Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dagen Thor (CE) in Main Sim Tour of the Science Installation

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Reia Shandy (C Intelligence -Comm Officer) in Main Sim Tour of the Science Installation

Posted by Gamemaster GM Kate (GMT) in Main Sim Tour of the Science Installation
Posted by… suppressed (20) by the Post Ghost! 👻
snip

Dagen looked at the first scientist who had suggested evacuating. “Where would we evacuate to?” he asked.

To Reia he said, “We need information and you’re good at that. How long do we have till they arrive? Are there prepared spaces in this facility where people can go to and shelter in place quietly. How would they get in? Can we turn this room into a secure place where they can’t get into? What have they done in the past to be safe from them, apart from the obvious of throwing their own to the lions.” Dagen knew that somewhere in Reia there were some odd diplomatic bones, but she was better at wrestling information out of people and systems than sweet talking. He appreciated both the sweet talking and the wrestling, er, in other contexts. Hopefully they would still enjoy more of them in days to come.
- Dagen, CE

Tom had taken off his belt and had the buckle open and was adjusting something inside, after several moments he turned to Dagen holding the belt out to him with the buckle open. Dagen would recognize this as a more updated version of the experimental EVA shield belts from the late 2200s.

“I’ve disconnected the anti-gravity module and adjusted the power configuration, it can currently shield a small group of people, maybe no more than 12, standing body to body, for about 6 hours under light duty. If put under heavy stress, it’ll probably only last 20 minutes. Of course the smaller the shielding area, the longer it’ll last but, that’ll mean fewer people protected by it, not that we can protect that many in the first place. You being an engineer, you could probably improve on that.”

• Tom, IntSec

He took the belt. Improve on that. He rubbed his nose absently. “If there were a power source we could hook up to that,” he said, thinking, but would they have the time for anything more. “It could keep it up longer.” He would need more time to fathom expanding that, but looked around to see if anyone there would have input on portable or other power sources.

Reia had listened intently to Dagen as she made her way towards the scientist he had indicated. She had heard Tom speaking also, his words would sink in and probably mean something important later. He was right, sweet talk and diplomacy could go hand in hand. This was not the time for sweet talk but, choosing her words carefully was important. Stepping up to the woman she attempted to look her in the eye. Height, why the hell couldn’t she have gotten a gene for height?

“All right, we don’t have time for any formalities. If you don’t want to become food you need to be my friend and I definitely need to become yours. Let’s get to work on solving this problem. I need to know everything you can tell me about your little friends out there. I also need to know everything you can tell me about this room. Let’s start with plans for this facility. Get me schematics as detailed as you can.”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

Della stared at the belt Tom presented with a scientific fascination. The Beltran’s had always struggled with movement and their shielding. If they could combine them they could probably exterminate the Volians by finally being on the offense. “I am not sure what else to tell you about the vermin. They swarm, they feast, they retract some to harvest their young in. It’s that simple. It is an animal attack that we can not defend against. We do have some areas that are secured safe rooms but that is only for emergencies and for only about 10% of the staff and 10% of those in the lottery.”

Dagen was biting his lip. Lottery.

Looking at the group, she stated, “we are not monsters that only let the privileged or elite survive. Everyone in the world has the right to enjoy life so we created, a coupon day which is essentially our lottery. We didn’t want just the best and brightest to live. We need those with general life skills too. Half of those in the Palace were the lottery winners. They will be protected along with the King and your people.”

How quaint, Dagen thought, to include the working folks. Wouldn’t want to just let the elites live only to find that no one else was left to actually do the work. How magnanimous of them. How did they go from this utter showboat of a capital to this dystopian mess in the span of a shuttle ride?

The room shook violently and the lights flickered as the viewports showed the first wave of Volians pouring out of the ground as the began to overrun the facility. It visually looked like a fuzzy tsunami engulfing everything in it’s path. Slower Beltran’s were sucked under and seemed to disappear. If the Genesis group watched closely and did not start running for their life, they would notice that small depressions in the ground reminded one of quicksand. It was not under every person that was swarmed but quite a few. It could be surmised that this was a way the Volians took the hosts underground.

Dagen held on and watched. This was not a time to run but it wasn’t a time to stand still. They had one device that offered more of a chance. “Where in this place would be the least likely for them to have reason to come to?” He asked Della, “Your fancy shielding, or cloak technology. Has that been tried on the Volians? Can that be employed here?” Maybe they could combine the two. The shield made to appear like a wall that their cloak would form and in that way keep the creatures from thinking too hard at pounding against a wall.

If anyone had focused their sense of listening, the would also notice a small rhythmic humming coming from the mass of brown bodies moving towards the complex. It would remind one of a dull white noise, like at a cocktail party where one could hear talking but not be able to isolate individual words necessarily.

GM Kate.

Dagen, CE

OOC: What is this base like? I was having an impression of an underground complex but am guessing not? Just trying to get a feel for this and what to do. And I’ll let someone else do the ears thing :) .. gene

OOC: I haven’t thought much about it but underground base is pretty perfect. Lets go with that. Maybe it has a small building on top (where they are) but the vast majority of it is underground. ~ Kate

“They don’t loiter if there is no food or people to harvest,” Della commented.

