Ensign Spelvan - Blue Are All The Trees Too
Tara Miner
((Vermillion Wastes, Gateside Dimension))
The team was well on their way to hopefully solving their mission objective - stopping the energy source from keeping the interdimensional gate open. The admiral and doctor had crafted an endothermic device, while the security officer had adjusted his phaser rifle to create a hole to drop the bomb near the roots. Now all they needed to do was proceed with their plan.
Spelvan: The only remaining component is to set the timer to detonation. How long do you think we will need to get away safely?
Valek: Unknown, Ensign. The Admiral may be better positioned to estimate the required timeframe. However, it would be logical for one of us to perform the task while the Admiral maintains a safe distance.
Reynolds: Much as I hate to admit it, you're right. I'd only slow you down.
Spelvan: I can drop the device, Admiral, and give you more time to take cover.
Valek: That is a logical choice. I will remain with the Admiral and maintain security.
Spelvan agreed - it was the logical choice. Valek was more prepared to take on any imminent threats, and both of the Vulcans could move faster in an emergency. But just because something was the logical choice did not mean it was a decision without consequence.
The three officers made their way to the spot that Valek had pointed out before at the base of the tree.
Valek: Admiral, Ensign, The phaser rifle has been modified with a low yield beam. I am ready to discharge at this location. ::He used the rifle muzzle to point to the opening.::
Reynolds: No time like the present.
Spelvan: Agreed.
Valek: Collateral damage should be minimal. I recommend you maintain a safe distance until the procedure is complete.
They watched as Valek pressed the trigger on his rifle - it created a hole as the beam powered through the ground with no reaction from the tree or the vines surrounding it. It took less time than Spelvan would have guessed, leaving an opening the size of the device that he held in his hand.
Valek: Excavation complete. The opening is sufficient to accommodate the device. I estimate the tunnel extends approximately fifty meters beneath the tree’s root structure.
Reynolds: I'll back up. ::She paused, considering for a moment.:: I won't go far. I haven't noticed many changes in the landscape since we arrived here, but I'd rather not take my chances.
Spelvan: Understood.
Valek: Response
The admiral seemed... hesitant. The weight of the bomb felt heavy in Spelvan's hands. This whole thing had been mostly his idea after all - it was fitting, somehow, that he should execute it. He looked down into the hole - dark, deep, seemingly endless. And back at the Admiral and Valek, who seemed farther away than they truly were.
Reynolds: Give yourself a healthy margin of error, Spelvan. There's no need to cut it close.
Spelvan: O-okay. Everything... everything will be okay.
Reynolds/Valek: Response
The words were said in the usual Vulcan cadence, but Spelvan had felt his voice crack at the last word. And he had said them for himself, mostly. They knew what the endothermic device was supposed to do - but for all they knew in this strange, red landscape, the bomb could cause an explosion and the shockwave would kill them all.
He stood stiffly as he set the timer. The doctor held the device over the hole and let it slip from his grasp.
And then he ran to where Valek and the Admiral stood.
Spelvan: And now, I suppose, we wait.
Reynolds/Valek: Response
They stood in silence until the timer was supposed to go off, and there was a small, almost imperceptible rumble under their feet. All the time, Spelvan kept his eyes on the tree, searching for any changes.
Changes did begin to occur - strange, unexpected ones. The officers watched as the vines tightly wound around the tree sloughed off, as if their energy had been sapped. The ground surrounding the tree began to change color to an azure color, and grasses in the same deep blue began to sprout from the earth. Spelvan continued to watch, transfixed.
Spelvan: Perhaps this is what dormancy passes for in this dimension.
Reynolds/Valek: Response
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Ensign Spelvan
Medical Officer
USS-Gorkon
G240208S11