[Nivirres: The Frozen World] (Main) Chapter One - Descension

[Wolf Rawrrr]

The ship's armory was still half full of people preparing for the mission when the comm system lit up and a sharp voice sounded. "This is Commander Tyder. All personnel report immediately to the cargo bay, fully stocked up and ready. The mission is a go, repeat, the mission is a go."

At that moment normal lights were doused, replaced by faint red ones, and the ship's computer announced:

"Red alert initiated by XO Commander Tyder. All hands on deck."

The message repeated one more time afterwards.

 

[Falchion]

He made his way to the cargo bay, his heart finally starting to accelerate. He thought of a saying he often repeated in his childhood, a joking phrase that was used by his friends when they played sports, I ain't afraid.


For whatever reason, that had always calmed him down somewhat. So since about the age of thirteen, he said it in stressful or nervous situations.

 

[The World is Flat]

The Quasai brought himself to stand on his thick, muscled legs. His mind drew back from it's meditation: He was ready. He wordlessly pushed past the rest of the group, his pace methodical. His eyes darted randomly from person to person. His mouth was curved into a faint smile.


The trip down to the docking bay took little time: it was such a short distance in the tiny ship. Just as the red-alert siren began to shatter the still air, Stop approached the commander. "Faden var, commander." Was the only verbal expression the social pressure elicited, nodding to his XO all the while.


He leaned casually against a metal crate after stepping away from the group. The corrugated edges were almost as cold as Stop's eyes. He glowered around the chamber with a bored expression as the world around him literally turned into hell.

 

[Helix Nebula]

Jack wasn't shaken a bit, when the alarm went off and the 'Red Alert' was announced through the ship's intercom. He was Spec Ops, so he'd been in similar situations before and after a while, he had gotten used to the deafening ringing of the alarm sirens and the commotion that followed them. After strapping a combat knife to the right boot of his light armor, O'Neill headed to the docking bay - Fully ready to take on whatever they would face down on the planet.


A Tiger Assault Rifle, or what O'Neill called "The most reliable weapon in the known universe" was hanging from a strap, tied around his neck- As the man walked through the corridors and past the other crew, towards the docking bay. As he arrived, he glanced at all the others there- Soldiers, medics, techs; All sorts of military personnel were present and ready to go. The alliance does love it's aliens, hunh- Asari and now quis.. quais..... plant people, as well? He thought, silently hemming when he noticed Stop. He didn't mind the aliens, though he would have.. preferred a human-only team, as O'Neill often found aliens to be nothing but "self-righteous and arrogant a-holes, that would love to see the Galaxy without humanity, despite them (in his opinion) constantly saving the aliens' pompous asses, from bad situations."

 

[Petal]

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By the time the alarm sounded Aril was nearly there and within few more steps she entered the cargo bay. She greeted everyone present with a polite smile and a nod.<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2012_05/arilavi.png.55d4b5fea0ded90b8823a24ff56dc575.png" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="23413" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2012_05/arilavi.png.55d4b5fea0ded90b8823a24ff56dc575.png" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[The World is Flat]

Cold, black eyes raked over the surrounding chambers. His fellow compatriots were assembled. Well, how fantastic. Stop could only smile in faint anticipation now, this was finally going to become sightly interesting. A few quiet observations on panic would find themselves well placed here.


His head cocked to one side as the ship began to shudder in the descent. "Fantastic." He whispered to himself, all full of morbid curiosity.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

The cargo bay was the biggest room on the ship, just big enough to contain two armored vehicles, a few dozen metal crates, and now the crew. Commander Tyder was leaning against one of the vehicles, fully armed, armored and equipped, with the exception that he had taken his helm off. He had grenades strapped to his chest, a sniper rifle on the back, and a knife and pistol on the belt. He was holding a Wolf Assault Rifle. The back of the bay ended in sealed gates like the ones on military transport airplanes back on Earth.

"Glad you could all make it."

the commander said. The ship began shaking when he continued.

"We are approaching drop point one, ETA 60 seconds. Now... O'Neill, Saday, Hraelus, Houlder, Nessad. Alpha team, on me

.

The rest of you lot are Bravo team under the command of Lieutenant Strickland."

he added, pointing with his hand. At that very moment the whole ship shook as if it had hit a comet, but it retained its speed, bearing down towards the planet.



"We're running out of time. Get in the vehicles, now!"

Tyder shouted but held his ground, waiting for his team to enter.

 

[Petal]

Commands were clear, Aril quickly entered the vehicle and sat down. Team Alpha consisted of 5 people and the Commander. Aril preferred to work in small groups, that way she could keep her eye on everyone. 4 humans and a Quasai. She was happy that the Quasai was on their team, she rarely saw them and knew almost nothing about them, she would love to know more. She awaited further commands.

