27-43
c a p (Noun.)
the broad upper part of the fruiting body of most mushrooms and toadstools, at the top of a stem and bearing gills or pores
Day two of the Mushroom Forest's exploration was only filled with the two sitting in the lab and registering the samples that they had gathered the day before into the system. Apparently the mushroom trees' bases had the same reaction to being opened up as a cattail or reed from when they still populated Earth. Meaning that, once the tree had been injured or died, its seeds would fly through the air to replace the one tree the forest had lost. Elain found this incredibly interesting, but she was stuck on the question of whether the tops were the same way or not. She wrote into her journal about this newfound idea, getting side-tracked from sketching the microscope's image of the mushroom trees' cells. She had done that with each of the samples, while her assistant helped put the new information into the system. That included any bacteria that was also included on the slide, which looked similar to their own planet's, but was included any way. Never could be too careful when it came to new organisms, even the small ones.
"Do you know how much it scared me when I finally cut deep enough into that stinking mushroom?" The biologist shot Milo an amused look as he complained about the initial shock of taking the sample. Her honey eyes slid back in the direction of the microscope before she got more distracted than she already was. Milo was still calling her Dr. Mavka, but he seemed to bring out his personality more. Losing the anxiety of saying the wrong thing. Thank goodness for that. She didn't want to feel awkward staying here at all. They had yet to have an incident. "You'd think I'd be scared of something like an actual alien! But no. I was startled by the mushroom." Elain let out a loud laugh at his random grumbling. She slid the slide out and put it into its proper containment area, then took out another sample from the basic brush at the bases of the Mushroom Trees. They were similar to the texture of seaweed and were usually a muddied-out green from what they saw. The plants had her wondered if site 27-43 was once underwater or just that damp enough to actually produce enough moisture. It was something the biologist ought to speak to Head Quarters about, because she was never informed that the marsh used to be filled with a liquid.
"Remember, Milo, we are the aliens now. Anything we find now is a native species of the planet and we have to respect everything. Like you would if you went into someone else's home, you know? Including the ever-so-terrifying Fungorum Arbores." Fungorum Arbores is what she and Milo decided for the names to be scientifically speaking, until someone else was to come along with a better idea. It simply means "Mushroom Trees" in Latin. Even without looking away from adjusting the microscope to the new slide, Elain knew that her assistant was glaring a hole into her head. She leaned back into her rolling chair and met the heated look calmly. There was nothing about her scrawny assistant that made her in any way scared. They both knew who was in charge. She continued, "In all seriousness, I'm losing my focus. I just want to get to the top of one of the Fungorum Arbores." She sighed, leaning back to stretch out her sore muscles. She stood from her seat and checked the temperature gauge by the door. She put on a thick jacket, seeing as it was far too cold, and grabbed a vial, her journal, and a clean scalpel.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
She put her hand on the door handle, but turned back to Milo. His blue eyes were narrowed slightly, a childish pout playing on his lips. He probably didn't notice the pout at all. Just a natural response to the confusion and disappointment of not being invited along. "I'll be back. I have to go get some samples from the top of the Fungorum Arbores. Just wait here, it shouldn't take too long." Unless something went wrong, of course. Then she hopes that he will notice that this miniscule task shouldn't have taken all day and went out searching for her. Elain left the laboratory and began to try and find a way to the top of any of the insanely tall "trees" of site 27-43.
Her first option was simply looking for a smaller tree around the forest, like one that was still in the process of growing. The task should be as simple as that, but she was disappointed to find out that she was very wrong. The smallest one she could find was still the height of a tall pine. A height that she was yet to actually be able to reach. Even if the pine was as small as what used to be a "Christmas Tree," she would struggle to see the cap. She only grew so tall in her developmental years, barely reaching five foot four inches. It was only now that she realized that, if this was a regular forest, this task would turn out to be much easier.
Her next option was to use the stone bridges that spun around every single inch of the forest. They moved around the other bridges and tunneling deep into the damp ground. She moved over to the beginning of the bridges, nearly tripping over a thin crack in the earth. She ignored her small tumble and began to climb the stony bridges. She felt those eyes now as Milo did on their first day. It was like an intense gaze that studied her from afar. She didn't like the chill that went down her back because of it. Elain liked knowing her surroundings and, right now, she couldn't see a single creature in sight. Something was hiding from the biologist and she wanted to find it with her observant gaze. She was determined too, she really was, but had no such luck. Whatever creature watching her knew the forest too well and made sure to hide in her blind spots. A puff of air exited her chest and she went back to her work. She had to remind herself that Milo was expecting her soon and waiting for something that would never show itself was a waste of time. She didn't want the boy to come searching for her too early.
