When Searching for Firewood...

Posted on Wed Mar 22nd, 2023 @ 10:19am by Lieutenant JG Dunamis & Ensign Zara Qiri

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Timeline: MD2
1767 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

One of a Starfleet officer's least favorite things to do: survive in the cold. What did you need to survive in the cold? Warmth. Where did warmth come from in a place like this? Fire. Where did you get fire from? Wood. So personnel had been sent out in pairs to gather supplies, most importantly of all feedstock for the campfire lest the crew freeze to death.

Dunamis didn't know what to think of his partner. She had the cobalt blue skin and antennae of an Andorian and dark Betazoid eyes, things he never thought could go together. She hadn't spoken much during their search, either, the strong, stoic type it seemed. Not that he minded - but even then the silence was unnerving. "How are you holding up?" He asked as the two picked through the forest together. God, even wrapped in three layers of Starfleet issue thermal wear he shivered...

The Kelpian's voice cut through the silence, startling her for a moment, though the only sign of her surprise was the reaction of her antennae, which instinctively turned in his direction before the rest of her head. She looked up to meet his eyes, and felt a shiver to match his own. Sympathetic vibrations. Also, it was damn cold. "As well as can be expected, sir." She was not one to complain, and she had the slight advantage of her heritage, as well as being closer to the ground than the towering tactical officer. She slowed to a stop, gazing over at the valley at least a klick away, and took out her tricorder again.

Most of the brush around here was kindling at best, but there were denser carbon readings deeper in. Perhaps better firewood that would last longer. "I think we should check down there," she said, stepping closer to the Lieutenant and showing her readings. "Might have better luck. And less wind, too." She tugged her thermal's collar closer to her neck, staring at him steadily.

Dunamis squinted at the tricorder readings, a disadvantage of being taller than most people could hold a tricorder. Indeed, there seemed to be a much stronger presence of carbon deeper in in comparison to their location; a promising sign at any rate. Plus, more trees meant less exposure to this infernal biting wind and therefore a smaller chance for them both to freeze to death before finding what they needed.

"Excellent. Watch your step, now." Dunamis began to walk forward, squinting through the chilly wind and snow at the way forward, careful to avoid any sudden dips in the ground. It wouldn't do for them both to topple down the mountain and get themselves killed that way after all. "Well, ensign. I am curious: were you raised on Andor? I see immediately characteristics of both Andorian and Betazoid in your appearance."

Gingerly placing her boots between rocky outcroppings, she kept all of her senses focused on the ground ahead. One antenna curled thoughtfully at the question. "Hnh," she grunted in acknowledgment. It was a difficult one to answer without getting into the weeds of all those years she'd spent not being raised at all. "Earth... mostly. Mum's human, dad's..." she pointed to the top of her head.

His question might have been friendly, but she gathered it also had purpose, too, so she continued, "I've spent time on Andor, though. More ice than this rock, if you can believe it."

Dunamis had no empathic ability to speak of, none that he was aware of at least, but even he could sense a bit of reluctance in that acknowledging grunt. Not everyone was comfortable sharing about themselves, especially if they didn't like themself or if simply talking about who they were opened a can of worms that ought to remain sealed. He didn't know which category she fit into, but he decided nonetheless that to pry into her reluctance would only invite more sourness.

"One of my first missions was to Andor." He replied. "We had to trudge through the Frozen Wastes and hide in a cave to shelter from the snowstorm. We slept by the heat of a partly melted rock that night on the hard stone ground." Dunamis shook his head with a smile that was partly wistful and partly fond. "I wasn't the best treated then. Some people in Starfleet simply refuse to let go of stereotypes."

"Hmm?" It took her a moment, but then she remembered the first thing people thought of when it came to Kelpians. "Oh. The fear thing." Zara nodded. In dire straits, needing to rely on others in a life or death situation... she started to piece together what that must have felt like. If there was one thing she'd learned very early on from her parents, it was that stereotypes were only useful to an extent. When it came to the individual, only actions mattered.

She forgot to ask permission to speak freely. "Fear is useful. It's a useful tool, an old tool, like the ushaan. I think--" she frowned, her brow furrowing slightly as she searched for the words. They progressed through the terrain while the wind bit at their faces, their narrow frames moving on instinct as much as training. "People do not value the primordial enough. We materialize food from thin air. We fly in the heavens faster than light. And yet, here we are, gathering food and huddling around fires like our ancestors did, fighting to survive. The old ways matter."

