Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

January 15, 2022, 08:26:22 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn | Cockpit | Type-11 Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs ] Attn: @SarahBerry, @Scavenger01, @redshift316, @Tae 

Daniel was sitting at the helm of the shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs, he’d volunteered for extra duty for a few days, letting Miri and K’Ren spend some time together, and letting Miri introduce Cami and Becky to her.  Uriah was about halfway into his 30-day punishment so he couldn’t spend his free time with his friend even though he had been the one to assign said punishment.  So Daniel decided to volunteer for this extra duty to help him get off the ship for a little bit. 

They were a few minutes out from their destination, an ex-mining outpost turned into a monk temple.  He thought back to the briefing just an hour ago where Councilor K’Tal had told them about the monks and their temple, how it sat on top of an old mining outpost that still had benamite crystals in its storehouses.  A Klingon patrol craft had done a preliminary scouting of the area and had detected the crystals.  He had locked the coordinates into the shuttle’s flight system and had let the autopilot do most of the work most of the way only taking control once they were nearing their destination.

They had set out at oh-nine-hundred and had only been flying for about seventeen minutes, another three minutes and they’d be landing at the coordinates provided.  He could already see a small landing pad and some robed figures standing on top of it.  ”Three minutes to landing pad.”  Daniel said to the other Starfleet personnel in the cabin.  “Looks like a welcome party is coming to greet us as well.”  He added.  He had been selected to lead the away team due to his skill, but fortunately for him he had Lieutenant Asra Tek along to provide a voice of scientific authority.  Daniel would provide a voice of security and threat assessment since he was a trained combat pilot and in his mind a soldier.  While looking through the sensor scans he had detected other ships nearby but they had been just on the edge of the shuttle’s sensor systems so he wasn’t able to get their full identity, he had wished that he had been granted the use of his fighter to provide an escort but that request had been denied by Commander Ravon.

He reached down to his sidearm which was still locked in place at his side, his tactical soft bag was on the other side and contained several items, a tricorder, a lamp-light, a basic first aid kit, and a couple of good luck charms that he carried with him whenever he went into a potentially dangerous situation and this seemed like it could potentially be such a situation and Daniel wanted to be as prepared as he could be.  Fate had taught him well over the years and he had learned her lessons.

OOC Note:
Posting Order: @Havenborn (Eligible for Tokens), @Scavenger01 (Eligible for Tokens), @Tae, (Not eligible for Tokens) @SarahBerry (Eligible for Tokens) & @redshift316 (Eligible for Tokens).

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #1 – January 15, 2022, 05:10:57 PM

[ Lt. Asra Tek | Main Cabin | Type-11 Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs] Attn: @SarahBerry @Tae @redshift316 @Havenborn

Asra was in the main cabin of the shuttlecraft sitting back, left arm up, as her pad scrolled through data, her right carefully holding a thermos of her normal coffee/chocolate hybrid, every so often she would take another sip as she reviewed every detail  for the 5th time. This was her first away mission since her excursion into Romulan space 5 years before, so she was going over every detail fervently. Currently she was reviewing everything that she had on benamite from theurgy's own experience and voyager's data from the delta quadrant, the interface filled with papers and diagrams.
  Even with all of the nerves rattling around inside her, her face was still in a small grin and had been since Councilor K'Tal had briefed them earlier. She was finally getting to work with an actual QS drive, so much of her downtime had been spent pouring over all of voyager's data theorizing improvements or changes and finally she was going to be hands on with benamite crystals. She shook her head and shut down her pad realizing that nothing was currently sticking that wasn't already there, so she bent over to rummage through the backpack she had brought. It wasn't a hard check to do, the vast majority of the main compartment was taken up with a transport unit for the crystals when they found them. The unit was a fairly standard volatile containment unit in which the "cargo" is supported in a non reactive foam section that is then surrounded by a shock absorbing gel to virtually eliminate any vibrations. The only changes to the unit were external with several sensors and data loggers attached to the outside to build a high resolution baseline for the crystals emissions. Satisfied that the containment unit was settled in alongside several small sensor pods Asra zipped up the backpack, stowing it between her legs, and glanced around the cabin. She itched to go over and double check the scanning drone that they had brought with them but that would involve getting up and she had enough experience with shuttles and combat pilots that standing while flying in atmosphere was never the smartest idea.

"Three minutes to landing pad" As the voice came over the intercom Asra's mind flashed over to the CO for this mission. Daniel had seemed like a dependable leader when the team came together earlier, he had been no nonsense in his discussion with councilor K’tal and professional with the rest of the team. Asra was mainly relieved that he had been put in charge, she definitely did not want to be having to lead an away team she had never met on a ship that she had only just joined. Additionally she was glad that she had Nara on this mission the hyper professional crewman would be a godsend if this mission turned complex, especially given her experience with energy emission spectra.

Lost in thought Asra started slightly at the slight bump and change in engine pitch as the shuttle touched down. Shooting a quick smile to her fellow passenger in the rear compartment Asra stood and slung the rucksack onto her back. “Head first into the breach then” Asra mumbled opening the door into the cockpit and stepping through, casting her gaze around the room before stopping on Daniel “ Anything interesting so far Sir?”

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #2 – January 16, 2022, 10:59:59 PM

CM 1 Nara Nueva | Main Cabin, Shuttle Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs | lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'noS : @Havenborn @Scavenger01 @SarahBerry @redshift316

Nara was thankful that she'd been selected to go on this mission along with Asra. The Trill Scientist seemed to respect her, which helped her feel even better about being assigned to this mission. So it was with a small amount of pride that Nara sat at the Science station in the shuttle, monitoring the surrounding area for unusual broadcasts and messages. And there was indeed plenty to keep her busy once they'd gotten out over the ocean and were nearing on the shattered archipelago or lenglu'taHlu'bogh in Klingon, quite literally 'broken islands .'Accessing the database on these islands revealed that the Klingons believed them to have been the home of the Qom or 'lost fools,' an ancient civilization that had welcomed the Hur'q when they'd invaded near a thousand years ago. The information in the database said that the Qom had vanished in a great cataclysm meant to show the Klingons that the Hur'q wanted slaves and not supplicants or perhaps the planet and cared little for worship from these primitives. While the Klingons had managed to drive the Hur'q off at significant cost and recover over the centuries, there was no undoing the damage to the 'broken islands' that had been shattered by force of arms under the ancient invasion.

The sensor readings that were showing on the Science console made her head spin. Magnetic anomalies, high energy particle decay, traces of radioactive materials that had gone through millennia of breakdown. An area that looked like what it was, an archipelago that appeared to have once been a small subcontinent shattered and melted through a massive weapon's discharge. Mountainous islands consisting of metamorphic rocks and materials are typically seen in the mantle of worlds. The readings she was getting made her blink, and Nara felt her mouth go dry.

"These islands aren't islands; these are pieces of the deep crust and mantle. The Hur'q cracked the crust of the planet here! What could even do that!" While Nara's outburst might seem random to the others, she'd been researching the local area and hadn't believed any of the stories. How could she? It all matched, the deep crust rare earth minerals and elements, large amounts of Uranium, Cobalt, and Thorium. Even today, these 'islands' were still wildly volcanic, with a slow and steady oozing of magma that issued forth both randomly and in established channels. And yet, life had found a way to thrive on these islands. The largest of which was covered in dense jungles of primordial undergrowth and trees found nowhere else on the planet.