 

[Falchion]

He waited for everyone else to enter first, he felt he could learn something about his teammates by how and what order they got into the vehicle. And he hated small spaces, especially ones you can't exit. He figured he'd take the seat closest to the exit.

 

[The World is Flat]

It would have been a contest for who was to wait the longest to exit last, but stop did not have the usual patience of the elder races. His ducked in after glancing distastefully back at the last team-member who was yet to enter. A sneer was the only fleeting expression that could be made as he ducked low to enter the cramped space.


He was following an asari. Some called the asari the sisters of the Quasai. Some claimed that they originated from the same ancestor species but that somewhere along the line there was a divergence between the males and the females. Stop had only one opinion on those who carried that belief: Idiots. The Quasai and the Asari were vitally different in many ways: The Asari undergo mental development stages and grow in a non-linear fashion. The asari Stop growing physically (including brain capacity) and they are not truly 'forever living'. They do not carry symbiotic lifeforms, they breath through the mouth and nose, they don't gather energy from forms of photosynthesis or mineral absorption. Their cultures are also fundamentally different in many ways.


Stop could list for days and days the differences and even undermine the similarities: The Quasai are considered Monogendered males. This in itself is not true as technically the Quasai are totally gender-less and carry no sexual organs of any kind nor do they feel reproductive urges.


But his mental tangent was cut short when the doors sealed shut. His close proximity to others made him sit straight and far back in his seat, as to avoid any close contact whatsoever. His arms were tight at his side and his gaze a glower. The asari to his right, and an older slightly more grizzled, serious looking man to his left. He didn't read the dossier and found himself unable to name the man, or to care to.


This would be a flight to remember.

 

[Helix Nebula]

The Commander didn't have to shout twice, as Jack was already sitting down in the vehicle, chewing on bubblegum- It was a habit of his; Chewing on bubble gum just before the start of a mission, whether it helped him calm down or relieved the tension and stress, Jack didn't know. All he knew at that moment, was that he loved cherry-flavored bubble gum.

 

[Falchion]

Shawn started breathing rythmatically and slowly, the measured intake of oxygen calming his heart. He sat almost relaxed in his seat. Physically relaxed, but mentally nervous. It had been what seemed forever since he was in one of these.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"Everyone, hang on! We're not there yet, but we've entered the range of planetary defenses -" As if in response, the commander's voice was interrupted by another blow to the ship. The impact was fierce, and sent crates flying around the cargo bay. The entire crew was now in the vehicles, ready and waiting. "I've transferred all the power in the ship into the front shields. Well, except the cargo doors. We'll need those if we survive long enough." Another blow, this time a stronger one, and it sent the ship off course. "Steady as she goes, eh?" The commander actually grinned at that.

 

[Petal]

Aril laughed a bit at Commander's "Steady as she goes, eh?" and held on to anything reachable: her seat and the edge of the material on the side. What crossed her mind was following: What if the atmosphere there won't allow us to breathe... I must have missed that info when I read about this place, they surely wouldn't send us to the planet we can't breathe on, not without any equipment for it. She became alert and tensed up. It will be fine, just calm down.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

The situation was tense. They were in a small confined space, an armored vehicle, in the cargo bay of a spaceship under heavy enemy fire and descending towards the surface of a foreign planet. It seemed like the world itself was shaking and falling apart. Like they weren't going to make it. The ship wasn't going to take much more damage before it explodes. Then commander Tyder spoke again.

"Heads up! Thirty seconds remaining, initiating drop sequence in fifteen."

 

[Helix Nebula]

Jack's head had been up ages ago, and he felt that everyone else were ready as well- Even the few aliens on the team. As the Commander announced that thirty seconds remained, Jack began calmly counting down from 30 in his head.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"Alright, this is it!" announced the commander. In that moment the cargo bay doors started opening, creating a gap wide enough for the vehicles to jump out one at a time. "Bravo team, fall out after us." the commander spoke over the public comm, and hearing lieutenant Strickland's confirmation on the other side, personally sent Alpha team's vehicle out without hesitation.


As soon as they were out, they were captured by the planet's gravitational pull which forced them straight down through the atmosphere. Through the windows they could see the ship continue on its descent angle just as it was hit by an incredibly fast laser beam that cut it in half, throwing it off course. A chain of strong explosions followed, felt even inside the falling vehicle at this distance. As for Bravo team, some Alpha team members may have seen their vehicle escape through the blast, but no one could be too sure. The commander shouted into the comm link but there was only radio silence.


It was dark, they were losing altitude fast, sensors were going haywire, but the commander kept an assuring expression, though obviously excited. "Nine thousand meters and closing." He looked at O'Neill, then Aril and everyone else eventually. "Not yet." he said, fixing his focus back on the altitude display.

