[sb118-artemis] Ensign Tho'Bi - Hroas shre’lexi

[Tobi]

((Inside Grunden Kangew [Church] - Breetia Township, Galaris IV))

Light grey ash fell, like tainted snow, inside the four ancient walls of stone and branch.  Having been exorcized of their colorful stained glass by the blastwave, the tall arched windows and ornate skylight, cast colorful histories no more; now, by violent repurpose, they provided reluctant frames to the wreckage of the township and decimated forest. 

A cold, damp breeze soothed the stinging cuts of the forest-run that marked the Andorian’s body.  He sensed the gentle drift of the ash, the shift and strain of the burned and scorched roots and branches, running through the building’s frame, and the shudder of the small tree at the structure’s heart; as though it were gripped with trauma and pain.

The clunk and whir of actuators and servos, drew the young Andorian’s attention to the mech-suit of Lieutenant Gnai; mechanical hands braced against the flagstone floor, its chrome arms pushed off the timeworn slabs, and righted itself; the hands of Lieutenant Vailani helping to reach vertical.  The Bajorian smiled at the Galadoran, floating in the tall cylinder, nestled at the centre of the suit.

Gnai: Are you alright, ensign?

So at odds with the organic nuance of its ever-shifting form, the blunt, monotone drag of Galadoran’s mech-suit speaker, cut through the eerie silence that had befallen the monolithic Kangew.  

Tho’Bi: ::looking up at the falling ash::  I have never been that close to death ::gaze tracks downwards with ash:: I felt my blood freeze ::gaze comes to rest on the tree:: I thought it was just a story.

The air was choked with the acrid bite of burning wood, laced with an odor more sickly. 

Valiani: Tho’Bi? 

The young Andorian felt hands grip his arms.  The Bajoran’s voice arrived stern in tone and  measured in pace.

Vailani: I know this is an intense first mission but we need you. We need your expertise. We need you to stay with us for a bit longer. You disappeared on us there and it scared me. Can you help us? We need to assess how safe we are and we need our engineer?

It was odd to hear the Lieutenant admit to fear.

Tho’Bi: ::quiet, deliberate::  Hroas shre’lexi (beat) Hroas zash’lu’xia (beat) Horas lex’thu’laan.

The wisps of ash fell around them, the ancient structure creaked and groaned, and in the distance, the crackle and spit of fire and blaze whispered on the cold, damp breeze.

Tho’Bi: Death makes the blood ice (beat) Death makes the glacier heard (beat) Death makes us the deep ice.

(( OOC: I wrote the poem that Tho’Bi quotes for the Sim.  The Andorian language/Graalen version is derived from the SB118Wiki ))

The dark blue of the Andorian’s gaze fell upon the Bajoran’s leg.  The black fabric of her uniform had become taut around the swelling.  

Tho’Bi:  ::blinks::  Sorry, Lieutenant (beat)  I’m here.  ::tilts head one way and then other:: I just… the intensity was… too much (beat)  Thank you for… dragging me in here ::smiles::

The Lieutenant simply nodded, turned and, stubbornly ignoring the obvious pain from her leg, trudged, deeper into the ancient structure, toward the tree.  The Ensign freed his Engineering Tricorder from his utility belt and followed.

At the centre of the grand hall, concentric circles of embroidered cushions worked their way around the tree; its branches reached outwards, arching over the cushions; tiny lights hung from its rough limbs, like moss sparkling in the dark.      

Gnai: This seems… to be some sort of religious building.

Vailani Zoyara leaned up against the tree; her backside resting against its trunk, she pulled the backpack from off her shoulders, and began to search out the necessary selection of med-kit.

Vailani: The drones seemed to have moved on? :: looks around :: Given that there is no Grunden here, I expect they have some kind of underground shelter?

The young Ensign flipped open his Tricorder.  The blue of his fingers tapped lightly across its inputs.  

Tho’Bi: ::looking down at the Tricorder:: Based on spectral imaging, air pressure and wake disturbance ::looks up at Vailani:: the drones have moved off (beat) to return to base (beat) or engage a new target* ::shakes head:: no way of knowing.

((OOC: *I added this line to hint at the possibility the drones could have moved off to engage with Captain MacKenzie and the Kobyar courier.))

The Bajoran gathered her hair together and knotted it to keep it away from her face.

Gnai: Would either of you be willing to lend this your tricorder…? It got left outside in the chaos.

Vailani: Sure. 

Once the tricorder was passed to Lieutenant Gnai, Lieutenant Vailani looked over at Ensign Tho’Bi.

Vailani: Did we save the PADD with the data on it?

As she said this, the Bajoran retrieved her own PADD.  The sparkling moss lights caught the jagged spider web of cracks that had spread across the screen.  The Bajoran tapped her combadge, only to be greeted by the blunt double-tone of no signal. 

The young Ensign reached around to his backpack and withdrew his PADD from its pocket.  He flipped it over so its screen was facing Lieutenant Vailani, intact and functional. 

Tho’Bi: Yeah.  But it’ll take time to go through the data.  (beat)  There’s nothing actionable right now.

Vailani: Can we get in contact with the Captain, the Artemis or Gila’s team?

Tho’Bi: Short answer, no.  (beat)  The fact our Tricorders are working, but not our Coms (beat) points to jamming or (beat) some kind of interference that affects communications but ::shakes head:: not our other equipment.

The Andorian looked over at the Galadoran, eager to hear the thoughts of the experienced and gifted, if somewhat grumpy, scientist.

Gnai: Response

As she listened to the two of them speak, Vailani Zoyara rolled up the leg of her pants.  She winced in pain when she saw the swollen, bruised and bloodied shin.

Vailani: It looks worse than it is.

Tho’Bi:  ::quietly:: Let’s hope so ::smiles without conviction::

Hypospray was applied.  The wound, cleaned.  Gauze and then polyfibre bandages applied.  

Gnai: Response

With the swelling visibly reduced already, the Bajorian rolled down the leg of pants and looked up at the two of them. 

Vailani: I think we find out where the Grunden have gone, and why the Kobyar chose this township as a target for elimination? Maybe we can find a communications system? The Artemis might already know we’re in trouble and send a team to help. 

The Andorian held up his Engineering Tricorder.

Tho’Bi:  Initial scans indicate (beat) the drones were… probably already in the air well before we got to the drone, but  ::tilts head one way then other:: we’d need to confirm with Artemis scanners to be one hundred percent sure. 

Vailani/Gnai: Response

Tho’Bi:  As for a communication system ::gestures at his backpack:: I’m carrying a universal power source so (beat) if we need to power anything up (beat) we got that.

Vailani/Gnai: Response

As he listened to the two senior officers, a pattern in the mess of falling ash caught his attention.  He moved slowly in the direction of the pattern.  The wisps of ash were spiralling and accelerating, into tighter and tighter circles of descending motion.  As he reached the pattern’s epicentre, the Andorian crouched down and inspected the gaps between the flagstone tiles.  Whereas all the other gaps were filled with tree roots, crisscrossing the floor of the building, this gap was left open.  The wisps of ash were slipping through the gap. 

Tho’Bi: ::looking up and back at Vailani and Gnai:: look at the ash ::places hand over the gap:: I can feel a draft (beat) I think there’s a room underneath here.

Vailani/Gnai: Response    

TAG/TBC

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Ensign Tho’Bi

Engineering

USS Artemis-A

A240203T11