Story Game v2.0

*Steps on Banj's toes and hopes to not contradict his idea*

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Huwo looked on at the pack of apes sitting motionless on the forest floor. There was no movement yet. No change. Only stillness and anticipation. Huwo turned and left them waiting. The wounded leg made it difficult to move, difficult to stand. It made this body weak. Huwo reached out an arm to maintain balance and the hand settled on the nearest tree trunk. Upon contact it immediately pulled away. It felt odd. The tree.The bark. He touched another tree and it felt the same. As did another. And another. They all felt wet and sticky, as if covered with sap. And now his hand felt sticky too. Huwo sniffed the hand. Tasted it with a reluctant tongue. It was not the sweet taste of sap. He stepped back into a shaft of light that cut through a gap in the canopy. Now out of the shadow he could clearly see the substance that covered the trees and his hand. It was red. Red like the wound on his leg, like his weakness. The red was everywhere and the colour induced a new instinct, a new feeling, one never felt before by him or his kind. Not the feeling of bark, not the touch of hard nor soft, not smooth nor rough. It was not a feeling "out there". It was in here. It was something inside. Huwo felt ... "guilt". He opened his mouth to express it, to communicate it, but the only noise was the scream that was heard when he died. Bouncing and echoing beneath the forest canopy the sound remained while Huwo did not. On the ground where he had stood, a fine coating of silver dust rippled like a wave of misty, metallic water. With a swell and an ebb, a swell and an ebb, the dust rhythmically surged back to the pack of apes. It settled for a moment and then, like a time reversed splash, concentric circular ripples collapsed inwards to leave only the shiny sphere.


Of course I'm nervous. Who wouldn't be? Everybody gets nervous. You're SUPPOSED to get nervous. It's how you deal with it that matters. Nerves are there to keep you on your toes. To keep your senses sharp. Show me a man without nerves and I'll show you a fool. Or a robot. Speaking of which, ours is secured at the back of the shuttle. Our very own robot. It's not an android, though. It's a quadruped support drone. This one's a Dynix Ordem model 990. DO-990. Yep, that's right, we call it Doggo, you're way ahead of me here. You've gotta have a sense of humour when you're a soldier. It gets you through the dark times. Not that I've had any though. But the older guys, they've been in battles, they've seen Combat. (They always say it as if it's capitalized.) Part of me wishes that I had, at least people take you seriously then. Until then, you're only really pretending to be a soldier. Everything's training. Everything's practice. Everything's make believe. This is real though. We're landing on an alien planet, a real alien planet, and there's no need to be nervous cos the robot's coming with us. I just hope I don't get the babysitting duties. I'm not really a tech person. Switch it off and on again, that's all I know. I'd much rather have another soldier watching my back. A band of brothers, and all that. Mutual trust and respect. But you've gotta have something expendable, I suppose. Especially if it's more expendable than me. Then again, putting your trust in one of those machines is always a leap of faith and I'm not always one for leaping.

"Suit up, people. Suit up!" That's Sergeant Holst. Barking out his orders. And we're already in our suits, we put them on before we got in the shuttle. He just means that it's time for the helmets to go on. All sensors and scans say that we should be able to breathe fine down there, although the Oxygen/Nitrogen ratio is a bit smaller than we're used to, but we should all be fine. Nothing to be nervous about. But you know how it is. First ones down have to be careful. The suit's a precaution. We do it so they don't have to. The scientists, I mean. Some people might say that we're the guinea pigs but in reality, we're the canaries. But there's nothing to be nervous about. We're canaries with guns. And why does that make me more nervous?
"I SAID, 'Suit up!' It wasn't a serving suggestion. It was an order and you take orders, don't you, Jinnik?"
Jinnik, that's me. And he's right, I do take orders, so the helmet's going on. It locks into place with a satisfying thunk. I hit the pressurize switch with the palm of my hand and system boots with a disorientating hiss. My ears pop and the glass in front of my eyes fogs for a moment. It clears and I see Sergeant Holst's pretty face. He's loving this.
"There you go, lad." I nod at him as he pats me on the head. Then he says, "Now you're ready to take Doggo for a walk!"
And I try not to groan.

