What in the hell?

Posted on Mon Jan 25th, 2021 @ 12:12am by Chief Petty Officer Ronson Mitchell & Lieutenant Aurora Vali

Mission: The Jungle
Location: Somewhere

Aurora hadn’t been on the bridge long, she’d only arrived moments before Rhenora had been whisked away from the bridge followed by Savar. It hadn’t taken long for it to be her turn too, finding herself in a cell wrists bound tightly and with just the bare necessities, it seemed everyone was in the same predicament.

She’d managed to see Savar in a neighbouring cell but it had only been a fleeting glance. Now here she stood in a patch of jungle all alone, hands still tied and with just her wits and senses to guide her. She almost leapt out of her skin when there was a rustle in the bushes not too far away ...

" Umm hello?" Crewman Ronson Mitchell attempting to find anyone near his location, stumbling through the thick undergrowth in the jungle they had ended up in. From what he could see it was mainly the senior officers that were in the cells, along with any others who were on the bridge at the time. Lucky or in this case unlucky for him.

Aurora breathed a sigh of relief. “Ronson Mitchell isn’t it?” She offered a smile.

"Indeed Counsellor" Ronson smiled and looked around warily. He wasn't overly comfortable in this environment. " Where is everyone else?" He asked cautiously, keeping his voice low.

“Looks like it’s just us. Spin around” Aurora turned herself. “Let’s get back to back and see if we can get these bindings off each other.”

Ronson turned around and held still while Aurora worked at the bindings. They held fast and refused to budge.

"I'll try yours" he offered, but to little provail
"Now what do we do?

Aurora was about to speak when there was an announcement.

Attention contestants. This is what you are searching for." As a picture of what looked liked a Gryphon appeared on the screen. "Find it and reach the finish line before the clock reaches zero and you win the game. In case your wondering where the finish line is...follow the beacon." At that moment a powerful light lit the sky. "Now, I'll be watching you, the whole planet will be. So get moving, time's a wasting."

They soon heard the howling of some kind of animal, it sounded almost dog like but Aurora wasn’t betting it was dogs. “We need to move! I guess we do it with our hands still tied.”

Setting off she headed for the thinnest closest area of jungle, hoping it would be easier to navigate. It was only when they got through she found they’d chosen the worst possible route, Thorne bushes lay in their way but they had no choice but to traverse it and without free hands the thorns were brutal on their skin.

They raced through the harsh underbrush, branches and thorns tearing at them as they ran. It wasn't long till they evaded the creature, pausing to catch their breath. Ronson dropped to his knees and attempting to wrestle his hands under his feet to get his hands in front. "Can you do this?" He asked as his tried to contort himself.

Aurora was taking a well earned breather her skin was covered in scratches and cuts. “I don’t know ... but I can try” she sat down and tried copying Ronson. It took some wriggling and back bending but she eventually managed it. “Which way now?”

"I reckon we try and find that idol thingy, everyone else will be heading that way so hopefully we'll bump into someone" Ronson offered, trying to be helpful. He wasn't very good in the great outdoors.

Aurora nodded. “Sounds good to me. We need to keep our eyes open for any hidden items, he did say before that there’s stashes of supplies hidden around and we could do with a medical kit to stop these cuts from getting infected. We could do with some weapons too. Fortunately my senses will suffice for a rudimentary tricorder, I’ll sense if anyone or anything is coming.”

"You can do that?" Ronson looked with wide eyes at his companion.

Aurora nodded. “I’m half Betazoid, I’m empathic.” She offered a smile.

They continued on for a short while, Ronson doing as much as he could to make Aurora's journey easier, moving in front and trying to keep her protected from the branches and foliage.

“Thank you” Aurora offered a smile. What she’d have given for a medical kit her scratches and cuts were sore and walking through all the branches wasn’t helping. “Wait ...” Aurora paused. “Do you hear that? It sounds like water.”

Ronson stopped, craning his neck as though it would increase his hearing. Sadly it did not and only succeeded in him looking awkward.

"I got nothing" he admitted, realising that Vulcans most likely had superior hearing, and everything else.

“I could be wrong, it would also take us off course” She gave a thoughtful look. “It could be a trap, where better to lure people to. Let’s keep going.”

" Ok" Ronson replied, setting off and trying to get in front of Aurora to protect her again. She was definitely the eyes, ears and brains of the outfit. It was in his best interest to make sure she remained undamaged as long as possible. "But if everything is guarded, how are we gonna eat?" He asked quietly.

“I guess we’ll have to figure that out when we find food.” She was feeling as hungry as Ronson. “I’m hungry now, we need to find something but I’d be suspicious of any plants we find, they wouldn’t make it that easy on us.”

"No I don't think they would" Ronson lamented, realising just what a task they might have in front of them to not only survive but to reach the end. He wished for his quarters and his coffee machine and easy life of a Captain's Yeoman. He moved a few steps in front of Aurora, allowing her to direct him with a motion of her hand to guide them to the water. Would it be guarded or not?

Aurora looked around. “I can still hear water, I think we’re eventually going to have to meet it maybe even cross it. I dread to think what might be there.” She looked at Ronson. “Can you swim?”

"That I can do - I used to be quite good at it" Ronson admitted, puffing his chest out just a little bit. The sound of water came closer, revealing a large stream that was flowing swiftly.

“Look!” Aurora pointed to a outcrop on the other side of the stream, typically across the deepest most treacherous part. “There’s a box ... whatever is in there we could certainly use it. I’m not sure if I can swim across with my hands bound though, what about you?”

"Depends how deep it is. We could also start upstream and let the current wash us towards whatever is in the box... " Ronson suggested, reading the currents and determining they would need to start approximately 300 metres upstream.

They headed upstream and prepared themselves for the swim.

TBC