Vice Admiral Quinn Reynolds - Into the Dark
Quinn Reynolds
((Research and Development Wing, Gibaria Outpost))
The security control room looked like carnage. A bank of monitors filled one wall, spiderweb cracks filling several screens. Beneath them, consoles spat sparks, the touch panels dark and lifeless. A set of three claw marks raked across the right wall, and on the ground, blood glistened in the unsteady light, swallowing any embers that landed on its surface.
No one and nothing else was there. At least for now.
Reynolds: That much blood, and it's still relatively fresh. ::She frowned and shook her head, sweeping her gaze around the room.:: They can't have gone far. Unless they were carried.
There was a tautness in the air, an unspoken razor wire of potential. Valek moved around the room with precise caution, careful to step around the blood as he investigated the damage. Spelvan trailed in his wake, not quite as rigid in his composure as the other, though still self-possessed and collected. Focused on the trail, the pair followed it to the wall of monitors, and then stepped out of sight behind them.
Valek: Admiral, I have discovered an alternate exit. The blood trail strongly suggests that the injured party exited in this direction.
Spelvan: That hallway seems... foreboding.
Taking similar care to step around the blood, Quinn joined them behind the bank of monitors. A dark hallway loomed in front of them, ominous enough to cause a small inhale of breath. But ever the engineer, the architecture and mechanics of the door caught her attention. Tricorder in one hand, she ran her fingers along the frame, curiosity sparking in hazel eyes.
Reynolds: It looks like they were trying to keep it hidden. When this door is closed, it'd be near invisible, unless you knew what you were looking for.
Valek shifted, moving toward the front of their small gaggle. If they were going in there, it made more sense for him to take point — a fact which seemed to bring Spelvan a little relief. Maybe it was Gamoya, and maybe it was not. Either way, they were far from the point where abandoning someone in need was a possibility.
Valek: Admiral, if you would like to proceed and follow the trail, I will take lead at your order.
Reynolds: I would.
Spelvan: ::He nodded, glancing at his PADD.:: This corridor is not on our maps — though these maps were generated when the facility was first built. It may be that they are simply out of date.
Reynolds: The research here shifted over time. It makes sense that they would adapt the facility as well.
Valek: Response
Something made Spelvan hesitate and reach for his tricorder once again. The chirps and trills echoed down the umbral corridor ahead of them, lights playing in a subdued rainbow across the threshold. Quinn dug in the engineering kit she'd brought for her torch, flicking it on and shining it into the gloom. It went on a fair distance, exposed cabling and conduits on the walls, as though its constructors had neither the time nor inclination to finish the build.
Spelvan: It appears we have two people involved. The blood here is also Kobliad, but of a different type.
Reynolds: And both bleeding heavily enough to leave a trail.
Valek: Response
Spelvan: Perhaps an injured individual entered the security room and then took the other person already present down the corridor.
Reynolds: The question is, what happened to whatever made those?
She inclined a finger towards the deep claw marks raking through the wall. It seemed likely those same claws had rent through one of the injured as well, but that was an assumption. And there was a rather well-known saying about assuming things. What if the owner of said claws had been one of their bleeding Kobliad? They were still discovering exactly what effects the dimensional bleed had on people.
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Reynolds: All right, let's proceed. Lead the way, Ensign Valek, and let us know if you detect any life signs, Doctor.
Spelvan / Valek: Response
Commanding Officer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0