Forums » Sci-Fi Roleplay » Forced Evolution (Semi-Open)

Xulit. Forty years ago, was no more than a desolate lunar object. The moon of Azuri 4. The only importance that this glorified hunk of rock had amongst galactic powers was meteorology. With absolutely no exchangeable minerals or strategic importance, Xulit, as well as the rest of the godforsaken solar system, was marked as an inconsequential star system. The surrounding planets were either gas giants, or inhospitable deserts, which were as empty as Xulit itself. It was left forgotten by the neighboring empires, and no official colony has been made on the star system.

However, things have suddenly begun to change. Within forty years, Xulit had become a sprawling rainforest, teeming with small, yet blissful life, the moon has suddenly become alive, the desolate rock it once was is no more but a memory. But there is something very wrong: There is no actual colony surrounding Xulit. Not even a space station around the Azuri system, and the neighbouring governments deny any involvement. Though such are the lies of politics, there is a darker reason why no colony has still not touched the new Xulit. High security bases have been found on Xulit's radar, with no known architect, the idea of a Xulitian colony now comes into question commonly, regardless of whether any government denies it or not. But the most damning of all, is how has Xulit been terraformed into such a state within forty years? The question of forced genetic growth, illegal within Azuri's sector, heats the conversations of this strange moon. Now it seems answers are wanted, and intergalactic empires are sending their men to investigate the discovery of Xulit's life, as well as to possibly claim it for themselves.

Votylan knew he was here by chance, he felt just as mysteriously lost as the rest of this enigmatic place. Thanks to his visor, he missed a button to turn off the auto-pilot trigger upon his ship, and ended up crash landing upon Xulit. Marooned here in this blissful jungle of a moon, Votlyan knew that if he was unable to find a safe haven, he would surely die of hunger within the jungle. His twisted body needed nourishment from a sentient being. Only wild creatures were to be found here. Moving as quick as he possibly could through the palm trees, he came to find himself bewildered by the pure bliss of the jungle, but although he was here only by chance, he knew of Xulit's mysterious sudden terraform. Though he felt truly enriched here, it also felt as if he was close to opening a mysterious pandora's box. He would have to investigate why this sudden change began to occur, at least before he died of starvation.

They left him there. Isaac walked. They left him there. He didn't care. Just keep moving. Find fuel. Fuel the flames and salt the wounds. But there was no fuel. He would just have to survive. Surviving was enough. He pulled out his axe. Just survive.

Climbing atop the jungle trees, Votlyan came to a great waterfall. The blissful water shined towards the sky. It was like looking into a heavenly beam of light, almost as if the gates to paradise were open. Although, this supposed Eden had many secrets to behold. Votlyan peered over the rocky cliffs of the waterfall. Beyond was a large river of water, at least separated from the ground from about two hundred meters. And even so, it only led to more of the jungle upon this labyrinth-like world.

Hoping to find some sort of contact with another being, Votlyan took off his helmet for a moment, which revealed a rotting, terrible face, laced with pointed teeth. He then shouted at the top of his lungs. He could see how the power of his voice almost shook the trees as the branches waved, even from the distance. As he placed his helmet back on, Votlyan realized that now, all he could do was wait for a response. At least one being had to have heard his shout, wouldn't they?

Isaac stopped and listened to the shriek. He turned to the lake, remembering that he passed it earlier. He moved towards it, lighting a piece of wood on fire, carrying it as smoke rose into the air.

Votlyan had caught sight of the smoke signal from the below jungle. The idea that another was trapped on this moon, like himself interested him. Out of his own curiosity, and possible for his own survival, Votlyan chose to pursue the smoke.

Unknown of whether the waterfall's lake was deep or not, Votlyan would have to take a chance. After a seemingly long sprint forward, Votlyan dived into the center of the lake, hoping that no underwater predator awaited him within the lake.

Snip, tug, burn.

The three sensations he felt through the fog of his mind.

Things always came in threes.

Blood, cerulean, hot.

Pull, cold, tug.

Hurt, flash, white.

"Ahala?"

No reply. Can't reply. Hurts.

Black.

White again.

"Ahala."

Female. Know that voice, know that name.

Him. No. Me. Him? Me.

Light. Hurts.

"Wake up."

"You'll die."

Ahala's eyes snapped open quickly. He sat up, forcing himself to crawl on his knees and hands to get away from whatever he was near. But there wasn't anything that he could see. Just forest. Trees and plants abound, colors of blue and greena nd brown all mixing together in a bluur as his vision swayed and clouded. There was a pain in his head. His hands felt wet. He looked down to find they were in a puddle of water. It was cold, different than what he thought. Was it just him? Was this even real water? There was a brighter blue coming off of his hand, spreading in the water like serpentine trendils, going all different directions. He lifted his arm to find that it was bleeding from a large cut near his elbow. He winced from the pain.

