19719/To Boldly GIRL Part 3

To Boldly GIRL Part 3
Date of Scene:	10 January 2025
Location:	Under the surface of Gliese 667Cc. Some sort of weird cave.
Synopsis:	The GIRL expedition run afoul of an ancient cosmic horror in the form of one of the Gibborim. Or perhaps just a fragment of one. Trapped and insane. It hungers for souls. Will they escape? Find out in our final GIRL space adventure!
Cast of Characters:	Vivian Vision, Noa, Valeria Richards, Molly Hayes

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Vivian Vision has posed:
When we left our intrepid heroines they were deep under the surface of an alien world. Having followed strange pictographic symbols deep in a clearly artificially constructed cave.

All communications seemingly cut off. No sign of the way back to the surface. The atmosphere hot and humid but breathable none-the-less. The only way open is further down into the depths of the tunnel system. Down a steps of an inhuman angle and proportions. Everything about the place just seems a little off. Like even the basic rules of geometry are /different/ here.

Even time seems somehow... wrong.

Every now and again one of the away teams comms will fire into life. Their own voices murmuring things they've never said. And which don't seem to have any source that makes sense.

In short. Things are weird and /not/ the fun kind.

Noa has posed:
Noa sighs. "Go with the Earth people. Their technology is fine. Don't bring backup. Nothing can go wrong," runs through her head, as she follows with the group, starting to get twitchy with her fingers, and listens to how they analyze things.

Valeria Richards has posed:
The comms being cut off was a disconcerting matter for Brainstorm, the blonde supergenius everyone usually knows as Valeria Richards. In her Val Space Suit. Pretty much her usual fair with an added helmet, works on her wrist computer to try and see if she can get things back up and running.

"While it's a good thing we told people where we were going. We probably need to figure this out before our friends come looking for us. Or hear something we did not say." The blonde suggests while she works.

The lack of comms meaning her little wrist computer has to work overtime processing all the background scans without a link back to the Tereshkova.

Molly Hayes has posed:
Molly Hayes has her space suit on, a bit bulky on her small frame, peering out through the oxygen-laden helmet at the world outside. Her jet pack is incorporated into the suit, but that's more for if they have to escape in a rush. And it certainly isn't something that can fly her far enough tod o any much good if they're truly cut off.

But Molly's been in bad situations before. She's not about to lose hope. "Viv will figure it out," she says firmly. "Or Valeria will. We'll be fine. The two biggest brains in the GIRLverse are totally here and we're going to be just fine," she says.

She turns slowly and approaches one of the walls, cocking her head slightly, "I've seen something like this before...now where do I know you from?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Vivian Vision has posed:
Those strange symbols Molly is looking at faintly glow. There's only a few that seem faintly recognisable. Perhaps seeing a few more might jog her memory? It'd just take a little stroll down those perfectly unnatural steps. Steps for figures much taller and wider than a Human. A little more hunting around and she might even spot a pictograph that looks a little bit like a hand print.

Except someone drew one too many fingers for a Human or Shi'ar hand.

Perhaps the crew of the Tereshkova is already hard at work looking for a way to save them. Almost certainly they are looking into why the communications are down. At least assuming time is passing at the same rate here as on the surface. Maybe it's been decades and the crew have already abandoned all hope!

Or maybe it's been a mere moment and everyone is too busy enjoying a round of cupcakes to have started to worry.

As Valeria begins to scan she picks up some more weird energy signatures down below. But then that's probably not a huge shock. There's no tunnel going up to detect anything in. Whatever the smooth surfaces are made from it's not natural and very durable. Molly could certainly punch through it but digging a tunnel the distance they travelled might take hours if not days. Assuming nothing else distracts or disrupts them.

Which seems unlikely.. There is nothing to indicate this is /natural/. And that suggests it's the product of design.

Even Noa will find her Shi'ar devices acting up. Suit systems reporting weird time stamps. A faint whispering in her native language. "You can't trust them."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"I'm also going to suggest nobody wanders off out of visual range. We're getting audio that's blatantly not coming from us. Likely if it's anywhere it's further down." The big brain blonde keeps her tech going while otherwise looking around and keeping eyes on the others.

"Maybe we can find a door somewhere? No knocking Molly, we may need your strength in reserve." she adds playfully, knowing full well that sometimes percussive work is the simplest solution to being corralled.

Molly Hayes has posed:
Molly Hayes isn't prone to doing what she's told or being afraid of anything at all really. "I won't go far," she says. "Don't worry, guys, seriously, just chill a second. If there's a monster in here, I've got you, it's all good," she says.

She's scootching down the stairs just a little bit, trying to get a better look at the symbols on the walls. She taps a button on the wrist of the suit and her viewing port in the helmet will illuminate, casting light forward. She looks kind of like one of those little Among Us guys.

When she's told not to knock, Molly grins and looks backwards, "So I should just kick it in, then?"

Noa has posed:
Noa sighs again,a nd shakes her head. She pulls out a little disc from her suit armor, and taps at it. "something is trying to manipulate systems. It may be a bad idea to come further without military escort. Are you a military escort?" Looking to Molly.

Vivian Vision has posed:
From the bottom of the stairs there is a blood curdling scream in Shi'ar. A horrifying SNAP. Like a bag of wet sticks being broken. Followed by a /thud/ of something hitting the floor. Something just beyond where Molly can see at the top of the stairs.