“Sir,” a tech approached Dagen. Right now he seemed like a far better chance for her survival than her own people. “The shielding is generally shaped into a suit for military and scientific purposes but we manufacture the sheets if you will to make those one floor below. Maybe we can find a way to stretch their use?”

“Are you insane,” Della snapped. “You expect us to share the cloaks and risk a few of us being seen instead of completely securing those that need them?”

GM Kate

Reia had been listening to the incessant babble. She knew that it actually was quite informative and trying to solve the problem. She couldn’t get that sound, that damn sound out of her mind. Suddenly…

“Would everybody shut the fek up!”

In what silence hopefully followed, Rhea breathed for several seconds.

“Please tell me I’m not crazy. Do you hear that?”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

That command cut through the rest and Dagen stopped up short and swung his head toward Reia. “What?” he asked, then quieted down and listens ..
- Dagen, CE

Tom listened to too not sure what Reia was trying to draw their attention to amidst the cacophony sounds.

• Tom, IntSec

Reia took a few deep breaths and calmed herself, for the second time on this mission she realized. Now that things were a bit quieter she was certain that she heard it.

“Do you hear the noise? I didn’t know where it was coming from, maybe I still don’t. It’s coming from I don’t know where, out there? My hearing is a little different from my companions, racial differences do to me being half Orion or something. Do you hear it? Please tell me hear it.”

Reia realized the last bit of what she said it sounded more pleading than questioning and decided it was time for her to be quiet also.

Reia, CIO/Comms

Dagen tipped his head to one side and down as though that would help him hear any better. Really, that and half closing his eyes helped him to focus first to try to clear the flurry of thoughts that had been coursing through his mind. Nothing that Thor had experienced was like this; it was new to the both of them. While Dagen could put on his blinders and focus on the singular task Thor was delighted in this new experience. He only hoped that they would both live to tell the tale; for Thor to tell it to future hosts. Once past his thoughts that had a din all their own, and his breathing which had been getting rapid, he did catch something. A very social creature, Dagen was, and so he was quite used to the hum of gatherings and the background voices around them that one learned to tune out. This time he tried to actually focus on it and ignore what was about him. “It’s like being on the street and hearing a whole restaurant of people talking,” he said after a bit. “Yeah, I hear it.” A shrug followed; he had no idea what that meant but he knew that most people had hearing better than him. “Anyone else?”
- Dagen, CE

OOC: Bump .. gene

The ground suddenly became highly unstable below their feet. The metal plates began to buckle as if they were standing on a raft on water instead of metal plates. The group trying to leave the science facility would feel as if they were being pulled into the center. If they kept their wits and stayed calm, they would see that the floor was not just buckling but turning downwards creating a funnel like effect. No matter where they stood in the room, all the floor plate were rising on one end and lowering on the other creating a metal like slide so that everyone was slipping to single center point in the room.

GM Kate

Dagen felt like he was balancing on a teeter totter or surfboard and he angled his body to try to keep his balance. This was rather not expected. With any rupturing he would have anticipated (from the view in the camera feeds) to have an influx of hungry furry critter but there wasn’t. The ground seemed liquid. The metal plates floated, or would have if they weren’t suddenly dipping to the center into a kind of whirlpool like cavity. This is not good, he thought to himself. A quick glance at the others found them in the same situation. Not a good situation. His foot slid, catching on a rivet, but that wasn’t going to be for long. Reia. Where was she? Balancing like he was. “Hang on!” he said, which was funny, as there wasn’t anything to hang on to and his boots had only so much grip to them.

Suddenly his foot went out from under him and he bounced once, then slid toward the void imagining a rather big mouth at the end of it. A thought came to him wondering if, on the way down, he’d literally bump into Reia.
- Dagen, CE

Tom was reminded of rides at amusement parks as the floor started to move. Though it was a struggle he managed to maintain his footing enough to get close to Dagen as Dagen still had Tom’s eva field belt. He grabbed onto Dagen’s arm and was ready to grab Reia if the opportunity came.

• Tom, IntSec

As his arm pinwheeled for balance he felt Tom grab hold onto the other. That held him steady .. briefly before the inevitable slide and gravity pulled him further alone.

Reia had seen the situation and wondered what in the seven hells could be going on now. She didn’t really have time for such thoughts as she began sliding after them. Clumsily, she bumped into Dagan and tried not to knock him even further off balance. Scrabbling, she grabbed on to one of his arms and held on for dear life.

“I guess it’s into whatever the hell breach this is.”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

Reia bumped into him almost taking his feet out from under him - not that he needed much help in that front. With both his arms held he felt like he was back on OP42 being ‘helped’ out of their bar by two bouncers after having a bit much to drink. That off balance, slight feeling that he was skiing down a slop, and struggling not to be too undignified (as though that was possible!) all mixed up in one he saw the maw open up under them and hoped there was not a giant maw they were heading into. Becoming an entre was not quite what he intended for. “This is going to smudge my dress uniform,” he muttered ..

