PROLOUGE
Important information regarding the characteristics of the blizzard family of plants - to be read by all parties involved in its studies.
The blizzards are made up of a multitude of specialised and highly adaptable organisms. The high rate of metabolism and inherent DNA instability of this family makes it nearly impossible to make any valid specifications for the entire species.
However, the following observations can be applied to the family as a whole. It has a rudimentary "hive" mind, it´s intelligence varying from nest to nest (this intelligence seems to increase proportionally to its age). A nest is usually made up of a main trunk and up to twenty "hunters" and "collectors".
These "hunters" and "collectors" sports some locomotive features. They are capable of subduing most of the animals found in this region (this capacity increases as the blizzard grows older and therefore, smarter).Make note that there has been no observation of the reproductive behaviour to this date.
The blizzard shows promising possibilities for industrial use due to its complex metabolism capable of producing a long range of chemicals. This group therefor recommend that the blizzard is included in the target pack for the next xeno-fauna expedition.
/DR Jessie Andrew CO xeno expedition #1
"Go and get some water Liz" the girl mumbled as she made her way through the thick jungle. "Can you take my back pack Liz?" she continued, kicking pebbles as she went. "Liz, could you fetch some new batteries?" she huffed as she climbed as rise in her path. "Well, I´d love too, Jessie, please show me the way on the map...bitch!" She ended her monologue, the irony of her last sentence lost to no one of her imaginative audience.
"Xenobiology 101 my ass" she concluded as she took of her back pack for a short break. "Slavery 101 is more like it" she muttered as she drank some of her water.
Behind her, in the distance, she could hear the screams of probers. "Hope Jessie gets her mouthful now" Liz thought without reflecting over the human element in the screams.
Feeling sorry for herself, Liz had no rush to get back to Sue in camp, if Jessie lost her opportunity to film that disgusting prober-thingy mating, it was probably just for the better. Liz was tired of this steaming jungle, it had an unnerving effect on her. She constantly felt observed and...evaluated.
"Don´t be stupid, Liz" she shrugged "observed by what exactly?" she continued. This part of the jungle had proved remarkably devoid of any animals, save for that unholy prober/deer union that Jessie was preoccupied with two clicks back.
It never occurred to Liz, that the reason she felt so uneasy in here was exactly that - the absence of animal life.
"Well, better get going, would´t wanna let the heroine of the day wait for batteries, would we?" she said and got to her feet.
A sudden rustle in the brushes in front of her made her freeze. "Please don´t let it be a prober" she thought, not at all as intrigued by them as Jessie seemed to be.
She held her breath as the organism made its way onto the trail. Liz let out a sigh of relief "you don´t look so menacing pal". Roughly the appearance of a giant, green, five armed sea-star the creature crept out of the bush.
"Hey, I know you, you´re...a blizzard...collector? No...hunter! That´s it! Wohoo! Finally this stupid excursion pays off!" Liz laughed, satisfied to have proven her knowledge.
As she turned around to get her back pack she was surprised to see yet another hunter sitting on top of it. "How did you get there so fast, little fella?" she asked as she bent down to remove it.
Occupied with trying to open the back pack, the hunter was surprised by Liz as she grabbed it to remove it. In response, it twisted itself out of her grip and scurried into the bushes.
"OK, that explains the how-did-you-so-fast part" Liz said, perplexed by the speed the anim- wrong - plant had shown. Sure, the blizzards were capable of movement, but freaking running?
Picking up her back pack ,she turned around to return to camp. Then the young student tripped on the first hunter, with a short yelp! she fell straight into the bushes.
"Argh! I hate this freaking jungle" Liz thought shaking her head clear and tried to get to her feet. She couldn´t, her feet seemed to have gotten stuck on something in the thick undergrowth. As she sat up and parted the foliage to get a clear view of the branch trapping her feet, her blood ran cold.
"Oh my god" Liz whispered, her blue eyes widening at the sight. Her ankles were held together by the hunter, which was in the process of investigating her small feet and calves. Within seconds it had pried off her boots and socks before starting to tug at her pants. "Hey! Cut that out!" the trapped damsel demanded, grabbing hold of the hunter.
It tried to grab her delicate hands, the only thing saving her was its leathery skin, slipping over her wrists. Liz recoiled in panic, this thing sure meant business. The hunter had finished its exploration of her feet, coated them in secretions and started moving upwards.