Board Thread:What Would You Do?/@comment-28718853-20181023004315/@comment-36855838-20181026150955

HaroldQuest. Part 01

Ah, a new planet to harvest.

Harold started up a continuous scan, last time somebody rushed a harvest, half the galaxy had to deal with supermutant rats eating their warp fuel.

"Anna, report!"

The monotone female voice erupted from a speaker.

"Anomalies in multiple sectors, wildly fluctuating temperature readings, sudden forest fires, massive infrastructure collapse, three volcanic eruptions, minor floods, sudden appearance of multiple moons, additional ice caps in the equatorial region, large scale deforestation, no fewer than eighty large deserts."

"Estimated casualties? Assume Earth-like population distribution."

"Calculating. . ."

Harold got up to get a beer.

"Estimate: 8,000,000 dead, 9,000,000 wounded."

"Actual casualties?"

"Ten human-like lifeforms deceased, twenty-four confirmed injuries."

"Human-like?"

"94% likelihood of evolutionary convergence, 6% common ancestor."

"Possibility of genetic incorporation?"

"32% chance of successful genetic diversification, direct tests needed for more accurate analysis."

"Land us, consequences be damned, we need that now more than ever, we lost half of the european and japanese lines in the last war!"

"Inadvisable, most dangerous activity thus far has occured on only the night side of the planet, there is a 80% likelihood that waiting for day will improve your odds of survival significantly."

Alright, we'll wait for daytime.

"Land at dawn."

The ship touched down with little trouble, and as Harold awaited an atmospheric report, a great yellow eye appeared in the corner of the cockpit window.

This eye was joined by many others, attached via a viscous sludge, in the shape of a maid.

"Computer, run a scan on that life form."

"An 'Elder One' sir, no mistaking, the DNA is fluctuating as per norm, but there is undeniably human DNA within which remains constant. Lifeform conducting both alcoholic fermentation and aerobic cellular respiration."

"Hostile?"

"No ionizing or infrared radiation detected, no X-Rays either."

"Let's make contact, untint the windows."

The window cleared up, and the shoggoth perked up immediately, the sagging, melting parts of her body immediately reshaping to appear pristine.

"Hi~ little one, how are you?"

I suddenly have a splitting headache, I press the aspirin button, and relax as my bloodstream recieves the reccommended dose.

I'm fairly well, I shout within my mind, HOW ARE YOU?!

She falls back, feigning fear at my sudden outburst, her smirk betraying her actual goals.

I silence my thoughts.

"Computer, take off, keep me blind, no telling me until she's dead or we need to land. Offensive maneuvers."

Not three minutes after my departure to my bedchambers, we've crashlanded, a very irate Shoggoth dissolving herself through the newly opened fissures in the hull, and slinking towards me with a detached, cat-like grace.

I sit, waiting, and then chuck the firebomb at her.

A moment later, and the flame is filling the corridor, as I make my escape through the emergency hatch.

Dropping me into a cave.

End of part 01.