Near to his left, there was the wreckage of his craft. A little taxi that was meant to take him, a doctor and a biologist, and another scientist to the surface of the planet to study the terraforming. But something happened to their equipment and they crashed. There were two bodies infront of him. His fellow scientist and part of the two-man crew. The third wasn't visible fully, but his hand was seen under a pile of rubble, unmoving and covered with cerulean blood. The scientist was dead. But, the crewman wasn't yet. From the look in his eyes, he knew that he would be soon. And he was okay with it.

"Ahala." He said. "Go. Find your way off of this planet." his words were slippery and wet. He has internal damage, Ahala thought. There isn't anything I can do. Ahala only nodded and tried to get to him. But, there was a searing, ripping pain in his back. He was hurt. There was a wound on his back that he couldn't twist around to see. Normally, he could. But not now. It hurt too badly. Still, he made it to the other, who was unresponsive now. Ahala knew he was dead. But he tried to comfort him anyway. Just in case he wasn't yet.

He didn't know how much time passed before he got up from lying next to the dying crewman. He needed to get moving. Find shelter. Get away from the water's edge. But how? How? There was a scream. Something sentient made that scream. It was intentional. It wasn't one of pain. Something to help him. Ahala crawled towards the noise, the one that came from the waterfall at the edge of the lake. It wasn't working for him. He went into the lake, into the shallowest part, and he moved his arms along the bottom, keeping his body and legs straight out so as not to aggrevate his injuries. It was slow going and he wanted to sob from the pain, but he needed to do this. He needed to survive and get home.

Towards the waterfall he crawled. Towards the splash from the cliffs.

Splash! A massive ripple of water was left in Votlyan's wake as he met the smooth water with his armoured fingertips. He needed to be diligent. He would have travel to the smouldering flames himself, for he was eager to see what awaited him within the enigmatic jungles. Knowing this place, Votlyan knew that he would have to remain pessimistic, much to his own dismay.

Attempting to keep both subtlety and urgency moderation, Votlyan ran into the deep forests of this 'paradise.' It seemed as though the darkness threatened to swallow him whole, at least before he succumbed to his voracious, and twisted hunger of sentient flesh. But for now, he had to do his best to portray himself in a positive light to the newcomers of this place, at least for the sake of his morals. A few minutes of running, of which seemed like hours, Votlyan stumbled upon an astounding find. Another castaway upon this questionable moon, seemingly drenched in the clear blue water. From the current state the being was in, it seemed as though they were not part of whatever organization lay upon this place. One thing was for certain however, this being was injured, and now was not the time for observations.

Resisting his foul impulses, Votlyan crept to the fellow castaway. This was going to be very difficult. Votlyan could not speak, his warped voice was distorted and deafening. however, his breathing was somewhat loud, perhaps he could communicate using that. He let a breath of air, but it came out as an emotionless groan. He was ashamed. 'Is this the best I can do to help a being in need?' He cursed himself, angry at what seemed like failure.

Ahala wasn't listening for anything in particular, but he did notice the strange, somewhat loud sound coming from behind him. He turned, slowly, in the water and saw this.. this creature looming over the shore. He screamed, trying to back away. Though, he was very unsuccessful as it was deeper waters and he could't tread water to keep himself afloat with his injury. He stopped once the water went halfway up his chest, breathing heavily, heart beating furiously in his chest. There was more blood coming from his wounds and mixing into the water now, especially from his back. The more of a concentration there was, the more it's bioluminescence showed through. It was glowing, fainly, in the water as it settled on the surface in gobs.

Votlyan stood hopelessly, shading his visor with his palm. He was there for a few seconds, before realizing he would have to act now! He didn't bother to make a noise, not after that last botched attempt. It was painfully clear that this man was frightened, but Votlyan wasn't sure how the being would react he was to come closer. As he crept closer to the hopeless being, there was another thing that became urgent: this man was bleeding, and considering how diluted the water now appeared, it would not belong before he bled out.

There was only one option left for Votlyan, he would have to take him out of the river himself, and do what he could to help tend to the being's open wounds. Votlyan was pessimistic, but this seemed to be the only chance he had. Leaping into the river, Votlyan intended to drag the flailing man out of the river an on to the dry ground. If Votlyan could prove that he was of no harm, perhaps the man would calm down, which would make tending to his wounds much easier.

Ahala screamed, flailing even more. He tried to push away the creature as it stalked cose to him and grabbed him, kicking and punching as much as he could. Touching the strange grey skin elicited a recoiling response from him. He panicked now, adrenaline rushing to allow him to get in a few more thrashes before his injured body just gave out. He didn't have the energy to struggle anymore, so he started pleading. The language was, of course, indiginous to his people. It sounded like a mix of human Greek and Mandarin. But, the tone was one of desperation and fear. No translation was really necessary.

Struggling to pull the unfamiliar man toward the dry ground, Votlyan let out a sigh, with a sound similar to a gust of passing wind. The constant flailing made Votlyan lose concentration between getting to the ground, and trying to calm down the being. There had to be another way that he could show this man that he was of no harm. He turned his head, unmasking the visor, albeit shying his face away from the being's view. The language the being spoke was unfamiliar to him, no doubt that the Actarian tongue Votlyan spoke was probably very alien to him...

