Team 3 - Exploration Time

Posted on Mon Jul 1st, 2024 @ 12:37pm by Lieutenant Cassia Cavendish & Avalon [ADMIN NPC] & Lieutenant JG Jason Danvers [Taylor] & Lieutenant JG T'Kek [Naxea] & Chief Warrant Officer Man'darr [Naxea] & Senior Chief Petty Officer Fernando De La Rosa [Taylor] & Crewman Adelaide Kirkby & Sovereign T'handu

Mission: Season 6 HIATUS
Location: Edens Reach and Transporter Room 3
Timeline: MD7 - 07h00
2871 words - 5.7 OF Standard Post Measure

The group of officers and enlisted gathered in the transporter bay where a pile of backpacks were waiting. An ensign stood there with a PADD. Once everyone was gathered, the Ensign began to speak.

“Welcome to your daily challenge. Grab a pack, they are all the same. You will be beamed down to a location on the planet, all land based. There you will spend the day as a group, looking around the area, taking scans, samples, hiking through the forests and the like. You will spend 8 hours planet side. Work together, listen to each other. Learn about each other. While you may wear different ranks, this is a working together exercise and one I want you all to do, without considering rank.” The ensign smiled. “So Speaks the Commodore. Please grab your bags and step onto the transporter pads.”

The ensign then added “Oh, the weather may be inclement. So be prepared to get wet.”

Fernando grabbed a pack. He hated leaving Heather, but she had Caitlin and Cody to take care of. However, this would make a good story to tell her when he returned.

Jason also picked up a pack. he hefted it in his hand it wasn't too heavy. He would check the contents when they got to the surface for now, he waited on a pad as he looked over the other members of the team. They all looked capable and ready for whatever awaited them.

She was so ready to go. Adelaide had been watching the first video feeds from the advanced teams to go exploring on the surface. She had seen some amazing views, stunning vistas and she wanted to be a part of it. She was at 0400 and just couldn't wait. Had cimmanon toast already and strong coffee; she was ready. She looked around at the others and was excited to see many people that she didn't know. "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet" went through her mind as she greeted some with a nod and a handshake where possible. She did not know one of the Sequus but reasoned that he must have - oh yes...you could tell he was a 'he'...no problem downstairs for that one. She recognized Chief Man'darr and Lt. T'kek and greeted them. Someone handed her a backpack and she put it on. Comfy pants and shoes, outdoorsy shirt and an adventure ahead of her. She stood on an empty transporter pad and asked the person next to her on the pad, "Any idea where we're going?"

Cassia grabbed the bag feeling like she was missing something... her daughter had become a constant in the past weeks. "No but knowing the Commodore, it will be fun."

T'Kek grabbed his bag and moved to take his place on the transporter pad. "Fun, how, exactly?" he asked.

"Fun in that it is new and exciting Mr. Science Officer sir. Seeing and witnessing things no one else has ever seen." Fernando's sense of being overly formal kicking in.

"Um, I'm a doctor, not a scientist," T'Kek replied, a bit confused.


The ensign looked at the group. "Please stand still, beaming you down"

=/\=

They beamed down and were surprised to find themselves facing a completely different environment from what they had previously seen. Sand as far as their eyes could see stretched out before them.  When they turned to look behind them, they found a dense rain forest. It was one of the few inland seas of sand they had seen from orbit.

"Hmmm, so...desert or jungle," T'Kek said as he looked from the desert they stood in to the jungle off in the distance.

Adelaide stood near T'Kek and and said, "Without any proper gear for the desert, we would be hard pressed to find something interesting? How far could we really get on foot? The rain forest seems more...practical?"

Jason joined the pair. "Rain forest seems to be more practical as you said Adelaide. Why don't we check it out?"

Adelaide smiled back at Jason, "Sounds good. So, we're all in agreement then yeah? That's a big desert to get lost in" she asked the group.

"Sounds like a fine idea to me ma'am." Jason replied along with a smile of his own.

"Alright. Jungle it is," T'Kek said as he began to head towards the jungle. It didn't seem far but he knew enough that such thoughts were foolish in desert environments.

Adele walked along with the rest of the group she decided to engage her inner nerd; her brothers would have disapproved. "It's not a jungle. Yet at least.
We don't know yet. I mean, some people use the term jungle and rainforest and they mean the same thing. So they think. But, we don't know for sure yet whether its a jungle with a very dense floor with lots of undergrowth or if its a rainforest with widely spaced trees and a dense canopy. Or, it could be a jungle on the edges and more rain foresty as we go deeper into it."

