Away team 3- Into the caves

Posted on Tue Mar 31st, 2020 @ 2:21pm by Ensign Cameron Kore
Edited on on Tue Mar 31st, 2020 @ 2:21pm

1,976 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The science of stars
Location: Ice Ice Baby Planet
Timeline: 10th March 2395

ON:

Gabe gathered up his equipment and nodded to the Ensign that was going to shadow him. Lifting the phaser rifle and connecting it to the magnetic strip across the chest of his EV suit he tilted his head towards the door of the pop up shelter.

"Ready Ensign?" he asked as he began to move towards the opening.

Cameron looked up from a quick double check "I'm ready to go." Picking up an equipment case she turned towards the door.

Gabe grunted as he pushed forward. "I'd prefer if we stay buttoned up for now until we've had time to explore the cave system and I'm satisfied theres nothing here living. Don't want a stray sound bringing a big nasty down on us." He said as they strode out the structure and began heading deeper into the cave. He tapped on his tricorder to have it alert him to any acid as he knew any animal excrement would trigger the alert and give them time to assess.

Cameron had her tricorder in hand scanning and mapping the cave as the pair walked onwards. "I certainly hope there is nothing nasty down here, I don't mind bugs and creepy crawlies but I don't fancy snakes and anything bigger than that." She told him.

"Indeed, though snakes are the least of my worries. I dont want to run into anymore large carnivores like in the last cave." He continued to walk at a slow pace checking his footing and looking for any signs of recent disturbances.

"Hey, you see that," Cameron used the light attached to her eva suits right arm to point towards a faint green glow down one side of a forked path ahead of them.

Gabe grunted "What is it in every horror holo ever written? Go to the creepy glow." He pivoted on a heel and headed towards the light continuing the slow deliberate pace.

As they made their way down the fork the glow grew brighter until they rounded a bend and saw the source. Several different types of fungus sprouted from the cave walls each emmitting a small amount of green light.

"hhmmmm, bioluminescent fungus. Not something you see every day." Cameron remarked.

Gabe rolled his wrist over and looked at the readout from his recorder. "Interesting to say the least. I wonder if we go further down if we'll find more. If there's some life that has adapted to live in the glow or not." He pushed forward past the fungus and took up a spot to provide protection while the scientist played with the glowey glowey pizza toppings.

Pulling a sample container from her bag Cameron carefully severed a couple of pieces of the fungus from the cave wall and put them inside. "There could be all kinds of fungi down here, some of the animals might have adapted to eat various kinds when they're drawn underground from the climate."

Gabe grunted, and he paused, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately and decided that would be something he'd have to take up with the counselor. "Makes sense they have to get light from some where and why not have glowy poop?"

He looked over his shoulder to makes sure the Ensign was done and ready to progress further down the cave. Gabe nodded and started to walk forward keeping his eyes on the corners of the cave and along the ground for any trip hazards or signs of animal activity.

As they progressed Nicola's tricorder started beeping. "Got a heat signature, scratch that... multiple heat signatures, about thirty meters ahead."

Gabe froze as his tricorder registered the same heat signatures. He twisted his left wrist and looked at the readout.

"From this distance I dont think its animal life. Look at that the heat is permeating the walls." Gabe said over the channel. "What do you think Ensign?"

"I agree," Cameron checked her own tricorder again. "this whole area is several degrees higher in temperature than further back. Maybe a hot spring, or a magma flow?"

He nodded though it wasn't visible in the EV suit. "Agreed, shall we?" he asked as he started towards the heat source. He was fairly certain that the heat was from geothermal but he ratcheted up his paranoia a few ticks.

"Lead on chief." Cameron said

They continued down the tunnel for some 25 meters before it opened up into a fairly well lit chamber. The bioluminescent fungus had populated up the walls of the cavern and even up onto the ceiling. Gabe twisted his wrist again and looked at the readout. The heat and steam were coming from a set of pools that seemed to be fed by an underground hot spring. He grunted and moved carefully to the edge of the largest pool and looked down into the clear bubbling water.

"Ensign, looks like if we need to we can always come here for a bath." He said only half jokingly. A hot bath on an extended away mission would be a luxury.

"I'll keep that in mind," Nicola laughed slightly. "this entire area is certainly warm enough for most humanoid species to live in. One more notch on the 'there could be a civilization here' scale."

Gabes tricorder trilled softly and he twisted his wrist to get a good look at the display again. He blinked the cavern was quite large with several pools. Two of which were large and quite warm. Yet there were smaller ones further into the cavern that the tricorder was informing him reduced in temperature the further away from the large pools they got.

