JP: Lt. TK Cabrillo, Ensign Lhandon Nilsen, Ensign Josh Herrick, Nurse Rox: Remnant of Chaos Pt. 5
Don K
Below them was a medium sized island, perhaps 10 km in diameter. At its heart was a tall cylindrical tower made of tan brick. Around it, within a walled area were numerous buildings. Beyond the wall were more buildings and another wall. This was repeated twice more. As the walls moved out the dwellings became more and more simplistic. A river or canal system could be seen flowing through the city. It was being fed by an island above from which water flowed down. The island was chained to a point within the city. Around the furthest wall, a set of 5 bridges connected the central island to smaller ones which also contained towers and dwellings. A sixth bridge was broken and any island that had been connected was gone.
Rox: We didn’t see anything like this last time we were here. ::turning to the men:: We should check it out.
Cabrillo: Hold on Rox. We know nothing about those people down there. Warp capable or not. If they are not then we can’t make contact. If they are warp capable then first contact should be handled by those with a little more experience then any of us on this bucket.
Nilsen: I’m with Cabrillo, ‘m all down for making a name for ourselves but you know
As he looked through the viewport, Josh could see they had termed it Paridiso. Its beauty was in a class of its own, and having only been to a few planets in the past, he was eager to add more to that slow growing list.
Herrick: Perhaps we can still make the trip worthwhile though? If we find a secluded area that no one’s going to run into us, we can still have our beach day.
Rox: ::disappointed:: So what, we’re just going to hang on the beach all day? Don’t you want to meet the people that live here?
Cabrillo: I would love a first contact situation but there are things we have to take into consideration first.
Nilsen: Like, can any of us actually do first contact?
Herrick: Well, we aren’t Those Old Scientists — we can’t operate like the wild west out here. I don’t want another visit from Humanoid Resources.
Rox: What about finding new life and all that jazz?
Lhandon found himself at the very least agreeing with Carbrillo. They shared a certain caution. Rox looked out the window again. Now that they were slightly closer Rox could see streets winding their way through the city, but they were empty. It was surprisingly still.
TK watched as the flew closer and just as he was turning to suggest a flight pattern to Nilsen the ship shuttered hard, Lhandon barely had time to get a warning out. He found himself once again on the floor and then rolling onto his back as the ship seemed to be rolling in a spiral pattern. The hull moaned under the arduous stress of whatever had just happened. TK got to his feet to find the flight team doing everything they could to keep the nose of the ship up.
Cabrillo: What just happened?
Nilsen: I got it, I got it.
Lhandon reduced power to the engines and coaxed what remained of the ship's creaky stabilization system to life. Some collected poiliting as he waited for the right moment to activate the maneuvering thrusters and slowly but surely coaxed the ship out of its spin.
Nilsen: Got it. I think the engine blew. It’s not the first time that’s happened to me. I think there was a massive power surge to the engines.
Lhandon had not realized that he had just, openly in front fo three other crew members, admitted that this is not the first out of control shuttle he’s handled.
Josh was grateful to have an experienced pilot at the helm that had handled an emergency shuttle situation, but this was two for two on the ‘Oumuamua. When he got back, he’d have to log some more time in the holodeck for this eventuality, or what some might call a right of passage for shuttle passages.
Nilsen: You remember when I said “who cares if she flew steady.” I’d like to take that back
Rox: See you should have let me fly. You upset the Lady.
Well that meant they were setting down one way or another. TK let out a long deep breath knowing that the Commodore was not going to like them making first contact in this manner.
Cabrillo: Ok, set us down as gently as possible. We’ll have to make repairs as best as we can on the ground.
Nilsen: With pleasure. I guess it’s too late to say fasten your seat… ::Lhandon glanced down at the chair:: you know, never mind.
Rox was definitely worried how this would all turn out. The thought of the Foxy Lady becoming a charred stain on the castle island was not an image she cared to think about. At the last moment Nilsen was able to fire the landing thrusters.
Rox: This will be great now we can go meet the locals.
Cabrillo: Yes, I know Rox. Just don’t get us thrown in jail ok.
Nilsen: Or murdered.
Rox: Apart from TI, I have never been thrown in jail.
