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WHO: Eichi Tenshouin, Victor Nikiforov, Yuuri Katsuki
WHERE: Oros
WHEN: January 11th
WHAT: Gamma mission "WE ARE DREAMERS, SHAPERS, SINGERS, AND MAKERS"
WARNINGS: None

[Eichi had signed up for a research mission because it seemed the perfect choice. He wouldn't be left behind uselessly on the ship, but he wouldn't be thrown directly into the danger of the main mission. It's both lucky and unlucky that the two he wound up with are familiar with his condition, to an extent. They'll be more likely to understand that if he passes out, but he's already concerned about worry. He's kept silent this whole way about how the heat has his heart beating a little too fast to be comfortable, and how every step they take now over the dry land has him aching to take a break.

He's not sure if they called to stop because they noticed, or if it was simply convenient to stop in this small, shady section just at the base of a mountain. There's been no sign of what they're looking for yet. The tent is set up, probably a little sloppily, and Eichi is sitting on a larger boulder closer to the shade of the mountain, trying to subtly catch his breath. This mostly involves staring at the little O-7G7 plants, just two of them, pressed up against the mountainside and wondering when they'll be able to find signs of the creatures that are said to live on the east side of this planet.

Realizing that he's been silent for a little too long, Eichi lifts his head to give the tent a longer look now. He didn't help with it at all, so that was probably entirely Victor and Yuuri's doing. (Or one of them.)]

How exciting. Fufu, looking at a small tent like this, and how it's a little lopsided on one end... I feel like I really am adventuring. ♪ [They are adventuring. But nevermind that, he's pushing away complications to feel excited about living.]

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( He has a feeling he and Yuuri are more or less on the same page with regards to Eichi; they'd just been celebrating his birthday, and it won't do to be celebrating his life at his funeral anytime soon. It's still hard to say with the helmets obscuring everything, but the warp of his voice isn't so bad, and the oxygen converter is quiet enough to simply be a hum in his helmet, background noise.

He gives Yuuri's shoulder another squeeze, nodding his head as he steps away. )

No better time, and we don't know how cold it's going to drop after the sun's down. Deserts are like that, aren't they? I hadn't thought I'd find out firsthand quite like this!

( But the rest is a response to Eichi as Viktor heads on over, glancing down at the comm on his wrist. )

Boredom sounds like it's going to be the least of our worries. What was the information on their homes that we were given, again?

We've been told that they live in mud "huts" and that they may not be in perfect shape because the sun is so harsh here.

[All too aware of their concerned glances, Eichi pushes himself to stand up, wanting to rid himself of this horrible feeling of being weak and useless. He takes slow steps over towards the tent to meet them there.]

In other words, in dry terrain like this, we may not notice them until we stumble upon them a few feet away. Fufu, how tricky. I wonder if they build like this with that in mind?

[With that idea questioned, he ducks a little and attempts to step into this tent.]

They could've. [Yuuri keeps half an eye on the info that he's scrolling through, and the other half on his teammates.] They're supposed to be pretty peaceful, aren't they? Maybe they prefer to camouflage themselves instead of fight.

[Squinting at the vague picture of a Fek that's been included in the mission file, Yuuri hums quietly.]

I want to say it'd be hard to miss them when they're about twice as tall as the three of us, but um, I don't want to jinx it either.

( He waits for Eichi to make his way into the tent before gesturing for Yuuri to head in as well. )

Imagine, three times our size and camoflauged? It's too bad they don't have any recorded language. Could you imagine talking with them? Actually communicating? This can't be a first contact, since they're known and all this... ( he waves a hand, gesturing to the world around them; the stark stone faces, the scraggly trees and odd plants native to this world, the endless sands and baked ground that shows water hides somewhere under the surface. ) ... other stuff is being required.

( they're closer than they know. Viktor glances off into the distance, squinting against a haze that very well might be a mirage. stones stand in the far distance, shimmering.

stones, or the Fek? he goes still, listening and waiting. nothing seems to happen. nothing in the distance moves in any way to indicate firmly what it isn't. with a frown, he follows them inside the tent. )

We'll see about making contact sometime in the morning. No one likes unexpected guests showing up in the middle of the night.

( reaching for the sealing zippers for the tent interior, he taps a finger against his helmet as he works. the small double-stage area meant to catch oxygen leaks and carbon dioxide overflows is small and cramped; beyond it, in the oxygen rich interior, things are hardly spacious, but enough for the three of them. if they weren't afraid of sharing personal space. )

I wonder if the breathing apparatus comes out of the helmet proper.

