Lieutenant (JG) Thea Kairis - Shroom With A View
Quinn Reynolds
((Moss Fields, Gateside Dimension))
Thea's eyes drifted toward the treeline again, the dense forest following the line of the trunk but not encroaching any closer to it. It reminded her of the dense rainforests of Palanon, thick with foliage and life, leaves glistening with moisture that here had no obvious source. The undergrowth shifted again, leaves swaying with the passage of something.
And then it broke through the treeline.
Not it. They.
A group of creatures, skin the colour of dried blood, hard and sleek in the way of evolved violence. They moved at breathtaking speed toward the herd, splitting up with a predator's coordinated intelligence. The sounds the herd had made once before now filled the air, higher pitched and more abrupt, the animals skittering and wheeling before the herd decided to flee the threat.
Naturally, in the direction of the three officers trying their very best to stay out of the way.
Kairis: Look out!
Sevo: Sh — !
Sevo attempted to break into a sprint, but did not coordinate her direction with either Thea or zh'Tisav, and promptly came to an awkward stop when the tether snapped taut. In part because there was no obvious direction to break toward. There was the forest to one side — the same one the predators had come from — and barren nothing to the other. No good options and a stampede heading their way.
Sevo: We need cover! But where?!
zh'Tisav: I don't know, there's nothing close enough!
Thea's hands gripped her tricorder while Sevo raised her phaser rifle, and the Tyrellian was not sure if she was right or wrong for lacking the same instinct to reach for a weapon. It was a small comfort that zh'Tisav hadn't, at least. The Andorian didn't seem the type to neglect a weapon if it was the right time to use one.
Sevo: I've got an idea, but it may not work.
zh'Tisav: It's not like we have many options. What is it?
Sevo: Quickly, think of a large group of boulders! Something big enough to hide behind!
zh'Tisav: What!? Are you crazy?
Sevo: It's either that or a big tree to climb! The place responds to thoughts in some way; let's use it!
Kairis: I— I can try, but—
zh'Tisav's grumbling whispered through the comms, and it sounded like she was equal parts annoyed that Sevo was right, and that the Andorian was the only one who'd had any real success trying to influence the world earlier.
Still, Thea tried her best. She had no idea how to project the image she conjured in her mind, but she focused her thoughts as much as possible. A memory: the boulders not far from the shore of her mountain lodge; dark slate and threaded with glittering black and glistening silver, warm under her palm from the suns, rough against her coat when she brushed past, and big enough to climb, if one felt so inclined.
It was difficult to keep her focus when she realised the ground was trembling beneath her feet. Even more so when they were projected upward, the land rising and reforming beneath them, pushing them toward the sky as boulders erupted below. She dropped to her hands and knees as the movement knocked her off balance, and saw, with a hesitant mote of satisfaction, faint onyx and platinum veins running through the new outcropping.
Kairis: Oh, that's— ::She swallowed, relief scratching out through a dry throat.:: That's one way to do it.
Sevo: Response
zh'Tisav: Can't exactly control where they pop up… ::She paused.:: If you like I can put them back and try for a different placement?
Kairis: I don't think it gets much better than this.
Sevo: Response
She peered over the side, watching the herd veer around the boulders. Some sacrificed their headstart to climb it, but quickly gave up the attempt when it was clear the sides were far too sheer. A fact that deepened her relief a few moments later, when the predators caught their first prey. Claws slashed, and the lowing growls of earlier turned into shrieks that ran ice down Thea's spine.
zh'Tisav: Don't throw up. You'll be wearing it until we get home.
Kairis: No, I— ::She frowned.:: There's no blood or organs. It looks more like... sap? And fungi?
Sevo / zh'Tisav: Response
She reached to rub her forehead, only for her fingers to thump against her helmet before she dropped her hand back to her side. The sight below was grotesque and strange in ways she barely had words for, but her stomach remained placid. Perhaps it was just too strange for nausea. Once again, she wasn't entirely sure if that was good or bad in the long run, but in the moment she was grateful.
Kairis: If this place wasn't so hostile, the exobotanists would have field day.
Sevo / zh'Tisav: Response
--
Engineer (Damage Control)
USS Gorkon
simmed by
Commanding Officer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0