Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - All In Your Head
Addison MacKenzie
It came as a relief to know that the other members of the Artemis crew had survived, even if they weren't close at hand. Without being able to determine any further information about their status or whereabouts, the commanding officer was charged with keeping the officers under her care focused on the tasks at hand - namely, their own survival.
MacKenzie: In that case, we can't worry about them. They're exceptional people, and I'm sure they have the ability to survive this. In the meantime, we have to focus on the task and hand and take care of ourselves. So let's make sure we can keep this fire going and potentially capture some of this rain, that way we can make it through the night.
Cole: ::kneeling by the firewood:: Sir, this should be enough to keep us warm for the night, and provide some level of light. I would suggest as it gets darker we sleep in shifts to make sure it doesn’t go out. ::to Alex:: Lieutenant, how do our ration supplies look?
Brexis: Fire’s good for now at least.
And for that, the commanding officer of the Artemis was thankful. Fire offered not only a source of heat to sustain them, but also the possibility to cook food or serve as protection if either of those two scenarios became a necessity.
Storm: There must have been another pack or two in the escape pod. We only have seven ration packs with water, which won’t last long between the four of us. We do have the bowls outside collecting water, though, so assuming that rain is potable, we will have more water. Maybe we can go back out tomorrow to look for the other packs.
While Storm continued to rummage through their supplies, MacKenzie continued to explore their space. Upon examining the wall behind the idol, she could see a series of deep gouges that had marked the stone. Her eyes squinted.
MacKenzie: Come take a look at this. Are these claw marks?
The trio came to her side to examine her discovery.
Cole: Is it too much to hope, that is part of their art style?
Brexis: Is it too much hope that whatever made these doesn’t live around here anymore?
Storm: Whatever it is, these claws are sharp, but they’re also powerful. It would take a lot of muscle and a very hard claw to make one gash in stone like that, let alone three.
Her lips pulled slightly to one side.
MacKenzie: I wonder what happened to the people who built this place.
Cole had left the group and returned to the fire. Brexis went to her side, and Storm soon joined them both. MacKenzie continued to examine the markings for any signs of their origin.
Brexis: ::Softly:: Nat, you okay?
Cole: Sorry, No Ghosts of my past. ::beat:: Just lost in a memory for a moment.
Storm: Glad to hear it.
MacKenzie caught a whiff of whatever had been on Storm's boot. She made a face as she pointed to the boot, then to the gouges in the wall.
MacKenzie: Hopefully whatever caused that ::pointing to the boot:: isn't the same thing as what caused that ::pointing to the wall::. Otherwise, we might be in trouble.
Natasha returned to the wall and examined it again. She was no geologist, but the markings didn’t look fresh. The Captain was right though this was concerning
Cole: I’m thinking whatever it was, those doors ::pointing at the doors they entered:: had been closed after whatever made those markings ::gesturing towards the wall:: left the premises.
Brexis: The scratches look kind of old, but that doesn't mean much of anything.
Storm: I’m almost hoping that what left that mound outside IS the same creature. And I’m not crazy, I promise. Wouldn’t you rather deal with one big creature than with two totally different ones?
MacKenzie's brow furrowed in a skeptical glance and her lips pulled tight.
MacKenzie: I don't know about that...
Cole: Securing this place shouldn’t be too difficult. Those rooms Lieutenant Storm mentioned both have barred windows. The main door appears to be the only point of entry, unless whatever made those markings can somehow phase through the walls.
Brexis: Why would you even put that kind of evil out in the universe?
Storm: Not - even - funny.
MacKenzie shook her head. As though the universe was trying to prove a point, a furious roar came from somewhere outside. Not immediately outside, but close enough for discomfort...
Cole: ::running:: Let's get these doors closed, before we get any uninvited guests.
Natasha ran over to the doors and started pushing fervently.
Brexis: Good idea.
Charlotte ran behind Nat to help her push the door closed. They shoved hard, Charlotte using her legs to power her body into the door.
Storm: I’m going to close the doors to the other rooms, so the light from the fire doesn’t show through those windows.
So while the two other women went one way, Storm went another.
Brexis: ::Struggling:: Come on Cole. Push.
Cole: Response
With a huff, the two finally felt the door budge back into its closed position. Once it was in place, Charlotte rested her back against the door and slid down until she was sitting, huffing for air.
Brexis: We should probably make sure there aren’t any less than obvious entry points in here.
Storm: Something able to make a sound that loud and deep has to be a good size. There’s no way it could get into this room unless it can batter down the door or walls. We should probably keep our voices to a whisper, though. We don’t know what its sense of hearing is like.
MacKenzie: Cole, make sure that any other potential entrances are secure.
Cole: Response
Brexis raised her head and let it rest against the door as she closed her eyes for a moment. They shot open, as did MacKenzie's, when the growl returned. This time, closer, and in duplicate.
Brexis: Whatever that thing is… Is getting closer. ::beat:: and I don’t think it’s alone.
Alex shoved some leftover material in the cracks of the doors to the rooms with the windows. She spoke to them in a whisper.
Storm: We don’t even want a little of that fire to show and call attention to us. But then again, they may smell it, in which case we’re in trouble anyway.
MacKenzie: I get the sense we may be meeting whatever it is that mucked up your shoes...
Cole: Response
Despite the driving rain and wind, a close, low rumble reverberated, not through the air, but through the walls of the monastery itself. It happened again, but the epicenter of the rumble seemed to have moved down the outside wall. And then once more. Alex mouthed the words and gestured with her hands…
Storm: It’s circling the building.
MacKenzie raised her finger to her lips, and then raised her hand in a fist indicating that they were all to freeze.
MacKenzie: ::mouthing:: Don't move.
Cole/Brexis. Response
After a complete revolution around the monastery, MacKenzie watched as Storm placed her hand on the structure's wall.
Storm: ::Mouthing the words to MacKenzie and Cole:: ~~Maybe they’ve gone?~~
As soon as she did, the loudest growl they had heard yet shook the building. Storm jumped immediately, followed by another growl that echoed opposite the first. MacKenzie's brow furrowed as she tried to ascertain where they were and what they were after. She gestured to Brexis and Cole to get the makeshift weapons.
Cole/Brexis. Response
As the pair moved back toward the door in a defensive posture, MacKenzie noticed Alex withboth hands on her head, clearly in excruciating pain. The commanding officer immediately went to her side and got on her knees.
Storm: ::Holding her head in both of her palms.:: They’re here. ::Pointing at her head.:: Here!
MacKenzie wrapped her arms around the woman's shoulders and put her lips very close to Storm's ear.
MacKenzie: ::whispering:: You have to be quiet.
The commanding officer could feel her own heart beating in her chest and in her head. For as much as she was trying to regulate her own breathing, there was little to nothing she could do to comfort Storm, and it was likely that whatever the woman was experiencing was about to give them all away.
Cole/Brexis/Storm: Response
There was another growl, though this one lower... Almost less menacing. It was much different than the one before it, and almost seemed like it wasn't quite as close.
MacKenzie: Are they telepathic? Is that what triggered them?
Cole/Brexis/Storm: Response
The commanding officer's lips pulled back. Her attention turned to Cole and Brexis near the door. She pointed definitively, tugged on her ear, then raised her arms in question.
MacKenzie: ::mouthing:: Can you hear them?
Cole/Brexis/Storm: Response
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A