Luck and Disaster - Part 2

Posted on Tue Jul 22nd, 2025 @ 6:04pm by Captain Daegan Baas & Petty Officer 2nd Class Sizia Sh'velihr [Baas] & Aseek Tarnala & Commander Jerome Hunt Jr. & Lieutenant Liam O'Riley & Lieutenant Urushi Yaotome & Lieutenant Niami Troga & Lieutenant Ayumu Tanaka & Lieutenant JG Stevie Thomas [O'Riley]
Edited on on Fri Aug 1st, 2025 @ 10:16am

1,406 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Sole Survivor
Location: USS Valkyrie / Planet's Surface
Timeline: MD 18 - 1315

[Transporter Room 3]

Lieutenant Yaotome, the assigned team leader had arrived before everyone else. She had just finished the initial preparations to beam down and was now checking all the EVA suits of her team.

Lieutenant O'Riley walked into the room carrying his tool bag seeing Urushi standing by the transporter pad. With a smile "Lieutenant Yaotome, if it isn't my favorite science officer; I heard you're leading the away team" then he paused "So you nervous about being the head honcho on this."

Urushi smiled. "Not really. I'm more used to command than most. Haruk was a Starfleet Captain... Oh, my previous host that is." She explained. "I feel pretty confident I can do this without a hitch."

"Ah, I wasn't aware. In that case I'm sure you'll feel right at home leading the away team" Liam replied with a grin.

"Alright, people, let's get a move on!" came a familiar voice. "Remember, full quarantine protocols are in effect for all surface disembarkations! If any of you experience a leak in your EV suits, notify me so we can beam you into isolation immediately! And if anyone here begins to experience any abnormal side effects while we're down there, please do not hesitate to notify me! Whatever's out there, we are not risking contamination!"

Urushi turned and was just in time to observe a small team of five-or-so medical officers entering the transporter room; leading them was not Doctor Cussen, but rather a tall, muscular Trill with messy black hair and a stone-faced expression. Despite having never met this man in her own lifetime, thanks in part to the memories she had inherited from the Leon Symbiont, Urushi would've recognized his face from just about anywhere:

Lieutenant Ayumu Tanaka, a former initiate and close personal friend of the late Haruk Leon, in the flesh.

"Hello Ayumu." Urushi said a huge grin spreading across her face. She then shook it off, he probably didn't recognize her. "I'll tell him later..." she thought. "Sorry... I mean it's good to see you here Lieutenant."

"Ah, Lieutenant Yaotome," Ayumu acknowledged in kind. "Apologies for the delay; our team's been making some last-minute preparations before we beam down; we don't want to be taking any chances with this thing until we have a better idea of what it is."

"Yeah... of course..." Urushi nodded.

Sizia was the last to finish with her EVA suit and checked her equipment before waiting the word to step onto the transporter.

Urushi crossed the room and joined the transporter officer. She tapped at the small communications controls. "Yaotome to Security Team One. Report." She asked simply. She needed the go ahead before she could risk beaming any more people down, she just hoped that the landing site was secure.


[The planet's surface - Pricari launch facility]

The security teams materialized in what had been a open area between several building 180 years ago. Now the area was over grown, buildings were in an advance stage of decay. Nothing moved and all was silent. It was eerie. Having swept the area many lowered their rifles to which Gonzalez fired back. "Weapons up! Stay frosty people." Stepping back into the formation he scanned the area.

Hudson and Lambert were quick to move to the forefront, along with the rest of their teams, they were charged with keeping those on the away team safe. They moved to check the perimeters, and the path the rest would be moving through. "So far so good." for this moment, but who know what will come about later on.

== Gonzalez to Valkyrie. No life signs or movement. All clear. Come on down. ==

A few moments later the rest of the away team members materialized on the surface.

The first thing that Urushi noticed was the silence and how still and eerie the city felt. It was like being in the middle of an old Zombie apocalypse movie. "Start with scanning for anything biological that isn't flora." Urushi said.

"Aye, Lieutenant," Ayumu nodded as the medical officers began sweeping the immediate vicinity with their tricorders.

Aseek looked around in shock at what he saw. For him it had only been just over a week since he had walked this same area. What had been clean and and intact was now collapsing and overgrown. Off in the distance he saw where the launch towers had been. Green mounds covered the collapsed remnants of the towers and the massive concrete pads where cracked with veins of plant life running through them.

Sizia had brought a enhanced scanning equipment but even the more sophisticated device had the same results as the earlier scans from the security teams. "Nothing. No humanoid, or animal life signs. Other than the away team there's no movement...no remains...nothing."

She looked around. "Where did they all go?"

"Let's move forward a little. Expand the search a little." Urushi said. "Don't trust your tricorders, it could be possible that these 'defiled' may not be detectable. Keep your eyes and ears sharp." She told the team.

Ayumu furrowed his brow. "Is that even possible, Lieutenant?" he speculated. "A super-evolved organism that gives off no organic residue whatsoever?"

"We never know what we're going to find." Urushi said. "Never speculate that something is impossible, because there's always a chance at it being possible."

Ayumu seemed unconvinced, but given that this was already a bit of a long shot, he supposed it was fair to keep an open mind in the unlikelihood that they really were dealing with something beyond their comprehension.

With a shrug, he turned his attention to the other medical officers in his group.

"Stay close," he ordered. "And as crazy as this is going to sound, from this point forward we are not to trust the tricorders until proven otherwise."

The medical officers looked at one another uncertainly, but nonetheless holstered their tricorders and moved to join up with the rest of the group.

Liam looked around hardly believing how desolate this place looked; it was enough to send shivers up one's spine considering this must have been a very prosperous area at one time.

Assek followed, "The last building on your left will be the launch command facility."

Gonzalez looked to Hudson and moved in advance of the away team. Whatever doors had been there had worn away and they peeked in looking for anything that might be hostile.

Stepping up to the edge of what had been a balcony to a lower level, now broken away, littered with debris from the ceiling and the holes in the roof. The main computer room and control center it two levels down."

Sizia looked around, it wasn't the crumble building that concerned her. "Aseek. Where are all these 'defiled' creatures?!" An edge of irritation in her voice.

Aseek turned, "I don't know."

"It's been 180 years," Urushi stated. She turned to Aseek. "Is it possible they've all 'died off'? If they were preying on your people, perhaps as food, once a food source is depleted then they either turn on each other or starve to death. It's common in animals." She explained. "It's also possible that they couldn't survive in this environment so have moved elsewhere on the planet..." she added.

Across the room a piece wall fell shattering the calm.

Urushi jumped slightly, clearly startled by the sudden noise.

Hearing the dead silence broken Liam winced "Bloody Hell!!" he stated in a rather loud voice. Moments later he realized what he had just done "Sorry team" feeling a little embarrassed at the moment. Liam had been on many away team missions over the years but this situation was starting to creep him out [Get your shit together O'Riley] he thought to himself.

Lambert jumped when he heard the loud voice, "Sheesh O'Riley you about gave me a heart attack. Just trying to get his heart to calm down.

"That makes two of us," Ayumu lamented.

Having had all his nightmares and memories come alive at once he had spun at the sound expecting some grotesque abomination only to see nothing he paused as he calmed himself. His breathing still not totally controlled, "I don't know...there were never any reports...of anyone being eaten...but I would have been in my hibernation pod by then."


TBC...

 

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