[Fic] A Fucking Greek Tragedy (M) - Part II
Prologue + Part I
Part II - Orpheus
[ Olduvai ]
It took seven minutes and forty-two seconds to break through the airlock to get into the old base. Both McCoy and Grimm had other words for it, but he kept them to himself. The heavy door screamed open, letting in light and hissing out air for the first time in centuries.
“Jesus...” Jim hissed at the sight before them. A few Ensigns lost their lunch. Bones just felt numb. The withered, gnawed on body of one of the scientists and Mac’s crumbling decapitated corpse were the first sights to greet the away team. It was dark in the airlock, but everyone could see the generous rust-coloured splashes across the room. Reaper’s fingers itched for a gun. Noting the rest of the away team’s hesitation to enter the airlock, Bones (or was it Reaper?) stepped inside, gently tugging the scientist’s body away from the opening. Jim was next to snap out of his daze, effortlessly slipping back into the role of Captain.
“Ensign Brenner, Lieutenant Finnegan.” Two red shirted team members snapped to attention, the Ensign wiping sick from his face. “Activate the airlock once everyone is in, then test to see if the air’s still breathable in here.” The two men nodded, pulling the heavy door shut behind them before turning to the antique controls by the other door.
“Lieutenant Martinez, Ensign Sora, take a look at the schematics. I want us to be able to identify the best defensible positions in this facility, and the quickest routes to them.” The two of them whip out their PADDs and pour over the ancient blueprints studiously. “Bones, I know they’re old, but can you try to determine a cause of death for these two?”
John Grimm doesn’t want to look at the bodies. He doesn’t want to go pouring over the scientist’s mangled corpse, doesn’t want to see just how recognizable Mac’s skull might be after two centuries in this hell hole. Reaper already knows how they died, but Bones doesn’t, so he plays along.
“Well, the Marine over here was decapitated, as you can see,” he slips gloves onto his hands and reverently places Mac’s head next to the rest of his body. He’s not quite sure if he’s relieved or not that it’s hardly more than a skull with a few scraps of flesh left on it. “As for the other guy, I can’t tell. He’s too far decomposed to tell what killed him, but it looks like whatever it was started eating him after death.” Reaper wracks his brain. He remembers checking on the corpse with Sarge before. None of the scientists were eaten. It’s entirely possible that the other scientist, the one that turned, took a chunk or two out of him before he left, but both Reaper and Bones aren’t entirely convinced.
Jim’s features are tight, but he nods and offers a strained smile none the less. “Thanks Bones.” Soon enough, Brenner and Finnegan have the airlock up and running, with the wonderful news that there is still plenty of breathable air in the compound. All of the away team gladly removes their breathing masks, and Leonard is thankful for one less distraction. John is glad that there’s less background noise.
“Martinez, Sora, what’ve you got for me?”
“Captain!” The Asian man, Sora, snapped at attention, earning him an eye roll from Bones. “We are currently in the research part of the facility, which is separate from the residential, office, and maintenance areas. The research are we’re currently in connects to the rest of the facility via the Atrium. On our side, there’s the Dig Airlock, where we are right now, right next to the Carbon Dating Labs. The next closest section is the Infirmary, north, and beyond that is the Weapons Lab. West of that is the Research Office, and south of that are the Genetics Labs. From there, you have to pass another airlock to get to the Atrium. There’s another room off of the Atrium, but it doesn’t lead anywhere.”
“The Arc Room?” Bones doesn’t notice his slip up until Jim gives him a puzzled look. “Dammit Jim, I’ve gone into enough of these missions to know that it’s a good idea to take a look at the goddamn map if you have one.”
The air is stale and thick in his lungs, a side effect of the lack of a ventilation system for over two centuries. He notes that the shadows have drifted in the room beyond (didn’t he shut those blinds last time?) and knows that they won’t have natural light for much longer.
“The sun’s starting to set Jim. Is there something we can do about power here? The last thing we need is to be stumbling in the goddamn dark.” He knows that, should the power be restored, the light will be minimal. Hell, he can see well enough in the dark thanks to his extra chromosome, but he knows the others will need it. Mentally, he’ll need it. It was too easy to imagine monsters in the shadows.
