Lt. Haukea-Willow: Grunt Work
Aly Drolet
((Approaching the Orion Perimeter, Drakos Prime))
With the quickness of some of her own decisions, Haukea watched Ryden Sylvax make the descent downwards, showing immense patience as he attempted to find various hand holds. From her own angle, it was unclear regarding exactly what Ryden was experiencing, his thoughts were lost to her, nor the steepness of his travel - even so she could see loose gravel rolling from under foot. Eventually Ryden began to disappear as the path narrowed around a bend. Then, after a single tense inhale, Ryden completed the descent, signaling from the ground below - river flowing, birds squawking impatiently.
Sylvax: Is everyone alright up there?
Ivalyan, Haukea observed, provided the quartet with a distinctly Terran thumbs-up gesture, attempting to persuade each individual of her assurances.
Willow: No one's moved. I'm coming down after you. I suggest moving over.
Ivalyan ::calling down, breath catching slightly:: F-fine. Just admiring the view. ::she does not sound like she's admiring the view::
Haukea navigated herself to Ryden’s previous starting point, finding a secure footing, angling herself, lowering her center of gravity. Eventually she found the exact correct angle necessary, hands bracing her from behind, as she began to slide downward.
The travel was steep, allowing her to gain momentum quickly. At which point she likely would have plowed into another individual had they not heeded her words, moving a step or two out of her direct path.
Haukea-Willow stood, brushing excess dust from her clothing, adjusting her feet to a more comfortable position.
Willow: If we took out the harrowing circumstances, I may have considered that fun. ::shouting up to Ivalyan and Leda:: Make your way down. Then we can travel around and see what they are doing at the camp.
Ivalyan ::already testing the first handhold:: Copy that. ::glancing at Leda:: After you — you're better at this than I am.
Leda: Follow my path down as best you can, all right? It’s steep, but there are plenty of handholds - you’ll have no problem.
For how green she was, Ivalyan, it appeared, had a difficulty finding her footing on a new task, whether from fear or heights, if not both, Haukea was unable to tell. Recognizing distinct separate emotions in an individual was commonly an uneasy task for her, she struggled with it in herself for one.
Nevertheless, she watched, neck bent back, eyes up, as Leda darted from hand-hold to foot-hold, pace precise enough for Ivalayn to follow, bouldering, trembling, before touching a solid surface.
Willow: All in one piece? Ready to move out?
Sylvax: Response
Leda: ::hushed:: Let’s see if we can find a more unobstructed view of the camp.
Willow: We’ll move along the perimeter, that way we aren’t as easily spotted.
Sylvax: Response
The quartet traversed the outskirts of the low-lying bush land, a heavy blanket of evergreen needles tracking underfoot, hands and faces abraded by thorny branches. Eventually, through the cover of several ideally placed shrubs, they were given a sightline towards the Orion camp - listening, watching.
Orion 1: Can you watch your hand, idiot? You know what Onzion would do to us if we dropped these?
Orion 2: ::eyes rolling melodramatically:: I don’t know, run crying to Wora? Pout in his lab?
Orion 1: Sic Nysari on us, more likely.
Orion 2: Pfft. I could take her.
Orion 1: ::highest possible eyebrow:: Oh sweetie. I’d love to see you try. But I’d be the one washing your guts off the upholstery afterwards, so let’s just get all this crap packed and get going? Apparently Onzion needs this stuff to soup up some targs next.
Visually, numerous machines, disassembled, were being placed into large fortified crates, subsequently loaded into cargo holds on several waiting shuttles, tents were equally being packed away. And right in the mists of the move, two unknowing Orions had been communicating, allowing them to eavesdrop.
Leda: He… what the hell could be in that...? ::She turned to the rest of the group with wide eyes::
Willow: They are grunts, likely working for another individual to which they don’t ask many questions. Saves time that way. Yet, we do have names. ::Haukea whispered them back to herself, hoping to memorise them and prevent the names from slipping from her memory:: Onzion, Wora, Nysari. Onzion, Wora, Nysari. Onzion, Wora, Nysari.
Leda/Sylvax/Ivalyan: Response
Willow: We can’t get much closer without running the risk of being caught. However, we may do well at following them for a time.
Leda/Sylvax/Ivalyan: Response
Willow: What do you say?
Leda/Sylvax/Ivalyan: Response
Lt. Haukea-Willow
Chief of Security - Crisis Response
Starbase 118 Ops
M239512BG0
Ad Astra Per Aspera/To The Stars With Difficulty - Una Chin-Riley
