Atlantis: Into the Unknown

[Zephiris]

(( Next round ends September 7th. Almost there! ))

Commander Lyle T. Rourke

The Commander himself was on a gummi ship now. With him was Joshua Sweet, who he had swiftly ordered to accompany him in order to ensure the medical man's safety, and Wilhelmina Packard, who would assist with commands over radio while Rourke tried to make best of the situation. A few other higher officers were aboard as well, each with access to the intercom system and certain gummi controls.

Currently they were hovering behind the Motherships, trying to see that as many gummis escaped as possible before they too had to retreat. Rourke nodded grimly as he spotted the ships with electrical capabilities lining up to take on the monster.

It was to his surprise that he realized the creature didn't intend to utterly destroy them. If it had, all would be lost at this point. But the few glancing blows to the Motherships, though devastating, seemed more warnings than fatal hits. It was simply chasing them off.

Which meant that his order for those select gummi ships to fight back would only kill more soldiers.

Cursing mentally, the Commander turned to Wilhelmina his other officers. "Change of plans. Order immediate retreat. Those on the frontlines are to evacuate with the rest, now."

The orders rang through the small ship.

- - -

Nyra Rei Kaze

Nyra's arms folded stubbornly over her chest. "We're fighting," she replied to Ravian shortly.

She turned to Audrey then, pain just barely evident in her voice. "And. . . I guess that means you shouldn't come along. Find a safer ride - please. You're needed more than us, as much as the commanders."

Without letting the Latina get a word in edgewise, Nyra spun around, grabbed Jacob's wrist, and followed Ravian into the hangar. She knew Audrey wouldn't follow, not with Jacob with them. The young mechanic wouldn't throw him out just to fly on the Storm with her.

Storm Gummiship

In the air, the young woman wasted no time. "Turn her around," she told Ravian grimly. Towards the sea monster. They would do what they could to hold it off, then with any luck flee with the others.

Nyra aimed carefully, then struck the button on the first Thunder cannon.

After the first blast static sounded in the ship, and an unfamiliar voice, that of an old woman, was heard over the intercom.

"Hold on, Margie, Cap'n is talking. . . Attention. Frontlines should retreat immediately. Evacuate with the rest. . . You still there? I'm getting too old for this. . ."

Nyra swore. Now they tell them.

[Deleted]

Dr. Sweet was still busy looking around for an open Gummi Ship. He was unaware of Commander Rourke approaching him until he shouted his orders at him. Dr. Sweet nodded and followed the Commander to a gummi ship. It was a good thing the Commander had an open gummi ship otherwise who knows what Dr.Sweet would have done to escape.

When the gummi ship was finally out of the mothership, Dr. Sweet relaxed a little. Who would want to be on a giant ship with a mechanical thing attacking it, well Dr. Sweet didn't. He listened as the commander shouted his orders over the intercom. Retreat, well that would have Dr. Sweet's first option but what if the creature follows the smaller ships. It had the ability to destroy a mothership so a small gummi ship would be like a mosquito to it.

Dr. Sweet shook his head thinking, I think to much and the irony is I'm thinking tight now. He stopped his thoughts finally and he just sat down and relaxed in his chair. Hopefully they would escape the the monster.

[halen2020]

(So, anyone need to be rescued?)

Rose practically flung her rescuee's into the Black Hawk, and began an abreviaed preflight check as they strapped themselves in. Meanwhile, Halen stayed outside, holding open the dark corridor, trying to save as many people as possible. However, soon, he was unable to continue channeling the ever increasing energy required to keep the portal stable. He closed the entrance, and maintained the exit until the last person inside had exited, then closed the portal. He quickly made his way to Rose's ship, climbing in, and collasping into her shadow to rest.

Rose finished her check, and closed the canopy. "Hang on, this is gonna suck hard." She gunned the engine, and blasted out of the hangar bay, the water immediately grabbing a hold of them as Rose cursed the blockiness of gummi blocks. They made their way to the gathering group of Gummi ships and lifeboats, fleeing the giant mechanical monster.

[Shun]

((OMFG ARE YOU SERIOUS?! PLACEHOLDER FOR MY FIRST POST IN A KAZZILION YEARS?!))

[Zephiris]

(( -smacks Shunny- DUDE THE ROUND WAS SUPPOSED TO END TODAY HURRY UP. ))

[Deleted]

((*waits for shun to post*))

[Zephiris]

(( Sorry Shun, I can't make people wait any longer. Next round ends September 15th.  ))

Commander Lyle T. Rourke

For the first time in hours, the Commander allowed the tension in his shoulders to lessen. The breath he let out felt as if it had been held for quite a while. 

The giant sea beast - the Leviathan, if his educated guess on Atlantean lore were to prove correct - had ceased its relentless assault. At last Rourke's gummi was able to turn away from the scene of destruction alongside the other ships that had chosen to confront the mechanical threat. Slowly now, their progress hampered by damage to some of the vessels, the tattered Ulysses Fleet ventured deeper into  the world's core. 

