Ice Planet Expedition: Setting Up Camp, part 2

Posted on Sat Jan 23rd, 2010 @ 8:50am by Commander Raven Adams & Commodore Edward Fannin & Commander Basil Hart & Khiy Tal'ehrihn & Commander Jack Tolren

1,126 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: FORGING AHEAD
Location: Tyberius X
Timeline: current

ON

[OLD]

Before long, they were done and headed back to the shuttle to begin looking for the best cave to start their search. They only had two days, so they didn't want to waste any time wandering round, although, in an ideal situation they would have time to do just that.

[NEW]

Raven had dressed in black BDUs for the trip. It appealed to her warped sense of humor to dress in black on an ice planet. She had begun a scan of the area and called the two science officers over when they entered the shuttle. "I've found some interesting data. It looks like there are several caves nearby that show underground geothermal activity. I think they'd be the best place to start."

Sam and T'mpest walked over to the Intel officer and began looking over the data.

Trent finished setting up his tent in a line with the remainder of his fire team. He stood up and took a deep breath of the cold air, appreciating how crisp it was. He pursed his lips and slowly blew out a cloud of breath, amusing himself by how thick the fog of condensed water particles was.

"TRENT!" Sergeant Riley yelled from a number of feet away. "If you are done screwing around, I could really use some help moving this crate."

Allen had dragged a crate of TRs from off the transport by himself as everyone else was busy setting up their bunks. The crate was obviously heavy indicated by the deep tracks it left in the snow and ice. The Marine was struggling with it for the last number of feet and it was evident that it was starting to tire him out.

Trent spun around and jogged the few feet to where the crate was wedged. With a heave he lifted the other end of the crate and was instantly surprised by its weight, the strain was felt in his shoulders. "Sorry Riley." He apologized.

"It's Sergeant now, Trent. Sergeant or Sir." Allen was winded and annoyed that his friend found time to fool around instead of working like everyone else.

"Well in that case, you should be calling me Private Kushner, not Trent." He replied with a cheeky grin.

"You are pushing the limits of my patience now, Trent." He wasn't impressed by the retort.

Trent realised his friend wasn't biting at the intended joke. His smile faded and was replaced with a frown. "Sorry...Sir" He amended.

Harmos overheard this little exchange, but didn't comment. The usual response from a staff sergeant to being called 'sir' outside of boot camp was, "Don't call me Sir, I WORK for a living!" He wondered of maybe the staff sergeant wasn't being a little too concerned with his rank over morale. But since he didn't really know these Marines, he said nothing, just learning about them by their behavior.

Lana strode up to the Colonel, and with a salute began her SitREP. "Colonel, Endeavor's Marines are locked down and final supplies are being unloaded now."

Harmos looked at Lana and nodded. "Thank you, Hunter. Outstanding work. I'd like you and Archer to work with the Marines from the Orion and coordinate a series of joint cold-weather training exercises. This may be the only time in a long while we get to train with other units, and I think we should make the most of that. Go get Archer and go over the details with him."

Nodding Lana saluted again and turned one-eighty on her heel. Lana was starting to get excited about this whole training excursive. Squinting threw the odd gust of wind that kicked up some loose snow she found the Captain. "Captain Archer, the Marines are locked down and ready to act, Sir."

Lucinda ran next to Sam and T'mpest, with a thermal generator in hand. It had a solid base with various buttons and a clear, egg-shaped top container. The glaciologist would put a sample of the ice in the container and activate the generator. Within an hour, the ice would be melted, in which test could then be performed. Studying ice samples from the planet more than a couple of meters in depth was like trying to study dry ice—it nearly burnt when you touch it, due to the cold temperatures.

Sam walked up to Damon. "We found some caves a few kilometers away that look promising. We're going to check them out before it gets dark."

Damon smiled and shook his head in almost disbelief. "You and your caves right before nightfall." He quickly glanced at what Marines were nearby. "How many will be going with you?"

Sam chuckled. "I've got several hours before nightfall..." she said grinning. "For you I'll take two. Or would you rather I take four? I don't want them to miss out on their chance to train with the other Marines."

"Four it is, then." He said, returning her grin. "I'm not going to take chances with your safety." ~Especially after the last away mission~ He thought to himself. "Don't worry about the Marines, field experience is just as important as training."

"Okay. Just don't take any chances with your own safety, either," she told him softly.

She was about to say more when T'mpest and Harmos walked up to them.

"It looks like we'll be taking to Argos to the caves," T'mpest said. "They're loaded and ready to go."

"Caves?" Anjen asked. He had been walking past the two science officers loading one of the Argos when he heard the comment. "I don't suppose you need an extra pair of hands?"

"Of course. We would love to have you come with us," T'mpest assured him.

"You'll need me too," Alex Faulkner called out as he placed the last of the crates into the Argo. "Commander Tolren doesn't want anyone going underground without an engineer, in case they run into trouble."

OFF

USS Endeavor:

Commander T'mpest Michaels
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Colonel Harmos Aurelius
Marine CO

Commander Zach Scott
Chief of Staff

Lieutenant Commander John Gifford
Chief Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant JG Anjen Torvil
Assistant Chief Science Officer

1st Lieutenant Lana Hunter
Platoon Commander

Ensign Beatrix Marelle
Alien Archaeologist/Anthropologist

USS Orion:

Lieutenant Commander Samantha York
Chief Science Officer

1st Lieutenant Damon Raine
Marine CO

Staff Sergeant Jethro Hawkes
First Sergeant

Petty Officer 3rd Class Yvette Jaynes (NPC)
Nurse

Sergeant Kara Melo (NPC)
Marine Scout

Lieutenant Commander John Sheridan
Executive Officer

Staff Sergeant Allen Riley (NPC)
Marine Section Leader

Trent Kushner (NPC)
Marine Rifleman

Starbase Typhon:

Lieutenant Commander Basil Hart
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Commander Raven Adams
Chief Intelligence Officer

Ty Seven (NPC)
Intel Officer

Lieutenant Lucinda Sprout (NPC)
Science Officer, Glaciologist

Lieutenant Alex Faulkner (NPC)
Engineering Officer

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