S5: E: 8 Echos of a Tattered Past.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse  and  PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Cliff face]

The descent down the cliff via the hand and footholds went so well that no one truly needed the Andorian's safety measures.
Once assembled on the ledge it didn't take long for the Commander and her Vulcan to find a door.  Zhuk and the Commander set about phasering through the metallic door.  While they did that, Lahr kept alert - watching the tree tops below as well as the skies above.   There wasn't much movement, but he thought he spotted another of those flying-bear creatures from before, moving in the canopy below.  Since it seemed to it be moving away, Lahr didn't call the Commander's attention to it.

Even before the two officers made it through the door,  Chloe was warning everyone to not immediately enter the area.   "Depending on how sealed that place is, the air trapped within might be hazardous and not be breathable.   I recommend opening it carefully and quickly stepping back for several minutes to allow the exchange of new air for old."   Chloe advised.

Once opened Chloe checked the air quality with her tricorder before entering after the Commander.  While breathable the air was definitely stale and musty smelling.

[Surface - Kaimo IV]

On breaking into the chamber which was choked by several thousand years of accumulated rime and rust, the away team found the remains of what could best be described as a small waiting room. At least that's the impression one took from the configuration of the couches, facing a single chair and desk gave. Everything was made of a plastic composite material that, despite it's near indestructibility was decayed to uselessness from the long passage of time. A closer scan which had indicated that the door was almost two thousand years old turned out to have been incorrect for the age of the chamber. The dating of the detritus encrusting the door was correct to that age, but now that the chamber itself could be scanned, revealed the contents to be much older, perhaps as much as two hundred thousand years old.

Further scans revealed that the power source came from a barely functioning nano-crystal visual display on the desk. However, after so long, the power cell was failing and it would require a deft hand to keep it functioning long enough to get a clear image of what was on the screen.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Crevasse >- Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

The more Nira looked at what was in the room, the more surprised she was. This was definitely more advanced-looking than something from a stone- or bronze-age civilization. Couches of the kind found in a waiting room? A desk and chair to further indicate a waiting room?

Nira's eyes kept coming back to the thing that certainly was the most out of place: The visual display on the desk. Savar pointed it out with the scanners, but Nira's keen observation spotted it first, even if the device wasn't on.

"I think we'll rest here for the time being," said Nira to the team. "Savar, continue scanning this...room. Zhuk, Blackfeather, take turns guarding the doors, rotate every ten minutes. Lahr, with me."

She gestured for Lahr to come over to get a better look at the visual display.

"What can you make of this, Lahr?" she said, staring at the display alongside the Andorian, her brow furrowed with befuddlement.

Lahr, not at all familiar with his role as engineer, was keeping watch with Zhukdra'shar and Blackfeather, until he was called over to look at the ancient alien technology.  It appeared to be a visual display - but not just any visual display.  This was nano-crystalline technology.

The Commander was in luck.  If she had asked him about warp engineers or shield generators, Lahr would have only known about as much as her or probably less, since she attended Starfleet Academy for 4 years learning this sort of thing.  Lahr busted his butt through Sec/Tac enlisted boot camp for 6 months learning tactics, hand signals, and how to value an officer's life over his own.  Their levels of education were far different.   But this was audio-visual; Lahr's personal hobby as a DJ.  The Andorian was in his element with this.

He studied the device for a power source and found it connected to a tiny power cell that was failing with age and rust.  Lahr pulled a tiny tool from kit - something that looked like micro-needle nosed pliers - and set about carefully clearing the rust from the terminals.

"The power source seems to be a variant of a dry cell.  I'm clearing the terminals to help the flow of electrons but it may just be nearly spent.  If this doesn't work, I'll see about rigging the display to one of our power units."

A few more careful swipes... looked clear enough.  "Give it try now."

[Ian Galloway]

Lahr, not at all familiar with his role as engineer, was keeping watch with Zhukdra'shar and Blackfeather, until he was called over to look at the ancient alien technology.  It appeared to be a visual display - but not just any visual display.  This was nano-crystalline technology.

The Commander was in luck.  If she had asked him about warp engineers or shield generators, Lahr would have only known about as much as her or probably less, since she attended Starfleet Academy for 4 years learning this sort of thing.  Lahr busted his butt through Sec/Tac enlisted boot camp for 6 months learning tactics, hand signals, and how to value an officer's life over his own.  Their levels of education were far different.   But this was audio-visual; Lahr's personal hobby as a DJ.  The Andorian was in his element with this.

He studied the device for a power source and found it connected to a tiny power cell that was failing with age and rust.  Lahr pulled a tiny tool from kit - something that looked like micro-needle nosed pliers - and set about carefully clearing the rust from the terminals.

"The power source seems to be a variant of a dry cell.  I'm clearing the terminals to help the flow of electrons but it may just be nearly spent.  If this doesn't work, I'll see about rigging the display to one of our power units."

A few more careful swipes... looked clear enough.  "Give it try now."

[Ancient Waiting Room]

After Lahr tinkered with the nano-crystal, there was a brief flash and the monitor displayed this image. However, given the extreme age of the device, now that the flickering screen was powered up, the nano-cyrstal would only last a few seconds before it was completely drained.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Ancient Waiting Room]

[Ancient Waiting Room]

After Lahr tinkered with the nano-crystal, there was a brief flash and the monitor displayed this image. However, given the extreme age of the device, now that the flickering screen was powered up, the nano-cyrstal would only last a few seconds before it was completely drained.

Lahr could see by its flickering that the power cell wasn't going to last long so he grabbed up his tricorder and began recording the image displayed.

"It kinda looks like a math problem.. the diamond upright like plus sign, and the sideways ones an equal sign."   Maybe it was some sort of legend.. or test for understanding other such symbols... but why would that be the last thing on this visual display?  Unless maybe it was meant for future generations to figure out... like leaving clues to scavenger hunt.

[Nira Said]

Lahr, not at all familiar with his role as engineer, was keeping watch with Zhukdra'shar and Blackfeather, until he was called over to look at the ancient alien technology.  It appeared to be a visual display - but not just any visual display.  This was nano-crystalline technology.

The Commander was in luck.  If she had asked him about warp engineers or shield generators, Lahr would have only known about as much as her or probably less, since she attended Starfleet Academy for 4 years learning this sort of thing.  Lahr busted his butt through Sec/Tac enlisted boot camp for 6 months learning tactics, hand signals, and how to value an officer's life over his own.  Their levels of education were far different.   But this was audio-visual; Lahr's personal hobby as a DJ.  The Andorian was in his element with this.

