Planetfall Part 1

Posted on Wed Dec 18th, 2019 @ 1:07pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Ensign Michael Sloan & Major Samuel King & Lieutenant Aurelius Davis & Lieutenant Min Seong

Mission: Mission 2 - Fallout
Location: Unknown Planet
Timeline: Day 7, Month 1, Year 0 14:25
1955 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

"Bring us down, there," Michael pointed to a nice little clearing just on the other side of a large lake. The planet was very debatable Class L planet, but this particular lake was almost unnaturally habitable. While in orbit, their sensors had picked up quantities of high-protein algae and water larger than they could store on the Atlantis.

Ben plotted the shuttlepod to the clearing near the lake. The pod glided to a landing. "We're down, sir."

"Very good, Ensign," the Acting First Officer stated with a strong pat on the man's shoulder. Turning to face the small shuttlepod crew, Michael grabbed a phaser from the shuttle's armory. He went over the rules again, "Take it slow. I know we're all hungry, but we have to make sure the algae and water are safe for consumption as well as make sure there isn't anyone waiting for us down here"

"Ah, now I see why you brought me. It's my job to greet the guests if there are any." He looked through the viewscreen. "Not exactly the number one resort spot is it?" Aurelius shuddered. At least he wasn't an invalid and could walk around.

Livingston nodded. He knew that the mission was important. He picked up a phaser from the armory, plus a testing kit.

With a nod of readiness, Michael punched the red button to open the side hatch. He pulled a scanner out of his pocket as the hatch rose to the top. The planet before them held a purple sky and looked rather rocky, other than the green algae-filled lake before them. Upon climbing out of the shuttle, he noticed that it was most definitely an alien world. Still, something gave the man an uneasy feeling. This was almost too easy. Preliminary scans revealed a safe atmosphere that would almost be the equivalent of being on a tall mountain.

The air was thin, but breathable. That didn't mean that Aurelius liked the way it tasted, or having to breath more of it in to get enough oxygen. He was definitely not going for a jog around here.

Ben stepped outside and looked around. "I don't think I want to retire here, sir." He smiled, then pulled out his scanner and started scanning.

Minna had a slightly different approach. First, unlike the others, she had brought her own weapons rather than taking one from the rack. The Mark One phase pistol at her belt was standard issue, but in the years since it was issued to her Minna had done a bit of hot ridding to it. No actual changes to specifications, just fine-tuning. The emitter lenses were precision ground while the couplers were of a higher grade allow milled to tighter tolerances than off-the-rack. The weapon was a good deal more accurate than standard and delivered fully 12% greater energy on target at up to 14% greater distances. For the all of the work done on her pistol over the years, it was her rifle that really stood out. As a recon sniper, Minna’s high-energy plasma rifle was custom built just for her while she underwent training. Everything from the grip angle to the sight placement was built precisely to her measurements resulting in a weapon that she had used to take head shot beyond two kilometers, including once at 3.2, which was a record.

She stepped out of the shuttle with her rifle at a low ready and while the helmsman talked about retirement spots, Minna simply kept watch.

Ben headed to the lake, wanting to get a sample for testing. If the water tested drinkable, the ship could be resupplied for a long time. Now only if there was some food here...or better yet, dilithium.

"Don't touch anything yet until we can finish all the tests." Min warned as she stepped off the shuttle. She insisted upon coming, as she knew desperation tended to accelerate medical accidents occurring. "If we find out that lake has some form of corrosive acid in it that eats through anything we have, I want to make sure it's something we can replace. Not an arm."

"Listen to the doc," Michael added, using his authority as Acting First Officer to strengthen the doctor's point. "I know we are all hungry and thirsty, but we have to make sure everything is safe. Scan first."

The shuttlecraft was cramped, filled with the specific people needed for this type of expedition. Sam had selected Sergeant Chang to accompany him, leaving Rhodes above. He had exited the shuttle first scanning the area with his eyes for any possible threats that may be lurking. He was in charge of everyone's safety whilst they were on the ground, MACO's had the authority in these matters where as the armoury did on the ship. Scanning the area he found nothing immediately dangerous but listened to the group behind him as he noted the good Sergeant doing the same, "We should keep exertions to a minimum. Not stray too far from the shuttle until we get a lay of the land a little better. Air being as thin as this poses a problem should we need to bug outta here." he added.

As he got the all-clear, Michael moved his team toward the lake. Using his scanner, he knelt down to get a closer look at this unique environment. Temperature, pH level, everything seemed to be designed to help facilitate growth of the algae. The algae itself seemed like an extremely rich source of nutrition. "This is almost too good to be true. Are you picking this up?" he asked the rest of the group.

