Star Trek: Starbase 777

Lingering behind the group, Ed followed close on their heels, glancing over his shoulder every now and again as the tree cover gradually grew thicker.

Rozamal walked near the front of the group with a hum on his lips. “Come everyone, stay together, we don’t want to be getting lost.” He said in his Dad voice.

Karavix kept her eyes peeled, surveying the area. Even with broken trees and fallen limbs, it was a beautiful colony. The disaster that had struck saddened her.

Going on an adventure, are we? Incredible. Iviaan lingered close behind so his hoverchair wouldn't block the path, humming a tune under his breath.

She followed along the group, adjusting her belt as she walked with the others. Considering what she saw, she didn’t have much to say.

Silver, again, was near the front, the mud barely even a hindrance to her as she forged ahead, in a surprisingly graceful sort of manner that only Silver could achieve in these conditions. She tried not to think about the devastation. She wanted to help, and she couldn’t help if she broke down.

Ed broke into a bit of a jog to catch up to the others, before slowing back down near another ensign he recognized from the crew manifest he’d skimmed before leaving the Starbase. “How’s it going?” He asked, before staggering for a step with a shoe sinking into the mud. “…shit.” He shook himself free, brushing himself off and willing himself to hope no one was paying too much attention.

Saren, the unbothered king, was busy messing with the settings on his tricorder, because of course he wanted to scan whatever they walked past by.

To his left was Syrax, who helped steer the slightly distracted scientist as they followed the Aurelian lady deeper into the woods. Which was definitely not scary. Thankfully, the helmsman's sense of direction was being impeccable right now.

Silver turned her head to look at him, (probably looking down a bit considering she was 6’5), but still continuing at her somewhat fast pace. Her eyes, to be clear, were very unsettling considering they were bright yellow and she didn’t blink very often, but she smiled all the same. It was just kind of hard to tell what the fuck she actually was species-wise. “It’s going very well for me. The mud doesn’t seem to be very good for you.” She commented, her tone still very even despite trying to make a joke.

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And to his right, probably, was Allan, also seeming to have an instinct to mess with his tricorder, but he'd sort of become a pro at doing that and walking over the years, especially if he had people in front of him to follow. Much like the walking texters of centuries ago, really, but he kept much of his attention off the tricorder and to the wide number of junior engineers just ahead of him, pretending he definitely did not see Ed nearly trip into the mud. Looked back at the tricorder when that had happened.

"I ask that you tread carefully." Lioohn moved through the path with the precision of someone who had done it a thousand times, going a bit further ahead to scout out the area, pointing out fallen trees and logs. In the distance, there was a small stone structure with entrances in clear view. "We're nearly to the temple now."

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He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, continuing to try and match Silver’s pace with one shoe clogged with mud. “Yeah, that… happens.” He shrugged, “If centuries in space told humans anything, it’s that we’re one of the less adept species. Anyways—“ He watched her for a moment, then glanced back at Allen with a please-don’t-say-anything glance. “I’m being careful, sorry.” He muttered. (edited)

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Lieutenant Shay was following the group, quiet for the moment, occupied by her PADD. She was taking notes on what was going on, for future reference or in case something happened to all of them.

He looked to the elder as they went. “Is there anything we should keep in mind about the temple? We wouldn’t want to be disrespectful.”

"Oh, that's very kind.." Lio thought for a moment. "When we go down the stairs, walk carefully. The stone will be slippery, and it is... a long way down. And please do keep your voices down."

"The what," there was a slight bewilderment in his tone as Saren's gaze bounced right back ahead of them. He looked at Allan: "Did she say temple?"

"Ow," the command Lieutenant winced slightly as he got smacked by a low tree branch. Curse of being tall...

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He nodded with a hum. “Ah I shall keep that in mind, and thank you for warning of the stairs, I wouldn’t want to fall and hurt my already quite poor spine.” He said with a calming smile.

