In Too Deep

Posted on Wed Dec 21st, 2022 @ 9:53am by Lieutenant JG Ryland Dedeker & Lieutenant Sophie Xiong
Edited on on Wed Dec 21st, 2022 @ 10:15am

2,852 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Interlude II (E5.5)
Location: Subterranean Gardens | Risa
Timeline: ID 4

"Well, damn, would ya look at that?!"

"Holy sheee-it! Never seen nothin' like that before!"

Reggie and Ryland were hooting and hollering at the wide swath of bioluminescent flora surrounding them. What would have been a dank cave on any other planet was instead of feast for the eyes. Whether it was the mushroom stalks as big as trees, creeping ivy that crawled along the ground and up the lampposts which guided their path, the flittering butterflies and lightning bugs that darted to and fro, or the soft glowing algae that spread across the surface of every stalactite, pond, and puddle, so much light came from everywhere that there was nary a shadow to be found. The lampposts were more aesthetic than necessity, for the moss beneath their feet let out glimmering, harmonious chimes with every step that guided them forward. True to immature boyish form, the men were treating the lone girl like the odd man out.

"Watcha' think, Soph?" Ryland prodded her with an elbow. "You haven't said two words yet."

Sophie, who had been standing there staring at the cave with her mouth open in a small O, now looked at Dedeker. “That’s because it’s totally flipping awesome!” she exclaimed, her face breaking into the first real smile she’d perhaps ever given anybody since she was about six years old. “I mean, just look at this!” she continued, face turning to a particularly bright mushroom. “I mean, it’s HUGE! And that purple stuff over there! What even is that? It looks like grass. Oh, I wish we’d brought a botanist with us!”

"Who needs a botanist when you got yours truly?" Ryland began to boast, but after their romantic evening the night before--possibly the first truly romantic evening ever--he immediately changed the subject. "Whoa, Reg!" He pointed blindly down the path at nothing in specific. "What the fuck is that?!"

Squinting down Ryland's finger, Reggie said, "I don't see nuthin' down yon--" But then his eyes grew wide. "Hot damn, it's a lift! Let's ride it!"

"Hells yeah!" Ryland agreed as he ran off in that direction with Reggie racing at his heels. "There's no tellin' how deep these caves go!"

“But- but-“ protested Sophie. “I’m not done! There’s something red over there! Oooo! I think it’s a flower! It’s red and glowing!”

"Check it out on the way out. It ain't going anywhere," Ryland called back as he pressed the lift button. "Come on! The sign said something about a gnarled root kaleidoscope!"

“Kaleidoscope?” repeated Sophie, head whipping around almost comically. She scrambled after the guys. As quickly as possible, slipped but managed to remain upright, and quickly caught up to them.

The lift was already dropping down several meters per second before Ryland came clean. "Okay, so I lied about the kaleidoscope, but I didn't wanna hang out by the entrance all day, and I'm sure they got hella cool shit down here."

"Man, that's cold," Reggie said. "Ain't right a bit."

"Too late! We're headed clear to the lowest level." Ryland wagged his eyebrows at Sophie. "Gonna' knock the bottom out like how we always do."

Reggie shook his head and spat. "Lookit, if y'all need some privacy, I can make myself scarce..."

"We're not knocking the bottom out of anything," replied Sophie testily. "Not here anyway. There'd better be something cool down here."

"How could there not be?" Ryland asked rhetorically. "Just look!"

The glass-lined lift lit up like Christmas as it passed through one level after another, each brighter and more colorful than the last.

"Reckon the man's got a point," Reggie said. "'Cuz I never saw shit like that before!"

The lift came to a slow, gliding halt as the reached the bottom. "Here we are," Ryland said with a grin. "We can work our way back up after we see what's down here." When they stepped off the elevator, they were greeted with the soft tinkling of falling water. "Check it out!" Ryland pointed. "Even the damn water is glowing! How'd they do that?"

“It’s probably natural,” Sophie informed him, too glued to the sights to offer her usual snappish tone. “I wish they had kiosks with information. I’d love to know what makes this happen!”

Reggie wandered over to a panel near the lift. "This here says information." He depressed a large, square pad large enough for an adult hand.

"Welcome!" A holographic avatar appeared. It had the voice and silhouette of a woman, but it was largely transparent without a clear face. Light bent around her movements so as not to obstruct the view of the surroundings. "I am ViOLA, your Virtual Operating-System Link Assistant. I am programmed to provide helpful information and directions at any point during your tour. How may I assist you?"

"Oh, good, a talking hologram," Reggie moaned. "That's exactly what a natural wonder needs..."

ViOLA responded as if Reggie's sarcasm had been an inquiry into the location. "In point of fact, the subterranean gardens of Risa were not always the beautiful tourist attraction that they are today. First discovered more than two centuries ago, these caverns represented a complex biome of many microorganisms of the kingdoms of Fungi and Plantae in addition to veins of dilithium and neutronium. Many an intrepid explorer braved the dark depths in search of the next motherlode, but after a brief surge in mining actions, it was determined that the initial surveys had been compromised by the unique mineral composition that enhanced natural beta radiation. As a result, the estimates of natural resources were vastly exaggerated, but scientists determined it would be an ideal environment for growing experimental flora such as the bioluminescent algae, mushrooms, and vines that now define the cavernous expanses."

