Carpathia IV: Episode 180 - Vines
Field, P3X-2
Earlier...
Ameanru and Kit wandered the field, scanners pointed down, just like Nalma and Quenya.
Amenaru: Ground is soft here and the bedrock is deep. It looks like it might rise this way.
Amenaru pointed northwest while still studying his scanner.
Kit: I'm showing the same. Let's go.
Amenaru and Kit turned northwest and strolled slowly ahead, noses in their scanners, but still keeping an eye a short distance ahead so as not to accidentally walk off a cliff or step in a big poo.
Amenaru: You know, even though you said you didn't really get the Darksaver photoshoot, you really seemed to be into it.
Kit: I still don't really get all the dressing up, but the posing was fun.
Amenaru: Yours with the spear was good! Better than my handcuffs idea.
Kit: At least we can play with the handcuffs later.
Amenaru: Hee hee. You or me this time?
On they walked, alternating between small talk and the results of their scanners, both noting occasionally that the bedrock rose and the soil hardened the longer they went. Taking that as a good sign, they continued, finally stopping when Kit heard voices and looked up.
Kit: Oh, we're near Nalma and Quenya now. That looks like Tuomas and Ramei over there too.
Amenaru: Let's talk about our findings and then see what Nalma and Quenya discovered.
Kit nodded and they each traded scanners to discuss findings.
Nearby...
Quenya: Oh, look. Amenaru and Kit are coming this way.
Nalma looked up and in the same direction as Quenya.
Nalma: Yup, there they are.
Quenya: I expect that they're here because they followed their data to this spot like we did.
Nalma: We should compare data.
Nalma intended to say more until his left ear twitched, swivelling around to the side involuntarily. A noise. Something shuffling around in the grass, and it wasn't someone walking around. This was different. Continuous. Snake-like. His head turned to follow his ear, which stayed put on his head until it matched the direction of his face again.
He quickly found the source of the noise. Tuomas, just a few meters away, took pictures of the landscape but behind him, the grass shuffled and swayed, approaching closer and closer, like the bubble trail of a torpedo as it bears down on a ship. Whatever was in the grass, it wasn't anything good. Nalma darted toward him in a mad dash.
Nalma: Tuomas! Look out!
Tuomas barely had time to look away from his camera and toward the Nalma-bullet coming in for the tackle. Before he knew it, he was on the ground with Nalma on top of him. Tuomas wriggled free and sat up just in time to see a thorny, green vine rear up and take two stabs into thin air, the exact location where he stood just seconds ago.
The kerfluffle attracted the attention of everyone nearby, most turning just in time to see the vine slink back into the grass and wriggle back to the forest edge. Before anyone had time to discern from where the vine came, a scream in Amenaru and Kit's direction. Everyone forgot about the treeline and wheeled around to see what happened.
Kit staggered to his feet with a gash in his side, but even worse was Amenaru. At first, it appeared that he was floating in the air, but that was only because the green of the thorny vine blended with the landscape so well as it held him up, penetrating his chest from the back and now starting to slither around his body.
The others shot toward Amenaru, but none as fast as Tuomas, who overtook even Nalma, waving his arms around. Soon, it seemed as though his entire body lit up while fireballs formed in his hands. The first two, he aimed the tendril a few meters from Amenaru's back. One connected and the vine heaved, but did not release Amenaru. At the same time, a high-pitched shriek came from the treeline and that's when he saw it, a massive, 3-meter tall plant with its center leaves wide open and vines surrounding its base, two of which were directed out into the field. Though monstrous in both size and it's grotesque stigma and pistle, it blended remarkably well with the greenery surrounding it.
And it presented a tantalizing target.
Tuomas immediately shifted focus and directed the full might of his flame attack to the plant, sending a a stream of flame directly at it. The flames found their mark, not that it was a difficult mark to hit, as big as it was. The plant writhed and shook as the flames engulfed it. The vine holding Amenaru went limp, dropping him to the ground and giving Nalma the opportunity to pull his knife and chop it near where it entered Amenaru's back. The remaining stump wriggled around, half-heartedly retracting toward its flaming host while the other end slid out of Amenaru's chest.
With that came another problem. While Tuomas successfully neutralized the plant, the fire quickly spread, first to the surrounding trees and bushes, but it was when it hit the grass that it started to move rapidly toward them. With the brush fire rapidly closing, all focused on Amenaru and how to get him moved away.
Except Quenya.
A thunderous crack pierced through all the surrounding commotion and a geyser of water exploded through the ground. With Quenya behind it, swirling her arms around with intense concentration on her face, the torrent rushed toward the fire, obliterating all of it in an instant. That left only one problem, and it was a big one.
