"Are you sure about this sir?" Zitherlum inquired as Captain Thulumn put down the radio.
"Yes Zitherlum." the captain replied. "He is a fool and a hot head, but there is no one I trust more in such a dangerous role like Team C. But come! We have our own problems to discuss!"
Captain Thulumn and his crew had taken shelter landed in the foliage of the thick jungle above their area of focus. They had spent a fair amount of time trying to enter through the tight red cliff face, but they found it was sealed too tightly. With a lack of other options to take, they decided to scan for any weaknesses in the structural surface. There was still the matter of Team A's conundrum as well, but this mission took priority as it determined the entire purpose of colonizing this world.
"The results are in sir!" Zitherlum responded looking at the computer. "It appears your assumption was correct! We are detecting a large number of nerves directly beneath that suspicion mound. In fact... the number of nerves under the mound is honestly confusing!"
Captain Thulumn gave a smile at this report. "You have much to learn Zitherlum!" he replied. "Unlike our species, many creatures across the galaxy have bodies designed to feel immense pleasure from reproducing. The reason we do not is because we outsource our reproduction to other creatures. In a sense, it is a fact about larger species I greatly envy!"
"But how does this help us enter?" Zitherlum asked still confused. Much to his shock, Captain Thulumn had begun activating the ships' weaponry.
"These creatures are designed to pair reproduction and pleasure." Captain Thulumn explained. "As such, in order to access their reproductive facilities, pleasure is often needed to open the path!"
Captain Thulumn pointed to the strange large nub at the top of the cave entrance. Since they had landed in the jungle it had appeared to already of risen a fair amount so that they could even see it from where they sat, like a mountain on the horizon.
"That... will be our key inside."
Zitherlum fired up the engines and the ship raised up from the ground. He was careful moving forward not to clip against any of the thick, ancient, massive trees that surrounded him. Should the colony move in they would probably make attempts to clear cut this forest for resources, but it seemed almost a pity. As eery as it felt inside the thick humid jungle, it also held its own beauty.
The inside of the ship grew lighter as the exited the dark jungle. Turning the ship around, they now faced the massive nub above the cliff face. It appeared like a thick blanket of flesh that covered a small fleshy sphere.
"That sphere is our target!" Captain Thulumn announced aiming the ship's weapon.
The captain sent off a volley of shots which proceeded to beat against the sphere. As they made contact, the whole world moved around the ship as the target shifted her hips slightly.
"You won't get away that easily!" Captain Thulumn smirked as he realigned his aim and sent another volley directly against the sphere.
"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!" a massive thunderous voice could be heard rumbling through the whole target's body as the target once again began to sway back and forth.
"SIR! IT IS WORKING!" Zitherlum called out as he pointed out the window. Sure enough, the massive immovable cliff face to the inner cavern had begun to glisten and part, almost like a gateway opening up. There was still much further it could open, and would need to for the colony to enter, but for one scout ship it should be enough.
"Sir what was that?!" a voice cracked out over the radio.
"Oh sorry, is this team A?" the captain replied. "We had to get creative on an entrance, but things should settle down now."
There was a brief silence over the radio before the voice picked up again.
"Sir... could you do that for a bit longer?" Team A's leader requested.
"What is your reasoning for this request?" Captain Thulumn inquired surprised at the request.
"It's just... sir.... the entrance to the tunnels is rising!"
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"ALL HANDS PREPARE FOR ROUGH WATERS!" Zitherlum called out over the radio. "We are about to attempt a very risky maneuver which may wake the target. However, even if she does not wake, we can be assured her body will react! Wherever you are, seek immediate secure shelter!"
"Team A!" Captain Thulumn called out grabbing the radio from Zitherlum. "Should this work, you will need every opportunity available to make your way inside! I am hereby giving your team permission to rise to whatever altitude is required to monitor the entrance safely!"
"Sir!" Zitherlum cried out. "If this has a chance of waking the target the prime directive stipulates that we must remain out of eyesight!"
"I have faith in their abilities!" Thulumn cut him off. "And besides... I like to believe she will be too occupied to notice us!"
