To Ashes [GUIDE]

[Isaiah Dashiell]

"Are you sure you want to 'explore' at night? How much oxygen do you even have left?" He sounded like a nagging mother. He paused, thinking about that and came to a horrible realization. He was becoming Magdalena. He chuckled audibly at that before realizing Atheema could probably hear him.

"We can look in the morning when those things aren't out and about. You saw what one little one did to Mags and we've already lost enough people to them in their attacks. We don't need to lose you too. You're a lifesaver." He shifted uncomfortably and stood from his seat to check on Mags. She looked so peaceful now. He wondered what she was thinking about, dreaming about.

"It also makes me restless that Mags' companion is out there doing my job," he joked, "Its in my job title. Pathfinder."

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Smiling to herself as she listened, Atheema stood from the bottom of the access hatch ladder where she had taken up residence since getting inside, "How does it feel, Pathfinder,"

She lifted her left arm, engaging a holoprojected screen from the gauntlet to bring up a control panel, "to be in Magdalena's shoes?"

All suit systems were in the green, no sense in undue caution when she could make herself useful. A few gestures brought her to a new screen where she initiated a remote drone that detached from the back of her armor between her shoulderblades. It blinked to life, floating slowly up over her head and began hovering before her, lighting the way while scanning the facility layout.

"To worry about the mission, about success, about the safety of everyone all the time. I suspect it's rather exhausting."

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

"I'm more confused as to why everyone is looking at me that way. I'm just a Pathfinder. I'm not even the best one, I don't think." He leaned against a wall and sighed. That wasn't an answer to her question though, that was just him venting.

"Heavy," he said after some thought. "But not like lifting a boulder heavy, more like having a five pound blanket on your chest heavy. But that might also just be all the nutrient packs talking...I would kill for some real food right about now."

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"I could go for a good egg's benedict and a cup of caffe myself..." she stepped over some rubble, blue eyes skirting from the pathway illuminated ahead by the humming drone and the scans on her HUD at her gauntlet.

"I suspect it's because you're a driven and proactive individual," the drone buzzed down a long hallway that eventually turned right and lead down a set of stairs to a larger corridor. This part of the complex seemed to mirror the southern portion where the team was currently stationed, which made her wonder if there was a secondary communications lab or, more pressingly, an actual medibay, "why they look at you that way, that is. You don't have to be the best to be good at what you do. By Miss Lethe's account you've gotten her out of some very dangerous situations as acting Pathfinder. No doubt she thinks quite highly of you."

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

They had gotten out of a lot of scrapes together, but he didn't think Mags really told anyone about them. At times it felt like he was fumbling around in the dark and it frustrated him when he went on his expeditions, but for some reason he always came back to the BOB and took his next assignment. To him it wasn't just work, but most of the time it felt like that, and so to hear that Mags spoke highly of his work brought the beginnings of a smile to his face. But it didn't change the fact that they were stuck underground with a bunch of plant monsters that apparently had venomous grass lizard friends.

"Yeah well," he paused, "She's not so bad herself."

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"I tend to agree," Atheema replied amiably, stepping down the long corridor and turning right into what would have been the mess hall, a mirror of the bunker on the other side where the team was currently holed up. She crossed through the darkness quietly, bypassing empty tables.

"You know what strikes me as very odd," she began as her eyes settled on chairs pulled out and some supplies left behind, "this facility was used by someone before we got here. We've discovered signs of their presence and their hurried departure, but nothing of their purpose here. Or what drove them away. We know far too little of this place..."

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

"It was probably those things that drove them away, except they had better luck getting off this rock than we are having." He was walking around the mess hall now. All around him GUIDE personnel were sitting or sleeping on the bench chairs in small groups. One or two were actually using the tables for eating. So far things had been relatively quiet save for the scare earlier. Unusual, but also unnoticed.

"And to be honest, I don't want to know much about this place, let some big Galactic power deal with this place. I'd be happier back on BOB." He paused mid step, "What do you think they used this place for?"

