Ensign D'tin Breys - The Smallest Mercies
Bea S
((Underground facility, Kurtûl III))
The proximity alarm on Breys’s tricorder had alerted the group with a shrill beep, putting the entire group on alert. It should have warned them much sooner, but any warning at all was better than stumbling blindly into whatever they were being warned of.
Breys: Do we investigate? It’s almost certainly not Havun.
Jovenan: We should check it. I don’t want to risk getting flanked from behind after we’ve passed it.
Storm: Understood, and agreed.
Storm positioned herself by the door with her phaser. D’tin was not a tactical officer for a reason, and left the tactics to her. Usually it was Engineering work that led her to be thankful for the existence of other departments, but they all could save the day.
Jovenan threw the door open and D’tin held her phaser out for only moments before switching back to filling her hands with her tricorder.
Jovenan: Starfleet! Hands up!
Storm: Don’t move!
The Ensign seemed to be the first one to make out the shape of the creature. Something massive and spider like dashed across the room as quickly as one might expect, which is to say much too quickly.
Breys: ::yelps momentarily before composing herself:: In the shadows!
Bits of metal clanged against the floor and it crossed through their lights.
Jovenan: Hold your fire. ::pause:: What is that?
D’tin shirked away from the creature slightly.
Storm: That reminds me of a palukoo.
Storm was right, something about this creature did remind Breys of gathering samples from the moons of Bajor. It wasn’t quite the same thing, they were a long way off from where she’d call home, but it was starkly similar.
Storm: They are giant, large-dog-sized spiders from Bajor. But that doesn’t mean that something like them couldn’t have evolved here, too. They like it dark, and they aren’t poisonous. Though I can’t promise this thing isn’t.
Breys: I spent a decade rifling through the back corners of Bajor. I’ve met an uncomfortable number of palukoos.
Jovenan: Right. Will they pose a danger to us, and why are our lifesign readings so spotty?
Storm: They shouldn’t pose a danger.
It was a bold statement to make without a tricorder in her hands, but considering D’tin did have one, she could confirm or deny those findings.
Breys: That’s assuming they’re anything like our bajoran friends, but Lieutenant Storm is likely right. Tricorder readings don’t show any signs of venom or similar compounds that could seriously harm us. I’m not certain, but I think it could be sick or dying.
Storm: We can always lock it in the room or barricade the door.
This bothered D’tin much more than it should have. She gave a concerned look.
Breys: Sir, I’m about as much of a fan of giant spiders as the next person, but is there a way to do this without dooming the thing? It might not have much time left.
Jovenan: Response
Storm: Commander, I would suggest we move on, as long as we can guarantee it can’t get out.
D’tin was quiet, they did need to move desperately. The opinions of a non-sentient giant bug were not the most important thing to take into account in this instant.
Jovenan: Response
Storm crossed to the door, and put her hand on the latch, she paused for a moment, and then spoke.
Storm: Commander, I’m sensing a small group coming this direction. If we’re going to find Havun, we need to go now.
Breys: Yes. sir.
D’tin closed the door. Spiders didn’t have hands, and even if this one did have a way to open the door, it wasn’t a threat to them. She hoped Jovenan didn’t find the need to seal it further. It was the least she could do. It seemed like it was going to die there no matter what she did, but if it wanted to go free it should be able to.
Jovenan: Response
Breys: We should be clear to keep moving now.
Jovenan/Storm: Response
Ahead of them, the tricorder whirred as they neared some kind of threshold of energy.
Breys: I’m reading the edge of the scattering field up ahead. I should be able to give us a clearer bearing once we’re on the other side of it, but I can’t guarantee there aren’t any surprises waiting for us.
Jovenan/Storm: Response
D’tin looked to the other two nervously.
Breys: If Havun is down here, he’s running the thalaron generator. I’ve never seen these kinds of energy spikes.
Jovenan/Storm: Response
As they kept moving, and stepped through the threshold, the readings cleared up significantly, and suddenly the portion of the complex they needed clarity of sight over was available to them. As Breys talked, they approached a sharp, blind corner.
Breys: I can get a clear lock on the source of the thalarons now, but I can’t make out exactly where the Da’al are. They’re getting lost in the shuffle of radiation.
Jovenan/Storm: Response
TAG/TBC
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Ensign D’tin Breys
Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240301DB4