Follow Ali’s directions. Ask if she wants to come with
Taking Ali will make it less dangerous, she knows the rules of civilization better. She also might explain things we'll have use for. And it'll improve our relationship with her further.
You use your mouth to grab Ali's sleeve and gently tug it while looking at her in the eyes.
"Come."
She sighs and shakes her head.
"I've already told you, I can't."
You keep looking up at her.
"Please. Come."
She takes a deep breath, as if she's about to say something, but she doesn't. She's silent for some time, the two of you staring into each other's eyes. Then she raises her hand and scratches you beneath your chin and you know she understands your feelings. You immediately relax and close your eyes. A moment later she grabs your head and makes sure you're looking at her.
"Just to the store, then right back here. Okay?"
"Okay!" you reply while wagging your tail enthusiastically.
Ali changes her clothes while you prepare your pack. The clothing she chooses to wear is darker, thicker, sturdier than what she normally wears, covering almost all of her skin. Even her shoes cover her entire lower leg with a thick layer of plastic. It looks uncomfortable, but you don't try to change her mind.
...
The two of you stand in front of the door. Ali looks at you.
"Ready?" she asks.
"Yes." you reply.
"Okay. Stay close."
With that final piece of advice she raises her hood. She places one hand on your back, grabbing one of the straps of your pack. With her other hand she presses the button that opens the door.
She watches the world beyond the door carefully. A deep breath. A tentative first step. Exhale. Another careful examination of the hallway before closing the door. You don't mind having to wait. You remember how you felt the first time you went out. You
still feel somewhat uncomfortable about having to go outside in a world full of unknowns. She probably feels the same. Or something similar. After all, this isn't her first time going outside and she knows a lot more than you. But this might be her first time going outside without her parents.
...
The relaxation is gone now. The streets are full of people at this time of day. Many of them stare at you while you pass them by. You move closer to Ali to the point where she's leaning against you. You know you're supposed to be the one protecting her, but having her here by your side helps you feel safer.
It's hard to pay too much attention on your surroundings when you have to watch out for so many people. This deep into the tower the light on the streets is entirely artificial. The lamps on the ceiling above the streets are dim and intermittent, but the stretches of street between the areas illuminated by the lamps are not dark. The light coming out of open doors, from signs with glowing symbols or holographic displays illuminate those areas with shifting colorful patterns. There's the constant noise of people walking, shouting, talking (many of them in non-human languages), of machines working, of hovercars whizzing past, of hovering droids and screens, of music and advertisements. There's an overwhelming amount of strange smells, the scent of unknown creatures, burnt meat, smoke from smoke-sticks that makes your eyes sting.
Suddenly the crowd becomes thinner, thin enough that you can easily see the tarnished floor of metal and plastic you've been walking on. There's a line of people leading to a door surrounded by colorful lights. The door is guarded by two armed humans. A biped that looks like a human with green skin and fleshy growths on his head is talking to a brown three-eyed biped at the front of the line, showing it something in his datapad. A fragile-looking biped droid walks near the line, speaking in various languages at the people waiting there. Gigantic holographic dancers move constantly on either side of the door, moving to the rhythm of loud music. The song is in a strange language but you can make out some human words mixed in there, the pronunciation marginally better than yours.
You spend a few seconds staring, trying to understand what you're seeing, before Ali tugs on your harness and you continue on your way. The two of you squeeze your way through the line and continue on.
...
You finally reach the place Ali described, a small building squeezed between two support pillars. There's a sign above the door made out of glowing symbols. You're glad Ali came with you. You're not certain you could had made it here if you were left on your own. It's not too far away from home, but the trip here certainly felt long. You can't wait to go into the shop, away from the crowds.
The shop is a dark place. There are transparent vats with things in them, their surface occasionally disturbed by a few rising bubbles. All around them there is the clutter of tools and humming machines, some of them with tubes going into the vats.
