Into the Deep

Posted on Sun Nov 28th, 2021 @ 5:10pm by Lieutenant JG Ryan Kade III

Mission: Season 5: Episode 3: CAPETOWN
Location: Unknown
Timeline: MD1 - Shortly after "When it rains..."
659 words - 1.3 OF Standard Post Measure

A cone of bright white skimmed through the darkness, falling fast. The sound of metal pinged as the light began to flit about, casting shadows with each revolution as it bounced its’ way down. “Frell it all!” A gloved hand reached downward after the escaping palm light, fingers outstretched as if a few millimeters further would make up the difference of the twenty or so meters it had dropped.

She hung there for a moment, watching it fall until it bounced out of sight. The hole she was climbing down must’ve had a sharp turn for the path to have gone so dim. Horizontal is just fine by me… Slowly, Kandiss loosened her grip on the makeshift pulley rope, letting herself go down a meter at a time.

When her booted feet made contact with the bottom, she tilted forward, careful not to hit her head on any rocks as she went down onto her knees. The horizontal turn meant falling was no longer a problem, but the path was so narrow that she had to crawl forward. The water from the cold, wet rocks was slowly seeping into her gear and smearing over her hair and face as she went. As uncomfortable as it was, she was glad of it, as the water was probably absorbing a fair amount of whatever unpleasant smells the cave had to offer.

The young human woman, fully clad in her survival gear, crawled out from the hole in the wall into a much larger space. As she pushed herself up to her knees, she began wiping the musty water from her face and arms. She was finally free to move around and started stretching, as well as checking her things. The leather vest was a darker shade of brown as it was still wet, like pretty much everything else. Nothing was missing from her utility belt, and the pulse pistol was still in its’ holster. Her tricorder, however…

“Ah!” Her voice echoed as she leaned down and snatched up the previously lost device, “there you are.” It shifted around in her hands as she did a quick inspection. As it looked no worse for wear, she immediately put it to use, scanning around as far as she could. Her head tilted as she pondered the results on the readout. I’m only getting, like, ten meters in any direction… she frowned.

The comm device crackled to life as if someone were calling her, but all she heard was static. Lucas must’ve been trying, and failing, to get through the interference. Another sound had been competing for her attention, but it took her brain a moment to catch up. She swiped the comm’s face to silence the channel, then fell into a crouch. What was it she’d heard? A low rumble? Maybe a growl? Ugh, please don’t do this to me, right now. She thought, hoping that whatever it was wasn’t dangerous- or hungry.

Her dominant hand hovered over the thigh holster as she quietly made way to the only other opening. It was a roughly door-sized hole that led out into an even larger room if her tricorder was to be believed. As she pressed herself against the side of the entrance, the cold rocks sent a chill down her spine. She shivered from the cold, only to twitch with anxiety as the frosty feeling beneath her skin was replaced by sparks going right back up. Her feet planted flat, her boots digging as deep as they could into the rocks. Narrowing at first, her eyes then went as wide as dinner plates when she heard the low grumbling again, and it sounded a hell of a lot closer. Too close.

If I die down here, I’ll kill him. Kandiss grimaced, her fingers wrapping around the grip of her weapon. This was not going to be easy.