<> * Zeke is a great buggy companion, because he is so large. Wait, that isn't sensical. His drones are on the outside. <> * Amadeus has made sure there are plenty of containment whatsits in the buggy, and he's driving off for the forest in the east, looking for... something. (That's geology! I think.) <> (ZEKE GETS BONUS CONTENT) (Easier than pasting everything to Cham.) * Hestia suddenly Nadesico popup to Amadeus alone! ~ Something very strange is going on here. ~ <> <> * Amadeus blinks and TSMcomms back, on the same private channel, ~Tia? What do you mean?~ ~ What're the odds that three separately-operating independent chain jumper groups would all happen to stumble on 'good' planets? Mathmetically speaking. Rough guess. ~ ~Low.~ (Zeke, you can't hear this! :() (NOT TO YOU) (Oh noes!) (Zeke does have tunnels though.) (Oh! Sorry. I thought it was buggy.) (No, I'm just doing it in here so Cham can see ongoing convo. Sorry for the spam.) ~Astronomically low. Why do you ask?~ ~ Because it's happening, that's why. ~ * Amadeus keeps driving, and he frowns. ~Is it... do you think they're consolodating their data, or using another data source, like the Sleythin files?~ * Zeke says, out loud, "This region of the planet has significant tunneling over long periods of time." Tunneling? ~ I don't know. They mentioned the Black Orchid and the... Cosmic Somethingorother as having records like ours. Both listed as independents. Not a coincidence. ~ * Amadeus slows and looks. <> * Amadeus blinks at the scenery, then says to Zeke, "Let's get out for a more thorough examination." ~No- what are we listed as, again?~ (Independents, yes?) (Yup!) ~The same thing. I'm going to give them a planet off the sleythin data... something harmless, as a bribe to keep funneling us info on those two ships.~ * Zeke nods slightly, adding as explanation, "The tunnels are of significant size. Taller and wider than an average human." * Amadeus whistles. "Seriously? Are your drones scouting them now?" No. ~... Oh, bullshit. It's the same kind of... yeah, give them a planet. It's fair, and some *real* independent work can't be a bad thing.~ They have been filled in over time with varying ages of soil. * Zeke looks over at Amadeus. "Perhaps a migratory pattern of... moles of an unusually large size." (Timeshifting this a tiny bit, what I'm about to say happens right ebfore my reentrance on #atc) * Amadeus chuckles. "Moles. There's been weirder." Have an estimate as to how far they extend? ~ Yeah. I'll let you know what happens but I personally want some answers. Signing off for a moment. ~ Poof! XXAFKASJFHLKJFDKFJH NO SIGNAL Far beyond this area, hence the migratory theory. * Amadeus starts flicking his eyes back and forth in a pattern, clearly taking some notes on his headputer. It would be a way to deal with the weather... (Okay and now I leap off!) (Sorry for the intrusion.) (NP) * Hestia (Todd@cpe-71-66-232-166.columbus.res.rr.com) has left #atctoo Get some samples, pictures, whatever. We're going to need proof for this, so future researchers know what to look for. * Zeke nods slightly. "That lends credence to the idea. Perhaps the large animals you saw earlier tunnel during dangerous phases." (Yeah, I figured this one was too easy.) (I didn't think of it until Ama brought it up.) That would make some sense. Let's get a closer look at them. (Yay, I came up with a theory! :D) (Good job Amadeus!) * Amadeus starts a-driving. To get pictures! Because capturing something that big is highly unlikely! (When you examine the DNA you'll find that the creatures here have, in essence, _totally different creatures_ inside their DNA, that express based only on ambient temperature changes. This is kind of like a chicken giving birth to a lizard because it's getting hotter.) (... that's a wacky as fuck idea.) (It is!) (It... really, really is, and holy what the fuck.) <> <> * Zeke's drones, the ones outside, start to give out a dim red light. It probably looks familiar. Metallica familiar. * Amadeus pots the shapes and and points them out. "There, see..." He starts driving up, carefully, for a closer and better look. <> * Amadeus peers, zooming in on one of the closer ones (also above them), trying to get a really good shot for a picture. (Camera eyes are awesome! Esp. when paired with microscopic vision!) <> (Do they also seem well-suited for tunneling?) (Nope!) (But they don't have to.) These don't look like your tunnelers, Zeke, but they're pretty fascinating just the same. (I cannot even tell you how weird this planet's genetics are. You have creatures which only have selection pressure on like a third of their active DNA profile at any one point in time.) (Haha. I'm sure that once testing starts, Amadeus is going to be VERY excited.) (Wow, that means they could side-evolve into things that had gotten massively mutated.) (Yes. Oops, it got cold, oh fuck, your cold form no longer works for that! Now you are dead. Oops.) (Teensy mistakes. Also, there's no chance we can take a grizzly monster back with us, is there?) (We could keep it in Tomas' room.) (I dunno. One of them would probably survive the fall if you sedated it.) (Also oh my god this is the worst version of this song in the ever.) (I just wanted to know if capturing one and transporting it back is even sensibly feasible.) (CHAM DOES NOT SUFFICIENTLY LOVE BON JOVI) (WHAT) (NOT WHEN HE IS EMO) (HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE BON JOVI) (RFM is up.) (THIS IS EMO JOVI) (It's playing the emo version of It's My Life.) (EMO JOVOVICH) (I haven't been able to listen to RFM since ever.) (Oh yeah, that is awfully emo.) (I had no idea you could make that song emo.) (You should get it fix'd.) (The bearmole will fit on the buggy.) (And you've got room in the ship.) (I'm sure we could drag it down.) * Amadeus focuses on one of the closer ones to the ground (and to them) and tries to, well, sedate it. With the power of smellings. (It also looks like it would survive if you sedated it.) (Maybe it will! I don't know! I have to roll something, don't I.) (Enh, no roll needed.) (Sweet!) <> * Amadeus winces a little at the sound. He drives up to it and says, "Looks like as good an opportunity as any we'll get." * Amadeus comms back to the others. * Zeke and the drones deploy out to bag himself a molebear. <> (Score!) * Zeke makes his grab, dragging it into the ship... where all the drones sit on it, looking down. They're very careful. He says to Amadeus, "It seems very sedate." Convenient for us. <> * Amadeus gets out of the lander and helps Zeke put it into a containment something or other. And incidentally double checks to make sure the creature's- yeah, it's alive. * Amadeus checks its teeth. Pretty gutsy for the prof. "If we're going to have a replenishing food supply, we may need to bring back an entire sapling, or at least some seeds and an abundant supply of leaves." * Zeke replies, "Yes, I agree." <> * Amadeus would be more disgusted, but meh. He wipes it off on the ground and looks around. "How to best do that... get Lexi here, maybe?" I... believe she could lift one, yes. (Are there any small ones around?) <> Let us find an appropriate sapling. * Amadeus nods in agreement and starts driving back, to the edge of the forest and towards the ship. <> (Yay, we win the lottery!) (There are a lot of them here.) (It within decent walking distance of the ship?) <> * Amadeus hits the comm and casts Summon Party Members.