He studied the device for a power source and found it connected to a tiny power cell that was failing with age and rust.  Lahr pulled a tiny tool from kit - something that looked like micro-needle nosed pliers - and set about carefully clearing the rust from the terminals.

"The power source seems to be a variant of a dry cell.  I'm clearing the terminals to help the flow of electrons but it may just be nearly spent.  If this doesn't work, I'll see about rigging the display to one of our power units."

A few more careful swipes... looked clear enough.  "Give it try now."

[Ancient Waiting Room]

After Lahr tinkered with the nano-crystal, there was a brief flash and the monitor displayed this image. However, given the extreme age of the device, now that the flickering screen was powered up, the nano-cyrstal would only last a few seconds before it was completely drained.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Ancient Waiting Room]

Lahr could see by its flickering that the power cell wasn't going to last long so he grabbed up his tricorder and began recording the image displayed.

"It kinda looks like a math problem.. the diamond upright like plus sign, and the sideways ones an equal sign."   Maybe it was some sort of legend.. or test for understanding other such symbols... but why would that be the last thing on this visual display?  Unless maybe it was meant for future generations to figure out... like leaving clues to scavenger hunt.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

With that, the device turned on, thanks to Lahr's tinkering. As much as the image lasted for a few seconds, Nira committed the image to memory while Lahr recorded. She was somewhat puzzled by what was displayed.

She looked around at the couches and the desk. A waiting area with a display of symbols.

"I'd say it's more of a symbol," said Nira. "Maybe some kind of ancient pictogram forming some sort of sentence or lettering. Given how old it is...well, maybe the natives are more advanced than expected. But if this looks like a waiting room, then wouldn't there be an additional room further in?

"We'd best ensure to keep the symbols recorded," said Nira. "Maybe there could be something... Lahr, go with Savar and run a further scan of the room, see if there could be something more to find, even an additional room. Meantime...I'd best send a copy of this back up to the Challenger, maybe Hyperion can get an idea of what it is. May need to contact Challenger anyway to report in."

With that, she sat and tapped her comm badge.

"Said to Challenger, reporting. Come in, please."

[Ian Galloway]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

With that, the device turned on, thanks to Lahr's tinkering. As much as the image lasted for a few seconds, Nira committed the image to memory while Lahr recorded. She was somewhat puzzled by what was displayed.

She looked around at the couches and the desk. A waiting area with a display of symbols.

"I'd say it's more of a symbol," said Nira. "Maybe some kind of ancient pictogram forming some sort of sentence or lettering. Given how old it is...well, maybe the natives are more advanced than expected. But if this looks like a waiting room, then wouldn't there be an additional room further in?

"We'd best ensure to keep the symbols recorded," said Nira. "Maybe there could be something... Lahr, go with Savar and run a further scan of the room, see if there could be something more to find, even an additional room. Meantime...I'd best send a copy of this back up to the Challenger, maybe Hyperion can get an idea of what it is. May need to contact Challenger anyway to report in."

With that, she sat and tapped her comm badge.

"Said to Challenger, reporting. Come in, please."

[Ancient Waiting Room - Kaimo IV]

Scanning the remnant of the ancient facility found the rear portion of whatever this place supposed to be, was completely crushed and cut off from the front portion; making further examination an impossibility.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian immediately perked up when Nira called and suppressed the urge to have Ruth a 'told you so' expression as he replied.

"Challenger here. Go ahead Commander."

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Surface - Kaimo IV]

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse  and  PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Planet surface]

It was odd for Lahr to be on an away team mission that he was not at either the front or the rear of.   Thinking back, he couldn't recall anytime that he'd be the 'protected' center.  It was a placement reserved for those of specific skills - medical or ... engineering. Hmph.  It still felt odd.

His placement at the center put him paired with Chloe, and he found that when the going got tough with obstacles to climb he was offering assistance to her quite a bit.  At first, she glared at him and pushed on through all on her own, but by the second hour, Chloe was accepting the helping hand that he offered.  His helping Chloe didn't mean the path was a walk in the park for Lahr.  Far from it.   Though he wasn't unfit, he'd dropped from his peak form since leaving Security - reducing his workouts to every couple days rather than daily.   At the moment, huffing breathlessly as they came to a stop in a clearing, Lahr regretted that decision.

Chloe was even worse off than him and he watched her almost collapse from exhaustion as Commander Nira called a brief halt to get their bearings.  She was doubled over breathing hard and dripping sweat.  It seemed she needed to workout more often too.  Lahr shouldered his weapon to search his pack for a canteen of water to offer her.   It was a that moment that the creature attacked.

It took a moment for Lahr with his attention buried in his pack to realize what was going on.  He dropped his pack and pulled his phaser rifle around and into his hands once more.    By this time, the Commander had already fired on the creature, but the creature was huge, easily the size of three Klingons.  There was no guarantee her phaser shot alone would drop it.  Lahr didn't know what setting the Commander had but he was aware that multiple hits at maximum stun could be lethal.  While he didn't want to kill the creature, Lahr had to be sure it would not attack anyone else.  He set his phaser to maximum stun, took aim on the creature and fired, keeping it in his beam until it dropped.

~ ~ ~
The sound of a creature roaring behind her caused Chloe to turn about in surprise.  It was that surprise that gave it opportunity to claw at her abdomen before she could even think to raise her weapon.   The medical officer fell back and on instinct curled into a ball to protect her vulnerable center.   There was the sound of weapons fire and then another then moment coming towards her.   Chloe flinched when Savar knelt beside her... but his calm voice had her uncurling and daring to look at her own injury.

The creature's claws had managed to tear through her uniform, and rake across her abdomen leaving lacerations that cut through the dermal layer, completely through the fatty layer and into the muscle.   Fortunately, however its claws hadn't cut through the muscle layer completely or Chloe would be needing Savar to repack in her intestines.

Though the three lacerations were bleeding freely, they were not arterial bleeds so there was little danger of her bleeding out before Savar could apply treatment.

She weakly motioned towards the compartment where she kept the medication.   "5 cc's triptacederine, an analgesic,  and 5.. no, 10 cc's of Amoxicillin/clavulanate - which will prevention infection." she instructed in a voice strained with pain.  "Then get the dermal regenerator.  Set to level three... and focus the beam on the lacerated muscle tissue only.   Change to level two for the fatty tissue and then finally level one for the dermal layer."

If he used the wrong setting on any of the layers, it would leave a scar.

