Enigma (Part 4 of 5)

Posted on 29 Jun 2014 @ 3:53pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Cadet Sophomore Grade Alenis Taban & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Riley Cameron & Corynn'tha M.D., Ph.D. & Verity Thorne & Commander Luke Wyatt

2,258 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: Lyshan III - Uridium Mine, Section C13-D50
Timeline: MD 05 - 1205 hrs

Previously, on Enigma (Part 3)...

Removing one glove, she put a couple of fingers on his neck and then shook her head. "He is dead. I do not recognize this crewman as one of our Team. I do not think anyone got in front of us." Allyndra said and examined the wound.

While the others gathered around the body, Taban had moved further forwards, staying within sight, but also scouting around the next bend, his phaser raised and poised. He had seen the man as he moved past and had no wish to see more. He had seen more than enough death and suffering in his young life. He didn't know the man and, even if a shipmate and comrade, there wasn't much point allowing himself to dwell on it. He almost felt a carnal rage within him though, not directed at anything, just a building anxious rage. It seemed to heighten and make hypersensitive all of his senses. The flicker of every shadow seemed to have some hidden meaning, every scratch of environmental suit against the rock sounded like a thunderclap. The Cadet just tried to keep his eyes narrowed and his focus true. Instead of the barren foreboding rock he tried to imagine the passage as one of the small crawlspaces of the Jian'Karra - just as claustrophobic, but far more familiar and 'safe'.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Scarlet moved forward to look, holding her breath as she crouched close to him. She reached out, frowning with pain at seeing the dead crew member...the tear in his body that revealed a mess of tissue, organs and blood. "What on earth is doing here?" she whispered, shaking her head with confusion. "He came down with the other away team..." she shook her head with impossibility of it. The other team should be in a completely different area of the mine. And there were no signs of any of the others.

Abbey ran forward holding her hand to her mouth as she saw the dead crew in an attempt to fight back the tear's. She couldnt speak loud enough for the words she wanted to say. She knew who the dead crewman was, someone who she had talked to often about her life and even the bits she didn't like to admit and would go as far as calling him a friend. "Its... Its George Ruktah" She finally mumbled. Stepping back and leaning against the wall, sliding down it until she cradled her head in her arms. "This is so screwy" She said in an almost humorous tone.

Scarlet looked across to her with a frown of concern, moving over to crouch next to her. "It's alright," she said quietly, touching her arm. "We're going to take him home, and we're going to head back now. We've seen enough for one search."

It didn't take long for Abbey to grasp the situation "Wait? You don't think! They're all like this?" As she spoke the sentence become more urgent and her voice filled with tension she hoped her dad hadn't fallen to the same fate "We gotta find them before" She waved her hand towards George "This happens to more of them" The sadness of her friends death was driven out by Fear and more so determination to find her dad.

Scarlet shook her head firmly, watching her as she held onto her arm. "Wyatt, we need to stay calm. We're going to go and meet up with the other half of the team right now. We don't know what's going on, so let's not jump to conclusions. Up you get," she said softly, helping the young girl back to her feet. She felt for her. She was young to be thrown into all of this.

Blake tapped her commbadge, just in case, but she wasn't at all surprised when the error sound came back. Scarlet looked to the rest of the team, shaking her head gently. "We're going to take him with us, so we can take him home. Doctor, can you strap his wound so we can carry him?"

It would take every bit of material in the small emergency medkit but Allyndra did not argue and only nodded in assent. She began the unpleasant task and as she did so took samples of blood, tissue and clothing to see if anything might be unusual.

Abbey managed to calm herself, she wasn't at all to good at all of this away team stuff but the thought of getting through it with her team and seeing her dad again... Alive she hoped. "I can help carry him" She offered with a slight smile.

"Very well, thank you," Allyndra stood up putting the samples away. "I am ready here Commander."

Scarlet nodded with a frown, letting out a long, shaking breath after everything that had happened to them, no matter how impossible some of it was. He moved to the fallen crew member to help them carry their comrade. Now, she just wanted to get back.

Allyndra was relieved to get going again and this time in the opposite direction rather than further down into the depths. She had to keep reminding herself that it was nothing more than her dislike of enclosed spaces. There was one thing she vowed to do as soon as she could and that was to get to the holodeck or the arboretum and stretch her wings.

Abbey couldn't grasp how light George was, maybe his death had more to it but she couldn't think about it right now at the risk of breaking down again. She just wanted to get back and see her dad was OK. Shuffling behind the group she allowed herself a slower pace and studied the walls to see if there was any clues.


Beta Team

Cameron felt more than a little uneasy at the idea of splitting the team up - in every holomovie he had ever watched, this is when bad things tended to happen. Even though there was still a good number of people alongside him, the red haired engineering found his eyes glued to the tricorder readouts as he watched for anything out of the ordinary - or at least, anything he could detect.

"I don't see anything...not that it helped last time."

"Same," Verity Thorne reported, and there was something close to disappointment in his voice. He hadn't felt scared before. He'd been...intrigued. He'd wanted to know what was going on, but it had gone too fast to find out. If there was something going on here...if there was something here, then he wanted to see and know. This was a unique opportunity for him.