The island they were landing on was in the center of all of it, a dense jungled plain nearly ten square kilometers in size, every inch of it giving the Amazon rainforest a run for its money. The canopies of the trees here were thick and tall. The leaves and trunks of them glittering in the light. They'd mutated and had incorporated crystalline elements into their bark and trunks, and the leaves looked like crystal daggers blowing in the breeze. When the Friedrich Mohs touched down and passed through the canopies of the trees, there was a screeching and shattering sound that was quite audible, the leaves and branches of the unusual trees breaking upon contact with the shuttle. Once it finally did touch down, there was a rain of crystalline shards that pelted the shuttle in an amethyst-colored mist, the sound of the pieces of a tree falling on the shuttle sounding like a profane set of tubular bells.

Checking her readings one more time, Nara confirms that the benemite crystals' traces were at least two kilometers into the dense forest containing an ungodly assortment of creatures and plants and being underground most likely. But of course, people had come out to meet them. Councillor K'Tal had even shared some of the stories of this place that Nara had simply eaten up.

The sect of monks who lived here called themselves raS'a' QoyDI' chutmey, or the 'Guardians of the Lost Fools' who were warriors and archaeologists. These people gave their lives and health to protect these profane grounds and glean what fragments they could of the Qom civilization. And they did indeed give their lives. The high radiation and hostile environment made for relatively short and painful lives, since even modern treatments could only prolong life so much with this level of radiation.

When Asra came forward, Nara spoke up, with a polite but firm voice. All of the readings that she was getting added up to one conclusion, that things would be bad the moment they opened the hatch.

"Lieutenants, I would strongly suggest that we take doses of anti-radiation medicine before stepping outside. The Councillor understated the danger of this place. I'm detecting high levels of radiation all through the EM spectrum. We'll be alright if we don't decide to camp out for a week or spend a holiday here. Also, I wish I hadn't worn my skirt for this little excursion. Other than that, It's nearly forty degrees Celsius out there, both from tropical weather here at the equator and ambient heat from magma discharge. I'm not detecting any possible landings its any closer than this, and there's too much interference the closer we get, so transporters won't work, as it is our sensors are barely functioning. I'm betting that our tricorders will be in the same boat." Nara stood up then and gathered her own kit, feeling silly for having chosen her preferred uniform instead of the more traditional one with pants. At least the boots would protect her calves from walking through the razor-sharp shrubs. But the skirt left her muscular thighs bare and exposed, and the vest and undershirt would do little to prevent her lean arms from the same fate as her thighs. Nara took a moment to roll the sleeves of her undershirt down.

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #3 – January 20, 2022, 12:24:19 PM

[ Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Main Cabin, Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs | lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'noS]

"Three minutes to landing pad!"

It did little good to be nervous. More than anything, if she looked nervous, the other officers wouldn't trust her as much to be the one taking care of them should anything go pear-shaped. And as it stood with the mission details, there was quite a bit of room for it to turn and do somersaults if they didn't do this by the books. No pressure though. Sarah took a deep, even breath and blew it out slowly through pursed lips in an attempt to soothe her racing heart as he eyes drifted towards the other officer at the table across from her. She was a science officer she noted with some delight, drinking something or another out of a hot thermos. She hadn't had time to make polite conversation and ask what was inside, as once the pilot..she believed his name to be Daniel if she had heard his introduction right on the flight deck, had announced they only had a few scant minutes left aboard the shuttle. The other woman stood quickly at the announcement, swinging her rucksack onto her shoulder and left Sarah to her own devices at the table to make way for the front of the shuttle.

As the medical officer on board, she supposed that was her queue to go listen in on mission details and any other specifics that the PADD mission profile hadn't covered.

Standing up from the table, she steadied herself as the shuttle began its descent downwards. She grimaced at the sensation, the feeling aligned to the hyper quick descent and escalation of a turbolift- she wasn't exactly a big fan of those. But it was over just as quickly as it had begun, Sarah grabbing her medical bag in response to the turbulence now over and opening it to double check her supplies. It was bulky with probably more than a dozen tools she didn't need, but this was her first ground mission and she wanted to ensure she would have any and everything she might need. The wisdom words of her Academy instructor rang in her ears suddenly of the fact that ounces make pounds, pounds make pain, and to pack essentials only.. But she couldn’t be bothered to take everything out and repack this close to the shuttle setting down..and it was doing so quickly by the sound of scratches and glass breaking on the outside of the hull as they dipped into the treeline. Satisfied for the moment, she clasped her medic bag shut and clipped it around her shoulders securely, popping her long, blonde braid out from the back of the back and coiling it into a messy bun atop her head to keep it out of the way.. She headed up towards the front of the shuttle, following in the steps of the science officer from before and stood nearby to listen in on the instructions and warnings given by yet another science officer.

At Nueva’s commentary, Sarah too lamented the fact that she had worn her uniform dress on this mission, a solid frown marring her normally soft features as she considered replicating herself and the other woman a couple pairs of duty trousers before they left off the shuttle to avoid slicing themselves on the crystalline structures of the local flora. But the more pressing matter of it all was the fact that her tricorder might not work planetside and that it would be wise to take anti-radiation medicine. Had she even brought anti-radiation medicine? That might be something she’d have to replicate off the shuttle. This mission party wasn’t even out of the shuttle yet and already things looked grim. She would need to use more of her instincts and knowledge instead of relying on the tricorder to diagnose. And with no comm badges? She would need to memorize faces quickly and well. As Nueva finished up her commentary, Sarah nodded in silent agreement, still scanning the room to pair up nametags with faces in case..well..the worst happened.

“I will get the pills replicated, ja?”

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #4 – January 31, 2022, 05:57:04 AM

[ Ens. Jaya Thorne | Cockpit | Type-11 Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs ]

Jaya was in the co-pilot position, and that gave her opportunities to watch Lieutenant Havenborn. No pilot worth their pay didn’t think they couldn’t learn a thing or two from a senior officer. He was crisp with his instruments, as most fighter pilots were. Small movements with the controls of a fighter translated into much larger actions on the part of your craft. He was excellent. But then again, the fighter pilots of the Theurgy were tested by the fire.

All the instruments at her position showed green, even if the temperature outside were a bit toasty by her standards. A hot planet plus volcanic activity equals dehydration for every member of the away team. She had the hydration supplies in her bag, and she had doubled up on the recommended pouches per person. Sure, it made for a heavier bag, but Jaya would put up with it to make sure no one suffered dehydration on the mission.

She smiled to herself as she considered what she knew of being marooned in hostile environments. She’d studied the Terran classics, of course--Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, Gilligan’s Island. Each tale carried nuggets of wisdom to help guide her in times like this. She had an extra comm unit in her bag just in case there was an issue with the one on the Mohs. The absolute last thing she wanted was to be such on a rugged chuck of rock surrounded by molten lava and no way to contact the mother ship.

Not much chatter on the way down to the planet’s surface. She wrote that off to a professional approach from most of the away team. She keyed the comm for the interior cabin of the shuttle.
“This is your  cruise director, everyone needs to drink as much as they can before we pop the hatch. You’re going to sweat it out before get to the target. Then it’s a hot walk back to the Mohs.”

Jaya did a final survey of the Ops controls, everything looked good.