Once her own wounds were taken care of to the best of Savar's ability, though still very sore Chloe moved with Savar and guided him on his treatment of Zhuk whose wounds at his back had been staunched by Lahr after the creature was down.

As they continued on Lahr, feeling guilty for not having noticed the creature before its attack, was doubly alert now.  He constantly was checking in with Chloe to be sure she was okay and that the trek wasn't straining the newly regenerated tissue.   His antennae swayed in concern.

When Zhukdra'shar apologized to Chloe, she was quiet a moment.  She knew it wasn't the Caitian's fault.  He wasn't the only one who had missed the signs of it's presence - they all had; but in a way Chloe had sort of expected the Caitian to be far more aware of jungle dangers than someone like herself.

She eventually nodded.  "There's no need to apologize. I trust you'll be more alert from now on.  While I'm glad Savar was proficient with a dermal regenerator, I'd prefer not to have to rely on his emergency training again."

A little later, after they had traveled another 300m, they arrived at a cliff.  At the opportunity to volunteer, Lahr kept silent.  He wasn't here as a back-up security - he was the team's engineer and as such was not supposed to endanger himself unnecessarily.

Before the Caitian began his descent Lahr, asked the Caitian to hold up a moment and dug through his engineering kit for something that could be used to assist their descent.   He pulled out a 50-meter roll of fiber optic cable.  "We can use this as a safely line maybe?"  he offered.

Tying off everyone might be more of a hassle and slow their descent but it would help ensure that those that might be tired... or say injured earlier weren't left to free fall to their death if they happened to miss a foot or hand hold.

..

Zhukdra'shar started his descent, and Lahr remained alert for any sign of attack from more of those flying bear-creatures.  When it came time for Chloe to descend, she took Lahr up on the offer to be tied off.  The medical officer knew her limits and right now she was working on her last reserves of energy.  She was physically tired and sore, and mentally still reeling from having had to talk Savar through her own treatment.  It had been sheer luck that the creature's claws hadn't disemboweled her.   That thought kept playing in her mind and she found that she was constantly scanning the canopy for any sign of more of the creatures.

Tied off, Chloe began her descent while Lahr following shortly after her.   He talked her through the descent, having her climb down 10 m while he ensured a firm grip on the rockface... then she held on while he descended to just above her; moving again only once Lahr was stopped.  The cable had enough for at least two others to tie in and join them but Lahr had the odd feeling none of the others would.  Had he been still in security and doing daily training - this would be a cinch for, especially for an Andorian... and from what he knew Vulcan's were just as physically capable.

"Do not worry, Head Nurse. I will remain more attentive this time. I would prefer if we had to avoid her expertise altogether, though I am glad to have been assisted with it." A confident look was found behind Zhukdra'shar's slitted, green eyes as he regarded her once more, wanting to truly let her know that he was a capable Security officer. Time would see if he would be able to keep such a promise, though.

For his own sake, and the rest of the away team, he hoped he could.

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Cliff Face - Kaimo IV]

As Zhukdra'shar was about to head down the cliff face, however, his ears wiggled as he managed to hear the voice of Lahr, their engineer, calling out for him. Both curious, and slightly annoyed at having his descent being stopped by the Andorian, doing his best to not showcase the latter, he waited for him as he extracted what seemed to be a roll of fiber cable. As Lahr suggested using it as a safety line, he felt a twinge of guilt at what he had felt before. It was an excellent idea, after all, and would help the rest of the team descend safely.

"Ah! That is a great plan. Sure, let us use the fiber cable for such a purpose" He softly smiled at Lahr, ears slightly lowered, as he tied himself to the cable, before continuing with his descent, confident that it would be tied safely to hold his weight. It didn't hurt to be a little on the safe side, correct? And he did feel a little under the weather with discomfort from his wounds still much present on his psyche.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Jungle Clearing >- Crevasse | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

"That's okay, Zhuk," said Nira. "There was nothing we could've done, it caught us by so much surprise. It's probably going to mean some heightened alertness."

Zhuk volunteered to make the descent but then Lahr pulled out a long cord from his kit to use as a safety rope. "That's a good idea, Lahr," she said. "It'll definitely ensure some safety, regardless of how excellent a grip we have."

So Nira followed behind Zhuk on the descent down to the power source. She realized she was grateful for the safety rope, acting like the railing of a staircase of sorts, only a downright vertical staircase. The grips of the rocks for the climb, however, were fashioned in a way to ensure good grips, and Nira was impressed with the craftsmanship on it.

Finally, thirty meters above the rapids, Nira and Zhuk got to a ledge that surprised them and the rest of the team that gathered eventually gathered. The ledge, while big enough for seven or eight people, was not easily seen from the top of the cliff. However, Nira took a good look up and could see why. Savar also looked up.

"Don't like the look of those clouds," he said, noting clouds coming in.

"Interesting...well, not the clouds," Nira said. "See how that crag is jutting out? No wonder we could see the ledge and the door..."

She looked back over at the door at the center of the ledge, which was more surprising than the unseen ledge. It was not easily seen, but Nira's keen observation spotted an outright vertical line in the cliff face. Taking out her mek'leth, Nira tapped it on it. Instead of sounding a soft chink, the blade sunk a centimeter and hit something with a metallic clang. With a part of her uniform, Nira wiped away the accumulated moss and dirt to reveal a door.

"So, that certainly looks like it doesn't belong," said Nira. "Least of all within proximity to a stone or bronze age civilization. If there are Romulans here...maybe a safehouse or a duck blind that they've long since forgotten?"

Savar was already at work with the scanners and he replied, "It certainly doesn't look Romulan; no sign of the bird of prey symbol of theirs holding Romulus and Remus aloft. In any case, the door is roughly two thousand years old."

Nira looked at Savar with surprise before turning back to the door. Two thousand years old? Hundreds of hypotheses flooded her head, as usual: A sign of one of the first Romulan colonies? Or perhaps there were no Romulans to begin with, and the natives could be more advanced than they look...but it would be a stretch to assume they'd be warp capable...

"Can we get in, Savar?" asked Nira.

"Not easily," the V'tosh Ka'tur replied. "The door's been sealed, but given its age, it should be easy enough to open with brute force."

"Okay, then," said Nira. "Zhuk, you and me, beam pattern. We'll cut along the edges; you take one half, I'll take the other."

Setting her rifle to shoot a continuous beam, Nira aimed at the edges and said, "Begin cutting fire."

