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RP: YSS Celia Mission 2: [Essia] Diplomacy in the Jungle

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Yangfan

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The Aerokitty was making good progress toward the planet, despite the fact that the Celia was in an unreasonably high orbit when the shuttle began its trip. Everyone had put on their AMES suits. The crew sat in silence as the planet loomed ever larger on the main view-screen.
 
Through the windshield or viewscreen of the shuttle, the pilot and copilot would see a very thickly lush jungle and a very high mountain range cutting through areas of the jungle, high enough to be snowcapped. The main continent was indeed wrapped around Essia's equator like a belt.

Nagashun had already informed her priesthood about the incoming visitors, the general populace were told to remain calm and go about their lives. As they dipped down through the atmosphere ((moving you down slowly by saying what you see)) and would see old Mayan style pyramids coming out of te jungle, they were exquisitely well built for low technology.

In an area that was fairly far from the pyramid structures that marked a city. For reasons of preventing mass panic, the sensors of the shuttle would read a strange energy emanating from the atmosphere that would guide them toward a large open clearing in thejungle. Soon the goddess' voice and appearance would appear on their shuttle again. "Please follow the energy to the clearing, to prevent mass panic and hostility, I suggest you land in the predesignated area." She winked at Henry. "I"m sure a handsome young man like you can do that for me right?" She winked before shimmering out. With that they were free to make whatever assumptions they wished.

On the surface in the jungle around the clearing, three templars awaited them, three of the biggest snakemen they'd ever meet. Issus, the leader of the group leaned back on his long heavy bodied coils with his muscular arms crossed, reviewing what the priesthood had told them hours before. With him was another large male Separa with scarlet red, amber yellow and black bands around his lower half...a king snake with coloration mimicing a venomous coral snake. On his right and half concealed in the brush was a smaller, more slender female with more feminine features of the face and smaller musculature with drab dirt brown coloration on her lower half. Issus, Salmis, and Angonis silently awaited the new visitors.
 
Kaori sat silently in the shuttle. His arms crossed and his head lowered. His eyes closed. He was, in a somewhat meditative state, fully aware, and yet seeming very distant from the rest of the crew. he calmly focus his mentality for the mission. For most of the hardest battles were mental, not physical.
 
After the image of Nagashun had shimmered away, Henry nodded to the pilot. "Do what she says."

The shuttle flew at a relatively high altitude until it was directly above the clearing, and then descended straight down at a leisurely pace, landing almost silently. The shuttle hatch opened with a slight hiss of air.

Out stepped Henry, clad in his AMES. He was followed by Shina, Motoyama, Mazda, and Drake, all of them in environmental suits as well. Their rank pins had been pinned to the outside of their suits for easier identification. The pilot remained behind in the shuttle.

"Shina, check the atmosphere for oxygen level. Motoyama, follow me. The rest of you stay put for now… And stay alert," ordered Henry, before he turned his attention to the snakemen. He walked up to the one standing in the middle, guessing by the snakeman's posture that he was the one in charge.

"Greetings," said Henry. He looked at the creatures whose ancestors were probably human. "I bring a message of peace from the Empire."
 
Issus came off his coils, towering above the landing crew at 8' tall. The highly humid air didn't seem to bother them, but it had to be sweltering in thoe AMES suits. Shina's readings would register that the atmosphere was breathable, if a little dense with water vapor and humidity. "You are the onesssss that the priesssstsss told usss about, the explorersss iss that correct?" Issus asked Henry, seeing him as being in charge. They'd notice every so often a secondary tongue, smaller and forked would flick out and back in, but never when they were talking.

The other two templars hissed through their lips, the tongues flicking out to sample the air and look over the landing party. "Aren't you humansss hot in all that?" Argonis asked, rustling his brilliantly colored coils in the tall grass.
 
He followed behind Chen fairly closely. He was no small man himself; his large stature stood at 6'7. His shoulders were wide and powerful. He stared through his suit at the various creatures that surrounded them. He stood with his chest out, at attention next to Chen. His eye slowly, and unnoticably glancing around. Watching, waiting, calculating the situation.
 
Henry couldn't help but smile at seeing the large figures towering around him. It was easy for him to forget that he wasn't that tall at all (at 5'9"), since he worked with Nekos most of the time. The experience was humbling, and therefore necessary.

A quiet thought whispered in Shina's voice at the back of his mind, informing him that the atmosphere was breathable.

