Vice Admiral Quinn Reynolds - Hungering Vines
Quinn Reynolds
((Vermillion Wastes, Gateside Dimension))
The ground shuddered again, though there was something more determined in its trembling this time. All three officers stopped where they were, feet planted to keep their balance, and watched as a deep crack opened up in the ground ahead. It was perhaps half a metre wide, three metres long, and a vine slithered out in a way that made Quinn's skin crawl, creeping forward in their intended direction of travel.
Spelvan: Interesting. It appears the vines may have a rhizomatic network - that is, they grow horizontally, unlike trees with a central trunk.
Reynolds: I wonder if they're vines at all, at least in the manner we know them. I have no idea whether they even vaguely qualify as plants, other than looking like one. ::She frowned.:: The nervous system is rhizomatic, too.
Valek: Logic suggests the planet may be a single living organism. Such a prospect is concerning.
Spelvan: Possibly.
Reynolds: Do you think there's a way to follow them to the power source? They were particularly interested in the facility's main reactor, especially once the team there interfered with the energy coming through the gate from this dimension.
Valek: I concur, Admiral. The flora and plants we encountered appeared attracted to the station’s power source. It is therefore likely they require a comparable energy source in this dimension.
Spelvan: We will have to see if the vines move along the same energy signature that we are tracking.
Quinn wasn't sure if she was pleased that it appeared a reasonable hypothesis, or disturbed at the implications if it was. She took that discomfort and put it aside for now, paying attention to more practical things. The sound of her breath in the suit, the reassuring thump of her boots against the ground. Steady, normal, things unchanged by alien dimensions and incomprehensible physics.
Beside her, Spelvan gaze shifted between the ruddy ground and the reassuring blue-green of his tricorder screen. Quinn's tricorder similarly held her attention, hazel eyes flicking between it and the horizon around them. It was unfortunate that neither she nor Spelvan were looking in the same direction as Valek, when the latter's voice shattered the quiet.
Poor Spelvan fumbled his tricorder in surprise, lips moving in his suit, the communication microphones merciful in their audio sensitivity — or lack thereof.
Valek: Admiral, Ensign, visual observation indicates possible movement near the rock formation at a distance of approximately 150 meters.
He took one hand off his rifle, and pointed toward the offending set of rocks.
Spelvan: I did not see anything — did you, Admiral?
Reynolds: ::She shook her head.:: No.
She was looking that way now, but there was no further sign of movement. Quinn didn't doubt Valek had seen something. The question simply was whether it was still there. Spelvan held his tricorder up, the device tweeting away, though it did not seem to offer any confirmation as yet.
Valek: The figure appeared broadly humanoid, though larger in stature and hunched in posture. I was unable to obtain additional details. We should assume we are under observation.
Spelvan: Intriguing. I am picking up no life signs in that area, though our scans are only short range. If the individual fled, we may not be able to find them.
Reynolds: Fled, or been moved. They could be anywhere, if the landscape reshaped itself behind that outcropping. ::She paused.:: But we should check. I don't care for the idea of moving on if something is lurking behind that rock.
Valek: Response
And even if they weren't inclined to check, it seemed their path took them past the outcropping anyway. Spelvan was less tense than she expected; perhaps a growing confidence, or perhaps inspired by the lack of life signs on his scans.
Unfortunately, his newfound serenity didn't pass into the environment by osmosis.
Both his and her own tricorder started shrieking. Alerts that made no sense — there was no major electrical storm above their heads, nor were they currently encased in marshmallow — the screen hurling incoherent data and symbols with no regard for the normal laws of linguistics or mathematics. At the same time, the previously placid vines surged into motion, twisted and curving as though reaching for something none of them could see.
Spelvan: Is anyone else's equipment malfunctioning?
Reynolds: Very much so. Unless Ensign Valek has indeed turned into— ::she did a double-take at the readings on her tricorder screen:: —a Vulcan-shaped grapefruit.
Valek: Response
In the best traditions of percussive engineering, Spelvan smacked his hand against the side of his tricorder. Quinn would normally sigh at the underlying theory of such an attempt, but in this place, who knew what would be effective. Sadly, it was just as ineffective in this dimension as their own, and the device did not retreat into reasonableness.
It was right then that she realised something had changed. The vines, previously thick and writhing on the ground ahead, were absent. She turned to say as much, only to watch Spelvan abruptly disappear below her sightline, dragged to the floor by the creeping plants now behind them. Ambush via liana.
Reynolds: Valek, keep us covered!
As his tricorder went scattering to the floor, Quinn darted backward to avoid becoming a second victim, reaching for one of the devices they had brought through the gate with them. She tried not to think about how tight the vines gripped his ankles, or the compression they were applying to his wrist to keep him on the ground.
Worse than that, was the look of distress on his face. There was pain, certainly, but more than that in the twist of his expression and the clench of his eyes. Something more than simple fear.
Spelvan: N-no... stop it... help...
Valek: Response
The gloves made it harder to use the harmonic resonator, an already unfamiliar device. But there was some advantage to age and experience, and even as her heart beat a frantic rhythm in her chest, her hands stayed steady. She felt the device engage more than she heard it, vibrations travelling through her gloves and into her suit. With a noise that almost sounded like a purr inside her helmet, the resonator discharged.
The effect was immediate. The strangling vines released Spelvan and retreated as though they had been scalded. She sank backward on one heel, watching as they slithered away, not entirely sure if she had just warned them or made an enemy for life.
Reynolds: That should keep them back a little while. ::She looked toward Spelvan, concern settling among her freckles.:: Are you all right?
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Reynolds: Does anyone have an idea what just happened?
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Commanding Officer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0