The Eyes in the Dark

Posted on Tue Aug 3rd, 2021 @ 4:49pm by Lieutenant Commander Emni t'Nai & Captain Björn Kodak & Lieutenant Sharrina Blackstone & Lieutenant Kennedy Ryan Walsh & Ensign Ezra Gonzalez & Ensign Noah Balsam & Maje Jaha Veeth & Lieutenant Nir Giorgiou

Mission: The Place of Skulls
Location: Jungle Ruins
Timeline: Mission Day 4 at 1230

[Subterranean Jungle Ruins]
[Mission Day 4]
[1230 Hours, Sojourner Time]

=/\= Last Time.... =/\=

"This has to be it, right?" Kodak asked, staring at the ancient technology built into the obelisk. An alcove was inset into the pillar with a concave plate that had to be a receptacle for the sphere that had brought them here.

"You're more right than you know."

The honeyed smoke of a voice came from the darkness, followed immediately after by the unmistakable sound of crunching ground under boots. "Uh, don't even try it, Lieutenant. Hands and phasers were we can see them," the feminine, almost bemused voice seemed pointedly sent at the Half-Klingon Security Officer. The accent was deeply familiar, but elusively exotic. Then it paused. "Captain Kodak. So nice to make your acquaintance. I didn't think I'd get the pleasure firsthand. But then you came right to us..."

Scheisse, Kodak cursed internally, eyes shifting to regard the source of the voice. What had they just gotten themselves into? And how had they missed the presence of others? That damn interference field, he sighed, raising his hands and trying to get a sense of how many others accompanied the woman. We're in trouble... the Chameloid thought, eyes resting on a hulking Orion coming out of the shadows as well...

=/\=And now the conclusion...=/\=

Korth-Sar snarled as his fist slammed against his forearm and squished an ulidiidae, “Bugs, I despise bugs…” he muttered to himself as he listened to his leader. His patience was already tested by the winged nuisances in the jungle above, and how they persisted down here. He could stand it no longer, he had neither the restraint nor the tolerance to allow the scene to play out from the shadows.

The hulking and muscular Orion stepped out. As the sparse light of the tomb highlighted his mammoth silhouette he lifted his weapon. His weapon of choice was a massive and somewhat cumbersome plasma cannon. He held it outward with both hands as he pointed it toward the assembled away-team. “Listen to the lady, or don’t listen to the lady, make my day. I’m sure one of us can scrape together enough of your captain’s DNA once our guys are done with you all.” The dappling of light shimmered against his deeply toned green skin.

There was movement and how they had defied senses came to bear- some kind of chameleon field? Or a personal cloak? She was as beautiful as her voice- short-cropped hair, boyishly, her eyes between the sweeping fringe of were like staring in pools of exquisite Chinese jade. She wore black, scantily midriffed and sleeveless. She whiffed of Orion pheromonal allure, the kind that could drop anyone susceptible to feminine wiles. Timmoz had spoken of its effects. But whatever was attractive about her was diminished by the fact that she held two Cardassian-style phaser pistols- one in each hand. "My Lieutenant, Korth-sar." She nodded at the hulk with the brimming plasma cannon that hummed and sizzled at the ready. She respectfully tapped a tapped pistol fist against her upper right chest- the position of one Orion heart. Timmoz had done that- though sans the weapon. "Zatahedri," she greeted Kodak. "Your crew. My crew."

The diplomat in Kodak urged talk over violence. Given the advantage in numbers and the surprise with which the woman and her crew had caught them, the Captain felt very much unsure of their chances otherwise. For the moment, at least, he thought to himself. "Lower your weapons," Kodak ordered then, knowing that de-escalating the situation and getting whoever this woman was to talk might just be their best chance for the time being.

Sharrina growled low in her throat, but she made no move to provoke the woman before them... or her steroidal sidekick. No, both of her parents had taught her to think before acting. But what she was thinking now was unflattering and untranslatable.

Part of her cursed herself for not having spotted them, but now that the manner of their concealment had been revealed, she knew that she was not to blame. She had been completely aware, ready, watchful; but they had cheated. They'd used something she had no experience with and therefore no way to catch before the trap sprung. Still, she was the Security officer in charge of this group of security, and so this Team's lives were her responsibility. And, her fault or not, she had failed them. But now was not the time for self-recrimination; that would come later, if there was a later.

For now, she followed the captain's lead and lowered her weapon, slowly. She did not need a phaser, or even her blades, to be a formidable foe. There would be a time to act, but that time was not now. Patience, like the hunter stalking his prey, she could hear her father's voice coaxing as he had when he had taught her to hunt in the way of his people. Oh, yes, the time would come; and when it did, she would be ready.

