Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon

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Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #50 – December 26, 2017, 09:54:20 AM

[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | SuD Lang Dilithium Cargo Bay | The Coreless Moon ] [Show/Hide]

Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Kaligos

Mariner received a faint signal off his incoming messages icon on his display and found a secure corner to receive it and access its HUD while having a clear display, dusting off any residue off it with the cloth reserved for polishing his blade, which he found a moment to summarily inspect and keep within quickdraw reach. This wasn't the time to show off his familiarity with it, lest it get a predictable sexist remark or joke about dismemberment in response to his bravado. Jimmy unslung his rifle from its magnetic binds on his armor's back and readied it for beam fire.

... Rather, he was about to when he spotted movement. For some reason he noticed a box move. Either Dilithium knew how to move, or there was something worth investigating.

"Oh..., F" Mariner uttered something that most certainly wasn't 'For!... goodness' sake.'

Grrr...? GRrrRAAAhhrr... RRRR-- RAagraaarCK!!

He'd opened a crate and was lucky the spider inside was in hibernation and took a second to realize it had an uninvited guest. The incident was resolved when Jimmy jabbed his readily-accessible knife into its forehead before it could sputter any acid; Jimmy summarily kept his distance as he killed the creature, not willing to risk jamming his phaser rifle or his exo suit. By the time Sera had noticed what happened, the creature was already dead.

Under his helmet, Jimmy frowned at the loss of contact with his CO, Resolve veteran Bremmer and that delicate lava-lamp girl Heather. The latter was a good kid and of all the people out here didn't deserve to die gored and eaten by godless insects. Buggers claimed Space-only-knew-how-many good people in one week alone.

At least Jimmy had a found a good container to match the cargo bandolier-harness he'd discovered In a wall locker that the Australian opened with a test of his phaser beam and the use of his blade, partially to sanitize the thing after that stinging encounter. Jimmy hoped he'd find a Klingon officer's private cache and impress Meony with a sash, a sword (a yan he hoped)or one of those assemblable Klingon disruptor pistols, but this harness would have to do. It made carrying cargo on his back that much easier. As the comms went on, Mariner listened in, bitterly waiting to reply out of concern for his colleagues. Entirely worried, the most Jimmy could do was load up his container full of dilithium without overloading himself. He'd made sure to secure the cargo container before attaching the canister to his back and sealed the precious cargo within. He'd take at least an initial cargo run with him in the event they wouldn't get any more.

"Mariner to all teams, be advised: before someone wakes up the Balrog, we're gonna find the way outta these caves before this adventure plays out like book one."

Despite the pending danger they were all in (and the possibility of a disastrous explosion), Mariner was relieved most of the other members of the away team had been familiar with Tolkien lore. Not long ago, the Resolve crew would occasionally relive holonovels inspired by his works, with Jimmy the outdoorsman taking on the role of Faramir during holodeck sessions with Klex and others in Tactical aboard the Resolve. The Denobulan was fond of Gimli, and expeimented with growing a full beard to 'grow into' the role. It was an ongoing gag at The ex-constable's expense. Mariner added, before sending.:

... If you read me. We're going to attempt to blast our way to the shuttlecraft. We're taking all the Dilithium we can carry... and maybe some we can't. Once we get to the ship, we're going on search and rescue, designate Shuttle Sabine as Exfil-One for anyone who needs a beam-out or backup. Once we're done with out primary objective, we'll get you all out of there. All of you. ...Hang in there, the next round's on me.

Motivated by his own words, Mariner took aim and fired at the softest spot and began phasing the area to the next room. The environment shuddered as the metal boiled and circuitry exposed the next room. It was almost beautiful to behold if not for the retinal damage from staring at the bright orange light for too long, so Jimmy polarized his viewscreen and restored it when he'd completed the bulk of the cut, unsatisfied with the round cut falling out of place right away. It needed some more punch.

"Just don't leave me hanging. The footage I've got footage of these critters that would make one helluva video postcard to my dad." Jimmy had mentioned his father's documentarian proffession once or twice, but adding sentiment to discourage Sera from leaving him behind. Jimmy was making progress in carving a geometric pattern, using up most of his phaser battery clip. This time his calling card of choice while on the job was a circle with two matching dots and... another smile-shaped arch. Jimmy added a stereotypical forehead ridge in the uppermost sixth of his cutting, causing a soft spot in his intended target. Jimmy's indicator warned him that he had only 20% remaining. "Good. Another shot for a boomer. Heads up, Sera: Here comes another one!"

The satisfying sound of a charged up phaser pulsewave was heard as Jimmy aimed for the 'nose' of the intricate cut he made in his bid to get to the next room at the double time. Despite his antics, it was clear he knew what he was doing, and his execution didn't exactly spend too much extra time, nothing that coup de grace of a final shot didn't make up for. Mariner wasted no time in replacing his battery with a fresh one. He set his rifle to his favored semi-automatic compressed 'sniper' mode, scoping out the vicinity past his newest contribution to the station's interior design.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #51 – December 28, 2017, 04:30:03 PM

[ Sera vers Aldnoah | Dilithium Refinery Area | The Coreless Moon ] Attn: @Striker N7
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Hi'Jak wasn't responding, and couldn't advise them any further than he had. The away team's leader might be gone too. No, Sera refused to think Hi'Jak was gone. She couldn't presume the worst had happened. She had seen the Starfleet scientist fight off security guards in the Jefferies tubes of Starbase 84, and that Andorian had looked like she had weathered a few sand storms as well. All that was certain was that the comm line to the two was dead, not that they were.

