Star Trek: Starbase 777

The deeper they went, the darker it became - the older trees standing close, guarding the perceived peace.

Well, it seems T'She was leading the pack this time, maybe it wasn't a good idea, but they were determined to find the commander who had gone missing, whether Ammun-Ho was alive or dead.

She kept a firm grip on her phaser, following behind T'She and Moirai. So far so good, at least in her own eyes. Had the away mission been perfect up to this point? No, but considering they hadn't lost anyone they were all in a decent position.

Her phaser was also firm in hand as they moved. Her antennae drooped as her focus tightened. She didn’t like this at fucking all.

Maggie looked around with the most Soooby Doo like expression on her face. “This place is so scary yet scary interesting.” She said quietly.

She considered taking back her statement about the beauty of the place, but decided against it. She held her phaser where it hung on her belt, trying to keep the gnawing anxieties in her gut at bay.

“Is that what we’re calling it..?” She muttered in response, a low expression on her face. She’d have chosen ‘this place is fucking horrific bullshit all the time’ but she didn’t voice her proposed edit.

"How are we planning to approach the, um... spot?" Kove decided to ask, probably directing said question at Suun. Sorry Suun.

“…I’m not quite sure yet. Hopefully with caution, at the very least.” She admitted, “Any of us with telepathic or empathic abilities will need to keep themselves as closed off as they can, considering what happened when one of us did try to reach out.”

"Oh, I know that, first-hand," they attempted a very unconvincing smile. Nevertheless, they trudged on, too determined to find their Commander.

“Eh you see the inside of a Borg cube for a few weeks straight nothing really scares you anymore.” She responded to Gimura.

Girl that did not help Gimura see this differently in the way you thought it did. (edited)

“I’m curious whether it’s possible to distract the… thing, or if the effect it has on us isn’t targeted and is instead a facet of its existence.” She mused. She was an ACOO, not a scientist, but it didn’t hurt to wonder.

"Lieutenant tr'Lareth was able to distract it by throwing a tricorder earlier, that is how we escaped our first encounter, but I do not know if a trick like that would work again..." T'She added, remembering the first encounter with a shudder.

"I would suggest partially splintering the group to gain a better vantage point on the anomaly. We wouldn't need to be separated too far, but just enough so that if it does intend to target us, it has to choose between two main groups. Thus, in theory, which ever group isn't targeted by it is able to more effectively assist the other." T'Evoryn surmised. "Of course, it would depend on knowing how to neutralize the anomaly. Which we don't know how to, at least currently. So it would only stall it momentarily."

"I would heavily advise against that, Commander. I am the only medical officer in this group, and because of that, if we splinter more, one team would be without medical assistance." They offered, hoping that might dissuade further separation.

Maggie nodded. “Yeah like uhm! I’m not much of a fighter! So I would prefer to stick together.”

"Hmm." Darn, she forgot about that. "Good point. Ignore that suggestion then."

“We have strength in numbers, I fear.” She nodded, “I agree with Commander T’She.”

As they walked, they could spot roots - and flowers, again. They seemed to be coming from somewhere ahead of them...

“Ooo, plant based organisms!” She whisper shouted, pointing at them.

Grey eyes assessed the make up of the group before, especially at what T'She then proceeded to state, he started to speak. "I agree with Commander T'She also." The CTO proceeded to say then as he watched the others and walked. "Given all considerations." He paused as he looked around before he continued. "Especially the fact the commander is the only medical officer present in this group." Vara'l, as his gaze snapped to Maggie then to what was being pointed at, the Romulan xB had hummed. "Indeed." Vara'l murmured then. "Interesting." He stated before, once he'd had a brief moment to appreciate the vista, he turned his gaze to his tricorder. It rather seemed more tactically important.

She turned to the others, brows furrowed at the news she’d just received. “I received word from Lieutenant Tr’Lareth. Sunhead was spotted near our shuttle, we need to be careful where we’re headed.”

They decided to try and get a read on these Roots, and so, they scanned them! They were planning on following them when they did get the scan down. "Understood. I am just getting a scan on these flowers and roots, they seem to have been effected by the distortion."

