Away Mission: Day 2 (Company), part 2

Posted on Wed Dec 30th, 2009 @ 7:59am by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine & Lieutenant Commander Leanne Bowen & Ensign Bak'ten J'trey & Gunnery Sergeant Jethro Hawkes

762 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: The Devils Snare
Location: Planetside
Timeline: Day after crash

ON

[OLD]

As the meeting broke up, a Marine came running in. "Six civilians are heading this way. Humanoid."

[NEW]

Cpl McCarthy had been in the overwatch position all night. Her and her spotter had done two-hour shifts through the night. McCarthy had spotted the figures about 7km out and had kept on eye on them as they made their way towards the crashed hopper.

After making sure the figures were actually making for the camp, McCarthy sent her spotter back down the cliff and the camp to alert the Marines. Whatever had killed the hopper's power had also killed the Marine Tac Radios, so it took another 10 minutes before her spotter was back and ready to go to work.

A full squad was ready with their carbines at the fore, ready to defend the hopper and the wounded, some of them being wounded themselves. Damon sent out a fire team more to quietly flank the group once they were in camp. and were ordered not to take action until weapons started firing.

With steeled grips on their weapons, the Marines and Starfleet officers waited for their guests to arrive.

A group of six people, four men and two women, dressed in black Starfleet pants and black t-shirts walked up to them somberly.

"Hello," one of them said in thickly accented Standard. "This is a very dangerous place. We recommend you stay inside your shuttle. There are dangerous animals and wild savages. Exploring is... foolhardy. We lost half our team before we learned that lesson. Food here is scarce, too. Stay put. It's your best option for survival."

That was an interesting introduction, Sam thought. "First, who are you?" Sam asked, stepping forward.

"I'm Commander John Stockton. We're what's left of the Empress landing party. The rest of us are dead. We found a small cave over that way." He indicated a southern direction. "It's barely large enough for the six of us, but we're managing so far."

"We've seen no sign of natives or animals -- until you," Sam continued.

"The natives come out during the day. We often see them by the river. The animals come out at night. It's never safe here," he continued.

"What happened to the Emperss?"

"No idea. We hit a power-dampening field and crashed. We haven't heard word one from the ship in three weeks. We assume the worst."

Sam still had a lot of questions, and she wasn't ready to accept these people at their word. She looked to Damon to see if he had any questions.

Damon nodded to Sam, as he understood the signal. "How many of you landed here initially?"

"Thirteen. Four died in the crash. Two were killed by natives. The first time we met them -- they use a wicked blowgun. The other three were picked off by giant cats. Giant predatory monsters. Like oversized lions." Stockton shook his head. "We didn't lose them all at once. One died right away. Another lived for three days. The third was caught off-guard getting water. What about you?"

"Lost two Marines on impact and we have one MIA Starfleet officer." He was a little hesitant to tell them how many initially landed. "Where did you leave your shuttle?"

"It was over the ridge, but we scuttled it when we found the caves. Took what we needed. The rest was pretty much scrap anyway. It's gone now. We think the natives took it. Hell if I know why. I'm not going to follow them to their village to find out. I'd probably end up as the main course." He looked at Damon as if he were the leader of the group. "There's not a lot of food around here, either. We got lucky and found one of the injured cats. Tough and gamy, but when you're hungry you'll eat anything."

Something didn't ring true for Sam, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Surreptitiously she tried to read Stockton's mind, but she was blocked. All six of them were blocking their thoughts. Were they all telepaths? She wasn't sure, but she needed to find out.

"Why don't you stick around and join us for lunch?" Sam asked. That should give them a little more time...

OFF

Lieutenant Samantha York
Chief Science Officer

2nd Lieutenant Damon Raine
Marine CO

Lieutenant JG Alexandra Adeyemon
Chief Engineer

Ensign Leanne Bowen
Chief Medical Officer

Ensign Bak'ten J'trey
Security Investigations Officer

Staff Sergeant Allen Riley (NPC)
Marine

Sergeant Kara Melo (NPC)
Marine Scout

Corporal Samantha McCarthy (NPC)
Marine

Private 1st Class Daniella Reid (NPC)
Marine Medic

 

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