While she worried about Hi'Jak, Mariner had put his mind to the mission and found a harness which they could use to carry a container full of refined crystals. He had began to cut the ceiling open with his rifle too, after dealing with what she presumed to be another spider in one of the containers. Hi'Jak had said the level above them was depressurised and without gravity, and soon, the atmo in the refinery area would be vented through the hole that Mariner cut. Sera took a deep breath and focused, because there was nothing she could do for the scientist and the Andorian anyway. She shifted her grip on her hand phaser and put her feet wide, ready for the jolt of having the area depressurised.

"I'm ready," she said into her helmet, and no more had the words left her mouth before Mariner cut the ceiling open, and the refinery area turned weightless by the shift. The gravity pools were still active in the lower area, but the dead space above sucked the both of them through the ceiling. Sera tried to compensate for the disorienting shift, to try and anticipate the impact against the ceiling of the level above, but nothing came, leaving both her and Mariner tumbling in zero gravity. Before she got her bearings, Sera thought they had vacated SuD Lang entirely, but as she looked around, she saw that they had ended up in some kind of... atrium. She knew she had never been there before, at least.

"I think we should go this way," she said, turning her red helmet towards Mariner where he floated in the big, open area. It looked like the harness and the container had remained on his back when they'd gone through the ceiling, and now, they had to make their way back to the docking bay somehow. Like Mariner had said on the comm, they needed to start beaming the team back, before they were all killed by SuD Lang's fauna.

She activated the thruster on her back and began to make her way towards the front area of the atrium, where she hoped they could find a path to the docking bay. Hold on, Hi'Jak. I'll get you back on the Sabine...

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann | En-Route to the SuD Lang Transporters | The Coreless Moon ] Attn: @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]

When Hi'Jak showed himself able and willing to take the PADD, Ida gave it to him, hoping he'd be able to relay the directions somehow. With the kind of limp he got, he had to use her shoulder for support, and she gave it - thus able to see the map on the PADD as well as he could. With her phaser at the ready in her other hand, she hoped that...

The red dots on the map appeared.

"Shelat shax," she muttered for the second time and looked around, got her bearings in the corridor and saw how the bugs were following them. They must have found some new maintenance grate in order to pass the area she had blasted. She pushed on, increasing the pace, since there was no purpose to being silent any more. If Hi'Jak was hurt by the pace she set, she couldn't give it much consideration, since it was either some pain or getting eaten by the cluster on their heels. She couldn't give a damn about his preferences about his name either, rather wanting him pissed so that he might move faster. "Come on! Move it, Ridgehead!"

The first time she heard the clatter of talons against the plating, and spun around with the Klingon half-breed on her shoulder, there hadn't been any bugs there, only the echo reaching them. Yet the second time she looked back, she saw movements, and she swore bitterly as she aimed backwards and fired off two bolts against the first pursuers. Shuffling forward with Hi'Jak leaning so heavily on her didn't do her aim any favours, but she couldn't stop to make a stand, not when more and more of the dots appeared on the PADD in Hi'Jak's mutilated grip. The two bolts hit nothing, but cast the pursuers into light.

By Lor'Vela, I will not die in this filthy place, she swore, still moving forward with Hi'Jak, and managed to hit one of the spiders with her next volley, hoping Hi'Jak was looking towards the path ahead when she had to keep an eye on the corridor behind them. Thankfully, there were no bugs appearing ahead of them yet...

OOC: Current Posting Order follows:
- Corridors, En-Route to Transporters: 1) @Kaligos (Reaching the Transporter Area) 2) Auctor Lucan
- Leaving the Dilitium Refinery Area: 1) @Striker N7 (Reaching the Docking Bay) 2) Auctor Lucan
- Ruins of the Lightborn: 1) @CanadianVet 2) @Triage 3) @Doc M.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #52 – December 28, 2017, 07:39:50 PM

[ Lt. JG Hi'Jak | En-Route to SuD Lang Transporter Room] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
[Show/Hide]

In the war of the mind, pissed off was always better than afraid. Jack could recognize that and even appreciate the effort the blue bitch was putting into keeping him alive. While the pace was uncomfortable, his twisted and burnt arm wrapped around the blue skinned woman's shoulder as he kept moving, his breath made ragged by the pain in his throat, making it impossible to speak or scream, though in the current situation he wouldn't have much more to say than what Ida was already saying for him. He didn't know what a shelat was, but he could immediately comprehend that their situation was a heaping pile of Shax.

With only one arm his focus had to be on the map, directing them as she ran backwards and he held her for both support and the ability to turn her down the many twisting hallways on their way. Part of him wanted to drop by the weapons bay, if one gun had caused an explosion like that, he was sure he could have rigged a hell of an explosion, also he kind of wanted to keep that gun, it was pretty.

He would ask if he could have a newer model replicated for him later.

He pressed down the buttons on his padd working as fast as one hand, and half his vision would allow, which was a lot slower than his usual typing speed that was for sure. Still he heard the door crack open, and with strength he had he basically pushed Ida into the room with him directing her with his bad arm.

[ SuD Lang Transporter Room ]

He slammed the door shut and pointed to Ida to watch it, as he went to the ancient Klingon machinery. This base was built a hundred and fifty years ago, his incident with the gun had pretty much taught him that while it was the height of the empire not everything had survived the long sleep, and the transporters were just as dangerous as a faulty blaster.

He wanted to make sure that when they arrived on the other side they were intact, and not some amalgamation of flesh and personage too horrific and moist to gaze upon.

