Commander Ava Munro - Questions Have Answers
Ava Munro
((Underground River Station/Platform - Callis I))
Ava and Imril had been theorising about the area they had found themselves in. After a week of running from the Things and encountering nothing of much significance she felt exhilarated at the prospect that there may be something. Anything they could take to control their own fates.
Control. Something she didn't think about much but when it had been removed from her so violently she realised how much she depended on it, and how desperate she was to have it back.
The area before them had split into two. At either side of the collapsed stairwell were two doorways. They were largely intact, suggesting that they were made of stronger stuff than the other materials here.
Imril: Looks like those stairs are a bust. And if we can't get through that mess of boulders, at least that means the things can’t, either.
That was a definite plus point, she figured that that was the entrance to this area. Was it built before the Maelstrom or afterwards? She suspected that the materials being more crude meant that the stairs and walls had been constructed from materials nearby. So likely after the Maelstrom.
Imril approached the left-side door. Something skittered, or slithered away from their footfalls. More signage on the door, obscured by the absence of light.
An animal popped out from vines and skittered between her feet. Imril illuminated a chemlight and she was able to see the crude stonework under the vines, something dark recoiled against the light and slithered out of sight.
The sign, hanging by one bolt, was some kind of alien alphabet with a thick line. Not the best to depict its intent or meaning.
Imril: No pictures. Which suggests that these doors weren’t put here for the benefit of visitors. ::Crossing over to check the rightside door:: Same here.
A mystery? Wasn't this what Starfleet was all about? It didn't change the danger that was always present but again she felt the rush of adrenaline at having something to figure out. It was a reminder of how it felt to be an Ensign again, everything was new and unknown.
Munro: These might be control stations? Maybe we can try and confirm some theories?
The Bactrican nodded.
Imril: As Spock’s second-most-famous ancestor wrote, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” And right now, the natives digging deeper seems very, very possible. Cover me, and I’ll see what it takes to get this door open.
Munro: I see I'm not the only one that's read Spock's writings. I have a replica in my quarters of some of his philosophical musings, handwritten by Vulcan monks. When we get back I'll loan you it :: nods towards the door :: I've got your back. Take it easy.
Ava positioned herself in a way that she could grab hold of Imril, and had as much visibility in case of any much larger and more fierce creatures down here.
Imril reached for the door handle. It had the form of a corroded metal bar, perfectly cylindrical and situated vertically before a rectangular base. The hinge at the top indicated that it opened by swinging the handle up and outward, like priming an antique water pump. A circular mechanical lock stood below the bar, where it could prevent the lower half from leaving the base. Imril wrapped their hand around the bar, expecting to feel the stubborn resistance of a lock permanently sealed by time and degradation.
Instead, the door around the mechanism crumbled away at the first firm tug. Leaving Imril holding a hunk of lifeless metal. They shrugged and let it drop. Then pressed what remained of the door open. More of it fell to the ground as the space beyond was exposed to the chemical light. The vines having wormed their way into its structure, weakening it.
Ava peered inside and could see that the left side had collapsed with stone and earth. Still, they could see what was left of a room inside.
The size of a Galaxy-class starship’s bridge. Filled with a collection of crumbling desks, scattered debris, and gutted frameworks.
Ava's eyes were then drawn, visible from the light of the chemlight, to the scrapings on the floor. Not claw marks thankfully. Something had been moved. Another clue.
Imril: ::Waving the light around:: Those desks are bolted to the floor. Looks like everything that could be taken out of here was taken out. The rest… Smashed to pieces. Deliberately.
Munro: More questions. There's no alien remains.
Ava could see eyes glowing back to them from the shadows. Small, feral and hopefully not dangerous.
Munro: We should take a closer look, just let's make sure those animals aren't going to eat us first.
Ava struck one of her own chemlights and threw it into the room, the chemlight hit the wall and they could see the small animals. Lizard-like and scuttled out of sight between the recesses in the stones.
Imril: This room could have been looted. Or smashing things up might have been an attempt to keep anyone else from making use of what was left behind.
Munro: A good note to make about the mindset of the previous occupants in any case. Whatever was taken from this room must have been important to them and they didn't want anyone else to have what was left.
Ava entered into the room further, her eyes picking apart the smaller details.
Broken. Everything in this world had been broken. Whether it was the Maelstrom, the people or survival it seemed to her that this world was just broken.
What would it have been to survive this place? What had the people been reduced to just to live?
Out of frustration she kicked a piece of debris aside, and was met with a curious metal board partially buried under some fallen stones.
Munro: Here, help me with this?!
Imril: Response
Ava heaved as she struggled to move the stone, the board gradually slipped out from underneath.
Munro: It looks like a map.
Then she noticed the small crystals dotted on the map. There was lines that connected each of them, and between the lines faded images. They weren't scribbles or crude depictions. They were highly detailed pictures that depicted civilisation. Cities, towns and villages.
And in the corner, a family. A picture that had been stuck to the board, not part of the original design. A keepsake. The fact that someone cared enough to put it here … and that it wasn't taken gave her an eerie chill.
Her eyes couldn't stop going to the picture. She couldn't know if they were smiling or not, they had slim mouths, the most striking thing was the eyes. They had 4 eyes, a pair at either side of the head. She had the sense that they were happy. This family was, once, happily living their lives.
Imril: Response
Munro: :: respectful :: This is the world they had before. The crystals must be something they used in their maps.
Her finger glanced over them and she turned the board over. On the other side there was a scratched on symbol.
Imril: Response
The symbol was several loops that interconnected with a small round emblem inside the loops.
Munro: I don't know what it means but maybe we should mark this down. It must have been important for them to record it. I think whoever left it wanted someone to find it? I know I'm clutching at well nothing but little facts that we have, that we don't fully understand but I think these people were building something? Maybe it's the way out of here? We should follow the markings on the floor, if we can track it?
Imril: Response
TAGS/TBC
First Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240004LL2