After the beams cut on the edges, the door came loose and toppled inwardly into the chamber in the rockface. Turning on a flashlight, Nira gestured for Zhuk to do the same, and for the team to follow behind, and they went inside. They didn't go far when the light became more prominent and everybody was able to see more inside. Nira was so surprised, she let her jaw drop, particularly as she looked around.

"Well, if it's not Romulans, than the natives are definitely more advanced than we expected," she said, gobsmacked.

"Of course, ma'am" Zhukdra'shar nodded at her as he changed the settings of his phaser rifle, in order to be able to cut in a continuous beam. He waited for her call once he had aimed towards the opposite edge of the door where Nira was preparing to cut, before proceeding to fire. Once the door came down, he made sure to wait for a few moments to allow the exchange of air to occur, under Davie's recommendation, though he was more than surprised at what little he could see inside.

[Surface - Kaimo IV]

On breaking into the chamber which was choked by several thousand years of accumulated rime and rust, the away team found the remains of what could best be described as a small waiting room. At least that's the impression one took from the configuration of the couches, facing a single chair and desk gave. Everything was made of a plastic composite material that, despite it's near indestructibility was decayed to uselessness from the long passage of time. A closer scan which had indicated that the door was almost two thousand years old turned out to have been incorrect for the age of the chamber. The dating of the detritus encrusting the door was correct to that age, but now that the chamber itself could be scanned, revealed the contents to be much older, perhaps as much as two hundred thousand years old.

Further scans revealed that the power source came from a barely functioning nano-crystal visual display on the desk. However, after so long, the power cell was failing and it would require a deft hand to keep it functioning long enough to get a clear image of what was on the screen.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian could sympathize with Ruth's concern to a degree, especially if Jess were on the away team, but he was beginning to get a bit irritated as he knew from personal experience how annoying it was when the ship asked for updates.

"Commander. No they have not reported in. I'm sure they will when they have summat worth reportin'. Until then, we will sit tight and wait. Because Mister CatalÁ¡n is a competent officer, if'n summat was other than fine, he would have informed me of a loss of lock on their combadges. I will concede that if'n they do not report in the next half hour, I'll have Ops contact them. Now Ruth, I suggest you take a deep breath and remember your role as a senior officer is ta be a non-anxious presence. I do hope that will nae be a difficult task for ye."

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Crevasse >- Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

The more Nira looked at what was in the room, the more surprised she was. This was definitely more advanced-looking than something from a stone- or bronze-age civilization. Couches of the kind found in a waiting room? A desk and chair to further indicate a waiting room?

Nira's eyes kept coming back to the thing that certainly was the most out of place: The visual display on the desk. Savar pointed it out with the scanners, but Nira's keen observation spotted it first, even if the device wasn't on.

"I think we'll rest here for the time being," said Nira to the team. "Savar, continue scanning this...room. Zhuk, Blackfeather, take turns guarding the doors, rotate every ten minutes. Lahr, with me."

She gestured for Lahr to come over to get a better look at the visual display.

"What can you make of this, Lahr?" she said, staring at the display alongside the Andorian, her brow furrowed with befuddlement.

As he moved down, he was surprised to notice a prominent ledge just below. Once he reached it, he made sure to remove the improvised safety line, in order to aid the rest of the team to step safely on it. Once everyone was accounted for, he turned his attention towards the door that seemed to be buried under moss and dirt. He approached, examining it, while an ear remained peeled to Savar's analysis of it. As it was determined that it probably was not of Romulan origin, he hummed, wondering if the natives had truly constructed such an ancient structure and if that was the case, what had happened for them to abandon them.

Once he deemed it safe enough, he approached the door, his surprise only increasing tenfold as he explored the insides of the waiting room they had found themselves in. It struck him as odd, as he identified chairs and couches, alongside a desk. Apparently, it held some kind of crystal that was powering everything up. He would leave that to Lahr or the others to find out, however, as Lieutenant Nira had tasked him with watching the door alongside Blackfeather. And so he did, making sure that no one sneaked behind them.

[Nira Said]

[Ancient Waiting Room - Kaimo IV]

Scanning the remnant of the ancient facility found the rear portion of whatever this place supposed to be, was completely crushed and cut off from the front portion; making further examination an impossibility.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian immediately perked up when Nira called and suppressed the urge to have Ruth a 'told you so' expression as he replied.

"Challenger here. Go ahead Commander."

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

"Glad to hear you, Captain," said Nira. "I was momentarily worried that the atmosphere that would mess with the transporter signals would also mess with communications. Anyway, we may have found something of interest."

Looking around, she continued, "We're in this room with some kind of power source in a room carved in a cliff. It's largely deserted, and the power source's origin is some kind of audio-visual display. The way the room is, the natives seem more advanced than we realized. The display was showing a hologram of some kind of symbol; I'll have it transmitted it to the ship for Hyperion to look at, to see what he can make of it, what it could potentially mean."

She looked around to see where Savar and Lahr had gone and found them checking out the back. Coming up closer, she noticed where there was supposed to be a door to the rest of whatever the waiting room was connected to, there was just a pile of rubble and rock. Whatever the case, it looked like the rest of whatever this was was crushed in some kind of cave-in.

"Oh. There's no rest of this place, is there?" she asked the two officers, not surprised at their shaking their heads.

"Anyway, Mister ch'Verret, can you get our findings transmitted up to the Challenger, please?" asked Nira. She then continued her report as Lahr worked.

"The room is some kind of waiting room, but the rest of the facility inside seemed to have caved in. There's no danger to the room we are in, chances are it happened millennia upon millennia ago...anyway, we should be good to continue moving once we're rested up..."

She looked back at the doorway as she spoke when something happened outside in terms of the weather, taking Zhuk in particular by surprise...

"On second thought, we may be stuck here for a while, Captain, weather outside is frightful, don't fancy climbing further down in this. At least for now."

As Lahr worked, Savar looked over at Davies and said, "How are you doing, Head Nurse?"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo IV - Ancient Waiting Room]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

With that, the device turned on, thanks to Lahr's tinkering. As much as the image lasted for a few seconds, Nira committed the image to memory while Lahr recorded. She was somewhat puzzled by what was displayed.

She looked around at the couches and the desk. A waiting area with a display of symbols.

"I'd say it's more of a symbol," said Nira. "Maybe some kind of ancient pictogram forming some sort of sentence or lettering. Given how old it is...well, maybe the natives are more advanced than expected. But if this looks like a waiting room, then wouldn't there be an additional room further in?