Jack applied some percussive maintenance to the ancient Klingon machinery bringing it back to life as he went through a diagnostic of the controls, all the while feeling tired, so drained, his legs shook as he stood, and his remaining eye wanted to close and sleep, his breath was ragged, and everything was pain. He wanted to sleep. But not here, sleep could come on the Sabine, once everyone was safe.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #53 – December 30, 2017, 09:33:47 PM

[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | SuD Lang Dilithium Cargo Bay | The Coreless Moon ] [Show/Hide]

Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Kaligos

Reactively, Jimmy clung to his rifle and timed his jump to negotiate the laws of physics, crouching and pistoning his feet to somersault. If he hadn't sealed his container, the crystals would've scattered like rock salt from a thrown container in a bar fight; a most effective method in such a situation. He considered holding Sera's hand during the apparent freefall, but could only realistically focus on keeping himself stable.

"Some people hate Zero-G combat training." Jimmy managed to grin after letting out an enthusiastic 'whoop!'once he made his way to the opening with every intention of landing on his feet and magnetizing, prepared to use his microthrusters to cushion the inevitable impact. "Can't imagine why." After that comment, he stayed shut and set his suit to follow hers via thrusters and rely on her instincts-- as well as his own to get to safety.

Of course, he spent most time in zero or low- G holodeck simulations for... non combat physical training, but wouldn't dare brag about that now; Jimmy just let his familiarity with inertia speak for itself. When he had the right moment, he used his HUD to slave his thrusters to the onboard Computer on Sera's suit while he focused on finding the Sabine's signal, to give him a compass-waypoint in the form of a Starfleet logo pointing at where they needed to go. He sent the waypoint to Sera without saying another word and instead, keeping his eyes and hands trained on his phaser in case these buggers knew how to control themselves without gravity. He relied more on his now-upgraded night vision rather than give off a telltale flashlight.

Magnetized as their feet found an imposing door leading to the hangar bay, Jimmy followed Sera after she'd opened up the doors, saving him a phaser battery clip in the process, making it easier for him to focus on a narrow perimeter around them as they arrived at long last to their destination. It was a shame to let all that dilithium go to waste, but fortunately both dilithium, containers and many items not welded or nailed down followed them into the atrium and were still floating around there for a potential beam in or return trip. He'd volunteer for that provided he'd get life insurance in the form of a transporter beam. One thing at a time, old buddy.

"Hel-lo, Beautiful." Mariner exclaimed fondly as he saw the Sabine Everything looked fine about her on first inspection: No spiders, no visitors, and it had been sealed off to (at first glance) keep away any arachnid trespassers."C'mon, let's get our mates-- our friends I mean-- and summarily get the fuck outta here." Jimmy ran over, not one to waste valuable moments, but only ran after advising against taking their time to get to their only means of rescue and escape.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #54 – December 31, 2017, 02:59:14 AM

[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | SS Sabine NX-59846 | SuD Lang Outpost ] attn: @Doc M. @Triage @Striker N7 @Auctor Lucan @Kaligos

That impossible wall of laser beams that had first covered the door reappeared, and when its expansion forced both humans out, Bremmer's mind was racing. She knew that thing could and would cook her on contact if the did so much as brush it. And still in her ears the Warrant's directives were ringing. Find Lieutenant zh'Wann and assist as best they could. And somehow, they'd have to find her again later. And if the rumours were true, that she was the XO's squeeze and the man was even half the hard-ass he seemed to be, it would really suck to be Petty Officer Eliska Bremmer if they lost the little scientist.

But, before long, they were with their backs to the heavy stone doors and its forcefield, and facing the enormous spiders... which were getting shredded by the statue that flanked the opening. And, of course, there was Goldeneye's question. Was it safe to go back? "Ma'am, no two ways about it, right now looks like jsme docela v prdeli¹ one way or another. That hologram was saying it's on its last legs, so if we're going to make it to the Deputy before she gets eaten, we'll have to push through.

As she spoke, Bremmer checked her rifle one more time. Those spiders were pretty spindly, and if her on-board sensors were right about them, fragile enough. Level 6 ought to be plenty to blast her way through, and a rate of fire of at most 600 shots per minute would be sufficient if she floored the trigger... not that she intended to fire anything but aimed single shots if she had anything to say about it. "So, I'm going to ask you really nicely to gun up, and set to level 6. Looks like that thing's clearing us a lane, so we should be good to go until the end of the passage. After that... well keep your head on a swivel, and watch our six while I clear the front. Ready?"

Bremmer took a deep breath as she shouldered her rifle, and she opened a general channel to the entire away party. "This is Bremmer. McMillan is stuck in some ruins behind a forcefield we can't get through, one with independent power supply, no less so anyone has a bright idea to recover her, now would be a good time. I'm with Lieutenant Lance, and we're going to try and cut our way to the Deputy and Mister Hi'Jak. If anyone can give us some guidance, I'll take it. Bremmer, out."

In her suit, she took a deep breath and flexed her hands around her rifle. This was now or never. "Here goes nothing. Ell-Tee, we're going to have to really haul ass, and if we get bogged down, it's going to really suck for us. So try and... focus on your footing, all right."

And, with that said, Eliska went from a dead stop to a pace that was just short of a run, a steady jog that allowed her to fire her rifle whenever one of the spiders slipped through the statue's apparent defensive fire. The run to rejoin their team had started.

And something tickled her mind. Maybe, once they survived this, they'd call it the SuD Lang Mile...

1- We're pretty fucked

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #55 – January 01, 2018, 02:41:11 AM

[ Tessa May Lance, callsign: Goldeneye | Entrance to the Lightborn Ruins | The Coreless Moon ] Atten: @CanadianVet

“On your six, Petty Officer,” Tessa nodded, although it would be difficult for Bremmer would be able to tell since the opaque visor of her Tactical CONN Exosuit obscured the pilot’s face. The Security Exosuit that Eliska was wearing was similar; with her helmet on, there could have been anybody under that helmet. “Ooh-ooh! Watch out there!” Tessa called out as she used her pulse phaser to shoot a spider thing that had detached itself from the wall to jump and Bremmer. The darn thing had been just a flat smudge a moment before, it had been practically invisible. “No wait, I got it.”

