Legend of Souls (Part 1 of 4)

Posted on 18 Sep 2014 @ 12:16am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Scarlet Blake & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Norvi Stace & Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant Elijah Williams IV, M.Sc. & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm

2,798 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: Lyshan III - Subterranean Cave Network
Timeline: MD 07 - 1420 hrs

Previously, on Cave Redux (Part 8)...

Jared's phaser was at his side. He had of course obediently turned it to max and he' use if he had to, but had a slug thrower. an ancient Terran slug thrower a .40. A full clip was in the magazine, 15 rounds and he had an extra clip. Bullets were pretty expensive and he usually carried more for show than anything else, but these were desperate times. He'd fired it once and wasn't sure whether or not he had hit anything. Right now, he was just trying to make his way back like everyone else.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Without warning, an entire section of earth above the away team suddenly caved in and came crashing down loudly, sending uridium dust and rock spewing into the air and blocking any type of visibility. The walls to the side of the collapsing sections also began to cave in, and finally the solid ground below their feet buckled and failed, plunging the entire large team into a sink hole almost thirty meters below the tunnel floor.

Siren didn't even realise she was screaming as she fell. The searing pain from her wound ripped through her with the strain on her body, tumbling downwards, unable to claw on to anything to stop her or even slow her. She cried out with pain as she was tossed about like nothing more than a ragdoll with a popped seam that just kept ripping into a bigger hole.

For the second time in one day, Gabriel found himself falling and praying. He desperately tried to keep his body at least partly under control as he slid and fell, fighting his instinct to grab and brace with his arms and instead kept them tucked around his body to try and prevent a break. Sweat rolled down his skin and his breath was ragged, as if he couldn't quite get enough between the adrenaline and dust.

Elijah barely had any time to register what was happening, his brain couldn't keep up but his stomach churned as the ground beneath him gave way. Instincts began to kick in and his hands reached out to grab for something, anything, but rock slipped between his gloved hands. His tricorder had plummeted down with the rest of him and a curse slipped from his lips. A piece of falling rock had careened into his helmet and he flinched. The plastisteel began to crack. Oh no, he thought as he to felt his body fall.

Luke being slightly behind the others had seen the tunnel floor give way eating them up only seconds before he to was swallowed whole. He was now plummeting for what seemed an eternity. Dust filled his lung's as he tried even harder to take in oxygen but with every breath a sharp pain careened through his body and to his heart like Daggers. The air was tainted, full of dust and falling debris and it made him feel sick. The dizzying height was quickly getting shorter as he watched with amazement as rocks exploded out and spread across the floor, it was almost beautiful the kind of beautiful you look at when you think its the last thing you'll ever see.

Jared managed, barely to hang on to his Glock. He as able to get into the holster as he tumbled. He landed rather awkwardly, but thought he would escape with only some minor cuts and scrapes, but then, what he presumed to be a rock struck his left leg, just below the shin and it collapsed under him. The left leg going one way the rest of his body a different direction. A searing pain shot up his leg, a pain worse than any he could imagine. Then he lay there unwilling o unable to move.

John lost his grip on his rifle as he fell, cursing his hands for failing him before he decided to panic about the feeling of falling. As he looked down he saw the floor approaching fast, and could do nothing other than go limp and aim to roll when he hit. The impact hit him like a suckerpunch - throwing the air from his lungs and causing him to gasp loudly as his chest compressed against the rock below. Had he not had his EV suit on, the Captain was convinced he would have at least broken a few ribs if not something more.

Looking up, he grunted as he stared along the floor and saw his rifle balancing on a shard of what used to be the cave floor above, it's flashlight illuminating a small patch of the wall.

"Ugh...everyone alright? Talk to me people!"

Pushing herself up carefully to sit, Scarlet grimaced with pain, the back of her head throbbing where she'd hit it hard in the fall. She reached to try and unclip the helmet of her suit, feeling the warm, slick feeling of blood in her hair, but the fastening was jammed with the fall and she couldn't get her hand to the base of her skull to feel it. She breathed through a wave of dizziness with it, her ears ringing as she steadied herself. "Here, Sir."