Kit staggered to his feet, clutching his side, and wobbled toward Amenaru, but Ramei got to him first, ending his sprint with a slide on his knees for the last foot or so and put pressure on Amenaru's wound with both of his hands.
Ramei: Quenya, initiate medical emergency!
Quenya: On it, Lieutenant!
Kit still wobbled closer to Amenaru, step by laborious step.
Kit: Amenaru...
Nalma rushed to Kit and caught him just as he fell.
Nalma: Easy, Kit. Just sit here.
Ramei: Tuomas, get a phase cutter out of the medkit and help me get his shirt off.
Tuomas dug into his medkit and pulled out the phase cutter. After choosing the fabric setting, he went to work on Amenaru's uniform, cutting it to bits in just a few seconds. Ramei was now able to put pressure on Amenaru without the cumbersome uniform in the way.
Quenya: Darius and Teren are both on their way, Lieutenant.Teren says a stretcher is coming.
Ramei: Good. Get the clot pads and help me with this.
Generally accepted was that tokki were the fastest runners of known intelligent species. Mikado believed that, until now. Even at full speed, the standard tokki running method of two steps and a hop, Darius kept up with him. He didn't even know that nekomi could go on all fours, but what he did know was that they'd be a force to be reckoned with in any marathon competition on Tokkastra.
Peering ahead, Mikado couldn't fathom what they might find when they arrived. The crew were little specks in the distance, but smoke and steam rose high behind them. A burn victim, perhaps? Whatever it was, he wasn't sure how he could help once he got there and Darius didn't seem like one to ask right now, so laser-focused as he was on his destination.
After nearly 10 minutes of solid, flat run, they could finally make out who stood upon the grassy hill. Teren was the first they noticed, and he them, for he frantically waved at them and pointed at the ground. Closer still and Mikado could see Nalma and Quenya kneeling on the ground. Not long after, he could discern the subject of their attention. It was Amenaru.
Darius hit the ground next to Amenaru and snatched a scanner out of a nearby open medkit and tossed it to Mikado.
Darius: Point that at him and read off systolic numbers to me!
Mikado flinched, but only for a second, and did as he was told, pointing the scanner at Amenaru.
Mikado: Um... You said sys...tolic? It says 55.3.
Mikado looked again at the scanner, but hardly anything about what was on the screen made any sense to him. Instead he just focused on the number that Darius mentioned while watching him dart back and forth between Amenaru and the medkit. Darius looked to Nalma, who was holding pressure on Amenaru's chest.
Darius: Has he had any saline?
Nalma shook his head, prompting Darius to dive back into the medkit to pull out a jet injector.
Darius: We need to get him back to the ship now.
Teren: I sent Ramei back to the shuttle to get it ready. Tuomas is helping Kit get back.
Darius took a vial of what Mikado presumed to be the saline he mentioned before and shove into the injector.
Darius: What happened?
Quenya: Some sort of carnivorous plant stuck a vine through his back out to his front. Tuomas burned it and I put out the fire.
On the scanner, Mikado took note that the systolic number dropped. Whether that was good or bad, he did not know, but felt it prudent to announce it.
Mikado: 53.
Darius pushed the jet injector into Amenaru's neck and pulled the trigger. After, he surveyed Amenaru more closely.
Darius: Keep that pressure on him. Did any part of the plant not get burned? We need a sample to see if it secretes any paralytics or other sorts of enzymes into its prey.
Teren: Just the tip of the vine from where Nalma cut it off.
Darius: It'll do. Bag it and bring it.
A look and a point was all Teren needed to give Quenya and she immediately took out a pair of tongs to wrangle the piece of vine into her bag. With the basics sorted, Darius could finally turn his attention to Amenaru himself.
Darius: I'm here, Amenaru. We're going to get you back to the ship. Can you still feel your arms and legs?
Amenaru groaned while he shook his head and moved his foot from side to side.
Darius: That's good. No spinal damage and hopefully no enzymes in that plant.
Teren: Stretcher's here.
Mikado and Darius both looked up at the same time to see two more crew members rushing towards them, each holding opposite ends of a stretcher.
Darius: Put it next to him. Everyone come help. We need to keep his body straight and get him on that as quickly as possible.
The crew laid the stretcher next to Amenaru and Mikado, along with everyone present, stopped what they were doing to help, spreading out to get ready to lift Amenaru.
Darius: On three. One... two... THREE!
With a single, fluid motion, all acting as one, they had Amenaru on the stretcher in less than two seconds.
Darius: Let's go!
Four of the team each took a corner and darted off with the rest following.
Darius: Commander, I'm going to need Dr. Teagan's help. Can you get her on comm?
Teren: Right away.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
