Pulling On A Thread

Posted on Tuesday 31 August 2021 @ 18:36 by Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant Nir’anyar & Ensign Roger Bumble

Mission: A Cry from the Darkness
Location: The planets surface
Timeline: MD12 1230
2753 words - 5.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

The Merlin has transported the small second away team directly to the entrance of the Medical Facility that had been identified by the would be assailant from the fiasco earlier. She was also unsure who was in charge of the away team as both herself and Mathias were of the same rank. She chose to allow Mathias to take the lead as he was the ships Second Officer after all and she was still learning. She really needed to speak with the Captain about expanding her horizons a little on the ship also. She had been a qualified Bridge Officer on her last assignment... maybe now was the time to speak to her about perhaps taking on a little more in that regard on Merlin. But that was all aside the point. She looked to Mathias as she pulled her tricorder free of its holster and started running scans. but also making sure that Ensign Bumble was close by. This may very well be his first away mission and she didn't want him feeling left out in the cold, no pun intended given they were currently stood near the summit of a dormant volcano in the northern most regions of the hemisphere before reaching its arctic circle.

"Okay, Doctor what were we looking for here once more? And on this point, I am thinking you will have to be lead on this one, even though I am second officer." Mathias remarked with a slight smile.

As soon as the group materialized in front of the compound, Gregor had his phaser in hand and scanning the surroundings for any hostiles that may be in the area, Satisfied there was no immediate threat he lowered the phaser, but kept it in hand just in case.

Gregor looked to the command team. " Well we're here at the front door, Do we knock or let ourselves in? " He asked.

"The intel I was given said it was abandoned now..." Anya stepped forward and tried the door, its large hinges the tell tale sign that it was not an automated door. She pulled and its did move but seemed to have seized up with age and the elements.
"A little help?"

Mathias went to go help Anya to open the door, giving a good pull on it. "Hey Morgan, we're going to be needing a bit more of muscle to open this up further, going to take all three of us to do so."

Gregor holstered his phaser and grabbed the door ring and put his back and legs into it to help get the door opened, as the massive door began to slowly open.

When the door was fully opened, Mathias crinkled up his nose at the somewhat stale air that greeted them. "Looks like this hasn't really been used for awhile." Shining a light around to see if he could find a light switch. "Oh there it is." reaching to the left side and the lights came on. The area was large with various crates and on the far wall were several items hanging on it.

Gregor pulled out his tricorder and scanned the area. Detecting no life signs or hidden dangers, he made his way towards the crates and examined them. " Hmm.. We have some odd looking saddles with long securing straps. Whatever it was it was a large creature. " His eye caught his attention toward a long narrow box, it was hinged. After scanning it making sure it was safe he opened it. Inside was a four meter long spear like weapon with a long sharp spear head. He remembered from the past history studies that this weapon was indeed a lance. The tricorder was able to translate the one word engraved into the base of the shaft. KRYNN was all it said. " Someone's name? " he muttered aloud. Just old style melee weapons over here. But there's more to look at around here as well. "

Anya had spotted some kind of interface and had made her way over to it trying to bring something up on the screen but this really was not in her skill set.

"If we had power to this console we might be able to access the mainframe... if its still functional. Like you said, it doesn't look as if this place has been used in many decades!"

Mathias gave a nod towards Anya, "Don't worry, I'll get it up and running quick enough." he began working on it and then the interface came online." There got it, and it looks like someone else has accessed this." his finger running over the panel to bring up any message or information that could be retrieved.

Anya turned back to the console, immediately trying to find something that could help them.

"Ensign Bumble, you may have more of an idea given your knowledge... Would you be able to search through the records..." something else caught her eye. "Mathias, is this what I think it is... The Facility still has full power generation... Something about geothermal... something I can't make out... Volcano!" her eyes went wide. "I think this facility is powered by some form of geothermal power from this mountain which is a Volcano!"

“Aye ma’am,” Roger said really not understand how the CMO thought he had more knowledge about things. All he knew was what was in Commander Millers staff file.