[Again, Eichi feels like he's holding them back. They're not showing any signs of extreme exhaustion themselves, and even if the things they're pointing out are true, they feel like excuses for the uselessness of Eichi's body. He watches as Victor works, but even when it's safe to enter, he hesitates.]

Is it really safe to remove our helmets? I'm a little worried, you know? [He's having trouble breathing enough as it is.] If I'm going to die here, I'd like for it to be something grand. [Eichi.]

No one is dying here. [It comes out a little more sharply than he'd intended, but he's not taking it back.] We're fine. We packed enough supplies to last us for a few days, and we shouldn't run into any trouble if we're careful.

[Even as the words leave his mouth, Yuuri tries not to think about what Carolina had said. Something about things always going wrong on missions? He can already feel the first hints of nerves working its way into his body, the more he thinks about accidents that could result in death, like Eichi had already mentioned.

Yuuri shakes his head, like he's shaking those thoughts right out of his mind.]

Do you think we should keep the helmets on until we're sure, Viktor?

( Ah, goodness. Viktor's serious enough that he reaches out to clasp both companions by their shoulders, giving each a squeeze and announcing with no real sense of levity: )

It doesn't hurt to keep them on. So I suggest you both do.

( He's going to test if it's necessary, but he's not strictly going to say that. Part of planning is planning for the worst, so he does have a vested interest in seeing how minimally they need equipment to survive. )

How good are either of you with charades? I'm more worried about the microphones going out!

( he laughs... while also being serious. )

Hand motions we can all recognise, something like that. None of us happen to know sign language, do we? Alas...

( he'll pointedly attempt to usher both of them toward the inside of the tent. keeping his mind's eye on the rocks he'd seen in the distance. along with noting: )

I say we take a moment to work on that together out of the heat. With helmets on.

[My, what a shocking attitude. It actually pleases Eichi more than it offends him, since it's clearly just concern for him, and he smiles without addressing it. He doesn't need to, since Victor steps in like he does.]

I've had to use hand gestures instead of words before. Let's see... Important ones for a serious situation like this. Things like "wait there" and "be quiet" are simple and straight forward, aren't they? What other sort of things should we know?

[He decides to take a seat in the back of this tent, bringing his knees close to his chest for the time being as his chuckle forms into a cough again.]

[Yuuri looks down at Viktor's hand on his shoulder and forces himself to breathe. Though he was already all too aware of his mental weakness, he also knows that losing his temper at his teammates is the opposite of helpful. He needs to at least try to work through this.]

Sorry. [Comes the quiet apology, as Yuuri temporarily powers off the wrist communicator.]

We should figure out a sign for "danger" too. [A little obvious, maybe, but it's better to be safe than sorry.]

"Come."

( Viktor chimes in, checking the seal on the tent and nodding his own satisfaction. He can understand nerves on all their parts; regardless, they're in this, and handling it, and he is if anything more irritated by the presumptions of the crew overhead in the skies and the Captain who has refused to speak to them, but gladly asked for volunteers to head down on missions that trained scientists and diplomats should be handling. To say nothing of what the people out on the other missions might be up to in the meantime. )

And "I'm hurt." Or "I'm thirsty." Water's more important in times like these, and we're carrying more than what we should need, but that's not saying much. I'd prefer if we had twice what we've brought in.

( Does anyone want to actually use the filter for reclaiming body... waste... water...........................

Victor reaches up and thumbs over the catch and release mechanisms for his helmet. As he'd told both Yuuri and Eichi, they should leave their helmets on. It's with a serious expression on his face that he does pull his own helmet off, breathing in short and shallow with his helmet clutched in his hands. The oxygen quality in the tent is a little too high; he can feel the difference, frowning and giving an absent toss of his head to encourage his sweat-slicked bangs to move off his forehead. )

I need to play with the settings. This is probably a bit too oxygen rich.

( That said, he breathes very evenly, preparing to put his helmet back on in order to save on worrying over oxygen regulation.

The Fek have been watching their strange intruders for the last few hours, moving in the craggy valleys in the desert of their home, keeping to the stretches of shadow thrown by rock and conserving energy as they go. They're scouts, on alert even here with the tensions between themselves and the Trilk at an all time high. Younger, they jostle each other in the distance, while the elder amoung them have come closer in their patient, terrain familiar way.

Staring down at the oddity of the tent set up in the lee of stone, there may have even been admiration for the attempt at staying out of the face of the wind. The tent has some form of camouflage, but not enough to be differentiated from the Feks' eyes. They move into position, in a quiet, organised manner, until three of the eldest take points around the unfamiliar structure. It's surprising how quietly such large individuals can move, Viktor will think later; surprising how creatures capable of generating shattering force can move without disturbing the world around them.

