Cave Redux (Part 6 of 8)

Posted on 11 Sep 2014 @ 12:04am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones & Lieutenant Jacob Pendleton & Lieutenant Jared Nicholas & Ensign Jaana Voutilainen & Lieutenant Elijah Williams IV, M.Sc. & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Commander Luke Wyatt & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Alexion Wylde & Chief Petty Officer Lyras Ueda

2,082 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: Lyshan III - Uridium Mine, Section LV855-LV900
Timeline: MD 07 - 1340 hrs

Previously, on Cave Redux (Part 5)...

Lyras, eyes transfixed on his tricorder, in an attempt to not be used as a supplementary security team member, furrowed his brow. "... I ah... hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we may have a problem. My tricorder is picking up a group of odd biosignatures-humanoid-coming this way."

Allyndra turned her own and smiled, "Ah! Data to collect!" She looked at the same odd bio-electric field she had picked up before. "Interesting, not only with the group but it seems to be flowing through the walls."

Scarlet shook her head firmly, lifting her phaser as her heart began to speed up with the anticipation of a fight and frustration that they'd lingered too long. "That'll be those things, we need to run, now, back to the lift..." she was already making her way out of the door.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Having endured being stuck in the shaft and trying to survive these things once before already Dea didn't hesitate. Shoving pain and exhaustion aside she set off at a run. Keeping her weapon ready to fire.

At the XO's order, Oren quickly glanced to Grayson before looking over to find where Lyras was. Once the hybrid was located, he quickly made his way over until he was standing close by, ready to go. "Come on," he said, giving him a gentle nudge.

Lyras looked up from his tricorder, eying the scientist with an odd look. Then he sprang to life, nodding along. "As if there was another option."

"Yeah," Oren agreed with a small, forced puff of laughter.

"Alright people - time to leave. Commander Blake - you and your team will make up Team 1, my team will be Team 2 - we retreat in standard formation, covering each other as we go, leapfrogging in 20 metre intervals."

John knew that Blake would know exactly what he wanted of her, given her Marine training, and the Captain had spent enough time in combat situations to have picked up the tricks of the trade himself.

"Those of you with phaser handling qualifications above Level Four will be the lynchpin of this operation - cover those amongst us who are less handy with a phaser but keep the group together. Any questions?"

"Aye Sir!" Blake confirmed she was on the same page as him, motioning for her team to run on forward with her for the first 20 meters, eager to cover some ground. She knew their rifles and phasers weren't going to do any damage to the things, the only use they could hope for was distraction. "Be ready to improvise," she warned even as she ran, turning, ready to cover Holliday's team's move forward.

Jacob nodded and moved to the front of his team to give as much protection as he could.

Elijah could feel his heartbeat quicken to the point that it almost felt like it was going to thump right out of his chest. He wasn't scared perse, he knew fear and he learned how to face it head on, but he was anxious. To die in this cave wasn't how he wanted to go and he was sure others felt the same. He gripped his type two phaser in his gloved hand, thumb hovering close over the button in which to fire. He would defend until he could no longer do so. The possibility of death was a real one and in a way he accepted that. The fact he got out of his family home alive probably said a lot about his determination, but this he had very little control over. If he had to face death like this, he would go down fighting. That was all he could really do.

Luke had stayed towards the rear of the group making sure that nothing could get in behind him. Checking over his kit her set his phase rifle to full and done a visual check of his grenades. The thought of coming up against something that was invulnerable to basic weaponry sent a clod shiver down his spine but just like the Borg they would find a way.

Allyndra cared less about the phaser and was more interested in the readings. The shapes that were picked up were not giving life sign readings but the field readings were intense and yet there seemed to be a connection between those and in the wall and floor. She began to suspect that whatever was controlling the things needed to have a connection to the rock, that might be a vulnerable point.

Dea already had her phaser rifle set to full power. Blake's order didn't need to be given more than once. Encountering these beings again didn't sit well with her. However her survival and that of her fellow crew was more important. Moving forward with the rest of Team 2.

Not having a phaser of his own, Oren pulled out his science kit again and started a scan to gather as much aditional information as possible. At that point, he figured they needed as much as possible. Unlike the doctor, he paid no attention to the readings, since he couldn't protect himself with anything other than evasion. Again, he made a mental note to seriously reconsider phaser training once this entire mess was dealt with. The thought that he might not even live past this didn't occur to him.

Spread in the most applicable defensive formation possible given the circumstances, the large group of Starfleet personnel cautious yet quickly moved out of the central matrix control room and back into the dimly lit and dingy cave tunnels. Tricorders from various members of the team began to beep and chirp with increasing frequency as the unknown visitors moved closer, but something was strange about the intermittent readings' locations.

