LT Tamio K'Wara - Secret Exits for Secret Places

[LT Tamio K'Wara]

(( Bedrock - Inside the Cliffs, Callis I ))

It was strange, how quickly one got used to something. Was it uniquely impractical to be lacking all of their usual tools and equipment? Of course it was - especially the Universal Translator was annoying, though Ollie and Jo were both excellent speakers of Standard - but they had to make do, and knowing that there was zero possibility of them getting ahold of a scanner meant that they had to be bold.

Tamio dared conclude that - all in all - they’d fared a lot better than would’ve been originally presumed for modern-day humanoids to be suddenly reverted to neanderthal technology levels.

Presuming they didn’t die to this poisonous juice balloon, obviously.

K’Wara: It smells edible at least. ::carefully touches their sleeve:: Doesn’t have an adverse effect on the skin either.

Jo pulled out her water bottle, squeezing some of the fruit’s juice into and drank it. Smart move - diluting it would lessen whatever adverse effects the juice might have - and the rest of the party watched her with bated breaths, as they waited for her verdict.

Jovenan: Well, I’m not dead yet. It’s quite sweet, actually. I don’t think it’s any more dangerous than the water is, which is to say I still want a medical checkup after we get back to the ship.

Bergmen: Okay, meet you all in sickbay.

Once they and Roy had watched Ollie eat some of the fruit as well - and not fall over dead seconds later - they both took the plunge as well, grabbing their own fruit and biting into the squishy flesh. It was an odd sensation, not unlike biting into the thin film bubbles in 

bubble tea, and the sweet taste made Tamio suck in a breath.

Not quite chocolate, but it’d do.

Bancroft: ::chewing thoughtfully:: High sugar content. Fructose… or something close to it. ::nods:: That’s good. High calories, fast energy.

K’Wara: Definitely better than mush.

Jovenan: Maybe the earlier dwellers brought these fruits with them after the disaster. This might have been their garden. If so, there might be even more edible plants.

As Tamio ate more of the fruit, they looked around, searching for any reason why this place seemed to be protected from the harsh elements of the planet around it. With an open cavern roof, surely those storms that had forced the four of them into the cliffs in the first place could’ve gotten at the plants as well...

Bergmen: Compost. ::blinks:: So, for tonight, will we set up camp here, or do we plan to return?

Bancroft: Getting up here nearly killed us. We shouldn’t waste that effort.

K’Wara: I agree, at least for tonight, though I'd feel better with some of our supplies up here.

There was one glaring issue - the absence of a moat to deter the Thing - but they wanted to retain the flicker of hope, that moment of ease and destressing, that they’d managed to gain by finding this place. They would mention it later, before they settled.

Jovenan: We must be pretty high up to the cliff to be this near to the surface. Do you think we could see far from up there?

Tamio looked up at the open cavern roof again.

Bergmen: That depends, Commander. It depends on the weather outside. ::shruggs shoulders:: If it is good and there is no mist, then, in theory… probably… yes, we could see quite far.

Bancroft: A little fresh air might do us well, too.

K’Wara: Considering the wind pressures, I’m sure we’ll get some of that regardless. I don’t see any easy way to get up there though.

Bergmen: I can try to climb higher and check, if needed. Then report back on how things look outside.

While Tamio welcomed the offer, and once again figured Ollie was likely their best bet, they were also keenly aware that this was a radically different beast. This massive cavern wasn’t a wall that went straight up with an easily accessible cliff edge. This wall curved and sloped, and without proper climbing gear, getting to the opening was basically impossible, unless Ollie could turn off gravity for the last bit of the climb.

And if Ollie fell here, there’d be no chance of him getting through it with just a broken limb.

Bancroft: ::sighing:: There’s got to be a better answer than more climbing, right?

If the Commander was determined to get eyes up there, they wouldn't argue - the chance to get some more information about the lay of the land was tempting - but it did feel like an awful lot of risk.

Jovenan/Bergmen: Response

Tamio wandered off to the side as Roy settled into the grass, looking up at the sky through the opening.

Bancroft: If this really was a garden, then there has to be an easier way in. Nobody hauls water and food up a vertical shaft just for fun.

K’Wara: Presumably, they took it through the tunnels. ::looks around:: Or they have another access point that we haven’t found yet. This place is a bit overgrown.

Jovenan/Bergmen: Response

Tamio nodded slowly.

Bancroft: Sounds like a plan worth chasing!

K’Wara: I agree. Considering past experiences, I suggest checking the cavern walls. See if our absentee hosts left more instructions for us?

Jovenan/Bergmen/Bancroft: Response

Tamio headed for the wall, following it counterclockwise around the garden. They let their fingers run over the wall - a habit firmly established now that they’d been used to walking in semi-darkness - even though everything was perfectly visible to them thanks to the sky above, but for a long while, nothing seemed out of place, and as far as they could tell, the tunnel opening they’d entered through was the only actual exit.

Which meant this was a dead end with no means of escape, if the Thing did choose to chase them in here.

K’Wara: Hm?

Ahead of them, they saw something in the grass. Maybe it was one of the rodents that Olie and Roy had noticed when they first came in? And then, in a flash, the critter rushed out from the grass, small legs carrying it towards the wall at high speeds. Tamio half-expected ti to climb upwards, up towards the open sky, but it didn’t. Instead, it seemed to disappear into the wall. Tamio rushed towards the place they saw it disappear, its fingers still running along the wall as they did.

Jovenan/Bergmen/Bancroft: Response

And just as they got there, they felt it. A thin groove in the wall. They followed it, pads of their fingers running up, finding a corner and then turning to follow the groove as it went vertically, before another corner. A door. With a hole at the very bottom.

K’Wara: Commander, Lieutenants - I think I found something here.

Jovenan/Bergmen/Bancroft: Response

TAG/TBC!

LT Tamio K’Wara

Chief of Operations

USS Artemis-A

A240006GS1