They were, indeed, the same flowers seen on the outpost - expressing the same weird phenomena of being in three states at the same time. The longer one tried to look at them and comprehend it, the less cohesive that image became. These flowers did not match any flora of the planets known to the Federation. They did not match Acheron IV's native species, either. Their composition was truly, wonderfully, alien - something that bled into this plane through the breach.

"These flowers... appear to be from the breach, a calling card of the Sunhead, in a way. I suggest we keep going this way -- following the roots of these flowers -- unti we come to the epicenter. At least... that is my suggestion..." They just hoped that their suggestion made sense.

4

Vara'l looked along the flowers as he considered T'She's words. He then turned and looked at them. "Makes sense." He mused then as he looked around. "At the very least, it'll potentially give us more data."

"Sunhead is not on our tracks yet... I guess we need to make the most of this before it gets too close." Marze agreed getting ready to follow.

"We're coming, Commander," they murmured softly, trailing the rooted path...

As they walked, the roots became thicker and thicker, soon becoming more reminiscent of tree roots than the thin plant ones. In the distance, a large... tree?... could be seen, it's bark having similar colorful swirls to the fog around them.

“We have no basis for what it looks like typically, but… all of it seems warped.” She said, a bit unsure, “Like it’s reacting to the proximity.”

"Shall we scan the tree then?" The nurse spoke as they regarded it, feeling that they were getting to the bottom of everything that was happening. They wanted to investigate, they wanted to explore -- something rare for the medical officer indeed.

"That's a big ass tree. Five strips of latinum to whoever climbs to the top." Aoife said as she phased back into the material plain now that Dan was home from class.

5

Gimura idly considered climbing to the top but decided against it, letting out a little huff at the idea.

If she was a century younger, maybe… “Scanning sounds like a plan.” She nodded. Any information was good information.

Go Go Gadget... tricorder! T'She started to scan the tree!

9

From what T'She could gather, it was once a singular big tree, now having the alien plants overgrowing it, nearly drowning out a singular life sign in the middle of it all. There was also the recent presence of radiation traces around the upper part of the tree...

... Because there it was, clinging to it like a spider, it's "head" turned towards the group, yet the beast was... unmoving. A statue. Still and calm, seemingly just... observing it's guests. Because it was so still, the away team could look at it and not drop instantly - perhaps not directly at it's "head", which was... confusing, but around it. (edited)

"Three bars of latinum to climb it?" Aoife said looking up at the sun head perching on the tree.

T'She immediately looked away from the sunhead, their eyes shut to try and protect themself from the dropping effect for the time being. Nevertheless, the scanning continued, as they wanted to know whether the sunhead counted as a lifesign, or if the life sign on the scan was... something... promising.

It sat unmoving, still, observant. It certainly had some sort of organic makeup to it, with a heavy coating of subatomic particles and it's heat, but the tricorder - all too used to carbon-based lifeforms, and some other, rarer ones - just could not discern it as one. Nevertheless, with the very, very slow heave of it's sides, and everything else about it... there was a distinct feeling that what they were looking at, was alive. T'She, perhaps, could begin to feel a certain sensation of being watched. The creature let out a soft, gentle chime.

In the meantime, the weak lifesign at the roots of the "tree" persisted.

Squinting and turning away, she peered at the scans while keeping as much distance as she could. The creature doing no immediate harm was a surprise, although the warning from Saren still had her on edge.

They shudered, they did not like this feeling, they did not like this feeling one bit. Of course, they noticed that the life sign was as the base of the tree. It was something that gave them hope, and so, they decided to relay that information as quietly as they could. "I... there is something in the base of that tree. There is something alive, I think it might be the missing commander, that is the most logical explanation."

Oh she hhhhated this. Gimura kept close to the other tactical officers and held her phaser tight.

"Okay, any suggestions how we get to the base of the three without getting jumped?" Aoife asked genuinely, she had a feeling shoot first and ask questions later, while her usual opening move wouldn't helpful here.

“In the tree?” She whispered, brow furrowing once again, before stepping back to think, “Can we distract them… somehow?”

