Posted by Gamemaster GM Kate (GMT) in Into the Volian’s den (Science and Security team. All reply here to merge threads)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Dagen Thor (CE) in Into the Volian’s den (Science and Security team. All reply here to merge threads)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Thomas McGregor (COS) in Into the Volian’s den (Science and Security team. All reply here to merge threads)
Posted by… suppressed (16) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Off in the distance, the science group could start to both hear and feel a tremor. Something was coming at them fast and furious.

“Sir we are approaching the team’s position. We should be reaching them in two minutes,” a Beltran officer interrupted the group.

The once-empty space filled with vehicles with the rescue teams and the science facility group waiting to be rescued.

GM Kate

That was fast. A moment of trepidation on what that sound was and then poof .. the calvary had arrived. He glanced back from whence they had come and shrugged, more inwardly than anything. He looked at himself. His uniform was torn at the knee and most of it looked like he had been playing in the dirt which was pretty accurate. Reia and Tom was no less dirty. Suddenly a shower felt really good.

“It’s times like this I wish I had my field kit on me.” he said sounding a little worried as he visually scanned the area for environmental features he could use as a quick trap or deadfall if it became necessary.

• Tom, IntSec

“Batman’s utility belt would be a wonderful accessory on dress uniforms,” he quipped.

Reia I couldn’t exactly remember who the hell this person was. Had he been there all along? Was he a newcomer, no that wasn’t possible was it? Was he even starfleet? He had to be right? Oh well, did it really matter right now they were probably about to die or something.

“The joke where I’m from is that nearly everything that swimming flying or breathing basically wants to kill you. I used to wear that with a badge of honor but, I didn’t think it would be that way in space. I wish it was a spider and I could just climb these damn walls.”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

Magnus jumped out of one of the vehicles and scanned the group, giving Thor and Reia a nod. Although his uniform did look a little scuffed his hair was still perfectly styled and even with the borrowed rifle he didn’t seem to have had any difficulties these past few hours “I have a pizza delivery for a Dagen?” he called out and grinned.

XO

Dagen felt relief and a moment of his own personality coming out. “Over here! Isn’t it free if not delivered inside a half hour?” He looked at the vehicles and then back again down the tunnel.

The carnage of the vehicles did not affect the Beltran’s as much as it did the Federation officers. It was as if they half expected to find the broken and bloodied vehicles sitting like empty coffins. “Were the vehicles like this when you found them?” Lago’s tone was tight and commanding authority. He did not address the question to any one person but the group.

Tom stepped forward knowing no-one would remember that he had come down with them except Dagen as Reia looked puzzled at his presence as well.

“Yes, they vehicles were like this when we arrived.” he replied, “Gore and all.”

• Tom, IntSec

Dagen nodded affirmatively. “We only just arrived here ourselves.”

=/\=Hey…anyone still alive on the end of this line? I was shot down in a shuttle at the halfway point between you guys and the Imperial palace.
I am holed up in a village about 50 clicks from the palace and about the same from you.=/\= Dean’s voice crackled through the comms. The connection he established was rudimentary but effective enough to send sparse messages from his location to both the away team and the Captain.

Wait. Shot down? Who was shooting? Was there more going on out there?

Thomas also did a double take. So Dean was alive, but who had shot down the shuttle?

Lago looked at the two officers starting to tease apart the mystery of the Harvest. There was no point in clandestine small talk hoping others would connect the dots. He would clear up the loose ends once they began to move in their vehicles to their next location.

The Federation team’s signal seemed to only be able to reach Dean’s cutting them off from the Imperial palace and their Captain. The science teams would be smart enough to figure out if Dean was able to reach them and they were unable to reach the palace, Dean was acting almost as a relay beacon between them. This would be odd with the advanced comm systems of the Federation. The only logical reason would be that the Beltran’s were blocking the signal but to what end? Only General Lago might be able to explain.

GM Kate

Reia was surprised at the calm but she jumped right in.

=^=Shandy here. I’m with my crew, the XO, and General Lago. I’m guessing he’s got an explanation for this.=^=

Rail walked forward and looked pointedly at the general. Anyone from the Genesis we know the stance she was taking. It was her ‘I’m tired of your drek let’s get this over with.’ stance. She wanted answers and someone was going to start giving them to her.

• Reia, CIO/Comms

“The gore you see are the ones that the Volian’s choose to eat. These vehicles hold ten Beltran individuals. With two vehicles, that means twenty individuals only there is not enough gore to indicate everyone died. Our prior intelligence has shown that the Volians tend to eat half of any harvest they encounter. The other half they take back to their dens. These tunnels,” he waved his hand about, “were to help us retrieve those that were taken. Our scientists,” he glanced at the woman who had escorted the Genesis science team with a scowl, “were working on the way to put shielding up to stop them from coming up underground. The tunnels then are our way to rescue those that were taken. Before now we had just mourned them. We no longer want to mourn our citizens.” Making a swirling motion with his hand, Lago began to head to the vehicles. “Are you coming or staying here?”

Lago

Thomas didn’t hesitate, moving towards the vehicles as well. He was sure that finding out what the Volians did with the other half of their harvests would give him nightmares, but he also felt a responsibility to learn and shed some sunlight on just what was going on with this planet, and if they even deserved a place in the Federation.

Dagen waited for Reia to climb aboard and then Tom .. truly Reia was showing her grit and had a target and he was not about to get in her way. As soon as Tom got aboard Dagen climbed up. Kneeling at the door and looking back along the tunnel where they had come he rubbed his injured knee and wondered what would be coming around the corner, if any. If they had pillaged the vehicles and then retreated maybe they got off lucky, falling through the floor just after they had passed with those they took.