At least seven other figures fizzled like they were behind a holo-filter. Most were clad in black and sported phaser or disruptor rifles from across the quadrant. A frizzy-haired, lanky and tall Orion, his face partially obscured, advanced to cover Giorgiou with a Romulan disruptor. Timmoz? A Farian moved similarly on Walsh while a pair of Orion females trained on Blackstone- one with a Klingon disruptor rifle complete with a dk'tahg bayonet, the other with Breen weapon. Two others held back, one pointing at Gonzalez, while the other covered their Mistress.

Kennedy rose his arms with his fingertips pointing into the sky. He was frightened, he had never had a weapon trained on him before. His throat tightened and he let out a small murmur underneath his breath.

Sharrina smirked slightly despite the situation, or maybe just a tiny bit because of it. Each of the others only had one of the woman's guards watching them, but there were two watching her. Good, they recognized her for the powerful warrior she was. That pleased the Klingon in her. The strategist in her considered the other ramifications of that, and she was studying all of them, starting with the two focused on her. She was evaluating every movement of their bodies, eyes, etc. The tiniest nuance of action, or even lack thereof, could tell her something about her opponents, and she was not going to miss any of it.

"You seem to have me at a disadvantage. Several of them, actually," the Captain spoke up, directing his humor-tinged voice to the nameless woman in charge. He admitted this in an effort to lull her into over-confidence, perhaps. "You appear to know of me. Not hard to track that kind of information down, I'm sure. But I don't know you," the Chameloid said, his golden-yellow eyes catching the light from the glowing plasma cannon across from him.

For a moment, Kodak debated shifting into something hulking himself. Perhaps as a Gorn again, he could go toe-to-toe with this Korth-sar. But given the distance between them, the Chameloid figured that plasma cannon would fire at least one shot before he could even get there. That wasn't the solution, at least not at present. But if he could keep these people talking for a time, perhaps an opportunity would present itself.

"Auris," she replied almost as good-naturedly as Kodak had. "Your puzzle box, Zatahedri. Drop it on the ground and step away."

Korth-sar acted like a Kindergartner who was waiting for recess. All this chit-chat bored him. He did not understand what either of them rambled on about. He liked simple plans. If he was in charge he would have just shot them all, cut off the captain’s finger for DNA purposes and ended all the tongue wagging. Now that was a plan he could support, a plan he could get behind. Everything in him was focused on not rolling his eyes in boredom and tapping his foot to move things along.

Kodak wasn't stupid. Of course they were here for the same reasons he and his crew were. That didn't mean, however, that the Chameloid was going to make it easy for Auris and her crew. Puzzle box in hand, he crouched to place it on the ground as directed. The only hitch in doing as he was told was the almost imperceptible click from the button he'd just depressed while releasing the sphere. Formerly open, the puzzle box shifted and clicked, sealing itself up again behind the myriad of buttons, switches, and tiny nobs striated across its surface.

"Oops...all fumbles," the Chameloid said, shrugging lightly as he stood. Were Emni or another empath present, they would feel a great degree of anxiety and worry effusing the Captain's emotions. But to those without extra sensory perception, Kodak almost came across as if the whole situation amused him. "You're going to need that," he pointed down at the sphere, "unlocked again before it'll be of any use to you. You could spend months figuring it out, of course," he shrugged, "or I could do it for you? But such would come with a price, Auris..."

Auris smiled with a single blink of her own dark amusement. She toed it back to the man. "The price has already been paid, Zatahedri. Time for delivery. You give me the box, open, and I don't kill your men. Or disable your pretty new ship." She nodded once without shifting her creamy jade eyes from Kodak's golden gaze, "If he fails, kill the Engineer." The lanky tall Orion with the frizzy hair trained on Giorgiou and put his finger on the trigger.

She was serious. Kodak could tell that much just from looking into Auris' eyes. Had he made the situation worse by locking the box? The Captain had hoped it would give him more time to dissemble, keep her and her minions busy to give Blackstone and the others opportunities he himself would not have. But as his eyes roved across Auris and her crew, he couldn't help but feel already defeated. They had the numbers and...

Wait, Kodak thought to himself, eyes fixated on the frizzy-haired and lanky member of Auris' crew. Was that who he thought it was? How the hell did Timmoz end up placed with Auris? Was this the special mission Captain Cluros had been snatched from the Sojo for? In the darkness and under Auris' gaze, it was hard to try to get the man's attention. But when he finally did look over, Kodak's stomach sank. It was not Timmoz; just a look-a-like.