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"It's difficult to say," she pushed through another set of side doors that lead into a separate, dark hallway, "but I think it was something worth going through the trouble for. Sites this big aren't made to stand as simple outposts. They were researching something here, and I'd wager a guess that they were developing something they didn't want a big galactic power to know about. Why else would they do it here on an uncharted, inhospitable planet?"

Atheema had several working hypothesis about what this site had been used for, but simply not enough evidence yet to postulate further. Had this incident been part of her past life she would have left the team days ago to investigate further and part of her still urged her to do so. The Liran part of her. The ... human part of her, however, found that this working kinship with these people was worth holding off personal pursuits of curiosity.

She wanted to see them home safely and she would willingly sacrifice this very interesting prospect to do so. Atheema silently wondered at her progress.

~~~

Back in the communications lab a transmission suddenly found its way through.

"This is Operative Larue reporting from the EVE Foundation Response Team Simpra, your mayday has been received and forwarded to GUIDE HQ, backup is en route. I repeate, this is OPerative Larue reporting from the EVE Foundation Response Team Simpra...does anyone copy?"

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

It would be several days before help could arrive. It left Creia eternally restless during the journey and now that they were here she was being told that they couldn't go down and swoop in to rescue the stranded GUIDE personnel. It took all she had to keep herself from going full Stormtrooper and going down there herself for an extraction. Night time she was told was the only time they could reliably get down tot he planet's surface without endangering the ships, but night time was also dangerous for other reasons that weren't entirely clear over the bad com interference.

What they did know of the situation was that Mags had been injured, at least when the SOS had come she had been. They were attempting to reach them now but maybe the radiation storms were really that bad.

"This is lead GUIDE Tiefling Nariah attempting to contact GUIDE Outpost Zelta 3. Please respond." The message continued to repeat and would she suspected until night fell on the planet. Two other Teifling shuttles had departed from the Beacon of Broadcast for this rescue mission.

It was time to pull Mags out of this hell hole.

[member="Magdalena Lethe"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Atheema had returned to the southern complex after a harrowing sprint across the grounds just before daylight. She'd made it in with salvaged medical supplies and some curious samples collected from what had appeared to be a small research lab at the far end of the north complex. She tended to the sick and wounded, applying radiation treatment patches she'd retrieved to those who were the worst off. Help was coming and supplies were limited, those who were still strong enough to fight for their health would simply have to hold on a little longer.

Magda remained in her forced stasis upon the cot, silent and motionless as the grave. Atheema checked her vitals every hour, exchanging concerns with Diedrik about the prolonged usage Sleeping Death and how, despite the body's systems having slowed to a crawl above dead, the poison was still spreading. They needed to get her off this planet and into a proper medical lab and they needed to do it yesterday.

It was nearing nightfall when the transmission from the Nariah began to come in through the static.

"Atheema!" Marsella was on comms duty and had come flying into the bunkhouse, "Izzy? Someone? There's a message coming through, it's one of ours! Come quick!"

Atheema looked up from where she was drawing blood at Magda's good arm and glanced over to Isaiah as he tended to one of the injured explorers, changing her bandage. She quickly finished up and stowed away the blood sample in a compartment of her armor before heading off to the comms lab to listen in.

"This is Doctor Roenkari, we have received your transmission Nariah. To whom do we owe the pleasure?"

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

"This is Crei Xiao, Senior GUIDE Pathfinder. Doctor, we need to know what kind of situation you are in. Can you make it to the surface?" She paused.

"How is Pathfinder Isaiah Dashiel and Miss Lethe?" There was a tinge of worry in her voice.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Pathfinder Dashiell is healthy and in one piece, The Founder..." Atheema trailed off, exchanging a look with Marsella who was standing wide-eyed in the comms lab doorway, "The Founder's in critical condition and needs immediate evac. We have one casualty, four injured, and six suffering from stage 3 radiation poisoning. I only have a handful of able-bodied Staff, any move to the surface will be dangerous and require assistance."

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

It was worse than she thought. Creia cursed under her breath and nodded to the crew of her shuttle before pressing a thumb to the com. They needed to get down there as soon as possible but with the storm going the way it was there was no telling how much longer they would have to wait before they were able to land. With a heavy sigh she responded,

"Get anyone able to help pack up and ready the wounded and sick. The minute that storm ends our ships will land at your coordinates. Be ready."

----

Izzy sat on a dusty storage container, his forehead resting on the durasteel frame of Mags' cot. He'd fallen asleep.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"Affirmative, Nariah, sending coordinates for the LZ now."

"Marsella," Atheema turned to the young woman as she punched in the information, "I need you to get your suit on and gather evac supplies over by the exit. Once you've done this, start getting everyone prepped to go outside. Full radiation suits and rebreathers."

"Do we have enough stock to cover everyone?"

Atheema frowned and thought about this. The answer was no, but not everyone needed to be fully suited, "Suit-up those who are in the worse condition first, leave those of able-body status for last."

"Got it."

