JDL - Into the Void pt. 1 - Capt Neyes, 2Lt. Garza, Lt. Clark(npc)

Posted on Tue Jun 10th, 2014 @ 11:39pm by Admiral Rochelle Ivanova & Captain Landon Neyes & 2nd Lieutenant Jasmine Garza
Edited on on Thu Jun 12th, 2014 @ 2:40am

2,261 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: In the Dark

=/\= Runabout Horizon =/\=

Neyes' eyes wearily opened to the soft touch of his standard issue pillows. Thankfully he had at least some say in his choice of bedding. The pillows were hard, but the fabric rustled beneath his cheek. He clenched at the sheets and stretched out his legs at the urge of his morning routine. Before he even opened his eyes, the brush of a cool leather strap interrupted his rustling. Landon's eyes snapped open, and locked onto the little bracelet.

"Rochelle", Landon whispered aloud. For a brief moment, a slight rise in his heart rate warned him of the mistake of acting on any feelings they'd shared the night before. The ache of hurting her, or affecting the ship, with what could have happened broke inside him as he remembered.

Sitting up, he played with the band. His hair felt slovenly and He quickly put on his uniform and walked out into the main cabin of the runabout.

"Have you seen Rochelle today?" Landon asked openly, knowing his yeoman would be sitting in wait.

The Ensign stood up from his perch, tugged on his uniform, and walked quickly to the replicator. Working for the Captain had it's sincere perks. At least he hadn't been assigned to the little Commander that played his gal Friday. That one was a handful and a half. "Funny you should ask, Sir." He responded, ordering a hot beverage for the other man, "Word is she missed a report this morning and isn't in her camp." He scoffed, tugging on his uniform again before offering the beverage to Landon.

Neyes took the mug and looked at the man. "Missed a report?" The statement held a sincere shock, not to mention his flapped response to her having acted out of the ordinary. Rochelle had to know he would need to check up on her. "Perhaps she just slept in," he joked. "How'd you sleep?" Neyes took a sip and sat at the desk on the far end of the cabin.

"No, Sir. She isn't there. It doesn't look like anyone slept in her bed either." The Yeoman looked up with a blink, his head tilting as he tried to connect two and two. "I, on the other hand, slept as good as was to be expected. How about you?" Bob replied, finding a new seat and looking through padds. "Ah yes... Here's the report that was filed against Ivanova. Security isn't pleased that she just up and went off on her own."

The choking sound Landon hacked out was immediately followed by the spit-up of coffee which quickly ran its way down his chin. Landon slammed the mug down on the end of the desk. "Bob, what do you mean she went off on her own." Was everyone insane? Why wouldn't they have told him immediately if someone, especially the first officer, ran off into the wilderness alone?

Tapping his commbadge, Landon said bruskly, "Captain Neyes to Commander Ivanova, respond immediately."

Bob was immediately startled by the noise and actions made by the much larger senior officer. "I... Uh... You were sleeping, sir. Nobody thought it was that important seeing as..." He cleared his throat and shook his head, "Well, seeing as how she's... well... She's Ivanova. She can take care of herself." In truth, Bob didn't really have an answer. The world shook as Rochelle Ivanova cruised past.

Silence ensued. Pervasive. Enough to make Bob's spleen quiver in apprehension even though it truly wasn't his issue.

Landon's complexion hollowed. "Ivanova please respond." His eyes darted across the walls, and his composure began to slip

Silence. Bob swallowed hard, watching the Captain's demeanor change with each ticking second that Ivanova didn't respond.

The Captain stood up, grabbing his belt and walked to the front of the runabout. "When was the last time anyone saw her?" He grabbed at the front control, tapping the display with an intent he had long felt had been lost. A full scan of the area was going to take too long, and as the seconds began to pass, the images of what this world could have done to her started to penetrate his thoughts. The computer responded to his inquiry with the usual technical rejection. "Answer me, Ensign," Landon almost pleaded.

Grabbing the report back from the table, Bob quickly thumbed through it. "Ye-- Yesterday afternoon, Sir." He answered, "Other than that no one has seen or heard from he--" He startled as a security officer came through the door looking grim as he quickly saluted the Captain and then looked to Bob.

"We're starting to think she didn't take a hike after all." Lieutenant Clark said, holding up a pair of frozen socks. Standard issue, white, women's socks. "We found these in the snow not too far from the other run about. Not sure how they got out there, but they're hers. Scans for DNA have confirmed it."

Neyes' hands tightened and the thick, lithe stretches of his fingers pressed hard against the glass panel. His breath held itself hard in his chest. The response which came immediately would not have been fitting to what he knew a captain should say. His words were bit at the tongue, and Landon's brow quickly showed the bulging vein growing with his impatience.

"A hike?" The chair he sat in nearly broke off the base as he threw his weight against it standing up. "Why would my first officer go on a HIKE?! I had better hear a better explanation for her whereabouts than that. She's been missing since yesterday, she could be anywhere. We've got other crew out in the wilderness unaccounted for..."

It struck him. This was his own fault. Letting them go out into such a hostile place. Even with years of education and training, with their advanced technology and mature outlooks... every once and a while, space was too much for a Captain and his crew. He was losing them one by one to the elements of this forsaken planet and its backward inhabitants. Nothing had felt right since they'd landed. He could practically sense the err of coming to dig up some magical rock right from the moment they arrived, but it had lured him in with the pleasures of beautiful landscapes and new discoveries.

"I need a report in my hands about her possible whereabouts in the next 30 minutes." He pulled his daggers off a shelf nearby and slid them effortlessly into their hostlers along his lower back. "And get the marines."