"Good points." Jason said coming up to walk next to Adele. "The only way I see to make a determination is to go and take a close look."

Adelaide smiled and looked over at Jason Danvers. He was being friendly.

Cassia let everyone else chat and choose, she was looking happy to just be planetside and going with the flow.

"What do you do on the ship Jason? What is your area of expertise?" Adele asked him as they walked.

When there was no reply she though that he might not have heard her and was about to ask again when something up ahead of them was moving in the sand. The sand got a hump in it and then something lifted itself from a few centimeters of dry, loose top soil. Adeleaide didn't know how to properly use a tricorder. Those kinds of devices were not often used in the clerical field. But what she saw was a large, furry, flat covered kind of creature with four legs and a tail. It looked like a carpet with legs and a tassel for a tail. It was colored like the sand and had a large, flat mouth on the front end of it. It was about half a meter wide and perhaps two meters long. It shook itself, like a dog when it wakes up, looked at them and taking the better part of valor, slowly ambled off and away from them.

"OH! I'm sorry Adele! I 'm in the flight control department. I apologize I wasn't ignoring you, I, I was just looking at our friend here." Jason answered as the creature wandered away at a leisurely pace. "Want to go and see what else we can find out about it? Jason asked a smile on his face. Might be fun, finding out about it. Learning something no one else knows."

She smiled and was laughing at being so startled, "Yes, oh of course. Let's go and see. I've never seen such a creature. Flight control? Do you know how to use a tricorder then?" she asked as she caught her breath happy as a clam.

Jason nodded and grinned, "Yes, I do and great! I was hoping you would agree." He answered as he looked in the direction the creature went. "Luckily the creature leaves an easy trail to follow." He said gesturing at the trampled grass and small plants the creature crushed as it left the area.

Walking a dozen or so paces ahead of the rest of the group, Adele looked for the strange lifeform. It blended so well with the sand on the shore that it was camoflauged. Butm she caught sight of it. It had stopped and was low to the ground. At closer range, it moved like a large monitor lizard. It was so strange, "Wow...look at it. What does the tricorder tell you about it Jason?"

"Let's find out Adele." Jason answered with a grin as he held the tricorder to scan the creature in front of them. "Readings are coming in....wow!" He said before he glanced at Adele. "Cold blooded. I guess that is why it was buried in the sand. Hold on, more readings." He grew quiet as he looked at the readings then spoke, "A moderately cylindrical body, four well developed and powerful legs. long tail. flat head," He looked to Adele again. "It is for intents and purposes , a lizard, a large lizard."

She nodded, sharing in th excitement and wonder, "I've never seen one so flat. But, now I see that it has the ability to round itself out. Do you think that maybe it lies flat to maximize...oh!" she said. As if suddenly coming to an understanding. "Like a fish on Earth? It can bury itself in the sand up to its eyes. To hide. We must be very strange to it. I hope you can get images of it too?" she said standing next to him.

Jason stood looking at the creature, now identified as a lizard. It showed no fear as it stopped and sniffed the air, a long pink tongue coming out of its mouth. He kept looking at the creature as he answered Adele. "A flounder, you are talking about a flounder Adele, and I think you may be ontp something there. Let's see if we can swing around it so I can get a good profile image of it." Now he did turn to look at her, "Are you game?"

She nodded, "Yes. Look at it walk. This...walking carpet lizard. Jason, look. It's stopped. Can you get a good image from here?" she asked him. The excitment in her voice was evident.

Jason nodded excitedly, "I sure can Adele." He answered as he moved around the lizard, careful to give it a wide birth. He held the tricorder in front of him and got a couple of images. "I should get some from the front as well." He stated. "You know, it is customary to name the discovery of a new species after those who discovered it." He finished as he moved to the front of the carpet lizard as he was coming to think of it.


She nodded, "Yes, I think you're right. Then let it be the Danver's Flat Lizard...if my Linnaesus is right that would be scientifically Danversius circinus planilacerta." She smiled broadly, "That makes it official don't you think?" The lizards eyes looked up at them and, with a nod in agreement, it looked at them and then waddled off and into the sand.

Jason smiled and shook is head slowly from side to side. "That is extremely thoughtful and sweet Adele but no. The name should be the Kirkby-Danvers Flat Lizard or Flat Headed Lizard. With the official name being Kirkbyius-Danversius circinus planilacerta. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think Adele?" A broad smile on his face.

T'han had been watching with avid interest the entire time, he had never seen alien life before, at least not in person... so this was something he was not going to do from the sidelines.