~~~

Sssssssssssspechhh.

[member="Isaiah Dashiell"] entered the realm of the dreamscape weightless and surrounded by the void of his own subconscious and the sound of his own breathing, heartbeat thrumming strongly into the vast fathoms.

Sssssssspeasssshhhh.

He'd become increasingly aware of the warmth surrounding him steadily growing into a dry, earthy heat. In the distanced something gave off a faint pinkish glow.

Ssssspeak.

The hissing voice had been distant at first, but now rang clearly, as if spoken directly into his ear.

Speak.

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

His mouth felt dry.

Izzy attempted to pull in air and began to panic as he found he couldn't, or rather, didn't need to. The half realization of his situation put him at ease. He didn't need to breathe and the sound similar to that of a beating heart filled the void. He floated there for a moment in the void and let his thoughts drift only to be interrupted by something faintly familiar that sent chills down his spine. It was the strange hiss that he had heard, or at least he thought he had heart it, somewhere before. What was he doing before this?

Speak.

"Speak?" The words came out raspy, as if he hadn't had water in days. "What do you want me to say...? Who are you? Where are you?"

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

The pink glow solidified into the shape of a young woman that eventually settled into the silhouette of Magdalena. Red illuminated her eyes in a baleful gaze.

She lifted her right arm to examine her hand, the flesh tainted by a green hue, veins turned a dark ochre spreading across her shoulder, upper chest, and neck.

"Foren," the voice formed on her lips though did not resemble her voice at all, "we speak through this one."

"Will you help us."

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

"I-Wait, Mags? What're you-Get out of Mags!" He reached out to the thing that had filled Mags. He wasn't afraid, the threatening gaze angered him. He found himself floating into an upright position, the air felt solid beneath his feet.

"Why would I help you? What are you?" He needed to calm down. The heartbeat sound that had been steadily thumping along began to beat faster. "What are you doing to Mags?" He tried so hard to think about what Mags would do. The obvious question was follow the "Introduction to a new species Protocol" from the GUIDE protocol book but it was too late for that. They'd already proven to be the aggressor, and he...He was barely keeping it together as far as frustration went with them.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"We...cannot," the voice was equal parts desolate and remorseful, "we must use this one to speak."

Those red eyes honed in on Isaiah as he struggled, a penetrating gaze that saw more than simple skin and anger, but the heightened rush of his blood and the dispersal of adrenaline within his veins.

"This one wished to help. We do not belong here, we wish to leave."

"We must leave."

 

[Isaiah Dashiell]

"You can and you will." There was no way he was letting these things off the planet. They were dangerous, and they were left here for a reason. The people before them saw to it that they did not leave and he couldn't shake the feeling that they knew what this species was capable of, but he needed to gain their trust.

"You will get out...If you want to leave this place." He hated ultimatums, but only when Mags said it was work or no more McYoda's.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"This one has promised to help."

It was not clear whether the voice was referring to Mags or Izzy, but something in the dream had shifted. A static sound had begun to sound over the voice.

"This one has promised to free us."

"We do not belong here."

"We must leave."

"You have to wake up."

"We have to go."

"We have to leave now."

"Pathfinder..."

Someone was gently shaking Izzy's shoulder, "Pathfinder Dashiell? ...Isaiah?"

Atheema looked down at him with a concerned expression, "Are you alright?"