Investigation

Posted on 19 Apr 2023 @ 2:25pm by Commander Kristiana Petrova & Lieutenant Commander Harva Taliborn & Lieutenant Commander Cintia Sha'mer

1,884 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Deus ex Machina
Location: Lunar surface
Timeline: Post Ensign Walker emergency landing

The shuttle was cramped, especially for the massive Sirran, but fortunately the trip had been short. They'd touched down right outside the lunar base. Ensign Walker had set down a few miles away; they'd check on her once they figured out what was going on in the moonbase.

"Everyone check your gear," Kristiana spoke, glancing back at the others - Harva, as muscle and in case they had a technical issue to solve; Cintia for her telepathic senses; two securitymen for protection; and Petrova herself leading the team.

Sha'mer, for her part, was glad enough that she had been cleared to actually go down with the team. From the moment she heard about the moon base she had been itching to go there and find out what had happened, an urge which had only deepened when she heard of the unfortunate emergency landing of Ensign Walker.

She ran a quick check through her gear, for the third time since boarding the shuttle: environmental suit, weapon, scanner, comm. Another check for the brace, running at 95% of power and full efficiency. Also good, no sudden accidents would be nice for a change. "Checked and ready," she reported.

Harva for his part had similar equipment, though a special Sirran environmental suit and a considerably larger weapon to fit his stature. "Checked and ready," he rumbled. The two securitymen also checked in with the same report.

"Right, on me," Kris said, matter of factly, as she cycled the air in the shuttle before opening the door and stepping out onto the lunar surface. The moonbase loomed ahead of them. Lights flickered in some parts, others seemed dark. Now that they could see it with their own eyes instead of through sensors they could see some minor damage to the exterior of the base, though the majority of the facility seemed intact.

Sha'mer only glanced at the corpse, her mind far more occupied with other things. Other minds. Though everything in here she could see sharply, the minds themselves were nebulous, diffuse, hard to pinpoint, as if she was looking through a fog (that twisted tasting fog) and only could see shapes looming when they were really close. None were really close, that was all she could say. "Can't get a fix on them," she said softly, annoyed.

At least with a decent floor under them walking and concentrating at the same time didn't pose as much of a problem. That 'fog', though… She steeled her nerves and dove deeper inside it, probing. It grew denser the more she reached out towards where the centre of the facility ought to be. Safe to say that its origins were there? "I think what we're looking for is in the heart of this facility," she said, looking around. "But let's be very very careful. I have no idea what the hell we're dealing with."
Sha'mer reached out with her senses while keeping an eye on the scanner. She expected the scanner to show little, though she could still hope that once they entered the base they would be within some kind of dome which jammed any other type of sensor and have a clear signal once they were inside it. Probably not, though. If anything, the closer they came to whatever blocked sensors, the more their scanners would be affected. But still…

Best to rely on her mind for now. Thus far she could still feel the others of her team: the bright multicoloured spark of commander Petrova, the strong steady flame with controlled bouts of passion of Harva, the minds of the securitymen, alert and on guard. As she followed the Commander she let her mind spread out, looking for other sparks, other minds.

Step by step the group approached the facility. Always a wary eye out, Petrova on point, Taliborn taking up the rear. The securitymen and Kristiana with their weapons at the ready, Harva with his tricorder, trying to take readings. Unfortunately the interference made that an almost impossible task - though it seemed to lessen as they approached.

And there they were, other sparks, dimmed by the distance and the layers of protection between the interior of the moonbase and the harsh environment outside. A small group – how many people were supposed to be on this base? She had expected more. And weren't they too dim, even taken the shielding into account? Or was this a result of this, this strange interference which also distorted their sensors?

And the minds themselves, the way they felt, they were… Sha'mer slowed down as she focused, eyes narrowing. There was something curious about them, something… "Well, there are people alive in there," she said quietly, still concentrating.

"What do you sense?" Kris asked, holding up a hand to tell the group to hold still for a moment. "Can you tell how many? Are they - like, alright? Or under great stress, can you tell?" Truth be told she didn't quite understand how Cintia's senses worked, just that they did.

Sha'mer stopped when the others did, relieved that she no longer had to focus on both 'listening' and on walking on the uneven terrain, bad leg and all. "Not many, what I make out from here… Six, seven, maybe?" She closed her eyes in order to concentrate with even less distractions, and aimed her full senses on the base itself.

