~snip~

“Okay, here’s the plan,” she began, her voice carrying authority and determination. “We’ll break up into two teams. One team will stay with the shuttle and set up camp, while the other will accompany me. We’ll explore approximately 16 kilometers from the shuttle, then return to analyze any data and samples we collect upon our return to camp. Any questions?” When no one immediately responded, she said, “Good. This should be a fairly routine mission. Let’s get started.” She looked at the science Ensign and said, “You have anything to report?”

Mac joined Davis in setting up Camp. She was looking forward to hearing the rest of the story of his past once the camp was complete.

That was then, right now; Mac was torn between turning around to try and see where Jackson had gone, in the scrambled, scattered run from the shuttle, as it was being freaking eaten by the biggest worm that she’d ever seen, and trying to figure out where the Captain was.

As for the gigantic worm, it sort of reminded her of the description of the great worms from the story Dune. She glanced at officer NE Biggs. “Are ye ready to run or better yet climb since the ground level is no’ friend to us here?

Biggs was taller than she was even with the exo- suits, though anyone over 5’2” would tower above her 4’11” stature.

She hadn’t said anything during the shuttle ride down as she had promised the Captain to not annoy their pilot, it never bothered her for a bumpy ride, but the pilot had made a perfect smooth landing of the shuttle to make up for it. Nor when the worm chopped the shuttle. She’d said some spectacularly viscous cursing when it ate Davis though. She had played poker with Davis just a few days ago, and had promised them a lesson in parkour after the away mission.

“Lead the way Lt Kindle and sorry about the ‘Hey Red don’t get sunburnt’ comment.” NE Biggs said with a huff as he got ready to follow the petite, funny red head that had only recently joined the crew. Once it wasn’t deadly he was actually looking forward to her sassy account of what she thought of the situation.

Mac and Biggs started running again and found a bit of cliff side to climb up; the rumbling of the ground beneath them was a good motivator to move quickly, and they had narrowly gotten a fair distance when the worm surfaced, almost snapping at their heels.

“Worms that big the fish around must be bigger than moons.” Mac said as they found a decent spot to stand on and watch as the worm turned away from the cliff side in search of their other crew mates.

Biggs snorted out a laugh and shook his head. “Yeah well I am not going fishing any time soon.”

They both looked at each other and sighed Davis would have had another witty come-back for that too. Mac quietly hoped that the worm that ate Davis got serious indigestion and other complications from his exo-suit, phaser. If they were really lucky maybe it would drop dead from ‘food poisoning’.

Kindle, RTF lead (sassy comebacks inbound)

Iphigenia activated her communicator, =^=Levi, come in! Any word on those transporters?=^= However, all that greeted her ears was a burst of static, likely due to interference. “Damn it,” she muttered, resisting the urge to throw the communicator to the ground. Instead, she reasoned they might be in a poor signal area. “Okay, I think we should…” Before she could complete her sentence, Lieutenant Kindle and NE Biggs appeared, climbing up the cliff that wasn’t too far from them.

“By the moon and stars!” Iphigenia yelled over to them, relief evident on her face. “Lieutenant Kindle! NE Biggs! I thought you two were gone when those creatures took out the shuttle!” Despite the dire situation, a smile crept onto her face. “It seems we’ve lost contact with the Leviathan, and I don’t know how much longer we can cling to this cliff. Our only hope is if the crew on the ship can figure out a way to beam us up.” Iphigenia didn’t want to lose hope; she trusted Commander Loughty to find a solution.

Mac spun and looked at the Captain and her face broke into a cheeky grin, “Hell’s bells Captain good to see you’re okay, that Ruuk with ye as well?” from her vantage point she didn’t see the science officer on the ground at their feet but Biggs could.

As the Xenobiologist, NE Sumnter, regained consciousness, Iphigenia turned her attention to her. “It’s great of you to join us, Sumnter. We had to carry you a great distance while escaping from man-eating alien worms. I advise you not to pass out again.” Iphigenia’s tone carried annoyance; after all, Sumnter was a Xenobiologist, and fainting at the sight of an alien worm seemed unbecoming. She made a mental note to address the quality of officers assigned to her ship with Starfleet.

Sumnter dropped her head and said, “I apologize Captain… I…uh..it’s jus....”

“Nevermind,” said Iphigenia cutting her off, “we have more pressing issues to worry about, like how to get off this planet.”

Captain Henao
(Commanding Officer)

OOC: mention of real fears below if any applies to you consider yourself forewarned.

IC:

NE Biggs waved to the Captain, “Don’t be too hard on Sumnter Captain, Scoleciphobia ((OOC: link for it https://www.abct.org/featured-articles/scoleciphobia/ )) is a real fear and everyone is scared of something.” he glanced at Mac who was glaring daggers at him, she would NOT forgive if he bellowed out what she had grudging muttered to his question about what scared her. “Me it’s leporiphobia, fear of rabbits. Don’t ask why right now please and thank you, ma’am.”

Mac frowned hissing, “Damn ye,” at Biggs before she gave a slow shake of her head, “Arachnophobia deathly allergic to their bites too.” Mac said so the Captain could hear her, she didn’t like saying the word either since she KNEW what is meant, she couldn’t help the shudder as she said it, she made herself stand still and look back at the Captain, wondering if she was going to find herself with new transfer orders because she told the Captain she was afraid of and deathly allergic to spider bites.