“Everything looks five by five, Lieutenant. Ready when you are.”

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #5 – February 04, 2022, 08:10:16 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn | Cockpit | Type-11 Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs ] Attn: @SarahBerry, @Scavenger01, @redshift316, @Tae 

He turned to Lieutenant Tek as she addressed him.  “Nothing interesting, just a dangerous island full of crystalline structures.”  Daniel responded.  Ignoring Crewman Neuva’s outburst about the islands not being islands and about what kind of weapon could cause the damage to the planet he did however listen to her report about the sensors.  He looked again at the sensor display and what he was seeing was different from what she was seeing.  The sensors were working fine but it seemed that the crystalline structures were refracting their readings, either way they couldn’t rely on them and would have to be situationally aware of their surrounding the old fashioned way.  It reminded him of his days back on Mars, the extreme situations training he had undergone was similar to the situation he found himself in now.  “I’m going to change into my exosuit before head out.”  He said as he got up from the console but before he walked into the rear cabin he looked down at Ensign Thorne.  “Prepare the shuttle for lockdown once we leave, last thing we need is for one of the locals to fly away with our means of getting back to Theurgy.”

Walking into the rear cabin he thought back to the briefing from Councilor K’Tal again as he began to put on his exosuit.  “We know that you need benamite crystals and one of my patrol ships has found a location which contains what you seek.  Be warned though that it is located in an inhospitable region of the planet, the only inhabitants are the Monks of the True Way.  I have contacted them and informed that you will be arriving shortly.  I wish you luck in getting what you need.”  The Klingon had said.  Daniel had nodded through most of the briefing but said little, he wanted to converse as little as he could with the Klingons, he still hadn’t forgiven them for their attacks against the Theurgy and its fighter squadron. 

He finished putting on his exosuit and attached his Type-II Pulse Phaser Pistol to his side, he attached his tactical soft bag to his thigh, putting his good luck charms in the hard-shell containers.  He put a dozen half-liter water pouches and a handful of ration packs in the tactical soft bag knowing that he’d likely need the water in the extreme heat conditions. He considered picking up one of the Type-III Phaser Rifles but ultimately decided against it, opting instead for a few more power cells for his pistol.  Better to have them and not need them, than to need them and not have them, he thought to himself.  He also grabbed a tricorder and stowed it away, it might not work above ground but it might work below ground to help them somehow.  Now content that he was ready for the dangers of the island he stepped back out into the cockpit.  “Make sure that you’ve got everything you need, if someone forgets something it’s a long walk back to the shuttle.”  Daniel said.  His eyes locked briefly on the cute blonde Ensign for a moment.  He’d definitely have to introduce himself to her later once they were safely back on the ship.

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #6 – February 05, 2022, 01:42:28 AM

CM 1 Nara Nueva and Lt Asra Tek | Main Cabin, Shuttle Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs | lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'noS : @Havenborn @Scavenger01 @SarahBerry @redshift316

OOC: this Joint post brought to you by CRYSTALLINE VELOCIRAPTORS!!!

Asra nodded to Daniel, quickly turning her head to face Nara as she gave a more detailed run down of the situation. Asra started slightly at the significantly more danger than just crystalline trees but she gently straightened her trousers, glad she opted for the more protective uniform. After the quick briefing her attention was brought back to Daniel again as he gave instructions to Jaya. Stepping to the side, she cleared the companionway enough to let Daniel to pass into the rear of the shuttle sending a quizzical look at his back. The look lasted for only a moment however then she shook her head and turned to the rest of the away party.

“ Yes, let's get those ready to be taken, also it’s probably worth replicating two more doses for everyone just in case.” She spoke facing the young Ensign in the companionway before noting what Sarah was wearing.

“ I don’t think that full environmental suits will be necessary, though I won’t stop anyone from wearing one, I do think however that everyone should be fully covered. It sounds like burns of all kinds are a risk out there. Asra addressed the whole room, unable to see Jaya’s outfit beneath the console, before nodding to Nara at the last sentence to acknowledge her thoughts and warnings.

“Ensign Thorne you’re right about the temperatures and dehydration, once you’ve finished with what the Lieutenant ordered it might be worth throwing some extra rehydration supplements into your bag.” Asra was still quite unsure with the situation on the ship and so had defaulted to using the full address for everyone until she got a better feel for everyone. With the other two having immediate jobs Asra turned to Nara, face relaxing in relief at facing someone she knows even as her voice remained the same.

“Crewman Nueva the mapping drone will probably be useless due to the interference.” Asra gestured to the main viewport while she referred to the original plan of scanning the mine structure.

 “ I’ll leave the rest of your pack to you but it might be worth lightening Ensign Bjørge’s  Load if you have any space She gestured towards the figure at the replicator in the back.

Nara sighed then looking out through the window into the crystalline jungle outside, a light rain seemed to coat the trees and foliage, misting the air as you’d see in the tropics on many worlds during the middle of summer.

 Outside there was a silence now, one best described as deathly until the loud indistinct bellowing of the Klingon Monk rang through the humid air. While the tone couldn’t be inferred
through the hull it was probably just the Klingon being bossy. While K'Tal had indeed let the monks know that Starfleet was coming, they likely weren’t happy about it, and with as addled as their states of mind may or may not be, it was hard to tell if they’d even be receptive to the guests.


“Copy that Lieutenant no mapping drones, got it. We’ve also got rain, just a light one from the looks of it, but no idea how long it will last or how hard it will be. Also, that Klingon sounds like he’s in kind of a rush, we should get going. And I’ll help where I can.”

Asra stepped into the cockpit fully to look through the viewport and take a glance over the sensor data, and watch the shouting klingon, while the others got their things together. She quickly stood as the stomp of exosuit boots became audible in the cockpit, turning to face Daniel as he returned to the cockpit.

“ Sir, the team is gathering their equipment now.” A quick glance up and down of her commanding officer helped hide Asra’s surprise at his attire before she schooled her features again.

“ I’m not sure if you heard but ensign Bjørge recommended that we take radiation meds before we depart ”

In the time it took for the lieutenant to blink in response, the rustling in the bushes behind the Klingon exploded into a tapestry of crystal and dark leathery flesh as five creatures descended upon them, slicing and tearing with razor sharp blades, on their forearms, and diamond sharp teeth. The splashes of the Klingon’s fuschia blood decorated the creatures' crystal bodies in a darkly beautiful way. The Klingon hadn’t been angry, he’d been nervous. And he’d had his back turned to the pack of creatures.

Each creature's crystal protrusions shone in a different hue though all had dark leathery flesh visible between the strange shards that seemed to mimic feathers. The creatures stood one meter in height and at least three meters in length including a long spadetail, at the other end sharp rounded faces with milky quartz beaks stuck out even now stained with fuschia blood. The odd beings were already striking with how the sunlight glinted off of and refracted through their ‘feathers’, but the way they moved was all danger with abrupt jerky movements, ready to move in any direction with no warning.

The klingon jumped back from his attacker, bringing his staff round into a guard. While the man was a monk and maybe a bit of an academic, there was no way that a Klingon would ignore their combat skills, especially in a place as deadly as this. The aged man was still a strong and a potent warrior, even half blinded with cataracts and joints swollen and impinged from tumors and arthritis. His powerful strikes still fend off the swarming creatures. It took him a moment but he successfully dispatched one after a few swings, lodging the end of his staff down the creature's throat. The small spike on the end ramming through, protruding slightly from the back of the skull.