“…someone can run interference, I guess,” She muttered, “Like the tricorder the science guy threw.”

THE SCIENCE GUY? HAVE SOME RESPECT ON HIS NAME

8

9

SHE DOESN’T KNOW HIS NAME!!!

Well you should know everything duh.

2

As a member of the science community you will be hearing from our legal team. “I mean, ugh. Who is most needed up top? Because the rest of us could I guess?” (edited)

Hmph. The ensign furrowed her eyebrows and antennae, “As long as we can keep attention away from T’She,” She thought she heard the name right, “then we should be fine, I guess.”

Slowly, painfully slowly, it began to raise it's ?head? upwards. It was hazardous to look at, but it did not cause the same effect on them as it did back by the river. Curious...

3

She watched the light shift, and lowered her voice, “I think it’s looking at us…”

"I do not think this is trying to hurt us this time. It is moving slowly -- unlike at the river, where it was moving really fast. As long as it stays moving slowly... then... well... we might be safe." T'She relayed their thoughts quietly before they took a slow step forward, mimicking the sunhead's motions to show that they also did not mean harm.

"Slow and steady then." Aoife said quietly agreeing, she slowly lowered her rifle slightly as she took a tentative step behind T'She. "Eeeeevryone move nice and slowly." She said in a hushed tone to the group.

Gimura stared at T’She with wide eyes as they started to move, and when Aoife did much of the same, she realized they were serious. Holy shit, “Goddess…” She muttered before begrudgingly following suit.

2

Maggie took some mouse like movements as she moved with the group. “You know. This isn’t that bad.” She said quietly to herself.

She exhaled softly, taking a slow step back with her hands raised slightly. “Easy and calm…”

One of it's ?limbs? also began to move. Slowly it reached down, curling around a heapful of flowers and roots, and began to pull it to the side, revealing the tree's hollowed-out trunk, it's chiming becoming sorrowful in tone.

3

In there, laid a person.

6

7

"We are just going to recover this person, don't worry, you are safe," T'She spoke to the Sunhead, even if it probably could not understand them. They wanted to explain what they were doing anyways. Idly, they wondered whether they could get it home, back to its plane of existence. But, before that, they kept moving slowly to the person, medical bag at the ready to try and do as much medical stuff as they could.

Aoife slowly inched forward, following just behind T'she. As she followed she tried to get a better look at the sun head before plunging into the depths.

Her antennae stood on end as they continued to move at a snail’s pace, “Did it sound…sad..?” She mumbled, almost in disbelief at herself for saying it.

Any breath left in her escaped as the body was revealed, finding strange emotions from the upset creature’s noises. “I… believe it did.” She replied, a bit stunned, “They’re more complex than we previously believed.”

Vara'l joined the approach as the person was revealed and T'She said what they said. Not that he initially responded to that past his move to ensure T'She and Aoife were covered as they approached. When it sounded sad like it did, Vara'l paused slightly. Did so then frowned, also somewhat stunned. "Aye.. I believe you might be right, commander." He murmured then as he looked to T'She for a moment then. "Commander T'She, is the.. person alive?" Asked that before he also glanced towards sunhead, moved to keep them in view as he followed the approach of others toward the body.

As she approached carefully with the group, Marze couldn’t help but feel a sense of… amazement. This creature… was magnificent, truly. And evidently, more conscious than they previously thought. “Do you think… it was protecting the tree? And the person?” She asked to the nearest officer, whoever it was at this point.

The limb carefully brushed past T'She, warm and light and other, before gingerly, perhaps even shyly, curling itself around the palm of the Aurelian woman, lying curled up in one of her own wings. The first two things that immediately would jump out at the medical officer, was the fact that she was breathing, the rhythm slow yet steady, as well as the damage around her eyes and beak - feathers there burned, the keratin scarred in some places.

4

"We are going to bring this woman back with us, is that alright with you? We are going to heal her, and she is going to live," They spoke as they started to open their medical bag to make sure Ammun-Ho was stabilised, and ready for transport.

