ILLUMINARRPG: LLUMINARRPG: (4- 1330)- Chief of Security Lt jg Keung Lee

[John Tsang]

Mission: A Cure Delayed

Day: 4

Stardate: 2445.10.28

(Vulcan – The al-Stakna Mountains – Chief of Security Lt jg Keung Lee. 1330)

There were two ways to ascend   The al-Stakna Mountains.  They were a mountain range that was a feature of the geography of the planet Vulcan, bordering the Vulcan's Forge region. The sensible person's approach to conquer the single most hazardous site was to take the route with local guides.  Experienced mountaineers would scout ahead, rig harnesses across deep crevasses, plant crampons and anchors, and string rope so that climbers could proceed with safety and caution.

The other way, the have-you-lost-your--mind- way, was to go onto the ice alone, stake out a point at the base of the waterfall and start your ascent, placing your own anchors and stringing your own rigging as you went, and hoping there weren't any crevasses that needed bridging.

In this type of climb, anyone who became trapped by an ice slide, buried by an avalanche, or swallowed by a crevasse that opened then closed without warning (which pretty much happened all the time every day on Vulcan would likely remain frozen in place until the next global warming catastrophe, whenever that would happen, thawed them out.
The second way was how Lt Keung Lees chose to make his ascent.  He wanted to do some climbing on Vulcan.  Apparently climbing mountains was an attraction for many off worlders
After hours of hard climbing, he appeared as a mere speck on the vast, shimmering wall of ice. Buffeted by high winds, she now dangled less than a hundred feet from the icefall's summit.
With a controlled swing of his arm he buried the head of his ice-pick into the  ice surface. As the blade bit into the ice, water trickled around its head, reminding him that tons of fresh water were contained under this icy shell. The list of fatalities which occurred on this shifting ice wall wasn't as high as it used to be in centuries past, but still nature had to be respected and the occasional... incidents still happened.

Lee did not let this disturbing thought linger or break the rhythm of his climb. The al-Stakna Mountains was in geological terms, still an active volcano, and when the wind wasn't howling in his ears, he could actually hear the sound of the ice surface creaking and thumping. Bits and pieces of rocky ice tumbled off the sheer vertical surface from time to time as well, careening downwards until they were lost from sight.

The brutal topography of this rugged ecosystem appeared uninhabitable - a trackless expanse of snow and ice broken only by black granite mountains so high their summits towered into the clouds. In spots where the snow cover had melted, there were wonderous forms of sculpted shapes and forms.

The words of Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the second person to step on Earth's moon, came to him: "Beautiful! Beautiful! Magnificent desolation..." – but Lee wasn’t a person who admired the artwork. . The rapidly changing weather conditions and inherently dangerous climbing surface bore their own danger, and all these stressful potentialities had condensed themselves into a pattern of confident, economical motions: swing the axe, fasten the crampon, pull on the rope and ascend upwards. Every move was careful, deliberate, calm.

Wrapped from head to toe in extreme-cold-weather gear, Lee sank the spiked crampons strapped to his boots into the icy wall. As the fresh, cold water continued to bubble out of the hole his pick had gouged, he anchored her safety line with an ice screw and paused for a final break. Risking frostbite, he pulled off the facemask that covered his features and put his lips near to the ice.
The near-frozen water gave him a bracing shock as the liquid splashed around hisr mouth, and he took a few cupful’s which refreshed and restored him. After taking his fill, he reattached his thermal mask. Hanging on the rop with the safety harness strapped to his chest, he listened to the sound of his pounding heartbeat over the soughing of the constant wind.

A blast of unexpected wind and a rain of dusty snow set his adrenaline flowing. He cocked his head, waiting and listening for the tell-tale rumbling that might herald an avalanche.

When it didn't arrive, he took a deep breath and prepared to push on towards his destination. Just above him was the summit, the icefall's highest point; a frozen river that formed a flat, icy shelf the size of a tennis court.

He worked her way upwards steadily, finally throwing a free arm over the edge of the icefall and pulled himself up and over the summit - and he could see over the edge. A shuttle.  He had arranged for a shuttle pickup!!

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(posted by John

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