Inside the Asteroid (part 1)
Posted on Fri Aug 11th, 2017 @ 4:54am by Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde & Master Chief Petty Officer Liang Shao & Lieutenant Commander Velah & Lieutenant Tristan Balor & Lieutenant JG Élan Val & Lieutenant JG Miko Sato & Ensign Leslie Gallant III & Sevena t'Dhvael
1,181 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission: The Genesis Legacy
ON
The team beamed into the center of the asteroid. Some type of moss glowed on the walls, bathing the cavern in an eerie green glow. Dense foliage filled the cavern. Somewhere running water could be heard.
As soon as the transporter beam released her, Élan pulled her tricorder out and began scanning. Satisfied that there were no immediate dangers in the area, she glanced up and waited for Commander Jayde’s orders.
Jayde pulled out her tricorder and scanned. There was abundant life, but none of it humanoid. "We will split up. I will take Mr. Balor and Doctor Velah. Ms. Val, you take Liang and Ms. Sato." She glanced at Tristan. "And Ms. t'Dhvael."
Tristan didn't respond. He said nothing. With his sword strapped to his back he just gave a quick nod and remained silent but observant.
“Ma’am, should we try to make contact with the Helios so Ensign Gallant can give the Hyperion an update?” Élan asked.
"The captain knows where we are and what we've found so far. We should keep in contact with the Helios, but unless we find something of import, the report to the Hyperion can wait until we get back to the shuttle." She gave Élan a nod. "If you feel otherwise, I welcome your reasons."
“I just wanted to make sure that we had an open channel all the way back to the ship. This is an unknown situation and if we run into any kind of trouble, any delay in communications could be fatal,” Élan said as she suppressed a memory from Val with a slight shudder. It was one of the symbiont’s most unpleasant memories and she rarely allowed it to affect anything Élan did, and only with the best intentions in mind.
Jayde nodded. "That would be wise." She tapped her combadge. "Mr. Gallant, can you hear us?"
=^= You are coming in five by five. =^= Gallant replied over the channel
"Excellent. Please keep the comm channel open. If you detect any problems, let us know. Mira out."
"There is one thing that is very abundant." Velah started. "I have massive life signs of various sizes and shapes aside from the insects and larva I am registering. Tis is a whole Eco system."
Jayde nodded. "Indeed. We will meet back here in two hours. Tristan and Velah, you are with me." She nodded to Élan. "Good luck, lieutenant."
Jayde chose to go to her left, tricorder in hand as she carefully documented the flora and fauna they encountered.
Sevena speared Commander Balor an unpleasant glare as well as a thankful nod towards Commander Jayde before she fell in behind the Trill science officer.
Jayde took one side of what had once been a path and Liang took the other, careful to keep an eye out for anything that chose to investigate their presence. Since Jayde had the tricorder, Liang collected samples to analyze later. Both women expected Élan, as head of science, to do the most collecting, but just in case they found something different, they had their own set.
For the first several hundred yards they encountered nothing but plants. However, the sounds of birds, insects and other creatures was ever-present.
Velah was playing with her tricorder like it was some sort of a video game by the way her fingers danced along the small console before she took out a probe. "Whatever this place is, I can tell you the atmosphere and abundance of flora and fauna that I register as well as biological readings is making this quite the experiment as I doubt this is natural growth. I am trying to focus and see what proportion of the life support is from the envirnment and if there is artificial air being filtered?"
=^= Heads up here. =^= Gallant called from the Runabout. =^= Away Team Communications are loud and clear, the Hyperion is not so lucky. I have lost connection with them. =^=
All the more reason why they should have remained onboard and touched base with the Hyperion before they came on the Asteroid Tristan thought behind his mental barrier.
Gallant III had gone over the comm systems three times; tried to hail the Hyperion with everything but space flairs and still no answer. The choice to leave the Away Team is not an option. He got out of the Control chairs and grabbed a tricorder as he could at least check the manually accessible systems and make sure nothing was shorted out?
"Since you can still hear us, it is likely the problem is on the Hyperion," Jayde said to Gallant. "Keep monitoring us and keep trying to raise the ship. Report in every thirty minutes."
Élan’s attention kept darting from her tricorder to the cavern around her. It was quiet other than the sounds of running water and small animal life. As she walked, leading her team towards what her tricorder read as a small body of water, a small furry creature ambled across the path, scurrying out from under a broad leaf plant and across the wide path towards a dense stand of what looked like a type of bamboo. She quickly aimed her tricorder towards the creature, glad that there was a visual recorder on the thing. She was hesitant to try to bring anything back to the Hyperion with her. As Élan watched, the creature paused and turned towards her team, displaying a full set of carnivorous teeth in what could best be called a warning.
“Lieutenant Val to all team members. Please be advised that there are what appear to be small carnivore style animals present. If you see something that looks like a cross between a ferret and a skunk with ruffled fur and small ears, please stay away from it,” Élan said into the open communications channel between the away team members.
"Thank you," Jayde replied.
Flying about two hundred meters above them the aviary creatures were a sight , their feathers on ther body and wings were mixed with shades of blue and orange and other colors that while airborne made them harder to see against the artificial sky. It was a masking effect and Velah wished she could have gotten a better angle; focusing her probe and magnification she could sight in the individual 'bird' in question among a small flock of them. The head like a blue jay and a slightly wider yet similarly shaped beak with several feathers vertically on the back of the head; giving some rudder like effect Velah guessed. The body was not all that muscular nor adorned this bird was meant to fly for speed by the way the feathers remained trimmed. The control feathers on the edge of the wings were a beautiful sight in their color and just the way they spread so efficiently.
(To be continued...)
Lieutenant Élan Val
Chief Science Officer
Lieutenant Commander Mira Jayde
Executive Officer
Lieutenant Commander Tristan Balor
Chief Intelligence Officer
Ensign Leslie Gallant III
Pilot
Lieutenant Velah
Chief Medical Officer
Sevena t'Dhvael
Romulan Liaison
Master Chief Petty Officer Liang Shao
Master-at-Arms
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