All Aboard! (Part 3)

Posted on Wed Jul 31st, 2019 @ 10:03am by Lieutenant Commander Amber Quinn & Lieutenant Trei Jansum & Lieutenant JG Paris Deville & Lieutenant JG Tessa Nicoles
Edited on on Wed Jul 31st, 2019 @ 10:25am

1,215 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Caverns of the mind
Location: Planetside

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

Trei inclined his head in acknowledgment of the rebuke. Aye, Ma'am. He led Tessa and Azusa around the other side, his hand ready to go up at any moment, whether for a person or some kind of snake or other predator.

[NEW]

The trek through the landscape was not slow as it is a forest more so than a jungle type setting; better for the inhabitants as well as the personnel trudging through. The Trees were spaced far enough apart to allow the root system to not have many intertwined and allow for a path to be blazed as they walk. The sounds of birds and other creatures of the day were echoing, the constant symphony of sounds was reminiscent of a calm forest and not with the usual quiet of Predator on the hunt.

The Outpost was back in the tree line twenty meters with artificial foliage and appeared to be covered in creeping foliage and brush. It was a Hex shaped single story from first observations but any Science type would recognize a standard outpost with a ground and lower level. This station Outpost was constructed quickly as by the modular components and also fitted for longer term observation by multiple rotations of Scientific Teams.

The exterior camouflage was in tact by all observations with teh rear entrance under a curtain of hanging veins. The base was well hidden and functional as the locator beacon was sounding through the tricorders as programmed.

Amber was as interested in the native flora as she was the facility itself. She frequently paused to take a reading, a sample, or a scan. Once they arrived at the facility itself, she took her group around to the right to look for entrances.

When she got back to where she'd started, she found three. "So, do we go in the main entrance or one of the back ones?" She didn't have a preference, so wanted opinions.

"Wow..." Paris said softly, looking at the exterior of the facility and its unique camouflage. "A blind man could find this place." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked over to Amber as he cleared his throat. He spoke up a bit loudly so they could hear him. "Whatever entrance we choose, will no doubt lead us to our destination, so it really doesn't matter. But, if I were looking for a reason why this place isn't inhabited anymore I would go with the one that either showed the most damage or most use. More of a chance of finder some kind of tracks or clue. That's just me, anyway."

"Ah am not reading any Human DNA inside the Outpost." Nicoles noted while scanning with her tricorder. "So it is unlikely there are any bodies in there." She looked to the Commander. "Ah don't know if that matters none but it appears no one is home."

Trei looked at the commander. "No predators around the compound either. Humanoid or otherwise."

That only confirmed the scans from the ship. No bodies. No life signs, and no large predators. She nodded her thanks, then, with a glance to Paris, said. "We'll go in the front doors. Those look to have the most use."

With her tricorder out, Amber lead the way inside.

Like the outside, there was nothing of note. No signs of a fight, no damage, no blood. It looked like they'd walked out and failed to return. After a thorough search, Amber pulled up the last logs. They spoke of exploring a nearby range of mountains and a cave system. But again, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well, I think our next step is to check out the mountains and see if they got stuck somewhere," the commander said.

Trei raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. "Ready when you are, Commander."

Triolon looked ready to guard those remaining out here while the Commander entered.

“Just like that?” Paris replied softly, smirking slightly, before continuing. “We walk in, check the computer, and then move on to the mountains? No interest in what they were looking at? You aren’t curious as to why there isn’t anyone here?” He looked around at everyone before concluding. “Am I the only one who sees the signs?" He looked to Amber, as if asking for some trust before focusing back on the others. "Put away your tricorders and use your senses, people. See with your eyes. Hear with your ears. Touch with your hands. What jumps out at you?"

"Do as he says," Amber said. She wanted to get to the logs and see what they told her.

The Doctor entered; she went to the small examination area and took in the signs, a few of the Bell Jars and beakers were long overdue with the experiments obviously forgotten. The chemicals all still in their shelving and only the smell of sanitized area was noticeable.

"Someone has left their experiments well past the time frames from what AH can observe." Nicoles noted. "Not even a sign they used any of the First aid major kits; there are some small cotton wads and other things AH would guess came from patching up very minor things; scrapes. There is no signs of them considering being gone, not even the field medical kit was taken off the shelf. That is standard procedure to have at least one of them along. Why would they not think there are possibilities for even minor injury and forget standard procedure?" Tessa took in the smells around her. "Just recycled air, nothing smells out of place." She began taking a Tricorder to second check her observations. "Nothing out of the ordinary coming up on the tricorder beyond human senses that AH can record."

In another part of the Outpost Troilon had gone to the small arms locker.

"The locker is still under lock and all the Phasers are accounted for." She relayed the facts. "They were not expecting trouble obviously as the team left their only means of protection behind." She noted. "Not the smartest thing to do on an alien planet, there are always some sort of danger possible so why leave these behind."

"If not other people, then animals." Trei went over to the nearest surface and ran his finger over it. "Few days' worth of dust," he said to the commander. "I don't think scientists would allow that near their experiments, would they?"

"No, but it's been two months, so it makes sense," Amber replied. "I wonder how long it's been since these were tended?" As a scientist, she had a better understanding of the experiments they were doing.

From what she saw, there were a couple of long-term experiments and a number of plants being cultivated. The long-term experiments had gone unchecked for far longer than two months. The plants were looking worse for wear with several dead or near-dead. "Good work," she said to Trei. "It's curious that some of these experiments seem to have gone for four to six months without any attention. For the plants, it's hard to say."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Trei Jansum
Chief Security Officer

Lieutenant Tessa Nicoles
Medical Officer

Paris Deville
Chief Flight Control Officer

Lieutenant Commander Amber Quinn
Executive Officer

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