Away Mission: Day 1 (setting up camp), part 1

Posted on Thu Dec 24th, 2009 @ 7:41am by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine & Lieutenant Commander Leanne Bowen & Gunnery Sergeant Jethro Hawkes

967 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Devils Snare
Location: Planetside
Timeline: one day after crash

ON

Samantha began to unload the gear she'd brought. Fortunately, most of it survived intact. Including the tents. With the help of some of the Marines, both tents were quickly set up and a group of Marines was sent out to gather firewood.

With power on the shuttle at a bare minimum, and going fast, it was decided to cut all power for now and use it only in case of emergency. They might need it later for food replication.

Chris went to help gather wood and starter material with the Marines. His arms began to fill with dry wood. He came to a grassy area where there was ample dry grass for starting the fire. The ground began to tremble as a huge crack began to form and cross the grassy meadow. As the crack approached Chris it grew wider. Catching Chris off guard, the crack came towards him. Once he heard the ground spiting in front of him, it was too late. He tried to move but the tremble and the movement of the ground threw Chris off balance, causing him to fall into the ever-widening Crack, now a chasm.

As Chris fell, the firewood flew from his hand in every direction, his now free hands caught the edge of the chasm. He held on there for what seem to him as an eternity. Yelling for help and unable to pull himself up.

A lone Marine heard his cries for help and began running in that direction. Unable to hold on any longer, Chris's strength gave in, falling to a rushing underground river below. The Marine stopped at the edge observing a body washing down the rapid flowing river.

The Marine walked back to the camp looking pale and shaken. Sam looked up when she heard him stop. "What is it?" she asked.

"Lieutenant Brooks... he's dead, ma'am," the Marine replied.

Sam stood slowly. "What do you mean, he's dead?"

"He fell into a crevasse into a fast-moving river. I saw his body... There was no way to rescue him. The river went underground..." he let his words trail off. There would be no way to retrieve the body. Not now, probably not ever.

Sam stood for a minute, not moving, absorbing the news. She headed back to the shuttle to see if Damon was awake.

Damon was resting up inside the shuttle on one of the makeshift beds made for the injured. Despite his fervent wishes, the Marines were given explicit instructions to wake him every half hour to prevent further complications from occurring due to his condition. They would wake him and then ask, in his mind, insipid questions like “What’s your favourite type of music?†He knew they were doing the right thing, but he would rather they give him situation reports between rests.

The dizziness had for the most part abated, but a foggy feeling still lingered. He couldn’t help feel that valuable manpower was being wasted on his behalf, the fog did little to wash away the knowledge that they were on a strange planet cut off from all communication with the Orion.
He was leaning against one of the walls when Sam walked in to the temporary field hospital.

“Afternoon Sam†He said with a much stronger smile than before.

Sam was very happy to see him sitting up and looking much improved. She smiled back. "Afternoon. You're looking better." ~Chris Brooks is dead,~ she added telepathically, not wanting to tell the others just yet.

The smile vanished quickly and he looked to a point on the floor. "Yeah." He said with a double meaning.

He wasn't sure how the telepathic thing worked, but he tried his best to convey a confused feeling hoping that she might give him some important details about how it happened.

She caught on, but only because she was listening for an answer, and she was watching his face. She quickly explained what the Marine saw.

Doctor Bowen was attending to the co-pilot when she turned her head, finding Sam next to Damon. She spoke up, "Damon is doing good, but he has to rest more. It won't be long..."

"Thank you," Sam said to the doctor. "I guess that means I have to go now," she said, turning back to Damon.

Damon nodded slowly to her, grateful that someone had finally given him some information on how things were going outside the hopper.

"Sam, the Marines work better in teams of two. Helps to have someone watch your back if you have to leave camp for any reason.†He hoped she might catch the suggestion. "And," He added "Be safe."

Sam understood. "I will. And you rest. I'll be back later. I've got a few Marines helping me to set up camp. They were gathering firewood..." That made her remember Chris. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "We'll have a fire and plenty of wood before it gets dark. The tents are up. All we need now is to find some food." She looked at Damon for a moment, not quite ready to leave. "Be good," she whispered.

Damon smiled at her before he closed his eyes and rested his head back on the wall. Despite being injured on a strange and hostile planet, he felt safe enough to let his thoughts drift off. ~Sam was the right choice to lead this mission.~ was the last thought he had before falling back into sleep.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Commander Samantha York
Chief Science Officer

1st Lieutenant Damon Raine
Marine CO

Lieutenant JG Chris Brooks
Chief Flight Control Officer

Lieutenant JG Alexandra Adeyemon
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant JG Leanne Bowen
Chief Medical Officer

Ensign Rak'ten J'trey
Assistant Chief Security Officer

Corporal Samantha McCarthy (NPC)
Marine

Staff Sergent Riley (NPC)
Marine

 

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