“There seems to be a central control room in the Arc Room, sir.” The Lieutenant pulls up the schematics for the circular room on his PADD. “There was a lot of power directed to that room, and there’s a distinct possibility that I may be able to direct any excess power there in order to provide for some lighting.” Jim takes a long hard look at the schematics, zooming out to look at the big picture.
The design of this place is a mess. John knows this better than anyone. Knows this place better than anyone does, probably more than anyone ever has. He grew up here. He played here, laughed, cried, and mourned here. He was orphaned here, he was betrayed here; he died here and was reborn. If there’s anything he hates more than Olduvai, it’s the sick, impractical person who built it. The blocks were separate, impossibly distanced by a mess of knotted corridors and pipes. It was a tactician’s worse nightmare.
“We’ll set up base in the Arc Room.” Jim touched the stylus to the PADD, highlighting a path through the labyrinthine mess from the Dig airlock to the Genetics Labs, through the second airlock, past the Atrium and then into the Arc Room. “This is the path we’ll take. Ensign Sora, you’ll lead with me. Lieutenant Finnegan and Lieutenant Martinez I want you two to watch our backs. Bones, I want you and Ensign Brenner to keep up with the scans, get as much info out of this place as you can.
“Alright everybody,” Jim’s face split into a contagious grin. “Let’s move out.” They filed out two by two, in position, John Grimm doing his best not to look out of the window to the Dig site.
“Magnesium, chromium, lead,” Ensign Brenner listed off the chemicals his tricorder was picking up from the surrounding structure. “It’s all normal, Captain.” Reaper had to clench his jaw and shut his eyes at the observation. That was exactly what Portman had said in the airlock at the very beginning of the mission.
“You okay Bones?” John opened his eyes, able to see the miniscule frown lines in his friend’s face even in the quickly closing gloom.
“Yeah,” he rasped, almost losing his grip on the Georgian accent he’d spent years perfecting, almost sliding back into the skin of John Grimm instead of the role of Leonard H. McCoy. “I’m just peachy.”
( Part III)
Part II - Orpheus
[ Olduvai ]
It took seven minutes and forty-two seconds to break through the airlock to get into the old base. Both McCoy and Grimm had other words for it, but he kept them to himself. The heavy door screamed open, letting in light and hissing out air for the first time in centuries.
“Jesus...” Jim hissed at the sight before them. A few Ensigns lost their lunch. Bones just felt numb. The withered, gnawed on body of one of the scientists and Mac’s crumbling decapitated corpse were the first sights to greet the away team. It was dark in the airlock, but everyone could see the generous rust-coloured splashes across the room. Reaper’s fingers itched for a gun. Noting the rest of the away team’s hesitation to enter the airlock, Bones (or was it Reaper?) stepped inside, gently tugging the scientist’s body away from the opening. Jim was next to snap out of his daze, effortlessly slipping back into the role of Captain.
“Ensign Brenner, Lieutenant Finnegan.” Two red shirted team members snapped to attention, the Ensign wiping sick from his face. “Activate the airlock once everyone is in, then test to see if the air’s still breathable in here.” The two men nodded, pulling the heavy door shut behind them before turning to the antique controls by the other door.
“Lieutenant Martinez, Ensign Sora, take a look at the schematics. I want us to be able to identify the best defensible positions in this facility, and the quickest routes to them.” The two of them whip out their PADDs and pour over the ancient blueprints studiously. “Bones, I know they’re old, but can you try to determine a cause of death for these two?”
John Grimm doesn’t want to look at the bodies. He doesn’t want to go pouring over the scientist’s mangled corpse, doesn’t want to see just how recognizable Mac’s skull might be after two centuries in this hell hole. Reaper already knows how they died, but Bones doesn’t, so he plays along.
