Lt. JG. Gnai - Quiet, Quiet!
Lich
(( Near Cave System - Coastal Cliffs, Outside Bantlox Colony, Laoi III ))
The colony that they had come to evacuate had already been abandoned by the youths, it seemed, much to their parents’ chagrin, and that of the attending Starfleet officers as well. However, rescuing the children was not going to be easy, not with them potentially lost (and trapped) in the cave system near to the coast, with an entrance that seemed impenetrable for Gnai (with its suit, at least). So here it stood, with Lts. Sadar and Vailani, discussing potential solutions (and hoping that there would be a better one than swimming in whatever water they might find, polluted or not)…
As they spoke, there was a sudden loud cracking sound that emanated from the cave. More rocks fell from the roof of the entrance, and further clattering echoed down from inside, ranging from small clinks of pebbles to deeper thuds that could imply boulders.
Gnai: What was that??
It pulled its tricorder towards the cave, scanning the ground again, trying to understand what had happened - what had shifted, and how stable the caves were still. Were they just in time to witness a collapse?
Sadar: A cave-in. Where?
Lt. Vailani had also pulled out her tricorder, working in tandem with Gnai to try and figure out what had happened exactly.
Vailani: It looks like there was a collapse at the entrance.
Sadar: Lieutenant Gnai, do you read any lifesigns near the area of seismic activity?
It tapped at the screen of its tricorder with the rubberized fingers of its suit, scanning for biosigns in particular - notably those of the species that it knew were in the colony. A false positive that turned out to be some particularly advanced form of lichen could be a fatal error, if it diverted them away from the actual children in danger.
Strangely, and thankfully, it didn’t seem that there were any in the immediate vicinity of the sound.
Gnai: None that this can see, there’s no readings of current lifesigns, but there are some signatures that something living was there in the past… and left. ::pause, checking to be sure:: No signs of bodies.
As Gnai’s tricorder pinged the same movement, Lt. Vailani started towards the coast slightly.
Vailani: I'm getting movement?
Gnai: It seems to be coming from that direction ::pointing towards the coast::. There’s some residual thermal readings that grow stronger towards there.
Vailani: You think there's an entrance down by the coast? Maybe the children have moved?
Sadar: If their parents’ words are anything to go by, these kids would know the caves better than anyone. ::nods:: Lead the way, Vai-net. Judging from that cave-in, we don’t have a lot of time.
Gnai bobbed in its tank - that made a lot of sense, as far as it understood humanoid children. Not having had the sort of “childhood” or “teenage” experience that humanoids typically had meant that it had to go off of stories, but it had certainly heard some wild ones of youthful recklessness and spurning authority. It would make sense that children would disregard the potential risk by keeping another way in from their parental units, out of a desire for some semblance of autonomy and escape from the normal routine of family life.
Humanoids were weird, obviously. Young ones doubly so.
Gnai: They might be aware of another egress point, that the adults wouldn’t.
Vailani: Response
The team made their way towards the cliff, scrambling over craggy rocks and pebbles, with Gnai taking up the rear with its slow pace. Such unstable ground was not its idea of a good time, but needs must…
Eventually, they came upon a hole in the cliff-face, far bigger than the previous cave entrance that they had stumbled upon. This was far more suited for allowing adult humanoids into the cave system, which only furthered Gnai’s assumption that these kids were hiding it from their parents to preserve the little oasis that they had underground.
Sadar: It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we’ve got. Lights on.
At her order, Gnai flicked on a switch within its suit to turn on a flashlight, installed in a recent outing to Engineering. It paid to be prepared, and it had no desire to be stuck sightless in the dark any further. Not since it had been trapped underground in prison because of CloQ last year…
Gnai: Aye, sir.
Vailani: Response
Sadar: ::cautiously loud:: Iruh? Ahran? Nimo? If you can hear me, come towards me. ::to the others:: Make sure to keep fifteen feets’ distance to each other. If another cave-in is triggered, we don’t want to get trapped together.
With its limited mobility, Gnai was entirely comfortable being at the very back of their pack, staying far away from the other two to ensure that at least one could get out, and perhaps it was still a bit of residual cowardice, but being towards the rear ensured that it would likely have the best shot at running if things collapsed up ahead…
Perish the thought (but not them, hopefully). It pulled its tricorder back out, still scanning for the children, and for other signs of their presence here.
Strange… there were small carvings on the walls as they passed, only slightly eroded by time and water and wind. It could make out some of the names of the children that they were tracking, and others, further worn. Had this been some sort of childhood escape for the youth of the colony for a while now?
Gnai: ::loudly through its speakers:: Iruh? Ahran? Nimo?
Sadar/Vailani: Response
In the distance, it heard a small voice shout (or scream?), something that it couldn’t make out but that was distinctly a humanoid sound.
Gnai: Sir! They’re somewhere ahead of you, did you catch that?
Sadar/Vailani: Response
The sound was from the direction that they were expecting (discounting for the echo that distorted the actual words, as far as Gnai was aware), where the small cluster of signs announcing “life” were clustered deeper into the caverns.
What accompanied the sound, however, was yet another deep, bassy rumble of rock and another clattering. Gnai whipped around, trying to catch as much of the structure in the scanning range of its tricorder, so that it could analyze the stability further. If there was a cave-in, or further instability where the children were…
Gnai: ::loudly:: Sir, the stalactites…
It was cut off by a small one crashing down nearby to where it stood, where it had been loudly yelling for the youths. Thankfully, it missed the suit entirely, but the impact was more than enough to startle Gnai, and cause it to swirl around in the water, tendrils writhing and flashing with fear.
Sadar/Vailani: Response
Gnai: ::quieter, speaking quickly:: This is fine, but the children… If the stone is destabilized by loud vibrations…
This cave system had been stable for years, as evidenced by the small carvings on the walls. What was causing this instability now, after so long being safe? Another mystery for when the children had been rescued, especially if their own shouts for help might further endanger them.
Sadar/Vailani: Response
Tags/TBC :)