As Gregor made his way back to the group from finishing his check of the crates, A word from the conversation caught his attention. " Did you say volcano? As in a hot time in the old town tonight variety? " He thought a moment. " Well depending on how old the tech is, I guess that's normal depending on they're development as a species. "

Mathias was working on deciphering the language from his console then stumbled upon something that made him gasp, "I've located a map here of the facility. There is a door over to the..left, "Looking up towards that direction the door, being hidden from view behind some crates. It will lead us to what looks to be a research facility?

Gregor went over to where the map was and looked to see where this door might be. Once he saw it he went over to the wall where it was indicated. " Could someone give me a hand moving these crates? " He asked, as he began to start moving them.

"On it!" Between the two men the door was uncovered, and Mathias tested the door, which opened easily which got a raised eyebrow. "Okay then, pushing the door open. the door opened into what looked like a large medical/science lab. and Mathias noticed another door. "Okay looks like there was another way inside here. I could have gone down the other hallway." he said with a shrug. "Anya, Roger, come take a look!" stepping even deeper into the area towards another console. "What were they working on here, Dragons?" remembering something that Gregor had said. "did you say there was a lance and a saddle and something that said Krynn? I remember reading several books with reference to dragons.

Gregor looked up. " Yeah, the lance was about four to five meters in length, with the blade tip being about a half meter. The saddle was belted to hold the rider in place, and the straps on the saddle were long as if it were for a large creature. And yes the word Krynn was on the weapon. Someone's name I guess? " Gregor moved closer to see what the others were looking at on the console.

Mathias was looking at another console, getting it activated, more power coming into play and adding more light to where they were at. Near the end of the room the ceiling arched upwards to where there was a metallic covering which looked like it could be opened. "Say I wonder if there is a switch that can open that up." moving towards the wall. On the way over there, an object near the wall which looked rather familiar, his eyes grew rather round and quickly picked it up. It was a clip! And Caroline wore it often as it was beautiful. "Hey, I think Caroline was here!" something else caught his eyes as well, it was a small pedestal, made of black marble and black metal with gold and silver wiring upon it. A hollow area was there at the top almost bowl shaped and on the sides were a couple of areas that something could be fit inside. "Hey found something else here!"

Anya started over to Mathias, feeling somewhat responsible now for the away team as her friend had essentially given her command of the team, and thankfully so far it had not been as bad as she had thought. She could feel something below her feet rumbling, a very low shake to the structure. She assumed it was nothing more than the power generation system coming back to life.

"What is it Thias?"

"I'm not quite certain what it is." Mathias crouching down and running his fingers along the wiring the stone and metal. "These on the side look like some sort of crystal or stone can be placed here, and this up here." placing his finger in the upper hollow area. "Some sort of receptacle to maybe hold some sort of liquid?" he pulled out a small light and turned it on to get a better look at this weird device. "On the floor there are two areas on either side of this device, like where a person's feet would stand. Here look at this." shining the light there. "Oh what do I see here." Mathias crouching down to get a better look. "some sort of switch here."

Curious Gregor stepped in to take a look at the device, he then stepped back due to the limited space and lightly leaned against a shelf. A small box fell from the shelf and bounced off of his boot. The lid was slightly ajar, inside was two crystals. The crystals had the texture of quartz, but the coloration was strange. The upper half was orange and the lower half was green with a thin dark blue line separating the two halves. He held one in his hand, turning it over and feeling it's texture. " I think I found part of your device, Would you like me to put them into their place on the machine? " Gregor asked.

"If it helps us answer this mystery then yes... If you think it is safe to do so!"

Anya looked at Mathias again, he may have given her command of the away team but she certainly was not any kind of an engineer or system specialist.

Roger was about to voice that he didn’t think switching something on in a place they knew little about as perhaps the right call but he was too late.

Power started to flood the systems and the master systems display to their left sprang to life with what looked like a diagram of something that seemed to be ring shaped around the coast of the largest continent of which they were at the Northern most point. It looked as if it was a power grid of some kind but the dialect was something she couldn't understand.