As Tessa followed Eliska out of the ‘Lightborn Ruins’ and back into the ‘Klingon Ruins,’ she couldn’t help noticing the similarities between their two suits. Both suits were a far cry from the standard Starfleet EV suits that had been in service for over a decade. Both suits had synthetic muscle technology with servomechanisms for strength and a spinal stabilizer to prevent injury. The back of Tessa’s suit had two low-energy thrusters with a ten minute capacity, with thrusters in the magnetized hard-shell boots to assist in steering. The PM-1 locator beacon on the helmet was fitted with a xenon strobe, generating 9,600 lumens for sake of visibility during rescue operations. But Eliska’s suit had additional features, being equipped with a life support system that would last double the time that Tessa’s would and had utility compartments that held weapons, supplies, and equipment that the pilot’s suit just didn’t have.

“Holy… smoke,” Tessa moaned weakly as they turned a corner and let their lights reveal the way before them. The way seemed to be filled with crusty serving tray sized nodules that were lifting themselves off the surfaces of the Klingon ruins to reveal themselves as arachnid style life forms. In a moment they could swarm the two women, and wide angle stun would have no effect on these creatures.

If only Tessa was in her Valkerie! Granted the fighter’s thrusters were gravitic, and didn’t belch fire like they did in the days of yore, but still maybe she’d be able to…

Wait a second? Thrusters? In this low gravity environment they meant a lot, they could probably produce actual flight! Neither Tessa nor Eliska were wearing standard Starfleet EV suits; both of their exosuits were equipped with thrusters that they could conceivably maneuver with past the spider creatures and not touch the walls, floor, or ceiling.

Wow! Score one for the pilot!

“Hey Petty Officer,” Tessa tapped Bremmer on the shoulder as she placed her pulse phaser back into the holster that was magnetically attached to her hip. “Our suits have micro thrusters, and in this low gravity we might be able to just float past those critters without having to…EEK!”

One of those spider things had jump through the thin but dusty atmosphere to land on Tessa’s back. It had remained perfectly flat and let the two women walk right past it before it unfolded itself from the deck and made its move.

With a panicked scream, Tessa deactivated her magnetic boots and activated the thrusters on her back, sending the spider thing flying. She shot forward like a bullet and embraced the petty officer when the two collided. Fortunately, the servos in her exosuit allowed Tessa to keep a hold of Eliska and not lose her. Unfortunately, colliding with Bremmer threw off her trajectory and soon the two of them were careening off the floor, walls, and ceiling of the Klingon ruins like a lopsided billiard ball, knocking spiders into the thin air as they did so. Tessa’s scream was impressively long, despite the interruptions when they bounced off something and continued their awkward journey back to the docking bay. Somehow Tessa managed to activate the right thrusters on either her back or boots in order to keep them going forward. Thankfully they didn’t hit anything at an angle that would have impeded their flight or caused an injury worse than bumps and bruises.

Finally the two of them were rolling on the floor of the ruins as they separated and each tried to use their hands and their magnetic boots to find a stable surface to hold onto.

“Well,” gasped an exhausted and weary Tessa. “We’re safe.” With those words she turned her light to survey the area they had passed through and saw that the walls, ceiling, and floor seemed to be covered in creepy crawlies that were heading in their way. “AAAAAAH!”

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #56 – January 03, 2018, 02:57:51 AM

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann | SuD Lang Transporter Room | The Coreless Moon ] Attn: @Kaligos
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The last ten seconds before they reached the Transporter Room, Ida didn't have to aim any more in order to hit the cluster on their heels. She could just fire anywhere and hit one of them. The rattling sound of their talons against the Klingon plating had become deafening, and Ida felt entirely too exposed, lamenting the loss of her exosuit. It didn't help hearing the warning chirp from her pulse phase pistol that her energy cell was about to be depleted too.

Yet Hi'Jak guided their final steps through the sliding doors, and despite the condition he was in, he managed to get the doors closed behind them. Two spiders made it inside, but having caught herself on the edge of a duty station when the scientist pushed her through the doors, Ida bared her teeth and disposed of the two critters with two consecutive shots. One of them managed to spit in her direction...

...but by a hair, she got out of the way in time. She could feel the foul air stirring next to her head when it passed her, knowing all to well what that acid had done to the suit of hers, and what it would have done to her face if she had been a tad slower.

Winded from having to carry the halfbreed down the corridors, she pushed off towards the doors with her pistol raised before herself. "Come on, get it working. This is my last energy clip, and it will only last for a couple of more shots."

Saying this, she had briefly looked in Hi'Jak's direction, and that's when she saw where the spit had landed.

"Zztann..." she hissed, because the green acid goo was eating through a part of the ancient tech directly adjacent to the transporter pads. With her chest heaving, beaded with perspiration and mouth tasting bitter from the foul air, Ida let out a brief cry of furious anger, striking her fist into the bulkhead. The sound was inferior to the clatter of claws outside the sealed door, and when the small window was shattered by a long, hook-like talon, the sound of the spiders became deafening in the room.

Ida refused to let into fear, however, shot the first one that tried to claw its way inside, and yanked off a maintenance panel from a duty station. With it in hand, she had to fire twice more before she could ram the panel into place over the window. She kept it in place by leaning against it, holding the spiders out. Those that managed to ram their claws past the panel cut her bare shoulder. Made a gash across her temple. Still, through the tears of pain, she held on. "Do something!"