 Now that his weapon was encumbered by the dead creature the Klingon drew back his arm to send both towards the bushes in the hopes that the strange beasts take the bait and feast on the flesh of their fallen comrade rather than his own. With a titanic throw and a grunt of pain and fury Be’lah son of Tam’Bah threw the weighted staff and creature with a herculean strength.

 Even as several of the crystalline creatures pealed off to dash after the skeward creature a purple hued raptor darted in and took a chunk out Be'lah's mighty thighs bringing the warrior to his knees as swiftly as a lumberjack felling a sapling. The cry of pain and anger from the warrior paired with a shriek of triumph from the bloodied raptor.

Smiling with the grin of the insane Be’lah drew his knife from the hilt and rammed it through the skull of the creature, amethyst shards spraying from where the metal blade pierced the creature's skull. Invigorated by the rush of battle, even as his life spilled out onto the ground, Be’lah propped himself up on his good knee and fought like a demon from his weakened position, gesturing with his free hand towards the Mohs, beckoning the Starfleet crew out to aid him in his final battle!

Nara’s expression was shocked and appalled at the quick and bloody attack on their guide. If that man died

“We need to get out there and save our guide.”

Nara’s tone of voice was as level as it could be as she looked over to Asra, the look in her eyes and tone of her voice clearly meant to suggest a course of action. Nara knew how smart Asra was, and was more than able to give the necessary orders to the rest of the team.

Asra stood in shock for a moment as an arc of fuschia blood sprayed into the air “ Ensigns grab phaser rifles and get up here now!” Asra shouted, trying to keep her voice calm but unable to rid it of the shock entirely.

 “  Crewman I realize they’re noisy but use the sensors and get me anything on those life forms."   Even as she voiced the second order alien instincts gripped Asra leading her to grab the type-2 phaser from her rucksack and rush to a crouch next to the airlock.

Nara nodded at her orders and activated the passive scanner. It didn’t take long to get results back because there was very little to receive. Nara sighed, not getting anything in the Federation database about them. Apparently the Klingons hadn’t included these crystal raptors in any ecological report shared with the Federation or Starfleet.

“Nothing in the database on them. But we know that they're fast, deadly, and seem to be easy to kill. Also, they’re reading about the same as everything else here. Relatively high levels of radiation, crystalline/organic structure. I’m getting bounce back and refraction from all angles.”

With a shrug Nara looked back to the others, and frowned at the situation, awaiting orders.

Re: Raiders of the Lost Crystals | Day 06 [0917 Hours]

Reply #7 – February 16, 2022, 03:57:10 AM

[ Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Main Cabin, Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs | lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'noS]


Sarah nodded at the other woman's command, replicating three more doses just in case the radiation was a bit stronger than they were anticipating as often as unforeseen circumstances did as was their whimsy. A pair of trousers for herself and the science officer was replicated as well, should the science officer want the other pair- but she knew she certainly did. As it stood with the heat of the environment that they were trekking into, and with the possibility of her tricorder not working due to the atmosphere, she replicated a few more old fashioned bits of medical equipment and began to safely tuck them on her person and the inside of her thick, oversized lab coat. It was adding pounds to her already heavy rucksack, but there was a term she'd heard in the academy often- if you weren't smart, you were gonna be strong. And she supposed she was gonna be strong today.

Her attention was caught once more when Lieutenant Tek mentioned her by name again, her light green eyes flicking over towards the other woman as she was gestured to, inadvertently putting her on the spot. While it was certainly no time to be embarrassed, it was, if anything a good thing for people to know her on sight, seeing as she was both the only medic on this mission, as well as very new to the crew. She also inwardly applauded the dark-haired scientist on pronouncing her name correctly- it was few and far between that happened.

Once the anti-radiation pills and more canteens of water had been replicated, Sarah went around the room, one by one, and handed off the pills in small sachets to each of the accumulated officers before she too ripped open the sachet and swallowed the small, chalky pills, washing it down with a heavy gulp from her canteen. Water and medicine were of utmost importance, and honestly, she felt weighed down, but she did feel ready, and confidence was half the battle. With everyone seemingly sorted out, Sarah took out her PADD and began taking down a quick inventory as the others spoke amongst themselves.

It was only a few minutes later that screams and the rush of movement outside alerted the other women. They moved to the portside windows of the shuttle to catch a gaze of what was seemingly going on outside, and no sooner did they pull back, it was announced that all Ensigns needed to grab phasers. God's breath, were they under attack!? Sarah grimaced in mild terror and concern as she indeed grabbed a phaser and charged it on with a soft 'ping!' of energy. She would be dual-wielding both a phaser and medical care, so she thought it best to lay low and towards the back where she could get a better angle point to see where everyone would go once they deployed. She too stood at a standstill with her phaser at low-ready, awaiting orders.

Re: Day 06 [0917 Hours] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #8 – February 24, 2022, 10:28:20 PM

[ Ens. Jaya Thorne | Cockpit | Type-11 Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs ]

Jaya had taken care of swallowing down the anti-radiation meds handed out by  the cute blonde medical officer with a few quiet gulps of cold water. She neurotically patted her bag that was full of her hydration supplies and extra comm gear. There was nowhere for the gear in the bag to disappear from within the shuttle, but she had lived a life where if you were not careful, your things could disappear right out from under her nose.

The shuttle’s co-pilot had a great view of the sudden attack on their Klingon guides just meters away. The predators were both gorgeous and clearly quite lethal. She grabbed her phaser as she wondered if anything on  this thrice-damned planet was not actively trying to kill them. She slung her bag over her shoulder as she made way towards the main hatchway.

She thumbed her phaser’s setting to heavy stun. She was no brainiac science whiz, but she fully expected the crystalline nature of the nasty creature outside to somehow diminish with the effectiveness of their directed energy weapons. She got a vision of herself swatting at the monster with her bag with the desperate yet futile vigor of an old woman warding off a robber on grocery day.

Jaya hit the door release and started firing at the creature from the cover of the hatchway as soon as she was able.
“Watch your crossfire!”

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #9 – March 04, 2022, 01:35:15 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry, @Scavenger01, @redshift316, @Tae 

Daniel watched as their Klingon guide was attacked by the local fauna, he expected the Klingon to be able to hold his ground, living here he likely knew of the dangers of the island and was more than capable of dealing with them.  Daniel unholstered his pistol and switched it to power setting 5, he wanted to start out low just in case but from what he had seen a stun effect wouldn’t be worth it. 

These creatures while sentient were also a threat to their mission and Daniel wasn’t about to let them get in the way of him completing this mission.  “Move in, support our ally, lethal force authorized.”  He stated as he turned to looked at their medic.  “Ensign see to the Klingon.”  He added as he walked forward bringing his pistol up and taking aim, he fired several shots at the raptor, his first and second shots clipped the crystal protrusions and refracted off of it ricocheting into the ground, though his third shot slammed true into its flesh and burned the creature screaming out as it turned to the new attackers. 

