Watch Where You're Putting That

Posted on Thu Mar 6th, 2025 @ 9:00am by Ensign Madelyn 'Madi' Moore & Ensign Duncan McManus

Mission: Remnant
Location: In hole.
Timeline: Day 409
1622 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Things had definitely not gone according to plan.

It was a bold claim, really, the suggestion of which implied that Madelyn had formulated anything even close to a strategy in the twenty minutes or so since she'd left Mercy. She knew it had been that long because she kept checking her watch, though she was inclined to think being dunked in a pond hadn't done it much good because it certainly felt like she'd been wandering for far longer. The way back to the main chamber had been easy enough, and she had stood for a while trying to convince herself that there really was no way up before turning to confront the passageway she'd told her friend she intended to try first. To say the prospect of plunging into the darkness with only a thin beam of light to expose potential hazards, (and a likely plethora of alien pornographic wall-art), was daunting felt a little understated but there was no one there to call her out on the chanted mantra of repetitive cuss-words Madi muttered to herself as she squared up to the corridor's entrance. Calling upwards hadn't miraculously produced a rescue party, and several test runs trying to throw a stone vertically with any accuracy failed spectacularly enough to convince her not to sacrifice anything of worth just to extend the breadcrumb trail upwards. Exploration had proven to be absolutely the only option she had remaining, and Madi had spent the first few seconds after plunging into the darkness with her eyes closed.

After all, nothing was scary if you couldn't see it, right?

As it had turned out, nothing had leapt out to devour her. There had been an awkward moment where the flashlight had caught a series of much larger carvings, and Madi had been forced not to make eye contact with a bug-eyed depiction of a smooth-headed humanoid creature presenting itself in what she could only hazard were meant to be provocative poses. From a purely objective point of view, the skill was impressive, as was the general condition of the artwork, and there was certainly enough detail to provide some preliminary guesswork as to the appearance of the creatures who had created it presumably in their own image. But the intent was too well-preserved, too aggressively overt, and the relentless provocation left Madelyn exceedingly grateful when, just like the first corridor, the pathway eventually opened up into a much larger space.

Her relief had lasted all of a few seconds.

Now, as she stood staring up at what should have been a very welcome absence of overhead ceiling, Madelyn squirmed under the scrutiny of a congress of leering faces peering down at her from a height of well-over 6-metres and dropped her head forward to sigh in defeat. Did they really have to make them holding...

Unable to bring herself to even think the word, the brunette yanked forth her pragmatic side and started to assess the situation. The crumbling infrastructure overhead revealed a much larger gap than the one she and Mercy had created, which had contributed to the lake of water directly beneath it. Entropy had done a reasonable job of allowing the forest to sneak in, though Madi suspected an analysis of the lichen growing in patches over the oppressive masonry would prove the exposure to the elements was a relatively new occurrence. Everything was too intact and though there was a vague smell of rodents, invasive wildlife didn't seem too much of a problem yet. Most importantly, the chamber was filled with natural light. It was somewhat obscured by the canopy overhead, but reliable enough that it extended her visual range and provided some comfort from the claustrophobia, though the hint of shadows on the back wall suggested an anticipated continuation of the more educational aspect of the wall carvings. Madi didn't feel much of an urge to investigate.

"Hello!"

Cupping her hands around her mouth, she tried once again to eliminate the most convenient method for rousing attention. By now, the investigative teams should have been finished with breakfast, and though it was probably too much to hope that someone had noticed her or Mercy missing from the meal, at least enough to be alarmed, there wasn't zero chance that someone was nearby.

"Help!"

That sounded a little more like the desperation required to translate her current predicament.

"Coo-ee!"

You're in a hole, being judged by masturbatory rakan, and that's the best you can manage?

With a huff of impatience at herself, Madi turned her attention to the option of climbing.

Duncan had to admit he was worried. He had not seen Madi in hours and Mercy obviously but mostly Madi as she was a magnet for all kinds of trouble without even meaning to get into that type of trouble. It was one of the many things that made him protective of the woman which was why he was stood looking around and looked down just in time to hear the cries for hello. "Madi?" He called several times in a loud voice that he used in Engineering when things were going wrong and he wanted to be heard over sirens.

For the second time in the past hour, Madi snatched her hand away from an offending piece of masonry as if caught with her hand in the cookie jar. The embarrassment didn't last long and she paused balanced on the base of the statue she'd just clambered up onto for better vantage to stare overhead. Now that her eyes had adjusted, and the thud of her panicked heartbeat had quelled somewhat, she was acutely aware of the sound of trickling water. Desperately hoping that the acoustics of the cavern weren't playing tricks with her, she called up tentatively, "Hello!"

Duncan’s head appeared above the cavern and he looked down confused before he called out again. “Madi?” He called pulling out a torch from one of his many pockets and shined it down trying to check better as he had definitely heard a voice.

Spinning around in circles, Madi hopped down from the statue's base and followed a pathway around the water's edge. Stepping over the rubble of fallen masonry, she squeezed her way through to the exposed antechamber and shielded her eyes from the probe of a flashlight's beam. The adjacent area, possibly a preparation room of sorts, was far more claustrophobic than the main area but that scarcely registered amidst the extreme relief. "Down here!"

Duncan looked down confused as she appeared in his torch night. “What are you doing down there?” He wondered looking around for Mercy. “Where is Mercy?” He added, knowing they were together and they knew to stay together unless something had happened which now worried him.

Never had Madelyn been quite so ecstatic to see someone. That it was Duncan was a bonus, or at least would seem as such until there was cause to realise what a state she was in. Previously-sodden clothing and saturated hair had dried to an extent, but not without gathering a good amount of available dust. Now, looking like she'd lost an argument with a dust storm, the grime only accentuated the brightness of her smile as she grinned up at him. It disappeared abruptly at his question.

"She's hurt. We were exploring, the floor gave way, only it wound up being the ceiling to this place."

A wary glance sideways brought into focus a partially-fallen statue, buried under the caved-in wall, and Madi snapped her attention back upwards again.

"There's a lot of water so the entry didn't do as much harm but she's done something to her ankle."

Looking in the other direction didn't provide a better view.

"I've been trying to find a way up. There has to be an entrance somewhere, this place is full of...artwork."

That made sense as to why she looked damp and dusty all at the same time. Only Madi and Mercy could get into so much trouble exploring he thought fondly before he turned his attention back to the woman trying to work out the best way to help her. “Okay. I am going to go get help but is there anything like a torch or something I can throw down to you?” He asked quickly starting to search inside his pockets for available things to help her.

For a single, irrational moment, Madi panicked at the prospect of being left alone again. Of course, it made sense to gather forces, since the pair of them weren't going to be enough to get Mercy to safety, and there was no chance that Madelyn wanted to leave her friend down the hole by herself, but the promise of freedom had been so tantalizingly close. Now, faced with being once again left alone with a bunch of leering, lecherous facsimiles of days gone by, she hesitated before shaking her head.

"My flashlight works and I think the scanner's only being unreliable because of how far down we are. I'll be okay."

Whether or not she believed it, there was effort behind Madi's attempt to sound confident.

"Can you bring back one of the field recorders though?" The thought, blurted out as soon as it occurred to her, left Madelyn pink-cheeked beneath the dirt. "I'd like some photos to study in case we can't get back down here again."

“Sure. If that is what you want Madi.” He called down. The man looked down confused but agreed before he disappeared off to get support. He had no idea what she could want a field recorder for but he was not going to argue when it seemed important.