Post by Shale on Apr 30, 2024 14:38:52 GMT -5
Episode 3
Week 4 Day 7
2:35 pm
It was for the best.
It was for the best.
It was for the best.
Easy enough to say and easy enough to believe. There wasn't enough energon to go around, bots would go days without a ration. The base was up to snuff- at least as much as the towering, rocky lemon could be. If there was ever a time Shale felt like dead weight it was now. It wasn't long before volunteers were being taken to be placed in stasis to ease pressure off the team. She was quick to apply.
To be totally honest though....it terrified her.
Shook her straight down to her frame.
Being totally subdued and unaware of your surroundings. Completely giving trust of yourself over to somebody else. But as she told herself over, and over, and over again: it was for the best.
It would feel like a moment to her she was assured, awake, then asleep, and back again. Almost like blinking. It wasn't much longer before she went under. One last thought: It's for the best.
----
The pod streaked down from the darkness of space in a black plume of ash and smoke. Debris fell away in chunks as re-entry into the atmosphere turned the metal red hot and melting the protective shell. A thump of turbulance, a spark stopping *crack*. Then there was no glass, the shards dancing past her terrifyingly slow. She coughed, choking on the smoke from the fires. Then another thump, and the cockpit of the pod was gone, replaced with the horrifying emptiness of the open sky. The pod was gone, inexplicably vanished from around her.
Just her...and the unhelpful clouds.
She fell, and fell, and fell.
It was blindingly fast, yet at the same time unforgivingly slow. The clouds parted and the ground drew closer and closer. From just being able to make out the mountains to suddenly seeing the grass in a blinding, terrifying flash. Then the ground was right before her. Impact-
----
"FU-"
Optics flew open, the profanity cut short as her systems hiccuped and her entire body seized a moment. As if bracing for impact. A moment passed…nothing. There was no crater, no life ending damage to her body, and a startling lack of dirt... anywhere. Had she somehow survived? Impossible. Hearty as her frame was plummeting from the atmosphere was a death sentence for anyone.
The first thing she noticed was the smell. That awful, pungent smell of sterilizing chemicals. Breathing it in burned a little. Blue optics traced the roof of the medbay, down to herself and the wires sticking out of her. One coiled down from her arm, hanging just above the floor, and plugged into a beeping machine. The noise it made grew steadily less frantic as she slowly gained consciousness, and realized that she wasn't hurtling to her imminent death.
It was a dream.
She was at the base, safe on solid ground and among friendlies. Waking from the stasis she'd - pretty dumbly she now noted - volunteered to undergo. Shale leaned her head back, tapping her helm on the berth a little harder than was probably necessary. Maybe another measure to just make sure she wasn't dreaming still? Difficult to say really. A relieved sigh escaped her as a wave of calm washed over her.
"Ah hell..."
She murmured softly and slowly lifted her hand to rest on her chest plating. Note: NEVER VOLUNTEER AGAIN.
"Welcome back Shale…"
Week 4 Day 7
2:35 pm
It was for the best.
It was for the best.
It was for the best.
Easy enough to say and easy enough to believe. There wasn't enough energon to go around, bots would go days without a ration. The base was up to snuff- at least as much as the towering, rocky lemon could be. If there was ever a time Shale felt like dead weight it was now. It wasn't long before volunteers were being taken to be placed in stasis to ease pressure off the team. She was quick to apply.
To be totally honest though....it terrified her.
Shook her straight down to her frame.
Being totally subdued and unaware of your surroundings. Completely giving trust of yourself over to somebody else. But as she told herself over, and over, and over again: it was for the best.
It would feel like a moment to her she was assured, awake, then asleep, and back again. Almost like blinking. It wasn't much longer before she went under. One last thought: It's for the best.
----
The pod streaked down from the darkness of space in a black plume of ash and smoke. Debris fell away in chunks as re-entry into the atmosphere turned the metal red hot and melting the protective shell. A thump of turbulance, a spark stopping *crack*. Then there was no glass, the shards dancing past her terrifyingly slow. She coughed, choking on the smoke from the fires. Then another thump, and the cockpit of the pod was gone, replaced with the horrifying emptiness of the open sky. The pod was gone, inexplicably vanished from around her.
Just her...and the unhelpful clouds.
She fell, and fell, and fell.
It was blindingly fast, yet at the same time unforgivingly slow. The clouds parted and the ground drew closer and closer. From just being able to make out the mountains to suddenly seeing the grass in a blinding, terrifying flash. Then the ground was right before her. Impact-
----
"FU-"
Optics flew open, the profanity cut short as her systems hiccuped and her entire body seized a moment. As if bracing for impact. A moment passed…nothing. There was no crater, no life ending damage to her body, and a startling lack of dirt... anywhere. Had she somehow survived? Impossible. Hearty as her frame was plummeting from the atmosphere was a death sentence for anyone.
The first thing she noticed was the smell. That awful, pungent smell of sterilizing chemicals. Breathing it in burned a little. Blue optics traced the roof of the medbay, down to herself and the wires sticking out of her. One coiled down from her arm, hanging just above the floor, and plugged into a beeping machine. The noise it made grew steadily less frantic as she slowly gained consciousness, and realized that she wasn't hurtling to her imminent death.
It was a dream.
She was at the base, safe on solid ground and among friendlies. Waking from the stasis she'd - pretty dumbly she now noted - volunteered to undergo. Shale leaned her head back, tapping her helm on the berth a little harder than was probably necessary. Maybe another measure to just make sure she wasn't dreaming still? Difficult to say really. A relieved sigh escaped her as a wave of calm washed over her.
"Ah hell..."
She murmured softly and slowly lifted her hand to rest on her chest plating. Note: NEVER VOLUNTEER AGAIN.
"Welcome back Shale…"
