Into The Forest Part II
Posted on Sat Nov 16th, 2019 @ 1:31am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna & Lieutenant Commander Katherine Malbrooke
Edited on on Mon Nov 18th, 2019 @ 4:33am
1,275 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Marooned!
Location: Holodeck 2 - Deck 5 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD003 2045 hrs
Ameri looked around as they waited for the captain to speak. There was a path ahead but it was full of vines and weeds. It would not be easy but she had a feeling it was their next step in this puzzle.
"I think the question is, do we let Tarzan lead, or Cheetah?" Kat asked.
"I think that makes me the monkey," Jayna interjected as she was clearly low man on the totem pole.
Tyler stood there with his arms folded for the moment he was content watching his crew enjoy themselves. Lord knows they've earned it. he thought. He knew that if nothing else came out of whatever situation they were in, the crew would bond. "I have never been one to shy away from challenges..." He said with a wink to his wife. "That being the case into the brush we go." He led the way down the path making sure to hold branches so they did not snap and hit the next person. He watched his steps carefully, although the crew was enjoying themselves now this was an unknown glitch in the program. "So what do you lot think is going on here." Tyler thought that between his wife and Ameri they were bound to figure out what was going on here.
“Who ever created this program,” Ameri replied. “Instructed the computer that we cannot leave the program until it is solved. It could have been a simple programming error, it seems though when they test ran it they would have caught the error. There has to be a safety measure within it that could send someone home. The question is what?”
Jayna turned to Ameri. "My sister and I created the program, but this wasn't part of it. We put in a couple or random pirate encounters, but no tree and no quest."
“Then that means there was foul play,” Ameri replied to Jayna. “I know your reputation, there would be no “missed” error in the program.” She looked over to Quinn and Tyler. “I may be jumping the gun but it is highly unlikely the computers just decided to alter the program, we may have to consider who is behind this and why.”
"It's possible. That, or someone used a bad program before we did and it somehow corrupted this one." But she knew that wasn't very likely, either. "I haven't been here long enough to..." She stopped because she was about to say she hadn't been here long enough to know who might want to cause trouble, but that wasn't exactly true.
“We aren’t going to know anything unless we solve it or find a way out,” Ameri said. She looked at Jayna. “Did you leave a back door for an emergency?”
"I would be surprised if you did. The Holodeck rarely malfunctions." Quinn stepped in and decided to add his two cents. He started to wonder, if a back door emergency should be considered, moving forward.
“Some still do," Ameri commented. She was one of those who believed in the worse case scenario.
"Will have Engineering tear this holodeck apart if they have to, but will make sure this never happens again." Quinn suggested, already getting annoyed with the program.
“Just think of the tales of Commander O’Flannagain swinging like Tarzan across the ravine,” Ameri laughed, trying to cheer him up. “This is what legends are made of.”
"Legends swing on vines in the jungles, Ameri?" He asked a little skeptical. What example could she provide. Then it dawned on him, the legend of Tarzan. He expected her to point that out to him, any second. He walked right into that. Quinn felt like an idiot, for asking that question.
"Think of it as an Away Mission Number One. One where we can enjoy the forest and all it offers. Although I cannot help but wonder who has the bridge if we are all here." Tyler's brain switched gears quickly from happy and light hearted to worrisome in a minute flat, then back again. "Then again if the ship is not shaking then I guess all is well. Still as soon as we can we should get a message to Tremble."
Kat took her husband's hand and headed down the most likely path. "First, let's see if we can get through this. The tree said we have two hours. I'm sure Tremble or whoever is in charge can take care of your ship for that long."
Ameri grinned at Quinn. “Shall we follow them Tarzan?”
"If you can't beat them, join them." Quinn said with a boyish smile. He was completely out of his comfort zone.
Jayna took the rear, keeping two paces behind the others to give her some fighting room if they were attacked. With the vines and weeds overgrowing the path, it would be easy for someone to ambush them.
She heard a bird cry and turned just in time to see an arrow coming at her. She rolled, but not before it got her arm. "Ambush!" she called out as she landed on the ground and rolled to her knees. "Ambush!"
Ameri saw Jayna go down and yelled. “Hit the ground and roll towards the bushes.”
Tyler turned toward the source of the shot and tried to make out who made it. However, whoever the archer was they were under cover. He instinctively pushed Kat behind him. With a few quick hand gestures he signaled Quinn to move around their quarry and flank him. If they could not see the archer right away, they would try to flush him out.
Without saying a word, Quinn started to move towards the archer. He made sure to keep a low profile. He had no intentions of being shot. He was not sure the safety's where working, and if they were not. The last thing he needed was an arrow stuck in him.
Kat squeezed Tyler's shoulder. She didn't have a weapon, so she stopped behind a bush and headed for Ameri.
Jayna's arm hurt like crazy, and she couldn't use it, but she was otherwise unharmed. She grabbed her knife, got to her feet, and ran, still keeping low, to the underbrush.
“They better be careful,” Ameri said to Kat. “I don’t believe they are shooting blanks. I would like to warn them but wen would he warning the computer as well.”
"I hope so, too," Kat said. "Look at Jayna. That's not a fake arrow." She, too, was concerned about their safety. She didn't want anything to happen to Tyler now that they were finally together.
“They didn’t get this far without ingenuity,” Ameri said. She looked around the bushes. “I don’t see anything or anyone.” Just then she heard a bloodcurdling scream.
A Joint Post By
Captain Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
Commander Quinn Ó Flannagáin
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Ameri Ó Flannagáin
Chief Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Katherine Malbrooke
Mission Advisor, USS Pioneer
Warrant Officer Mira Jayna
Infiltration Specialist, USS Pioneer
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