Away Mission: Day 2 (finding the cave)

Posted on Wed Dec 30th, 2009 @ 8:21am by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine & Gunnery Sergeant Jethro Hawkes

745 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Devils Snare
Location: planetside
Timeline: afternoon of day 2

ON

Sergeant Kara Melo stood before Lieutenant Raine. "Where would you like us to search first, sir?" She was part of the detail that was tasked with finding an alternate campsite for the team.

"Well, if possible I would like you to follow the creek that the Commander found. Expand your search using the water source as a point of reference." He said, looking past her into the woods.

'Yes, sir," Kara said, taking mental notes. It would be easy enough to follow the creek. She would see if she could find some cliffs or hills that might have caves she could also investigate. She nodded to Ensign Scott to accompany her. "Is there anything, sir?" she asked.

"Just be back before nightfall, and don't get the Ensign die." He said the words completely ignorant of the fact the Ensign could hear him quite clearly.

"Yes, sir," Kara said. She looked at Ensign Scott and grinned. "Come on."

They grabbed their gear and carefully made their way out of camp and towards the river. When they got close, Kara looked upstream and down to determine which way would be better. There were hills and perhaps caves upstream, so that's the way they went.

It was a lot easier than either one of them thought. 30 minutes out, they found a canyon with tall cliffs on either side. They hiked it for a while, looking for any potential caves. Then they found one. Large enough to walk upright, too. "Stay out here an keep watch," Kara told the Ensign. "I'll be back."

She carefully make her way down the passage, surprised that it didn't branch. After about 60 to 70 meters it opened into a large cavern. In the center was a huge machine of some sort with several odd-looking terminals around it. Each terminal held colored stones and lights. Symbols covered the consoles. Kara made a quick lap around the device, scanning it briefly to show to the Lieutenant, then she headed back outside.

"Come on, Scotty. We need to get back to camp and report this to the Commander," Kara said, heading back with a brisk pace. As soon as they walked into camp she tracked down Lieutenant Raine. "We found a cave with some sort of alien machine in it. I think we need to check it out more thoroughly."

Damon looked thoughtfully in the direction they came from. "Any sign of its operators?"

"None. The stuff is old. Like nothing I've seen before," Kara replied.

Samantha walked up to them, overhearing the last part. "What's like nothing you've seen before?" she asked.

"A cave, ma'am. It has some machine in it. I think it's really old."

Sam's interest was piqued. "How far away?"

"45 minutes, ma'am, upriver," Scotty replied.

Sam looked towards the river, then up at the sun. It was still early afternoon, plenty of time to check it out. She looked at Damon. "I want to go look."

He was concerned for her safety, mostly because he knew he couldn't go with her. He needed to stay back, especially now that there were six new ones to watch over and keep tabs on. "Alright." He said hesitantly "But I want Sergeant Riley and his choice of Marines to go with you."

Sam grinned. She was excited to see what was in the cave. "Absolutely. We can leave within the half hour. I'd like to have a good look at it before dark."

"Just be sure you're back before then. I don't want you left traveling in those woods after the sun goes down." He said the words in a very serious tone.

"I promise," Sam assured him. "Sergeant Riley will make sure I leave on time, too." She would be extra careful, too, because she didn't want Damon to worry. She went inside the hopper and grabbed her backpack then came back out to meet with Alex and the Marines.

"You be careful, too," she told Damon before the team left camp.

Damon watched as she started down the path. He couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his stomach as they disappeared into the brush. He reminded himself that Samantha was just as qualified to survive in the outdoors as he was....it was a small consolation....

OFF

1st Lieutenant Damon Raines
Marine CO

Lieutenant Commander Samantha York
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Alexandra Adeyemon
Chief Engineer

Staff Sergeant Allan Riley (NPC)
Marine

Matthias Scott (Scotty) (NPC)
Marine Scout

Sergeant Kara Melo (NPC)
Marine Scout

 

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