Surprising when in silence, three Fek rear back on their hind legs, and bring their forelegs slamming down against the ground to stun the structure and the odd, two-legged animals that had crawled within.

The successive thumps don't stop with the first impact of feet on the ground; it changed into a thunderous tattoo as one Fek reaches out and grabs the tether for the tent on the right side, rearing back and tearing it free from where it's staked into the ground. THUD. Viktor's thrown to the ground of the tent, helmet still in hands. All of them are tossed toward the middle, then abruptly yanked toward the right side, something tearing with a thin sound. Viktor reaches out and pulls on Eichi, gritting his teeth and shoving the youngest member of their expedition toward Yuuri, shouting: )

Get back outside!

( Did any of them even have a damn knife on them?! It sounds like the world is crashing down around them, a landslide of seismic activity, the shadows of the Fek outside as long and interwoven with the vast shadows of the stone face leaning over them. It's a very real fear, that this might be an earthquake, that the thunder outside could be stone and they needed to be free or be crushed by whatever's going on.

The Fek won't make a move to harm the people who emerge, but the ongoing slamming of legs against the ground is enough to sweep feet from under people, making it easiest to crawl away, untouched by the massive looming natives. )

[Eichi had considered it a pleasant mood until now. Now, the ground shakes beneath him and he finds himself falling, his heart beating faster as he does. He's thrown this way and that, and then Victor grabs onto him just to throw him all the same. By the time he lands on Yuuri, he's coughing roughly and raising a hand to his helmet to try and stop it. Of course, that doesn't work.]

Put your helmet on! [He's never sounded so alarmed, but to be fair, there hasn't been all too much happening that's called for alarm. This, however, is very alarming. His eyes are wide and his chest is hurting from how his heart is reacting, and the rumbling of the ground is making it all worse. Still, he pushes himself, grabbing at Yuuri with clenched fists and trying to move towards the tent opening. But the ground shakes too much to keep his footing, and he falls again, down to his knees. He has to place his hands on the ground as well, wheezing in his next breath and looking back at Victor to check on him as well. Everyone needs to move, but he can barely move on his own.]

[Alarmed doesn't even begin to describe the emotions shooting through him right now. All he knows is that the ground is quaking beneath them, and Viktor still has his helmet in his hands instead of on his head where it should be.

Though he knows he should be following Eichi and making sure they both get out of the tent safely, like Viktor had practically ordered them to do, Yuuri finds himself hesitating anyway.]

Viktor, come on! [Any attempts to get to his feet send him crashing back to the ground, so he simply stays crouching close to the ground. Eyes wide with fear, Yuuri looks at Eichi, who's crawled the closest to the entrance, then back toward Viktor, clearly torn.]

Go!

( He shouts, not bothering to stand as he wrestles with his helmet and jams it back on over his head. He throws a hand out, pointing fairly imperiously out; )

I'll be right behind you both!

[The tent is going to be dragged away with them in it if they don't get out. That's what it feels like. Eichi is struggling, but he still manages to reach back, grabbing firmly at Yuuri's wrist and pulling. It's a clumsy motion that he makes multiple times, but he shoves Yuuri out of the tent first, since he's the only one he can reach, and crawls after him.]

[Thoroughly chastised--he can't believe Eichi had to push him out of the tent instead of the other way around--Yuuri turns around and pulls Eichi safely out of the tent, keeping an arm wrapped around his teammate's shoulder.

They come face to face with the Fek, and Yuuri freezes in place. They're much more terrifying up close, Yuuri decides faintly. With them towering over he and Eichi like this and practically moving the earth beneath their powerful feet, it hits Yuuri suddenly: even if they lean toward peacefulness, the Fek could very easily crush them if they felt threatened.

Just like they could crush the tent that they're still dragging around--the tent that Viktor's still trapped in. Yuuri finds his voice.]

Hey! [Still clutching at Eichi somewhat desperately, Yuuri doubts he makes an intimidating picture to these giants, but that doesn't stop him from trying anyway.] Stop--please! We're just here to talk to you! [His eyes darts frantically between the tent and the Fek, heart beating a rapid pace in his chest.

Then, miraculously, the Fek slow their stomping until it comes to a complete stop, giving them some reprieve from the shaking. Judging from the way they're just staring at him, Yuuri doesn't think it's because they understood his plea and decided to sympathize. He shrinks a little under the intense scrutiny, wondering if he and Eichi should just try to grab Viktor and make a break for it after all.]

( He has his feet under him before the most recent slamming of feet against the ground sends him stumbling into the partially collapsed tent, running his hand along the material as he moves for the exit on his other hand and knees. The Fek staring down at Yuuri moves the twin antennae jutting out the back of its head, blinking large eyes and tilting its head to the side as if Yuuri or his strange noises will make more sense if they're observed for long enough.

