ISS Downrider
Loinia (Planet 102-303)
It had been a number of weeks since the ISS Downrider had launched off on its ""maiden"" voyage. In that span, the crew had to acclimate to new, possibly cramped living conditions aboard the small ship. There was much mingling between the crew members, over meals and about any time in between. It could be a little hard to get away from it all when the farthest you can go is the next room or so. There was a brief moment of relief when the ship stopped to meet a supplier in town, one who Dahlia had previous work with. But as quick as it came, they were off again. In the meantime, the more tech savvy members of the crew had time to make minor improvements with the resources they had.
Now, the ship had finally reached its first destination: the backwater planet housing the strange building photographed by one of their captain's drones. It was located in a sparsely-inhabited system far north on the galactic map than planet Ayenee, and orbited around a quite large and vibrant star. While the planet was on the map, it sat on the very fringe of unknown possibilities. It's unusual radiation and dense vegetation made the small planet, Loinia, rather undesirable as real estate among even far-flung colonists. The landing on said planet was a little rough, in part due to the ship's out of date systems, and the less-than-apt overcast weather surrounding the landing area. It didn't take too long to find a clearing close to the investigation site and in the end, the small pilot managed to pull through with minimal issue. The compact ship descended upon the open clearing, its large engines blowing the grass flat around it as it landed. There was a small crunch as the ship's engines subsided, most likely some strain to the aged landing gear, but it was successful nonetheless.
Dahlia was the first out of the bridge, followed soon by Arbitrated, who kept the ships engines running for a few minutes. Whether it was intentional or just irresponsibility was up for debate. The captain turned the corner, activating the intercom on the control panel in the wardroom. "Alright crew, we have landed! According to atmosphere scans we are good to go without a suit. The radiation in the area is a little higher than usual, but I'd say it may be because of this system's star.. If you've ever been in a tanning booth, you've probably been in worse... The cargo bay door will be opened in five!"
With that notice out of the way, Dahlia departed to the cargo bay, with a bundle of papers in her folded arms. She took a mental note to check out that crunching sound when she had a chance, provided one of the many proclaimed engineers aboard didn't get to it first.
---
Cargo Bay
When she arrived in the cargo bay, Dahlia started counting heads of anyone already present. She was dressed in a rugged khaki vest and matching cargo pants that sat over a blue T-shirt The captain gave the others a minute to get themselves into the bay before beginning "Alright everybody!" The captain made her way to the back end of the bay, looking around the room briefly as she spoke. "Let's get situated with the landing area for a moment before we brief. Miss Shan got us in a spot as close to the site as possible, but it'll be a downhill walk. Bring what you need for a camp!" It seemed even the scholar was about as excited to get out of the ship as everyone else was.
With that, she flipped up the hard plastic cover protecting the door release lever, giving it a satisfying yank downwards. The rear door opened with a gradual hiss, the textured metal ramp extending down to the grassy floor with a groan. Soft natural light filled the cargo bay, washing out the white light provided by the cheap tube lighting that ran across the ceiling.
Outside the cramped ship laid more than a breath of fresh air. The ship had settled in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by forest and populated by tall grass and richly colored ferns. At least, it was tall: the exhaust blow-back from the ship landing had cleared up the place quite nicely for the group. The wind was steady but modest, which disguised the sound of water trickling down a stream not far off. The rather large local star sat at a morning position a ways above the horizon, its bright light strong enough to break through the gray layer of overcast clouds that filled the rest of the sky.
In one direction, the forest continued upwards as it thinned out into a balding mountain ridge which stood tall among the rest of the area. In the other direction, the canopy thickened as the forest poured out into a valley. Then again, they couldn't see too far from here to tell where it ended. The trees here we're large, and had strangely dark red bark, almost the color of blood. Their leaves came in all sorts of green shades, which all blended together to form a textured canopy. A careful ear could hear the sound of birds chirping in the distance, which broke the monotony of the wind rustling through the forest.
