Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - Another Survivor
Addison MacKenzie
In surveying the monastery, MacKenzie's team uncovered an underground room with several cages which, as near as they could surmise, were for the purposes of confining the creatures that lie waiting in the dark. The purpose for their incarceration, however, remained a mystery. Further complicated was the discovery of yet another door and passageway.
MacKenzie: Do we dare see where it leads?
The question wasn't rhetorical, but there was really only one right answer.
Brexis: That sounded like less of a question and more of a ‘who goes in first’ situation.
Cole: Considering the hit to my head earlier and my arm, I’m feeling surprisingly … energized. That’s weird, Right?
Storm: My shoulder is still rather sore, but I could go for awhile yet.
MacKenzie: I'm not exactly tired now, either. ::gesturing:: After you... Same formation.
Brexis: ::Holding up her hand:: Wait just a second. ::Turning to Alex:: ~~ Does your head hurt less down here?~~
Cole: Do we have an estimate on how long we’ve been stranded? ::grimacing slightly as she did the math:: I’m guessing five or six hours—unless I was out longer than I thought.
Storm: ::To Brexis:: ~~ No, it doesn’t. But is it safe to use telepathy - even here? ~~
Brexis: Captain I don’t know why, but it seems I am able to communicate with Lieutenant Storm down here without any interference. ::Gesturing vaguely:: Maybe something about the basement?
Cole: Could there be something in the stone, like a mineral of some kind that’s acting like a natural buffer?
Storm: It’s possible. Or that we’re underground. Something about the density … and dirt?
Had she, or had she not warned them about further use of telepathy after discovering that it agitated the creatures?
MacKenzie: I'd rather assume that nowhere is safe and be proven pleasantly surprised... Can you sense the creatures?
Brexis shook her head.
Brexis: No. I don’t sense them at all. ::Shrugging:: I will keep my guard up, but I think down here we are okay. ::Gesturing forward:: Shall we?
Brexis took point and led them into the passageway.
Cole: ::gesturing for Alex and the Captain to follow suit:: After you, Sir’s.
Storm: Do you see anything up there?
They held their torches out at arm's length to illuminate as much of the passageway as possible while they walked. As they walked, MacKenzie ran her fingers along the rough stone of the walls with her free hand. It was cool to the touch, and the air also slowly started to become less dank and musty than it had been in the room below the monatery.
Brexis: Response
Cole: ::low voice:: If this tunnel loops or narrows, should we pull back, or push forward?
Storm: I think we should push forward, but it’s not my call.
MacKenzie shrugged - not that anyone else could really see it or was paying much attention.
MacKenzie: I mean, what's the worst that happens at this point? We run into one of those creatures?
Brexis: Response
As the passageway stretched on, the air grew cooler, and quieter. There were no growls, no ambient noises... just the sound of their boots clacking on the stone beneath their feet.
Cole: ::quiet, but steady:: Whatever lived here… this was its refuge. And refugees usually exist because something worse is outside.
Storm: But I don’t think it was always that way, though. They wouldn’t have been able to build the city if they had always been terrorized by those creatures. Something happened. Either those creatures weren’t always wild and dangerous, or they weren’t always here.
Brexis: Response
The passageway continued and the team pressed on. Storm looked back, past her and Cole, before she turned around to face front. Shortly thereafter, the light from Brexis’s torch reflected off of something in the distance, but it was too far for MacKenzie to see what it was from her vantage.
Storm: Is that a door?
MacKenzie: Begging to be opened, I'm sure...
Brexis/Cole: Response.
As they reached the door, they discovered it was already ajar. Storm moved up to be side-by-side with Brexis, and proceeded to place her hand on the door.
Storm: It’s metal. ::Alex gave the door one low solid thud with the side of her fist against the metal.: It sounds like it's reinforced.
They seemed to be paying attention to a particular feature of the door, but MacKenzie couldn't see around them to get a good view.
Storm: And this wheel, see the side of the door. When the wheel is turned, it inserts pins into this doorframe.
Storm turned to the frame on the other side.
Storm: And I’m betting you these pins go all the way into the rock, too. If need be, we should be able to secure it.
MacKenzie: Good news. Shall we head out and take a look?
Brexis/Cole: Response
(( Forest’s Edge, Callis I ))
The two women in front peeked their heads out the door first. She waited for the two to give their assessment before deciding it was okay for any of them to actually leave the passageway.
Storm: If something large were out there nearby, I would hear something. Either Charlotte or I would likely sense it.
Storm and Brexis stepped outside, followed by MacKenzie and Cole. Around them, the sound of small insects chirping were the only things they could hear - grateful for the juxtaposition between the peaceful sound of the insects from the ferocious growls of the creatures from earlier. In front of them, many of the trees had bioluminescent patches on their sides that lit up the entire area.
Stepping back out into nature, the cool air gave a tingle to her cheeks. In front of them, they appeared to be outside the city and on the edge of a forest.
MacKenzie: You know, it's almost peaceful out here without those things...
Brexis/Cole/Storm: Response
Just then, something immediately caught her attention. It was a faint tapping - the sound of metal on metal. It took a moment before the familiarity of the metallic sound registered in her brain.
MacKenzie: Follow me!
The commanding officer took off into the forest, stopping only occasionally to reorient herself to the sound of the tapping, which continued to grow louder. It didn't require much more walking before she found the source of the sound: an escape pod partially wedged into the ground of the forest floor. MacKenzie waved one arm for them to continue to follow her.
When they arrived at the pod, it was clear what the tapping was - someone on the inside, unable to get out. As she looked at the pod, the frame of the door had been partially bent. She knocked on the pod to let its occupants know that they'd been found.
She tugged on the door. It moved slightly under her weight, but she wasn't strong enough to get it open by herself.
MacKenzie: Help me. ...preferably only with your good shoulders.
She waited until several of them had taken up strategic positions around the pod's door before she counted.
MacKenzie: On three. One, two, three!
The women pulled from their respective positions, and after substantial muscling of the door, they'd managed to open it enough for the occupants to slip through. Peering in, her eyes narrowed as MacKenzie spotted a lone crewmember. She extended her hand to the Suliban and helped pull them out.
MacKenzie: Who are you?
Syn: Response
MacKenzie nodded. She didn't know the Suliban, but there were several aboard the Karnack she didn't know and hadn't met. Hopefully this was a sign that there were more survivors beyond those of the Artemis senior staff.
MacKenzie: I'm Captain MacKenzie; ::gesturing:: Lieutenants Storm, Brexis, Cole.
Storm/Brexis/Cole: Response
Syn: Response
MacKenzie: Unfortunately none of the technology works here, but we've managed to find refuge nearby. You'll want to grab the rations from the pod. ::pointing forward:: We were just about to explore the forest. Have you heard of any loud creatures out here?
Syn/Storm/Brexis/Cole: Response
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A