“Bring it down.”  Daniel said as he switched his power setting again this time up to level 8.  “Aim for the flesh between the crystals.”  He added, he really hoped that at least some of them were better shots than he was assuming them to be.  He made sure to take the lead as he headed out the hatch, never ask your subordinates to do anything you weren’t willing to do as well, he could hear the Neo-ECON instructors drilling that lesson in the back of his mind.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #10 – March 15, 2022, 12:54:39 PM

[ Lt. Asra Tek |  Type-11 Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry @Tae @redshift316 @Havenborn

Asra ducked down in the entrance to the shuttlecraft as Daniel charged out and added her shots to the fusilade now being emitted from the Starfleet team. Asra was impressed as beams from both Daniel and Jaya started striking the softer flesh of the creatures, scoring deep impacts into their hides. Asra’s fire was much less effective as her abilities with phasers was well below the requirement to reliably hit the fleshy parts of the weird crystalline creatures.

As two of the creatures fell to the targeted fire now coming from the shuttle the remaining creatures in the area paused for a moment ,seeming in shock, as beady eyes took in the new information that their single easy target had mysteriously multiplied. The surviving being let out an almost ear piercing screech that grated across ear drums before leaping, in their jerky manner, back into the surrounding foliage.

Quickly ascertaining that the creatures seemed to have backed off for the moment Asra moved forwards slightly away from the airlock, to give the ensign space to easily exit the ship, and swung her phaser to check that there weren’t more of the creatures coming from the rear of the shuttle. When a scan of the foliage revealed nothing Asra holstered her phaser and pulled out a small canteen to  take the small chalky pills that had been distributed. After a quick grimace as she swallowed she drew her phaser again and backed up towards the injured klingon and the rest of the team.

" Seems to be clear for the moment. How is our guide doing?" A quick glance down showed an alarming amount of blood staining his clothes and the ground but Tek had never been a medic of any kind so she was reduced to waiting on an answer from the team's qualified professional. Even as she waited though Asra kept her phaser in a ready position and eyes scanning the treeline, even if she only had basic training with the weapon it was still normally effective at discouraging wildlife.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #11 – March 22, 2022, 12:26:17 AM

CM 1 Nara Nueva | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry @redshift316 @Scavenger01 @Havenborn


From the visible reaction to Daniel's well-placed shots, it was clear that hitting the flesh of the crystalline raptors was the right call. While beams that impacted the crystal feathers refracted off them and shattered the brilliant plumage without much damage to the creatures, hitting the flesh had the desired effect.

The first well-placed shot brought down one of the creatures on a shower of shattering crystal and a screech that echoed off of the strange flora surrounding the landing zone. The dying screech of the creature sent a sharp resonance through the exotic jungles of the shattered lands. The twin assault of Daniel and Jaya quickly drove off the remaining creatures, several of their bodies lying broken and cracked along the ground. Even now, the screeching cries of the animals echoed through the impossible forest as the predators retreated into the dense razor-sharp foliage.

While the creatures struck hard and with little warning, it was clear they could be driven off quickly, but who knew what other dangers the jungle held?

The Klingon guide was on the ground, still thrashing about with all of the fire of a warrior brought down from a surprising foe. The aged, cancerous man poised on a knee gesturing incoherently in the direction the creatures had fled. His violet blood flowing through the fingers clamped around his neck and from numerous other wounds caused by the strange plumage and the teeth of the raptors.

Nara stood by and popped her medication from Sarah, and the tall redhead hadn't managed to get more than one or two shots off. Her eyes narrowed to slits as she surveyed the jungle. She cast a look over to Asra, shaking her head slightly before she finally spoke again.

"Didn't we just run this program yesterday?"

Her words were dry and mirthless as she pulled a tricorder out to scan the surrounding area and saw exactly what she'd feared. The Scientist took a minute or two to attempt to calibrate the scanning protocols of the device, and after a few minutes, she'd managed to hit on something worthwhile. Despite the situation they'd found themselves in, a smile still forced its way onto her face.

"I think I've managed to make the scanning function of the tricorders work at a range between ten and twenty meters. It isn't much, and with as fast as those creatures move, it isn't much warning, but it's better than nothing."

Then with a shrug, she walked over to Asra to show her direct superior the scanning protocol that she'd managed to work out. Nara had trusted that Sarah would be able to stabilize their guide, and she'd assist if necessary, but in case their local guide fell, they did need a backup method of navigation at the very least.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #12 – April 11, 2022, 06:34:42 AM

[ Ensign Sarah Bjørge | Main Cabin, Shuttlecraft Friedrich Mohs | lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'noS]


Sarah watched with a cautious gaze as Asra, Nara, and the other assembled landing crew made massive, cleaving shots into the crystalline sides and heads of the raptor-like beings. She herself had not made a shot, still white-knuckle clutching her phaser like it might slip out her hands and slither off, but really, most of the fighting had been done before she had even set foot off the shuttle- the crystalline raptors already fading from view by the time it was her time to shine. Though, even if they were gone from sight, the awful clicking and growling they made seemed to be coming from just behind the dense brush. There could be more, and easily close by, she would need to work fast. At Daniels' orders to see to the Klingon once the most immediate danger had been cleared, she nodded and gave a pert "Aye, sir!" In response, her shyness all but disappeared now that she was getting ready to work. The small blonde took a subtle inhale as she repositioned herself, ready to scrap and run into the fray to save their heavily bleeding Klingon guide, all the more emboldened by the fact she knew the other crew would have eyes on her six, and hell, her twelve, nine, and three as well! All but holding her breath, she took a leap off of the shuttle with a light thump of her boots against the metal of the landing ramp and darted into a sprint towards the still babbling, cursing Klingon, her long, blonde braid trailing behind her as she ran. With her phaser at low ready, her finger trained into position outside the trigger ring, she rushed to the Klingons' aid with surprising swiftness as she swept to her knees beside him with a soft slide that surely scrapped her knees in her great haste before re-holstering her weapon and unclipping her tricorder to begin analysing where the worst wounds sat and how much blood he had lost. Bite wounds were notorious for being bacteria ridden, but there was little telling what sort of saliva-based pathogens these monsters might be carrying- it was best to use full universal precautions.

"Sir, I am a medical officer with Starfleet! You must hold still!"

But that was a tall order for heavily bleeding, injured, a pride-stricken Klingon, much less him being a large, adult male atop that- his striking power, even injured, more than enough to injure or kill her with a forceful enough blow.  She now not only had to be cautious with the biohazard he posed, but he himself was a danger if she were not careful. Unstrapping her medical kit, or 'ouch pouch' as a friend had once called it, she rifled into one of the pockets to fetch a hypospray, though she ultimately grabbed a handful and stuck the excess into the pockets of her uniform dress. The end of the hypospray was dutifully dosed with tranexamic acid to lessen the chance that their guide would make a wrong move and hemorrhage from the wide, gaping wounds he sported- the hypospray being delivered quickly with nothing more than a hiss of compressed air being his only warning as she jabbed him with the possibly life-saving dose.

"I have a good feeling he will recover from this, Lieutenant!" Sarah called in response to Lt. Teks' question, her words a touch muffled as she bit onto the end of a gauze wrapper and tore it open with her free hand, dutifully pressing and holding the thick, fluffy substance to the side of her patients' neck to staunch the bleeding until the medicine began to take effect. Pulling one hand away, she expertly pulled another hypospray from her pocket and dosed with a heavy pain reliever, enough ro take the sharp, vying edge off but still allow him the mental cognizance to guide them once he was mostly healed of his injuries. She'd bet the farm she was not going to get to heal him to his full, former self.