"We'd best ensure to keep the symbols recorded," said Nira. "Maybe there could be something... Lahr, go with Savar and run a further scan of the room, see if there could be something more to find, even an additional room. Meantime...I'd best send a copy of this back up to the Challenger, maybe Hyperion can get an idea of what it is. May need to contact Challenger anyway to report in."

With that, she sat and tapped her comm badge.

"Said to Challenger, reporting. Come in, please."

Lahr eyed the display once more at the Commander's comment.   He didn't quite see the images as pictograms.   But the Andorian petty officer knew better than to disagree, instead he gave a shrug.  His antenna leaning forward in curiosity belied his indifference.  He was rather curious as to what the visual represented.  He still thought they looked like equations - the number of dots in the triangles seemed to balance.  It was the first thing that jumped out at him.
But he guessed she could be right - they might be pictograms.  She was definitely smarter than him, with her being trained in Forensic Investigative sciences.

He nodded his agreement when she said they needed to keep the symbols recorded.  That was why he had video'd it.  Unfortunately, the display flickered one last time and completely went out before Lahr had opportunity to check and see if there were any other visuals prompts on the unit.

Her orders next were to help Savar --  Lieutenant Savar that is -- with scanning the rest of the room to which he again nodded, while she conversed with the Captain.

[Ancient Waiting Room - Kaimo IV]

Scanning the remnant of the ancient facility found the rear portion of whatever this place supposed to be, was completely crushed and cut off from the front portion; making further examination an impossibility.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian immediately perked up when Nira called and suppressed the urge to have Ruth a 'told you so' expression as he replied.

"Challenger here. Go ahead Commander."

Lahr pulled out his tricorder and assisted by doing a number of various scans - sharing his data with the Vulcan science officer.  The scan all indicated the same thing.  Whatever answers there might be in the other rooms, they'd never be able to learn them; which sucked!

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

"Glad to hear you, Captain," said Nira. "I was momentarily worried that the atmosphere that would mess with the transporter signals would also mess with communications. Anyway, we may have found something of interest."

Looking around, she continued, "We're in this room with some kind of power source in a room carved in a cliff. It's largely deserted, and the power source's origin is some kind of audio-visual display. The way the room is, the natives seem more advanced than we realized. The display was showing a hologram of some kind of symbol; I'll have it transmitted it to the ship for Hyperion to look at, to see what he can make of it, what it could potentially mean."

She looked around to see where Savar and Lahr had gone and found them checking out the back. Coming up closer, she noticed where there was supposed to be a door to the rest of whatever the waiting room was connected to, there was just a pile of rubble and rock. Whatever the case, it looked like the rest of whatever this was was crushed in some kind of cave-in.

"Oh. There's no rest of this place, is there?" she asked the two officers, not surprised at their shaking their heads.

"Anyway, Mister ch'Verret, can you get our findings transmitted up to the Challenger, please?" asked Nira. She then continued her report as Lahr worked.

"The room is some kind of waiting room, but the rest of the facility inside seemed to have caved in. There's no danger to the room we are in, chances are it happened millennia upon millennia ago...anyway, we should be good to continue moving once we're rested up..."

She looked back at the doorway as she spoke when something happened outside in terms of the weather, taking Zhuk in particular by surprise...

"On second thought, we may be stuck here for a while, Captain, weather outside is frightful, don't fancy climbing further down in this. At least for now."

As Lahr worked, Savar looked over at Davies and said, "How are you doing, Head Nurse?"

While Lahr ran his scans, the Andorian couldn't help but overhear, the Commander's briefing to the Captain on their finds.  He found her generalized descriptions amusing.  He would have thought someone who was a Forensic investigator, and who was dating a Vulcan, would be far more precise in their briefings instead of using phrases like 'some kind of'.    Lahr's antenna bobbed in amusement.

It was then, even as the Commander was asking Lahr to transmit their findings up to Challenger, that the Andorian's antennae twitched in reaction to the sudden barometric pressure change.  Lahr looked to the Commander and nodded at her request.  It didn't take long to send the information up to the ship and to Hyperion specifically.

NPC Lt JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Kaimo IV - Ancient Waiting Room]

While Lahr and the others did a close inspection of the room, Chloe moved to stand off the side and waited for the all clear.  She was hoping since they had located the power source that had been the anomaly and it didn't appear to be the Romulans, that they were good to return to the ship. She wanted to fix up both hers and Ensign Zhukdra'shar's wounds.   Savar had done decent work for a science officer.  He'd literally saved her life, but Chloe would prefer not having scars on her abdomen.

That the technology present had been here for millennia made Chloe wonder if some sort of planetary disaster had knocked their civilization back to their beginnings.

Lieutenant Savar's question to her, drew Chloe's attention back to him.  She smiled towards the Vulcan and nodded.
"I'm fine.  Is there anything I can do to help with the search?  What are we looking for other than that power source?"

Standing where she was near the entrance to the room, Chloe could see the sky suddenly darken.   Something in the air caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise. 

[Ian Galloway]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

"Glad to hear you, Captain," said Nira. "I was momentarily worried that the atmosphere that would mess with the transporter signals would also mess with communications. Anyway, we may have found something of interest."

Looking around, she continued, "We're in this room with some kind of power source in a room carved in a cliff. It's largely deserted, and the power source's origin is some kind of audio-visual display. The way the room is, the natives seem more advanced than we realized. The display was showing a hologram of some kind of symbol; I'll have it transmitted it to the ship for Hyperion to look at, to see what he can make of it, what it could potentially mean."

She looked around to see where Savar and Lahr had gone and found them checking out the back. Coming up closer, she noticed where there was supposed to be a door to the rest of whatever the waiting room was connected to, there was just a pile of rubble and rock. Whatever the case, it looked like the rest of whatever this was was crushed in some kind of cave-in.

"Oh. There's no rest of this place, is there?" she asked the two officers, not surprised at their shaking their heads.

"Anyway, Mister ch'Verret, can you get our findings transmitted up to the Challenger, please?" asked Nira. She then continued her report as Lahr worked.

"The room is some kind of waiting room, but the rest of the facility inside seemed to have caved in. There's no danger to the room we are in, chances are it happened millennia upon millennia ago...anyway, we should be good to continue moving once we're rested up..."

She looked back at the doorway as she spoke when something happened outside in terms of the weather, taking Zhuk in particular by surprise...

"On second thought, we may be stuck here for a while, Captain, weather outside is frightful, don't fancy climbing further down in this. At least for now."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As the information from the surface came in and was relayed to Ian by Ops, he paused to look at the symbols for a few seconds before he replied.