"I am of no harm to you... Please calm down..."

Despite going out of his way to make his voice sound as calm as he could, it was still sharp, and the trees of which direction he seemingly shouted began to swing, as if a hurricane was passing by. Votlyan let him go, but he still loomed over the body. But what as? A guardian angel? Or a vulture? As much as Votlyan hated to think about it, the death of this being would benefit his voracious hunger. He sat for a moment in contemplation, but he had to stick to his morals. Votlyan let the being calm down for a moment, whilst trying his best not to salivate in front of the injured man.

"Please, let me go. Let me go!" He screamed, then when he was let go, he relaxed and fell into a heap. He stared at the thing looming over him. His eyes were wide, violet eyes that were filled with swirls of green. His brows furrowed. He reached out, his hand trembling, and touched the leg of the creature. Something was on his face. Something was.. off about it. Was it sick? It wasn't attacking him anymore. Not dragging him. Just.. speaking? Shouting. But what was it shouting?

Votlyan looked away. The glint from man's eyes began hurt his head. Was the sun out here..? He then squinted a bit closer to what was in front of him, albeit whilst covering himself with the full face mask he carries. There was something hidden behind the shade of leaves, but what. He couldn't leave to check, such a thing could end up scaring the injured being. He let out another eerie groan, pointed his hand at the covered wall. There was something else, definitely.... there.

Ahala looked at him, unable to take his eyes off of him. He was too delirious from blood loss to concern himself with what the groan and point meant. He was too concerned about what this creature was. What it was doing. His eyes started to close as he began to lose consciousness. "What.." He said softly, his head and body slumping down.

There was no other choice. Votlyan's curiosity got the better of him. He slid his leg away from the grasp of this possible companion, and walked toward the tree cautiously. At last, he reached the a wall covered in weak vines, and began tearing away at them. It was then, that he was astounded by what he saw: A massive light beside a fence littered with razor sharp blades. It shone so bright, that a sharp pain suddenly overcame Votlyan. He covered his visor in desperation, and let out a hiss of pain. A deafening alarm suddenly broke the serene purity of the jungle. They had probably exposed themselves to whatever beings lingered in this place, both of them would have to leave now. Votlyan ran back to the wounded man, and began to shake him. There had to be a way to keep him conscious long enough to find a safe haven.

Isaac stopped, tilting his head. He put the burning branch in water, turning to where the sirens came from. He stood still, processing it all in his mind. Military, people, life, fuel. He started walking.

Ahala's perception of the sirens was a little off. He covered his ears, curling up even though the movement streched the skin on his back and pulled the wound open a bit more. He whimpered. When he was picked up and shaken, he responded by going completely limp. Not only was this messing with his already foggy mind, it was doing more damage to his injuries.

Failure. It could be plainly seen that his efforts to keep the man conscious were hopeless. Now it seemed as though this being was truly at death's door, it almost seemed inevitable. Votlyan finally decided to pick the man up, holding him beside his shoulder. Becoming desperate, he took a moment to look at his choice of path: One way lead back to the waterfall, but there was little Votlyan would find there. The other way seemed to lead the origin of where this being came from. A chance had to be taken. What if this man had a safe haven? Or perhaps an ally that could help them both. Without a second thought, Votlyan ran the way this man seemed to come from.

As he ran from the loud sirens, hungry sensations began to tingle Votlyan's spine. A dying body is before him. Votlyan was famished, voices shook the corners of his mind, demanding that he eat. He began to salivate uncontrollably as he fled, these impulses were beginning to become horrifying.

Ahala trembled when he was carried, still weakly struggling against the creature's hold on him. He didn't mean to, but something began to happen.

In Ahala's species, there are two subspecies that're famous for doing a something along the lines of a mind meld. One can do it at will, whenever they please. The other can only do it when their emotions are uncontrolled, which usually, for them, meant during mating. Ahala was only half of this uncontrolled subspecies, but in a life or death situation like this, when his blood was so low and he was about to black out again (possible for good), a little part of him reached out. through the contact of their skin. The presence was strange, not a real sentience that would suddenly appear inside this other creature's mind. No, it was much more primal than that. But, the core of the meld, the emotions, were there and they were incredibly strong. Fear. Uncertainty. Drive. Love. Passion. All were behind that one touch, conveyed through an unseen tie for a moment. Just as suddenly as it occured, it stopped. Ahala was now unconscious once more.

Votlyan could not fathom what was going through the being's mind as it blacked out. He could only focus on his current objective of fleeing the scene. As the siren's loud noise became less clear, Votlyan took a moment to glance at what was behind them. Two small automatons suddenly appeared out from the wall, as if they had been hidden there inside some sort of socket. They began to repair the disguise, using gene-boosted stem cells to repair the tissue of the vine. The alarm began to stop, and the drones disappeared as quickly as they arrived.

A sigh of relief overcame Votlyan, as he turned back to the path before them. He hoped that they would not be too far from whatever hopeful haven awaited them.