The Benzite pulled out her Tricorder and switched it to the Universal Translator functions before taking a reading of what was before her, not wanting to pull Mathias from the devise he was currently focused on along with Gregor. The information started to run.

'Volcanic geothermal planetary power grid online. Power generation exceeding planetary magma flow tolerance. Emergency shut down advised. Presence of Fumerole's at fourty eight locations confirmed. Pyroclastic events confirmed at three locations. Multiple eruptions confirmed with approximately three million tons of basalt and ash ejection into the atmosphere. Emergency shut down advised!'

"Thias, shut it down.... NOW!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the floor below them jolted knocking them all to the ground as the once dormant Volcano the facility resided on began to awaken.

"Bumble, get as much of the database as you can before transport, Thias and Gregor see what you can do to stop this reaction!" Anya had started to pull herself back to her feet as she started barking the orders.

Roger continued copying anything he could from the alien technology. The floor rumbled again and suddenly there was a loud crashing noise. Further down the base jets of steam were appearing. Roger suspected he knew what might follow.

Large cracks in the structure started appearing as the floor continued to rumble.

“Ma’am,” he addressed the doctor. “I’ve seen horror novels simulate to this. May I suggest a hasty retreat?”

"Anya to Merlin, we have a bit of a situation down here!" the Doctor took no effort to hide her fear and worry as she placed the call to Merlin knowing full well there would be consequences to her actions.

Melody's voice came back. "We read you doctor. What is going on down there? Sensors are detecting an enormous energy source at your location that is destabilising the planet's core. Three volcanoes are about to erupt and the planet is on the verge of tearing itself apart."

"Captain, we have a situation developing! We have activated what we thought was a power source for the facility but it seems to have triggered the reactivation of some kind of planetary power source... It is linked directly to the molten core of the planet and it causing mass eruptions".

The deck shifted again as the caldera they were perched over began to crumble away an allow the magma below to bubble up, she could see the planets blood, so to speak, dappling the glass across the room from her. "Three of the larger Volcanoes have erupted producing pyroclastic clouds and forty seven smaller are not starting to go. The systems here are estimating that at least three million tons of basalt and ash will be ejected into the atmosphere... Sir this is a planetary disaster in the making... We are trying to fix it!"

"Standby" came the response from Melody. A few moments later. ""Jones to away team. We've confirmed your readings. Somehow, that station you're at is bombarding the planet's core with some kind of high energy plasma. Core temperature and pressure are rising. If you can't stop it, in less than 5 hours the continents will start breaking apart. This could lead to the disintegration of the entire planet. Do you require assistance?"

"Standby sir" she said looking over at Mathias and Gregor but both were so engrossed they had likely not heard the conversation with Captain Jones. "Sir, at this stage any help you could offer would be appreciated... Also please keep a lock on the away team... we may need emergency transport at any moment!"

Melody replied. "Acknowledged away team. I'll see if our guests have any knowledge with the technology."

Anya turned back to the display, running her eyes over the information that her tricorder was now translating for her. She could feel control slipping away as the room shook again with another minor eruption from the opening maw of the Volcanic structure a few hundred meters below them. From a morbid curiosity point of view she had to see it, to view if only a fraction of what she had caused. She turned from the display, the streaming numbers and instead focused on the windows across from them. She moved across to them slowly, wanting and not wanting to see in equal measure.

She reached the window and placed a hand on the glass just as a flare of magma gushed past the window, the heat of his warming her hand through the glass. Fire and noise following it casting burnt orange hues across the room. She really had raised hell, unleashed it upon a world. It was her fault!

OFF:

●●●● Captain Melody Jones
Commanding Officer
USS Merlin


●● Lieutenant Nir’anyar
Chief Medical Officer
USS Merlin


●● Lieutenant Mathias McPhee
Chief Operations Officer
USS Merlin


○● Lieutenant JG Gregor Morgan
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Merlin


● Ensign Bumble
Counselor
USS Merlin