Moonshine made me blind to this pyramid scheme (BL)

When they finally left the sheltering safety of their station, Yax did not feel happy at all. What blue sky? What wind? Someone said sunshine? Yea, right, they applied that sunblock for nothing. Not to mention Cid slapping him over his head in front of everyone. What bug could there be on his face before they even opened the doors?!

Not to forget, exit being unused for ages made it stuck. Luckily, it was not blocked. Some muscle and elbow grease later, they managed to squeeze themselves out. Straight into bushes. Lots of bushes. Tall, dense and freakish, as they did not resemble those depicted in carvings all over their station walls or those from educational videos. But they were bushes definitely, as they branched from the ground level. Above their heads, dense foliage blocked the light, turning the world bright green. There will be no need to make a break at noon, as they felt like walking through a low, stuffy corridor.

Cid walked ahead, waving that thing called machete that he took from storage room. It was a functional replica of something found in Kane's records and then made by Soma. They all carried samples of Soma's artistry. And really appreciated it now. These things were not weapons of mass destruction, but machetes, daggers and energy lasers that looked antique and clumsy at first, did match their current setting just fine. Along with tents, shovels and cooking gear, they carried more metal than they saw in all the time since graduating and being deployed to their current post. It made them feel medieval.

Cid cut a path through bushes, while Yax walked behind him and removed thorny vines hanging over the passage using another machete. Echo and Floreo used their feet to stomp felled branches to the ground so Jone, Ivory and Mani could walk without stumbling. Blaze covered the rear. Just to be safe.

They did not notice any animals yet, aside from bugs and other such critters, but that does not mean there were none. Plants are the base, bugs feed on the plants, so there have to be things eating bugs. And also, bigger things that eat small thing that eat bugs. Basic biology.

They walked for a while, when suddenly Cid came to a halt. "We are out of the bushes." He said, cutting off one last branch. Yax looked, and yeah. No more fighting with thorns. From here on, as far as he could see there were only trunks of trees. Foliage moved to high up above them, and feeling of oppression eased a lot. They were all used to high ceilings.

Yax was not an expert on trees. He looked at Echo who stood beside him. "Is there anything that could be edible so far?" Their rations were limited, and sooner they identify possible food sources, the better. Answer came from his other side, so he turned to look at Floreo who had both of his palms pressed at grey bark. "By the color and feel it should be Fagus silvatica. Leaves are too high to confirm." He hugged the smooth tree, his fingers missing a few centimeters to meet. "And its an old one."

From behind came Ivory's voice. "There are fruits on the ground. And they are indeed beech trees. Leaves and bark are not really tasty, but they are edible if really necessary. Seeds can be roasted, but they are tiny." He had a detailed botany guide in one of his memory sections, acquired during original preparations. He was supposed to help feed 10 000 people by foraging and hunting alone, to cut down on unnecessary travel between station and construction site. So, this group should be no problem. Next to him, Jone picked up some samples for later testing, just in case.

Mani held his tongue firmly behind his teeth, even though he wanted to add his estimation of how many seeds they should collect per person to make them into a meal. He doubted anyone really wanted to know that. He pressed tip of his boot into green pillow like cushion covering the ground and watched as water got squeezed out. Wet. Great.

Blaze looked up to the green sky and breathed deeply. Moist air filled his lungs and his nose scrunched as strange new smells confirmed that he is finally out in the open. He looked around and asked something that somehow did not get mentioned yet. "Right, what direction are we supposed to go?"

Ivory pulled out his map and placed holy orientation device on its corner. "We used south gates to leave, and we moved straight for half an hour to get here." He looked behind himself but saw nothing but a bunch of green. "Secondary location where we should move to is only 500 km to the south-west from here, if it's still viable." There was supposed to be another power plant station build there, but they barely started the foundation, then abandoned it due something. Politics. Or bad environment. Or something like that.

Mani calculated automatically and said out loud before he could stop himself. "If it is by an average transportation vehicle, it would take 4 to 5 hour drive to arrive." He noticed everyone looking at him so he ended quietly "Depends on road conditions."

Jone blinked while restraining his expression. What roads could still be out here? Before he could comment though, he heard Yax asking. "How about walking, with no roads at all."

Question pushed Mani into calculator mode so he replied with almost no pause. "If we walk 12 hours a day with average speed of 5 kilometers per hour, considering terrain, that is 60 kilometers a day. If we do not go off course, arrival should be after 8 point 3 days."

That was way too easy problem for him, but since his office got taken from him, there were no equations for him to do, and he started to feel awful because of it. He did secretly took coffee pot from the break room. And filled his backpack with coffee. Cid carried most of his stuff anyway so he could cling to his little source of happiness. He waited for next question but that guy called Yak, their mission leader, already turned his back and was busy explaining route they are going to take to the rest of the team.

Mani was quite satisfied with that. He liked that this new boss did not chit chat a lot. Even Blaise got a lot quieter since they left their basement.

Soon, they moved on and walked ahead in direction Ivory pointed out. Formation was more or less the same. With Yax and Cid leading ahead, Blaze guarding the rear, twins holding flanks.

Ivory walked between Jone and Mani contemplating whether he should ask Yax what the hell is wrong with him. He almost broke his orientation device due shaking when pointing random spots on the map. If they did not agree on the route before the trip itself..

He hoped that getting his mission back cured depression and low self esteem that plagued Yax for past 5 cycles. He knew what triggered it, and even though he understood his reasons, the method Yax used to deal with it almost drove Ivory insane as well. They were like brothers. Who would ever date his own brother. Or marry even. Preposterous idea.

Well, he will wait until they make a camp and set tents tonight. Then he is going to squeeze the truth out of that idiot. There are too many things to consider. They are not responsible for lives of thousands this time, but those who depend on them are all a sort of a family by now. He cannot let himself be sidetracked by irrelevant things.

Echo carefully perceived sounds of the forest. Their walking was not too loud, with thick carpet of moss covering the ground. Occasionally, someone would step into leaves but they were also wet, so not much rustling could be heard. It was too quiet. Some buzzing, occasional distant chirp, and clinking of pots hanging off Floreo's backpack.

Since moving out of the bushes walking became easier, so Jone diverted part of his attention from his feet to the fact that none of the bugs landed on him yet. When he saw his first live centipede ever, he felt his skin crawl for a moment. But, that smart thing dug into leaves and disappeared before he could investigate it's full size and edibility. And ever since then he became hyper aware that all the flying, crawling and hanging upside-down creatures showed no interest in them. Not a single one tried to take a little nibble. Nor at least a drop or two of blood. Strange.