Ensign Herrick & Wayfinder Boggarsh & Miner Klinex: Is it a robbery?
Mark P
((Outer Mines, Central Tholus - Esh-o Colony))
As the Starfleet officers leaned over the
interconnected mines, they needed to determine a way to trigger them without
putting themselves at risk. Typically the mines were used in isolation to blast
through rock, but when connected, they would be fatal. Even with the 60 second
delay.
Herrick:
Chief, I think we could use our communicators to act as remote triggers.
They’re linked locally down here anyway and I’m pretty sure we’d still be in
range when we get to a safety zone. What do you think?
Kel: ::turning
back to the group:: Is that a good idea? What if we get separated we might need
to find each other.
Richards:
Response
Corelli:
Sure that will work!
Josh saw the doctor motion to see something more, perhaps still not sold on the idea, but before the words could come out of his mouth, the wayfinder spoke up.
Boggarsh: Do you hear that?
Herrick:
What?
Corelli:
What?
The younger engineer smiled a bit at the Deltan echo, as he strained to hear whatever the Boggarsh was hearing. He looked around and saw the others doing the same.
Kel: We need to go.
Richards: Response
Finally, Josh heard the shriek. It was almost imperceptible
but it was unmistakable — he was not looking for a repeat encounter. The
engineer turned back to the mines, taking off his combadge and using the microfilament
to adjust the settings.
Herrick:
(some hesitation) It’s going to take a minute or 2 to attach the fuse and set
it up so it doesn’t go off accidentally.
Richards: Response
Boggarsh and Klinex had been standing beside the
cart after they’d hauled half of the mines to where Josh was now working. It
was interesting to watch the youngest of the group struggle so much with even propping
them up; the Esh-o physique allowed them to carry several of these for hours
without fatigue. What they lacked in speed, they made up for in strength.
Kel: Let's
assume it is. ::pulling several tubes out of the kit:: I've got a prescription
for it.
Boggarsh: oO You should have killed it, you should have killed it, are they going to kill it now? Oo
Corelli: We should get ready. If that's the Doctor's creature coming for a check up, we need to move fast.
Klinex: Hurry up! Get over here so we can move on.
Klinex looked perplexed at the doctor who was rummaging through his medical kit and placing vials down. This was the opposite of hurry up and go — more like stay and die. He wondered what on earth the blue-skinned individual was doing.
Corelli: Charges set? Doctor, I think it's time for some
more of that excessive speed... would you care to drive? I can roll around the
cart and crash into people instead if you prefer?
Kel: ::to
Corelli:: You drive. I've rigged this hypo to release Anesthizine gas once
those creatures reach the chamber. I'm down a hypo and a tricorder, but
hopefully it will slow them down.
The combage in Herrick’s hand chirped as he completed the final adjustments to its programming, and then attached the two leads from the final mine to the circuitry. It was a patch job, but he didn’t need it to last long, just a few minutes while they got to safety.
Herrick: Got it! Now, you should call my badge twice within 5 seconds for it to go off but there’s no time to test it out first.
He
turned around and saw that both Kel and Corelli were at the cart now and
realized he was probably speaking to himself. He sprinted the few metres to their
transportation and hopped in the cart. It felt less claustrophobic to Josh since
half of the mines were gone, but the feeling was still nagging at him.
Kel:
::sophisticated accent:: Central park my good man.
Klinex: We don’t need to go to the park… that’s on the surface. We just need to get to the next break off point.
Herrick: (smiling) It’s a figure of speech, that’s what
he meant.
The humour was definitely lost in translation as Klinex
looked back at the front of the tracks as the cart lurched forward. Foom, down
they went, reversing course. Strangely,
Boggarsh seemed to be enjoying the mine cart riding. One of his appendages
hovered near the controls of the cart, and his head seemed to be bobbing,
counting the number of lights streaking above them as they traveled.
As
Boggarsh's tiny finger flick across the control surface of the mine cart, the
acceleration increased and they switched tracks to a darker tunnel. It was
round two on the roller coaster, taking them a bit deeper into the asteroid.
The g-forces of the final turn had Josh sliding in his seat until he was butted
up against Boggarsh.
Corelli:
I hope this leads to the second location?
Kel:
Let's hope we land there gently.
Herrick: (groaning) Are we there yet?
Boggarsh: Almost.
Richards: Response
Everyone
watched as Kel flipped his tricorder open, waiting with bated breath on the
next update to come. It didn’t appear to be good news.
