Things That Go Bump In The Daytime

Posted on Mon Jun 7th, 2021 @ 3:46am by The Narrator & Alison Bliss & Tristan

Mission: I Ain't Fraid of No Ghost...
Location: Landing Pad on Ghost's Surface
Timeline: November 1

Standing on the Echo's ramp, suited and booted, James held the line between ship and surface danger. His radio linked to both parties with the flick of a channel switch and his gaze tracked for any sign of trouble. Beyond his sheltered position was the wild, untamed world some folks were investing a great deal of money and time in making profitable. Right now, though, it looked like a storm in one of those snowglobes, the sound of the increasing wind promising a sand-blasting to anyone who ventured too far.

Above him, Alison and Tristan sought the source of the noise. THUMP. Thump. thuuump.

"See anything?" James asked.

Alison walked around the ship trying to get a better angle but she still couldn't see anything. Breathing through the mask wasn't the most comfortable, especially that the rarely used mask wasn't smelling the best. "No." She replied to James, hearing the more or less regular thumping from the top of the ship. "Whatever it is, it is on the top of the ship. I am going to get up." She turned to Tristan. "Stay close." She prompted him and took the lead. Getting on the top of Echo wasn't the easiest.

Tristan nodded back to her, trying his best to breathe only when necessary.

Claiming using small foot rests and various handles was not as bad as she thought, but it required a lot of attention. Before moving up, she had to make sure the other resting points are safe for her to use. Not to mention that a couple of handles was missing, forcing her to use maximum of her reach and stretch almost acrobatically as if climbing rocks. "Tristan, if you want to follow me, be careful." She said slowly getting to the top. "Whatever it is, it better not be alive." She murmured. "I am coming on the top!"

"Right behind you," Tristan said as he did his best to push forward. His short reach was slightly annoying in this moment, finding it difficult to get his footing as good as Alison could. But after slight struggle, was able to follow her closely.

As Alison's head cleared the rounded edge of the old Firefly, she could see a mid-sized rectangular crate. It was dark blue, battered by wind and dust, straps that might once have wrapped about it to secure the contents whirling in the eddies of Ghost's weather. It was big enough to carry something fairly substantial, or perhaps someone's belongings, similar in size to Kindra's travelling trunk. This one, however, seemed to have either a personality all of its own, or harboured something alive within, as it rocked back and forth with that uneven rhythm. Thump. Thuuuuump. Repeat.

Tristan lifted himself up, finally seeing what Alison could as he got right up next to her. "That's not what I was expecting," he said, speaking to the woman but not turning to look at her. The last thing he wanted was to look away and miss something. He reached for his gun and held it up, "Should we go see what it is? If it's alive, it seems to be contained. At least for the moment."

"Question is... how it got up here?" Alison glances at Tristan unsure what to think about it. Then she moves in closer, first to take a good look at it. Either there was something inside the crate, but most likely the bad weather and winds of not-fully terraformed atmosphere played its role here. At least that what she hoped for.

While Alison moved closer, Tristan's wider angle view brought him half the answer to the pilot's question. Caught up in the top side of Echo's gravity collar was a parachute, the lines of which were snagged in the outer casing of the rotor housing, flapping like streamers in the uneven breeze out behind the ship.

"I think I may have something," Tristan said as he broke away from Alison's side to investigate the snagged lines. He plucked one in his hand and followed it to where it was caught on the ship.

Alison's shadow passed over the observation window, her shape visible briefly to those in the cockpit if they were looking out. Her closer look at the big blue boxy crate gifted her some potentially unexpected sounds via the sensors in her sealed helmet - it genuinely sounded like something inside was barking? A wounded, worried sound, slow but constant.

Whatever was inside this sealed, windowless crate didn't sound happy about it.

"It better not be an another puppy." Alison murmured under her breath, putting her right hand on the pistol while she reached out with the left one and placed it on the top of the crate. With all the muffled sounds, she hoped to get more information by touching the crate. Maybe through vibration or something. She glanced toward Tristan. "Can you cut it loose? We could then throw it off the ship."

