{Planetfall in 30 seconds.} The voice of the ship's AI filled the halls over the roar of the landing engines. Tiris rolled her eyes. As if someone might have still been unaware of that fact after the previous 5 warnings. She had plenty of legitimate grievances as part of her job, but the excessive warnings, by far, was her most petty. It only served to make the already tedious Planetfall protocol even more frustrating. {Planetfall in 10 seconds. Planetfall in 5, 4, 3, 2, } The final number was drowned out by the thunk of the ship landing. {Planetfall on [Planet Sennek-B3] successfully completed.} Tiris quickly grabbed her gear and headed for the exit bay. After 6 solid months in space, she was excited to finally touch down on solid ground. As the bay door opened with a pneumatic hiss, she walked outside, and gasped in wonder. It was beautiful...

They had landed in a lush jungle, massive trees as far as Tiris could see. Emerald green leaves fell like rain in the aftermath of their Planetfall, and the ground beneath them was coated in soft, light grass. Massive vines, thicker than her arms, were draped over the branches of the trees. The trees were almost silver, and the bark was smooth yet covered in spiraling rivulets. Beautiful flowers dotted the landscape, some taller than her, in so many wonderful colors. She was tempted to pick one, but, well, they'd all learned that their "Prorexian Environment Safety Suits" weren't particularly great at protecting against unknown chemicals. Tiris had been lucky enough to find out the easy way. The more she saw of the jungle, the more she wished she could just... Live there. But unfortunately, she wasn't here to sightsee. She was here to get stuff. 

The guard convoys had made Planetfall about half an hour before the workers', so there was already a base camp waiting for Tiris and the others. Hunks of grey and red metal plonked haphazardly around their crudely-made clearing stuck out like sore thumbs against the beautiful nature around them. Armed guards were already patrolling, likely explaining the suspicious lack of local fauna around. Captain Varjez stood in the center of the camp looking over some files. As the workers arrived, he looked up and quickly put the files away and walked up to the SoapBox at the center of camp. His sneering voice was broadcast all over the camp by the speakers. "Alright, finally the dogsbodies are here! Listen closely everyone, I'm not gonna repeat this again! Sooner we get this done, sooner we're off this rock and sooner we're paid!" Varjez and his... Everything was another grievance Tiris had with the job. Far less petty than the warnings, that's for sure.

"We've gotten a contract for a type of crystal that grows around here. Apparently, the stuff is worth piles to the right underground buyer! So be careful not to break it, or you're paying out of your skin!" Tiris's comm beeped as it received the data for the crystal. It looked very strange, but fitting for a planet like this. More like a faceted flower than a mineral. " Orbital Recon pinpointed the location of upwards of 60 of the things, so assuming nobody fucks up, there might be enough to hand out bonuses afterwards!" A half-hearted cheer sounded. "Now, there's a bit of reported xeno activity in the area, so we're assigning some token guard escorts for the gatherers. Recon barely found anything though, so no excuse to mess up! And, I can't stress this enough," the speakers raised his voice even louder, "DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, STOP WORKING! I don't care if there's 30 seconds til lift-off and you've got a pack of xenos on your tail, YOU GET THAT CRYSTAL! WE ARE NOT TOLERATING ANY LESS EARNINGS HERE TODAY, GOT IT?!" Nobody had the guts not to agree. Another ping went out to their comms. "There are your assigned areas! Now, get moving, and-" One of his lieutenants murmured something to him, and he sighed angrily. "Alright, fine! Some of you may have noticed the large blank area on your maps. DO NOT GO THERE! And it ain't xenos, okay?! Something in the plants there messes with our frequencies so the recon got messed up, and it'll probably mess up the equipment if you go in there! So just stick to your areas, get the crystals, and get back here! UNDERSTAND?!" Everyone again nodded, and the escorts collected their assigned workers and moved out.

The guard escort, ironically, only made Tiris more nervous. Four burly men in bulky power armor carrying giant guns, and a walker mech four times as tall as them. The presence of guards like that was an implication that something dangerous enough to require them would happen. She tried not to focus on that. She instead basked in the beauty of the jungle, letting herself take in the natural beauty she normally only saw on controlled environments in space, or on the propaganda films they watched for entertainment. One of the few places of unsullied beauty in the sector... And they were sullying it... Her comm beeped an alert, and she looked up to see one of the crystals before them. It was even prettier in person... She knelt down and began carefully trying to extract it.