"Data received. We'll see if our databanks have anything on them. Sensors do show a storm movin' in your direction, but that it will hold off for a few hours before it arrives. It is your decision if'n you want ta lose that much time before nightfall. Keep us updated. Galloway out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Ancient room - Kaimo IV Surface]

Based on the information they had and their own senses, it was clear a storm was brewing, but as this was a tropical environment, heavy rain was probably common and likely unavoidable. The determining factor was time, the storm was hours out and likely to last a few hours as well. Thus, if they took shelter in the old facility, they would likely lose four to six hours and that would mean it would be nightfall before they set out again. One thing that will undeniable was, based on how difficult the terrain and wild life were like, trying to face both in the dark was very unappealing.

[Nira Said]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As the information from the surface came in and was relayed to Ian by Ops, he paused to look at the symbols for a few seconds before he replied.

"Data received. We'll see if our databanks have anything on them. Sensors do show a storm movin' in your direction, but that it will hold off for a few hours before it arrives. It is your decision if'n you want ta lose that much time before nightfall. Keep us updated. Galloway out."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Ancient room - Kaimo IV Surface]

Based on the information they had and their own senses, it was clear a storm was brewing, but as this was a tropical environment, heavy rain was probably common and likely unavoidable. The determining factor was time, the storm was hours out and likely to last a few hours as well. Thus, if they took shelter in the old facility, they would likely lose four to six hours and that would mean it would be nightfall before they set out again. One thing that will undeniable was, based on how difficult the terrain and wild life were like, trying to face both in the dark was very unappealing.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo IV - Ancient Waiting Room]

Lahr eyed the display once more at the Commander's comment.   He didn't quite see the images as pictograms.   But the Andorian petty officer knew better than to disagree, instead he gave a shrug.  His antenna leaning forward in curiosity belied his indifference.  He was rather curious as to what the visual represented.  He still thought they looked like equations - the number of dots in the triangles seemed to balance.  It was the first thing that jumped out at him.

But he guessed she could be right - they might be pictograms.  She was definitely smarter than him, with her being trained in Forensic Investigative sciences.

He nodded his agreement when she said they needed to keep the symbols recorded.  That was why he had video'd it.  Unfortunately, the display flickered one last time and completely went out before Lahr had opportunity to check and see if there were any other visuals prompts on the unit.

Her orders next were to help Savar --  Lieutenant Savar that is -- with scanning the rest of the room to which he again nodded, while she conversed with the Captain.

Lahr pulled out his tricorder and assisted by doing a number of various scans - sharing his data with the Vulcan science officer.  The scan all indicated the same thing.  Whatever answers there might be in the other rooms, they'd never be able to learn them; which sucked!

While Lahr ran his scans, the Andorian couldn't help but overhear, the Commander's briefing to the Captain on their finds.  He found her generalized descriptions amusing.  He would have thought someone who was a Forensic investigator, and who was dating a Vulcan, would be far more precise in their briefings instead of using phrases like 'some kind of'.    Lahr's antenna bobbed in amusement.

It was then, even as the Commander was asking Lahr to transmit their findings up to Challenger, that the Andorian's antennae twitched in reaction to the sudden barometric pressure change.  Lahr looked to the Commander and nodded at her request.  It didn't take long to send the information up to the ship and to Hyperion specifically.

NPC Lt JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Kaimo IV - Ancient Waiting Room]

While Lahr and the others did a close inspection of the room, Chloe moved to stand off the side and waited for the all clear.  She was hoping since they had located the power source that had been the anomaly and it didn't appear to be the Romulans, that they were good to return to the ship. She wanted to fix up both hers and Ensign Zhukdra'shar's wounds.   Savar had done decent work for a science officer.  He'd literally saved her life, but Chloe would prefer not having scars on her abdomen.

That the technology present had been here for millennia made Chloe wonder if some sort of planetary disaster had knocked their civilization back to their beginnings.

Lieutenant Savar's question to her, drew Chloe's attention back to him.  She smiled towards the Vulcan and nodded.
"I'm fine.  Is there anything I can do to help with the search?  What are we looking for other than that power source?"

Standing where she was near the entrance to the room, Chloe could see the sky suddenly darken.   Something in the air caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

Nira had expected an instant downpour, but it was certainly threatening to. The Challenger's sensors, per Captain Galloway, told a different story. Nira's mind was definitely thinking things over. Yes, storm clouds were often like that: They looked bad, but it took them quite a while for the cloudburst to happen. It's the same on many planets, but quite different for others, particularly when some planets are all ice, all desert, all volcano, all any terrain.

Nira looked around outside the doorway. A few hours? As logical as it was to have an ideal shelter from the storm in this room, on the other hand, if they did, Allah knows how long the storm would last, and it would potentially be nighttime by the time it ended. Recalling the difficult trek they had so far, Nira came to a decision: If they left now, especially following the river to better ground and keeping up with the shoreline, they would be able to cover more ground and reach better ground by the time the storm arrived. Plus, they would easily find plenty of foliage for a makeshift shelter unless they found a tree with some damn good cover.

"Acknowledged, Captain," replied Nira. "And thanks for the heads-up about the storm. Said out."

She looked back at the team and called, "Okay, team, five more minutes and then let's pack up, break the rest camp and continue on our way."

She went back out to the entrance and studied the layout of the path down, the rapids and the mouth to the lake. She wondered how well the shoreline the rapids cut into would be like. And with rapids, there would have to be good places to cross along the way. She hoped they could make it to the mouth, where there could potentially be easier ground, let alone beach, before the rain fell.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian could sympathize with Ruth's concern to a degree, especially if Jess were on the away team, but he was beginning to get a bit irritated as he knew from personal experience how annoying it was when the ship asked for updates.

"Commander. No they have not reported in. I'm sure they will when they have summat worth reportin'. Until then, we will sit tight and wait. Because Mister CatalÁ¡n is a competent officer, if'n summat was other than fine, he would have informed me of a loss of lock on their combadges. I will concede that if'n they do not report in the next half hour, I'll have Ops contact them. Now Ruth, I suggest you take a deep breath and remember your role as a senior officer is ta be a non-anxious presence. I do hope that will nae be a difficult task for ye."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ruth smiled apologetically at Ian then theatrically took at deep breath, and then let it out in a huge sigh then giggled.  "Yeah I know,.." she grinned.  "I'll do my best Captain and you know I was just teasing there.  I'm more concerned about those solar flares if I'm honest, but we can't control them."