Behind the counter is one of the weirdest things you've seen so far. There's a floating machine that's carrying a container filled with water. Through its transparent walls you can see a creature made entirely out of eyes and fleshy appendages. The appendages move constantly, reaching out of the container, grabbing things and then letting go, adjusting knobs, pushing buttons. Sometimes they even appear to be fighting each other. Two remain wrapped around two sticks at the bottom of the container, their every twitch translating to a sudden movement of the floating machine.
Even though it is serving another customer (filling circular containers with a dark paste for a biped with green scales) Ali comes forth and places her order: 3 synthsteaks and 1 flavor pack. The creature doesn't reply but its appendages move to fulfill the order. The number 70 followed by the symbol for credits appears briefly on a screen on the floating machine.
"No. 20." Ali replies firmly.
[30?] the screen asks.
"20." Ali insists.
[20] the screen agrees.
Ali prods you towards the counter. You take out the orange credit chip from your pack and place it on the counter. An appendage immediately grabs it and places it on a shelf before another appendage grabs it and shoves it somewhere beneath the counter. A third appendage hands you a blue and red credit chip in return. Ali checks them to make sure they're not counterfeit while she waits for her order.
You watch as the creature works the machine that weaves the fake meat into shape, the strands of white material joining together until they've formed something that looks somewhat like the flesh of a living being. They are then put into small containers which Ali puts in your pack, along with a plastic bag full of a brown liquid that you assume is the flavor pack.
Lost: 20 credits
Gained: 3 synthsteaks, 1 flavor pack "Thank you." Ali says to the creature and walks away from the counter. If the creature heard her, it doesn't show it in any way you can understand.
"See? That wasn't so bad." she says, though you aren't certain if she's talking to you or to herself.
Age: a few weeks (hatchling)
Size: about the size of a large dog
Status: hungry
Health: fine
Weapons: claws and teeth
Armor: soft scales
Abilities:
- Glide: You can glide in order to survive falls and quickly move great distances, though your wings are too weak to allow you true flight. However you can use favorable winds and updrafts to increase your glide time.
- Rudimentary Human Language: You are able to understand human language to a very basic degree. You won't understand everything though and there will likely be misunderstandings. You can also attempt to speak, but you can only form simple, short sentences and it's very hard for others to understand you.
- Large Sonic Rifle covered by old torn clothes (in Maintenance Tunnels, behind a pipe)
- Pack with plastoid tape modifications (equipped on left side)
- Half-used medpac
- 230 credits (1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 red)
- half-used roll of plastoid tape
- flashlight
- small can of droid oil
- small metal toolbox
- 3 synthsteaks
- 1 flavor pack
- Ali's Apartment (Lair): A tiny 2 bedroom apartment. The little human Ali lives there with Dad/Jobal and Mom/Ania. Room 327.
- Ali's Apartment Tower: Apartments arranged in a circle. Clean, bright, mostly locked doors, few hiding places. Little traffic during the night.
- Eiwhyl's Clinic: Sells medpacs and other healing items and provides treatment. Warning: stabby. Room 509.
- Streets: Dirty streets, parked hovercars, shops, building entrances, street vendors, little traffic during the night.
- Maintenance Tunnels: Interconnected tunnels, small and large, going low and high. Connect various streets and buildings. Wires and pipes. Dark, dirty, with old machines constantly rumbling. Scavenger-vermin and hunters-of-vermin.
- Garbage Pit: A large room with mountains of garbage half-submerged in a sea of sludge. More garbage frequently arrives from holes in the ceiling. A monster lurks here, may pull prey underwater.
- Hydroponic Pool A room with a large pool filled with plants. A ceiling full of bright lamps. A spherical gardener-droid takes care of the plants. Patrolled by hostile gunmen. A corridor leads to other rooms. Storage room. Processing room. Other rooms are unexplored.
Poll
1 (6.7%)
Author
Topic: Surviving in an Alien World [Suggestion Game] (Read 107070 times)