Yet somehow, Ida knew that they had lost. It was only a matter of time before she couldn't hold them out any more. She might have enough energy left for two final shots... but she refused to see that kind of mercy as anything but defeat.

Another claw ripped her side open, she screamed... and lost her grip on the panel.

[ Sera vers Aldnoah | SuD Lang Docking Bay | The Coreless Moon ] Attn: @Striker N7
[Show/Hide]

As soon as they reached the Docking Bay, Sera throttled up her back thruster in order to reach the Sabine as quickly as possible. There was comm chatter from the female security guard on the away team, and while Sera heard it, she didn't make any acknowledgement. They had emerged at the upper level of the bay area, so she had demagnetised her boots again and kicked off as soon as she could, doing whatever she could to reach the Sabine. Her thruster was larger than Mariner's, so she would get there faster than he could.

Hold on, Hi'Jak, just a few seconds more... She could hear her own heart beating in her ears, but when her feet touched the ruined plating of the lower level, she magnetised her boots and went for the airlock at full sprint - or at least as quickly as the lacking gravity allowed for. This was when she activated her comm channel. "This is Sera, I'm beaming back everyone I can get a flaming lock on within the minute! Just stay alive, burn you!"

She realised that getting the airlock open would take too much time, so with fifty meters to go, she slapped her gloved hand on her suit's beam-back switch again, and evidently, they had cleared the transporter inhibitors at that point, because she de-materialised mid-sprint towards the Sabine....

[ SS Sabine | SuD Lang Docking Bay | The Coreless Moon ]

...and ended up inside her ship, stumbling off the Sabine's single transporter pad the next moment. Breathing heavily and covered in sweat, she depressurised her helmet and tore it off as she seated herself by the work station.

"Come on... Come on..." she muttered while she initiated a scan for the transponders of the away team, but she could only find three. Mariner's, Bremmer's and Lance's. She began to scan for life-signs instead, which was not ideal, but she just might be able to get a lock. She realised that she was making Bremmer and Lance wait on their extraction, but she reasoned Hi'Jak and the Andorian had been in more grave danger. "Fire and ashes, where are you, Hi'Jak? Where have you gone off to?"

There! She found two humanoid life-signs, on the very far side of the outpost, and she seeing the them meant they were still alive. Relief was brief, as she saw all the spiders in the area, and knew she had to to calibrate the scanners to get a good enough lock on them. Unfortunately, it was not enough. She needed something to get...

"That's the transporter room," she realised, and with golden eyes wide, she began to try and reach the transponder in that room to boost the signal. Only there was no response, as if the transporter systems had gone offline even if SuD Lang had been powered up. "Burn me, there has to be something..." All she could do was to cue the transporter beam-out for activation as soon as the transponder in that room went online. There was nothing more she could do from her side, but she reckoned that if the two were there, alive, they were likely trying to get that system online from their side. As soon as they succeeded, the beam-out would be automated, Hi'Jak going first, and then the Andorian.

"Come on, Hi'Jak..." she said, before she had to move on and get a lock on Bremmer and Lance, knowing Mariner would step inside through the airlock any second.

But where was the Radiant? There was no sign of her on her scans...

OOC: Current Posting Order follows:
- SuD Lang Transporter Room: 1) @Kaligos (Activating the broken transponder, getting beamed out) 2) @Auctor Lucan
- SuD Lang Docking Bay: 1) @Striker N7 (Entering the Sabine, helping Hi'Jak to one of the bunks?) 2) @Auctor Lucan
- Outside the Ruins of the Lightborn: 1) @CanadianVet 2) @Doc M. (Final heroics before getting beamed out) 3) @Triage (Final post in current thread)

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #57 – January 03, 2018, 03:35:12 AM

[ Lt. JG Hi'Jak | SuD Lang Transporter Room ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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Jack was so close the controls were in his hand, and then he watched as the transporter sputtered and died, he was about to curse when he heard the cacophony of what was going on around him, and seeing what had broken the transporter. He ran forward his one eye bloody, and tired, as he looked over raw circutry and acid, it was too much, too broken, in his current state he couldn't tell if the acid had eaten through a power conduit or some other piece of ancient tech.

It was like looking at ancient eldritch magic, they simply did not make transporters like this anymore, and he was not an engineer, the most practical experience he ever had fixing things was when he had had rigged a door to power up with.. an energy cell.

He glanced at the pistol. Ida was holding it. He went for it. His one good arm outstretched, he took the weapon.

Working with one arm was slow, and he needed to be fast, he had to work as quickly as he could pulling out the cartridge, it was almost dry, but he didn't need it to power the transporter, he just needed something to carry the charge and complete the circuit. The conduit just needed a patch.

He was quickly reminded however that he had no protective clothing, and that he was dealing with a powerful live wire, as he reconnected the conduit there was a loud crack of energy, sparks flew, and jack could feel more of his body burn as Ida let out a scream as something scratched her. It all spurred Jack on to work faster, once Ida gave out he would have no defense from the ancient horrific creatures that seemed to want their death and meaty bits.

Jack vision was blurry but not blind blind, the shock and sparks having hit him him and furthered the damage to his face, but he could recognize the sound of connections being made, the transporter pad was humming, he could see the blue female form of the other alien. He reached out for the many visions of Ida, grabbing her, pulled her away, not knowing how badly she'd been hurt. Still with his one arm he hefted her shoulder over his own and dragged her to the one functioning transporter pad.

He pulled her into a tight embrace, half using her as a shield half hugging desperately to another being that didn't want to eat him. As the two fell onto the transporter pad in one location.