"Yes, we are explorers, and I am not surprised that your priests are expecting us..." said Henry to Issus, then turned to Argonis. "My suit offers some thermal insulation. It's a little warm in here, but I think it'll only get worse if I take my helmet off. Thank you for your concern, however."

Henry then returned his attention to Issus, who seemed to be the snakeman in charge. "Now, allow me to introduce myself. I am Admiral Henry Chen, of the Third Expeditionary Fleet. This…" he said, with a quick gesture at Motoyama, "is Lieutenant Motoyama Kaori… And with whom do I have the pleasure of conversing?"
 
Issus looked down at Henry then over to Kaori and tried to suppress the automatic hissing of the "s" sound as he spoke. "My name is Issus.." He gestured to the brightly colored one. "that is Argonis." Then to the drab female. "Salmis." She bowed her head, the secondary tongue flicking out as her coils rustled some. Issus paused for a moment, his arms still crossed over his chest in a silent symbol of desiring peaceful relations instead of hostility. "You said, 3rd fleet? Does that mean there are two more hanging over our heads?" He asked curiously.

"But come, they are awaiting you at the grand temple." Issus said, moving his anaconda like snake body to turn around. "Follow us." Salmis said in a quiet, gentle voice. "And avoid the cavern you'll see. We don't allow people to interfere with the eggs." She said.

The males brushed a path open for them letting the female by first. "Follow her or you'll get lost easily."
 
He nodded sternly in a hello. He loomed over Admiral Chen's shoulder. He was effectively his shadow. It was obvious his nature was protective, like a creature of their kind over its young. He waited for the admiral to take his steps forward, and would be at his shoulder, his eyes slowly rotating, watching, and his ears perked, listening. He was ever ready; it was his job after all.
 
"Of course," answered Henry as he began walking a few paces behind Salmis, and gestured for Motoyama, Shina, Mazda, and Drake to follow. The pilot knew that her orders were to stay behind and guard the shuttle.

"As for our fleets…" he said in response to Issus's question, "my flagship is the only ship orbiting this planet. There are a few more ships under my command in the system, at a good distance away from this planet. The rest of the Imperial Fleets are busy exploring the other systems."

As she walked, following the others, Shina began scanning for air-borne pathogens and parasites.
 
As they lead the newcomers to the main temple, they brushed through thick thorny jungle. They bypassed a cavern with a couple more templar on either side of the mouth. "Please ignore them, it's their job." Salmis said in a feminine voice. They continued along, their bodies seeming unfazed by the thorny underbrush they slithered through. Shina's readings would say that the air was humid but not very threatening with the odd energy spike like they'd experienced when they descended to land.

It wasn't too long however before a small constrictor snake in the underbrush, apparently upset by nearly being stepped on, lashed out and sank his teeth into Shina's leg, and held her tightly for a moment. Issus lowered himself down low. "Don't panic, he feels threatened." he told her as he ever ever so gently unhooked the little; yet almost 2.5 feet long snake from her leg and let it comfortable rest on his shoulder. "Come along now" they said and led the group along the outskirts of a small outpost in the trees, with the only access being a mere tree trunk. Beyond that they came into view of a huge magnificently constructed Mayan temple with a ramp on one side and stairs on the other. "Please, they await you on the highest tier." The two templars Argonis and Salmis turned back to attend to their other duties leaving the huge leader to guide them.

For some unexplainable reason the stairs, right down the middle were stained red...
 
He followed behind Chen, watching the incident with Shina, he simply ignored it. She was capable of medical treatment, even though it wasn't poisonous. He looked up at the temple and let out a light sigh. ".....Remind me to thank Celia for the elevators she has when we get back."
 
Standing at its feet, Henry looked up at the huge Mayan temple. Archeology being mostly a lost art, the architecture of the structure looked entirely alien to him. "You all right back there, Shina?" he asked.

"I'll be fine sir," replied his assistant. The two tiny puncture wounds had already closed up, although they would take a few more moments to heal.

Henry nodded, and returned his attention to the temple, and in particular, to the large red stain running down the temple stairs that was unmistakably formed by flowing liquid. He briefly contemplated its implications, and Issus would notice Henry's brief moment of hesitation, if he were observant. Was it blood? Human blood would more likely be brown when it had dried into a stain, but Henry had no way to know how the Essians' physiology had mutated under the planet's harsh environments. Henry smiled as he considered the possibility that the priests that Issus spoke of just really liked fruit punch.

In any case, it was too late to turn back now. "Come on, Mr. Kaori," said Henry. "A little exercise is good for you." Henry began walking up the stairs, with Motoyama sticking close to him, and the rest of the away team following a few steps behind them.
 