Luke pulled up behind the group he had been walking slower than most "Keep looking guys i'm sure there's something to find and hell am I going to let it freak me out" He looked up and down the wall as he did touching it "Think guys What could cause hallucinations, what sort of reaction would be needed? Touch? Heat? Electrolytes created by our own bodies?" He said removing his hand and shaking his head and turning to the group.

"Och well I suppose a low level psionic field would do it - but I'm not reading anything that would resemble a power source - something like that would need a fair whack of juice...there's not so much as a crackle of power in these rocks"

Jacob shook his head, "Sorry Chief, a low level psionic field would probably be absorbed by the pure crystal formations in the strata here." He pointed to a beautiful vein of translucent quartz. "I would bet a lot of credits on it... if I were a gambling man that is..."

"There is something out there and its real I don't know what it is, but I can feel it. Its like it is trying to climb inside my head."

Shaking his head Luke let out an unresolved sigh "Don't let it get to focus on the things that are here around us rather than what shouldn't and isnt, but we gotta find out what happening with the crystal formations.

"Aye perhaps you're right. The crystal formations seem to have enough capacity to absorb that kinda field..."

Cameron replied absentmindedly. The engineer in him meant that everything had to have a technological answer in his mind - a machine, a technology, something manmade had to be involved, surely?

"Who says it has to be an hallucination?" Verity pointed out softly, shaking his head with a small smile as they walked.

From deep within the mine, the quickly-repeating sounds of what could possibly be footsteps could suddenly be heard echoing loudly across the uridium-lined walls of the makeshift tavern network. Each step appeared to get louder and louder from the dark abyss at the end of the tunnel, but suddenly stopped before anyone came into view. Then, a loud yet muffled scream pierced the air which was quickly followed by another succession of rapid footsteps in the opposite direction, heading away from the team.

Verity's first instinct was to cover his ears at the sheer abbrasiveness of the scream. His heart beat faster with it, a primal reaction. There were still people lost out here afterall.

"What in the name of Einstein was THAT??" Jacob exclaimed.

Corynn'tha spoke aloud while following. "How probable would it be that the voices is a result of the terraforming?"

"It could be one of the missing miners," Verity shook his head with a frown at the thought of it, breathing hard from the pace they were keeping to try and chase down the footsteps....and at not knowing what they might find at the end of the chase.

Taking a moment to think before continuing he looked to the group and towards the direction the footsteps and scream came from "They're all possibilities so instead of theorising lets go check it out but keep your eyes open and watch each others back" Luke said taking point and leading the group deeper.

Verity nodded, falling into step all too willingly. If it was a lost miner, he was eager to help them, if it was something else...everything inside of him wanted to know what it was. His breath was quick and heart racing, and not just from the pace. A mixture of anticipation, excitement and fear was playing through him and he couldn't settle it down.

Coynn'tha followed, wondering where the logic was in not creating multiple possible theories and planning for each. The further the group ventured, the more of an unusual feeling of nervousness began to come over the Vulcan. "Senior Chief Wyatt, I believe I am beginning to experience what is best described as an anxiety attack. Something in this general direction is affecting my control over my own emotions. I must admit that it is...uncomfortable."

"Then you now know what it is like for the rest of us Coynn'tha but try and control it, its just natural and its my best guess is that whatever is causing all this is messing with you abilities to surpress your emotions so try your best if it gets worst tell me and we can turn back." He said giving a worrying smile to the Vulcan. The last thing he needed was an out of control Vulcan trying to pon'far everything.

"Dammit...we gotta go take a look though eh? Come on ya jessies..." Cameron replied, reaching down with one hand to make sure his phaser was exactly where he had left it, exhaling slightly before moving onwards.

Jared was feeling more than uncomfortable, a sense of foreboding hung over him and dark, long suppressed memories were stating to come back to him.

Many minutes had passed during which the away team had cautiously pursued the unsettling scream and fleeting footsteps. Intermittent tricorder readings and a few scattered footprints in the muddy earth below their feet had given them the only clues as to which direction to follow, and the Starfleet entourage was now much deeper into the mine when they slowly rounded the corner and came across a T-junction. What they then saw was not for the feint of heart, nor easily describable by any scientific means.

A female Cardassian appeared to be half-embedded in the uridium-lined walls of the tunnel. The left side of her body was materialized within the rock, while the right side convulsively twitched in shock and agony. A faint gurgling noise could be heard coming from her mouth -- what was left of it -- and a coarse mixture of bile, blood, and lung fluid dripped freely from the side of her lips while her body attempted to breathe. Her one eye which was outside of the rock was tearful and wide with horror, for the death she was experiencing was beyond any semblance of proper.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

Corynn'tha M.D., Ph.D.
Xenobiologist
USS Galileo

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

PO1 Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

SCPO Luke Wyatt
Security Officer
USS Galileo

CA Abbey Wyatt
Scientist Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Wyatt]

LT Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

LT Jared Nicholas
Linguist
USS Galileo

CDT(SO) Alenis Taban
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

WO Riley Cameron
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Holliday]

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