round 17 [NPC] The Cliff Dweller - ...and some alien intruders.

[Vylaa]

(( Clear Stream, Leutra IV, Leutra System ))

 

Millis: %##$@##5. What in the moons of Endor was that! ::Loudly.:: 

 

:: These creatures could really scream. The purple one hadn't been kicked over by her attack. A different method would need to be used. But whether the Cliff Dweller was actually capable of thinking one up... Well, maybe now, but certainly not before. She'd already been alive before the new young-ones were put in the river. It hadn't felt like a sudden change to any of the Dwellers. Instead of putting the eggs on the side of the water, their instincts now told them to put them in, and let them be carried off by the stream to get their eyes in the caves. Out of all the creatures who had gotten their eyes at a later age, she'd been among the group who had adapted the best. At first, she'd gotten quite a bit thinner due to her brain having to adjust and her constantly missing the insects she hunted, but now she functioned almost normally. She even didn't mind the low humming whenever she spotted something unusual and the hard bits in her eyes suddenly started moving. ::

 

:: Their offspring would hatch into the water as half-naked, blind animals, but return about one light-cycle later still only partly feathered, but now with eyesight and strengthened latching claws. They still smelled as 'child', and the only difference was that because it was unclear which were whose offspring, they were raised in random nests. None of the Dwellers had ever questioned or even consciously noticed that change. Even if they were more advanced, they probably still wouldn't have. ::

 

MacFarlane: Who’s there? I’ll get ya!

 

sh'Idrani: You're bleeding! Were you attacked?

 

:: The other creatures were now also very loud. They all gathered around the one she'd wounded, then stayed there for a while, making movements she couldn't quite follow or understand. They didn't seem to want to leave, though. Maybe she would have to try again? ::

 

:: After things had calmed down a little, and the purple one had some weird flap covering his wound, she crawled closer again, but with much more care this time. One of the red ones was also near the stream now. If one of them was hard to scare off, how would two be? No, her gut told her to lay in wait. Another opportunity would come. Maybe a distraction. ::

 

:: But... Not one of the distractions that were common in the forest. A sound from very high-up suddenly sounded, and another not-living light was visible, almost like a smaller version of a flash. A strange thing she couldn't place or recognize flew down through the sky, and then a bang louder than anything she'd ever heard before made the trees shake. The Cliff Dweller let out a loud cry of warning, and flew up in a wild panic. What was that? It had happened in close proximity to the river. With the protectiveness over the eggs once again overriding her natural panic response, she hopped over the trees until she had enough momentum to take off. The odd living creatures were also running towards the place where the bang had sounded from. ::

 

Millis: Look over there! ::It was really close and they could be there in just a few minutes.::

 

MacFarlane: response

 

:: She came to a halt at the bottom of the hill, near the crater, and her panic response decided to finally work a bit more. She stood frozen, next to the red and blue creatures, and neither seemed to notice each other. The heat and light was disorienting to her, but then, finally, some organic form moved away from the rest of the heat. It... had the same red colour. The Cliff Dweller just stayed there, half hidden in the leaves, half near the spot where the intruders were standing, and looked up with big, wild eyes. ::

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The Cliff Dweller

???

Leutra IV Inhabitant

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Played by:

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Ensign Shrega sh'Idrani

Security Officer

USS Gorkon

G239401SS0