Of course Noa is right. Going further without a military escort is smart! But there's the slight problem that there isn't actually any way to go back to fetch a military escort.

It's a good thing they have one of the most Powerful Princesses ever along with them!

The wrist mounted light illuminates a slowly spreading pool of liquid....

According to Valeria's best guess the signals aren't coming from anywhere. They simply exist. And then they don't. Like ghosts.

Valeria Richards has posed:
While Valeria is well aware of the existance of supernatural entities and phenomena, she does maintain a very healthy scepticism. Especially when there's clearly some science fiction spooky stuff going on.

"Molly, something may be sending us false sensory input. There may also be a monster, or other entity with varying levels of sentience or hostility. Keeping in visual range is as much to keep an eye on you as it is for you to keep an eye on us. Buddy system stuff. You've seen enough horror movies and we know what happens when people 'Split the Party'." she reminds that keeping safe is a team effort.

With the new sight, being liquid, Val is already getting fresh scans happening. "Probably not an idea to get any of that us us guys. I doubt it's potability." she Spocks up.

Molly Hayes has posed:
Molly Hayes shouts back, "Consider yourself buddied, then!" she says to Val.

She looks skeptically at the liquid, not letting it touch her boots, although she's the closest to the edge of the pool. She tries to shine her light deeper, to see as far as she can without getting herself at risk of getting any of that goo on her. She wasn't scared of much of anything but she didn't like goo any better than mots princesses did.

"I don't know what that means," she calls back. "I ain't gonna pote anything thing, though, just to be safe."

Noa has posed:
Noa shakes her head. Looking at her portable data disc. looking at it. "Something very strange is going on here," she mutters. Walking in the direction of where the scream came from. "That voice matches my bioprint. It's imitating me. Why? Is it a clone? Is it imitating my voice to lure me in as a predator? Is it trying to scare me away? Is there a good reason not to leave?"

Vivian Vision has posed:
It's not water. According to the scans it's alien blood. Shi'ar blood. Noa's blood.....?

The figure looks different to the alien GIRL. Older. Her suit is worn out from years of use. No signs of active systems. Across every surface in the lower chamber there are lines carved painstakingly into the walls and floor. Marking off who knows what. Increments of time. Escape attempts. Levels travelled.

The only one who'd know for sure isn't talking. Her neck clearly broken by something incredibly strong.

If not for the body and scratches this chamber could be the duplicate of the one they just left. Right down to the stairs leading upwards simply not being there....

There's a glimpse of a figure. Tall but hunched. Dashing down into the darkness of the next level down. Maybe if they're quick they could catch it!

Valeria Richards has posed:
"It's not safe for drinking. Probably not even for a vampire, since it is blood. Noa's apparently." Val being the nerd she is gives a definition. While the scans give her some more info. "It's not holographic, or my scans would notice that. But we may be getting fed a mental projection of some kind." she adds. "We might have a telepath, or tech that works on those lines." Val adds with a scrunched up frown of worry.

And some messing with her wrist computer again, this time working on forcefield settings. Possibly including psionic shielding. Though it may be too late for the tech to work. Especially when they see something looking vaguely mobile. "We are not hostile!" she yells out. In a few of the interstellar languages she knows. Though she laves out the Shi'ar for Noa to add herself.

Noa has posed:
Noa takes a deep breath, looking at what's in front of them. STOPPING her walking before she hits any of the liquid. "This is disgusting," she says with, well, disgust. Looking around her, tapping at her suit and scanning. "Something is attacking us, or attacked... her. I Again suggest we leave. But I don't want to split us up."

Molly Hayes has posed:
"Gibberish!" Molly Hayes cries suddenly, in a tone of exclamation, as in 'Eureka, I have found it.'

"Gibberish. Gibberism. Gibborim. Gibberjabber. Something like that," she says, jumping up and down and pointing at the symbols. She sort of remembered that. She just didn't know what it meant.

At the sight of the figure, Molly puts up her dukes and lines herself up just in case, "Stay behind me, guys," she says. "She's right, we come in peace and stuff! But if you don't want peace, I got two knuckle sandwiches ready with all the fixings!"

Vivian Vision has posed:
The figure disappears down the stairs. Ignoring the shouting. After the mysterious figure flees the group pursue it down to the next level below. Where they come across bones.

Lots of bones.

Human bones. Some so ancient they crumble at the slightest vibration. Some, generally the longer bones, are cracked open as if someone wanted at the marrow inside. Others have tooth marks on them as if they'd been gnawed. There are piles of broken devices. They look a lot like broken jetpacks, some stripped for parts, and corroded by the moisture.

"It's been so very long," A voice murmurs. Coming through the communication system like it was made from static threads twisted into a semblance of it's former glory. "So long since I had anything to eat." The comms crackle and pop. "I can give you so many things."

A pause. Some of the bones crumble to dust.

"The little one knows what I want don't you?" The voice resumes like nails on a chalk board. "A pure soul.... Pure would be best but... I'm so very hungry. Any soul will do." The bones that are crumbling fall away to reveal a jagged stone knife. "All you have to do. Is kill one of your friends and your wishes will come true."