"Yes. They do, as much as we may act like they no longer do." Dunamis remarked as he tread carefully through the inches thick layer of snow. "Some of my colleagues on my first assignment did not know how to light a fire, would you believe it? They had never seen one in the traditional sense or ever made one the right way. We ended up sleeping by a heated rock, as you know, but it was a lesson learned for all of us when we returned to the ship." Sighing he glanced down at his tricorder. "The ground dips about fifty metres ahead. Be c- wait."

Dunamis held out a hand, holding Zara back. "I hear... is that growling?"

She kept her voice low, but an uncharacteristic smile appeared on her face as she angled her antennae toward where the Lieutenant was focused. Kelpian instincts were as good as their stereotype, she mused to her herself silently. Voice to a whisper, she added, "...so there is fauna on this rock."

She felt the presence, the buzz of electromagnetism indicating a life form. "Behind that snow mound?"

Pebbles scattered down the steep incline he'd warned a moment ago, and snow shook and slid. But it wasn't an avalanche, that would have felt much different. A round shape rose up where she thought the mound had been, and as the snow passed like a sieve through fine white hair follicles, a large quadripedal beast rose up and turned its large, menacing eyes upon the two humanoids.

Zara's antennae picked up even more bio-signatures on the spectrum. Smaller, huddled under the beast. "Bloody Grozit, it's a--"

Dunamis acted on instinct, pulling her out of the way as the beast lumbered towards them, leaving huge pawprints in the snow with every step. "Get back. We are no longer safe here." He ordered, backing them both into a better lit portion of the forest. He held out an arm, keeping behind him as the beast lumbered closer, closer, ever closer, to within a few hair-raising feet of the pair... and stayed where it was, growling menacingly but making no further moves to attack them.

"No sudden aggression." Dunamis ordered, amber eyes scanning the creature up and down. Now that visibility was better he could see the thing in all its furry white glory; had it not been standing right in front of him and growling very, very menacingly indeed he would've thought someone had stitched parts onto a tribble and let it loose - because that was what the beast was in essence. The thing was a massive furry puffball with two huge orange eyes the size of dinner plates, four meaty legs that disappeared into the snow and... were those antennae waving in the cold night air? It was almost comical, in fact, had the threat of it not been oh so very real.

Squeaking noises drew his eyes to the monster's undercarriage; there he could see several smaller, round shapes shuffling along in the snow, clinging to the beast for shelter. "Look. This creature is a parent." He concluded, pointing ot the smaller puffballs in the snow. "Or perhaps a caretaker of some kind. In any case it is best that we leave it and its young alone. We may be in dire need of resources and warmth but this is a barrier we must not cross." Keeping his bright amber eyes on the creature at all times Dunamis backed them further into the forest, until the growls of the creature could no longer be heard, replaced by soft, crunching footfalls headed in the opposite direction.

"Killing one is the last thing on my mind," Zara said faintly. "Well, not the last thing, but it ranks quite low. Especially not with young ones." She forgot herself for a moment, grinning up at Dunamis. "I did a thorough scan during our retreat," Qiri added, patting the tricorder, and angling it to the copse of trees ahead of them. "Magnificent creature. Something to pass the time with studying back at base. After we have firewood." She stared up at the towering columns of alien wood, the canopy darker than the night sky. "And these are the specimens I detected earlier in our descent." Ensign Qiri pulled off her glove and placed her hand on the trunk. It was coarse and rough, the bark particularly hardened.

A buzz of distant motion alerted her, and her antennae angled back the way they'd come. Zara closed her eyes to focus on what her Andorian senses were telling her. "The mother is moving off with the children, I think." She frowned slightly. Perhaps there'd be a proper encounter... on another day, on another mission, when they weren't simply trying to ensure the survival of the crew. She let out a short, resigned sigh, and removed her phaser from its holster. "Permission to commence?"

"Permission granted, ensign. Let's get this wood back to camp." Dunamis nodded and readied his own phaser. Now here was to hoping they wouldn't encounter anything else.


~OFF~