Ensign T’Fearne - Aqua Obscura [Part 2]
Teayl Thorn
((Subterranean Stream, B'Hala Excavation Site, Kendra Provence, Bajor))
The water roared around her, pulling her deeper underground into the murky abyss. She had washed up in a chamber, her body surrounded by chilly water, the air thick with the musty scent of damp algae and ancient forgotten stone. Her limbs trembled with cold and exhaustion, even using as little energy as possible to stay afloat with her denser-than-normal bone structure, the battle felt endless. A dull throb pounded in her skull as she struggled to stay afloat, pushing weakly against the relentless water.
Unexpectedly, through the water in her ears, she thought she heard voices. After drifting with the flow of the current for what felt like an eternity, the voices sounded ethereal and not quite real, a distorted echo of her own voice perhaps.
Nemes: Com…you okay?
Nemes: …sorry, Commander, but I don't think I…the back of the head...
Lorana:...water is rising!
Alieth: Hold…Luxa…feet, ensi…counterweight.
The waterlogged Vulcazoid didn’t recognise the voices at first, but her ears pricked up when she caught the mention of Luxa. She tried to say something, but icy water ran into her mouth, and she coughed instead.
Gathering her reserved energy in an effort to get herself rescued, the ensign reached a hand up and slapped the surface of the water with a loud smack, breaking the surface tension with desperate force.
Nemes: Response
Lorana: :: serious :: There's someone in the water.
Alieth: Can you see who it is? :: The Vulcan thought it over, shook her head and corrected herself:: Never mind, we have to get them out of that water trap.
Nemes: Response
T’Fearne’s ears pricked up as this time she she recognized the voices—Commander Alieth, and Luxa. Despite the strain and weariness tightening around her chest, she felt a wave of gratitude surge through her for the officers of the Ronin and the science department in particular at that moment. With her remaining strength, she pushed toward the voices, her body surging through the water.
T'Fearne::: Coughing:: Here…I’m here!
Lorana: :: shock :: Ensign?!
Lorana: Grab hold!
As she drifted closer to the edge of an outcropping dimly illuminated by someone's gear, the Vulcazoid reached out and felt a strong, furred paw lock onto her arm and hold steady. She wasn't drifting anymore, tethered by Luxa’s steady grip.
T'Fearne::: wearily:: Don’t let go!
Nemes: Response
Alieth: Quick Lorana, hold on to the jacket.
The world around her felt distant, as if she were still in the depths, half-drowned and gasping for air. But then the voices grew sharper, more distinct. Commander Alieth’s clear authoritative tone cut through the chaos, and Luxa wrenched her from what could have been a watery grave onto the rocky outcropping. A torch flickered above her, its light casting long shadows as her legs gave way beneath her and she crouched soggily on the stone.
The sudden lack of buoyancy felt like being thrust onto a heavy gravity world. Her muscles twitched involuntarily, unable to find their balance as if she were still trapped in the water’s pull.
T'Fearne::: voice ragged:: I—I’m very glad to see you, Commander. oO I wasn’t sure I was going to make it Oo
The thought lingered in her mind, but she didn't say it. Instead, she looked up at Luxa’s silhouette and the outline of Alieth, illuminated by the torchlight.
She would have flopped bonelessly to the ground except Alieth, and she could now see another member of the Ronin’s science team who was dragging her and Luxa further up the rockface towards a larger platform. She tried to climb, but her legs were recalcitrant, trembling like a baby 1aylak.
Nemes: Response
Alieth: Hold on just a moment longer.
T'Fearne: Got it!
Clutching at the fabric of her jacket, she pushed herself to climb, struggling with every step.
Nemes/Luxa: Responses
Alieth: Are you both OK? :: Turning to the security officer::. How did you get in here?
T'Fearne: I—I think I’m ok, just slightly drowned and bruised all over. :: Rubbing her temple::
T'Fearne: I was part of a security team searching for the missing archeologists. One minute they were joking about a pizza party, the next—:: wincing:: I think a section of the walkway collapsed under me. I’m not sure what happened to the others. I dropped straight into rushing water and it dragged me here, wherever here is! :: Taking in the appearance of the others, concerned:: It looks like you haven’t been faring well either. What happened to you?
Nemes/Luxa: Responses
The water level rose to the edge of the outcropping the Ronins’ were crouching on and began lapping over the edge. It was time to move.
Alieth: I am sorry to say that our only two ways out right now are to swim or dive for a way out from the bottom of the cistern.