Holding the phaser steady, thumb still hovering over the trigger, Elijah managed to look down at his tricorder. He had almost forgotten he was holding the scanning device. His jaw went slack as his eyes widened at what he was seeing. His tricorder was going wild now with beeps, the tiny imbedded screen continued to keep up with the updates. "The humanoids... energy signatures..." he shook his head in disgust, "... they are resonating from within the rock face." His gaze flitted about. "It's everywhere!"

Without warning and somewhat subtly in the near-pitch blackness of the underground mine, several red energy tentacles silently emerged from opposite sides of the tunnel walls where the aft group of the away team was currently positioned. With their field of vision limited by their bulky EVA helmets, the intrusion went unnoticed at first until suddenly a plethora of decrepit humanoid figures phased through the rock face and materialized all around the team. They were Cardassian in bodily form yet possessed glowing red eyes and souls of another being, and their presence was soon revealed as the ambush begun.

Several white-hot red tentacles shot out from the reanimated creatures' eyes and lashed out against the intruders, slicing methodically through EVA suit fabric, helmets, equipment, and even tissue. The battle had commenced.

Turning quickly at the pull on her suit, Scarlet lifted her rifle and shot, without hesitation, at the twisted, glowing Cardassian monster that had slashed the leg of her suit open. As predicted, the phaser pulse melted through the armour but did nothing to slow the assailant. Scarlet's breath caught in her throat at the reality of having no real weapons against these things. Locking the rifle down she turned it to hold like a club, waiting for it to make a slashing reach before hitting hard with it.

Gabriel watched as the team was surrounded, his dark eyes widening as his heart pumped harder in his chest, urging him forward into a run. His throat tightened at seeing the truth of how useless the phasers were and he thanked God for his instinct before they'd left, reaching down to pull the combat knife free from his boot, holding it in a firm, sidewise grip as he moved forward to at least try and protect the group.

Siren cried out with as much shock as pain as her side was sliced open by one of the impossible tentacles of energy, staggering back with it. She touched her side, breathing harder with anger at seeing the blood. Seeing as the suit was punctured and useless now anyway, she pulled her helmet off, claustrophobic in her pain, sweat on her skin, but at least she could see better without the helmet in the fight. She fired, even with it not seeming to have effect, in hopes it would at least slow the things down.

Luke looked in shock as the team quickly became engulfed in a loosing battle. Seeing one of the members, who he had known from chance encounters and the word of tongue he fought his way to Petty Officer Hex who had removed her helmet. Shooting two precise shots at the tentacle creature slightly incapacitating it he knelt down next to Hex. Placing his Rifle at an angle he searched his chest rig for his Ka-Bar which was issued to him as a starfleet Marine and something he never left without. If energy didn't kill these maybe good old fashioned federation Steel would he thought. "Are you ok Crewman?" Luke asked looking down at her as his Ka-bar clicked into place something he had done many time before during the dominion war.

"For now!" Siren called back over the clamour of fighting, breathing hard and gritting her teeth. "Rip the bastards open and I will be..." she half gasped with her hand on her wound, pushing herself to a more defensive position.

Their brief moment of a break was broken as the tentacle zombie approached them once more. Luke giving an unmanly growl. as he looked around. All around him his team either being injured or bottlenecked into the corner. Instinct kicking in he charged the zombie his shout was haunting as he closed the few meter's between him and the monster. Time slowed as the last millimetre was closed and his Ka-Bar poised to go straight through the monster's heart.

It was a precise and well-timed attack, one which would have dropped any living humanoid. The steel blade easily cut through the Cardassian's chest armor then plunged deep inside its chest cavity and into the creature's heart, slicing the organ in half. A few spurts of blood sprayed out of the wound around the side of the knife onto Wyatt's visor, but the creature he had just impaled seemed barely fazed.

Lowing its glowing red eyes down to its chest to observe the wound, the Cardassian then looked back up at Luke and suddenly grabbed him by the helmet with hands on either side of it to keep the security chief's head in place. Red wisps of non-corporeal energy slowly extended from the creature's eyes and began to bury themselves into Wyatt's helmet, cutting open the protective and cracking the glass of his visor in an attempt to penetrate into the Human's skull.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

LTCMDR Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer/Second Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. Jared Nicholas
Language Specialist
USSGalileo

LT. Asahi Kita
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

PO1 Lyras Ueda
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Kita]

LTJG. Elijah Williams, IV
Geoglogist
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Capt Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lt. JG Luke Wyatt
Chief Secuirty Officer
USS Galileo

Ens Jaana Voutilaanen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galilieo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

SWO Alexion Wylde
Doctor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

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

PO2 Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

Master Warrant Officer Amon Mormont
Security
USS Galileo
[PNPC Markos]

Lt. Amynta Markos
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Grayson Jones
ACEO
USS Galileo

Lt. Jacob Pendleton
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

LT Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

LT Andreus Kohl
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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