A Monster from the Id Part II
Posted on Tue Sep 19th, 2023 @ 10:28am by Major Cornelius Tremble & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Wed Sep 20th, 2023 @ 9:58pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Bottom of the Ocean Planet Aquil
Timeline: MD012 1500hrs
Neil saw the bio signature spike on his vambrace and his comm's cut out as Jayna's scream broke the decibel limit. He heard it click back in almost immediately as he kicked in his light amplification goggles to make sure nothing was actually attacking her.
A part of him was tempted to grab her by an ankle and start hauling her around until her fight or flight kicked in, but he restrained himself. Instead, he moved in behind her, keeping distance and said over the comms, "Jayna. Easy you're in the clear. Nothing is attacking you. Focus on getting your breathing under control and nothing else."
It took Jayna a moment to register his words. She knew there was nothing to be afraid of, but her mind was focused on what felt like tentacles. For several seconds she didn't move while her mind fought against her fight or flight instincts. This was why she was here and she had to keep calm.
Once she got her breathing and her thoughts under control, she carefully removed the seaweed. "Sorry. That was...unexpected." It was an understatement, but it was the best she could do at the moment. "It caught me off guard."
She slowly moved forward as more seaweed brushed against her. Each time, it got easier.
Once she and Neil were far enough into the chamber, more drawings appeared on the wall, illustrating the underwater food production and variety of edible plants harvested by the Aquilians and where it was used. She noticed some of the leaves from their lunch and smiled.
Neil swam beside her, knowing she was distracting herself with the tour. He debated for a few beats, then said, "There's always going to be an unknown aspect. New stimuli. New things to react to. You know this. You're doing good. Just keep putting yourself out there. These things don't always shake off right away."
She smiled appreciatively. "I know...logically." She shook her head. She knew that whatever happened, Neil was here and she'd be okay. But her fears came from a more primal place and didn't always respond to logic.
"Thanks." With that, she picked a direction at random and continued swimming. She stayed above the kelp to keep it from brushing against her again. She wasn't quite ready for that.
Something brushed against her and she froze. This time, she took a moment to breathe before she looked around and saw a small fish darting around her legs. She wondered if it lived here or wandered in. Either way, it was a nice distraction.
There were several small openings off the large cavern, but most were too small for humanoids--or quickly became too small. She took the first large one she found. She didn't care if it was part of the official 'tour' or not.
Neil followed, his muscle memory kicking in faster than he'd hoped. He'd still be sore after several hours in the water, but his motions were becoming more economical.
And if he was getting sore, then he was out of shape. That wasn't a good thing.
His goggles let him monitor her bio's and she wasn't red lining. As they moved further, he said, "I've been in sensory deprivation before. You DO have to get your brain wrapped about it. I can test you later but not sure you really want me doing that."
She thought about it for a minute as she followed the passage, concentrating more on her surroundings to stay in the moment. "I'm not sure I want to do that, either. You can tell me when we leave here if you think it's necessary." She trusted Neil's judgement.
The passage ended in algae-covered rocks and sand. Jayna shone her headlight over the outcropping, but saw no openings large enough to safely navigate. For a moment panic knotted her stomach and she felt trapped, triggering a fight or flight reaction. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing in with her nose and out with her mouth as she tightened and then relaxed her muscles. She was safe and she was not alone.
When her breathing grew more natural, she took one more look around. "I don't see any way forward. We'll have to backtrack and take another tunnel. Care to take the lead until we find one?"
"No," Neil said, after checking her bios. "You're still building stress and I'm going to push you right now. Charlie Mike, Jayna. If I lead now, you'll continue to spike rather than using that to drive you through." Neil moved against the wall and flattened himself to let her pass.
She took another slow breath and nodded. As she moved to pass him, she paused and placed her hand on his chest for a moment, then continued on.
She took the first large opening, brushing against the side and sending a cloud of detritus through the passage. She swam a few feet down and paused for the water to clear. "Sorry." She needed to pay more attention to her surroundings and less to the thoughts that kept spinning around in her head.
She forcefully cleared her thoughts and focused on her surroundings, counting the number of times she found something unusual. Eventually, she came to another larger cavern and paused to decide where to go next.
Neil moved into the chamber and felt a gradient change, the water warming as they moved into the center of the chamber. The water reacted to their presence and they became surrounded by constellations. Pinpoints of light began to form and move then reform showing off what Neil assumed to be the planets starscape.