Gabe grunted again then snorted to himself "At this rate this excursion is going to turn into a festival of grunts." he then turned to look at the Ensign "Ensign come here and take a look at this. Is your tricorder reading a drop in temp in each of the preceding pools the further away they get from these two large ones?"

Cameron nodded slightly. "Only a small drop in temperature but it's there."

"But it's a small drop for each consecutive pool." Gabe said as he moved further down the chamber to the pools closest to the other side. "These pools are almost cold in comparison." he stopped and looked at the entrance several meters away from the last pool and blinked.

"Uh, Ensign come here and look at that cave entrance and tell me if you see what I'm seeing?" Gabe said looking at the bottom of the cave mouth and further into the cave.

"I'm no expert in caves but this looks machined. Cameron remarked running her torch over the cave walls, they looked too smooth and uniform to have been formed naturally.

Gabe nodded in agreement "That combined with the right angles on that passageway makes me think this place is or was inhabited by sentient life. I think we may want to let the Commander know about this. As unlikely as it is we may end up having an unintended first contact situation."

Tapping at the panel on her eva suit Cameron tried to message Radak and his team. "I can't get a signal through, there must be too much rock between us and them."

Gabe frowned in his suit and looked back over his shoulder then back down the semi dark pathway illuminated by the soft glow of the mushrooms.

"Awh hell let's keep going. First sigh of intelligent life we boot scoot back to camp." He said as he twisted his wrist up to look at the tricorder and set it to silent then transferred the alarms it would cast to his helmet. Then he started walking forward slowly looking and listening as they went. They continued like this for several minutes until the cave opened up into what could only be described as a grand cathedral. The ceilings were so high as to be almost imperceptible. Large columns ran in parallel lines down the center of the large room and he blinked.

He whispered to himself "In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti." His mind going back to the large chapels of his youth in Spain.

"Wow," Cameron remarked as she took in the sight of the vast structure. "how did they manage to build something this big down here?"

Gabe waved his wrist toward the walls and ceiling. "I don't know that they built it but rather excavated it. He moved toward one of the columns and noticed the till markings that were faint but still visible. "I think they carved this room out as they went or maybe the water carved it out and they finished it. It could take decades to catalogue this cave network. That's no telling how much more there is down here possibly an entire city." His voice gave little doubt that he was in awe and reverent at the work these unknown people had wrought.

"A whole city? That would certainly be an interesting sight." Cameron stood at the cave opening as Gabe moved forward shining his torch around the structure, she turned back to face him. "Chief, whatever you do don't move." She quickly said, slowly she drew her phaser from her hip.

He grunted "Do what you need to Ensign just remember, if you miss and knock me out you get to drag me back to base."

Taking her time to aim properly Cameron fired her phaser, the beam flared out from the tip and into the big black creature crawling up the back of Gabe's suit. The creature squealed and fell stunned down to the ground.

He grunted as he felt something fall from his suit. "Good shot." he twisted his wrist and looked at his tricorder it beeped and trilled softly inside his helmet as it analysed the insect like creature on the ground and registered several large nests with similar biosigns further inside the large cathedral. He set his tricorder to wide spectrum scans hoping to get as much info as possible on the caves and the cathedral in particular. He looked over what was left of the wall art, as the temperature was a consistent level in the area it worked to preserve the vivid colors of the art. He could almost picture what the inhabitants of this world would have looked like.

Kneeling down by the creature Cameron turned it over onto it's back, "look at the teeth on this thing," fluid drooled out of the creatures mouth as it lay there stunned. "And a neuro-toxin too, glad I saw it when I did, I bet it could puncture the Eva suit if it really tried."

Gabe looked over his shoulder "Tag it and bag it if you want to do some further tests on the thing." he looked back to the artwork on the wall and ran his tricorder over it wondering how much he could capture by using the instrument.

Cameron shook her head slightly. "Don't think any of our sample cases are big or strong enough to keep it. I'll have to run some scans on it now."

Gabe nodded "Of course Ensign, better safe than sorry." he said as he moved to look at the artwork on the walls moving his eyes across the pigment and over his shoulder and to his tricorder to make sure no more creepy crawlies get to close.

A few seconds later Cameron stood up "Done, my tricorder shows a lot more of these creatures inside the temple, it's probably not a good idea to head any further in without the rest of the team to keep an eye on things."

Gabe grunted as agreement "Yes, that's very true. Let's head back I've gotten as much data I can scanning the area."

OFF:



Gabriel D'Anconia
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Armory Officer

&

Ensign Cameron Kore
Nurse [Command npc]

 

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