It took her only ten minutes to get to the tops of the Mushroom Trees once she was back on task, but getting up there only made her more intrigued rather than her being able to put aside her curiosity. The tops of the Mushroom she approached had the same color and texture of the base, but it becomes clearer the closer it was to the center of it. She ran her hand along the clear top, noting the large contrast of texture that it now had. It had the feel of what Elain imagined the bells of a jellyfish to be. At what she assumed to be the center, there was a circular hole that was far too dark to see into without having to climb atop the cap. Before she was going to check out the hollow center, she decided to write down the findings and take a small sample. Her scalpel barely made it under the skin of the cap and made sure that the sample was small enough to fit into the palm of her hand. The woman didn't want to ever have to get up this high again. She put the clean sample into her vial and began to climb atop the cap of the mushroom carefully. With not a single glance at the height she was at, because that would only deter her. It's something she has been trying to get over, her acrophobia.
She kept to her hands and knees, as to keep herself stable on the now wobbly shroom. It obviously wasn't ready for the extra weight of the doctor. Edging closer and closer to the hole at the center, she could slowly make out the eight circular blue eyes. In a quick flash, the creature who resided in the Fungorum Arbores slammed into her chest. Sending her spiraling off the tall mushroom. Her back slammed one of the lower bridges, effectively cutting off her air supply. A gasp echoed through the peaceful quiet of the forest. She tried to roll to her belly to aid her in her attempt to stand, but it only caused her to fall the rest of the way to the floor. Her eyes, which searched wildly for something to stop the fall, was only met with darkness. She was out like a light.
A flash, a bomb, sent the older woman's troop flying.
It was a bad day to fight. The sun was beating down on all the soldiers, forcing them to fight off the heat stroke with the last of their canteens.
She needed for them to complete the mission. Get to point A, secure the package, then retreat. That was the agenda. They said nothing of it being a suicide mission. They said nothing of them fighting their own comrades.
They were told nothing.
Her honey eyes opened again to find that she was back in the laboratory. Thank all that is good in this world! Milo must have found her when she hit the floor and brought her back to the safety of their steel roof. Her happiness was soon quieted by a large rush of pain from her back when she shifted. The woman grunted quietly, pulling herself to a sitting position and looking around for her glasses. With blurry vision, the search was a much harder task than what she first thought it would be. "Dr. Mavka! You're alright!" She blinked over to the blob of color as it moved her way rather than her trying to move towards it, the blob stretched her glasses over to her. "What happened out there? How did you get to the steps?" Her brows furrowed in confusion. Had it not been him that saved her from potentially dying out there? She could have just crawled here whilst not being entirely conscious. She let out a low groan in response, placing a cold hand on to her throbbing head.
"I, uhm, can't remember. I mean, I fell off the Fungorum Arbore's cap. One of those crab creatures were hiding out in the hollow center and jumped out at me when I got too close to what I assume is their nest. But I don't know how I got back to the lab. I honestly thought you did it," she said quietly while rubbing her head. She wanted to keep even her own volume low, so her head could take a minute to calm down.
Milo explained that he was just inspecting a few of their older samples, the ones that she had already checked over, when he heard something from outside the door. He swore that he didn't see the way she got to the lab's steps or anything that could have dragged her all the way back. Though, she thought that would be silly. Why would an animal bring her back when she was practically a free meal? She definitely had to of done it herself. It wouldn't be the first time a human sleep walked.
"It's fine, Milo. I believe you. Did you check me over for any broken bones or fractures?" He nodded and moved back over to the desk to get the results. They had a scanner that, by simply being waved over the patient, could identify ways that the person in question was injured. Similar to a portable x-ray machine that can spot any type of issue, major or minor. He passed them over to her rather than just him reading them out to her himself. That was helpful in its own. She had a fractured rib or two and her back was completely bruised all the way down. It was going to hurt to move for a while, but that would be alright. "Shoot."
Milo looked at her, amused at the fact that she was choosing not to curse, but didn't say anything. "Did you at least find anything to make the fall worth it?" He asked in an attempt to make the situation seem better. She searched through her pockets and was able to locate the sample. Thankfully, the glass vial was somehow cushioned by her own body during the fall. The sample was tossed his way for him to check out.
The woman rose from her bed, ignoring the pain that shot through her whole body. She leaned against the bunk bed for support, trying to slowly make her way over to the desk. "The crabs, which we really need to find a name for, lay in the middle of these Fungorum Arbores. It's like their nests and they seem to be really protective of it. I won't really know until I retest the theory at a different tree." He helped her cross the small gap when she stopped to gasp in pain, then sat her at her own swivel chair. She held in another whimper at the pain of trying to lean backwards in the chair. Every time her bruised skin touched anything, the pain stretched through her whole body. "We won't really be able to understand the difference between the base and the cap of the trees until we take a look at them under the microscope. I went and risked my life for this, so it better be good."