This display caught Jayna's interest more than the others. She'd always loved looking at the stars and learning their names. She slowly turned around, taking in everything. This, more than anything else in the cave system--except for Neil--helped center her.
When the chamber was again dark, she selected another passage, this time choosing to go up, and continued swimming. The passage was a bit wider than the more recent ones, but Jayna was still cautious: cave diving, even in a place like this, could be dangerous.
After a few twists and turns, a side passage began to glow with a greenish light. Now more curious than concerned, the half-Vulcan turned to follow the light. This passage went about ten feet and again turned up, growing brighter as she approached another opening. This time, when a tentacle of seaweed wrapped around her arm, she jerked back, took a moment to breathe, unwound the seaweed, and continued into the cavern.
The sides of this cavern were covered with bio luminescent algae, giving it an eerie green glow that revealed over a dozen different types of aquatic plant. A number of small fishes darted away as she moved into the center. Once there, a holographic display illustrated the different types of plants growing in the cavern around them. Then holographic images showed the local fishes and which ones were edible. "Well, that explains lunch," she said, grinning at Neil.
Neil nodded and his stomach grumbled with its own opinion. "Right," he commented as he took in the displays. "Apparently it's a whole experience. How are you doing? Your bio-readouts are pretty sexy."
Jayna laughed at the comment. "Wait until we get back to the shuttle and I'll show you how sexy my bio signs can be," she teased. She was still a bit jumpy, but she was doing a lot better than when they began. "Although I could do with a decent meal, too." Either way, it was time to start making their way back. But as she hadn't really paid attention to where she was going, she took the next large opening.
As before she picked openings at random, expecting to find a sign or barrier if she took a wrong turn. When it opened into a new cavern she swam to the middle and waited to see what this one showed them.
Small dots of light appeared in the ceiling and grew larger as they moved down, becoming small ships that entered the system and then landed on the planet. From there, it portrayed the Aquilan's view of the arrival of the humanoids and the colonization of the surface. It showed the "aliens" as usurpers who took the land area without consulting with the natives. As a half-Bajoran who grew up during the Cardassian occupation, Jayna appreciated the point of view, although she didn't think all visitors would. She wondered if this was one of the less-visited caverns.
Neil viewed the art and displays, most of his attention on Jayna as they swam. He wasn't surprised by not so subtle locals’ attitude toward unwanted visitors to their planet.
As a marine, you got used to that.
He'd went through an eight hour familiarization training on Aquillions society, culture and combat abilities.
And they were a friendly society.
When the cavern went dark, Jayna found another opening and continued swimming, pausing from time to time to examine crystals spurs illuminated by bioluminescent algae. The silence underwater made it harder for her to navigate, but she slowly became more aware of the different water pressure inside the tunnels.
After several more turns, Jayna used her locator and headed back to the main cavern. She was feeling better emotionally and her muscles were reminding her she hadn't done this much diving in a while.
Neil noticed Jayna starting to alter her path and he said, "If you're not busy this evening, Jayna. I did happen to notice they have bubble cabins available in the Olakta deep water kelp forest. Or there are a few islands with secluded beaches." He let that register for a minute then asked, "Or would you rather return to the station and that VIP suite?"
She paused to think over the options. "That's a tough choice. I like all three...but this may be our only chance to stay in a bubble cabin, so that would be my first option. A deserted island my second." She hesitated for a moment. "How many nights do we have left?" She would honestly be happy staying in any of them with him.
tag
Neil smiled as his legs worked, slowly kicking and letting the flippers do most of the work. He could feel the burn in his legs from the unaccustomed use. "Not helping. For me it breaks down to being in a small confined space or enjoying the open air. Honestly, we could do a couple three nights in on planet doing both the kelp forest and the beach. And I do have that shuttle assigned to me for the duration. We can always catch up to Pioneer if needs be."
“I forgot about the shuttle.” That opened up a number of possibilities. “I do want to see the kelp forest. It sounds fascinating. Then we can find a nice, deserted island for the time we have left.” She brushed a hand across his chest. “After I help you peel out of that body sleeve.”
She pushed away from him and again headed for the entrance. The Marine Ball was over, she no longer felt the shadow of Kavicus, and she was going to spend the next three days alone with the man she loved.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Intelligence Liaison, The Cure
Major Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Commanding Officer, The Cure
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