"You found a what?" James checked in, and got no immediate reply. He scuffed his boot on the cargo ramp and muttered under his breath.

Alison's physical contact with the crate brought a shuffling motion - definitely felt like a single presence and smaller than a human - and then nothing. Whatever was inside had shifted itself to the far end of the crate and then stopped moving.

Tristan pulled out a knife from his pack and began sawing at the lines. "Yea, give me a little time," he said as the knife went to work against thick, braided cords.

"Sure." Alison said moving around and touching the other side of the box, trying to maybe have the creature inside to move across the box again and allow her to gauge what it was, or at least what's its size and weight.

A low growl accompanied Alison's shifting of the crate's weight and internal passenger, but that sound was short-lived and quiet. Something in the 55-65lbs kinda region, maybe. Small child or mid-sized critter. Meanwhile, Tristan's blade severed the lines, eventually getting enough cut through to release the chute and let it ripple on swiftly down, over the side and blow into the port engine.

"Hmm... There is something alive inside. We can try to throw the box off the ship and check it on the ground or carry it down, and take it inside the ship." Alison suggested as she moved her hands on the surface of the box, slowly but probably audibly to whatever was inside, trying to make it move again. At the same time, she was checking the box for any logos, numbers, names, writings, notches, anything that could help her identify what was inside.

There was a logo, battered and scraped and faded by time and the fledgling atmosphere of the planet on which they now rested. Alison recognised it as a cargo company's sigil, which meant the broken letters alongside it suddenly became obvious. Pets R Us. Any numbers or tags that might have previously been with the crate had long since worn or been broken away.

"Let's take it down." Alison sighed. "I have a feeling there is a dog inside. Or something similar."

"On my way." Tristan slide the knife back into its holster as he walked along the edge of the ship. He glanced down at his watch, checking the time, then looked around him. Twisting his foot on the slick surface, he stumbled and slid down the opposite side of the ship, landing on the alien surface with a thud.

A moment passed before he got his wits about him. "Ow, that hurt," he said. "You'll have to bring the box down yourself, Ali. I'll meet you back on board."

Alison hesitated, leaving the box, she moved past it and leaned over the edge to see Tristan. "You all right?" She asked looking around and seeing him up she shook her head. "I ain't carrying this down." She added, turned, and walked back to the box.

"Certainly not alone." She murmured under her nose and then pulled the box over to the edge. Then walked around it and pushed it far enough for it to fall down on the ground on the spot there was no one below. Last thing she needed was it to hurt someone. "INCOMING!" She shouted moments before it hit the ground.

Now she rushed to get down the way she came.

To find James standing below, looking at the crate. "Hey," he said, casting his gaze back up where Ali had come from. "You found a dog? Up there? Huh..." He stacked up to one side of the box and hefted the whole thing upwards with consummate ease. "Watch my back, we'll get this into the main airlock and have a look before we take it all the way inside. Or not, huh?" He added with a smile.

Alison nodded in agreement. "Take it in the airlock. We will lock and release it there. Dog or something else, I don't want it inside the ship until I will be sure it won't present threat to the ship." She said firmly despite her helmet distorting her voice. She moved ahead of James, making sure there was nothing in their way. "Where is Tristan?" She asked looking around.

"Yes ma'am," noted James politely enough, already taking long strides towards the Echo's vehicle airlock. "Not had a dog in a long time," he said as he let Ali get past him. "Tristan?" James tried the comm with no reply. Then to Ali. "Guess he went back inside, took off his suit?" The younger Ezran offered. There was more than one way into the Firefly obviously. "After you," he added, waiting on the cargo ramp for Alison to open the door so that they could both step inside.

Alison shook her head and walked up the ramp. "Drop it here." She pointed at the space between the closing ramp and the second door, acting as the airlock.

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