Gimura felt crazy, but she knew in her heart that this was what Starfleet was about. Being raised by the military arm of an exploratory and helpful organization certainly did a number on her head, as she’s realizing here and now, bathed in the light of a creature that made their ACMO bleed from their nose only a few hours ago. There were so many conflicting feelings screaming at each other in her head.

It wasn't clear if it understood what T'She said - if language transcended between the two beings like tone or gesture did, or not. However, the hold it had on Amunn-Ho's palm did tighten, the soft light it emitted dimming like a sun overtaken by rainclouds.

"Wh?..." there was a twitch, an attempt at movement. "Wha..? Where..."

5

"So you want her to stay?" T'She asked, even if they were not sure whether the Sunhead heard or understood them. Instead, they tended to the commander to the best of their ability, finally turning their attention to her. "Hello commander, you are safe, and you are in the middle of the outpost's forest, with this being protecting you."

A smile pulled at the corners of the scientist's mouth: "Of course she is. She means no harm, despite the nature of her existence, I can promise you that. Are you a Starfleet officer? I do not recognize your voice, and, well... I can't see no more, so..."

1

Shit! What had blinded the commander? The creature? The explosion? “We are Starfleet. All of us… we received an SOS from your team.” Marze explained while lowering her riffle for good. “How… what exactly happened?”

"Yes, we are Starfleet. I am Liutenant Commander T'She Tamura, a nurse on Starbase 777, I am with others from that same Starbase, as my compatriot as said. I am interested in knowing what happened, as it would help me heal you." They spoke, mirroring Marze's sentiment.

She did not open her eyes - probably for the better - but the skin around them crinkled, as her "eyebrows" furrowed. "I've established contact with Sunshine over here around... seven years ago. Communications, mostly, trying to understand each other. I was the sole research leader back then, until our late Commander Rhadam arrived only just two years ago. Competent, straightforward, but a tad, ah... hard to work with." She tried to shift her wings before continuing, to regain at least some dignity - as if suddenly very aware of the many, many eyes currently watching her. "Our opinions on how to engage these temporal anomalies - these breaches found on Acheron IV - differed. I did not agree with his methods, worrying that they might... have a negative impact on the other side. I did not tell him about sapient live I've found here. When I learned about one of the experiments he was conducting without my awareness, I rushed in to shut it all down, and, well..."

"The explosion happened," the Betazoid, expression crumpled, sat besides the Aurelian. "Commander... I'm so glad to see you alive. Admittedly, knowing that this being is... not malicious, and that it exists in the first place, would've helped us quite a lot in these past few days."

"It was an accident," she whispered, voice tight. "I did not want it to happen, no one did. I felt the burn, but before it could engulf me whole, she managed to get me out."

“…your… the being, earlier, she acted hostile towards members of the away team. I’m assuming it wasn’t hostility at all, but protection?” She asked, after a moment of taking it all in, “She wanted to keep you safe?”

Lashing out to protect someone...hm. Gimura could find some common ground in that.

"Safe, yes. But also, looking for help," her palm, currently in the sunheaded being's hand, gave a squeeze in return. "In her... own way. Hard to do so in a world so unsuited for yourself." Something fearful passed over her features then, as her head moved to face the crowd. "I... have a selfish plead, but... please don't separate us? If you have to close the breach for good, I... I want to go with her."

3

She tightened her jaw, averting her eyes for a moment. She knew how the commander felt, and that willingness to go wherever a certain someone else goes struck a chord within her. “…Do what you must.” Was all she could manage.

Aoife winced a bit at that request. Not sure how letting someone go with an extra dimensional creature into god knows where would fly with her bosses. This was going to be a tedious mission report.

The ensign's eyes widened, swimming around the group as the request settled against them. She...didn't quite know what she could say about it. She honestly didn't even know what her opinion was. There were a lot of questions floating around in her head.

They might not have understood matters of the heart, but they understood enough to know that they should not meddle. "I believe that is fair." They added, though they did not know whether people were doing anything about the breach, maybe someone should comm about that.

”Commander, you said this place is unsuited for… her.” Marze looked at Sunshine again. “What guarantees you can live safely in her plane of existence, wherever it is?”