"They feel odd…" She barely realised she was speaking aloud, trying to translate what she felt from abstract concepte into words. "Dim… dimmer than I'd expect… and…"

Minds. Multicoloured minds like stars and constellations, all shining with their own unique light, just like stars which looked alike at first glance could be distinguished using a spectral analysis. But these minds… like stars which looked alike at first glance. As she narrowed her focus even further, trying to pick up the 'tone', the shimmer of their emotions, she frowned. Not just 'alike at first glance', they were eerily alike, almost synchronised…

Her first impulse was to back away, and she actually did take a step back, almost stumbled but didn't even notice it herself. "Something strange about them, can't quite put my finger on it…" She shook her head with a shiver. "In synch? It feels… ugh."

Petrova listened, though she didn't quite understand. "In synch?" she asked. "You don't look so good, are you alright? Can you explain?"

Sha'mer raised a hand to touch her head, but lowered it before she could bump it against the helmet and look foolish. "Bit of a headache. The strain, probably. I'll try again later when we're closer. But for now… it's like… Have you ever seen pictures of the Borg, all drones moving and doing stuff? I've often wondered how their minds would feel if you could scan them. Never came close enough to them to find out, thank the stars, but I think it would kind of resemble this. Synchronised."

"Are you saying these - minds you sense are like a hive mind of sorts?" Kris furrowed her brows, contemplating. "Does it seem like their natural state or is something wrong here?" she added.

Sha'mer frowned again. She had pulled her mind back for now, but the aftertaste still lingered. "Judging by how it felt… Definitely something wrong there. Not sure about their natural state, but that… ugh… like biting on tinfoil and having that metallic taste in your mouth. Or thinking you're biting into something sweet but it turns out it's rotten. Something like that."

"I see," Kris responded. Truth be told, she didn't fully understand what Sha meant; she understood tactics and weapons, not this - mind magic hocus pocus - but she respected it. "Let us know the moment you sense anything more," she added before giving the hand gesture to move on, closer towards the facility.

They approached what seemed like an airlock, with a simple control panel on the outside. Fortunately it was still powered and functional, as with some investigation the party's engineer, Harva, found the correct control to open the first door to the airlock, allowing the group access.

"I advise to wait another moment before opening the other door, let me see if I can find out more now that we're here." Sha'mers voice already sounded distant, distached, as she reached out with her mind once more. One of the things she really wanted to know was where the people inside the base were, the last thing she wanted was to get jumped or shot at once the inner door opened. And maybe she could pick up more now that they were so close…

The first thing which stood out was that 'taste', that twisted overlay over the minds in there. It stood out more, sharper now, something… a distinct feeling of wrongness, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. And from here she could see that indeed the minds felt… dimmer, as if their sparks were repressed and forced into alignment. And there was something else, more deeply hidden still. "Something else? Someone else?" she murmured to herself.

Kris gave Sha'mer all the time she needed. "Take your time," she offered, quietly motioning for the two securitymen to take up flanking positions on either side of the inside door. The hiss of air pressurizing the space became audible as the room equalized pressure with the rest of the facility. "I think it best if I remain on point, but we'll go a bit slower to give you time to - do your thing. Acclimatize. Read the room," she added.

After a few moments they continued on their way, their footfalls now echoing through dusty halls. Their EVA suits read that the atmosphere was technically breathable, but very polluted and with trace elements of harmful gases, so Petrova elected for the group to keep their EVA suits on, for now.

Here and there some minor damage to various surfaces, signs of fighting. Eventually, a body. A corpse. Half decayed. A humanoid alien, at first glance they might be forgiven to think it a human, but closer inspection revealed some subtle differences, made even more difficult to determine by the state of decay. The cause of death was easy to figure though, as the being's skull was caved in.

Sha'mer only glanced at the corpse, her mind far more occupied with other things. Other minds. Though everything in here she could see sharply, the minds themselves were nebulous, diffuse, hard to pinpoint, as if she was looking through a fog (that twisted tasting fog) and only could see shapes looming when they were really close. None were really close, that was all she could say. "Can't get a fix on them," she said softly, annoyed.

At least with a decent floor under them walking and concentrating at the same time didn't pose as much of a problem. That 'fog', though… She steeled her nerves and dove deeper inside it, probing. It grew denser the more she reached out towards where the centre of the facility ought to be. Safe to say that its origins were there? "I think what we're looking for is in the heart of this facility," she said, looking around. "But let's be very very careful. I have no idea what the hell we're dealing with."

[To be continued]

 

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