It's a matter of seconds, Viktor almost finding the collapsed entrance. It's when he has an arm free that the tableau of frozen observation breaks; the Fek all step back as one, and the Fek with the line of the tent's support in mouth jerks its head and turns, trotting off in tandem with the rest. The ground shakes less severely under their silent retreat; if Yuuri and Eichi pay particular attention, they'll note some of the Fek remain in the near distance, still watching.

Viktor doesn't notice any of this. He's caught and tangled in the tent, half dragging on the ground before he bodily rolls himself so the tent itself is carrying his weight while he's bounced and jostled and pulled along with the oxygen unit banging away behind. No knife on him, nothing to cut away, and Viktor twisting around to find he's well and truly snagged around his thigh and ankle, working his fingers at the knots and tangle with grim determination.

He frees his thigh from what had snagged his suit, finding himself as abruptly confronted with a second face of a Fek staring down at him. It keeps easy pace with the one dragging along the tent and machine and Viktor along, antennae on its head twitching. Water beads on the strange round protrusions on the sides of the Fek's mouth; no. Those are actually water, he thinks, hands clinging to material as the massive individual moves around to the back end of the dragging tent and bends down its head. A third Fek joins, and as suddenly as that, Viktor finds the tent being fully lifted from the ground and carried off by three Fek working in seamless harmony, Viktor carted along with them. He'd love to admire the artistry of that seamlessness, but instead he's trying to very carefully, deliberately work his ankle free. It's difficult, with how the material of the tent shifts and gives underneath him until he's wrapped back up in it again, a bundled curiosity being carted along to God knows where. )

[They are peaceful, it seems. But the idea of them being beneath these large, powerful creatures is still worrying. He remembers a conversation with Victor about elephants, and these remind him of them now. Large, powerful, peaceful but still killers. It would be so easy to accidentally step on any of them. He's ahead of Yuuri's thoughts just enough, placing a hand on his arm to try and snap him out of that worried staring as he leans back to reach for Victor.

It's just as that arm gets free, and just as everything shifts. Victor slips away, the Feks move to leave, and Eichi's body seizes up. He coughs more violently than before, his other hand clutching at his chest to try and get a grip of himself. He barely manages to croak out the words "Get Victor" before the coughing is too much.

With his helmet pressed completely against the ground as he's hunched over on his knees, Eichi can't see what's going on with Victor. He can't see if Yuuri decides to try and run after them or stays frozen in spot. He can only see sand, and even that gets obscured as more violent coughs send blood splattering on the inside of his helmet.

He hates this. He thinks this clearly in between every cough, and between every attempt he makes to try and move. He can't. What a useless body this is. Now, Yuuri needs help and support emotionally as well as in saving Victor, and Victor is in this predicament, and he can't do a thing. Now that he considered friends as more than just tools, now that he understood what they were worth, he still couldn't do a thing? He's so sorry for this pathetic body of his. He's sorry he can only cling to life and ignore the nauseous way his body is trying to force him to shut down.]

W-wait, where you going?!

[Yuuri barely hears Eichi's strangled words before he's taking off after the Fek, eyes on the bundle that they're carrying away. It isn't long before the sand that the Fek have kicked up from the ground form clouds that impede his vision, and he finally stops, gasping for air, eyes blurring with the strain of keeping up.

When his vision clears, the Fek are gone from sight, though Yuuri thinks he can still hear the ground trembling in their wake. Though the stubborn part of him wants to keep going, the more reasonable side knows that he won't catch up to them at the steady pace they're going. Besides...he'd left Eichi in a bad spot again, and Yuuri knows he can't keep being a terrible teammate like this. They got into this as a team, and he needs to remember that.

It's a short walk back to their original camping spot. The sheer terror of seeing Viktor carried off had cut through his anxiety and left him focused while he was giving chase, but it returns now in full force, making him tremble. Sinking down onto the ground beside Eichi, Yuuri tries to calm his breathing even as his vision starts to go dark around the edges in a very familiar way.]

Are...are you okay, Eichi?

[Voice small and thin, it's all he can manage to get out right now.]

Edited 2017-01-17 16:51 (UTC)

[He doesn't blame Yuuri for leaving him here. That's his one special person who's being carried away, isn't it? And he's just some boy, sickly already, soon to die regardless of what happens. Eichi doesn't blame him at all.

What he does blame is himself. He struggles to catch his breath, his own hands trembling as his helmet stays pressed to the sand. This is embarrassing. This is horrible. No one should see him like this, and yet Yuuri has come back to sink beside him.]