Each of the teams hurried to react to the threat. Team A rose to a hovering a full 3 inches above the target's moving nipple. Team B who had just ended radio silence by exiting the ear decided to risk themselves again by re-entering. The wax resource node was large enough for them to land on and was most likely secure enough to keep them from moving. Team D who had begun mining resources from the target's nose had a similar strategy, drilling a hole directly into the center of a meteor sized chunk.
"Leader! Did you hear that?!" the crew of Team C cried out to their leader.
They were sitting inside the enormous cavern of the target's stomach. While the acid sea would surely kill anyone the moment they left the ship, it was also a treasure trove of foods they had never seen before all slowly dissolving away. They had already harvested and tasted majority of the foods available and had just been discussing returning when the news came up.
"We need to hide quickly!" another crew member cried out, but the leader simply laughed.
"Hide?" he cried out. "We do not hide in team C! We Move Forward! Though it is true that it would be unsafe to ride out this storm in an open area like this with so many loose objects around. Plus, the head is the most dexterous part of the whole body, which means going back the way we came would most likely lead to other problems."
Scanning the area, Team C's leader noticed a small puckered hole just above the water line of the acid sea.
"THERE!" he cried out. "THAT will be our way forward!"
Tightly gripping the controls, team C's leader sent the ship towards the opening at full throttle. To the outside eye, it would seem like a suicide run, but the leader was more observant than he let on, and timed his flight directly with the slight opening and closing the tiny hole made.
As smoothly as it could go, the entire ship flew through the tight sphincter and entered the liquid filled tube with walls lined with tiny tentacle like things.
"Now we continue on forward!" Team C's leader grinned.
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Getting the okay from all teams, Captain Tulumn retargetted the massive fleshy sphere. The whole nub had grown significantly from just his few small hits, but this time he would be giving it his all.
Every gun was manned and targetted the exact same area. All in all, there would be 8 gunmen shooting 16 laser cannons at the sphere simultaneously.
"Will it be enough?" Zitherlum gasped to himself.
"It will be." Captain Thulumn replied. "I have seen what this girl is like.... she is a sensitive one..."
At his mark, the entire ship began to open fire. Unlike the previous attempt which aimed at subtlety, this time there were no breaks between volleys. The laser fire was relentless, and the large sphere swelled in response. Its fleshy cover had now been pushed aside as the large sphere fully emerged like a budding flower.
"AH! AH! NNNNNN!!!" the target's moans shook her entire body as her body shifted left and right. Between Zitherlum's piloting skill and the gunmen's tenacity however, the massive body sphere could not escape the assault. No matter which way it twisted, the main vessel would follow.
"Is it working??" Zitherlum cried out over the radio afraid of what would happen if they kept at this much longer.
"It is like... nothing we have ever seen before..." the voice replied
Team A's leader stood amazed. Beneath him the titanic hills swayed left and right wobbling as if they were made of gelitain. It took every last ounce of flying skill he had to keep track of the entrance. He lamented that he didn't have Zitherlum's skills. But his efforts were not in vain!
Slowly but surely, the entrance began to react. It twitched and twisted, slowly becoming more and more erect until finally, with one final burst it popped up as one titanic tower. It must have been almost an inch tall!
"THE GATEWAY IS OPEN! REPEAT! THE GATEWAY IS OPEN! We are making out entry now!" Team A's leader cried out.
As skilled as he could manage he maneuvered his ship towards the now massive entrance making sure not to end up a ship wreck on the swaying mountains below. With more luck than he had ever had in his life, he managed to make his way deep into the tunnel to explore the labyrinth below.
"CEASE FIRE!" Zitherlum cried out. "Team A has entered the tunnels! Repeat! Team A has entered the tunnels!"
At that, all the crew members on board ceased their attack. The massive sphere twitched almost as if it were hungry for more, but their focus lay elsewhere.
The massive cliff faces that had been held so tightly shut for them now stood wide open. Were they to fly the entire high counsel's fleet into the cavern at this point they would probably be able to.
"I guess onto our mission then." Zitherlum smiled. The joy was short lived however, as soon a large dark shadow cast over them.