"The pain medicine should be mixing in, how are you feeling? Do you hurt? Do you feel sick?" A stupid question if there ever was one, even she knew Klingons well enough that her even asking was a personal offront to him, and that she would likely need to apologize later.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #13 – May 28, 2022, 10:12:41 PM

Jaya Thorne set up a defensive position while the cute blonde medical person tried to treat her impossibly iracsible patient. She wasn’t sure what their team’s timeline was in terms of getting the job done, she was just the bus driver. But now she was acting as a security officer.

The brunette pilot looked around for the team leader.
“I think we’re clear of the crystalline raptor beasts, at least for now. There could be a few hundred of them hiding just out of sight.”

Jaya wiped her forehead of the sweat with the sleeve of her uniform. Damn, this place was hot. She did not want to break out the water already. They were still within spitting distance of the shuttle. But a drink would sure be handy right about now. She sighed as she cracked open one of the water pouches she was carrying and took a swig of the cool drink. It did seem to help, even if only for a moment. She resealed the pouch and put it away.

“All right, away team, time to rally. Who has their tricorder so we can get back on task. The clock is ticking, we need to get the crystals back to the ship. Let’s get to work!”

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #14 – June 03, 2022, 11:14:33 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry, @redshift316, @Tae 

Daniel kept a close watch on the area keeping his weapon at the ready just in case the crystalline raptors returned.  He listened to the banter between the other crew members as he focused on the situation at hand, hearing the young blonde Ensign report that their guide was going to survive was good to hear, as much as he didn’t like the Klingons at the current moment he needed to rely on their guide to get them through the crystal jungle and to the mining outpost.  He looked over at the crewman who reported about the tricorder acting as an early warning system and nodded.  “Better than nothing.”  He said to her as he holstered his pistol and walked over to their guide.

The wounded Klingon monk glared at the Starfleet woman who had managed to heal his wounds, he understood that Starfleet cared about his pain but to him he was glad of it, that pain made him feel alive, he wasn’t a young warrior anymore and having that pain made him feel almost young again.  “I live for this pain Starfleet.”  He said as he slowly but surely stood up, grunting with concentrated effort as he stood to face Daniel, it wouldn’t do for a Klingon to look weak in front of these Humans.  “You must be the one in charge, I am Klydren.  The Chancellor informed me of your arrival and I will escort you to the outpost, but you should be aware that inside the outpost are dangerous members of our order, fanatics that have come to revere the crystals.  You will have to deal with them if you want the benamite.”  He said.

Daniel considered the information their guide gave them.  “If they threaten our party, we will do what we must to subdue them, I trust that is not going to be a problem?”  He asked the Klingon monk.  Daniel would order the away team to set their phasers on stun once they arrived at the outpost, he’d only order lethal force if absolutely necessary.  “Do what you must Starfleet, I care not what happens to those who have lost their way and worship the crystals in the mine.”  He said.  “Now we need to move, the raptors will hunt us until we reach the outpost.”  He added as Daniel nodded.  “Understood.”  Daniel said as he motioned for the away team to form up.  “Everyone keep an eye out for the raptors.”  He added.

The Klingon monk led them through the crystalline jungle, their path was a patchwork of crystal stones that twisted through the jungle seemingly at random, but Daniel assumed that the path was likely that way because of whatever belief the monks held.  Daniel had kept in step with the Klingon monk as they walked the path.  They had been walking for the better part of an hour and thankfully the raptors hadn’t attempted to attack them again, though they could definitely be heard out in the wilderness, likely stalking them.  “Not much further to the outpost now.”  Kyldren said as he continued to lead the group through the jungle, smoke in the distance could be seen as the Klingon monk looked up at it and smiled.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #15 – June 13, 2022, 03:55:09 AM

CM 1 Nara Nueva and Lt Asra Tek | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry @redshift316  @Havenborn

Asra and Nara were more than happy to use their tricorders and eyes to watch the crystalline jungle as the group trudged slowly through the brilliant foliage and terrain. The warm oppressive air of the island brought both women to the point of drenching their uniforms with sweat within the first half Kilometer. The humidity did it, the air so thick that you could nearly drink it, and that drink was a scalding soup that ran heavily down your throat and got caught in your lungs.

Asra, for one, looked on jealously to Daniel as he tromped along in his Exosuit, saved from the perspiration coating her and the island's climate. Asra looked forlornly over to Nara, her bangs flopped wetly over her brows, requiring constant adjustment from the Trill. She glanced at Nara, who was walking tall and poised, despite the blood running freely from where the crystal fronds of 'plants' had sliced into her legs. How her friend could deal with that without complaint was beyond her, though.

Nara was annoyed that she hadn't worn pants today and was silently wishing for a dermal regenerator, and a shower, with actual water, not just the sonic shower she had access to as a crewman. At least there hadn't been any more raptors darting out at them. The forest had grown quiet as they'd walked. That could be due to the site they were heading towards up ahead, which was drawing near. It could be that, but something made the hair on the back of her neck prick up.

The sound wasn't a screech or a roar, nothing you'd see in a movie or a holo-novel. This was something different. A wave of infrasound rumbled through the forest, creating a harmonic trilling from the foliage that pierced the air with a chorus of painful music. A rumble of thunder followed as the wave of sound hit the away team, felt more than heard, setting bones vibrating and teeth-rattling.

Kyldren's eyes went wide, and he spat a curse, and some blood, to the ground.
"That is the Hatlh, the death bringer. You all must run! We still have three kellicams to the outpost. Run, I will hold it off!"

And proclaimed his intent, the Klingon began to limp back in the direction they'd come, towards the Hatlh, leaving the away team to react to his not especially speedy departure.

In a shared moment of insane camaraderie, Asra and Nara giggle, and both have the same explanation as they both bolt towards the outpost, the shared voices of both women rising on the oppressive air. The reference to the shared holodeck experience from a few days earlier was likely lost on the others. But at least this time, they weren't running uphill away from an angry T-rex! Hopefully, this time there wouldn't be blowguns waiting for them.

"To the temple of Kadam!"


Hatlh = death bringer

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #16 – June 27, 2022, 10:34:45 PM

Ens. Sarah Bjørge | lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'noS] [Show/Hide]

Attn: @Havenborn @Scavenger01 @Tae @redshift316


The sheer amount of terror that ripped through Sarah at the near painfully high trill was enough to make her deaf as her heartbeat exploded into her ears, adrenaline surging her, encouraging her to run faster, to keep the group in her sights, and to block out all other distractions. But as it would happen, she watched with abject horror as the Klingon she'd just healed to the best of her ability within the field had clambered up and gone the opposite direction of safety. He called out to them with a thick, gurgly voice to go ahead and go without him so that he, a still heavily-injured Klingon, would 'hold off' something called a 'death bringer.' That sounded objectively like a death warrant, and one she was apt to intervene on if she had much of a choice. As he turned heel and ambled off towards the terrifyingly shrill trill that bounced off the crystalline-like forest around them, Sarah stumbled to a stop from her run to look back behind her as their Klingon guide rushed into the dense vitreous branches.

