Post by Lt. Commander Cobus Rok on Jun 18, 2016 19:24:09 GMT -8
There was blood on his forehead, but it felt relatively superficial. Frankly, it didn't hurt nearly as much as his run in with the Captain on Risa. "Come on," he shouted, taking off at a run. The greatest irony about leadership and command, was that you never needed to know where you were going, you just had to be willing to go first.
Somewhere nearby, a Tyrannosaurus Rex roared. Cobus didn't couldn't recognize or identify the noise, but it resonated somewhere deep within the fear center of his brain. More immediately, the Decepticon that was chasing them on foot "transformed", for lack of a better word, into some kind of archaic combustion vehicle intent on running them toward a dead end, a literal precipice.
Skidding to a stop at the brink, a helpful signpost read: "Simon says, don't look down". Cobus stepped closer to the edge and looked exactly where he wasn't supposed to, compelled by a contrary streak shared by most humanoids, a desire to exert their will upon the universe in spite of any sort of reason or good sense. He didn't need to glance back at the swiftly approaching Decepticon to do the appropriate math in his brain.
"Jump, that's an order," he took the plunge, leading by example before the words would even register. The Decepticon had left them with exactly one option as far as he was standing. But he wasn't standing anywhere; Cobus was already falling. He'd leapt from the precipice, trusting that the water below would be deep enough that they wouldn't all break their legs, or deciding that would be preferable to to alternative.
He forced his eyes open underwater and threw his arms forward, pushing the water past him as he scrambled for the surface. When they broke free, he reached for anything, most specifically, the large floating yellow thing just barely out of his grasp. It was slippery and his fingers squeaked and squawked against the smooth texture. When he finally managed to get a hold, it pitched under his weight, his hand slipped and he spilled back into the water. With every bit of strength he had left, Cobus threw himself toward the edge of yellow thing, trying to get his arm up an over the little upward curve to let that serve as an anchor.
It was cute, and yellow, and chubby. The thing he was holding onto slowly turned its head to one side, checking its peripheral vision to observe its new passenger. Then its head snapped abruptly back into its normal orientation like it was spring-loaded, or made of rubber. Cobus stared back at it wide-eyed, trying to figure out if this was real, if he was hallucinating, and if there was any possibility that it wanted to eat them.
Wasn't there some Earth fable about riding on the back of an animal across a river and it not going well? Maybe he was drowning and there wasn't enough oxygen getting to his brain.
"Ahhh!" He shouted as a smaller, freakishly identical looking yellow bird thing scooped an orange bill under his feet and helped the rest of his body up onto the larger one's back. It rocked dangerously beneath his weight for a few seconds, but eventually stabilized.
Now that he was up and out of the water, he realized there wasn't just one or two of the yellow creatures, but dozens. Fortunately, they seemed friendly. And they had excellent floatation skills. Now he could focus on making sure his people were safe.
Tag Ensign Tegan Mast , @nutmegshadow , Ensign Mandy Bergin
Somewhere nearby, a Tyrannosaurus Rex roared. Cobus didn't couldn't recognize or identify the noise, but it resonated somewhere deep within the fear center of his brain. More immediately, the Decepticon that was chasing them on foot "transformed", for lack of a better word, into some kind of archaic combustion vehicle intent on running them toward a dead end, a literal precipice.
Skidding to a stop at the brink, a helpful signpost read: "Simon says, don't look down". Cobus stepped closer to the edge and looked exactly where he wasn't supposed to, compelled by a contrary streak shared by most humanoids, a desire to exert their will upon the universe in spite of any sort of reason or good sense. He didn't need to glance back at the swiftly approaching Decepticon to do the appropriate math in his brain.
"Jump, that's an order," he took the plunge, leading by example before the words would even register. The Decepticon had left them with exactly one option as far as he was standing. But he wasn't standing anywhere; Cobus was already falling. He'd leapt from the precipice, trusting that the water below would be deep enough that they wouldn't all break their legs, or deciding that would be preferable to to alternative.
He forced his eyes open underwater and threw his arms forward, pushing the water past him as he scrambled for the surface. When they broke free, he reached for anything, most specifically, the large floating yellow thing just barely out of his grasp. It was slippery and his fingers squeaked and squawked against the smooth texture. When he finally managed to get a hold, it pitched under his weight, his hand slipped and he spilled back into the water. With every bit of strength he had left, Cobus threw himself toward the edge of yellow thing, trying to get his arm up an over the little upward curve to let that serve as an anchor.
It was cute, and yellow, and chubby. The thing he was holding onto slowly turned its head to one side, checking its peripheral vision to observe its new passenger. Then its head snapped abruptly back into its normal orientation like it was spring-loaded, or made of rubber. Cobus stared back at it wide-eyed, trying to figure out if this was real, if he was hallucinating, and if there was any possibility that it wanted to eat them.
Wasn't there some Earth fable about riding on the back of an animal across a river and it not going well? Maybe he was drowning and there wasn't enough oxygen getting to his brain.
"Ahhh!" He shouted as a smaller, freakishly identical looking yellow bird thing scooped an orange bill under his feet and helped the rest of his body up onto the larger one's back. It rocked dangerously beneath his weight for a few seconds, but eventually stabilized.
Now that he was up and out of the water, he realized there wasn't just one or two of the yellow creatures, but dozens. Fortunately, they seemed friendly. And they had excellent floatation skills. Now he could focus on making sure his people were safe.
Tag Ensign Tegan Mast , @nutmegshadow , Ensign Mandy Bergin