Lt Alex Storm - The Angle of Attack
Karen Morris
((Holodeck 1 - Deck 2 - USS Artemis-A ))
Alex raised her phaser and struck at a small outcropping of rocks above their head, showering small shards of shrapnel down onto the two while she disappeared into the tunnels.
Bancroft: ::sneezing:: Can’t decide which stings worse – the shrapnel, or the abandonment. ::sighing:: Alright, partner, buddy system or divide and conquer?
Imril: Splitting up would just give us both twice the footsteps to be confused by … by… by… Better to focus on just hers … hers… hers…
Bancroft: Right, strength in numbers. Plus, I want a witness when Storm inevitably ices me and claims it wasn’t personal.
The cascading debris covered the crunch, crunch under Storm's boots as she slipped down the second tunnel. Once she was out of sight, the speed of her footfalls increased twofold for a good two minutes. When she slowed down to a crouch, the fingertips of one hand settled on the smooth surface of the cavern floor. She twisted her head, whispering into the air …
Storm: So did you stick together or take different routes through the labyrinth?
Imril: I'm pretty sure our progress is being recorded. I promise not to laugh at the replay.
Alex settled into her position and closed her eyes, focusing on the two voices she knew would be nearest. She opened her mind, listening to their choices. Her mind watched their feet whisper down the same tunnel. She could feel tension in their jaws and hands. A heart rate spiked, and she heard a phaser fire, rocks exploding, a short volley of minuscule shards, and then silence.
Storm: oO Someone panicked. My guess would be Doctor Blu … ancroft. Oo
Bancroft: ::quietly:: Okay, new rule. If I shoot anything else inanimate, you’re allowed to stun me and carry on with a more competent partner.
Imril: New new rule. Less talking, more listening.
When she caught the scent of smoke, staying low, her feet followed the edges of the tunnel until it veered into another chamber. The damp cold licked at her face, but she ignored it, and a grin spread across her visage as she made her way to the opposite side. She slipped into a large 75 cm tall indentation on the opposite side of this ‘room.’ It was almost a meter deep with a stalagmite providing concealment for part of the opening. Her breath grew slow and deep, her palm braced against the bumpy texture of the excavated hidey-hole. With her other hand, she raised her phaser and rested that arm across her knee as she waited to see what happened next.
As they entered this room, the moon above must have shifted position partially behind a cloud. The beams refracted away from each other as if one search light had become scores, each dancing in a different area of the cavern. A gust of wind shifted through the room, letting out a low moan.
Storm: oO Let’s see what you do with this, you two. Oo
Bancroft: response
Alex heard a deep reverberation - had someone touched a stalagmite or column with too much force? She focused her eyes in that direction. Shadows danced across the wall opposite, and her eyes could see a slight shift on each side of the tunnel. They were going to try to flank her - if she were in there. They certainly didn’t know she was.
Bancroft: response
Her focus was on the person opposite her moving to their right - her left. They knew how to move in between the shadows cast by the light, even as the beams shifted. Alex repositioned herself against the wall opposite them, so she could focus on that one.
Storm: oO Keep coming. Oo
Bancroft/Imril: Response
The person creeping toward her disappeared behind another of the rock formations called a curtain. Alex shifted slightly in her hiding place, waiting for …who she assumed was Imril to reappear beyond the curtain. Her phaser poised and pointed. The seconds ticked by, and wondering where he had gone, Alex focused her abilities on that end of the cave. Where were they? Her eyes narrowed as if it would allow her to see through the fixture.
Bancroft/Imril: Response
Alex could sense him still down there, so she shifted her position another few centimeters toward the mouth of her hiding place. She was masked by the stalagmite in that direction, but then a pressure behind her eyes screamed into her head. She twisted her chin in the opposite direction where a phaser was pointed at her. Her mouth disappeared into a crinkled line, and her eyes relaxed. She breathed in, waiting for the shot. Still waiting, her brows joined together and lines etched beside her eyes. oO Shoot me, Roy. You have me dead to rights. Oo
After a breath, her eyebrows smoothed; her eyes hardened, and she raised her phaser toward the doctor’s chest.
Bancroft/Imril: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC!
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2