"Wait wait wait, stop! Stop! We need you!" She cried out in panicked shriek to the bloody guide, but it fell on deaf, arrogant ears as he trudged forth. She swallowed tightly as her head snapped back to the direction of her quickly disappearing crewmates to see if they would help her snatch back their only guide.. but obviously, they felt confident enough to run this terrain alone as the sounds of their footfalls began to fade into the distance. It was with a heavy heart and quickly spiking fear from the sound of a loud, wet crunch, a scream, and then nothing..absolute silence.. that could be heard in the forested distance did she give up on trying to lure their guide back. With a shuddery huff, she turned heel with great haste and purpose and began a swift run, leading up the caboose of the ground team. She hadn't wanted to let him die- but she would not die as well for his foolishness.

The temple was in sight, most of the ground crew already inside or almost there. Leading up the back, she panted softly as she waved at the tall brunette pilot she'd met briefly aboard. Havenborn- that was his name, the team lead. "Something- I think whatever the Hatlh is, I think it got our guide, sir!"

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #17 – July 28, 2022, 07:28:51 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn & ENS Jaya Thorne | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry, @Tae 

Daniel watched as their guide took off towards whatever creature was following them, then watched as Lieutenant Tek and Crewman Nueva took off running towards the outpost shouting something about a temple as they went and they seemed as if they were excited about it which was very odd to him.  “Keep up Ensign.”  He called back to the young blonde woman as he followed after the other two, keeping pace with them but not overtaking them, he was also making sure that if any more raptors arrived he could be ready for them.

Daniel turned to Ensign Thorne.  “Cover Ensign Bjorge.”  He said as Jaya nodded and kept pace with the other Ensign, her rifle steady in her hands as she watched as the other two women charged forward.  It didn’t take them long at the running pace they had made to finally reach the outpost and as they arrived Daniel walked over to Lieutenant Tek and Crewman Nueva.  “I assume you two have a good explanation for why you charged forward without regard to our situation?”  Daniel said to them, as he took a quick head count and it seemed that Ensigns Bjorge and Thorne had fallen a little behind but they were in sight and closing on the outpost.  He turned his attention back to the two women he just addressed and waited for an explanation from them.  This area wasn’t safe, this wasn’t the holodeck, this was life and death and they’d already lost their guide the last thing he needed was to lose two crewmen because of their stupidity and not acting like professionals on an away mission.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #18 – July 28, 2022, 09:11:42 PM

CM 1 Nara Nueva and Lt Asra Tek | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'nos ] Attn: @SarahBerry   @Havenborn

Nara wasn't out of breath after the run to the complex. For the athletic crewman, even in this weather, the run of a kilometer or so was minor exertion, even if her legs had picked up new cuts from the razor-sharp foliage. Though sweat poured over her body, this had been a brisk and terror filled f;ight thats he'd remember forever. She was glad that her humor had helped pull Asra through the escape form the creature.

Asra was bent over dry, heaving, red as a beet, and panting heavily. She gave Daniel a sidelong glance, and unwilling to engage with the Pilot, she simply pulled out her tricorder and began scanning for benemite signatures. The run had been terrifying, and only being with Nara had made it, so she'd completed it intact. She frowned, intentionally turning her back on daniel attending to her work.

This left Nara to deal with Daniel. She narrowed her eyes and stepped close to the man. While not quite as tall as Daniel, the two mainly were physically eye to eye. she spoke with her voice lowered and cool. "Apologies Sir." The word 'sir' spat like a curse, so much vitriol laid on that syllable that it threatened to cover his faceplate with slime."

"But sometimes, you face terror with laughter. Right now, we have more important things to do. We can talk psychology later ok?" Sure, Nara had been a little insubordinate, but she was busted down nearly as far as she could go, and this mission was already going bad. Sure there were some nasty parallels to the holodeck program she'd run with Asra previously. Right now though, they needed to find the crystals they were here for.

"Lieutenant uhm.. I think we need to go down a few hundred meters into the com...." And it was then that Asra finally looked up at the temple complex in front of them. The signs of mining and archaeological digs all around, but the building itself was carved from Obsidian, standing proud and stygian in the daylight. Light glinted off the razor edges and carvings of the structure. Bas relief sculptures etched deeply into the volcanic stone depicted Klingon warriors in a great battle, one that seemed to culminate with the death and defeat of the Hur'q. The 'temple' was a storied edifice that had been carved from a blasted wasteland. No sign of any real construction on the surface, but this place's ceremonial decor was clear to anyone who looked. Asra's words completely failed her as her tricorder bleeped and scanned. But there was one thing missing from this scene, their welcoming comittee. There were no monks, or whatever they were. The lands stood silent and calm, the only sound the faint crystalline music wafting through the trees.

This place was a ghost town; why? The one saving grace was that the clearing next to the temple entrance was large enough to land a shuttle if they didn't mind crashing through the canopy of trees.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #19 – August 25, 2022, 09:00:54 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn & ENS Jaya Thorne & ENS Sarah Bjorge | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'Nos ] Attn: @Tae 

Daniel looked at Nara as Asra stepped away to take scans, considering the dangerous situation they found themselves in Daniel couldn’t really understand how they were being so cavalier about it.  “I’ll be making a note of your conduct in this situation in my report.”  Daniel said, he was about to add some more when the Lieutenant Tek spoke up, hearing her trail off however sparked Daniel’s interest.  He looked up at her then noticed that she was looking around at the entrance to the outpost and how deserted it was.  He wasn’t sure where the other monks were but they had been warned about the fanatical zealots that worshipped the benamite crystals.  He looked around at the other women as he began to move towards the entrance of the outpost.  Sarah and Jaya followed behind him as they looked around at the stone sculptures.  ”Where do you think the other monks are?”  She asked to no one in particular as she kept her rifle at the ready.

Daniel slowly unholstered his pistol and readied it but said nothing for the moment, his forearm PADD was relaying information to him giving him options of what lay ahead.  "Let's move in and see if we can find what happened to monks and collect the Benamite with as little trouble as possible."  Daniel said, it wasn't that he didn't want to fight but this mission had a lot riding on it and he wanted to make sure they completed it and everyone got back alive.  ”I’ll take point.”  Jaya said and started moving forward her rifle at the ready.  Daniel nodded at her and turned to Sarah.  “Ensign Bjorge, keep close to me in case we run into any wounded.”  He said as he looked towards Asra and Nara.  “Lieutenant, Crewman, keep close as well, there’s no telling what lies in store for us inside.”.  The entrance of the outpost was an long corridor that had a handful of shorter corridors that led to small rooms with bedrolls and blankets made of animal hide, there were at least a dozen of the bedrolls which Daniel assumed meant that there should be at least a dozen or so monks, the fact that none of them had been near the entrance was worrying.  Sarah kept her pace with Daniel as she looked around wondering where the monks had gone, maybe the zealots they had been warned about had killed them but then why didn't they see signs of struggle.