Soon they came upon a sight that triggered exclamations of relief from all on board (barring Wilhelmina Packard, who could be heard lamenting over the sudden loss of signal and therefore a rather abrupt end to her radiophone conversation). After swimming beneath a gap in a huge wall of stone directly before them, the fleet surfaced in an air bubble of sorts. They found themselves in a  small lagoon bordered by stone, many from which protruded shelves large enough to dock a gummi ship or two. 

Before them stretched the largest shelf, which was level with the water and therefore gave the impression of a stone shore. The furthest end of the shelf was shrouded in darkness. Gazing shrewdly at the spot, Commander Lyle Rourke became certain beyond shadow of a doubt that there was a tunnel there, and that path would lead them to their prize. 

"Here we make camp," he told an officer firmly. The man nodded, not bothering to hide a relieved grin, and set to alerting the rest of the fleet. 

- - -

Nyra Rei Kaze

Nyra leaped out if the small gummi ship the moment Ravian landed on one of the shelves, stretching to rid her arms and back of their cramped soreness.  When the other two had disembarked, she turned and carefully climbed down to the congregation of crew members wearily setting up camp.

The site seemed expansive enough to host the entire crew with room to spare. Nyra wandered over to a pile of equipment dumped from a few specialized supplies gummis, cleared her name with the attendant, who proceeded to give her a tiny fold-up tent, flashlight, bundle of clothes, and mess kit, and headed over to pick a spot to claim her own. She ended up choosing one away from both the water, which she mistrusted, and the dark opening in the far wall, which unnerved her. 

After much trial and error her tent was successfully propped up. Nyra stored all the various items inside but Nocturne, which she left strapped to her waist, then made her way back to the center of the encampment. Most people had finished setting up and were helping sort out equipment that had been salvaged from the motherships. Nyra thought she caught the unmistakable scent of cooked beans, and sure enough, the scrawny cook could be spotted by a makeshift fire, stirring a pan of gruel. 

Stomach growling in testimony to the fact that she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten, Nyra made a beeline towards the growing line of hungry crewmates waiting for their meal. 

[halen2020]

Rose looked around. An underwater cavern, whaddaya know... She smiled slightly. "Well, time to find a friend, hmm, Halen?" Her shadow nodded. "Pick someone." The shadow pointed at a kinda cute guy with glasses. "Looks smart. Hmm... Alright, let's go say hi." She walked across the cave over to the man. "Hi, I'm Rose. Who are you? What's your part in all this fun?"

(Just so's we're clear, talking to Milo.)

[Deleted]

Dr. Sweet sighed with relief as the vessel finally came into an air pocket of sorts. The Dr. exited his vessel at the first chance he had. He took a long moment to look around. An underground air pocket. Truly it was amazing for something like this too be at the bottom of the sea.

Dr. Sweet then looked around at all the others who made it. The numbers were drastically smaller then what they were at the start of the expedition. Dr. Sweet said a few words to himself for the poor souls who would not continue the voyage to Atlantis.

Dr Sweet nodded to himself at the Commanders words, and he started to look around for some tent supplies to make a shelter. The day had been tough so hopefully the night wouldn't be as tough. Well, Dr. Sweet hoped there would be no more complications along the journey.

[Zephiris]

(( Three day round extension. Come on people, try not to fall behind. Get a post in now while they're at the campsite, before events kick up again. ))

[linttrap]

Milo’s initial feeling when finally landing on (somewhat) solid ground was relief…coupled with a cup of dread and three tablespoons of devastation. If his stomach weren’t already empty, he would have surely been throwing up its contents now. So many lives had been lost, so much damage done. In the name of Discovery, yes (it was a noble cause), but all happened so fast, it seemed senseless. Behind them was loss. Before them was an archaeologist dreamer’s treasure trove, shrouded in dark mystery and danger.

Thank the heavens, he had had the wits to hang on to his most precious supplies, namely the Sheppard’s Journal!

Presently a girl approached him and introduced herself. He couldn’t remember seeing her before, but there had been so many people on this expedition, he couldn’t trust himself to remember them all, “Oh…hello. My name is Milo Thatch, resident linguist and archaeologist.” He replied, adjusting his glasses.

[Deleted]

Ravian sled off to the shelves as soon as the retreat was called, found his best to get there as safely as possible. Though his landing was a bit rough. He stumbled out of the gummi ship as his legs got used to solid ground again. It was nice to be on terra firma even if it was underwater. He looked back at the water a bit fearfully. It was hard to believe that all that was keeping them from drowning was the rocks.

He quickly ran over to the camp where he grabbed his supplies, ignoring the complaints from the person keeping track of everything and quickly set up his tent across from nyra just invade another situation weakest where she needed a ride. He didn't want to be to far and end up leaving her.

