Posted by Captain John Tiberius Glen (Captain) in Colony: Tunnels
[snip]

“Anyone else want to stop for a rest?” asked Glen. “There is maybe… like a few hours yet, but we’d need to find a place to stop where we aren’t too near these ore cars coming down the rails in the darkness. My own preference would be for us to press on ahead and then stop later. I rather stop than have someone collapse!”

‘’Captain we have enough light ,any cars coming our way would be the least of our problems ..do you have any idea the noise they make on the rails ‘’ he looked around ‘’Not to mention there is enough space by the sides for us to sit down safely ‘’.

Hunter reasoned if a cart came their way they would know they were not alone down there.

Glen wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about stopping in this location, and while they did have torches, he would have much preferred that the overhead lighting was working before making any claim about having enough light. And the ore trains did make a lot of clatter, but they were automatic, running on magnetic track with minimal staffing if any at all.

However, Glen was not the kind of unbending Captain who only gave you two choices - it’s my way or the highway! - but he was instead, willing to listen to his crew, and flexible. and so he would stop if that was what the majority wished. He had found in the past, that being stubborn and unrelenting in his plans, often created a disastrous outcome. So, he would listen to Hunter.

M’Mera paused when the others did and waited while they had their discussion. She wasn’t winded in the least and had no need of a rest but she reckoned that Hunter was more then likely not as fit as she was.

“You want us to save our energy for what might come later,” Glen rephrased. “I understand. Is there anything else that concerns you? What do you think waits us? And couldn’t it meet us just as easily if we stayed here?”

‘’You can say that’s one of the reasons ‘’ the doctor replied while taking out a bottle of water ‘’Captain I have no idea what awaits us ..maybe nothing and yes we could face God knows what ,though I would definitely prefer if it happened here then in the ancient tunnels .As for the automatic track do you think it would work when every thing else has no power ? ‘’.

“Yes actually,” Glen replied. “This does look like a waggonway with magnetic rails that relies on gravity to send the loaded trucks along in this direction… Then they’ll have to return all the empty trucks back again under some kind of power, that’s true… but we don’t know, maybe they could use the local megafauna to pull them along? There isn’t the best light here to see but… I can’t see any power supply cables to these tracks. Unless they have some self-propelled locomotives that burn fossil-fuels… hmm! That would result in very poor air quality from the exhaust gases… They wouldn’t be fusion or antimatter powered… I guess we’ll just have to wait until we see one go past!”

Hunter shoved his bottle back ,that was one of the things he had learned..save the water.With a hint of humor in is voice the doctor whispered ‘’There is one thing I forgot a cage with a canary in it ‘’.

He stood quiet for awhile ‘’Excuse me I need to have a word with Sharp’’ and with that Hunter approached the security who by now was standing with his back against the wall ‘’Sharp you have been on edge since we came down,listen just because you are a security doesn’t mean we don’t have your back ,remember we look out for each other.A bit of advice its essential to calm down it would help you to stay focus’’ .

Sharp nodded as he looked back again and again ‘’ Doctor how come you’re so cool ?How come you aren’t the least bit concerned ?’‘
Hunter made eye contact with the security ‘’Guess I’m very good at hiding my emotions..lets call it life’s experience ‘’ he then waited for the Captain or M’Mera to give the order to keep on moving and reach the ancient tunnels .

When no one else disagreed, Glen said, “It looks like I’m outnumbered, so let’s take a twenty minute break starting immediately, and rest up a bit here! Sharp, you listen on the rails for any noise, and warn us of any cars coming down the track. Eros, you can set a timer! Everyone else, make this a very good rest. Relax and recharge now, sleep if you want, because we aren’t stopping again!” Glen took the pack from his back as a pillow, sat down and closed his eyes.

“Aye, sir,” Eros replied to Glen, doing as requested. “But I can do this all day. I’m all gung-ho to keep going. The quicker we find what’s causing the problem, the
Although he was aware of M’Mera’s enhanced senses, Eros thought it was still a good idea to keep eyes open. He moved to the front of the line and went another 15-20 feet down the tunnel. Dowsing his light, he closed his eyes tightly for a few moments to help them adjust to the darkness quicker. He squatted low and took up a defensive position, while also slowing his breathing. . . .

Hunter sat down again ,he was surprised to see the Captain snooze he himself had no intention of closing his eyes even for a minute .The head lamps that were attached to their helmets offered a good source of light,with Eros and Sharp on the lookout the doctor concentrated on any sound that his human ears were able to pick.

“If everyone is rested up now, let’s get going again,” Glen said. “Let’s go and do what we came here to do!”

Hunter rolled his eyes, apparently Glen knew how to rest by taking a nap ,he stood up ‘’Let’s get going then Captain ‘’ he replied putting his back pack on and rearranging the helmet .

Old habits die hard ,the doctor picked a stone and as they moved he would do a tiny scratch on the walls, since they were far from smooth only Hunter would be able to pick it up if needed.

Hunter Dr.

Sharp took his position at the back ,with phaser in hand for the last thing he wanted was to get in trouble with his dept head .Seeing Hunter scratch the jagged walls he didn’t need to be a genius to know why ‘’Say doctor did you see or hear anything? ‘’he asked.

Hunter shook his head ‘’Just dripping water and remember don’t touch any Fungus it might turn you into a zombie ‘’ he chuckled ‘’ Just like on Earth it turn ants and cave spiders ‘’ he did not elaborate further after all this was not Earth ‘’Thanks you really know how to help make someone more at ease !’’ the security remarked.

Sharp sec

Glen smiled at Hunter’s joking, but he actually wished now that he had brought down Cara Meow on this landing party, rather than leaving her behind on the Merri. There was a very good chance that there was some kind of sentient native fauna or flora here that hadn’t been contacted yet, something like the silicon based Horta that the USS Enterprise had discovered in the mines of Janus VI. A xeno-biologist would have been useful right now. However, he kept his thought to himself. This away team, as they had begun to call these assembled landing parties, was already jumpy enough without Glen adding to their fears.

• Glen, CO

M’Mera rose easily and led them out. The away team didn’t run into any problems and reached the end of the worked tunnel. The end of the tunnel that led into the older tunnels was full of debris. It appeared to be made of boards, largish stones and metal pieces. It was obvious that this would take some time to shift the debris enough to get through.
The tunnel was about 6 1/2 feet high and at least 5 ft wide. The debris pile was at least 4 ft high and filled the opening.

Lt. M’Mera COS