"Everything alright, Lieutenant?" Iviaan called to Sy from behind, thankfully much lower to the ground than he was. No branches for him. Yay.

Ev'kor walked near the back of the pack, watching Syrax get smacked by a branch and knowing to duck himself. A temple, huh? He had to wonder what was in there.

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Temple? He was about to ask a question, but Rozamal asked it before he did. Awesome. When Ed glanced back at him and muttered, he feigned a look of confusion, then he smiled and nodded, totally understanding. A sort of 'yep, I got you, don't worry' sort of look. Listen, he was in a pretty similar state of mind when he was an ensign here a few years ago, really. "Yeah, temple," he said to Saren, Bigfoot theory coming back to his mind. Clearly, they worshipped the creature... He was distracted by Sy getting hit in the head, though. "Oh shit- you good?" He asked as he looked over at the helmsman.

"Just a flesh wound on my pride..." came a somewhat sheepish reply.

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The ensign pursed his lips at the prospect of yet more opportunities to slip, but nodded, holding out his arms slightly to balance himself. He glanced to Syrax, raising an eyebrow but saying nothing. It probably wasn’t the time for jokes, which was a rare occasion for him.

The mention of a temple caught Tarsek’s very point ears and he immediately stayed alert, his eyes tarting between the trees for the earliest sight of the construction. If anyone was looking, they would see the Vulcan surveilling with such intensity one might think he supposed there was some sort of danger in the woods. Old habits die hard and it had been a while since his anthropologist side had any kind of stimuli. Temples had been one of his specialties back in his desert excavations glory days. As he saw the entrance for the first time, his mind went completely scientist mode, evaluating every single stone he could see. (edited)

She looked up at Syrax when he heard his ‘ow’, just in time to see the branch. Luckily she wasn’t tall enough to need to duck. Then she glanced over at Tarsek, noticing his sudden attentiveness, and she smiled slightly, knowing this was his specialty before she went back to taking notes.

"It is a bit.. primitive, compared to the current state of technology. Traditional." Lioohn lingered near the entrances. Three separate sets of stairs, all leading down. "They all go to the same place, so.."

"Don't forget to duck..." Saren whispered to his cousin, earning himself a poke in the ribs.

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"You're so mean," an exasperated eyeroll. They had to be serious, damn it!

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Ed narrowed his eyes at the three sets of staircases, before taking a step downward on the middle stairs. It couldn’t hurt to just go for it, could it?

“I am sure it is a fine temple, no need to be worried we would think it lesser then.” He said to Lioohn.

”Careful. This is a sacred space. Do not play while you descend.” Tarsek eyed both Saren and Syrax. He could see this kind of interaction ending on bruises and maybe a broken arm.

"Both of the Lieutenants are more than capable of keeping serious when the time comes. A light joke won't hurt," the ACMO responded warmly. Warm as the robot voice could be, anyway. "Worry not, Commander." (edited)

He looked over to Iviaan. ”I was merely reminding. The elder said the stairs are slippery, if we are not careful one might get seriously hurt while descending. Damage to the temple is also possible.”

"Yes, and we are all well aware. Let's move forward, shall we?" The smile on his face didn't vanish for a second, but his antennae just barely twitched.

"Don't worry, Commander, I've survived worse," he cocked his head towards the left staircase, offering Allan and Syrax to take that path: "Let's distribute ourselves to avoid crowding on the pathways."

Karavix arched a curious ridge, heading down the center path. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right..?

Ed went alongside Karavix, following on the other officer’s heels.

”Indeed.” The Vulcan did not catch that small reaction. The idea that he might have bothered anyone was not even considered. It was simply logical. And so had been Iviaan. They indeed had to move forward. He chose the stairs on the left and carefully prepared to go down the path leading inside.

"I'll follow you all down to ensure no one trips," Lioohn called behind them, lingering behind with a slightly worried look. Hopefully everything would be alright as they descended to the #temple-depths ..

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