[ SS Sabine | SuD Lang Docking Bay | Coreless Moon ]

Jack's body hit the ground on the Sabine, still clutching Ida, as the two had been transported together and yet somehow through all the ancient filters remained separate, his body exhausted, his vision too blurred to see anything, but judging by the sounds, safe. His breathing was still painful, his arm was still numb, his eye was gone, but he was alive.

A slow laugh escaped the half Klingon. His burned throat making it sound like rasping and coughing as he looked around too blind to see if he had saved Ida completely but knowing that everything hurt. He could just see another moving figure. He was pretty sure it was Sera, he could see the faintly familiar suit of his lover. He raised up a hand to give a thumbs up, before his arm collapsed and Jack fell into the blackness of a much needed sleep.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #58 – January 06, 2018, 09:57:23 AM

[ ENS James "Jimmy" Mariner | SuD Lang Dilithium Cargo Bay | The Coreless Moon ] [Show/Hide]

Once inside of the shuttle, Jimmy made a seemingly-unnecessary but precautionary sweep of the shuttle to rule out any unwanted stowaways of the arachnid kind with every intention of firing on maximum stun. No need in punching a hole in the hull-- that's what his comebacks were for. Fortunately, there was nothing in the craft's head. "Bad way to go" Mariner joked... "For the spider." Jimmy referred to Eliska's misfortune in combat rations before he locked the craft down from any intruder.

Finally able to take off his helmet and breath some tangible air, Mariner could finally wipe the perspiration off his brow and get rid of that annoying itch he'd wanted to scratch for the last several minutes but couldn't through his visor. All that hardware and they still haven't figured out a solution for diver's itch.

Mariner's own well being came secondary as he craned over Sera's controls, visibly nervous about the status of the rest of the team. "C'mon. Heather. Eliska. Leftenant. Anybody... please." he caught himself muttering, if not praying silently to himself. Suddenly, behind him, Jimmy heard the unmistakable sound of a transporter beam and he trained his rifle on the new arrival as a precaution, but he lowered it at once when he spotted Ida's white mane of Andorian hair and the only other male on their away team tumble into the shuttle. Before he could ask if the two needed a room, Jimmy just gasped then exclaimed at the sight of Jack and rushed to the side of the science officer, who looked like he'd been beaten with the mother of all ugly-sticks. Suddenly any jealousy over the fire-happy humanoid with the incendiary eyes evaporated as Mariner found the medkit and got to work assessing their injuries momentarily to ensure moving Hi'Jak to the nearby bed was an option; fortunately for Jack, it was. "Let's go, Sir. Alley-oop!" Jimmy helped the LtJg up, gritting his teeth, and characteristically making some humerous banther as he helped the Klingon.

"Crikey, Leftenant, you look like the Klingons I've seen on old holonovels." Jimmy didn't refer to the smooth-brow Klingons of the 23rd century. He idly chuckled, running a scan. "Hang in there, Sir. You got any kids? No? C'mon, Mate, let's make sure you live long enough have some. Lord knows he hates to see his good work go to waste!" appealing to Jack's human side, Jimmy applied basic first aid in the form of a painkiller hypospray, and had basic use of a dermal regenerator the way he helped Marquez moments after they escaped Starbase 84. Sensing Sera would be more interested in tending to her... friend, He whistled in the direction of the pilot, "Oi Sera?" I think this is yours."

Next, Jimmy attempted combat triage on his own fellow security officer, keeping his eyes where they belonged, knowing firsthand how Andorian women were when it came to unnecessary attention to their anatomy, like the time Tarsi nearly lost one of her Antennae at the Battle of Betazed and caught Jimmy staring at the dangling appendage's inner workings, only to find his shen friend pointing a medical tool somewhere where it would've hurt him quite dearly if she were to push a button (He only wanted to see the inside of an antennae, wondering if it was hollow). Lt zh'Wann looked like she'd seen better days. "You allright, Ma'am?" (Pronounced, 'M'um') He asked, attempting basic medical attention. "I got us enough dilly crystals to last, but there's still enough of the stuff down out there to give Capt. Ives a king's ransom if we were to barter the bloody stuff-- compliments of the ridgeheads. We can beam the dilly to our cargo hold if we had to." Jimmy suggested, believing he'd finished his minstrations, before returning to the more urgent matter at hand. "Where's the rest of the team? You can beam me over to bring 'em home--" Jimmy insisted, worried about his longtime crewmate, the fragile and delicate humanoid with lightbending abilities and that pilot who joined them. Despite being higher in rank, Jimmy found Lt Lance to be cute, but they were all equally his responsibility by Starfleet Security's own mission statement; never mind that Jimmy was known for defying orders if it meant saving lives.

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #59 – January 09, 2018, 06:18:32 PM

[ PO2 Eliska Bremmer | SS Sabine NX-59846 | SuD Lang Outpost ] attn: @Doc M. @Triage @Striker N7 @Auctor Lucan @Kaligos

This derelict post's life support and gravity system were iffy, at best. Eliska had known it ever since she'd done her rough interpretation of Sabine's scans. Which meant the atmosphere that had been there before they had entered the ruins had grown thin, to the point of being unable to support humanoid life. There was still heat, so that was a start, but gravity was getting fitful, and as they were running it had gone back down to the less than the tenth G they'd first encountered when they initially landed. However, it would seem the thinning O2 concentrations and drop in pressure weren't much of a hurdle for the spiders. In fact, it appeared to make them even more aggressive.

And, not for the first time since she was told she was on that mission, Eliska Bremmer was certain she was going to die this day even as their run was taking them steadily closer to hangar bay, though not nearly fast enough...