Tom climbed into the vehicle taking an empty seat near the driver.

• Tom, IntSec

“What happened,” he asked the XO when he had the chance.
- Dagen, CE

COS

Lago snapped his fingers and a Beltran medic moved next to Dagen in the vehicle. He was a field medic but probably could treat most things or at least slap a bandage on it to keep someone in the game. “How can I help you Sir,” the medic asked Dagen.

“When we went through the floor to this tunnel I landed hard. Right knee and both forearms took the brunt. The knee mostly.” He nodded to Tom. “Got a pain killer from Tom. It’s helped a bit but something is a little off and rubbing.” He extended the leg with a wince. Now sitting it felt like it was stiffening up and only now was he seeing that it was more swollen than the other.

The Beltran medic pulled out a medical tricorder and began running it over the injury. “You were lucky. It was only a strain on the ACL but we can treat that.” The medic began the dermal regeneration of the wound repairing the frayed ends of the ligaments around his knee.

Lago pulled a flask out of his breast pocket and took a long sip. “From time to time any government’s leader varies. Some are tactical geniuses. Some are supporters of arts and education. Some are more prone to hedonistic pursuits.” Lago did not state where his Imperial Highness Casper Artemis fit into these categories and he would not. These officers had met the man. They could draw their own conclusions. Lago was also a loyal Beltran just like these men and women were loyal officers of the Federation. Sometimes being loyal meant change was slow and you had to serve under those in charge with a forced smile.

Right, well that was strange as a way to start off a conversation.

“We are fighting a two war front: The Volians and the Gorn. Our magnetic storms keep the Gorn at bay for the most part. Our orbital platforms with the holo technology tend to stop direct assaults because the Gorn can not locate them. They do however tend to take parasitic advantage of our population when it is sequestered behind household walls. We are able to contain the Gorn attacks,” Lago’s voice held the strain of those in charge when they had to make tough decisions. “However, between the two groups, the yearly attacks on our population remains stagnant and without significant growth.”

The Gorn? Dagen glanced over at the XO. Was this new to him too? What happened to their ship? That transmission earlier only seemed to infer they were looking for them, not fending off Gorn. Development looked to be happening though, if not population, Dagen thought. Was that why they wanted Federation membership? To deter at least one of their ‘issues’?

Lago paused and took a deep breath. He was tired of King Artemis, but he was not a traitor. He was a military commander, and it was time to give some tactical information. “Not all our people die when the Volian’s attack. Some are taken and put into stasis. We are going to see if we can rescue them. We could use some help.”

GM Kate

‘Yup, definitely having nightmares after this,’ Thomas thought to himself. ‘Which means more time with the counselor, joy.’

Again he glanced toward the XO. He was the ranking person here, not Dagen, to decide such ‘help’. Of course he wanted to keep anyone from being in such ‘stasis’ whatever that meant when speaking of overenthusiastic rodents.

Reia hadn’t bothered to take an actual seat. She wedged her small frame somewhere near Dagen and stared at the flask Lago held as she listened to him intently. She wanted whatever the hell was in it. Reaching up she gingerly touched the knot that was beginning to form at the back of her skull and decided that might not be a good idea at the moment. This was sheer insanity. Leave it to a monarchy and military to truly frack things up.

• Reia, CIO/Comms

Dagen leaned over so that there was contact with Reia but still remaining somewhat professional. The adrenaline was subsiding of being a possible meal and a general weariness was overtaking him. They had met for the state dinner and then went on this tour. It was late and he was starting to feel it so a sit down as welcome. He let out an inadvertent yawn. He felt the day was going to just go on a little longer and hey, that was part of the ‘service’ no matter how used to regular shifts that one got. Maybe he was getting old or just out of practice on long days. Getting soft old man! he thought to himself.
- Dagen, CE

Rail looked down at dagging inside. She knew what he was thinking because, either from concussion or sure fatigue, she was getting a little exhausted herself. Stimulants? Sign again she tightened her lips and narrowed her eyes of it. Being tired right now was absolutely out of the question.

“I could sure use a cup of whatever passes for coffee around here. And something for the back of my head.”

• Reia, CIO/Comms

The medic finished up with Dagen and moved to Reia. Running the Tricorder over her, she responded, “mild concussion. No wonder your head hurt.” Pulling hypo out of the bag, the medic injected her creating instant relief or at least the medic hoped so. They needed to all be on their game when the time came.

COS

Dagen’s hand rose with a finger in the air. “Here too. Double shot.” The Gorn. Now that was a name that rarely came up in polite conversation. Mostly keeping to themselves the Gorn were quite off his sensor suite. It was in the mission briefing but mostly as a footnote as a reason for these people wanting to join the Federation. There was no reason at all for expecting them there. Dagen glanced over it but little more. This was a state dinner and negotiation and tour. Rodent swarms and Gorn were not on the docket.
- Dagen, CE

Moving to a small overhead compartment, the medic pulled out a bottle that old-timers would call a medicinal remedy. “This will perk you up and is way stronger than the crap they serve at the palace.” Passing the bottle over to Reia, was a far more relaxed gesture than all the pomp and circumstance they had at the reception.

Ray took the bottle she was handed it. She hide it for several seconds, then took several large drinks. Smiling up at the man who had handed it to her she relaxed visibly.

“My savior.” She whispered.

• Sheleah, CIO/Comms

  “We are coming up on the Volian den,” Lago stated. “Until now we have only conjecture and theories about what we are going to find.” There was a long pause as Lago debated his next words. “Is your captain still on the broadcast? Can he hear this conversation?”

  =/\=He has an open connection=/\= Dean commented through a comm badge.

  Lago