Lt Alex Storm - Forced Entry

[Karen Morris]

((Unknown Monastery - Callis 1))

As soon as Alex reached out telepathically to Brexis, the loudest growl they had heard yet shook the building. Dust cascaded from the cracks between the stones that made up the walls.  Another growl echoed directly opposite the first. The Captain gestured to Charlotte and Nat to get the makeshift weapons.

But Alex wasn’t aware of any of it.  Pressure. White-hot. Too much—too fast.  Her knees gave way and struck the floor.   She reached up, her hands wrapping around her head as if attempting to cushion it against the pressure. She leaned forward, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Brexis: Response

Storm: ::Holding her head in both of her palms.:: They’re here.  ::Pointing at her head.::  Here!

Alex felt a pair of arms settle around her shoulders.  The warmth of the touch couldn’t alleviate the intense pressure radiating inward inside her head.

MacKenzie: ::whispering:: You have to be quiet.

MacKenzie: Are they telepathic? Is that what triggered them?

Cole: ::quiet, steady:: If they can sense us like that… firelight might already be a beacon.

Another growl echoed outside—this one lower, longer. Almost… curious.

Alex knuckled her eyes.  If MacKenzie hadn’t been holding her shoulders, she would have rocked forward and backward.  Anything to get rid of the invisible force pressing into her head.  Through clenched teeth, she whispered...

Storm:  ::in a barely audible whisper only MacKenzie could hear:: Not … telepathic … sense … its … use.

Brexis: Response

MacKenzie: ::mouthing:: Can you hear them?

Blackness enveloped Alex’s eyes in the silence, but as a deafening crack rippled through the door, her sight blazed white with another round of agonizing pressure enveloping her head and twisting her stomach.  She leaned forward, wretching.

Cole: ::hoarse, forcing the words out:: Door’s holding… for now!  ::breathing hard:: They’re strong… but they’re not committing. Not yet.

There was another growl, though this one lower...   Almost less menacing.  And with it, the stabbing pressure behind her eyes began to slowly relinquish its hold on her head.  The white she saw eased to grey, then to black.  She opened her eyes and blinked. She could see again.  Feeling something moist at the corner of her mouth, Alex wiped away the residue.

Storm:  ::in a whisper:: I’ve given birth without pain medicine.  That was less painful than this was by at least a factor of ten.

Brexis/Storm/MacKenzie: Response

Another impact hit the door—not as hard this time. Almost… restrained.

Cole: ::grim realization dawning:: They’re learning.

Alex set the sole of one foot on the floor.  The solidness beneath it bolstered her, and she pressed her hands against that knee to help her stand to her feet.  Her head still swam from the variations in pressure that had attacked and unlatched from her mind.  Never before had standing on her own two feet felt like such an accomplishment.

The intensity of the rain began its gradual abatement, and there were no further attempts at an incursion in that moment.

Storm: ::in a whisper:: I think they’re gone. Maybe they don’t think they can get in.

Brexis/MacKenzie: Response

Alex saw Nat take a step before she looked off kilter.  She moved in Cole's direction, but two steps told her she’d better take it slow.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  oO  I bet Roy gives these beasts a lecture for what this is doing to my cortisol numbers. Not exactly rose petals on lavender beaches here.  Oo  

Cole: ::thought, distant:: That breath… wasn’t a herbivore’s.

Alex opened her eyes just in time to see Cole tumble to the floor.  Feeling like each step was walking on opposite sides of a teeter-totter, Alex let MacKenzie tend to Cole.  

oO  Focus, Alex. Inventory. Feet under you. Weapon in reach. Oo

She made her way to the make-shift spear Cole had dropped, grasping a hold of it with a caress, as if it were an old acquaintance she had long missed.  Another growl emanated toward the building, but this was off in the distance.

Storm: ::Slightly above a whisper.::  Either our friends have retreated for the time being, or a new friend is joining them.

Brexis/MacKenzie: Response

Storm:  I would wager that the people on this planet were telepathic.  If these creatures could immobilize the occupants that way, they would be easy prey.

Brexis/MacKenzie/Cole:  Response

Storm:  That fact alone, might give at least some of our group an advantage.  Hopefully, if we ::Looking over at Brexis:: don’t use telepathy, we won’t be as easy a target.

Brexis/MacKenzie/Cole:  Response

Alex walked over to the door and examined it.  Running her fingers over the solid, smooth stone, she felt its lean.  The bottom was wedged toward them more than the top.  Following the door to its edge, she felt the bottom hinge; it was cracked but not completely broken through.

Storm:  The door’s still mostly intact,  but I don’t know if it can survive another assault of that level… ::Her voice trailed off, and she pivoted around on the balls of her feet to face Brexis and MacKenzie.::  As hard as that door was to close - and now with it skewed on its hinges, has anyone given any thought to how we get OUT of this building?

Brexis/MacKenzie/Cole:  Response

~*~

Tags / TBC!

~*~

Lt Alex Storm

Tactical Officer

USS Artemis

O240103SK2