My Little Realities: C3 - Moss is for Fags

My Little Realities: C3 - Moss is for Fags

>ride was a little rougher than usual
>still just a flash and bang, but this time it hurt
>your couch caught fire a little
>you have a headache
>it's not over yet
>they'll probably make another modified bubble device, Trombley will remember how
>you still have your trusty probe, you can get out of this by transporting to yet another reality
>no way that they could track you down after that
>Annie and Chloe would save you
>you hugged the mangled VPT bubble generator and the probe lovingly
>you're about to send your probe out into the parallel yonder when you notice something alarming
>FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK
>this now panic
>battery low
>maybe bubbling the whole apartment through wasn't that smart
>took a bit of juice
>you have enough for a single jump
>A. go back
>B. go blindly forward
>fuck it all
>fuck earth
>fuck this planet
>you don’t even like moss that much
>you figure that if you're going to gamble everything, better not do it half-assed
"Trombley, I hope you're as smart as you think you are and this jumps to a planet and not some void universe" you say to Chloe, even though it isn't sentient
>you tweak with the settings, just to be sure they won’t be able to follow you by sticking to the defaults
>engage
>you wake up, everything hurts
>you don't even remember pressing the button
>you feel a little warm, you’re just happy you aren’t dead or about to die in the vacuum of some void universe
>you open your eyes
>SHITSHITSHITSHIT
>couch is really on fire this time
>threatening to take the rest of the apartment with it
>FUCK YOU, COUCH
>you ram the flaming thing through the window
>more panic time
>the guns and ammo
>fuck shit cunt butts, they better not have caught fire
>you open your safe room
>guns are okay
>the wooden ones are a little warm, plastic ones aren’t deformed
>ammo is okay
>your heart stops wanting to jump out of your chest
>you’re thankful that all of your stuff is okay, apart from your couch
>fuck that flammable bitch anyhow, all you need is your computer chair and bed
>you then realize that there are things outside
>pretty things
>pretty things like trees and grass
>eat your heart out, Trombley
>to be honest you didn’t really hate Trombley, you would have probably done the same to him if the roles had been reversed.  Your flexible morals are at play again, it seems
>as much as he got you good, you feel like the winner.  Look at all this SCIENCE you can see!
>this means you’re probably not going to die on some fucking rock with moss on it
>fuck moss
>grass is where it’s at
>you step out
>everything is so beautiful
>isthisreallife.gep
>you’re thankful your suit has a really, really good filtration system, it practically blocks anything bigger than water molecules
>’cause for all you know the pollen here might kill you instantly or something
>wind rustles the leaves
>you turn on everything’s record button
>you are now a sensor hub
>you set the probe to follow you
>like a huge dog, Annie follows you slowly, quietly looking, sniffing, recording
>you want to miss or forget NOTHING, maximum archive mode
>relief and amazement washes over you
>now this is podracing
>this is really what you worked all your life for
”This is Anon’s log, date is 03062028, I’m currently on…  (you check this word’s wave function signature) planet Earth of universe WF-2093840098498.  I’ve arrived about three minutes ago, current time is 1838 hours.  Temperature is about 24 Celsius; there is a full and stable ecosystem.  Bio-kit is deployed and running.  Current status of equipment; suit is a little singed on the edges but functions are all nominal, modified Variable Possibility Bubble device is depleted but in working condition, probe unit is nominal and bio-kit is nominal.”