Aurelius hadn't been scanning anything. He'd stumbled off the ship and was just turning in circles, taking everything he saw in. But when Michael called he snapped to a more controlled attention and went over to him, crouching down to see what he had found. It looked . . . . extremely appetizing if that's what Michael was trying to point out. But it beat starving to death.

Bringing out his communicator, Michael opened a channel to the ship. "Sloan to Atlantis," he began. "Preliminary scans show that we can begin refilling the water tanks and putting this algae in the food storage. Keep a few samples out to see if we can grow our own. It might be a long time before we return to the planet."

"Then I will send down the recovery party Sloan." The voice of the Officer in Charge rang out as she nodded to herself. It would be well needed to grow there own eventually. They needed to continue growing stuff somehow.

"Copy that Atlantis, Sloan out," Michael responded by closing his communicator. Turning to the rest of the crew, he ordered, "Let's pack up. Shuttlepod leaves in thirty."

Sam signalled Sergeant Chang over and as she arrived he looked outward, always keeping an eye on the horizon. "Assist with the packing of the supplies Sergeant. but stay close to those at the water. I'll watch the rear near the shuttle, assist with the loading and between us we should have our path pretty much covered."

“Yes Sir” she replied as she moved over toward the shuttle pod while slinging her plasma rifle across her back.

Sam nodded. "Eyes open, Min. if this is a source of food and water for us then it's likely for others. Our scans for wildlife were inconclusive and I don't want any surprises." he said simply as she began to walk off towards the water and Sam the shuttle carrying a sample case to load onto the shuttle. Upon his arrival he entered and secured the case but upon his exit he heard a snap! He raised his rifle quickly and scanned the nearby bush grass area but it was long and visibility was poor. Someone else came behind him to put something on the shuttle and he said. "I'm just going to check something out." He didn't turn to face the person, his eyes fixed on the location of the noise, his stance weighted and movement careful. Slowly he moved forward.

"You're not going without a doctor," Min insisted, following after Major King. She didn't want to let anyone out of her sight, but safety did lie in numbers greater than one. "Or at least another set of eyes."

Ben tested the water and the algae. "Commander. The algae will be an excellent food source and the water is amazingly free of pollutants. Tests show it is safe to drink, sir."

Livingston started filling buckets of the algae and brought them to the pod. The water was another issue. The best way would be to have the 2nd pod, outfitted with a bucket, with a chain attached, underneath the pod, that could be dropped in the water. The container would open once in the water, and when it was full, the pod would pull it up by the chain. Weight was a concern...a large container would weight more then the pod could handle, so the pod would have to make multiple trips to refill the ship's tanks.

Aurelius appreciated the crew trying to make him feel like part of them but his fingers were really quite useless for this. Instead of trying to scan he wandered about and thought about ways to impress Beth when he got back to the ship. Obviously finding something to eat would have been nice, or a water source. But that didn't seem to be in his abilities now. Maybe he should keep an eye on the others in case one of them got into trouble. He could still rescue someone. He imagined himself in a cape which was a fine fantasy until he remembered that the superheroes of old comic books often wore tights. He shook his head with a chuckle and put his eyes back down to where his feet were.

As the crew started loading up the first load, it became rather clear that two seats would be taken up by supplies. "Davis," Michael called to the injured helmsman. "I saw something over here during the flyby, care to join me?"

Raising his eyebrows a little bit he nodded. "Sure," and Aurelius wondering if he was about to be killed because he was no longer useful to them.

Looking to the rest of the crew, the Acting First Officer said. "Once this is loaded, go ahead and take off. We'll join you on the next trip up. I want to do a little bit of exploring, it's not every day you get to see such a perfect oasis on such an inhospitable planet." He looked back toward Aurelius and asked, "Ready?"

"Yes sir, I always like going down rabbit holes." He replied. Interestingly he wasn't scared.

Ben continued loading buckets full of water and algae onto the pod. He had to be mind full of the weight limitations.

By the time the 2nd pod arrived, Ben had stowed several buckets of algae and water in the first pod...filling it with as much as he thought the pod could handle, weight wise. When the doors on the 2nd pod opened, he had the pilot take the 1st pod back, while he would pilot the 2nd pod, once the others returned.

He watched the pod lift off, and make it's way back to the ship. Once the pod lifted off, Ben went back to loading the pod that was left behind.

OFF::
Lt. Commander Michael Sloan
Acting First Officer
NX Atlantis

Major Samuel King
MACO Commanding Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant Min Seong
Medical Officer
NX Atlantis

Lieutenant Aurelius Davis
Soon to be Morale Officer
NX Atlantis

Ensign Benedict Livingston
Helmsman
NX Atlantis