Vara'l looked to the others then and considered things for a moment. Considered the commander's request. "I believe the Lieutenants made very pertinent point." He started then before he continued. "While I agree with Commander T'She, I do also agree that there a need to confirm you'll be safe."

"It is unsuited for her only because most beings here cannot comprehend her," she went on to explain. "She, however, does not struggle with that. Others like her do not struggle with that. I, myself, will no longer struggle with anything like that."

Gimura looked over the commander, and as her words sank in, she realized why the woman was blind.

“It would be quite the loss, commander.” She asked, her voice softer than before. “If you are to go through with it… I’m sure your crew will understand, but could there be a chance of you being able to stay here with her?”

The Aurelian visibly balked, perhaps at a loss of words. "That... would be preferable, of course, but I have just..." she sighed, clearly distressed. "After studying temporal anomalies for so long, and after Rhadam, and after this whole accident happening, I just... I just saw my leave as the only option. There is no way Starfleet will allow this site to exist, right?"

"I can understand and let go many things, Commander, but you thinking that you wouldn't be missed by us, or that we wouldn't support you..." they inhaled, noise sharp. "Trying to make yourself disappear, just like one of the temporal anomalies, huh. I think you just fear uncertainty, sir."

It took her a moment to gather her words, but once she had them, she spoke slightly unsteadily. “Starfleet isn’t the only factor in this. This is your life, this shouldn’t depend on whether or not you get approval.” She looked to the others, seeking their own opinions.

The ensign stood with folded arms, which was nothing new given most of this mission, as she considered her own opinion. "...uh..." She took in a breath and huffed, "...yeah. Agreed. You're free to do as you choose..."

"Perhaps the work on temporal anomalies could continue, with the help of Sunshine? I... am unsure..." They sighed, this was definitely not their forte, granted, none of this was really their forte.

”Hold on. To make clear I’m 100% with the ‘it’s your call’ team, but…” And the Klingon couldn’t believe she was actually giving a shit about protocol for once. “How are we supposed to report what happened if you do go to never come back?” (edited)

"Say I died," came a casual answer, with the bird woman slightly lifting her chin up and puffing out her feathers.

"There's our Commander," Kove sighed fondly, only to then immediately sober up: "They are right, though. We have to try to talk about it. I cannot deny the risk that they might order a shutdown, but... you don't know that for sure, sir."

“We can fight and vouch for you. Temporal research is something that we always need more of, and… with this place being a site like it is, there may be some hope for you yet.” She stated, words flowing much smoother now, “You have a crew who looks up to you still, who would do anything to help you.”

"You know how much paperwork a dead officer is?" Aoife said softly, though her tone was also mirthless. It WAS a lot of questions when someone, expired, especially in a new and unheard of way. Aoife wouldn't stand in the way if Amun-Ho wanted to go to a different plain. I certainly wasn't a call she would make though.

Her expression was hard to read, that with the lack of a human face and closed eyes. But when Amunn-Ho turned her head away and covered the upper part of her beak with her palm, the gesture could be read as an attempt to keep oneself together. "I... yes. I understand. Thank you. Genuinely, thank you," said palm then began reaching to where she heard Kove's voice, "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, for everything."

"You've supported us, now we get to support you," they reached out as well, a light squeeze. "It'll be okay. Now, please, get those eyes checked out."

T'She smiled slightly, something that they did not do often, but this whole situation made them feel something... in some way. "You have a group that will fight for you, so please, don't give up on them just yet."

This was one hell of a first away mission at her new posting, wasn't it?

She dipped her head, lips curling upwards as she watched. Something soft welled up in her chest at the knowledge that it wasn’t going to end quite yet.

Vara'ls jaw worked a bit as he considered everything. Say she died? That was something that had hammered into him in a emotional way that part of him disliked while on missions. Feelings that impaired function. Inefficient.

Kindness went a long way. The medical assistance provided to the Commander would do wonders for her state; the reunion with her team did so, too. And while the future of the outpost was left uncertain, the efforts of the away team brought not only understanding for something so incomprehensively other, but also, hope for the undecidedness ahead of them all.