Lt. Commander Samira Neathler - Don't go chasing waterfalls
Samira Neathler
(( The Second Lab - Gibaria Outpost ))
Her words were barely spoken when they heard more of those high pitched barks in union this time. The vines reacted and the smaller tendrils reached between the gap in the door. Just like before the doors screeched as bit by bit, the force of the vines opened the door, a few paws from those creatures in the corridor reaching in the small opening as if both plants and creatures wanted the doors to be open as fast as they could.
Neathler: Might that first pulse we tried stop those plants or is it too late?
Her hand was no longer on the strap of her rifle, but she had her rifle in hand, pointed at the gap in the door that became wider and wider.
Espinoza: I don’t think we want to stop ‘em. Right now, they’re focused on whatever’s outside. If we start irritating them, they’re gonna focus on us, which is gonna ‘cause trouble when, not if, those doors open. But if we irritate ‘em just at the right time…
It was a gamble they would have to take, the outcome was unknown until they tried it. Did the plant only have an interest in the creatures outside? Or was it a ruse? Trying to open the doors faster, inviting the creatures inside in order to devour their team a little faster?
Finch: Here’s the plan! Mister Espinoza, I want you to position yourself at the door and be ready to pull it open. We’ll attract a lot of attention rather quickly, so whoever can manage it, whether that’s you or Naledi, activate the pulse as soon as it's open. Commander Neathler will take point, and we’ll follow her out quicker than you can say moussaka.
Naledi: Crick Screech Hiss Tick… Aye, Commander
Moussaka? Wasn’t that a dish originating from Earth? If only they had a few to present to the creatures outside the door. It might calm them down. Unfortunately, Samira had not detected any replicator in the lab, so creating the creatures favourite dish was out of the question. Not that they knew what their favorite dish was.
Finch clipped her tricorder to her belt. She walked towards the doors which started to dent. How the creatures outside didn’t end up with any broken bones to cause such dents in the doors was another mystery. The vines continued their own fight with the door, twisting and writhing with each move.
Espinoza: Either side of the door, please, Commanders. I hope y’all can run nice and quick…
Finch: These old bones were made for running, and that’s just what they’ll do!
Running or speedwalking. In her eyes speedwalking was walking at a fast pace. In Finch’s eyes it was a visit to the local market. All Samira knew that this time there wasn’t an open market with people selling their different wares outside. With each blow against the door, her heart rate went up and Samira focussed on her breathing trying to calm the beating of her own heart. The ensign reached for his tricorder with shaky fingers, Samira making a point of keeping an eye on the younger man as he pressed his back against the wall.
Espinoza: ::in a low voice:: Commander Finch, if you can rig somethin’ else to boom, now’d be the time… door is buckling.
Finch looked down, not revealing her intentions before she looked at all of them.
Finch: Commanders, are we both ready?
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… Ready, Commander
Samira just nodded towards the engineer, while Espinoza was tapping rapidly on his tricorder.
Neathler: We’ve got this.
Espinoza: We need to seal the doors leadin’ into the corridor on the way out. Any ideas?
Finch: Leave that to me and let's get out of here.
The strap of her rifle wrapped around her forearm, Samira pointed the device towards the gap of the door. Naledi set their own phaser and Samira took a slow deep breath.
Naledi: Crick Snap… Acknowledged
The gap between the door and the walls became bigger, allowing more sounds from the creatures inside the lab. It reminded her of something. A holodeck program during one of the academy lessons. An enemy producing similar clicking and clacking sounds to communicate. She could not remember how the program ended. But this was not an illusion, this was reality.
Espinoza: ::mouthing:: Get ready…
Again Samira nodded, and she took a few steps to the side, taking a look behind her, before her focus went to the opening gap in the door. From the corner of her eye, she saw Finch giving a signal to Espinoza, who tapped his tricorder and then tossed the device into the middle of the room. Chaos erupted. Sensors whaled, the vines lashed out like crazy and the creatures finally barged through the door.
Finch: Go!
Espinoza: Response
Samira only noticed a blur of sand and dark and red as she dashed outside the door, feeling limbs and hard bodies against her legs, as the creatures rushed inside. Keeping her balance, she quickly looked at both sides of the corridor, ready to fire at any creature left behind. Once she was certain the corridor was free she stopped and turned ready to fire if the others needed assistance. Finch was aiming at something inside the door, creating a mist of sparks and the doors forcefield activated, trapping both the creatures and or their remains and the vines inside covered in a thick shroud.
Finch: Isolation protocols. ::She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her voice a tad crisp.:: Powered by a back-up system.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… Is it alright? It is leaking fluid from it’s skin?
At those words, Samira looked at the others, but none of them appeared to be bleeding. Only then she looked at herself, but didn’t detect any cuts either.
Finch / Espinoza: Response
Naledi: Tick Crack Pop Hiss… Can it proceed? More creatures may be dormant nearby.
Neathler: Agreed, let’s move, at this rate we’ll never reach the gate in time.
Finch / Espinoza: Response
Two labs done, six more to go. If Naledi had been correct, and those creatures reacted to sound, the explosion might have woken more of those creatures. And they did not know if phaser fire would be enough to stop them.
Naledi: Tick Snap Crack Pop Hiss Crack Pop Pew… Could the conduits be utilised as a sterilising device for the vines? Since the ones in the other room appear to be neutralised, could we start a chain reaction and burn all of them? All the way to our goal?
Neathler: That will only stop the vines, there’s still the creatures to consider.
But it would be one thing less to think about.
Finch / Espinoza: Response
They reached the next lab door. Its entrance completely covered in vines, even the access panel was hidden by those things. She used her rifle to poke at it, but a tendril lashed out and only her quick response of holding on to the rifle with all her might, prevented Samira from losing her rifle.
Neathler: I don’t think anyone or anything will enter this lab.
Finch / Naledi / Espinoza: Response
She raised an eyebrow towards Doz, silently asking if she wanted to check the insides of the lab anyway, while grabbing her tricorder as she walked towards the window. She looked up from her tricorder to cast a glimpse inside when she almost dropped the device.
A whirl of vines had grown criss-cross over the window, but that was not what caught her attention. In the middle of the tangle of vines, a male scientist was sprawled against the window. His cheek pressed against the transparent surface, his hands sprawled against the window next to his head, his mouth wide open as if he was screaming, the scream muffled by a black thick vine the size of her arm creeping outside of his open mouth. Samira swallowed as she raised her tricorder.
Neathler: No life signs.
Finch / Naledi / Espinoza: Response
She nodded and continued. The bottom of the hallway walls showed dents and smears. Locations where the creatures had bumped into in their haste. Further in the corridor, more vines were dangling from a now open roster in the ceiling, almost creating a waterfall over the length of the hallway, barely leaving room for them to pass the vines without touching them.
Neathler: That might be a tight squeeze.
Finch / Naledi / Espinoza: Response