"Well, ain't that special," said Reggie with ever deepening sarcasm. "Mining used to be done with explosives. Any traces of the old blast sites?"

"Negative. The old mining sites have been restricted to guest access," said ViOLA. "You are welcome to enjoy the many attractions and paths within the terraformed garden areas."

Ryland let out a snort. "Fuck that! Let's go check out an abandoned mine!"

"Negative." ViOLA began flashing in warning. "You must remain in the designated areas for your safety."

"Yeah, I think we're done with you." Ryland pressed the button that Reggie had pressed to activate the virtual assistant, but nothing happened. "Uh. Soph. A little help?" He cocked his thumb at the panel and ran a finger across his throat while making a croaking sound.

“We are absolutely not going off the approved paths!” Sophie insisted irritably. “It could be dangerous and get us killed. Or worse -- arrested!”

"Just cuz you got a pussy don't mean you need to be one," Ryland said. "But, fine, Reg and I will check out the leftover mining equipment and other cool shit while you stay here and paint your nails with the hologram."

At first Reggie was mouthing Damn! at Ryland for the way he talked to Sophie, but then his ears perked up hard enough to tip the brim of his hat. "Mining equipment? Now there's something worth lookin' at. Not every day a fella gets a look at bona fide, gen-u-ine antique machinery!"

“Fine,” replied Sophie “but if you die, don’t come crying to me!”

Reggie and Ryland both pumped their fists into the air at the same time.

"Then turn that bitch off and let's get going." Ryland pointed at ViOLA and waved Sophie along all in one gesture.

Sophie gave them both a frown of disapproval and turned to the hologram. “Thank you,” she said in her most pleasant voice. “You’ve been very helpful. We can take it from here.” And she pushed the button again. To her immense satisfaction, it worked and the hologram disappeared.

It was a little hard at first to find any sort of hidden path, but in the end Ryland merely led them where there was least light. In short order they came upon what was clearly a sealed passageway. Ryland began feeling around the dark edges looking for anything that would give. "Damn," he muttered. "Look for some kind of switch. This can't be the end of the line."

"You might wanna step back," Reggie said. The man took off his wide-brim hat and removed a couple of bendable strips that lined the inner band. He stepped forward to the sealed crevice, gave each strip a lick, and slapped them together across the biggest seam. "Take cover!" he yelled as he jumped back and plugged his ears with his fingers.

Ryland's eyes shot open wide. "OH SHIT!" He grabbed Sophie and shoved her back behind the cave wall's outfacing where they'd turned a bend.

BOOM!!!

Although the shockwave had been directionally charged, it still left the three of them a little wobbly in the joints.

"WOOOOOOOHOOOOO!" Reggie hollered.

"Give a little more warning next time, 'partner,'" Ryland groused. He got back to his feet and offered Sophie a hand.

“What. Are. You. DOING?” demanded Sophie. “I thought we were just exploring, not blowing shit up!”

"Not blowing up," Reggie corrected with a finger in his shell-shocked ear. "Blowing in! Don't worry. If they mined all down in here, that little kiss won't do nothin' the support struts can't handle." He shined a pocket light toward the crevice to expose a narrow opening just wide enough to slide through. "Looks like that did it. Let's go!"

Ryland returned Reggie's grin. "We came this far. After you, Chief." He slid through right on Reggie's heels. "You coming?" he asked Sophie.

"Someone has to keep you two out of trouble," she groused, following along behind. "But if we get arrested, I'm murdering both of you!"

"'Atta girl," Ryland said. "Maybe we can sneak off to a dark corner and make the earth move under the Risian surface." The light from Reggie's torch only dimly showed his waggling eyebrows.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "Let's not," she suggested. "But if it makes you feel better, you can tell everybody we did."

"Hear that, Reg?" Ryland called ahead. "Sophie and I totally banged one out when you weren't looking." No reply. "Reg? Reggie!"

"Down here," came Reggie's distant echoing reply. "I found a hole with a big, long rock!"

"Reggie, this whole place is a big, long rock!" Ryland called back. "Don't be jackin' around with any dark holes. We're looking for old relics and shit, remember?"

"Whoa!" Reggie's voice echoed down the cavern. "I think it moved. Might not be a rock at all..."

Ryland's hand instinctively went for his hip where a phaser would often be, only to remember he was unarmed. Hell, he wasn't even in uniform. "Reggie, back the fuck away from whatever that is right now! We gotta' regroup!"

Why would anybody in their right minds want to investigate an unknown something that was moving around in an unknown hole? But then, maybe Reggie wasn’t in his right mind. “Seriously!” Sophie called. “Don’t mess with things! I knew coming down here was a mistake."

