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The one pod turned out to be the two that Alice had set to follow theirs. While one actually managed to soft-land, the other crashed and the side is ripped wide open, and equipment is scattered around.

When Key gets into the good pod, it's alarm is sounding. There's a storm approaching. With no time to setup the shelter, he quickly collects as much equipment as he can and piles it in the good pod. This is made difficult by increasing winds.

As he climbs into the now crowded pod, he closes the hatch.

Lightning strikes a nearby tree and it explodes. Wood, needles and other debris rains down on the pod. The wind adds debris it's picked up into the mix.

Key quickly starts shoving things around, looking for some of the extra power cells. Finding one, he quickly hooks it into the pods power systems. The pod comes to life.

"Drudge, shields and sensors. Nothing else."

"Acknowledged."

The debris that's been pelting the pod instead now hits the shields. This makes it quieter in the pod, but he can still hear the wind howling.

He flops into the left seat and grabs his pack. With nothing else to do, he starts to examine the chrysalis. "All right, Avy, let's see what you are."

He holds his hands over it, and Drudge begins to report his various findings. "Carbon based...warm blooded...genderless...Interesting."

"Interesting?"

"The chrysalis appears to be for protection. I am not detecting any metamorphosis."

Key eyes it curiously. "Okay, so it's for protection. What else?"

"It has six eyes, breaths oxygen, no noticeable mouth."

"No mouth. How's it get nutrients?"

"It filter feeds."

"What, like a sponge?"

"From the air. That is also how it drinks."

"Wait, what was it doing in the puddle?"

"I would speculate that it was cleaning itself."

Key sits back in the chair. "Cleaning itself." He sighs and looks out the window for a while. "could this shell be to protect it from this storm?"

"Possibly. I did register a pressure drop during our encounter with it. I did not expect a storm of this magnitude to follow."

"Be sure to alert me about any pressure drops in the future."

"I will."

"If it's not changing, is it safe to reattach this to something else?"

"If we do not rupture the vessel, or reorient it, the creature within should be ok."

"Well, the pack certainly isn't the best place to be."

Despite how careful he's been when handling the pack, it's safer for the creature on something else. Holding the chrysalis with one hand and, with a little help from Drudge, he works it free from the pack's fabric.

He then places it in a divot on the main control panel, and kicks back to relax and wait for the storm to pass.

* * *

Feeling a tapping his face, Key opens one eye to see Avy sitting on his chest. a quick look out the window tells him that the storm has indeed passed. Unfortunately it's now dark.

Bringing his attention back to Avy, whose still tapping at his cheek, he asks, "What do you want?"

Avy just keeps gently poking at his face, then back at his armor.

"Just as curious of me as I am of you, huh?"

Seeing his mouth open, Avy sticks a leg tip up and looks in his mouth.

Key tries not to laugh as he gently blocks it's approach. "Oh, you don't want to go in there," he says with a slight chuckle.

Avy lets out a chitter, the same on that it did when it was playing in the water.

"Was that a laugh?"

The little creature, still standing on his chest, starts to bob its body and chitters some more.

Key gives the creature a puzzled look, then asks, "Can you understand me?"

Avy just looks at him, then bobs its body a couple times.

"Okay, this is odd. Tap on me once for yes, twice for no. Do you understand that?"

It backs up slightly and taps once on his armor.

Key scratches his head in disbelief. "Have you seen anything like me before?"

It taps twice.

"Well, I've seen a few things like you, but nothing that understood me after two days. Which raises the question, how can you understand me?"

Avy scratches at Key's armor for a moment, then taps Key's forehead.

"I don't understand," Key admits.

The little creature sets itself down and folds it legs around itself. After a moment, a word comes to mind.

"Read?" Key says. After a moment, it clicks.

"You read my mind?" he gasps.

Avy bobs its body again, and chitters its laugh.

"Well, this is certainly a first. I wonder just how smart you are without reading my mind."

The little creature flexes its legs, but doesn't get up. Instead it lets out its laugh like chitter.

Key eyes Avy carefully. "Is that sarcasm I hear?"

Receiving a single tap on his armor, Key chuckles. He settles with a heavy sigh and says, "Drudge, wake me in the morning."