Gabriel reached out to grab Amon's arm as he struggled up to sit with a groan, covered in dust and debris. He tested his muscles and body, sighing with some aches here and there. "Ready," he pushed himself forward, hauling himself up onto his feet without hesitation, swaying for a moment but staying resolute and ready to move quickly if needed.

Amon got up as well, giving a weak nod as he moved with Gabriel, trying to catch his breath again to recover. He had been lucky; nothing broken or too bashed. And Gabriel looked fine as well. Thank God, he wasn't sure if he'd cope if he had been...wounded.

Luke lay face down in the dirt, dust covering his face making him look grey. Pushing up he turned his body to lay on his back, he could already taste the sweet metallic taste of blood wetting on his lips. He went to speak and reply to the Commanders words but the shadows had taken more of his vision and he sill felt as if he was falling. Oxygen deprivation... A Killer.

Stace opened her eyes and heaved in a sigh, trying to catch the breath that had escaped her as she impacted the ground. From the prone position she recovered in, she heaved her chest up and instinctively cradled her leg. The tear in the EVA suit was what first caused her concern to rocket as the blood and what looked like exposed bone now came into focus for her. "Argh!" she hissed through clenched teeth and natural panic set in. "My damned leg!" and she fell back to her prone position keeping her eyes away from the open fracture.

As he hit the ground, he felt the rush of air leave his lungs in a short 'whoosh'. He began to gasp, his chest burned and pain flared up and down his spine. He cried out the moment he caught his breath. Pain had been something he become accustomed to with all the beatings he endured in his life, but this was different. He thought for sure the suit would have protected him somewhat. He blinked and looked forward, the crack in his helmet and gotten worse. Then he heard 'my damned leg' and tried to register the voice... it was Lieutenant Stace. It didn't help his ears were ringing. Slowly, very slowly he rolled over and got on all fours and again, very slowly crawled toward his department head. He looked at the compound fracture and almost threw up at the sight. He averted his gaze and on instinct, reached for and took a hold of the lieutenant's hand. "It'll be okay lieutenant," he said. He told the lieutenant that just as much to comfort himself as to comfort her. "I need a doctor over here," he called out over the comm.

"Bugger!" Stace exclaimed as she gripped Williams' hand; the surging pain now ripping through her leg and her body. She took in a deep breath to calm herself and then placed her other hand over her visor. "How bad is it?" she asked, still intently looking away. "Is... is it bone? Is that what I can see?"

Elijah found himself nodding, though he knew it wasn't noticeable with the helmet. "It's bone," he said. "You have a compound fracture."

Dea felt the ground shift beneath her slightly then she was falling. It was not going to be a pretty landing. She hit the ground hard as pain from her injuries rippled through her. Carefully doing her best to try and position herself in a less awkward position, "Here Sir."

Alexion scrambled across to Stace, coughing as he looked over the broken leg. He grabbed his kit and pulled it open before yanking off the one remaining glove he had left. "It's just a broken bone, nothing to worry about," he said firmly to her, shaking his head as he loaded a hypospray, pressing it to her neck to give her a strong painkiller followed by a stabiliser for shock and bloodloss. "Let's take a look..."

With the drugs now filling her blood, she composed herself a little and began to shake less almost immediately, gripping tightly still Elijah's hand. Stace's head was still reeling. She now sat up and placed one hand on her thigh, looking down at her leg.

Taking hold of the lower leg, Alexion looked over the compound fracture with a deep frown of concentration and focus to work with speed, sighing as he shook his head. He ripped the leg of the suit away from the wound, looking up to her as he sterilised the open injury. "I am going to reset the bone to stabilise your leg. I cannot heal it fully down here, it will have to do. The painkiller will block a lot of the pain, but it will not be...comfortable," he warned, speaking even as he prepared the leg and got into position. "Three...two..." he didn't wait to get down to one, tugging the leg firmly to crunch the bone back into position.

"Argh!" Stace screamed in agony. Alexion was wrong. The pain seared through her tiny body as she jolted up and glared at him. "You little bugger!" she yelled at him through clenched teeth.