He set his tonfa inside the tent, then strapped them onto one of his belt loops instead. Deciding that since everyhing else had appeared out of the blue, why wouldn't the next. He then walked over to the food, boy he was hungry, but he wasn't sure he was hungry enough to eat whatever the cook had made, other than the beans. Ravian doubted he could mess up beans, they were to simple. "before I game here I never realized that I could be starving and not want to eat something at the same time" he said aloud. He started staring into the back of the cavern. Tempted to make his way back there on his own and say he was the first to see atlantis. Ravian, the discoverer of Atlantis. It had a ring to it, he even took a step towards the abyss, his intentions clear in his eyes.

But then he caught a wiff of the food and quickly decided that it could wait. After all, there would he another adventure. He might not eat for another day though. So tonight he was going to eat, alot. " I haven't had Beans I a while. he said to Nyra, he hadnt gotten a chance to talk to bin all the confusion.

[nomacaa]

"Here, we make camp."

That was welcome news to the deteriorating Zytanh, who had just barely managed to limp his way to his ship and follow the rest of the group. He nearly fell on his face as he exited his tiny Gummi Ship, but he managed to catch himself with his cane and make a less-than-dignified entrance. He looked around at the hole that the expedition had found. He felt pretty much at home, there, actually. He clicked his cane lightly on the ground a couple times and savored the echoes that returned to him from the walls of the cavern.

He was getting hungry, so he went over and got a plate full of whatever the cook had made. He had had his fair share of bad food as a soldier, but this was the worst, no contest. He still ate his fill of the stuff, though. Once he finished, he walked his way over to a cave wall and sat up against it. He wasn't too concerned with putting up a tent and the only thing he did for his comfort was to turn his swords so they weren't in his way, sitting down. The only thing that worried him was wondering if this would be at all like his world, and, seeing how things had gone so far, he wouldn't doubt it.

[Zephiris]

(( Last round for this episode. ))

Commander Lyle T. Rourke

Though it was impossible to tell the time of the day from inside the cavern, Rourke estimated it was the middle of the night. The only light source was in the cave ceiling, where a green glow emitted from a strange configuration of stone. Most of the crew, having talked and ate amiably for the greater part of the evening, were now submitting to their exhaustion from within the confines of their tents.

The Commander himself had prepared his sleeping area in the center of the encampment, beside the equipment they had salvaged from the motherships. He was just nodding a good-night to one of the guards on duty when he heard a shout.

At first he could not figure out what was wrong; then he looked up. The green light from earlier had become oddly brighter, and small pinpricks of light were flooding out from inside the stone alcove. Rourke stood stock still as one drifted towards him. It was a firefly. The insect hovered for a moment, then landed on his hand.

There was a spark and a sharp stab of pain on his finger - the bug had burst into flame. As were all of the others the moment they reached their targets.

Rourke sprang into action. "Fire! Wake up! Officer, wake the others, get everyone moving. I want the supplies ready to go now."

Soon the entire camp was swarming with people running, awake and scurrying to save their belongings from the flames. Rourke spotted a crew member grab a bucket, race to the water's edge, and attempt to extinguish the flames with the liquid. With a sizzle a small patch of burning cloth was doused, but it had little effect on the conflagration as a whole. The bugs were avoiding the gummi ships. They seemed reluctant to cross the water at all. Rourke had a decision to make. Turn back to the water, or move on. . .?

"There's no time!" He shouted to the camp, yelling through the chaos to make his voice heard. "Grab the supplies, get to the passageway! Go! Leave the ships, we can get them later, they won't be harmed!"

- - -

Nyra Rei Kaze

The evening had been peaceful. Nyra had sat by the campfire with Jacob, Audrey, and other new acquaintances from the journey, the setting lively and relaxing. She had retired to bed gratefully, completely and utterly exhausted from the days events.

But they weren't over yet. She had been asleep for a mere two hours when she was awoken by shouts. Snatching Nocturne's sheath sleepily, she stumbled outside the tent and into an inferno.

Her only possession and important equipment of any sort being Nocturne, Nyra fled the small tent she had pitched for herself without a second of hesitation. She ran in the direction of the others towards the dark gaping area of the cavern, heart hammering in her chest. There wasn't enough time for her to wonder why they weren't heading back into the gummi ships, and instead plunging forward, towards only fables and myths of ancient power, into a black unknown.

[Deleted]

Dr. Sweet had just finished setting up his tent. It was in a nice general location, no large rocks protruding through the tent. So, Dr. Sweet sat down in his tent to relax a little. Finally, a moments rest after the days events. He started to look through his medical bags to see how many medical supplies he had left. So far, the stocks of first aid supplies were still high, and hopefully they would stay that way.

Dr. Sweet would have eaten, but he was not hungry yet. Relaxing in his tent, he thought everything would be alright for the nigh. Boy, was he wrong. All the sudden the Rourke started screaming about fire. Dr. Sweet peeked outside his tent to see what was going on, and he noticed little bugs catching things on fire. He grabbed his medical bag, while listening to the captain's orders.

Leave the campsite. Well that was obvious. Dr. Sweet started to run away from the camp. Hopefully, no one would be severely injured, but seeing as things turn out at least a few crew members would be injured. But now, all Dr. Sweet was worried about was getting himself to safety and away from the fire creatures.