Alieth: Take off your boots and anything you are carrying that is too heavy. We will let the water rise up to our waist and then we will enter the waters. If we stay close to the wall :: pulling out your tricorder and checking the local map briefly :: we can reach the walkway where we descended to the other side in a few minutes. We just have to float.... and stay away from the central whirlpool. Understood?
T’Fearne felt several objections rise, mostly complaints born of exhaustion that she tried to suppress. She felt a surge of panic, a deep, primal fear that made her skin prickle. But it wasn’t her own fear. It was the overwhelming emotional charge from one or all of her crewmates—raw and unfiltered, like a live wire to her tired brain. She gripped a stalagtight, struggled to keep control, to suppress the chaos rising within her.
T'Fearne: Yes Sir, I can move:: She hoped she wasn’t lying::
Nemes/Luxa: Responses
She had already removed her boots to lighten the strain on her energy reserves during the ride through the underground stream, but now she removed her waterlogged jacket and after a slight hesitation pealed out of her trousers also, knowing that they would only serve to drag her down. Every motion was laborious, like her body was rebelling.
The water rose, cold and relentless, as it tugged at the tall Vulcazoids waist towards the centre of the tower-like structure. The sound of rushing water filled her ears, the steady pull of the whirlpool growing louder. T’Fearne looked up just in time to see Alieth's head disappear beneath the surface, vanishing into the depths of the cistern.
T'Fearne: Alieth! :: Shouting to the others over the raw of the water:: The Commander’s been dragged under. I can’t see her. Bring the torch.
She let the water pull her closer and clung to a column, reaching an arm in trying to grab the Commander, her hand finding nothing.
Nemes/Luxa: Responses
Her words were swallowed by the rushing water, meaningless as the pull of the whirlpool yanked at her. She grasped the rock, fighting to hold on, but then the water surged again, and her grip slipped. She gasped, holding her breath as she was dragged beneath.
She thought she could sense others close to her in the water. A light flared and sank past her—a dropped torch sinking quickly. It snagged her vision as the only light source in the inky depths and drew her gaze downward until she caught a reflected flicker of movement. She dived towards it, using it as a beacon to search for the Vulcan. The faint glow below pulsed bright green and the world seemed to twist. A terrible blankness poured into her mind, and her heart seemed to be beating its way up, out of her chest as the world around her blurred.
Then, everything went dark.
((Timeskip, Date Unknown))
((The Foot of the Batanca Spire, B'Hala, Bajor))
T’Fearne started awake, gasping for breath, but there was air around her, not water. Everything felt strange. She could hear muted sounds, but they seemed distant, muffled, as though her ears were filled with water. Her mind felt different, numb in a way she hadn’t felt since she was a child. She tried to jerk upright, but her body protested like she had been beaten all over.
oO The sub-surface stream! Oo
But the water was gone. The bright Bajoran sky stretched above her, with one of the lavender moons clearly visible in the sky. Somehow, she had made it back to the surface. But where were her companions?
Her heart... something was wrong. It beat slowly, unnaturally, she must have been badly injured, and it was definitely in the wrong part of her chest.
oO Massive internal injuries? Just hold still, and wait for help. Oo
Her gaze wandered, and she saw a strange Bajoran woman nearby, maybe one of the researchers they were sent to rescue, but after looking for a second glance, the ensign grew confused, the Bajoran meeting her eyes bore a striking resemblance to Commander Alieth, sans the pointy ears and severe slanted brows. Other figures sprawled nearby, two more Bajoran women, the one with silver hair familiar in an eerie way, the blond woman’s features were vaguely similar to the science officer’s.
Had she hit her head as well as whatever internal injuries she had suffered? Was this some kind of vision?
Suddenly, the ground beneath her trembled, and she forgot to lay still, rolling painfully into a crouch, covering her head as dust rained down. When the tremor subsided, she looked up to find herself perched on a pale stone staircase—or perhaps an altar—gazing at a group of Bajorans below.
One figure, dressed in vibrant, colorful garments, spread their arms wide, smiling as they spoke.
Religious Bajoran: Welcome to B'Hala, Oh Ye sent by the Prophets in our time of need.
Coming shakily to her feet and glancing quickly between the stranger at the bottom of the stairs and the strangely familiar companions beside her. She reached for an empathic aura—any emotion outside of her own mind and felt completely numb.
T'Fearne: What in the Great Fire is going on?
[[Tag, You’re It!/ End of Act 1 for T’Fearne]]
((OOC:1aylak—small scavenger animal native to Vulcan.))
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Ensign T'Fearne
Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14