Herrick: There’s a time for firsts, now is the time for none of them.
Lhandon brought the ship to land on the patch of land he eyed up earlier, this time with no more unexpected maneuvers. The grass billowed in the wake around the shuttle, much like a helicopter from the 21st century. The landing struts took the weight and soon there was a slight and expected thud noise as Lhandon reduced and then turned off the main engines. Other systems on the shuttle started to power down and slowly they left the chorus that normally followed an active ship until just silence remained.
Herrick: oO Thank gods they held Oo
Nilsen: Well we’re down.
Rox: ::taking off her seatbelt:: Nice job Nilsen. Let’s go meet the locals.
Herrick: Errr, are we sure that’s the first move? What if they stumble across the shuttle, and how do we know they’re even friendly?
Josh turned to the lieutenant for guidance, this had turned from a simple, yet risky, joyride to something much more serious.
TK looked at Rox and then to Herrick and Nilsen. They were right, meeting the locals was not the first thing they should be doing. Assessing the ships damage was priority but Rox was a nurse not an engineer so she probably would not be too much help anyways.
Cabrillo: This is not an official mission but the first thing I need to do is make sure we can get off the ground as soon as possible.
Rox moved toward the back of the control room and headed back to the main door. Opening it she walked out allowing the rest of the group to follow. Walking out into the sunlight Rox could not have imagined a nicer day. It was strange to see a sky full of rock islands floating all around them, but there were clouds as well. Rox was not sure where in the city they had landed. Looking right and left she saw the walls that circled the main keep. Now that she was closer she could see that they had fallen down in many places. There were some structures off in the distance and they were dilapidated. Apart from the wind everything was quite still.
Lhandon joins the group outside the shuttle after he made sure that all the shuttle's systems were powered down and secured.
As the others filed outside TK took a moment to join them to assess the outside of the vessel. It looked worse from the outside than it had inside the shuttlebay.
Rox turned around from the view of the city and saw the Foxy Lady. It was a wreck.
Rox: ::shouting:: What did you do to the Foxy Lady!?!
TK looked at the ship and was surprised that it had landed as gently as it had given the outside appearance.
Cabrillo: Well, at least she’s not on fire.
Nilsen: Oh, erm wow.
Lhandon stepped out to see the engines still smoking and at least one panel missing and a unmistakeable hissing noise that had the universal meaning of “kaput” The area they landed in was split in two, the first was the grassy clearing they landed in. The grass came up to most people’s knees. The second half was the beach they saw on their approach. It was a gentle slope down to the sea and they could just hear the waves crashing in the distance.
Herrick: I’m not sure we’re going to be able to fix ::waves his arm the length of the shuttle:: with just our repair kits and sheer will. ::looking at the landing struts, dug halfway into the ground:: At least Lhandon stuck the landing.
Cabrillo: ::looking to Herrick:: Nope, I’m pretty sure we’ll need just a few more supplies than I brought with me.
Rox: ::leering at Nilsen:: I’m not sure your mother raised you as well as she should have.
Nilsen: ::Shooting a look back to Rox:: Don’t you dare bring my ma in to this? You take that back!
For the first time since his arrival on the Oumuamua, the group saw a different side of Lhandon, his words, not staggering or nervous but rather sharp and aggressive. They see him stand taller, as if a 6”4 person could be any taller and he maintained a locked eye contact. Lhandon felt the adrenaline pumping in his chest and those more observant saw his fist clench.
Rox turned around to give Lhandon a sideways stare. She began to rub her thumb across her middle and index fingers. She didn’t care for Nilsen's attitude, some time as a newt might give him some much needed perspective. If she had her powers it would just take a simple snap of the fingers. Who said she didn’t have powers. As she had learned, the Crazy Tachyons could restore them without Quinta’s help. Perhaps the system contained some? She felt a slight tingle and there was a smell on the air.
Josh had been standing between the two, uncomfortable in this heated exchange. He could understand Rox’s position given they had just won the ship and now it was… significantly less foxy. He held up his hands on each side, trying to get them to take a breath.
Although Josh was trying to defuse the situation his actions were not the route that TK would have taken. Rox was not one to respond to gentle persuasion.
