One of Our Scientists Is Missing (part 5)

Posted on Sat Feb 13, 2021 @ 9:46am by Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & Commander Caleb Ryan & Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon

1,066 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Pangaea
Timeline: MD -01

[PREVIOUSLY]

Brianthe flew over the top of where the vine was and then down through the clouds. When the shuttle circled back, the vine was still there. "I think we should take a closer look." She glanced at the others. "We'll check Alanna's place first."

[CONTINUED]

She landed the shuttle halfway between the beanstalk and Alanna's hidden retreat. She quickly shut down the shuttle and opened the hatch. "I think I remember how to get in," she said, grabbing her pack and heading down the ramp.

Travis grabbed his security kit, pulling his phaser and tricorder. “Lieutenant,” he warned. “Let me secure the LZ first.” He put a hand on Brianthe’s shoulder to stop her, and then stepped outside himself, doing a quick visual check and then scanning with his tricorder. “Seems clear,” he said, allowing the others to exit the shuttle.

Travis looked over at the gigantic vine. “How did that thing not pop up on sensors?” he asked.

"The same way that it goes into the clouds and then disappears," Ace commented, unamused by Jack's beanstalk and less so amused by Travis putting a hand on Brianthe's shoulder. Does he not understand dibs?

Brianthe was scanning. "I don't know. It's odd, though. Looks like a giant beanstalk." She turned and headed toward a small hill near the forest. "Let me check on Alanna first, then we'll have a look at that beanstalk."

"If that is a beanstalk, that would make Alanna Jack." Ace then turned and smiled at Brianthe and asked, "Would that make you the golden goose?"

Bri stopped and looked at Ace. "Really?" She shook her head and continued toward the hill. She had to walk around it once before she remembered where the entrance was. "There it is." She stepped forward and put her hand on a smooth rock. The door opened. "Alanna?" she called as she walked inside.

A few minutes later, she came out again. "She's not there."

Ace snickered at Bri's comment of "Really?" but said nothing more until she returned. "So, beanstalk, then?"

Bri looked at where the beanstalk disappeared into the clouds. "Yep. Beanstalk."

"Do we have to physically climb that thing or can we use some thrusters to get up there?" Ace wondered aloud.

Travis took a look inside the hidden house. Nothing looked disturbed, like she was physically taken. He didn’t have time to do a thorough search, though. Brianthe seemed in a hurry. So he rejoined them at the beanstalk and looked up.

“I like the idea of trying with the shuttle,” Travis said. “If it doesn’t work, at least we can offload higher up the beanstalk rather than climbing all the way.”

"I'm pretty sure Alanna would have gone up the beanstalk to see where it leads," she said, coming up beside the other two. “Especially if it suddenly appeared," Brianthe said. "I know I would."

She was still concerned. If Alanna went up, why didn't she come back down? "Thrusters might help, but if we took a shuttle, where would we park it? Let's see if we can find evidence that Alanna went up."

"Trust me, she went up," Ace replied definitively. "Alanna and Brianthe cannot resist a strong vine."

"Strong vines are so hard to find," she quipped. She walked around the beanstalk, looking for broken stems or torn leaves. There was nothing on the ground level, but she did notice a broken stem ten feet up. "I think I found something."

Ace grinned at Brianthe, wanting to tell her that she was near one, but choked back the comment when he realized that she would have mentioned it was large and green. Looking at the general direction that Bri was, he said, "Evidence of climbing, I see. How do you think someone got that high?" he wondered. "I can give you a lift, if you would like."

“Shuttle autopilot could handle returning to the ground once we were off,” Travis said. He followed around the stalk, examining it. “Why didn’t Lieutenant Wells call it in before she went up?” he asked. “Protocol should have had her informing someone of strange phenomena like this.”

"Have you met her, or the lovely Bri, here?" Ace asked, gesturing to Brianthe. "That is not how they do things when it comes to plants."

“No,” Travis said simply. “I expect my officers to follow protocol.” He looked up the stalk. “That’s a long way up. There should be some climbing gear in the shuttle.” He turned back to retrieve it.

"Well, isn't he a bucket of joy?" Ace asked derogatorily as Travis got out of earshot.

Brianthe hated to admit it -- even to herself -- but she had to agree with Ace. "I don't know. She may have thought to go up a bit and then come back and report this. At least, that's what I would have done. I doubt she thought there would be a problem. Then again, we scientists tend to let our curiosity get the better of us."

She walked around the beanstalk again. "We could take the shuttle up part way, or use anti-grav boots. I didn't see a top to the beanstalk when we flew over the clouds. Maybe we could go up and see if we can find her from this end before we actually get on the beanstalk." She definitely wanted to find some beans to study. This was fascinating.

Ace wanted to say something about Brianthe and curiosity, but for the moment, held his tongue. There would be time for that at their dinner. "I think the anti-grav boots are the best idea. The shuttle will not have the subtle maneuverability, and if there is a sudden disappearance of the vine, it can't follow it, whereas with the boots, we could maneuver to the beanstalk and then climb normally to see where it goes."

Bri nodded. "Yes. I think that will be best." She went back to the shuttle to get her a pair of boots.

It did not take but a split second for Ace to join Bri. "So, ideas as to who is tapping into Terran fairy tales?"

"Not yet," she said. "But I want to find out."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon
Assistant Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist/Assistant Chief Science Officer

Chief Petty Officer 3rd class Travis Nottingham
Security Officer

 

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