Blinking past his disappointment, the Captain thought to himself: "New plan." "Alright Auris, I'll open the box for you. But your deal is unacceptable. You only need me. Let my crew return to the ship and I'll help you find the answers I assume we're both looking for. Though I gather, it's for different reasons. You don't need them to complete whatever mission you're on. I've already agreed to help you, so threatening them for my sake does little to help your cause."

"Agreed," Auris said. With a Cardassian phaser still trained on Kodak, she tapped an earpiece. "Eno-Makar. Lock on to the Chameloid's biosignature and beam him to the Brig."

"At once, Mistress..." But her comm channel cut out as she grunted. Her head twerked and she crumpled to her knees as there was a soft thud. One of Noah's holo-rendering balls bounced to the ground between Kodak's feet, its camera band flickering white and blue from its cracked lens.

The confusion of watching their mistress suddenly felled by a metal ball gave Sharrina just the opening she needed. Her phaser came up and fired at one of the two guarding her. But even as she fired -- she had accounted for her own movement with the shot -- she dropped into a crouch and rolled to her right to set up for the next shot.

One of the Orions jerked, her shoulder struck. She staggered. The other pivoted and fired where she'd been. Then she swept, tracking Sharrina's roll. As Sharrina set up, the Orion's beam was coming for her, sizzling blistering heat as it neared impact.

Sharrina fired at the second, the one firing at her, but she also had to move lest the Orion's beam strike her full on. This made her shot go wide of her mark, but it also meant that she managed to avoid the main bulk of her attacker's beam, the edge of it catching her in the arm. She growled and decided to change the tactic. Right now, this was a distance fight, and that was likely what the Orion expected it to remain, which was exactly why it didn't.

Leaping forward unexpectedly, she unsheathed two long boot knives in mid-air. As she came down where the Orion had been standing when she'd begun the leap, she brought the blades across in front of her, the movement designed to take the individual's weapon arm out with one and at the very least stagger them back with the other.

Nir dove for the Timmoz look-alike and there was the sound of a disruptor firing.

Ezra was shaking like a tree in a hurricane, but he ducked his head and barreled into the guard closest to him. The guard was big and didn't move very far, but before he could respond, Ezra kicked him between the legs in a literal knee-jerk reaction, then scrabbled for his equipment case and swung it as hard as he could at his head.

Two green bolts pitted the ground on either side of Ezra in near misses. When he swung his case, he slapped the disruptor out of the Farian's hand. With an angry growl, the Farian did a pivoting round-kick toward Ezra's face. Planting feet again, he whipped out a straight, double-sided knife.

Ezra dove out of the way of the kick and picked up a disruptor he found on the ground. "Oh God, really?" he groaned as the knife flashed, then instinctively snapped off a shot. The shot impacted just above the Farian's groin, dropping him instantly. "Whoa," Ezra said.

Doctor Ryan Walsh's eyes followed Nir as he dove at an Orion. As a disruptor blast, Kennedy cried out again. Uncontrollably, he ruined his trousers. He closed his eyes embarrassed but Nir needed his help. Kennedy kept his arms up in the air and took a step towards his fallen comrade.

Korth-sar in his size did not have the physique to duck and roll. Instead a greasy grin appeared on his lips as he revealed his stained teeth. This was his chance, the moment he had waited for. As the scene escalated, it reaffirmed everything about Starfleet he thought, they were often visualized standing on a pillar; but, when things got down to it, they were just as sly, dishonest, and cowardly as the next lot. He raised his weapon higher and blasted it off at a nearby wooden support.

A pillar which was rounder than he could wrap his arms around, and which towered well above their heads. The pillar instantly split open, a crack shot straight up, splinters explored in all directions. Immediately after the hit, a fiery trail snaked it’s way up the open shaft. Large pieces of the wood crumbled down near the Starfleet away team. Other pieces broke loose and tore down nearby stone structures, all burnable materials in the wake engulfed in flames. The hulking Orion then snarled, as he pointed his weapon lower and fired it off on the crypt's floor, more debris, sticks, roots and rocks, shot up in an erratic fashion.

As all of this took place, Kodak found himself locked in the throws of a transporter beam. They were bound and determined to take him, it seemed. But rather than let the Orions have him, the Chameloid enacted the only card he could to get out of his predicament.

Transporters operated on the principle that you could take an object -- or person -- in one place, break it down bit by bit into composite molecules, usher them to a new locale, and then put everything back together again. This worked fine when the object in question was solid and static; like taking apart of a stack of blocks before moving them. But Kodak took it upon himself to shake that stack of blocks to its core, keeping them moving too much to get a solid fix on.

