The Keepers (part 3)

Posted on Tue Mar 29th, 2016 @ 1:25pm by Captain T'mpest Michaels & Commander Rylie Cattmor & Ensign Belle Maryweather
Edited on on Tue Mar 29th, 2016 @ 1:27pm

1,071 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: A Civil Act
Location: Underground city

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

She nodded. "Yes. They are the computers that keep the city alive. I do not believe they wish us harm, but Commander Cattmor is...wary. I need to learn more." T'mpest turned and looked around the room for a long moment while she thought. Then she headed out the door and down a side corridor.

[NEW]


Scanning, Belle followed the captain. Her scanner suggested that, now that she knew what to look for, there were more 'hidden' doors in the corridors, but T'mpest walked briskly past them, up a flight of stairs which led to a second story balcony in the main room with the power generator.

T'mpest walked over to a panel against the far wall and placed her palm against it. The panel slid open to reveal a series of colored crystals inserted into small slots. Some were lit while others were not.

She carefully examined the array of crystals, then opened a storage compartment and retrieved more crystals. She carefully pulled out half a dozen crystals, one by one, and replaced them with the new ones. When they were all in place, she pressed a dozen crystals in sequence and the entire panel went dark, then lit up again, this time with all the crystals glowing. "There," she said, closing the compartment and then the panel. The sound of the air filtration system altered ever so slightly.

Next, she went to another panel and did the same thing. And then to a third. "Okay, that should do it," she said when she was done.

"What do you mean that should do it," Cattmor said with a pinch of doubt in her voice, "everything's still off."

"The power relays weren't working properly," T'mpest said. "Several crystals were out. Now, it works."

Rylie couldn't help but furrow her brow in disbelief as she glanced quickly around at the other personnel present gauging their physical reactions as opposed to trying to sift through the mental chatter. She went to speak up, but Maryweather beat her to the punch; she didn't think it was a good idea anyway.

A gust of cool air passed Belle, and she couldn't help but shiver. "The air does seem... less stale now." She commented. "Do you know how these crystals work?" Belle wasn't sure if T'mpest could explain it, even though she evidently had the information, but she was too curious not to ask.

"Each colored crystal performs a different function. Their position in the grid and the pattern affects the performance," T'mpest said. "I only have a very basic understanding of how this works," she admitted. "I followed instructions."

A pointed glare was made from Cattmor to Orin, thinking, if not projecting, Instructions from where? It felt as though she was having cause to question the captain on every part of this mission; what she was doing, what she was saying, all of which did nothing for her general state of paranoia, in turn doing nothing for the throbbing of her head. It probably would not have been so bad if she had not had first hand experience of this sort of thing before, several in fact, of varying degrees and situations. It almost made her stomach feel a bit queasy.

"So uh, what's next, captain?" Belle asked as T'mpest put her hands on one of the railings and looked at the beam of power in the center of the room.

"Now, we find the library and get more information," T'mpest replied, once again heading out the door.

And once again Belle followed, intrigued, rather than paranoid, by the captain's behavior.

The X-O was one of the last people to exit out of the control room, or whatever it was, she didn't really care about where she was, just that that captain was still firing on all cylinders and working for them as opposed to against them. Whatever influence she was under, Rylie hoped it was benign and temporary.

T'mpest took several turns, clearly knowing where she was going. The corridor ended at a large door that opened as they approached. "The library," T'mpest announced unnecessarily and walked over to a large area filled with crystals.

The library was smaller than Belle would've thought a library would be. There were no books at all, but a number of terminals apparantly linked by a large number of crystals. Presumably, the crystals either contained information, or at least served as conduits to the larger network. As it was, she just watched as T'mpest got to work.

A viewscreen appeared on a blank wall. At first, a large cavern appeared, lit by one large column of light. Then buildings grew across the empty space. As they were completed, shafts of light connected them to the main column. Finally, the main column itself was encased in a building. All this took a few scant minutes as it sped through the construction and pupulation of the city.

T'mpest ignored this, intent on the crystals. The city emptied again and the images stopped. T'mpest pulled out another crystal and added it to her bag, quietly replacing it with a new one. She went to three other flats of crystals, arranging them and then removing one to add to her growing collection.

At last she turned. "I believe I found the problem." She touched several crystals and the viewscreen activated again. This time, it showed miners opening up a hole in the far side of the cavern. The miners connected pipes to geothermic vents to a new building, quickly constructing another beam that reached up to the roof of the cavern and began to cut a hole to the surface. However, halfway through the geothermic drill failed and power dimmed throughout the city. Everything seemed to slow at that point, all activity grew disjointed and the numbers of inhabitants shrank. Then, those that remained, harnessed the geothermic energy and built a giant elevator. They ascended through the hole and disappeared. At that point, the images stopped.

"That only creates more questions," T'mpest said, shaking her head. "I need to go there and see what is left." It might be dangerous. T'mpest wasn't sure if she could keep the others from following her -- or if she should. Or perhaps there was another way. She turned and headed for another building.

(To be continued...)

Captain T'mpest Michaels
Commanding Officer

Ensign Belle Maryweather
Science Officer

Commander Rylie Cattmor
Executive Officer

 

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