"We have two options, Captain." Clark responded, managing to maintain his composure as the Captain got up and began ferreting away his myriad of blades, "Either she went off on her own or she was forced off by someone else." Instantly he regretted it as he caught sight of Bob shaking his head in warning against the frankness. Something different was going on here, the Captain was preparing to go after the Commander with a team of his own. "It may be more beneficial to allow the Marines to go after her on their own. We can't risk you to the same fate that's found the Commander even if that's just a waltz through the snowfields. She's a strong woman, always marching to her own drum. We can't control her."

Bob almost choked on his sip of tea at the Security offer's flippant words. Too cut and dry for this situation. Something deeper was happening here. "I'll summon the Marines, sir." He nodded and hit his combadge, "Lieutenant Garza, please report to the Captain's runabout. Now."

"The risk is mine to take, Lieutenant. I will not allow members of this crew to go unaccounted for." The fire in Neyes' eyes burned toward the man standing before him, telling Landon he shouldn't go after those he was responsible for. It wasn't a simple matter of dismissing the security officer, Landon wanted to make his position clear.

"I am going out to find her." An icy chill had entered Landon's tone, he stood before the man and looked him dead in the eye, "Assemble a team, I don't care who. Get going, or get out of my way."

Clark's eyes widened in surprise and confusion and Bob stifled a small snicker. The zest of the Captain was a hard one to match when something caught his ire. It was a violent contrast to the often playful even keeled nature he exhibited during most times, making it a true force of nature to witness and be reckoned with -- a rare oddity. Bob knew then what the connection was. It wasn't the missing away team. It was the fact the spirited XO had disappeared. Her. He'd damn the rest of the ship with his absence to find her. It was clear as night and day, black and white.

"Sir, I can't allow you to put the rest of the ship at risk. You have to consider the good of the many versus the life of one. That's standard protoco--" Clark was quickly cut off by Bob who stepped up to bat, again tugging at his uniform.

"Lieutenant... You heard the Captain. He's going after her and it's your job to make sure they both come back safe. I assume Garza will be on her way. Make sure you can add to that assortment."

But Neyes was already out the door, a coat sliding over his shoulders, and a pair of protective eye-wear covering his pained features. As soon as he set foot outside, he sighed with relief at the sight of a few well armed Marines and some security personnel waiting for him. If there was one thing he appreciated about he Marine Lt, it was her driving need to be ready for anything at any time. No doubt her and her marines were practically waiting for his call to arms, and were only a minute's distance from being ready for action.

Without stopping to greet them, he turned out toward where Clark had mentioned her clothes had been found. The wind nipped at his jacket and hair, a testament to the harsh conditions weighing down on his mind. His crew was out there in the cold, she was alone and missing. Words caught in his throat for a moment, the rage at his security officers and his own poor decisions coming forward with unyielding power.

"Lets get moving! If anyone of your has a problem with my taking this team into the wilds to find the Commander you are ordered to stay here, I can have you sent home and a formal review of your insubordination will be timely." He waited for a response.

Nothing.

He nodded. "Daytime only lasts a few hours on this planet, so we're going to have to be quick about his. How far can she have gotten?"

Clark was forced to follow with a heavy sigh. Bob had chosen to stay behind, knowing he would need to cover and continue with reports. "She could be anywhere, Captain." He responded, licking his lips and covering his mouth and face with a snow mask. "It just depends on whether or not she was taken or if she wandered off on her own. We're working on a minimum of eighteen hours that she was last seen by the crew." He continued, putting on polarized goggles in prep for their snowy trek. "Unless anyone here has any other information regarding a time last seen?"

"How in the hell does the damn XO of the ship go missing for 18 hours?" Jasmine asked looking at the squid naval officer, "what happened to the damn mandatory check-ins that security should've been doing?" Jasmine also asked, "I mean shit......we just found the missing chief of science and my detachment sergeant and her fire team are going out to find the blasted chief security/tactical officer and his men. Does no one follow damn protocol anymore?"

Looking up towards the Marine, the Security officer shrugged deeply. "She's Commander Ivanova, not exactly the easiest person to attach a detail to. Half the damned ship is terrified of her, and with good reason from what I've seen and heard. No doubt you've read her dossier, or was that literature too scary for bed time?" He asked blandly and tugged out a padd. "According to the last records, she was seen by a group of officers heading to her quarters around dinner time, however replicator records indicate she hadn't eaten since breakfast. That puts her as gone for eighteen hours and counting."

"So because she's the big bad wolf you don't try. Dear god how in the hell did you ever make it out of the damn academy with an attitude like that." Jasmine said stepping into the lieutenant. "Do you want to know why Marines were assigned to the Vindicator for this exact damn reason.....to keep your damn command team safe seeing as you damn squids can't do it."

"And you've done such a fantastic job." Clark quipped, smugly. "What's your excuse?"

Neyes interrupted, "She's only been missing early this morning. She and I last spoke around 0200." He didn't wait to hear their responses, and continued to trudge through the snowy landscape toward the edge of the wilds.

Clark's eyebrow lifted high over one side of the goggles, shooting a look towards Garza as he continued on closely behind the Captain. "Ok... Seven hours."


TO BE CONTINUED...

Captain Landon Neyes
Commanding Officer
USS VINDICATOR

Second Lieutenant Jasmine Garza
51st Recon Unit CO
USS VINDICATOR

Lieutenant Junior Grade Clark
Security Officer
USS VINDICATOR

 

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