Alexion ignored the pain induced yelling and used strong hands and thumbs to manipulate the bone more fully and accurately, grinding it back into place, holding his breath until he was finished. He used the regenerator to start healing the soft tissue and skin around the break. "It is not fixed. You cannot put weight on it or move your leg without causing more damage, the break is still there and will be until we get you back to the ship to use the osteo-regenerator. This will just stop you losing more blood from the tissue around it and causing more damage to the blood vessels," he spoke quickly as the skin knitted back together. "I will strap your leg to immobilise it. Someone will have to help you up and out of here."

Continuing to hold Stace's hand, Elijah looked up toward the man who was helping Stace. He didn't recognize the man but that was inconsequential at the moment. Though he is back was screaming, he still volunteered. "I can help," he said.

Alexion gave Elijah a firm nod of agreement, already pushing himself up, and without another word he moved away to check the rest of the team for any needed emergency treatment.

"Thanks," Stace said quietly as she gripped Elijah's hand a little more tightly.

Before he knew what was going on, Grayson had hit the ground with a rather large bang. He was sure he felt his head bounce around in his helmet. Being afraid to move, he mentally scanned his body looking for breaks, bones or cuts. Instantly his right arm began to twitch with a fluttering of pain. "I think I have a break here," he said a little more loudly to himself as he was assessing the situation around him.

Allyndra had approached the now fallen bodies. It was dangerous she knew but she was more fascinated with readings. A rumble and then the floor gave way. The first instinct was to open her wings but they were confined within the suit and she was falling with the rest. The second almost instinct took over and her mind remembered not to tense but relax even though shouts and screams were occurring around her. The shock came fast but for a creature designed to fly meant that nature had designed them to fall as well. She lay for a moment before tentatively moving her arms and legs. She opened her eyes and judged the distance, quite a fall. Turning her head slowly revealed a titanic cavern enough to spread her wings in finally if they were free. Slowly it occurred to her that others may not be quite so lucky and her duty as a doctor was probably needed.

As quick-acting as Asahi tended to be, the engineer didn't realize they were falling until he heard someone scream, though he couldn't place who, or where they were in relation to him. As he registered that the ground was speeding toward him at an alarming rate, he reacted, arms going limp and knees bending. He flipped forward to right himself, attempting to land feet-first on the ground, a trick taught to him by many trapeze artists during his limited time in the circus. Unfortunately, the moment the rest of his weight caught up to him, he heard a resounding crack, and was immediately flopping over to his side, hands reaching for the searing pain in his knee. A weak "Here, Sir," sounded off, before he let out a cry of agony.

The fall seemed a bit more kind to the diplomatic officer, who fell about as gracefully as a drunken sea lion. Sitting upright, he dusted himself off, ears still ringing from the impact. "... Ah..." Knitting his brow, he glanced over at the others, before scrambling over toward Luke. He was unfamiliar with many of the symptoms, but he could at least... attempt to help. "Doctor, another injury over here!"

Luke grunted as he began sitting himself up, the pain began to subside and his breathing returned to what would be borderline ok. "I'm ok" He said closing his eyes and shaking of the dust away from his face. "Where the hell are we now?" He asked looking to the others some more hurt and more covered in dust but all looking the same.

Allyndra shifted her focus from one to the other and then fell on Luke. "You look like you cracked a rib there, I am going to give you a bit of anaglesic otherwise it will continue to hurt. Be careful, we don't want it to be a broken one."

Elijah had been so focused on his own pain - which he still wasn't sure if his spine was messed up - and helping Lieutenant Stace that he didn't think to check in. Though he knew his voice could be heard over the comm, he still needed to check in. "I'm here and okay," he said into the open comm, though honestly he wasn't sure how he was.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Elijah Williams, IV
Geologist
USS Galileo

LTCMDR Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Asahi Kita
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

PO1 Lyras Ueda
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Kita]

ENS Aria Rice
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Oren Idris
Anthropologist/Archaeologist
USS Galileo

LT Amynta Markos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

MWO Amon Mormont
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Markos]

ENS Grayson Jones
Asst. Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

LT Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Luke Wyatt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

SWO Alexion Wylde
Medical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

PO2 Siren Hex
Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

PO1 Gabriel Stark
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

LT Jared Nicholas
Linguist
USS Galileo

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