Hawa touched the tree. It left her hand warm and sticky. And red. She licked it without hesitation. It felt thick in her mouth. Overwhelming. She walked away from the pack. She walked away from Huwo, moving with a comfort and agility that he couldn't manage with his wounded leg. She plucked a familiar berry from an overhanging branch and placed it in her mouth. Hawa recalled the taste of that berry, its sharp, refreshing tang. She recalled it but didn't experience it now. She spat it out, licked her red hand once more and moved past the fruit.
Hawa emerged from the treeline that marked the edge of the forest, the extent of her habitat. The limits of home. Away from the shelter of the trees she felt exposed but unafraid. She felt like a leader, an explorer. She felt strong. The clarity of the atmosphere allowed her to see an enormous distance. She looked out and cast her curiosity far, seeing foreign forests different from the one she called home, distant rock formations holding aloft waterfalls and undulating lands spreading to the horizon.
Hawa's gaze even extended to that singular mountain that stabbed upwards into the clouds and beyond. The mountain kindled a sensation inside her. A feeling of...
Whatever the feeling was it was shattered by a sound from above. Startled, Hawa backed away, returning to the forest, and peered out from behind a tree. She saw a strange angular creature descending from the sky, spitting down a hot glow and coughing noisy, bitter, gases as it slowed and landed. The creature stayed there as if dead or resting until finally it seemed to open up. It was like the creature was giving birth to several tall apes with strange, shiny skins and a dull grey beast with four heavy legs.
If Hawa had remained she may have seen those creature move out and explore. She may even have seen one of them approach her. But Hawa was no longer here. All that was here was a shiny sphere.

The mountain looks astonishing. Never seen anything like it. It just looks too sharp. It's like a tooth biting into those purple clouds. You know, my dad used to climb mountains when he was young. He always wanted me to go along with him but I'd always be off doing my own thing. Kind of regret it now. Man, he would have loved to see this. I hope we get to go there. This is gonna be awesome. This whole place is amazing. THIS is why I joined the military. To be at the front line, the frontier. To be the first, the best. This is something to tell your kids about when you're old. Something to tell EVERYONE about. And they'll look at me like I'm some kind of hero. I can't believe I was nervous about-
And there goes Doggo bleeping away again. Always interrupting the special moments. That's the problem with robots. They scan, they analyze, they record and report but they don't UNDERSTAND. They'll never get what it feels like to be out here exploring.
"Yes, Doggo," I call out after him. And yes, it is a "him". You can tell. "I'm coming," I say as I turn. And there's Doggo. He's about 50 metres away at the edge of that forest, so I raise my weapon and check him out through the MagScope. He's standing alert as if he's found something by that tree. If he was a real dog he'd be wagging his tail.
"Jinnik to Holst." I get on the radio. "Jinnik to Holst."
"Report."
"Doggo's chirping up. He's acting like he's found something."
"Better not be another glitch."
"I'm doing the best I can here, Sarg. I'm closing in to check it out."
"Negative, Jinnik. Hold position. The team's on their way."
Hey, I go in anyway. We're not just soldiers here. We're explorers. It's like my old dad climbing mountains. Because it's there. I get to the robot, aiming my weapon, just in case. What is it, Doggo? Whatcha got there?"
His big head turns to 'look' at me. I wish it had proper eyes but it's just weird sensor stuff that makes him look pretty ugly. The head turns back and points at the ground. I go past the robot and crouch down to look. And I see it. I see it and I can't help but laugh. I look back at Doggo and then back at the shiny sphere but the sphere is gone.

Three hours later now and I'm at the debriefing back on the ship. It's just me and Holst although I'm sure there are others listening in. I've told my story. Again. And now I'm just waiting for him to say it.
"So," Holst says, "While all the REAL soldiers were securing the landing position and making it safe for the science teams you and your metal friend were off playing fetch with an imaginary ball."
I'm sure I can hear laughter somewhere. They're all laughing at me.
I just wanted to be taken seriously for once. To be a proper soldier. Doing real work. And this is what I get.
But I saw that sphere. I don't care what Doggo's records show. And I don't care if they don't believe me. I SAW that sphere. And if they don't listen they're gonna regret it.

Yeah, I wouldn't want him on my team.
That's why he always gets Doggo Duties. I bet he doesn't even scoop the poop either.

But maybe he'll be useful if they ever get to that mountain.