As the pair ran their scans and discussed its potential name he moved slowly around the group to the other side of the dune, preparing to strike.

Once the lizard turned and scuried off it barely had time to react as T'han leapt from a running start, pouncing on top of the poor creature and scooping it up, flinging sand and soil everywhere as it hissed and squeaked at the giant equine hands around its midriff.

"It bites!" He said with manic glee as he got to his hooves, watching the thing coiling its tail around his arm while locking its jaw onto one of his fingers.

"Come, come look!" T'han added, thumping towards the group. "You want to hold?"

"I think it's best to let the creature go and let me examine the bite," T'Kek stated.

“It is harmless ambush predator, it bites but it is mostly gums!” T’han grinned despite the blood dripping down his arm. “Can you take photo on those things?” he added, pointing at a tricorder.

"Turn towards me T'han and hold the lizard so those looking at this image will see it latched onto your fingers." Jason replied, figuring that was what T'han wanted in the picture. "And hold still or you'll blur the image." He added.

Adelaide was shocked and surprised by Sovereign T'handu's actions with the lizard. She stood there a moment not knowing what to say or do. How things unfolded seemed surreal. "Stop it. Let it go!" she said stepping forward and glaring right through Jason. "You could injure it with your big, dumb...hands. And you're bleeding. Don't you know that reptiles carry bacteria in their saliva? And we've never seen any bacteria here yet. You could get infected. And it clearly doesn't like to be held" she said with annoyance in her voice.

T'han blinked in confusion, had he done something wrong he thought? "But it will learn from this experience and become a better predator..."

His brow furled into a confused frown, the creature was unharmed he thought to himself as he glanced back at it, his hands barely holding onto the thing as it clung to his arm.

"And it's holding onto me more than I am to it..." He added, removing his left hand from its abdomen.

"See?" He added with his right arm outstretched, the thing still gripping his forearm with its jaw clamped onto his wrist.

T'han looked back at Adelaide and when he noticed her glare wasn't softening he decided it was probably best to do as he was told.

Crouching down he placed his forearm on the sand and dirt, wriggling his arm somewhat to try and encourage the thing to let go.

It continued to bite for a moment before realising where it was, feeling the soil beneath itself it made its escape, lurching into a frantic sprint across the sandy terrain as fast as its stumpy legs could move.

Watching the lizard scramble away, Jason turned his attention to T'han. "Are you alright? Do we need to clean out the bite?"

T'han shook his head as he stood back up. "You worry too much... this is nothing." He added as he unfastened his canteen from his side, gently pouring its contents onto his arm and washing away a majority of the blood that had soaked his coat.

"On Sequella... one of the trials to become a Sovereign is to catch a Niathalean, massive Niath river beasts with powerful jaws."

He paused, examining the bite pattern more so than the wound itself.

"I was fourteen when I caught mine." He added before placing his lips over the biggest bite mark and the many small holes still bleeding.

Jason shrugged, "Suit yourself. Just hope it doesn't get infected."

"Let's keep moving," T'Kek said in an annoyed tone, turning to lead the way towards the jungle. He hated it when patients tried to act macho by declining medical treatment.

Adele was annoyed with T'handu. She thought that it was foolish to engage with the local life here in such a direct and perhaps painful way. She tried not to let her personal bias for what she would have done apply to the Sovereign. But, her annoyance and displeasure were difficult to mask. She picked up her pack again and tried to put the incident out of her mind.


LATER

The second half of their day had a different tone to it after the earlier display of bloodletting. Other creatures that were noticed, Adele was content to scan from a distance. She was determined to not leave a footprint here. The life that they encountered seemed unafraid. There weas no reason fo any creature here to be alarmed at the groups prescence. She did not wish to spoil this idyllic portion of Eden's Reach. After a while, she was chatty again. But more careful. The hours passed of adventuring and sooner than she thought was the call to return to the ship. The team was directed to a more clear area of the forest. Taking one last look around as the evening light turned to twilight, Adelaide took in a deep breath and savored the moment.

=A= Away team standy by for transport... =A= came the voice of the transporter operator.

As the team prepared to transport back to the Elysium, Jason glanced at Adelaide. "A rather productive day. Found a new life form, have images of it and named it. Thank you for the conversation and the company. I enjoyed both."

She smiled back warmly to Jason, "Yes! Wasn't it though? I'm glad we had some time to do some exploring too. I feel so lucky."

"Me too." Jason added with a smile. "It was good to get away from the ship and breath some real fresh air and feel the sun on the back of your neck or hand, along with a breeze in your face."

Then the transporter caught them and beamed them up.