Part One.

Momentarily quiet, the Andorian silently wondered what it would have been like to start caving as a fresh faced youth with excitement and adventure. Not quite the start to caving he had, but he didn’t disparage the source of his skills for being a formal training program. As Sanjiv spoke, he was broken from his reverie and looked down.

“Fascinating….” he intoned with all the mysticism of a Vulcan scientist. “They blend in perfectly with the environment.”

Sanjiv nodded, and lowered one gloved hand into the water. The creatures darted away briefly before swimming back to inspect the intrusion into their space. He smiled, then turned his attention back to Ishreth, almost as curious about the Andorian as he was about the new fauna.

Formal? Yes. Proper? Always. But unbeknownst to many, Ishreth Dal also had a deep seated sense of curiosity. “I wonder…” He aimed his light between the creatures and the iridescent crystals, to see if the creatures would remain transparent.

To his delight, the creatures shimmered like translucent chameleons, reflecting rainbow hues as they darted off in every direction.

“That’s amazing!” said Sanjiv, watching as the deep corners of the cave were lit up where the bioluminescent creatures scattered.

The Andorian looked up to his companion. “I wonder if six-year-old you ever imagined you would be in a cave seeing something like this?”

“Forty-something me hardly believes it,” Sanjiv answered quietly. He continued to trail Ishreth through the cavern, noting that the other man was moving more slowly now as he observed the creatures. After another quiet interlude, he decided to ask, “When did you start caving?”

There was silence for a moment and only the faintest signal of antennae quavering behind the helmet.  “I was twelve at the time and just starting training for ice mobility. The pre-requisites for ice rescue include a lot of movement training from sleds and shuttles to caving and diving. Starting early allowed me to enjoy the movement sports while learning critical skills.”

“Wow, that’s… a really intense career path for a twelve-year-old to pick up,” said Sanjiv, though he wondered if perhaps it wasn’t actually so uncommon on the harsh and icy world of Andoria. “But very rewarding too, I’m sure,” he hastened to add. “Did you stick with Search and Rescue once you joined up with Starfleet?”

Ishreth’s head stayed still but the blue antennae nodded.  “I did.  Seven years as a hazard team leader for a search and rescue squad. Eventually Starfleet decided that I should lead bigger crews, so here I am.” Ishreth had never really thought about his path towards command, only that he focused on doing his job well, and took the opportunities Starfleet gave him.

Sanjiv noticed with some disappointment that the water was growing more shallow. Soon, they had left the pool behind completely and were squeezing through a narrow passage that didn’t leave enough air in their lungs for talking. As the space widened again, Sanjiv found Ishreth blocking his path with one solicitous arm, and as his headlamp illuminated the sharp drop-off, he immediately understood why.

“Now we descend,” Ishreth stated, as the light was swallowed by the drop. A quick tricorder scan confirmed the drop was safely navigable so long as they had the right equipment and technique.

Sanjiv prepared the ropes as Ishreth set their anchors, each smooth and practiced in their motions. They double and triple-checked each other’s work, and Sanjiv was amazed at how smoothly they operated despite having just met that morning. Still, he felt a flutter of apprehension as Ishreth prepared to descend down the rope, the kind he felt no matter how many times he did this that came of someone putting their life almost literally in his hands.

“Stay firm.” Ishreth’s soft tone was calm and encouraging. You could imagine him saying the same to a terrified civilian, working to extract someone from an accident or wreckage. But this was far more fun and smooth. Both were experienced, efficient and safe. “And … descend.”

The trip was smooth and Captain Dal found himself enjoying the ability to simply descend and observe without worrying about the time it took to do it comfortably and safely or whether something would explode. It was lovely, looking at the crystal formations glitter and the water drip from each sharp growth of stone. Smooth, steady descent.

Sanjiv followed many meters above him. He hopped lightly down the cliff face, relishing the excited swoop in his stomach he got with each sweep of his descender across the rope.

The tricorder beeped helpfully as they neared the bottom, and the landing was soft. Ishreth found himself standing on a mostly flat solid slope. “I’m down,” Ishreth called up to Sanjiv. “Good firm, dry landing.”

“Copy that!” said Sanjiv, and with one final push off the cavern wall, he slid down the last length of rope and landed with the soft thud of rubber soles on stone. After a quick glance around, he smiled broadly at his companion. “Nice work! As expected.”

Suddenly, there was a sound unlike anything Sanjiv ever expected to hear in a cave: a violent, reverberating POP like a small lightning bolt. Sanjiv both saw and felt the sparks that danced over his and Ishreth’s lights and electronics.

Before he could react, there was another sound, and it sent a chill down his spine: somewhere above them was a thunderous cascade of falling rock.

Sanjiv suddenly felt like a distant observer rather than the pilot of his own body, struggling to disconnect his climbing harness from the rope as he tried to discern whether those rocks were falling towards them.

Ishreth’s antennae immediately snapped upwards and he tugged Sanjiv back, pressing both of them against the rock, taking shelter under a ridge.

Debris started to shower from above, bouncing off the ridge and falling far too close for comfort.

They stayed there, tense and still for seconds that felt like hours. And then the sound and movement stopped. The headlamps cut through the dust, shimmering in the still air. And then slowly the dust also started to settle.

Tentatively the Andorian stepped forward, checking the area and scanning for any signs of what caused this with both his eyes and antennae. “I don’t think that was planned.” Captain Dal murmured in the same calm, even tone. It was hard to tell if he was trying to be sarcastic, comforting or merely overstating fact.

Sanjiv barked out a humorless laugh that quickly became a cough in the settling dust. “I should hope not!” he said, still pressed against the rock.

“I am concerned about the root cause, because it will provide valuable information on whether we can expect to encounter this issue again, or if it is an isolated incident.  That said, my first priority is to confirm a workable exit route.” Maybe it was the Starfleet mindset that made Ishreth Dal so curious, or maybe it was his training. At the very least, his calm tones were welcome in such a situation.

“Right,” said Sanjiv, sliding down the rock face and plopping into the dirt. Ishreth’s gentle tones were certainly a balm compared to the previous cacophony of falling rocks, but his body was having trouble catching up to his brain. His hands shook a bit as he felt the knots that attached his climbing harness to the now-slack descending rope. Hopefully, he’d be more settled once he finished coiling it up.

Pulling a tricorder Ishreth stood still for an extended few seconds as his antennae curled slowly downwards. “Not working.”

“I have a paper map in my pack,” Sanjiv said, more to fill the silence than anything as he was quite certain that Ishreth had packed one as well.

Ishreth tipped his antennae downwards. “So we go forward the old fashioned way.”

Continued in Part Three.