Life on a training cruise

Posted on Tue Feb 28th, 2023 @ 3:42am by Lieutenant JG Damien Blackford

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: USS Vanguard
Timeline: 2395
1428 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Rain lashed down, hitting the already sodden earth. Lightning flashed in the sky, briefly illuminating the area, before vanishing, plunging the world back into darkness, the only light once again coming from the small moon hanging above them, thunder rumbling low in the sky soon after. Damien held his hand up, signaling the rest of the squad to stop. Apart from himself, there were three others with him: Two other Humans, a male, and a female, and a male Klingon. Coming to a stop behind him, he pulled out his map, and the others quickly gathered around him, sheltering the already wet paper from getting any worse.

“Whereabouts are we?” Eilís’s voice asked. The voice belonged to the only woman in the party, Eilís McCrory. Her red hair was currently tied back, and hidden underneath her cap, with only a few small strands poking out from the front, her emerald green eyes focused solely on the map in front of them, scanning it, quickly darting up to check their terrain, before shooting back to the map. “It’s too bloody dark to see anything.” She said through gritted teeth, the Irish in her voice growing stronger as it always did when she started to get angry.

The other human, a large, stocky man, by the name of Richard Jenkins, although most people only ever referred to him by his second name, glanced at the map himself, then looked up, just as the lightning flashed again. Eyes quickly darting around, taking in the scene before him, he looked back at the map, pointing to a section on the map. “I think we’re about here.” He said cautiously.

Damien nodded, looking up at them. “Alright. Well, if you’re sure, then that means we need to head here.” He traced a short path Eastward with his finger. “Should take us a couple of hours.” Folding the map back up, he carefully stowed it back in his pack, taking a small water canteen out. “Rest up for five minutes. Then we’ll continue.”

The other two nodded, pulling their own canteens out. Damien took a quick swig from his own before making his way over to the final member of their party. The only non-human of the group. “Korta.” He called to the Klingon, who was standing with his arms folded, staring at the thicket of trees that boarded the path they were taking. “Is everything okay?” He asked, following his gaze to the tree line.

“I do not know.” He said, his voice a soft growl. “I cannot shake the feeling we are... we are being watched.” Damien looked at him, swallowing the lump that had appeared in his throat. Damien’s hand brushed over the phaser that was attached to his waist, if only for the comfort that it was still there.

“It’s probably just an animal of some kind.” He said, keeping his voice as nonchalant as possible. “It’s a wood. There’s always something scurrying about.” The Klingon looked at Damien, the disbelief clear on his hardened features. He held his gaze for a few seconds, before turning to face the woods once more. “Have a drink, Kor. We’re moving out soon.” Korta didn’t respond or make any indication that he had even heard him. Damien shook his head, making his way back over to the others.

“What’s up with him?” Jenkins asked, his water canteen back in his pack, now carefully examining the Phase Rifle that he carried with him, making sure it was working correctly.

“Nothing.” Damien quickly said, shaking his head. “Seems to think there’s something watching us. I told him it’s probably nothing.”

“What if it’s not?” Eilís’ voice cut in. “I mean, we don’t know what’s out here.”

“Don’t you start as well.” Damien said, shaking his head. “We’re gonna be fine. Come on. We’ve lingered here long enough. Let’s make a move.” The other two nodded, rising to their feet, Eilís making sure her pack was secure, Jenkins slinging his Rifle back over his shoulder. Damien called out to Korta, who, with one last look at the treeline, walked back over to them. “Alright,” Damien said when they were all assembled. “If Jenkins is right about where we are, we’ve got roughly another two hours hike to camp. We’ve got our orders. A small research team went missing about a week ago. They’re supposed to check in every 48 hours, and they’ve missed their last two check-ins. Captain wants us to check out their last reported location and...” He trailed off, looking over Korta’s shoulder at the trees.

“Damien...” Jenkins said softly, slipping his Rifle off of his shoulder, and raising it ready.

Damien swallowed quietly, raising a hand for silence, drawing his own Phaser, the other two quickly following suit. There was silence, the only sound, was the rain hammering the ground. “Defensive positions.” Damien muttered quietly, the four of them quickly forming a circle, weapons raised and ready.

They held their ground for what seemed like an eternity before lightning split the sky, casting a bright light over the ground.

And there they were. Roughly six feet in height and covered in leathery skin, carrying various weaponry. Swords, bows. Some even had what appeared to be Phasers. And there were a lot. More than the four of them would be able to take, and they were closing fast. Within seconds they had the party surrounded.

“Drop your weapons.” One of the creatures stepped forward, his voice deep and gravelly. Now that they were close up, Damien could see him a bit more clearly. Their skin, whilst appearing leathery, also seemed to be comprised of scales. “I won’t ask again.” The leader said, stepping closer to Damien. “Drop. Your. Weapons.” Damien held his gaze, blues eyes staring into piercing red before he reluctantly threw his Phaser on the ground at his feet.

“Do as he says.” He said to the others. He didn’t look back, not looking away from the creature's gaze, but he heard the thunk of weapons hitting the ground. “We mean no harm.” He said, holding his hands up. “I’m Ensign Damien Blackford, of the Federation Starship...” He didn’t get to finish. A clawed hand moved quickly, striking Damien’s face, and leaving a gash on his cheek. He cried out, hand flying to his cheek, feeling the hot blood well up between his fingers.

“I don’t care who you are. You are trespassing on sacred land.”

“We didn’t know,” Damien said, still holding his cheek. “We apologise. We were simply looking for some colleagues of ours. They went missing from around here not too long ago.”

“Oh. We know who you mean. The other tresspassers. They offered the same pitiful excuses. They didn’t know. That they came in peace.” He smirked, lips curling back to reveal a mouth full of sharpened teeth. “We dealt with them. As we will deal with you.”

“What do you mean?” Jenkins's voice barked out suddenly. “What does that mean, ‘deal with us.’”

“The punishment for trespassing.” The leader continued. “Is execution. Take them.” He called to a small group, who quickly stepped forward, making to grab the squad.

“Oh hell no.” Jenkins muttered. Dodging under the outstretched arm, he quickly scooped up the Phase Rifle, bringing it around to aim at the creature who had just tried to grab him. Damien's eyes widened as he saw this.

“Jenkins! Stop!” He called out, watching as his squadmate squeezed the trigger, and the beam lanced out, hitting the creature who crumpled to the ground. Damien made to move forward but stopped as something heavy smashed into the back of his head. Black spots danced in his vision as he collapsed himself, the world going black...

“Computer, end simulation.” A new voice rang out as Damien found himself coming back around. The world around them dissolved, soon leaving them standing in the holodeck. The doors opened, and a tall man, dressed in Security yellow walked into the room. “Well. Not your best.” He said, stopping in front of the four Cadets. “Still. It’s early days. We have time to work all the kinks out.” Glancing at a watch on his wrist, he quickly looked back up at them. “I suggest the four of you go and freshen up. We’ll have a debrief on how the simulation went at 1400 hours. Dismissed.”