Summoning his energy the moment the beam took hold -- Auris' words having given him a chance to steal himself and enact his plan -- Kodak shifted. As the transporter sparkles blazed all around him, the Chameloid's form changed from human to Gorn and back, his molecular composition changing enough to block the transporter's ability to lock on. He kept this up as the transporter again attempted to snag him, causing the process to fail once again.

Caught in a tug-of-war with the transporter, Kodak could not help his crew. As he continued shifting, he watched them helplessly, hoping they could turn the tide of this little encounter in their favor.

Korth-sar stood back, his stance wide, an eerie belly laugh erupted before he proceeded to move toward his female leader. He pointed the tip of his weapon at her and attempted to root her up on her feet, “What have they done to you?”

In a green haze, Auris blinked, blurry feet in her gaze- along with what she sought. Her fingers wrapped the Sphere where she'd towed it back to Kodak. She touched her earpiece. "Eno-Makar, transport party back. And then target this structure."

"Yes Mistress. The transporter buffer stopped fighting Kodak and instead, dropped, with amber and green glistening, pearly sprites, over the Orion crew.

"No. No, no, NO!" came the hissing and sissing growl of a now-released Gorn. Springing with his powerful hind legs -- using his tail for counterbalance -- Kodak leaped across the feet separating him from Auris and stamped down hard with his right foot. With enough power to crush the woman's hand, the Captain set the puzzle sphere free, a sweep of his foot away from Auris causing the ball to roll several feet away. The transport she'd called for gave her no chance to react, disappearing as she was in the haze of verdant and canary yellow sparkles. Kodak watched with satisfaction as the entire Orion party faded into nothingness.

The Captain surveyed his away team even as his shifting form restored his humanity. Ryan Walsh, Blackstone, and Gonzalez were still up -- that was very good indeed. But both Nir and the extra security officer they'd brought had been felled, whether dead or not still unknown. With little time to spare, they needed to see to their wounded, get what they came for, and get out of this place before the bombardment brought the whole ceiling down on top of them: an easy outcome, given that Korth-sar had -- deliberately or not -- obliterated one of the crypt's primary support pillars.

"Doctor, see to Giorgiou," the Captain commanded, hoping the man wasn't dead but having no time himself to check. "Our other security officer as well," he gestured to where the other man lay still.

The engineer lay on his side in a fetal position- and it was bad. His uniform had bled through off-center left of his spine, and a dark pool of blood surrendered the truth: he'd been shot through from front to back.

The Doctor ran to Nir. He was embarrassed that he wet himself in the moment and kneeled down beside Nir and began to scan him for his tricorder. Disruptor fire went right through. He opened his medkit and started to do what he could on the surface to stabilize him before transporting him back to the Sojourner.

Nir was unresponsive- pulse was threading, blood pressure was dangerously low. He needed to get back- fast.

With little time before the Orions began bombarding the planet, Kodak picked up the sphere once again and began the complicated process of unlocking it. He had activated the sphere's "panic mode," which had caused it to re-lock itself in a hurry. But now, of course, Kodak had to undo his handiwork before the Orions started shooting at them. Thankfully, he'd spent hours and hours with the damn thing since opening it, practicing for speed-run unlocks in case of just such a situation.

Harsh warbling sounds began to beat above. Pulsing, crescendoing sizzles. They were under fire. Dust began to trickle- and then began to open up with chunks and sprays of rock. And with it came a heat- a heat like above them was an opened oven set to broil.

"Blackstone," Kodak intoned as he worked, trying to ignore the sudden heat, "we need to eliminate the source of that interference. I don't want to risk unstable transports if this ceiling comes caving down on our heads." A quick look upward had him wondering just how long that might be. "I imagine they left whatever is causing it behind down here. Sweep the room as quickly as you can. If it even looks like an active device of some kind, destroy it. Ezra," the Captain took a moment to lock eyes with the young ensign, "this place isn't going to be around much longer. Take whatever artifacts you can find that might help us."

Ezra nodded, giving an annoyed grunt to his now-dented case, then began casting about for things to pick up.

Sharrina acknowledged her captain's order with a crisp, "Yes, sir." She then immediately began to move quickly around the room, starting at its edge and working inward. Her movement was swift, but her well-trained eyes missed nothing. Soon, she found what looked like a small, boxy contraption. It didn't seem to fit the motif of the place, and she thought she heard it humming. So, as per Kodak's orders, she picked it up and smashed it down hard against the floor. It stopped humming after the first strike, but she did it three more times just to be certain that it stopped functioning completely. She then gathered the pieces so that the engineers could study it if they wanted.

