Creepy Crawlies, Part 1

Posted on Thu Apr 14, 2016 @ 10:36am by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Liam Reynolds

1,507 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: Pangaea, Deep Underground
Timeline: MD13/1130/Planetside evening rolling in

[ON]

Blinded by the darkness Alenis stumbled back and felt cold stone through her dress. A moment ago she had been examining a fine fabric offered to her by a merchant and now she was swamped by a darkness so deep it stung her eyes.

"Where am I?" she said, hearing her words echo from the walls of what sounded like a cave. and in caves there were ... "Prophets, no," she said as she tentatively felt her way, finger by finger, toe by toe in case the floor or wall disappeared.

But to Alenis a fall in the dark would be a boon compared with the alternative she dreaded.

They had been right in front of him. All of them in front. And now there was just darkness. But he could still feel them. They were there but not all there together. And everyone was scared and confused. It was hitting him as emotional bullets. Liam stepped forward and his foot promptly passed through a wet puddle. "I can't be the only one ......." he muttered to himself.

"HELLO?" Liam yelled out. He slowly edged forward, hoping to all the goddesses that he didn't walk right into one of the Tholians or he would be seriously burnt.

Annora had followed the diplomatic officer and Tholians to the caves, but somehow upon reaching shelter she became separated from the group. The only logical explanation was most of the group entered one cave, and she entered a different opening. Hearing the Lt, Annora realized she wasn't alone so she answered him back.

"Over here, sir."

From somewhere in the darkness came the sound of multiple skittering legs. Before anyone had a chance to get worried about it Ambassador Voskene appeared. "Tozrax, my adjutant, is missing. Where is this place?"

"Keep talking Lieutenant," Liam said. "I am making my way to you. You sound closer." He had already managed to get his leg soaked in a puddle or something so it made sense. Spare her from the same until they could do a threat analysis of the situation. Although he highly suspected of how she had operated so far she was likely already doing that in her head.

"Ambassador I have no clue sorry. We need to find a light source and work out where we are before we can try look for him. Is everyone okay?" he asked the obvious question.

"Aye sir. It will take more than a dark cave to take me down."

She started going through the phonetic alphabet. She would do it mentally often as a way to focus her attention, and considering the situation the even tone of her voice should help in helping others locating her. So far there wasn't any sign of anyone unknown, but until they had some sort of light source there were a lot of unknowns.

Voskene said nothing but watched and followed.

Liam followed Annora's voice, his hands out in front of him hoping to stop his falling or banging into something due to the darkness. He knew he had found her, when his hands met something warm and curvy. Pulling them back immediately and not dreaming to wonder what that was, he said sheepishly, "sorry." He was glad of the dark as she couldn't see his embarrassment and his face going red.

"Perhaps we should have done Marco Polo instead."

The security officer smirked a little at the encounter, knowing the Lt was likely more embarrassed than she was.

"What's a Marco Polo?" Liam asked as soon as his senses told him she was more amused at what had happened.

"Not what, Who sir. He was an ancient Earth explorer whose name is used in a kids game involving call & response."

Sometimes Annora forgot about the lack of shared culture.

"What's the plan?" he asked. The straightened up abruptly. Annora and Voskene of course could not see that, all they heard was a large inhale of air come from him surprised. Liam could suddenly sense someone else. "We are not alone in here," he stated trying to use his senses to expand out more and get further information.

"Its not someone in our group. No familiarity. But they are really frightened," he added after a moment. "That's all I can get at the moment."

Annora had pulled a flashlight from her belt and was trying to get it to work when Liam mentioned an extra person. She was about to ask how he knew they were frightened when she remembered he had telepathic abilities.

Voskene saw the flashlight and activated the lantern built into the pyramid-shaped helmet of his/her environmental suit.

It worked. Something was working now. It seemed that the Fae were letting them have a little light after all. Liam looked down and groaned at his trouser leg covered in mud. It was cold and hardening in clumps. Uncomfortably he shook his leg but it made no difference. Looking around he tried to locate the source of the other life form.

Grateful for a little bit of light, Annora scanned the illuminated area but couldn't see any obvious extra person.

"Who ever you are, we mean you no harm."

She resisted the urge to say 'we come in peace.'

Liam didn't think he sensed any telepathy. But he broadcasted out the same words just in case.

The tunnel widened as they walked, then suddenly it opened into an enormous cavern. A space so vast that their beams of light couldn't find the ends of it. It also didn't appear to be completely natural. The granite floor under their feet was smooth and polished.

Then a pair of eyes glowed in the dark in front of them, oval and red. It was followed by a question."Góshé śatam?" ["Who enters?"]

Liam shot a look to both Voskene and Annora. "I have a bad feeling about this," he said flatly.

Voskene widened the intensity of his/her beam of light. It revealed a tall statue, living and breathing. Much like the one the first away team had encountered. This one had only one face, and was taller and more slender. It had been resting on one knee with its long spear in its hand. Now it stood and came to its full height. "Are you the ones I await?"

If the bad feeling wasn't enough, seeing the large spear in this things hand doubled Liam's worry. Then it stood up and towered over him. But it was odd. It was alive but it wasn't. At least not in any sense Liam could read with his abilities. He lowered his voice and looked at the other two.

"I think its mechanical or android. I'm not getting any normal sense of a life form," he told them. "Ermmmm we are not sure," Liam stated. It was always best to go with Honesty. "We are lost, can you help us?"

The sentinel tilted its head slightly. The effect was comical, given how otherwise ferocious it looked. "What are your names?"

Liam looked at Annora and raised his hand in a gesture that said ladies first.

Assuming it to be some sort of AI, Annora answered the question. "Lieutenant Tessaro, I am a member of Starfleet."

She wasn't sure if the designation meant anything, but figured it was worth a try.

"Lieutenant Reynolds, also Starfleet," Liam followed suit then looked at the Ambassador.

"I am Voskene," the Ambassador said. "I speak for the Tholian Assembly."

There was one other person left, a Ktarian security crewman who had been silent thus far. "My name is Nakada," he said apprehensively.

"Do you think the Fae built it?" Liam wondered. "Maybe there's something in these caves and its a defense mechanism to keep people away. Confuse and protect? Divide us all up?"

The sentinel spoke again. "You are the ones I await. My purpose is to protect this doorway, to turn away any who come near it. On this day, however, you may enter." He looked over his shoulder at the dark tunnel behind him. It was so narrow that only one person at a time could fit through it. "But what I tell you next is important, and you must remember. No more than five may go through the doorway. Once five have gone no one else may enter. Also, once the doorway is opened it will remain open for only one rotation of this planet. You must return before then or it will close." He stepped out of their way. "Proceed."

"I feel a bit like Alice about to go down a rabbit hole," Liam quipped staring into the tunnel. It just seemed to go on and on.

"Shall we?" Crewman Nakada said as he led the way. He drew his phaser keeping it low and at the ready. The group made their way past the sentinel, who alert as always but said nothing more.

They hadn't walked more than a couple of meters past the sentinel when they suddenly found themselves no longer in the cave.

[TBC]

 

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