Kindle, RTF Lead (unless the Captain says you’re out of here ;) )

Iphigenia regarded NE Biggs with a slight bit of annoyance. “Fear is a natural response, and we all have our vulnerabilities. However we can’t afford to let our fears overwhelm us.” She looked at Sumnter as she continued, “Especially to the point where we pass out midmission. Anyway, right now, our focus needs to be on finding a way to deal with the situation at hand. Lieutenant Kindle, NE Biggs, welcome back. We’re in a precarious situation, and we need to figure out how to get off this planet. Any suggestions or insights on the creatures and the environment are welcome. Jackson is still missing. Hopefully he made it somewhere safe”
The distant rumbling of the creature below served as a constant reminder of the urgency they faced.

Captain Henao
(Commanding Officer)

Mac turned her gaze on ground that they’d climbed up from she didn’t see any sign of their pilot but the worm was obviously hunting. “Maybe we can try driving it off with an unpleasant frequency?”

Biggs muttered under his breath that he was dragging her to the next karaoke night.

Lt Kindle
RTF Leader

Iphigenia took a moment to assess the situation and was intrigued by the possibility of a strategy to drive away the aliens.

“Lieutenant Kindle, What do you have in mind?” Iphigenia asked, “Some sort of sonic disruption? Do we have the necessary equipment, or will we need to improvise?”

The distant rumbling served as a constant reminder that their time was running out.

Captain Henao
(Commanding Officer)

“Would mean taking apart at least one phaser needs to be someone with precise hands and coordination or at least two work in sync to make it work properly.” she said as she looked back at the Captain. The fun part was considering how to get the group together and find their pilot. “I have the tools in my belt, worst case I am willing to dash over to your side.”

Biggs looked from Mac and the distance between the two groups, open ground and the still rumbling of the worm on the hunt. “You better not be doing something dumb Lieutenant I won’t let you be dumb.”

Mac gave him a cheeky grin, “You haven’t seem me really run yet Biggs. You haven’t joined on on my parkour or gymnastics or anything else. I have a plan A, through G.” she wasn’t going to move yet though, she might not be the only one that thought of bringing extra tools for cases like this.

Lt Kindle
RTF Leader

As they strategized on how to escape the precarious situation, their communicators suddenly emitted loud beeps. The Leviathan was attempting to establish contact. Miraculously, the crew had managed to make their communicators operational again, overcoming the electromagnetic interference in the atmosphere. Iphigenia glanced around at her fellow crew members, her eyes widening in surprise, and then she broke into a reassuring smile.
“Oliver. I knew he would figure out a way to reach us,” she exclaimed. Tapping her comm badge, Iphigenia initiated communication, her voice resounding, =^=Leviathan, do you read me?=^=

Captain Henao
(Commanding Officer)

=^= Captain=^= Oliver’s voice was momentarily split between panic and relief, steadying his nerve and returning to his composed manner, =^=We are reading you Captain, We have sent a probe to piggyback our transmissions after we were forced to withdraw from orbit by an electromagnetic attack, we are sending you all the data we have collected, we are also getting telemetry and tracking data, it appears one of your away team members is away from your location, Ensign Jackson. , What’s your situation?=^=

Commander Oliver Loughty
Executive Officer
USS Leviathan

Mac was grinning cheekily now with happiness added in. The Levi crew was coming through and they had a read on Jackson that was wonderful. She kept quiet waiting to make sure they received all the information clearly before she did anything further. Biggs was shaking his head at her as she was very lightly Irish step dancing in place because she was so happy to hear that Jackson was Alive.

Lt Kindle
RTF Leader

Iphigenia felt a rush of relief flood over her. Despite the circumstances, hearing from her executive officer brought a sense of familiarity and reassurance in uncertainty.

=^=Commander Loughty, it’s good to hear your voice,=^= Iphigenia replied, her tone a mix of relief and gratitude. =^=We read you loud and clear. Thank you for the update. We’ve encountered some unexpected challenges down here, but we’re managing.=^=

Iphigenia took a moment to gather her thoughts, knowing that every word exchanged was crucial given their limited communication window. =^=How’s the ship holding up? Any further developments on your end? Ensign Jackson’s situation is unknown. It’s been a while since we have seen him. Do you have any information on his whereabouts?=^= she inquired, her concern for her crew evident in her voice.

Jhene chimed in over the Comms, =^= Captain! It’s good to hear your voice. Lieutenant Thenis has advised that you stay put while they work on beaming back aboard the Leviathan. The creatures on the planet are extremely sensitive to movement. Even the slightest movement can rile them up.=^=

=^=Noted Lieutenant Ynuchausti.=^= Then Iphigenia said, =^=I am glad Lieutenant Thenis has made it back to the Leviathan safely. Hopefully, we can make it a....=^= there was a sad pause as she remembered the officers who had been killed on the planet…=^=somewhat all-inclusive reunion.=^=

Iphigenia’s gaze swept over Kindle, Biggs, the NE Xenobiologist, Ruuk, and the NE Vulcan officer, her heart swelling with relief. Despite Ensign Jackson’s absence among them, the fact that they had managed to establish a read on his location filled her with hope. The knowledge that he was alive was a comforting thought amidst the uncertainty of their mission. With a smile of reassurance on her face, she addressed her team, her voice tinged with emotion.

“Even though Jackson isn’t here with us physically, knowing they’ve got a read on him means he’s alive out there,” she said, her words filled with both relief and determination. “We’re on the brink of going home, team.”

It was the last pep talk she’d give them on that wretched planet, but with hope and the promise of reunion on the Leviathan.

Captain Henao
(Commanding Officer)