Tiris was very methodical in removing the crystal. She gently dug down beneath it, checking for any roots or other connection to the ground. She crouched down underneath to look closer, and the sun was reflected into her eyes from the crystalline petals. It startled her for a second, but she oddly didn't mind too much. It was pretty. It was soothing. She found the roots and began carefully freeing them from the ground. She felt compelled to keep the flower safe. She couldn't risk damaging it, for her bonus, of course... She freed one root and began working on the next, the flower reflecting light all over her. Her eyes fluttered, but she kept working. The more she stared, the more a strange sense of calm came over her. A zen feeling, that all that mattered was extracting the flower safely. She heard the guards speaking quietly, worried about another squad going dark, but she needed to keep focused. She had to keep working, after all. 

The second root, then the third, then the fourth... The guards were getting impatient, but she had to keep working... She had to keep the flower safe... Eventually, she removed the final root and carefully lifted the flower from the ground and stowed it gently within her canister. One of the guards snippily commented, "It's about time! What took you so long?" Tiris softly replied, "I had to be careful... I had to keep the flower safe..." The guard eyed her suspiciously. "...What?" Tiris's head shuddered, and she blinked. It felt like she was waking up from a dream. "Uh... Nothing... I think the flo-Crystal might have... affected me... I'm fine... Don't worry..." Tiris heard one of the guards mutter, "Unlike Bravo Team..."  to another, and they both chuckled nervously. 

They moved towards the next point, a palpable tension in the air. The guards weren't telling Tiris anything, but she could tell from their worried muttering to each other that something pretty bad had gone down with one of the other groups. She tried to keep calm, but without whatever the crystal did to her, it was very difficult. So she was glad once they finally arrived at the next crystal and she began extracting it. She felt herself slip back into that soothing, meditative state as she began extracting the flower. This one seemed a bit different though. It was on top of a stump, and the roots fit snugly inside long furrows that didn't exactly seem natural... But they certainly weren't artificial either... It was strange, but it made her job easier, so she didn't mind... Just extracting the roots one by one, staring at the strange designs on the stump... They too were strangely purposeful, almost like pictures... Or writing... The sound of shouting echoed in the distance, but she had to keep working... Had to focus on the flower, even as the yelling got louder... Nothing mattered but the flower... She finished extracting the flower and gently held it in her hands as she turned around... And a surge of terror pierced through the crystal's spell as she saw what was approaching. 

They looked like the trees, but grown twice the size and bent into strange shapes, with massive branches acting as limbs. Glowing eyes the color of the crystals scanned the forest as they quickly crawled closer to Tiris and the guards. One stared down at one of the guards, who fired his gun angrily. "EAT LASER, XE-" A flash of light emanated from its eyes, and the guard vanished, as if he was never there. Another guard began firing and was subsequently vaporized as well. The mech stepped forward, guns whirring up, and Tiris could hear the driver cackling madly. He began to shoot... And suddenly vines shot up all over the mech. Within the blink of an eye, it was dismantled in a flurry of pollen and leaves, and the mech pilot started falling from the sky. Before he even hit the ground, he was gone in another beam of light. Tiris could only stare, mostly in terror but also... A little bit in awe. These aliens were... Majestic. Beautiful. Formed out of nature itself. They were so massive, yet moved so gracefully. But as she stared, she felt they looked more like mechs, like the one they had just destroyed. And indeed, she soon saw another alien, much smaller than the trees and in a more humanoid shape, approaching them. The final guard aimed a gun at them, and the alien casually waved a limb. A cloud of pollen appeared around the guard, and when it dissipated so did he. Tiris was completely defenseless now... And had just stolen something from an altar... She was doomed.