The individuals in the room only had one place to go and it was down. The floor worked like an old timey metal slide funneling the group into a blackened abyss. The fall created a sensation for those moving down as if they were Alice in Wonderland. They were traveling down but in a controlled fall instead of a free fall. There was nothing to grab onto but the rate of descent was slow enough for those experiencing it to think if they were not panicking.

Eventually, those traveling down the slide tumbled onto a hard dirt surface. No one probably was injured due to the slow rate of descent but they could have sustained bruises or possible strains if they tumbled out on the floor wrong. Even though the space was deep underground there was light. The walls had a bio-fluorescent glow from lichen or maybe fungi allowing those to see their surroundings. It was dim but the space appeared to be a large cavern of sorts with two tunnels leading into darkness.

GM Kate

Reia a tumbled with Tom and Dagen all the way down the slide. She stopped along with her two companions in an inglorious heap on the hard dirt floor. Wiggling from the mass at the bottom

“Ouch, ouch, what the hell?”

Reia said as she untangled herself. Blinking several times she looked around wondering what they had just fallen into.

• Reia, CIO/Comms

Bump?

How did he always end up on the bottom of the heap with Reia on top of him, Dagen wondered. She shifted off him and he groaned. “That’ll leave a mark,” he said coming to his hands and knees, then to his knees as he rubbed at an elbow and forearm that took the fall a little worse than the rest. The bioluminescence would have intrigued Surrel, Thor’s first host, though Linn would have been leaping up and looking around for creepy crawlers; she hated things like spiders and well, most small things with more legs than her. Dagen felt like a 6 year old exploring caves. He liked it, even if he was expecting to be eaten soon.

“Nice lights. Not a summer home but it could be comfortable,” he said as he stood, helping Reia up. “Everyone okay?” he asked, looking to each of the others, first being Reia and Tom. Seeking out Della in the dim light, he asked, “Were you aware of these caverns?” That would be a first start for maybe knowing what direction to take. But then, he asked Tom. “I don’t suppose you have a scanner hidden amongst your pockets.” Listening for any sounds of approach or .. something .. he tried to divine where they should move to. Staying put didn’t seem much of an option. Looking up he tried to see if the hole over them closed up or if they were going to have furry hungry creatures coming down on them from above.
- Dagen, CE

OOC: bump to keep myself visible .. Gene

Reia stood shakily and just well, stood for a few seconds. She took a mental inventory of her body, aches, pains and what was that feeling at the base of her skull? Gingerly she raised her right hand and probed the affected area.

“Ouch, the skin’s not broken but there’s some swelling down here at the base of my skull. Probably just a goose egg. Has everybody else?”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

“Once we have some more light we’ll have a look at that,” Dagen said, then smirked, “You didn’t hit your head on my skull on the way down, did you? You always said I have a hard head.” While saying it it wasn’t without some concern in his tone. “Are you dizzy?” he asked, drawing closer. “Can you see my hand? How many fingers?” He waved three. “My right arm could be better. Took a scrape and a bang as I landed but it’s not broken.” He felt it again. The fabric of the uniform was not torn; they did improve them from the time of Surrel. It was legend how Kirk always seemed to have torn his tunic on landing parties. Er, away missions now. Surrel had a betting pool open whenever there was a published log of the Enterprise relating to that - and, on a darker level, of how many security they lost. It was a different time then. “You’ve good hearing as you caught whatever happened before this. Do you hear anything? You know, like the approach of a thousand hungry mouths?”
- Dagen, CE

A bright focused beam of light pierced the darkness as Tom produced a flashlight. In fact, the light was his covert dart gun which looked and functioned as a flashlight as well.

The light scanned over Tom’s body briefly.

“Just a few scratches and abrasions, everyone else relatively okay?”

• Tom, IntSec

Of in the distance a small rumbling could be heard. It would remind one of the sound of water rushing down a river but there was not an ounce of water in sight. If one used a tricorder, if they possessed one, they would see a hoard of the Volian’s moving towards their location. Since they were in a tunnel, they could move towards the sound or away from it.

GM Kate.

Reia blinked her eyes when Tom’s bright beam glanced across her vision. Listening carefully she could indeed hear, something, what was that?

“Ouch, that light. Does it have another setting? What the hell am I hearing? Yeah, three fingers babe.”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

Dagen squinted in the sudden brightness. It almost seemed better with the dim phosphorescence as everything around that light dulled to a darker tone. “Tom? You got anything else in your pockets of holding there that can tell us what is coming?” It sounded like water. Did a dam break or the tunnels rupture the underside of a lake? If so they could not possibly outrun that. Outswim? Depended on tsunami or trickle. The echoes made it hard to tell where things were coming from. But it was either one way or the other.

Tom shook his head, “If there was something here I could connect to to get into their computer or surveillance systems I could access internal sensors, other than that I didn’t come with a tricorder with science or medical functions programmed in.”

• Tom, IntSec

  “Let’s head back that way. If that is water there may be a ledge or something. I’m not seeing anything here.”
  - Dagen, CE