 

[Petal]

The ship was gone and they were being dragged toward the planet surface. Aril was tense, her gaze fixated on the windshield, she was hoping to catch a glimpse of what was awaiting them. Aril was hoping they would hit a soft surface that would do little damage to the vehicle. Just a little more.

 

[Falchion]

Shawn grabbed whatever was available to him, hoping to steady his fall.

 

[The World is Flat]

And Stop had his eyes gently closed, a look of boredom on his face; Whatever would happen would happen, at this point in time nothing he could possibly do would influence the outcome in a positive manner. Thusly he concluded, worry, hubbub, or clamor was a waste of time, energy, and valuable time to think. What he did do, was passively meditate. His lip was curled under, his nose tightened. It wasn't a relaxed mediation, it was a feat of focus. He needed to drown out the irritating clamor around him and reach a point where his mental state could operate separably from the environment around it; it was imperative for thinking under pressure.


He thought back to an acquaintance of his; some moronic human... they were holding a listening post on some border world and the fool brought only one pair of socks. He regretted it the entire five month shift.

 

[Contrition003]

Coryn sat as "at ease" as he could muster under the circumstances. His eyes were closed, and he was revising possible scenarios, mostly Worst Case. He had been sitting in his rack, making fine adjustments to his Trueshot Rifle, when Tyder had summoned the team. When his Commander called he had stowed his gear. dropped it in the Armory and gone straight to the Bridge, he had yet to eat today and he was gonna regret that later. The mission was simple enough, two teams, pseudo-suicide run to cover their drop, land, blow the super weapon, go home. Not that it was ever that simple once the bullets started to fly. Now here he was, in the cramped confines of the APV free falling through the atmosphere of a frozen hostile planet with an unknown enemy of an unknown size with god knows what kind of armaments.


Coryn opened his eyes and looked around the cabin briefly, he'd read the dossiers, at least the parts not covered in black ink. Needless to say, large portions of both Tyder's and O'Neill's files were black blocks, but the file's he'd been given hadn't really given much info on any of them. the Quasai, Stop, was a curiosity to him. He looked almost...bored... Coryn didn't know if that was a good sign, or a very very disturbing sign, he'd just have to wait and see.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"Three thousand meters." The commander looked tense, in anticipation. The APV was still falling through the air, its front end slightly tilted upwards. "Two thousand... A thousand and a half... Engaging landing protocol."


The vehicle abruptly shook and swayed as the parachutes kicked in and caused a sudden decrease in velocity. Everyone who was not strongly holding on would have been thrown to the floor by the gravitational force. Soon afterwards the vehicle regained balance and Alpha team was now gliding in the air, falling at a much reduced speed. Commander Tyder smiled reassuringly. "We are less than a mile from the surface. Radar shows the immediate surroundings to be flat enough. Looks good."


If anyone looked out the window they would see little. It was a blizzard out there, and from this altitude the land below was a white blur of wind and snow. With the situation relatively calm now, Tyder decided to jump to some generalities. "One day lasts 33 hours here, by the way. That's twelve hours of daylight for this time of year, and it's just past noon."


The last few dozen meters before they hit the ground, external thrusters were engaged to soften the fall, and the vehicle landed safely. They had arrived.


"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Nivirres."

 

[Contrition003]

As the chutes deployed Coryn held tight to his harness, his body rigid until the impact daze passed. With the decent slowed Coryn looked out the window at the white wasteland... It's almost beautiful, in a monstrous kind of way...


"One day lasts 33 hours here, by the way. That's twelve hours of daylight for this time of year, and it's just past noon." Tyder announced to the team.


"Do we have a bearing on our objective? We got 6 hours before nightfall, and I don't think being in the middle of these wastes at night would be a very good idea, sir." Coryn was beginning to feel uneasy, his right hand gripped his left forearm tight... I will not allow a repeat of the Percion incident, never... Coryn turned his attention back to the swirling white-out beyond the windshield, a feeling of dread rising within himself.

 

[Falchion]

Shawn squirmed in his seat. He didn't care how cold or hot it was out there, he wanted out of the vehicle. He hated small confined spaces now.


He grabbed his equipment and made sure it was tight on him, then he sat back, most of his muscled still tensed.


"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Nivirres."


"About time, I'm sick of this tiny little space."

 

[Petal]

Aril jumped out ot the vehicle, solid ground greeted her. "What a delightful ride it was." she said and looked back to the vehicle in a grateful manner Thank you for not blowing up or something like that.


"About time, I'm sick of this tiny little space." she looked at the human who spoke, she will memorize their names as they go around, but for now they were humans, quasai and Commander. Claustrophobic much?


"Do we have a bearing on our objective? We got 6 hours before nightfall, and I don't think being in the middle of these wastes at night would be a very good idea, sir." the brown haired human spoke, and Aril mentally agreed while taking in her surroundings, wind and snow all around. Aril didn't really like windy weather.