Lt. Commander Samira Neathler - Frequencies
Samira Neathler
((Corridor - Gibaria Outpost))
Their task was to create a safe passage to the gate and clear the way. Which meant they had to tackle the odd and dangerous fauna and flora that supposedly came through the open gateway. But that was not the only dangerous part of their mission. Not only was there a risk of radiation poisoning, for which each Gorkon crew member on the base had received treatment, but long exposure to whatever was seeping through the gate also presented other medical conditions.
But for now the four Lieutenant Commanders stood in a corridor, vines covering the walls and the doors. The bloody handprints now not only covered the doors but the walls at regular interval as if someone used them as support with each step they took forward. They had to cover eight labs and who knew what lay behind the corners at the other end of corridor.
Neathler: What about that subsonic pulse Naledi suggested earlier? It’ll make our work easier than having to check every room manually.
Finch and Naledi looked at each other, while Samira kept her gaze on the corridor.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Pew… It is possible commander, although it will take a moment to perform the necessary adjustments.
Finch: Talk me through the adjustments and I can help you make them.
Samira took a few steps back, making sure she had a good view on the group and their surroundings.
Naledi: Crick Pew Snap Pop… It agrees with Lt Commander Neather. From a tactical viewpoint, scanning the rooms remotely is safer and more efficient than using its eyes.
Sevo: I can set it up on my tricorder. Give me a minute.
As said, Ayiana’s fingers danced over her tricorder, while Finch looked through the corridor, just like Samira did. Her eyes caught the odd fauna and her ears hearing the daily sounds of the facility and some other sounds she wasn’t familiar with. With both Finch and Ayiana focused on the Trill’s tricorder, Samira moved and walked closer to one of the vines, conducting a small experiment of her own.
Naledi: Pew Pop Snap Hiss… Intriguing, How often have you performed the procedure?
Sevo: I’ve written or installed similar programs on my tricorder over the years. It shouldn’t be too difficult to adapt one to a subsonic pulse.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… Where would it be best placed?
Sevo: ::Smiling.:: No need to be in a specific location. Unless the flora completely absorbs the sound waves, we should be able to get a relatively clear reading.
Finch: Ideally it’ll help us to determine the distance, size and density of whatever we may be dealing with.
Samira shivered, it was as if cooler air was coming from the other side of the corridor, although it might just as well be her imagination.
Sevo: Okay, here we go.
Before Ayiana tapped on her tricorder again, Samira looked down towards her foot and frowned as she looked up. Yet her gaze shifted immediately to the wriggling and moving vines, now producing a weird sound she hadn’t heard before.
Sevo: Oh…s---.
Finch: Now why are they doing that?
Naledi: Response
Sevo: Those things are responding to the pulses! Maybe they’re aggravating them somehow?
Neathler: Or it’s their way of dancing?
She had taken a step away from the walls where she had been standing these last few minutes. The last thing she wanted was one of those things to grab her.
Finch: Shut it off, Ayiana!
Naledi: Response
One of the vines lashed out towards Ayiana and the Trill hardly dodged the plant.
Sevo: Sh-shutting it off!
Almost the minute Sevo tapped at her tricorder, the vines stopped wriggling and moving as if nothing had happened. Finch on the other hand had drown her rifle, pointing it towards the plants.
Finch: Everyone in one piece?
Sevo: Yea.
Samira just nodded, her eyes lowered to the floor again, searching for a particular spot.
Naledi: Response
Finch: They’re not keen on being touched, and they’re really not keen on subsonic pulses. What does that tell us?
Sevo: Could be an instinctual defensive mechanism. Or maybe the pulses really were hurting it. Hard to tell without more tests.
Naledi: Response
There it was and Samira moved towards the vine. The action had taken her away from the team back towards the door entrance they came from.
Neathler: Just so you know, those vines are growing at a rapid speed. I had my eyes on one over there. ::She pointed towards a point near the group.:: And now its end is half a meter further. But maybe the pulse had something to do with it.
Finch: We’re going to have to either modify it, or consider another approach.
Sevo: We could try various levels of phaser fire on them; see if we can cut through the vines.
Neathler: Before we try that, can’t we change the frequency of that pulse you emitted? Perhaps they only react on a certain frequency?
Naledi: Response
Sevo: It’s risky. If they have a fight-or-flight response they might try and fight back.
Neathler: We already know they react on touch.
Finch / Naledi: Response
Sevo: Alternatively, we can take some time to analyze them; see what makes them tick. Maybe we can find a more scientific way to stop these things.
Neathler: Or we’ll find some answers in those labs, we have to clear them anyway.
Finch / Naledi: Response
Sevo: Well, we’re kind of on a time limit here, so as loath as I am to skip a fascinating scientific study, I’d say we try the phasers first. See if we can just cut through them.
Samira agreed with the time limit and she was already on her way towards the first door on her right. The vines lay in front of the door and around the door frame but they didn’t appear to block the entrance itself. They should be able to access the lab behind it.
Neathler: How about we clear the first two labs, see if there’s anything in there we can use. We can fire at those things when they’re really blocking us.
Finch / Neathler / Naledi: Response
She was about to reach for the display to open the door when she stopped, pulled her tricorder and scanned the glossy surface.
Neathler: There’s bloody fingerprints on there.
Finch / Sevo / Naledi: Response
Returning to the corridor, she scanned the bloodprints on the wall, and even briefly stepped into the corridor where they had arrived at, just making sure to keep eye contact with the others. She quickly returned to the others near the first door.
Neathler: These bloodprints are all from the same person.
Someone could be taking shelter in the lab, or they had tried to gain access but had failed and had continued down the corridor.
Finch / Sevo / Naledi: Response