Twisting in her chair, Ruth turned to face CatalÁ¡n

"And Mr CatalÁ¡n, I apologise if it sounded as though I was suggesting you weren't doing your job properly.  I'm a bit of a mother hen when it comes to people I know are on away teams and I'm not with them!"

[Bridge | USS Challenger]

At that moment, Buck looked up from his observations and scans that were being made to hear Ruth, the Challenger's Commander and CSO mention that she continued to worry about everyone. As far as the scans were showing, everything looked green across the board and their biosign lock scans seemed to be stable. The planet itself hadn't interfered with that, which was a blessing. Of course it was not to say that Buck was not worried about the status of the away team - he firmly believed that no news was good news in this scenario.

Buck had been about to answer when Ian had stepped in, and opted to remain quiet for the time being - checking on their inventory loads and filing what had been taken with the away teams should they come asking for a check. It made it easier if anything got lost that they had record that it had been taken off ship. Buck glanced over to the Captain briefly, checking whether the man needed a verbal confirmation that everything was still seeing green across the board from Ops' perspective. He checked the time on the screen and set himself a small reminder to check in half an hour.

"Anything in the meantime, sir?" He inquired, feeling it was best as representing junior officer on the bridge to make sure he covered all needs of the ship and take a load from his departmental head if necessary.

Ruth smiled across at McNair, he was a junior officer and yet seemed outwardly calmer than the rest of them.  Maybe because he had less experience of the horrors that could occur.

She shook herself, mentally.  That was unfair on the man, he might have gone through many terrors.  The CSO made a mental note to ask Nira if they could have some kind of ship social evening so everyone could mingle and get to know one another.

[Ancient Waiting Room - Kaimo IV]

Scanning the remnant of the ancient facility found the rear portion of whatever this place supposed to be, was completely crushed and cut off from the front portion; making further examination an impossibility.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian immediately perked up when Nira called and suppressed the urge to have Ruth a 'told you so' expression as he replied.

"Challenger here. Go ahead Commander."

Ruth let out the breath she hadn't realised and rolled her eyes at Ian's told you so then with a grin just nodded in a 'Yeah yeah OK, I concede!' way.  They'd known each other long enough that they wouldn't take any animosity from it.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

"Glad to hear you, Captain," said Nira. "I was momentarily worried that the atmosphere that would mess with the transporter signals would also mess with communications. Anyway, we may have found something of interest."

Looking around, she continued, "We're in this room with some kind of power source in a room carved in a cliff. It's largely deserted, and the power source's origin is some kind of audio-visual display. The way the room is, the natives seem more advanced than we realized. The display was showing a hologram of some kind of symbol; I'll have it transmitted it to the ship for Hyperion to look at, to see what he can make of it, what it could potentially mean."

She looked around to see where Savar and Lahr had gone and found them checking out the back. Coming up closer, she noticed where there was supposed to be a door to the rest of whatever the waiting room was connected to, there was just a pile of rubble and rock. Whatever the case, it looked like the rest of whatever this was was crushed in some kind of cave-in.

"Oh. There's no rest of this place, is there?" she asked the two officers, not surprised at their shaking their heads.

"Anyway, Mister ch'Verret, can you get our findings transmitted up to the Challenger, please?" asked Nira. She then continued her report as Lahr worked.

"The room is some kind of waiting room, but the rest of the facility inside seemed to have caved in. There's no danger to the room we are in, chances are it happened millennia upon millennia ago...anyway, we should be good to continue moving once we're rested up..."

She looked back at the doorway as she spoke when something happened outside in terms of the weather, taking Zhuk in particular by surprise...

"On second thought, we may be stuck here for a while, Captain, weather outside is frightful, don't fancy climbing further down in this. At least for now."

As Lahr worked, Savar looked over at Davies and said, "How are you doing, Head Nurse?"

Ruth listened intently and then waited until all transmission was finished.

"I'll pop down to Astrometrics, see what aur NY Taxicab makes of it and maybe have a look at it myself, Captain.  Keep me posted please!"  Ruth knew Ian would know what she meant.

Petty Officer Sedek please report to the Bridge she got the Vulcan PO to come up and monitor Bridge scans so she could be in Astrometrics when the data came in.  Once she was relieved with a curt but polite nod from the Vulcan, she made her way down to Sciences.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Waiting Room - Cliff Face - Kaimo IV]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

Nira had expected an instant downpour, but it was certainly threatening to. The Challenger's sensors, per Captain Galloway, told a different story. Nira's mind was definitely thinking things over. Yes, storm clouds were often like that: They looked bad, but it took them quite a while for the cloudburst to happen. It's the same on many planets, but quite different for others, particularly when some planets are all ice, all desert, all volcano, all any terrain.

Nira looked around outside the doorway. A few hours? As logical as it was to have an ideal shelter from the storm in this room, on the other hand, if they did, Allah knows how long the storm would last, and it would potentially be nighttime by the time it ended. Recalling the difficult trek they had so far, Nira came to a decision: If they left now, especially following the river to better ground and keeping up with the shoreline, they would be able to cover more ground and reach better ground by the time the storm arrived. Plus, they would easily find plenty of foliage for a makeshift shelter unless they found a tree with some damn good cover.

"Acknowledged, Captain," replied Nira. "And thanks for the heads-up about the storm. Said out."

She looked back at the team and called, "Okay, team, five more minutes and then let's pack up, break the rest camp and continue on our way."

She went back out to the entrance and studied the layout of the path down, the rapids and the mouth to the lake. She wondered how well the shoreline the rapids cut into would be like. And with rapids, there would have to be good places to cross along the way. She hoped they could make it to the mouth, where there could potentially be easier ground, let alone beach, before the rain fell.

Zhuk was caught off-guard by the sudden gale that hit him as he guarded the entryway to the waiting room, gazing over at the opposite cliff-face of where he and the rest of the team stood. He was forced to walk backward a few steps, and as he gazed up at the sky, he managed to see dark clouds beginning to accumulate just above them. The sound of thunder manifesting upon the sky was a clear sign of an approaching storm. It made his fur rise up.

An ear flicked towards the general direction of the rest of the away team, to better hear the instructions provided by Lieutenant Nira. He picked up the instructions for everything to be picked up in 5 minutes before they got to continue with their trip. It was certainly odd for the Caitian to hear this, as he expected some entryway or side-room to be found within this section, but it seemed as if they had not been so lucky. His senses peeled forward, he really didn't want any other nasty surprise to come like that dropbear that had almost gored him. And Head Nurse Davies. He wondered how she was holding up, considering that he sometimes experienced some pain if he moved in such a way or another.

