Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻

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Toby nodded.
“Good thinking Cadet, we need something to keep us on track.”

Without waiting for reply, he crouched and set a small transponder into the soil, the device humming to life. “Beacon deployed. Baseline established. We’ll see if the readings shift.”

The forest seemed to exhale — the mist drifting closer, heavy and watching. Morrell adjusted his stance, stepping subtly between the XO and the treeline, his eyes scanning every shadow.

“Feels like this ground’s trying to separate us,” he muttered under his breath. “We hold the line, stay sharp.”

Cadet John Morrell, Security

OOC: Great posts! Just be careful not to put words into another characters mouth persay. We want them to be able to take their own actions, and you react to them. Then again, maybe you are seeing things in the forest yourself. ;-)

Capt Foley - CO

OOC: Acknowledged, Sir. Will pay closer attention moving forward.

Cadet John Morrell, Security

OOC: remember you have to take action, not just think about it or make suggestions. Someone actually has to proceed to a location (more than a single step).

Mr Centauri GM extraordinaire

Chris watched as Morrell put down the transponder

“While i appreciate the diligence, we should pick up the pace, the doctor could be in real trouble, and for that matter the more we linger here , the more danger we could be in”

Chris said, walking once again towards the lake, now at a quicker pace than before confident that Morrel was vigilant.

Cadet Chris Taylor
Security

Morrell’s head snapped up as Taylor moved ahead — but something was wrong. The Commander, who had been right beside them only seconds before, was gone. No sound, no shimmer, not even a breath of movement where he’d been standing. Just empty mist.

“XO?” Morrell called out, scanning the treeline. Nothing. He flipped open his tricorder — interference. The readings were scrambled beyond use.

He looked toward Taylor. “Th’kylret’s gone. No visual, no trace. We keep moving, but we do it by the numbers.” His tone stayed calm, controlled. “You take point. Maintain five-meter spacing. Eyes open, safety off.”

He adjusted his grip on his phaser rifle and shifted back into rear security, every step deliberate. The fog pressed tighter, muting sound and distorting distance. Each rustle or flicker of shadow at the edge of vision set his instincts on edge — the kind of pressure that made men twitchy, or worse.

He kept his focus split, eyes tracking Taylor ahead while checking their six every few seconds. The terrain underfoot seemed to shift slightly, like the ground itself was alive, trying to push them apart.

“Stay sharp,” he said quietly into the comm channel. “Whatever this place is… it’s not just forest.”

The two continued forward, the fog swallowing the sound of their boots — leaving only the pulse of their own breathing and the sense that something unseen was pacing them just out of sight.

At that moment Toby cleared his throat loudly behind John arms folded and his eyes narrowed as he stared icily at the Cadet.
“Cadet, please keep your eyes open. I haven’t vanished. We might need to get your eyes tested when we’re back on the ship. Keep focused, both of you. Let’s see what’s at this lake. Cadet Taylor please lead on. Cadet Morrell, keep an eye behind us.” He ordered, doing his best to remain calm.

OOC: XO has vanished mid-scene; Morrell follows Taylor as he takes point while assuming rear guard. Proceeding toward the lake under heavy environmental interference and rising tension.

OOC: I’m not gone. Please don’t assume someone has vanished without checking, thanks.

Commander Atob “Toby” Th’kylret (XO)

“Sorry sir, it must be this forest.”, Morrell stops and takes a knee to clear his head. “Join Starfleet They Say, Travel The Galaxy They Say, Visit Far Away Planets with Exciting New Species They Say”. He shakes his head and stands ready to move.

“Sir, if I may, I’d like you in-between Taylor and myself, I’ll take rear security, 3 meters apart”.

Cadet John Morrell, Security

Toby nodded, stepping infront of John.
“Eyes sharpe, I don’t want us to get caught unawares.” Toby stated looking in all directions.

The deep underbrush, noises and animals scurrying around them did not help. It took almost an hour to get to the lake, but soon there it was, around 200 meters in diameter and deep it extended down sharply almost 10 decks , there was no telling what lie within. near the end of the lake they could make out a large stone cave. The water rippled lightly as they stood there, and then it was like glass.

Mr Centauri GM extraordinaire

Chris immediately got his tricorder out and started scanning, the area was quite beautiful and under normal circumstances they might be able to sit back and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place but alas they had to find the CMO, that’s what they were here for.

“I’m just scanning now but it seems the way forward would be through that cave”, he said to the group indicating towards where the cave lay

Cadet Chris Taylor
Security

Morrell kept his rifle tight to his shoulder as they broke through the last line of brush. The lake lay still — too still. No breeze, no ripples, just a flat sheet of black glass watching them back.

“Taylor, good call,” he said, moving up on the XO’s right flank while maintaining proper spacing. He swept the treeline, then the cave mouth. “Entrance is the only viable route. Visibility’s poor inside — recommend slow advance, staggered formation.”

He stepped to rear guard again, eyes never leaving the shadows.
“On you, Taylor. XO, I’ve got our six.”

Cadet John Morrell, Security

Toby looked around eyes narrowed at the cave entrance.
“Let’s see what the scan results say before proceeding. We’ll want to definitely make sure the Doctor is in there before heading in.” Toby stated waiting for the results. He hoped they wouldn’t be too long in the forest, it was starting to get a bit claustrophobic.

Commander Atob “Toby” Th’kylret (XO)

=/\=Rox to Th’kylret. Talara says you are near the cave in the forest. You must NOT go in there. The creature I warned of is in there. We are no where near the forest or the cave. We are three decks below you and on the opposite side of the forest from that cave. You need to move away from the cave. 600 meters aft and there will be a maintenance shaft, we are three decks below.=/\=

Lt. Rox, Chief Medical Officer

Toby had his eyes narrowed and was looking around for any threats when the comm came through.
=^= Thank you Rox, we’ll head there now. =^= Toby turned to Taylor and Morrell.
“We should see a maintenance shaft, 600 metres aft, let’s go.” He touched Taylor on the shoulder.
“Let’s go Taylor, we need to stay away from this cave.” He stated .

Commander Atob “Toby” Th’kylret (XO)

“Aye Sir” it was a good thing that the Doctor’s call came in when it did, the away team was about to make a monumental mistake by walking into that cave even if it was unknown what they would have faced.

“I can’t believe i almost led us into the lions den”

he said out loud as he made his way to look for the maintenance shaft.

Cadet Chris Taylor
Security