remembering” things a shot again. This may be the first time you’ve tried it out without being horribly concussed or taking a nasty fall but let’s think.

There’s some further details from the initial briefing, after the patriotic fervor had died down and you all got down to brass tacks. This is the 5th Moon of Tempest, home of the Midsommer Colony. You’ve been deployed here to secure the site, after the colony’s communications went silent. With what Slim said happened with the drop, and you messing with the MiniOM earlier, whatever scrambled the communications on the MiniOM could be related to what caused your Dropships to drop out of the sky (in a bad way).

And going by how that seems to have taken both you and Slim by surprise, that probably wasn’t on the tape briefing. If there’s any knowledge to be gleaned about flora, fauna, or the colonists, it is probably on that tape you found.

Yup... that one.

CRITICAL HIT???

Seems so!

Let the moment wash over you. If there’s someone who’d say “I’ll wait.” they probably aren’t here right now.

That sure is a robot arm throttling some kind of bunny-beast. Feels like a long time. Long time. You’re not what you did or how it happened but, here’s hoping you didn’t set off some kind of automatic defense system for this whole warehouse wherever you are…

Seems to have beaten you to it…

Don't act like a few broken ribs are anything to cry about. You fell off a cliff earlier didn't ya?

Your not sure if anything’s broken. And you’re not sure these rounds are doing anything but annoy it. But if its mad at you then it won’t go after Slim. 

Why are you doing this?! 

Might wanna grab the extra ammunition, if our fallen comrade has any. Can never have enough dakka. Then again, not sure if it’d be of use against szere anyway.

It thankfully has a few good shots of artillery shells packed standard. I mean yes 3-6 odd rounds of ammunition isn’t very many shots true.

But they are artillery shells. Whatever doesn’t die from one of these, would probably kill you anyway. 

Not that either of you bad dudes plan on dying. 

Fuel is a matter of grave import, but Slim assures you,

The hell is a szere

Not good, that’s for sure. A dangerous race of aliens that almost got humanity wiped off the face of the galaxy. 

Thank goodness you remembered the correspondence course, and know exactly what to expect and how to deal with them…

Right? 

OwO what's this?

Something delightful perhaps? 

No, it seems to be a message of some kind. Perhaps something someone managed to send out before the operation began. 

Or you presume, during or after the crash. Without the shipside ansible helping relay messages there’s not gonna be any way to reply to it, at least not until you find a suitable planetside substitute medium, like some sort of signal tower. 

Be that as it may… word from another human being could be welcome direction in these directionless times.

Lets just hope its not one of those ‘recording this mid-decapitation’ kind of things. 

It's hard to say if Slim is doing better or WORSE than you. Probably worse, actually. Panic! I mean... Make haste! Better'd get a move on. Gotta get to the rendezvous point as quickly as possible. And don't panic. Yeah.

Let’s split the difference and assume that you’re both probably in worse shape. But you’ve never been one to doubt yourself. You guess you’d be the first to doubt yourself… 

Its time to blow this unfavorable forest of grisly gallows, and get going!

“COLONY CORPS MARCH!” You’d say, to yourself, to probably boost your confidence, neglecting that yes there is at least one other person with you now. 

Light embarrassment is at least marginally better than panic. Or at least one would hope.