I'm sorry. [His voice is strained again, but he forces himself to sit up. He's as white as a sheet, blood on the inside of his helmet distorting the reassuring smile he tries to force.] We should be going after your fiancé, shouldn't we? You must be worried... But remember, the Fek are a gentle race. Even while we crawled between their legs, they were careful not to crush us.

I'm sorry to say, but I don't think I can move right now, you know?

[It isn't as satisfying to put your head in your hands when there's a helmet keeping your fingers from burying into your hair. Yuuri has this near-hysterical thought as he sits there in those ridiculous uniform suits, on some distance planet that is definitely not Earth. What had possessed him to volunteer for this mission? It had sounded so much safer than the alpha and beta missions and, spurred on by his own growing curiosity, Yuuri had signed up without really thinking. And now Viktor's been taken.

Eichi's voice sounds faraway, like it's being filtered through water, and Yuuri can barely process what Eichi's telling him as he withdraws further into himself. He squeezes his eyes shut. (What was I thinking?)] I don't think I can move either. [Yuuri chokes out, head still bowed.

Eventually, Yuuri's breath begins to slow to a normal pace and he lifts his head to stare at Eichi with distress.] Do you really think they won't harm him?

[And then...it takes him some time to realize exactly what else Eichi had said about Viktor. His mouth drops open in shock, momentarily distracted from the problem at hand.] Wait. What did you say about Viktor? The...the fiance part?

[Eichi is becoming more and more aware that Yuuri is not exactly with it right now. In a way, it's relieving to know that Yuuri isn't hyperfocused on how Eichi's body is this useless. He's busy with his own problems, and so he didn't have to see how this sickly boy almost was going to cry and be sick. He's pulled himself together, and now he thinks that he might have to be more solid for Yuuri's sake in one way, and depend on him in another. That might work out.]

They won't. [Or, they might, and the information might be wrong, but he won't say that. Instead, he reaches over to place a hand on Yuuri's shoulder, trying to squeeze and pull him back to his senses a little. He can't manage the force of even a small grip, so it's more of a pat. Even with that momentary distraction, Eichi keeps speaking on his original point.]

And besides that, Victor will be trying with all of his might to get back to you, you know? I bet he'll be staring at that ring the whole time like he did before you showed up. Your bond is stronger than the legs of the Feks.

[He's smiling, but it's hard to see past the blood.] Your fiancé will endure and keep shining, just like the sun. He won't be stomped out so easily.

[Yuuri stares, mind racing. Is it ridiculous of him to latch onto the whole fiance thing when they clearly have other problems to be dealing with? Maybe. And yet, he can't focus on anything else at the moment.]

Eichi. [His voice sounds oddly calm to his own ears, despite the almost painful thudding of his heart. He feels a little dizzy as he tries not to think about Viktor staring at the ring so often that even a then-stranger would have noticed.] Has Viktor been telling everyone that we're engaged?

[That's... an odd reaction to say the least. Eichi blinks, his trembling hand dropping away from Yuuri's shoulder. Mostly, he's just still recovering from his heart. He still can't move much at all.]

I don't know if he's told anyone else, but it isn't difficult to see. Fufu, are you embarrassed? How cute. Don't worry, I don't think anyone will think much of it. I think you two are a wonderful pair.

[So that's a "yes". Oh boy. Did that mean, when Viktor had said they were engagement rings that night before the finals started, he actually hadn't been joking? At this point, Yuuri's just so overwhelmed with everything that's happened, and he can't quite process this yet. Rather than thinking himself into a hole again, Yuuri tries to put this to the back of his mind for now. He has his answer. He needs to focus on their more urgent situation now.]

Okay. [He breathes in, fighting back the worry that gnaws at him.] Okay. Even if we can't move right now, we can still figure out what supplies we have left. [Most of it was still in the tent with Viktor, but they could retrieve the few things that had dropped onto the ground. He continues shakily.] After that, we'll find Viktor and the Fek.

Wait. Eichi... [As much as Yuuri's trying to pull himself together, there's still something that nags at him, something he needs to ask. His voice is small, uncertain.] Did he...did he really look at his ring all the time before I got here?

[It's hard to sit up, even, honestly. The sun feels too harsh and his breathing is all over the place. The blood is disgusting and distracting but he can't take his helmet off to clean it right now. And Yuuri is a mess, so he's trying not to reveal any of this. He should be strong, like a lion...]

Hm? [What a surprising question. He blinks a few times to snap out of his tired thoughts.] Yes. It's how I noticed it immediately, and over a long talk and tea, he kept gazing at it. He's enamored.

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