He nodded quietly. "I suppose you're right. I spend enough time working out anyway." he started up the stairs behind Henry. Close was an understatement, he rode his back almost as he looked around. His ice grey eyes would glance at those creatures that dare come close to Chen, as if to dare them to try something. He held a cold sharp stare...his eyes had a look as if to deprive someone of their life, was something he could do at the drop of a pin. He quietly looked around, his eyes glancing over to Chen occasionally to check his expression, and gauge the situation somewhat better.
 
Issus continued up the ramp and caught Henry's moment of hesitation and looked over. "Don't worry, that red is just a look of the stone used to make the steps when the sun hits it." he explained and looked back at the pretty woman, Shina. 'I hope my little friend here didn't hurtyou too badly." he said and continued up, it was a tall pyramid and the air was moist with humidity.
 
Henry nodded upon hearing the snakeman's words. He continued up the stairs, walking besides Issus.

Shina looked up at Issus, who was walking in front of her. "Hmm? Oh. No, he didn't. I'm fine. Really. I heal fast," she replied with a smile. She then took out an adhesive patch from one of her pockets and, as she climbed the stairs, applied it to the two small holes (that were caused by the snake bite) her environmental suit. Shina didn't know how long the air recycling system of the suit would have lasted with those leaks, and she wasn't keen on finding out.
 
He glanced over at Issus a moment and narrowed his eyes, as he looked slowly back down to the red. His form hovered over Henry's shoulder, ever present, keeping Admiral Chen in his shadow for the most part. He walked along side them, somewhat quietly as he seemed to be thinking. "Hmm. Rather humid here. Heh, like I mentioned the elvator, I need to thank Celia for spoiling us with climate control."
 
They continued up the sunbaked pyramid to the top, which stood two buildings one squred and connected via a covered passage to a triangular shaped one. The door to the square building was where Issus braced himself and tapped on a stone three times and waited for a moment. In a moment 2 taps were heard on the stone fron inside and nodded, then the muscled snakeman took ahold of the large flat rock and pushed it aside without seeming effort. But if one noticed the strong 25 ft long snake body tensing up it showed it took more than it seemed. "Please go inside, but I warn you, this stone will be closed after you enter to maintain the temperature inside." He said gesturing them to enter.

"I assure you that the air is safe and cooler inside. They are waiting for you" He said. Inside was an echo of running water and a distinctly cooler feel to it, there was a heavily hieroglyphed and ornately decorated marble circular table surrounded by a small moat full of cooler water. Around the sides were smaller built and younger female Essians using fans to cool three others, two of which were drab in coloration. The last was brightly colored green, all three flicking out their secondary tongues in contentment. "Greetings, people from the sky." The brightly colored male said. "I hope the humidity hasn't soured your attitudes, please cool yourselves by sitting in the stream after removing your thick outer clothing." the female next to him said gesturing toward the water that was flowing in and round the table itself which sat on a bit of a dais.

The chamber was lit by overhead sunlight panels that shed filtered light down over the three elders giving them a kind of spotlight. After the Star Army people entered, they heard the grinding as Issus slid the door shut from the outside. The "moat" was fairly deep but on the wall was a bench on which people could sit that would raise or lower depending upon a mechanized simple system of levers and ropes. Currently the chair sat above the waterline on the armrest of each was a button that would activate the system for each one.
 
Henry smiled and nodded. "Don't mind if I do." He took off his helmet, and then deactivated and stripped off his AMES, revealing that he was only wearing his boxer shorts underneath. Henry began carefully lowering himself onto one of the chairs attached to the wall of the miniature "moat".

Shina took a quick scan of the water with her scanner, to verify that it was safe for Henry, before gingerly taking off her AMES. She appeared to be wearing a conservative one-piece swimming suit as she walked toward the water. The swimming suit was so conservative that it covered her up to her shoulders and down to her thighs.

Mazda and Drake looked uneasily at each other. They appeared to be waiting for some sort of order from Henry or Motoyama.
 
He stood beside the moat sternly. His eyes looking over at Henry a moment, as he knew his Admiral's order more than likely. He promptly removed his enviromental suit. He oddly enough wore a wetsuit underneath it. He kindly looked at Mazda and Drake. "Follow the Admiral's lead." He said quietly, and moved over to the bench, sitting down. His belt strapped around his waist with various pouches. He sat down and looked stern and rigid as ever.
 
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