>you wonder exactly why you’ve started recording but figure you might as well do it right, even if it was just for your own knowledge
>you’re happy you were wearing the suit, maybe you’d have caught fire without it
>first layer is like a high tech underwear, keeping the user comfortable.  It has small tubes running over most of the body to keep it from getting too hot or too cold, the tubes pump fluid to a heat sink over your back that can double as a heating element with the suit's power supply
>power supply was pretty much dormant until needed
>second layer is the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical barrier, or NBC.  It is rated to stop any and all contaminants (up to a certain level of hard ionizing radiation of course).  This layer is actually doubled, so if one wears or is damaged, the user isn’t immediately in trouble
>third layer is made of highly rip and puncture resistant fiber weaves.  It’s made to protect the NBC layers from damage
>last layer is hard and light interlocking plastic plates.  This shatterproof plastic that was made to resist impacts from falls or blunt objects as well as sharp things
>it’s actually rated to take 40gr CPRN .22LR at 1250ft/s, a 90MPH fastball and various other blows from axes or bricks that could kill a man, very cool stuff
>the helmet protects the head, ears, neck and is lined with sensors, antennas, has a large faceplate of thick impact plastic that molds over the gas mask system
>the whole suit is a dark brown and dark green mix, kinda like camo but with no actual pattern
>company said black was “too scary” and camo was “not politically correct”
>should have made the sucker bright fucking pink, if their panties are in a bunch over a damn color scheme
>whatever, it looks cool
>faceplate is opaque black from the outside, but nice and clear to look through
>mainly to prevent you from going blind in universes where the sun is burning at 300% and stuff
>it can record audio and video with great detail from a few cameras and microphones
>the suit has an integrated backpack and a clip on backpack, loaded with anything from a power supply for some of your other toys to survival equipment
>there are strips of efficient nanotube solar panels powering most of your suit’s functions
>they went all out for this nigga
>this is what happens when a nearly unlimited budget meets a company full of old videogame nerds
>anyhow
>you walk forth into this bright new world
>no signs of life apart from the flora yet
>you set the probe to an automated scout program and wander off in another direction to cover more ground
>you hear something like the sound of an animal
>you’re getting hungry, you haven’t eaten in… a while…
>a bird perhaps
”Anon’s log, date is 03062028, current time is 1858 hours.  I’m approximately 500 meters from my landing site and I think I’ve heard the sound of an animal.  Proceeding with caution.”
>you see some trees shake
>sounds like you’ll need more than caution
>you jog back to the apartment and run in, opening the door to your safe room
>you sling a Fort CQM 308 over your shoulder, topped with an old ACOG TA45-2 and a trusty Streamlight TLR-1
>The Fort CQM is a really nice rifle, originally built on an AR-10 platform with an action like the LR-300; the gas key was extended over the gas tube, with the main action spring wrapped around all that
>this made the whole buffer tube assembly unnecessary, and it was then made into a bullpup
>simply put, it was a really reliable, accurate bullpup with a half decent trigger and good ergonomics, placing the magazine release and action release near the fire control hand
>you throw on an LBV, 8 loaded 20 round mags of 155gr TAP FPD
>you grab your Gen 3 Glock 17 and three spare mags
>you wonder if you should take the .450 Rigby, who knows how big the fuckers get over here
>you decide that this should be enough to let you retreat to the apartment if things go from bad to worse
>let’s do this
>you walk out
>the trees are lush and full, swaying in a cool breeze
>it's like you're watching the discovery channel
>quietly make your way to where you heard the noise
>whatever was here seems to be gone now
>you see some tracks
>hard to make out in the dense brush
>the tree trunks are themselves covered in more life, from mushrooms to vines
>the saplings are everywhere, thick green grass growing to your hips
>the sun slowly starts to set
>whatever rocked those trees is probably gone
>you start moving back to your landing zone/apartment when you see something that shouldn’t be here
>seems like a trail
>hard packed dirt
>flying fuck buckets of tits
>a goddamn trail
>could still be something that animals walk down and have made into a trail through time, but that seems somewhat unlikely
>trails are usually a sign of some sort of civilization, even one that’s at a Stone Age level
>the importance of this is huge, but let’s not gets too excited and make wild speculations
”Anon’s log, I’ve come across what seems to be a hard packed dirt trail, continuing to investigate.”
>you start walking down the trail
>over a small hill, the bushes and trees become less dense
>you walk up and see a valley
>postcard fucking flowery fields
>you see some birds, you zoom in with your left eye to get a good look
”Wooow…  Actual birds…”
”Anon’s log, it’s currently 1918 hours, I’ve come across signs of active animal life, one being unidentified as of yet, the other being what look like birds”
>you walk and as the sun sets, you get a real good look at a town
>houses, not huts
>buildings
>an actual town
>the houses and shops are well constructed, at a first glance it looks pre-industrial
”Anon’s log, currently 2010 hours, I see a town.  Signs of a relatively highly developed civilization.”
