Planetside Pt 2

Posted on Tue Aug 9th, 2022 @ 4:33pm by Remal Kajun & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson

Mission: New Harrington
Location: Anesh
Timeline: Current

The sand swirled like a thousand tiny ice picks that had been picked up and flung against their skin. They resorted to primative survival tactics, find shelter, huddle together, the most vulnerable on the inside of the pack, and turned their backs to the blistering wind. It was a horrendous time, each breath seeming to last an age. When would it subside?

Minutes passed. They waited. It wasn't until the noise level slowly dropped before they realized the sandstorm had moved on. Dust remained, clouding the air, but it was slowly thinning. At least now they could see the devestation left in the storm's wake. Reluctantly people emerged from their hiding holes, many coughing and hacking due to the particulates in their lungs. Remal commented to Sarah, "Looks like we have our work cut out for us."

" You got that right" Sarah admitted as they left the shelter of the bridge. She pressed her com badge again, hearing only static and then silence as the response. A flicker of concern twinged, they couldn't contact the ship and she had a feeling that it wasn't because of the dust storm.

"I can't contact the Sunfire, we'll need to make do with what we can until they come for us" She glanced at Remal and then to the throngs of weather beaten people starting to emerge from their places of cover.

He huffed as he stepped up onto the bridge ledge. "Easier said than done. Looks like that wind storm knocked out the power grid. We'll have to ration what supplies we have now at least until we get some generators set up." He peered into the dirty faces surrounding them, "Let's start by getting these people into better conditions. Any idea if there is a lake or other body of water near here that hasn't dried up?"

"I'll see if anyone knows, most of these people aren't from this region" Sarah admitted but headed out into the throng of people, trying to find information as well as ascertain the general level of health and wellbeing of the population. She found Remal about 20 minutes later and raised a dermal regenerator to his sand blasted face.

"There's a lake about 10 kilometres from here, its almost dry but not quite. The town has a water transfer system that is still functional - I think" She reported back as she healed his tender skin.

He wasn't concerned with his face as she was, but he was grateful none the less. "Water transfer system you say? If we could access that, we can at least gain access to a drinking source and a power generator. These people desperately need shade, shelter and support. Any idea how far?" He asked, already planning on making the journey himself.

"Hang about, you aren't going there by yourself" Sarah turned to face him, as confident as she was she didn't want to be left on her own in such a volatile situation. "Let's see if we can find the transfer station on this side and see if it's still working."

He eyed her with compassion, "I'm not trying to be a hero or anything. I just felt I was the right person for the job considering you've got your hands full with helping these people heal. Besides, unless we get hit with some other catastrophic thing this planet desires to throw at us, I'll be fine."

" You mean like that?" Sarah indicated the bright flashes of green light followed by explosions coming from the northern region's sky. A sonic boom swept through along the landscape, rattling the teeth of all and knocking a few off their feet. "Ohh the Captain's gonna kill me if anything happens to him" She grumbled to herself.

Remal swallowed hard, "Yeah, that'll do." His immediate concern suddenly shifted to the Sunfire, her crew and his shining star. And he tapped his badge again. There was static followed by more static. "Since we don't know the status of the ship, we have to act as though we're on our own. Our first concern is getting these people shelter and water." He looked out over the people covered in dust. "Let's start by accessing the transfer station.

" I think it's in that building" Sarah indicated a diminutive stone building that had some large pipes running into it. The people started moving towards the shelter of what buildings were standing as an acidic rain started to fall, enough to cause discomfort to any exposed skin.

They stepped inside, an old fashioned pump silent and still within the dark space. Sarah had no idea how it functioned, but noted a large container with a spout off to the side. She stepped over and cautiously sniffed at the contents " This is some kind of oil based fuel".

"Fuel?" Remal questioned. A colony advanced enough to have a weather platform but still ran certain equipment on fossil fuels was most definitely odd. In fact, a lot of the situation they were in seemed out of place, odd. "We just need to find the pipe or pipes that transport the water. Usually they are labeled or color coded but..." He looked about, "None of this seems right. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was an extraction pump for fossilized fuels, not water."

Sarah looked around, finding a covered inspection hatch on the largest pipe. She popped the cover and looked inside, revealing a dark oily mess. "The residents thought this was the water plant, but access has always been forbidden. What's going on here? Is someone stealing their oil?"

"I don't know." He was still looking around for something, anything they could use to help the people outside. Upon opening a heavy door, which may normally have been locked but with the power out, practically fell open, he discovered a long hallway where the pipes lead off into the distance. "But I bet if we follow these, we might find someone who knows. What's your, uh, what's your tricorder say?" He asked as he questioned their course even as he spoke.

Sarah scanned the pipes and waited for the tricorder to tell her something more meaningful than what it was made of. "Looks like they extend at least several kilometres in that direction." She pointed towards the lake. "It doesn't make sense though, where has their water been coming from if not from here? I didn't see any large scale transport locations when we beamed down."

He pondered the pipes and then looked back at the door. "Seems as though we have a choice. Do we try to unravel this mystery which may lead to our untimely demise, or... Do we turn back now in a futile attempt to help these people find water?" The site was new, and they had replicators for water resources, but then he couldn't explain the oil extraction no matter how he turned it inside his mind. "You're the boss, so the choice is yours to make." He added.

"We try and find these people water. It has to come from somewhere" Sarah admitted, although the oil mystery could wait another few days. She flipped open her tricorder, scanning for residual energy traces or anything that appeared remotely like technology that could transport water. She headed outside back into the blistering sun and sand encrusted wind to try and get a better reading.

He sighed, acknowlogging the problems at hand seemed to be mounting. As he followed her out the door into the heat his communicator crackled to life. It was the Sunfire looking for a report. Remal looked to Sarah for a moment, a smile on his face before tapping his badge. "I must say, it is mighty good to hear from you Sunfire. You wouldn't happen to be in a position to spare some water, would you?"

As if on cue a gentle rolling thunder sounded in the distance and a gentle, non-toxic rain began falling. Enjoyable wasn't even close to the feelings he had as he watched the population emerge from their respective shelters to enjoy the break from the heat. The only thing left was for Sarah to share her information about the mystery of the oil pump.

Sarah explained the mystery of the pipes and oil, leaving a feeling of questions in the air at the end of her status report. The Captain was more focussed on the people around them, beaming several large containers of water down for the displaced people. Immediate crisis averted and with the Sunfire seeming to get an upper hand on things, Sarah took a moment to ponder what they'd just been through.

"Well that didn't quite go as planned" she quipped as she helped Remal distribute the water to those who needed it most.

He chuckled slightly, "none of our missions ever go to plan. Just another day in the life of the Sunfire family." He added. There was still a nugget resting in the back of his mind as it attempted to piece together the bigger puzzle while there were still pieces missing.

Weather stations not built to code. A weather control satellite malfunction and targeting specific cities or locations. A bio-nano virus with perceived intent and strange oil pipelines where water lines should exist. Everything together spelled conspiracy but the who and the why remained out of his grasp.

TBC