Perhaps something to ask her when they were once more off to the next location. Still holding his phaser rifle, he decided to look back in order to ask for the next instruction.

"Shalt I aid in the recovery of our small camp, ma'am? Or shalt I remain here until we are off?" If Nira told him to help, he would eagerly do so, aiding the rest of the away team to prepare for them to continue. If not, he would remain posted on his current guard duty, making sure everything was safe for the time being.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse  and  PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret

Given Chloe's exhaustion after climbing down, Lahr was kinda grateful that the Commander gave the order for 5 minutes to 'tear down camp'.    What camp?  he mused to himself.  All they'd done here was set watch and run a couple scans.  The only one actually resting was Chloe, who seemed to be the one who needed it the most.  Hopefully it would be long enough.

When the five minutes were up Chloe rose to her feet and nodded her readiness.  It was time to continue on.

Lahr attached the folks leading - he assumed Zhukdra'shar and the Commander - to the safety line and asked out of curiosity.  "Where to next Commander?  Up or down?"

[Nira Said]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Waiting Room - Cliff Face - Kaimo IV]

Zhuk was caught off-guard by the sudden gale that hit him as he guarded the entryway to the waiting room, gazing over at the opposite cliff-face of where he and the rest of the team stood. He was forced to walk backward a few steps, and as he gazed up at the sky, he managed to see dark clouds beginning to accumulate just above them. The sound of thunder manifesting upon the sky was a clear sign of an approaching storm. It made his fur rise up.

An ear flicked towards the general direction of the rest of the away team, to better hear the instructions provided by Lieutenant Nira. He picked up the instructions for everything to be picked up in 5 minutes before they got to continue with their trip. It was certainly odd for the Caitian to hear this, as he expected some entryway or side-room to be found within this section, but it seemed as if they had not been so lucky. His senses peeled forward, he really didn't want any other nasty surprise to come like that dropbear that had almost gored him. And Head Nurse Davies. He wondered how she was holding up, considering that he sometimes experienced some pain if he moved in such a way or another.

Perhaps something to ask her when they were once more off to the next location. Still holding his phaser rifle, he decided to look back in order to ask for the next instruction.

"Shalt I aid in the recovery of our small camp, ma'am? Or shalt I remain here until we are off?" If Nira told him to help, he would eagerly do so, aiding the rest of the away team to prepare for them to continue. If not, he would remain posted on his current guard duty, making sure everything was safe for the time being.

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse  and  PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret

Given Chloe's exhaustion after climbing down, Lahr was kinda grateful that the Commander gave the order for 5 minutes to 'tear down camp'.    What camp?  he mused to himself.  All they'd done here was set watch and run a couple scans.  The only one actually resting was Chloe, who seemed to be the one who needed it the most.  Hopefully it would be long enough.

When the five minutes were up Chloe rose to her feet and nodded her readiness.  It was time to continue on.

Lahr attached the folks leading - he assumed Zhukdra'shar and the Commander - to the safety line and asked out of curiosity.  "Where to next Commander?  Up or down?"

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

Nira could feel the gale from the mouth of the cave; wind was variable, but it was certainly a sign of the coming storm. She looked at Zhuk when he offered to help break up camp.

"Of course, Mister Zhuk," she said. "The faster we can get ready to move, the better."

As she moved back in, she reflected that technically, it wasn't a camp when they were resting, but then again, it was the first time she ever took part in a wilderness-style away mission. As far as she knew, resting was a means of camping down and then resuming would be breaking camp. She looked at Lahr when he broached the question.

"Down," said Nira. "We'll get to the bottom of this...literally," she added, gesturing to outside, "then we follow the rapids, we cross at the best place we'll be able to, get to the mouth and keep following the shoreline until we find a suitable beach. Of course, we'll cover as much as we can before the storm reaches us."

Once the five minutes were up and everybody was ready, Nira said encouragingly, "Okay, onward! Down we go!"

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Cliff Face - Kaimo IV]

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse  and  PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret

Given Chloe's exhaustion after climbing down, Lahr was kinda grateful that the Commander gave the order for 5 minutes to 'tear down camp'.    What camp?  he mused to himself.  All they'd done here was set watch and run a couple scans.  The only one actually resting was Chloe, who seemed to be the one who needed it the most.  Hopefully it would be long enough.

When the five minutes were up Chloe rose to her feet and nodded her readiness.  It was time to continue on.

Lahr attached the folks leading - he assumed Zhukdra'shar and the Commander - to the safety line and asked out of curiosity.  "Where to next Commander?  Up or down?"

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Ancient Waiting Room | Jungle Lake Basin | Kaimo IV]

Nira could feel the gale from the mouth of the cave; wind was variable, but it was certainly a sign of the coming storm. She looked at Zhuk when he offered to help break up camp.

"Of course, Mister Zhuk," she said. "The faster we can get ready to move, the better."

As she moved back in, she reflected that technically, it wasn't a camp when they were resting, but then again, it was the first time she ever took part in a wilderness-style away mission. As far as she knew, resting was a means of camping down and then resuming would be breaking camp. She looked at Lahr when he broached the question.

"Down," said Nira. "We'll get to the bottom of this...literally," she added, gesturing to outside, "then we follow the rapids, we cross at the best place we'll be able to, get to the mouth and keep following the shoreline until we find a suitable beach. Of course, we'll cover as much as we can before the storm reaches us."

Once the five minutes were up and everybody was ready, Nira said encouragingly, "Okay, onward! Down we go!"

Zhuk promptly headed over to aid in picking up the camp, placing his rifle aside through the help of its straps. Once everything had been recovered, he made sure to make one final sweep to determine if anything had been left behind, before continuing outside, once his inspection felt sufficient.

"Excuse me, Petty Officer ch'Verret, but was it determined what the waiting room was employed for? Or no such luck thus far?" Zhukdra'shar asked, once the instructions to descend were conveyed by Lieutenant Nira. He proceeded to take point as he had before, tying himself to the cable before continuing his descent in order to follow the rapids. He had some concerns about the available room the away team would have once they reached the bottom, but he hoped it would be enough for them to at least move comfortably and safely towards the mouth of the river.

Skillfully heading down, he reached down after a moment, and untying himself from the rope, he made sure to aid any other member of the away team with safely touching down on dry land, after making a quick exploration of the general premises, making sure it was safe. He remained with his rifle close by, making sure it would be available on a whim if required.