Dynamic Patrol: Gel-Squad (Remastering!)

Chapter 35: The Hike

The duo would travel around the Tribe to avoid conflict; they would move during the day and maintain their camp in the thick vegetation of the jungle at night. There would be no fires or holographic stories for now until they were safe. D1 hoped that Blade and his band of 'warriors' were heading in the other direction back to their camp. But there was a chance that they'd raided the Freedom. But even if the hunters removed everything that wasn't nailed down, D1 only had to get the ship running just enough to access the sensor array. They were more powerful than that weather balloon they'd used a few hours ago.

They were about 3 hours into their mission, and it was then that she noticed that Kipp talked... like, really... talked. He was incredibly enthusiastic when it had something to do with starships, robots, or something along those lines, which is probably why he was so interested in D1. Kipp still took up the rear and became a navigator for their mission. He brought along a cylinder-shaped tube that was silver-metallic in color. It was a collapsing tablet, and when deployed, the glass display rolled out of the tube, and the interface displayed itself on the clear glass.

It stored a copy of the ship's location, and from his valley, he even traced a rudimentary footpath for them to follow; D1, upon learning about it, observed it and then changed it and made it more efficient. The woods were peaceful during the day, but Kipp warned D1 of the dangers lurking at night. Predatory creatures inhabited the woods, as described by Kipp. They varied in size, but the largest one was shaped like something one would see from a planet like Earth, a huge tiger, which had evolved to have a streamlined form like the Omeocoon and a viscous gooey form, they were the apex predator of this jungle. There were other creatures, like birds and spiders, which were called 'Gel-crawlers' on this planet. Unlike the sentient Omeocoons, these creatures were more feral and simply followed a food chain, with other creatures like the former being relatively peaceful. This information shocked D1, who was rather convinced that the Omeocoon were the only ones who lived on this planet.

Their trip was uneventful, and they crossed the jungle in six days. During the journey, they could get a good view of the tribe camp from afar. There were tall, thick concrete walls, which were probably used to trap people in there against their will, like her friends. At least she didn't need the sensors to find it, but she would still need her ship to locate where Tommy and Russell were within the camp. So that she could make a swift getaway once she retrieved them. She was only one and needed every advantage. The faster she was in and out, the better. The only way to get into the camp was through four gates, which were secured by men on the outside. They had searchlights and weaponry similar to the Omeocoon from the woods. It seemed they were formed by mastering the art of shape-shifting. Beyond the gates and men, D1 and Kipp could not see over the walls except for a tall building that seemed relatively far from the rest of the camp. The radio dish strapped to the roof of it seemed to suggest that it was some kind of communications tower.

D1 and Kipp continued without poking the village. Upon arriving at the beach, D1 was not surprised to see the fences had been deactivated. They'd lost power after going so long without maintenance. Thanks to all of the hatches and doors being left open for about a week or two, the ship had accumulated sand on the floor and all over the consoles. As they entered through the boarding ramp, Kipp's jaw dropped, and he realized the entire ship looked as though it'd been ransacked. All the panels were torn off the walls, wires and other inner workings were everywhere, and all the doors had been forced open. But everything of value was still in its place. "This ship is worse than I thought. After the crash, we were forced to abandon it."

"I'm sorry," Kipp stated, patting D1 on the head. "You are mistaken." D1 began, looking around what used to be the bridge of their ship, "I do not feel anything for this ship. But I must admit... for a droid, I was forced into service on vessels in which I had no choice, but this was the first ship on which I actually chose to serve. Because of my friends." Kipp listened silently, following her around the craft, "You may take whatever supplies you need while I access the sensor package. Be quick." She knew that Kipp was waiting for that. His tail went flaccid, as did his ears slightly. That was the closest he'd ever seen to a droid becoming sad. He respected it and gave her some space. Kipp was free to explore the ship on his own; he wanted to see Tommy and Russell's rooms since learning about them from D1, they'd become his heroes. He found some nostalgia in all of this mess; his constant 'oohing and awing' were audible from other reaches of the ship. There was also a 'woah and wow!' Every time, he found something worthy of his attention. Along the way, he stored things inside his personal bag, like a kangaroo foraging for resources.

He proceeded to the engineering deck and realized that Freedom had a great deal of fuel left in its reserve tanks. They were lucky this ship didn't blow up as soon as it crashed on the island. Kipp's eyes were illuminated with ideas, and he realized that this was one of the things he required for his personal project.