Cabrillo: ::in a loud, but not yelling voice:: Settle down both of you, that is an order. ::beat:: Rox, apologize so we can move on and get out of here.
Then again Rox had said something about Lhandon’s mother and while Rox didn’t give a flip about her own mother, she would not have tolerated someone knocking V’Airu. She stopped rubbing her fingers, put her hands at her side and turned around.
Rox: Sorry Lhandon. (Beat). I was out of line. ::looking at the Foxy Lady and gesturing:: Well now what? There's a distress beacon we can activate, but I’m not sure the signal can penetrate the unique radiation levels of this system.
Nilsen: Damn right you were. Let me deal with that beacon, I can get Comms working.
Lhandon spoke sharper than normal, still coming down from the confrontation with Rox
Cabrillo: Very well. Do what you can.
TK turned back to Rox and was about to scold her when she jumped in first.
Rox: But you can fix her right Cabillo? You and Herrick can get her in the air again.
Cabrillo: ::holding up both hands and placing them on her shoulders:: Yes Rox. We’ll have Foxy Lady back up in the air and then when we get back to the ‘Oumuamua she will get a thorough upgrade.
As they were talking, Lhandon got to work, perhaps fueled by a certain anger, a certain rage, he needed something to focus on and this was it. Before the group could even finish there planning, Lhandon had already found the beacon, took it out of the ship and sat on the floor with a bunch of tools that were stuffed into a case.
Rox: We could try heading toward the city. Maybe they have some kind of technology that would help.
Nilsen: That’ll be a great idea Rox, why don’t you go?
Lhandon was still very much annoyed and was very much hinting that at this time, he does not want to be around Rox.
TK felt the warmth of the sun on his back and had no intention of getting into any spats with these two. This was an unofficial trip but if he had to pull rank to get them in line he would.
Cabrillo: Maybe divide and conquer is a good idea. We can cover more ground that way.
Rox: Fine!
Rox walked back to the Foxy Lady and grabbed one of the packs. She threw in some water, rations and a tricorder. She slung it over her back and exited again.
Lhandon ignored Rox and continued on with his work
Nilsen: I'll have this done in 30 minutes or so. At least we'll be able to get off this rock.
Cabrillo: Rox, I don’t think you should head off by yourself.
Rox: ::walking away toward the center of the city:: If I’m not back by dark come find me.
TK smirked as she continued to walk away and lowered his head to the ground. He didn’t know if he was starting to like Rox or if he was simply losing his own mind.
Lhandon kept working and a spark came from the beacon, he recoiled back.
Nilsen: Make that an hour
While space would be good between the HCO and nurse, Josh didn’t think it was wise to fracture the away team three-to-one. Nilsen and Cabrillo would be fine here repairing the ship. He looked towards Cabrillo.
Herrick: Sir, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll tag along with Rox in case we find anything that we could use to patch up the ship.
TK nodded to Herrick. He was happy the man seemed to have the same thought process on his mind and did not want Rox wandering off on her own.
Cabrillo: Agreed, go try and keep her out of trouble.
Josh nodded, and ducked inside the freighter and grabbed a day pack and an engineering kit. Then, he started running after Rox.
Herrick: (yelling) Wait up!
She moved off quickly and after less than 10 minutes she came to a road. It appeared to be made with the same brown stone as the walls and other structures. Grass and weeds grew in the cracks. She saw no travelers or vehicles of any kind.
Rox: Well now what?
Herrick: I followed you, ::smiling:: shall we see where the yellow, err.. brown brick road leads or head back?
She decided to follow the road toward the center of the city. A few miles up there appeared to be a building of some kind.
—-
Lieutenant jg TK Cabrillo
Engineering Officer
USS Oumuamua
T239901JK1
&
Rox
Nurse - Crewman 2nd class
USS Oumuamua NCC-81226
T239811VK2
He/Him (player)
She/Her (character)
&
Ensign Lhandon Joseph Nilsen
HCO
USS Oumuamua
O240007LN1
He/Him/His (Both player and character)
&
Ensign Josh Herrick
Engineering Officer
USS ‘Oumuamua
O240005JH3
he/him/his (player/character)