When Goldeneye spoke, saying something about their suit thrusters. Was that woman insane? In these confined sp... That was one thought she was unable to finish as the pilot's mass slammed into her back at high velocity, and she found herself thankful for the heavier armour her own exosuit carried, especially as they started careening down the corridors, striking walls, floors, the ceiling along the way until the burn ended and they both skidded across a wider room, and Eliska herself, thanks to the joys of microgravity, only managed to steady herself once she became wedged where a wall met the ceiling and it was with a groan she pushed herself back to the deck, shaking off the dizziness from the ride, and the bumps from the many impacts.

On the bright side, they had cleared the passages that were the largest threat. But her suit's motion sensors were blaring alarms at the movement around her. It was almost a wave coming down from two different directions... and she knew what it was. And so did the pilot as she let out another scream. Well, there went their chances, again.

"Sabine, Deputy, Mariner, anyone! This is Bremmer. We're bogged down. If anyone can cut us a way out, or beam us out of here that'd be great!" She took a deep breath and shouldered her rifle once more. It had been clipped to her suit, and through divine intervention it had survived the number of impacts along the way. And now, it would be the one thing keeping them alive...

"Ell-Tee, I'm not going to bullshit, unless we're getting help we might be good and fucked." That was hardly a proper way to address an officer, but in such a case, decorum could go right out the nearest airlock. This was about survival. "Now, pick a hallway, and keep shooting. Deliberate fire or short, controlled bursts. Dial back the power, and conserve your packs, all right?"

And then, she started firing into the mass of spiders coming their way. At first, it was slow and measured, but the tempo quickly picked up. In the thin but dust-choked atmosphere, her rifle was nearly silent, the shriek of phaserfire in atmosphere a near-whisper. But the dust gave each blast a lurid, hellish glow instead of the eye-searing brightness of a shot in full vacuum. But it was like trying to stem an ocean tide with an eyedropper, for they kept on coming, stumbling over then devouring their own fallen along the way in a horrific, cannibalistic wave. And every now and again, Eliska would simply shout "Loading!" as she would swap a spent power cell out of her rifle for a fresh one, but the incoming spiders were unstoppable, and before long she was screaming her rage and helplessness even as she kept on firing over, and over, and over again.

She was an expert shot with any of Starfleet's issued small arms. But against such numbers? There was only so much she could do and when she dropped her rifle at the end of its sling across her chest, the last power well an inert chunk of sarium krellide and drew her pistol to resume what she'd been doing, she managed to do more than simply scream wordlessly. "Anyone! If you're there, now would be a good time!"

One spider leaped in the microgravity and its mandibles fastened on her gun arm, trying to crunch through her suit. But not for long as she drove a servo-amplified fist through a cluster of eyes, the creature dropping instantly, twitching as it died. "Come on! Get us the fuck out of here! Please!" There were tears in her voice, adding to the stress, rage and terror that were powering her voice. "I don't want to die here! Please! Anyone?"

And, then, she went silent as she focused on trying to keep pushing back, not adding her parsteel blade, fist and feet to the fire of her pistol as she fought like a demon to keep the spiders from eating her. She wouldn't last much longer, she knew it. And with that came a certain serenity. She didn't want to die, and while 'eaten by giant space spiders' hardly made for a glorious epitaph, it would be a suitably glorious last stand...

And her hopes of being saved were decreasing with every passing frenetic heartbeat...

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #60 – January 10, 2018, 10:14:58 AM

[ Tessa May Lance, callsign: Goldeneye | SuD Lang Ruins | The Coreless Moon ] Atten: @CanadianVet @Triage @Striker N7 @Auctor Lucan @Kaligos

Tessa had to admit that the situation looked grim, but at least she was with a trained member of the security. Scuttlebutt had it that Bremmer was a refugee from the Resolve, a survivor of a three and a half year voyage to the outer darks of the galaxy and a veteran of the damned, the strange, and the damn strange. She had probably faced this situation dozens of times, and would know exactly what to do…

"Ell-Tee, I'm not going to bullshit, unless we're getting help we might be good and fucked."

Or this could be her first time facing a horde of lobster sized space spiders that didn’t seem to have any source of food but two terrified women. “Uh…” Tessa moaned weakly.

"Now, pick a hallway, and keep shooting. Deliberate fire or short, controlled bursts. Dial back the power, and conserve your packs, all right?"

“Right. Got it,” Tessa chirped as she set her pulse phaser on wide angle stun. Conserve her power? What was Bremmer talking about? Even a hand phaser designed a hundred years ago could protect a narrow corridor and kill hundreds of men. The weapons Starfleet used today could probably kill every spider in the complex what did she mean by…

Stun setting wasn’t stopping them! They just vibrated angrily and kept right on coming once the beam was off them. Holy smoke! Tessa switched to a kill setting and started madly shooting. Even the kill setting was just knocking the off the walls but wasn’t hurting them. She had to set the weapon at a level where it would shatter rocks before she could kill any of them.   No wonder Bremmer was concerned about the amount of ammo—

"Loading!" Bremmer announced as she changed a power cell. Tessa took out her type one hand phaser to fire down the petty officer’s hall before she resumed firing her pistol-shaped pulse phaser. The leg of her Tactical CONN exosuit had a holster that stored the concealable hand phaser and two power cells, but Tessa had added the attachable holster for the pulse phaser as preparation for away team duty, and boy was it paying off. Tessa made weird grunting noises as she shot down two corridors at once before Eliska was able to fire again.

“G-golly,” Tessa stammered. It seemed like every arachnid on the planet was converging here. W-what c-could be taking them so long?” With the hand she was holding the type one hand phaser in, she tapped the combadge on her suit. “You who!” the pilot sang out in a sweet beckoning tone. “Tessa to anybody!   We need to beam out of here! To the Sabine! Or just the docking bay would do!”