>you slowly walk towards the village
>seems they keep their (what you assume is) cattle roaming around, the inhabitants could have a close relationship with their animals
>you have to sit down for a while
>intelligent
>alien
>fucking
>life
>getting darker and the town quiets down, apart from a few houses with lights, everything dies down
>still haven’t seen any people, or whatever creature that could be at the top of the food chain, if it even works that way here
>stars quickly fill the sky as you creep closer to the village
>moonlight is quite bright
>you zoom in on it, crater patterns are different than on Earth
>you are also starting to get really, really hungry
>you’d been ignoring it till now
>but you haven’t eaten anything since like last afternoon
>hunger pains
>you can’t take off your suit, but it has a port under the faceplate for emergency packed rations
>you start to make your way back, going around a very large tree
>you try to be quiet and make your way out undetected, you don’t want to have your first contact at night like this
>you look behind you to see if anything has stirred, pace quickening to a fast jog
WHUMP
>you come to a complete stop as all your forward momentum is canceled by something that wasn’t in front of you a second ago
>it’s quite dark, the tree is blocking most of the moonlight
>your enhanced left eye’s already bumped ISO to max and you make out something horse-shaped, but smaller
>you’re glad you paid for a nice low F stop on the main lens for all dat light
>it seems to have fallen on its rump
>shit, you ran into one of their cattle or something
>you’re about to burst with excitement over meeting a real life form from a parallel universe
>you still need to leave though, a first contact at night like this probably isn’t a good idea
>it doesn’t look too injured, it just shakes its head, a little stunned
>you’re about to run off when you hear it make neighs, whistles, grunts and other equine noises
>however they’re very quick and complex, if this isn’t what these animals normally sound like, this thing could have some level of intelligence
>it brings a hoof to its head, rubbing it
>its head is topped with something
>is that a horn?
>that’s fucking fascinating but you better go before you fuck up a first contact
>the horn starts glowing
>the fuck?
>glowing horses, that's a first.  Biouminescence?  Neat
>better get out of here before inhabitants come to inverstig-
>you notice it’s staring at you
>under the horn light (probably some sort of chemical reaction or something) you make it the equine’s face
>first of all, it’s purple, but what’s even more fascinating is the massive, expressive eyes
>its mane seems to be more or less styled, probably usually well kept
>it raises a hoof at you
>the eyes are so large and they seem to be very intelligent
>expression seems to indicate a mix of panic, bewilderment and confusion
>hoof pointed at you, it seems to…  repeat a short neigh-grunt, as if unable to continue
>this thing is definitely intelligent
>to what level would be the important question
>you’re unable to move, more out of sheer fascination and absolute wonder than anything
>it then makes a loud neigh-like scream and runs off
>ooooohh shiit
>you book it
>you’re not really in the best of shape
>you’re really, really hungry
>you’re winded after quarter mile
>you push on, slowing down
>fast walk is all you can do at this point, you are still pushing yourself and both your breathing and heart rate are through the roof
>looking back at the town, a few lights have turned on but you think you can escape before someone or something comes looking for you
>you get back to your apartment in the bushes
>you get your breath back after a while
>you rummage around for your emergency rations
>fuuuuuuuck, where did they go
>after going through every last pouch, every nook and cranny, you manage to find a little ration stick, still in its little syringe-like tube
>you hate your past self for snacking on those bitches
>savagely, you shove it in the port under your faceplate and push it through the seal
>it’s a great way to not die of contamination from alien bacteria and virus, but it’s shitty when you’re like almost two days hungry
>fuuuuck.  The bio-kit won’t complete its analysis so soon, it needs more samples and more time until you can be sure that the common cold over here won’t kill you in minutes
>you curl up and hope that scaring one of their smart horses or something isn’t going to get you killed
>also hunger sucks
>you manage to fall asleep after drinking from the small water bladder in your suit (no, not your own pee, Bear Grylls), it should keep you from getting too dehydrated