Loinia (Planet 102-303)
It had been a number of weeks since the ISS Downrider had launched off on its ""maiden"" voyage. In that span, the crew had to acclimate to new, possibly cramped living conditions aboard the small ship. There was much mingling between the crew members, over meals and about any time in between. It could be a little hard to get away from it all when the farthest you can go is the next room or so. There was a brief moment of relief when the ship stopped to meet a supplier in town, one who Dahlia had previous work with. But as quick as it came, they were off again. In the meantime, the more tech savvy members of the crew had time to make minor improvements with the resources they had.
Now, the ship had finally reached its first destination: the backwater planet housing the strange building photographed by one of their captain's drones. It was located in a sparsely-inhabited system far north on the galactic map than planet Ayenee, and orbited around a quite large and vibrant star. While the planet was on the map, it sat on the very fringe of unknown possibilities. It's unusual radiation and dense vegetation made the small planet, Loinia, rather undesirable as real estate among even far-flung colonists. The landing on said planet was a little rough, in part due to the ship's out of date systems, and the less-than-apt overcast weather surrounding the landing area. It didn't take too long to find a clearing close to the investigation site and in the end, the small pilot managed to pull through with minimal issue. The compact ship descended upon the open clearing, its large engines blowing the grass flat around it as it landed. There was a small crunch as the ship's engines subsided, most likely some strain to the aged landing gear, but it was successful nonetheless.
Dahlia was the first out of the bridge, followed soon by Arbitrated, who kept the ships engines running for a few minutes. Whether it was intentional or just irresponsibility was up for debate. The captain turned the corner, activating the intercom on the control panel in the wardroom. "Alright crew, we have landed! According to atmosphere scans we are good to go without a suit. The radiation in the area is a little higher than usual, but I'd say it may be because of this system's star.. If you've ever been in a tanning booth, you've probably been in worse... The cargo bay door will be opened in five!"
With that notice out of the way, Dahlia departed to the cargo bay, with a bundle of papers in her folded arms. She took a mental note to check out that crunching sound when she had a chance, provided one of the many proclaimed engineers aboard didn't get to it first.
---
Cargo Bay
When she arrived in the cargo bay, Dahlia started counting heads of anyone already present. She was dressed in a rugged khaki vest and matching cargo pants that sat over a blue T-shirt The captain gave the others a minute to get themselves into the bay before beginning "Alright everybody!" The captain made her way to the back end of the bay, looking around the room briefly as she spoke. "Let's get situated with the landing area for a moment before we brief. Miss Shan got us in a spot as close to the site as possible, but it'll be a downhill walk. Bring what you need for a camp!" It seemed even the scholar was about as excited to get out of the ship as everyone else was.
With that, she flipped up the hard plastic cover protecting the door release lever, giving it a satisfying yank downwards. The rear door opened with a gradual hiss, the textured metal ramp extending down to the grassy floor with a groan. Soft natural light filled the cargo bay, washing out the white light provided by the cheap tube lighting that ran across the ceiling.
Outside the cramped ship laid more than a breath of fresh air. The ship had settled in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by forest and populated by tall grass and richly colored ferns. At least, it was tall: the exhaust blow-back from the ship landing had cleared up the place quite nicely for the group. The wind was steady but modest, which disguised the sound of water trickling down a stream not far off. The rather large local star sat at a morning position a ways above the horizon, its bright light strong enough to break through the gray layer of overcast clouds that filled the rest of the sky.
In one direction, the forest continued upwards as it thinned out into a balding mountain ridge which stood tall among the rest of the area. In the other direction, the canopy thickened as the forest poured out into a valley. Then again, they couldn't see too far from here to tell where it ended. The trees here we're large, and had strangely dark red bark, almost the color of blood. Their leaves came in all sorts of green shades, which all blended together to form a textured canopy. A careful ear could hear the sound of birds chirping in the distance, which broke the monotony of the wind rustling through the forest.