Jaya led the way then stopped as she found a three-way intersection, one corridor continued in front of them while another branched out slightly to the left and another slightly to the right.  As Daniel and Sarah caught up he took a moment to inspect each corridor then looked over at the two science personnel.  “Lieutenant Tek, can you pinpoint the direction of the Benamite?”  He asked as he suddenly watched as Sarah startled a bit and he turned towards her.  “What is it Ensign?”  He asked her.  She shook her head.  “I don’t know, thought I saw the shadows move down the right side corridor.”  She said as Daniel looked down the corridor she indicated his HUD lighting up the corridor but he saw nothing.  That didn’t mean that something hadn’t been there, they didn’t know the terrain after all and there could be hidden doors all over the place.  “Keep an eye on it.”  He said to her as she nodded and Daniel turned his attention back to Asra, he was about to ask her for results when a disruptor bolt sparked off of the corridor wall next to him he suddenly heard phaser fire from Sarah next to him as she had pulled her phaser and opened fire on something.  ”Klingon at the end of the corridor!”  She yelled to the others as Jaya turned and loosed a burst of phaser fire down the corridor towards their unknown aggressor.

”Take cover!”  Daniel said as he knelt down in front of Sarah, letting her fire above him, making himself a smaller target but also able to brace his sidearm and fire more accurately.  Return fire began to come from the other end of the corridor and Daniel identified three targets, his HUD’s low-light vision mode allowed him to see that these in fact were not the missing monks but Klingons with House Mokai heraldry.  Jaya called out that one of the Klingons was making a push forward and Daniel lined up a shot firing a salvo of phaser fire that clipped the Klingon in his arm, he ducked into cover as Sarah and Jaya continued firing.  “They’re House Mokai!”  Daniel called out to the others to let them know.  Hearing Asra call out that the signal for the crystals was coming from the left side corridor Daniel nodded at her and motioned for her and Nara to go.  “Retrieve the benamite, we’ll hold off the Klingons.”  He said as he fired another salvo of phaser fire down the corridor to keep the Klingons from trying another push.

Re: Day 06 [0917 hrs.] Raiders of the Lost Crystals

Reply #20 – November 26, 2022, 07:52:32 AM

[ LT Daniel Havenborn & ENS Jaya Thorne & ENS Sarah Bjorge & LT Asra Tek & CM1 Nara Nueva | Lenglu'taHlu'bogh | Qo'Nos ] Attn: N/A

The firefight between the three Starfleet officers and the agents of House Mokai continued for what seemed like hours to Sarah though only a handful a seconds had passed in reality.  Daniel and Jaya had taken down two Klingons so far but it seemed like there were still three more, at least there were three disruptor flashes from the end of the corridor, for all she knew a hundred Klingons could be down there just waiting to replace their fallen comrades though she doubted that as she continued to lay down phaser fire.

Daniel had burned through one power cell but thankfully he had a handful left, as long as the Klingons acted predictably that was, he expected a last ditch charge at any moment here since he and Jaya had downed two of their number already.  He’d heard Lieutenant Tek confirm his order to find the benamite, he only hoped that they’d be fast about it.  ”Incoming!”  Jaya yelled as one of the Klingons had drawn a Bat’leth and was charging down the corridor.  Daniel took aim with his pistol, amped up the setting to maximum and fired a single blast that bored a hole through the charging Klingon.  “Cover me.”  He called out as he ducked into cover to reload his pistol, he had burned through the entire power cell in one shot to stop the charging Klingon who lay several feet away from their position.

Nara and Asra headed towards the left side corridor, both of them had their phasers at the ready as they walked carefully down the corridor, Asra’s tricorder was still pinging the benamite crystals at the end of the corridor.  The sudden reality of the firefight had caused them both to realize how grave the situation was and whatever fun they were having was gone, now it was time to get down to business and focus at the task at hand.

They could hear the sounds of the firefight echoing from the other corridor as they suddenly came upon a large room, the benamite crystals were arranged in the center of the room like they were on an altar, two bodies lay on the floor.  Asra motioned for Nara to check them out.  Nara looked them over quickly, noticing that they had multiple stab wounds.  “Dead, killed by blades.”  She said as Asra began to collect the crystals from the altar, it didn’t take her long to collect them.  ”I got the crystals.  Let’s go.”  Asra said as she turned around and with Nara headed back the way they came.

The two women could hear the sounds of weapons fire the closer they got to their comrades.  As soon as they were in view Sarah called them out.  “They’re back Lieutenant!”  She said as Daniel took cover for a moment to look at the two science personnel.  He waved the other two over.  “I’ll provide covering fire here while you four withdraw to the main entrance to provide me covering fire.”  He said, all four of them nodded and once Daniel had loaded a fresh power cell into his pistol he turned back towards the corridor and fired salvo after salvo down it while the four women moved towards the entrance.

It didn’t take the four women very long to get back to the entrance, Jaya and Nara had taken firing positions while Asra stood near the back making sure the crystals were protected.  Sarah tapped her combadge to alert their fighter pilot that they had arrived and were in position.  Daniel waited for a minute and when he heard the distinctive chirp of his combadge he knew the other four were in position.  He let loose another salvo from his pistol then withdrew from his position, thankfully he was covered by the way the corridors had been designed and it’d likely take a minute before the Mokai agents realized what had happened giving him the time he needed to make it back to the others.

Just as Daniel regrouped with the four women they all heard a roar come from the jungle, Daniel thought it was one of the creatures at first but a moment later a very heavily wounded Klingon, Klydren their guide, burst through the foliage running towards the outpost.  He approached Daniel and as Ensign Bjorge attempted to move to help him he brushed her aside.  “Where are the Mokai aggressors?”  He asked.  Daniel pointed to the inside of the outpost.  “They’ll be coming from that way in a moment, we were ambushed by them but we have retrieved the crystals.”  Daniel stated.  Klydren nodded and from behind him pulled a broken bat’leth out.  “Get your people back to your ship, I will avenge my brothers and join them once my work is complete.  You won’t want to be here when I do.”  He said looking into Daniel’s eyes.  Daniel nodded, understanding the Klingon's intent and motioned for the ladies to head back to the shuttle.  “What about the creatures in the jungle?”  Sarah asked.  Klydren looked at her and smiled.  “They won’t be giving you anymore trouble, I killed their alpha and then found the Mokai and their ship nearby.  Now go, I have work to do.”  He said as he started to make his way towards the corridor.

As Daniel and the four women were moving away at a quick pace they heard a large roar and the sound of disruptor fire followed by screams of agony.  While Daniel didn’t like Klingons he had to admit that their guide had been very honorable and a hardened warrior.  He could respect a man like that.  It took them almost as long to get back to the shuttle as it had taken them to get to the outpost but once they arrived they got onboard, Daniel and Jaya moving to the pilot the shuttle while Sarah, Asra and Nara took seats nearby.  Asra holding onto the bag of crystals tightly as she would a child.  Daniel skipped the pre-flight normally done and once he had input a series of codes the shuttle began to lift off and after a few moments their course was plotted back to the Theurgy with the benamite crystals.

The shuttle’s sensors immediately began to chirp as Nara looked over the readings.  ”Lieutenants, sensors are detecting a massive energy buildup coming from the island.”  Nara said as Asra looked at her and nodded.  “Put the island on screen.”  She said as the younger woman acknowledged and the island suddenly appeared on one of the shuttle’s screens.  Suddenly a bright explosion where the outpost used to be appeared followed by an energy surge that hit the shuttle but thankfully the shields took the brunt of the energy.  When the explosion settled there was nothing but a large crater, at least a kilometer across where the outpost had been.  ”It seems that Klydren has avenged his brothers.”  He said as the other four women nodded in agreement and settled in for the flight back to the Theurgy.

~ FIN