“Well, the Marine over here was decapitated, as you can see,” he slips gloves onto his hands and reverently places Mac’s head next to the rest of his body. He’s not quite sure if he’s relieved or not that it’s hardly more than a skull with a few scraps of flesh left on it. “As for the other guy, I can’t tell. He’s too far decomposed to tell what killed him, but it looks like whatever it was started eating him after death.” Reaper wracks his brain. He remembers checking on the corpse with Sarge before. None of the scientists were eaten. It’s entirely possible that the other scientist, the one that turned, took a chunk or two out of him before he left, but both Reaper and Bones aren’t entirely convinced.
Jim’s features are tight, but he nods and offers a strained smile none the less. “Thanks Bones.” Soon enough, Brenner and Finnegan have the airlock up and running, with the wonderful news that there is still plenty of breathable air in the compound. All of the away team gladly removes their breathing masks, and Leonard is thankful for one less distraction. John is glad that there’s less background noise.
“Martinez, Sora, what’ve you got for me?”
“Captain!” The Asian man, Sora, snapped at attention, earning him an eye roll from Bones. “We are currently in the research part of the facility, which is separate from the residential, office, and maintenance areas. The research are we’re currently in connects to the rest of the facility via the Atrium. On our side, there’s the Dig Airlock, where we are right now, right next to the Carbon Dating Labs. The next closest section is the Infirmary, north, and beyond that is the Weapons Lab. West of that is the Research Office, and south of that are the Genetics Labs. From there, you have to pass another airlock to get to the Atrium. There’s another room off of the Atrium, but it doesn’t lead anywhere.”
“The Arc Room?” Bones doesn’t notice his slip up until Jim gives him a puzzled look. “Dammit Jim, I’ve gone into enough of these missions to know that it’s a good idea to take a look at the goddamn map if you have one.”
The air is stale and thick in his lungs, a side effect of the lack of a ventilation system for over two centuries. He notes that the shadows have drifted in the room beyond (didn’t he shut those blinds last time?) and knows that they won’t have natural light for much longer.
“The sun’s starting to set Jim. Is there something we can do about power here? The last thing we need is to be stumbling in the goddamn dark.” He knows that, should the power be restored, the light will be minimal. Hell, he can see well enough in the dark thanks to his extra chromosome, but he knows the others will need it. Mentally, he’ll need it. It was too easy to imagine monsters in the shadows.
“There seems to be a central control room in the Arc Room, sir.” The Lieutenant pulls up the schematics for the circular room on his PADD. “There was a lot of power directed to that room, and there’s a distinct possibility that I may be able to direct any excess power there in order to provide for some lighting.” Jim takes a long hard look at the schematics, zooming out to look at the big picture.
The design of this place is a mess. John knows this better than anyone. Knows this place better than anyone does, probably more than anyone ever has. He grew up here. He played here, laughed, cried, and mourned here. He was orphaned here, he was betrayed here; he died here and was reborn. If there’s anything he hates more than Olduvai, it’s the sick, impractical person who built it. The blocks were separate, impossibly distanced by a mess of knotted corridors and pipes. It was a tactician’s worse nightmare.
“We’ll set up base in the Arc Room.” Jim touched the stylus to the PADD, highlighting a path through the labyrinthine mess from the Dig airlock to the Genetics Labs, through the second airlock, past the Atrium and then into the Arc Room. “This is the path we’ll take. Ensign Sora, you’ll lead with me. Lieutenant Finnegan and Lieutenant Martinez I want you two to watch our backs. Bones, I want you and Ensign Brenner to keep up with the scans, get as much info out of this place as you can.
“Alright everybody,” Jim’s face split into a contagious grin. “Let’s move out.” They filed out two by two, in position, John Grimm doing his best not to look out of the window to the Dig site.
“Magnesium, chromium, lead,” Ensign Brenner listed off the chemicals his tricorder was picking up from the surrounding structure. “It’s all normal, Captain.” Reaper had to clench his jaw and shut his eyes at the observation. That was exactly what Portman had said in the airlock at the very beginning of the mission.
“You okay Bones?” John opened his eyes, able to see the miniscule frown lines in his friend’s face even in the quickly closing gloom.
“Yeah,” he rasped, almost losing his grip on the Georgian accent he’d spent years perfecting, almost sliding back into the skin of John Grimm instead of the role of Leonard H. McCoy. “I’m just peachy.”
( Part III)