"I think that's got it, sir," she called after finishing her sweep and finding nothing else that seemed out of place or made technological noises.

Doctor Ryan Walsh looked over his shoulder towards the Captain, "There's not much I can do for him down here on the surface. We need to get him to the Sojourner as soon as we can."

Mid-fumbling with the sphere's controls, Kodak looked up and over to Blackstone, then nodded. "Good work, Lieutenant. Standby with an eye out," the Captain ordered before looking then to Ryan Walsh. He nodded to the Doctor to indicate his assent and then tapped his combadge. "Kodak to Sojo. We've shut down the interference field but Lieutenant Giorgiou is severely injured. Beam him to Sickbay. I'm hoping we won't be far behind."

Emni's voice echoed across the Captain's comm badge, her tone unusually strained. "Captain, we've run into a few locals up here and are in a bit of a stand-off. Shields are up right now, sir. You'll need to sit tight. We'll beam him out as quickly as possible."

"Understood, Doctor," Kodak sighed, feeling routed at every turn. "Do what you can but keep a lock on us. There may only be seconds' warning," he said, eyeing the ceiling that threatened to collapse overhead, "before we need to exit in a hurry. Kodak out."

As Ezra gathered his artifacts, the Chameloid continued manipulating the various switches and dials, trying to get the sphere to open up for him. Finally, he found success, the ball cracking open to reveal the hollow inside. Kodak moved swiftly, reaching the obelisk and placing the now opened puzzle-box into the depression that seemed tailor-made for it. Next to the depression was what looked like a hand-scanning plate, though a small arm of machinery rose above and arced over the plate.

Placing his hand there, Kodak suddenly understood the arm's purpose. With the quickness of a striking scorpion, a needle-ended attachment thrust down to prick the Chameloid's hand. Blood had been taken, the needle leaving behind a small hole that was now pooling in its wake. The Captain removed his hand, wiping the blood away on his uniform and wincing as the first barrage of disruptor fire struck more deeply home. Debris and dust heavily rained down from the hole in the ceiling and throughout the crypt, dislodged from above.

The slowly strobing red light in the Obelisk shifted then, turning ice-blue instead -- the same blue light that had streamed from the puzzle sphere when it'd first been opened. The light streamed forward until, finally, a glowing, holographic face manifested. The face looked something akin to a bat crossed with an ape; large and long-tipped ears flared up and out while the scrunched face spoke with a mouthful of small, sharp teeth.

"We welcome you, lost child of Chamelos," the voice spoke, the face furrowing further. "While you have succeeded in unlocking the sphere and finding this place, I am afraid your journey is not yet at an end. There are two other locations you must first visit; two places where you must prove your willingness to reunite with us." The face momentarily looked up as the crypt shook again, concern etched onto its features. "You must hurry. Our dead shall remain buried here but you must live, child. The sphere has been uploaded with the next set of coordinates you will need. Keep them secret; do not allow others to follow in your wake if at all possible. We await you." And with that, the recording shut down.

Scooping up the sphere and closing -- without locking -- it, Kodak nodded to himself and his team. Raising his voice, he said, "We have what we came for! We need to get back to Sojo. What's the status on the interf-"

The Captain could not complete his question. The ceiling visibly caved, though not fully. Patches of sky shone through openings in the slumped ceiling above. Through those openings, it was clearly visible that the surrounding forest was very much on fire. "Kodak to Sojo," the Chameloid said, slapping his combadge and coughing in the dust. "Beam us up now! The ceiling is coming down on top of us!"

"Hold position-" was all that crackled over the comms.

And that's when it happened. As no doubt intended by Auris and her crew, the disruptor fire had indeed done its work. With one final shudder, the entirety of the ground above came falling down, no end of dirt, rocks, and stony outcroppings of the ruins cascading down on all of their heads. The crypt was now nothing more than a dirt-filled hole, lost to time.

=/\= A joint post by... =/\=

Captain Björn Kodak
Commanding Officer

and

Lieutenant Sharrina Blackstone
Security Officer

and

Lieutenant JG Kennedy Ryan Walsh
Assistant Chief Medical Officer

and

Ensign Ezra Gonzalez
Science Officer (Archaeology and Anthropology)

and

Lieutenant Nir Giorgiou
Chief Engineer

and

Midshipman Noah Balsam
Engineering Officer

and

Doctor Emni t'Nai
Chief Medical Officer/2XO

and

Bahrat as Korth-sar
Orion Muscle Man and Grunt

and

Kyle as Auris
Orion Mistress