Kel: I
think the present I left for our pursuers worked. There are three life forms in
the chamber we just left, but they're no longer moving.
Herrick: oO Thank the gods, at least one thing goes
right on this mission Oo
Josh began to move his head, careening his neck to
get a better view of the tricorder reading. But, before he could even see the
display, the chief grabbed his head. When Josh looked at Corelli, he could see
from the iris that flashed so briefly that he was looking over his shoulder and
not at the junior engineer.
Herrick: oO What the… Oo What the…
The chief quietly whisper, barely audible beneath the roar of
the cart.
Corelli:
Don't move; look behind me. What is that, in the light?
Just a moment later, he heard the doctor shout out.
Kel: Down!
Something hurled itself at the cart striking it
hard on one side. The cart began to rock back and forth violently, clanging as
it hit each time it hit the tracks. Behind them over the screech of metal a
guttural roar could be heard.
Klinex: What does Aphris have in store for us today…
Boggarsh: Survival.
Corelli / Kel / Richards: Response
Josh had shifted his body, so that he was angled inside
the cart and was able to get a better grip on the walls to avoid much more slipping and siding.
Corelli / Kel / Richards: Response
Miraculously the cart's rocking subsided and they
soon emerged from the tight tunnel into a large chamber. Phosphorescent rocks
were present in the walls and gave a dim green aura to the room. The mine
care\t stopped in the center of the chamber which was perhaps 20 meters in
diameter.
Kel: You
should hurry and set those charges.
Again everyone clamored out of the cart, with
Boggarsh and Klinex emptying the remaining charges out of the cart and hauling
them over to where they needed to be placed. Klinex made sure that they were propped
up against the wall, triggering wires facing outward to help make it easier and
faster to get the job done.
Herrick: I need someone’s combage.
Corelli/Kel/Richards: Response
He took the badge quickly in his hand and flipped it over; it would be faster this time as already had hands on practice just a few minutes earlier.
Herrick: Just two minutes. We only get one chance at getting this right.
When Josh looked back over his shoulder, he saw that the two Esh-o
were standing right behind him — acting as a protective shield if whatever
came to get them would result in a life or death situation.
Kel: We're
going to have company very soon.
Corelli / Richards: Response
Kel: It
sounds like some kind of dog. First bugs, now dogs. Are we dealing with some
kind of shapeshifting species or something like the Xindi.
Herrick: This is someone’s pet?
Corelli / Richards: Response
Kel: Your
guess is as good as mine at the moment.
Boggarsh would be writing a report to the Engish and Frolotdesh that these Starfleeters needed better technology. So much guessing and ambiguity of readings and they put themselves at risk perpetually. He wondered if UDP membership would lead to more of these abhorrent experiences.
Josh noticed the doctor’s gaze move from the tricorder, to the general area beyond them, and, finally, the ceiling. He couldn’t tell exactly the source of the issues, and when he turned to the side, he saw the two Esh-o talking.
Klinex: …This very very bad news.
Boggarsh: If we don’t fix this soon, a lot of good people are going to be injured.
Kel / Corelli / Richards: Response
Josh
knelt down at the right-hand side of the mines to complete the final step.
Connecting his combage to the exposed interconnectivity lead.
Kel: Umm…Guys
what's going on with the ceiling of this chamber?
The Esh-o continued to stare at the ceiling, where green shimmers were casting out like drops of light-green water.
Boggarsh: This ceiling ::points up to the ceiling:: is not 100% barrier proof now. Each time you see the green shimmer, it means that someone or something with solid mass could be able to slip in undetected.
Kel / Corelli / Richards: Response
Herrick: This one is done now ::looking down at the mines:: and now it’s the same procedure — just call the combadge twice in rapid suggestion when you’re ready for it to go BOOM,
Josh looked up to catch the shimmering and then to the officers. Behind them, though he couldn’t really see exact details, he saw two figures appear in the shadow.
Rough and Tough MSNPC: Response
Boggarsh: What does they mean, get down to the floor and kiss it?
Kel / Corelli / Richards: Response
Tags/TBC
---
Ensign Josh Herrick
Engineering Officer
USS ‘Oumuamua
O240005JH3
he/him/his (player/character)
&
Boggarsh
Wayfinder
Central Tholus Mining Detail
&
Klinex
Miner
Central Tholus Mining Detail