LT Gila Sadar - Retreading Familiar Perils

[LT Gila Sadar]

(( Near Cave System - Coastal Cliffs, Outside Bantlox Colony, Laoi III ))

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.

Rule 1 of cave spelunking: do not make a lot of noise. Underground exploration carried a lot of danger elements that open air didn’t, particularly when in an environment with proven structural disturbances. The fact that a ticking time bomb may very well be counting down to taking a big chunk of the cliff didn’t assist matters, of course, but Gila forced herself to go about things one step at a time. With the communications blackout, there was nothing she could do for their colleagues up in the ship anyways...

Her focus had to be the children.

Gnai: ::loudly through its speakers:: Iruh? Ahran? Nimo?

Vailani: :: reads tricorder :: I'm picking something up ahead. Still not an accurate read on life signs. 

Sadar: It’s better than nothing. Let’s g-

Gila’s attempt at direction was interrupted by a loud scream, something that made the folds on Gila’s cheeks flare, adrenaline coursing through her system. It made her head hurt. 

Gnai: Sir! They’re somewhere ahead of you, did you catch that?

Vailani: I heard it! Gila, do you see anything? 

Sadar: Not yet! ::slightly louder:: We’re here! If you can move, come towards my voice!

Gila scrambled over some of the less easily traversable rock, trying to get even just a smidge further, see just a bit more, as her tympani trembled beneath her hood. A wicked sense of a deja-vu filled her brain with memories of noxious fumes, gritty heat and burning coughs, before Lieutenant Gnai’s speakers brought her back to the present.

Gnai: ::loudly:: Sir, the stalactites…

Somewhere behind Gila, the very realy sound of rock shattering against rock made her whirl around, as Vai-net’s torch light inspected the ceiling itself.

Sadar: L-Lieutenant!

Vailani: Are you okay, Lieutenant? 

Gnai: ::quieter, speaking quickly:: This is fine, but the children… If the stone is destabilized by loud vibrations…

That sentence didn’t need a conclusion in order for the three of them to understand the implications.

Vailani: We need to hurry this up, those cracks are getting bigger.

Sadar: Agreed.

Gnai: Response

Hastened by the perilous circumstances, but more careful to raise their voices, the three Starfleet officers moved further into the cavern network, as a few more stalactites ripped themselves free of the ceiling and shattered across the cave floor further ahead of them. Every time such an event occurred, a quiet and frightened shriek echoed towards them, and soon enough, they found the source. A small egress, large enough for a child to hide within.

Vailani: It's okay, we're here to help you. Are you with your friends? 

Gnai: Response

Iruh: :: crying :: They got scared and left me. 

The child came out, his blue skin pale and wet with tears, but otherwise seemingly no worse for wear. Gila immediately dropped to her knees, leaving her at eye level with the child as she reached for him. 

Sadar: It’s okay. It’s okay, we’re here for you. Are you hurt?

The child came closer to her, tears still rolling down his cheeks as Gila started inspecting him. Thankfully, she wasn’t able to find any scrapes or bruises, nor seeming impediment of the limbs, and she nodded back to the others.

Vailani: Can you show us what direction your friends went? 

Gnai: Response

The boy raised a hand to point down one of the tunnels, and Gila wanted to grimace. Obviously the kids had gone down one of the least structurally sound ones. The creaking of stone separating followed by a bone chilling scream stopped her.

Iruh: I think Nimo got caught in the rocks!

Understandably, the Bolian child was already starting to panic, and Gila clenched her fists. Save as many as she could. She reached out to grab the boy’s arms, making him focus on her.

Sadar: You go back that way, to the entrance, quick as you can. I want you to go outside the cave and wait for us there. Can you do that?

The child obviously didn’t like that notion very much.

Iruh: But Nimo! What if she’s hurt? ::bawling:: I’m sorry, we thought we’d be able to find the Ship, Ahran said there might be treasure-

So this had to be Iruh.

Vailani/Gnai: Response

Gila scooted closer to Iruh on her knees, loosening her grip on his arms slightly, attempting to portray calm. Showing her own anxiety at the situation wasn’t going to help him do what he needed to do. She needed to show him.

oO “Dona, why doesn’t grandfather like it when I ask questions?” Oo

Sadar: ::trembling voice:: You’re not in trouble, Iruh. Now, please, go, and we’ll help Ahran and Nimo.

Iruh: Okay…

Vailani/Gnai: Response

After the trio had sent Iruh on his way back in their footsteps, Gila stood back up. They had to be quick.

Sadar: They can’t have gotten far.

She didn’t have any logical basis for this, nor did she have any evidence to support it, but it was more a matter of her willing it into existence, so they didn’t have to stay within the caves for any longer than necessary. She remained in the lead, charting the way, with Vai-net forming the middle link 15ft behind her. Thankfully, the ceiling above them had entered a state of relative calm, so no more stalactites threatened with impaling their heads from above as they walked.

It didn’t take them long to find the source of the scream before, and Gila’s blood ran cold. A human-looking boy, couldn’t be older than ten or twelve, was trying desperately to claw away some rocks from a large rockslide. And stuck within the wall was a smaller child, a girl, her leg stuck between some of the rocks.

oO No blood, good skin color. Panic. Needs to calm down. How big is that cave-in? A lot of pressure on the bone. Where are they pressing? Likely broken bones, possibly dislocation if she’s moved too much- Oo

The boy saw their torch light and stopped his attempts at moving the rocks to yell for them.

Ahran: Help! Help us, please, Nimo’s stuck and I can’t get her out! The rocks just fell, we didn’t touch anything, I swear!

Gila rushed to the two children, focusing on Ahran first.

Sadar: ::shushes:: Ahran, please, you have to be quiet. It’s okay, we’ll get Nimo out. ::to Vailani:: Vai-net, thoughts?

Vailani: Response

Sadar: Lieutenant Gnai, your suit’s carrying capacity was somewhere north of 200 kg, right? Is it possible you could offer some counterweight so we can slide Nemo’s leg out?

Gnai: Response

((( OOC: We are in the final stretch of the mini-mission! Good work so far, everyone! Please work to close out the scene in a satisfying manner. )))

Tags/TBC

LT Gila Sadar

Medical Officer

USS Artemis-A

A240006GS1