A beam of light cut through the darkness across Ryland and Sophie's bodies before shining up into Reggie's grinning face. "What's with all ya'll's caterwauling?" Reggie asked. "See? I'm fine! You gotta' look at this here whatever-it-is!" As he swept the torchlight away from his face, though, his red stubble had been overtaken by an an aquamarine overgrowth that had spread across his chin.

"Uh, Reggie..." Ryland held out a hand to keep Sophie back. "What the fuck is wrong with your face?"

"Ha-ha! You're so damn funny, Dedeker!" Reggie ran his hand absently over his jaw anyhow. When he did so, he felt a tingling sensation spread over his fingertips. "Hey, this shit tickles. What the hell, man?"

"Yeah, I think it's time to get the hell out of here," Ryland said. "Run, Sophie!"

But Sophie had already turned to do so. “Which way did we come from?” she asked frantically.

Ryland wrestled the flashlight away from Reggie whose face had begun to turn faintly incandescent. "This way!" Ryland said, pointing the light back down the narrow cavern. "Reggie, you hang back until I get Sophie clear."

"Uh, okay? My face is startin' to itch sumthin' fierce though..." Reggie dug his fingernails through the thick stubble which sent off a puff of glowing spores.

"Don't look back," Ryland whispered to Sophie as he kept guiding hand against her shoulders. "Reggie is covered in some other shit and it's multiplying."

”Multiplying?!” repeated Sophie as they hurried back the way they came. “That’s all we need!”

When they pulled themselves free from the dark crevice, the dim bioluminescence from before was almost blinding. "Damn!" Ryland shielded his eyes as he hunted for the lift. "Should be on the other side of the waterfall. When we get there, how's about you undo whatever you did to that hologram so Reggie gets the help he needs?"

“All I did was turn it off,” she replied. “But we can try.”

By the time they reached the lift and reactivated the holo-panel's power source, Reggie had reached the crevice, though he found it far more difficult to get through this time. His bodily dimensions had swelled somewhat. As he sucked in to make himself as small as possible, a puff of glowing air came out of his mouth with a particulate count too high for health. He tried to speak, but his lips were sticking together from whatever fungal growth was overtaking the surface of his skin. The lift doors opened, beckoning to Ryland and Sophie.

"Areola! Gondola! Parabola! What the hell was its name?" Ryland called out. "Help!"

The hologram appeared. "I am ViOLA. How may I assist--" Despite the lack of a face, ViOLA became fraught with concern when sensors detected Reggie's condition. "ALERT! Quarantine measures are now in effect. Everybody stay where you are until medical drones can respond."

Whatever Reggie thought of that was muffled by the fungal flower that was now his face. A hovering drone descended from an unseen access port up above. It shot a tag at Reggie which then transported him out of the cave. The lift doors closed just as he swirled away.

"That was close..." Ryland let out the breath he had been holding. "You okay?"

“I think so,” replied Sophie, checking her body for signs of weird growths. “I don’t see anything. How’s my face?”

"Still got a pretty mouth," Ryland teased. "Seriously, though. No glitter or anything. You weren't even near him or whatever he fucked with. What about me? Anything spooky?" He rapidly ran his hand through his hair like flicking out sand at the beach.

“Not that I can see,” she replied. “Unless there’s microscopic bits, I think we’re okay.”

"Thank the Maker of Ways," muttered Ryland with an old saying from the galaxy's more fringe spacefarers. "I'm okay, you're okay, so here's the plan. I'm sure Reggie will be fine. That med drone got to him lickitty split. Let's split up and make ourselves scarce for a bit so nobody knows we were down here, and then we can find out which luxury hospital room he's in later on. Much later on. Sound good?"

Although Sophie really wanted to explore the caves, she had to agree. “Fine,” she said. “But it’s your fault I don’t get to see the caves properly!”

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'll fuck you twice tonight," Ryland said. "Just don't get us caught!"

“I’m not the one who went crawling around where we don’t belong!” she pointed out. “How would I get is into trouble?”

Ryland wanted to pull his hair. "Just go somewhere and act normal for a few hours. Make it good so no one can say different. Can you do that?"

The lift opened up at the top floor of the caves.

“This is normal!” she retorted, storming off the lift. She glanced longingly towards the brightly glowing fungi and sighed. Maybe next time.

"Guess you got a point there." Ryland gave a shrug and let her get a head start. They couldn't be seen leaving together. Once they went their separate ways, Ryland would scrounge up a horga'hn or two and ingratiate himself into jamaharon with a couple locals. That would be a believable alibi. Hopefully Sophie would think of something. "See you at the villa."

"Whatever," muttered Sophie, almost to herself as she continued towards the exit.

Well, that would be that. "Sorry, Reg..." It was never a good to leave someone behind. Speaking of behinds, though, Sophie always had a particularly aggressive swagger when she was mad. The metronome of her hip sway arrested Ryland's attention until she disappeared from view. Only then did he begin his quick trot toward daylight. This wasn't his first rodeo.

Little did they know that Reggie's adventures were only beginning.

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