Lt. Commander Tahna Meru - Gateside Flytrap
Tahna Meru
((The Vineknot, Gateside Dimension))
Meru adjusted the lighting controls on all three of their exosuits. Hopefully, between their adjustments, and the third tricorder acting as a distraction, they’d be able to safely illuminate their path…though she hesitated before testing that theory by turning on her own light. The ground was still shaking.
Tahna: Did we get anything else useful?
V’Lar: The device is in motion, Commander. It is being pulled directly toward the elevated transponder signal we are currently tracking.
Pace: Wow, it’s moving pretty fast too… It could be a fluke, right?
V’Lar: The probability of it being a coincidence is negligible.
But why move the tricorder and the transponder to a centralized location? What was there? Had the civilian scientists used a lightsource that triggered the vines to attack them, and if so, what did that mean for them? Meru suspected they’d have answers soon enough, though she wasn’t sure she’d like them.
Pace: Why is this dimension so creepy, sirs?
A sardonic smile played at the corner of Meru’s mouth.
Tahna: Why is this dimension so creepy? Let me count the ways…
V’Lar: I would theorise that since we know the xenoflora in this dimension pre-digests live prey, it transports subdued subjects to a central feeding ground or digestive node for consumption. If I am correct and if anything remains of the scientists, recovery will be hazardous. Perhaps we could weaponise the xenoflora's extreme photosensitivity?
Pace: Hmmm, not a bad idea if worse comes to worse…
Tahna: Do you mean to use it as an ongoing distraction?
The flora didn’t like the light, but it didn’t seem to harm the vines enough to actually act as a weapon. But maybe Meru was missing something. Doctor V’Lar had her tricorder, after all.
Pace: Would we be using the tricorder that the forest has now? Or I could ::She cleared her throat.:: creatively engineer one of our remaining tricorders to be a kind of light grenade?
Lieutenant Pace seemed nervous about her own suggestion. Her discomfort was unnecessary, Meru appreciated all ideas—even ones she decided against using often inspired the right idea in the end.
V’Lar: Having such a modification available does not force us to deploy it, but it allows us to retain it as an option if needed. Still, given we have a remote link to the deployed tricorder, we can still use it.
Tahna: Yes, I’d rather use the tricorder we’ve already deployed than sacrifice another one, if it’s possible. Our resources remain limited.
A large quake shook the ground. Meru swayed, maintaining her balance after a second’s shock, and saw Pace do the same. What did the roots of the vines look like under their feet? She pictured them as a great, writhing knot, like a pit of restless snakes. That mental image did little to settle her mind.
Then the tremors ceased, and an eerie calm settled over them. As if the vines had finally gotten what they wanted.
Pace: That’s… odd?
V’Lar: The telemetry feed from the deployed tricorder has abruptly terminated. The final readings indicated the duritanium casing was under significant pressure. It is highly probable the device has been sufficiently damaged to disable its optical emitter, thereby pacifying the environment.
Meru’s eyebrows shot upwards. That wasn’t great news.
Tahna: Alright, so using that one as a lure or a weapon is out. And I don’t want to risk wasting another.
Pace: Response
V'Lar: Given the force that would have needed to be exerted on the tricorder, proceeding is risky. I would strongly advise a contingency.
Pace: Response
If Doctor V’Lar’s hypothesis was correct, and Meru had little reason to doubt it at this point, then heading for the transponder would be like walking into a venus flytrap. They had no way out, and few ways to combat the vines, and they still aimed to recover whatever they could of the missing civilian team. She began running down a mental list of what they knew so far, looking for a solution.
Tahna: Alright. Light agitates it. We seem to be safe with our modified suits, but that could change as we go deeper, so we need to be prepared to go dark again. If we have to do that, we’ll still have the echolocation program.
V’Lar / Pace: Response
Meru frowned, clenching and unclenching her exosuit-gloved fists.
Tahna: We could set up a tether to a less dense section of the vines, so we could pull ourselves out, but given the force exerted on the tricorder…I think we may need to worry more about constriction than just being trapped. The suits will protect us against that to an extent, but likely not enough.
V’Lar / Pace: Response
Meru stared in the direction of the transponder, though even with their new lighting she couldn’t see very far into the vines.
Tahna: Perhaps we start with further recon. While it’s unlikely the civilians survived, it’s not impossible, and determining with certainty whether this is a rescue or recovery mission could change how we proceed.
V’Lar / Pace: Response