The alien stared at Tiris with a smooth, oddly alluring face with no features save for two glowing eyes. They possessed two vinelike arms ending in glowing flowers, and three waving vines beneath them that didn't quite touch the ground. They wore what Tiris assumed must be a ceremonial robe of some kind, a crystalline petal prominently displayed on the center. Tiris nervously stared, then took a trembling step forward and placed the crystal gently on the ground. The alien's eyes shifted in color, and they waved an arm. A shimmering stream of pollen surrounded the crystal and delicately placed it back on the altar, a serene hum emanating from the altar as it did. Tiris watched, almost entranced, before timidly looking back at the alien. "I... I p-promise not to... take anything more..." She tried to back away, but the alien fluttered their flowers at her. Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted gently into the air. The alien waved an arm, and she started floating alongside them as they walked away from the altar.

Tiris couldn't move under her own power as she was floated alongside the aliens, but she didn't feel the need to. She kept her mind off of the danger by looking out over the beautiful jungle landscape, watching the majestic 'mechs', and staring at the lovely alien... Something about them made her feel... Safe. Comforted. The telekinetic force holding her didn't feel like Zero-G, where she was just aimlessly floating around, but like she was being carried in a soft, warm embrace. A gentle hug that soothed her body, and somewhat her mind.   Her comm beeped angrily, and she realized they were approaching the dead zone. This must be where the aliens lived. She wondered what it must look like. The trees before her shimmered as she floated through... And her heart skipped a beat as the majesty of the alien city appeared before her.

It resembled a massive forest, yet was undeniably a city. The buildings were a shining silver and looked to have grown from the ground like trees, glowing leaves and flowers providing a mesmerizing glow to everything. Strange flora, fauna, and some wonderful combination of both were everywhere, and the serene hum from the altar permeated every inch. Tiris noticed the alien looking up at her as she gazed around in wonder, and blushed. The alien's eyes shifted again. They walked past a large building filled with large globules of sap, and Tiris realized with a start that they contained other humans. Captain Varjez, his lieutenants, some of the other workers... And the guards she thought she saw get destroyed. They were suspended in the sap, appearing fast asleep, not a scratch on their bodies. She expected that she would be taken there, but instead the alien brought her towards a beautiful, shining flower over a hundred feet tall, covered in the crystals. The alien floated towards a large petal, bringing Tiris with them. It opened up, and Tiris soon found herself inside a large, quaint room, dimly lit by a crystal sitting on top of a small altar in the center.

The alien gently lowered Tiris onto a soft bed that hummed beneath her. Not knowing what else to do, and feeling quite calm and relaxed, Tiris politely folded her hands on her lap and looked at the alien. The alien waved their arm, and a glowing flower appeared before them which they gently handed to Tiris. They gestured towards Tiris's head, and so she placed it just above her ear. She felt a sharp sting as its roots suddenly burrowed into her head, followed by a soothing, cool relief as it spread throughout her brain, filling everything with a relaxing hum. The Hierophant smiled lovingly down at her, the flower providing her with all the knowledge and language necessary to communicate. <How do you feel, Pet?> 

Tiris cocked her head, confused. She replied, finding she no longer needed to open her mouth. <Pet? Like a pet animal?> The Hierophant chuckled mentally. <In a sense. Your role is one of far more nuance than can be easily communicated through your language. But 'Pet' is close enough for you to understand. > They caressed Tiris's mind. <You will be mine, and I will care for you. That is all you must know.> Tiris shuddered happily. <Is that what will happen to the other humans?> The Hierophant floated closer. <Not necessarily. Some, perhaps. Some may be kept as servants instead. But most shall be returned to the stars outside. We have no desire for their violent tendencies. But I sense in you a kindred spirit. One who would love the planet just as much as it loves us.> They began fluttering their flowers before Tiris's eyes, and Tiris suddenly found herself becoming incredibly sleepy. <What are you doing...?> The Hierophant embraced them, body, mind, and soul. <You are becoming a Pet. Let yourself melt into my embrace. Let yourself become wrapped in my body. Let your roots take hold in me, and mine in you.> The Hierophant's eyes began pulsing and shimmering... It reminded Tiris of the flowers... <You are my Pet. You have always been my Pet. You will always be my Pet. Take root in my love, and let everything else fade away like leaves in the wind...> Tiris felt her mind dimming, every thought slowly withering away as The Hierophant planted new thoughts and memories there. And she didn't resist at all... Why would she? She'd wanted to live on this planet forever since she made Planetfall...