"Anyone!” Bremmer added. “If you're there, now would be a good time!"

“Bremmer, we can’t hold the corridor!” Tessa exclaimed when despite their best efforts, the swarm came closer. “We can’t wait for the beam out! We’ve got to run for it! Run!” With that, Tessa turned and took off down the hall, only to discover that she was alone. Turning around she saw Bremmer struggling against the spiders that had jumped onto her body. In moments, they would puncture the petty officer’s suit, and that could kill her whether their bites were venomous or not.

“Bremmer!” Tessa shouted before charging towards her shipmate with phasers blazing in both hands a desperate scream escaping her lips that sounded like more like a little girl squealing down a child’s slide than a warrior’s battle cry.   Tears were blurring the pilot’s vision and a quiet electronic hum was ringing in her ears…

Re: Day 03 [1000 hrs.] The Coreless Moon | Away-Mission

Reply #61 – January 10, 2018, 03:07:14 PM

[ Lieutenant ThanIda zh'Wann | SS Sabine | SuD Lang Docking Bay | The Coreless Moon ] Attn: @Kaligos
[Show/Hide]

Disoriented, Ida couldn't quite believe what had happened. She was on the floor of the Sabine, memories returning in flashes from the Klingon transporter room. Panting, bleeding, she disentangled herself from Jack - who was in far worse condition than her - so that Mariner could do as little as he could with a medkit to make sure he didn't die. Pushing herself up so that she was sitting against the bulkhead, Ida looked away from the two males to see Sera vers Aldnoah looking between Hi'Jak, the transporter platform, and the workstation she was sitting at. It seemed like she wasn't positive it was the Sabine who had made the beam-out, and as far as Ida was concerned, she didn't care. Her hands were shaking and she bit down against the pain of her injuries.

By Lor'Vela, you are still alive, so get over yourself, she thought, but she wasn't ready to stand yet. She saw Mariner giving up on doing ought else for Hi'Jak, instead helping him towards the back of the Sabine. When prompted by Mariner, Sera followed, leaving Ida alone for a short while. Only then, she closed her eyelids, swallowed, and wiped her eyes with the back of her shaking hand - suppressing the lingering fear with the realisation that they made it out of that room. When she dropped that panel... she had been certain. On your feet, Guardsman!

When Mariner returned, she bit her teeth together, still struggling with her laboured breathing, and let him run the dermal regenerator over her sliced side, shoulder and temple. It still stung, likely because of the acidic nature of the vile creatures. She listened to him, but she could not motivate herself to answer right away - staring straight ahead and reassembling her shattered resolve. "I'm fine," she lied through her teeth, but she nodded appreciatively about the fact that they had the crystals.

Suddenly, there was static from the workstation. [Sabine, Deputy, Mariner, anyone! This is Bremmer. We're bogged down. If anyone can cut us a way out, or beam us out of here that'd be great!]

I said... on your feet! she told herself for the second time and put her knuckles against the deck plates. She was of no use to the team when on the deck. She was no child that had twisted her antenna. Slowly, she picked herself up, slapping her bloodied hand down on Mariner's shoulder, leaning heavily on him for support. Her blue blood made a hand-print on his exosuit as she stumbled towards the unmanned workstation. The next transmission came in. [Tessa to anybody! We need to beam out of here! To the Sabine! Or just the docking bay would do!]

Mariner suggested beaming to them, but Ida shook her head, curling her lip from the aches in her body when she lowered herself into the seat at the work station. "One pad, Ensign... Would take longer to get all three of you back," she grated and blinked hard, focusing on the displays before her. Another call came in.

[Anyone!] It was Bremmer. [If you're there, now would be a good time!]

"I'm working on it..." said Ida, not wasting seconds on activating the comm signal from the work station, scanning for the the missing people, but only found two transponders. "Shelat... Where is Warrant Officer McMillan? Is she dead?" There was no time. With bloodied fingers, she tried to lock on to the moving transponders. They just wouldn't be still, meaning that they were fighting for their lives.

"Burn you, what did you do?" said a voice from the back compartment, Sera chastising Hi'Jak, even if the couldn't be conscious at that point. "What did you do to your hand? Is that a disruptor grip?"

"Be silent!" snapped Ida, blinking away perspiration from her eyelashes as the cross-hairs of the transporter lock wouldn't come together, her aching hand shaking, but her fingertips slowly getting the lock on the closest transponder. It was May Lance's.

[Come on! Get us the fuck out of here! Please!] Bremmer, barely sounding like herself from the fright of the situation. Ida was painfully aware that it wasn't her transponder she was trying to get a lock on. Ida refused to let it get to her, even if Bremmer kept wailing. [I don't want to die here! Please! Anyone?]

The chirp finally came, and Ida activated the transporter immediately. The pad next to her whirred, and in a cascade of light the fully suited May Lance stumbled out of the the glass stall, as if she had been running when beamed out. Ida had time for neither comment nor glance in her direction. She immediately went for the second transponder.

Only it was no longer there.

No...

No more had the cold feeling run up her spine than a message began to flash on the screen. It was from Havenborn.

BUDDY SPIKE INBOUND, IMMEDIATE TACTICAL WITHDRAWAL RECOMMENDED

Eyes still wide from loosing Bremmer, Ida numbly keyed up the sensors, and they grew a bit wider when the tactical read-out became visible. Multiple signatures were converging on them, and they were easily recognised. It was like she was back in the first months of the Dominion War. How do they know we're there? Was Hi'Jak right? is Martok one of them?

"Klingon raiders.... Dozens of them," she breathed. "A carrier... The IKS Hakkarl."

- FIN

OOC: @Triage posts the starter for the new, final thread of the Sabine Mission!