Eyes Upon Us All (Part I)

Posted on Thu Oct 31st, 2024 @ 11:17pm by Lieutenant JG LuAnn Lovegood & Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova & Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marcus & Lieutenant Amanda Rose & Lieutenant Percival Bálor Ph.D & Petty Officer 3rd Class T'Rala H'Zelar

1,400 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Standing By
Location: Priapus

ON

"There," Percy said to Anahera pointing ahead. "That clearing. There's plenty of space" he added instructing the Chief Tactical Officer to land the shuttle. They had flown over a bit past where the expedition team, the archaeologists had set up a base camp. His mind was on Gregory Westfall as the shuttle neared the clearing and positioned itself for landing.

Anahera brought the shuttle in for a smooth landing. The atmospheric interference was less severe here, at least for the moment. As she landed she took in the sea of green plants surrounding the clearing. The former merc had fought in jungle environments and was aware of the dangers.

Once the shuttle touched the soil, the away team was officially on the planet Priapus, and the mystery of what happened to the scientists would be in their hands to solve. Percy fetched his equipment bag and collected a phaser, holstering it and whipping out a tricorder as the hatch of the shuttle opened and the ramp lowered. "That way" he said as everyone began assembling.

It had been a while since LuAnn had been on a planet as lush as this and she was eager to get a closer look--and a good scan.

The change in the sounds around him as the shuttle powered down woke Aaron up from his nap. Without a word he slung the medical bag over his shoulder and picked up his cane. "Well now this should be fun." He said, his voice dripped with sarcasm. Aaron Marcus would literally have chosen to be anywhere except where he was.

"Oh, come now," Amanda playfully scolded the Doctor. "Stop being a wet blanket. Fun is everywhere if you just look for it."

LuAnn had to bite her lip to keep from adding that wet blankets were good for putting out fires, and Amanda had a knack for setting them. But she knew that would likely lead to an argument or hurt feelings and she didn't want either.

TAG - Away Team

Anahera waited for the rest of the Away Team to depart the shuttle, before locking out the controls and grabbing her gear.

Percy was quick to notice the field they had landed in was lush, rich dark soil with an exceptional mineral readout. It was adorned in lush green flowering monocotyledons.

"Nice, isn't it?" LuAnn said quietly. "Let's hope for the best, shall we?"

It was nice. There was a lot of nice on the planet, but scientists were missing. "Hope is all I have right now," commented Percy. "I have to hold onto that until we find them."

"Yes, you do. But remember you're not alone. We're here with you. Now, where shall we start?" LuAnn looked around. "The camp?"

While they waited on the others T’Rala performed a perimeter scan of their current location. Surrounding the clearing were a number of tall closely positioned jungle trees. She spotted some indigenous life forms in the trees, but they showed little interest in the newcomers.

To Percy she said. "Perimeter's clear for now, Sir."

Amanda strutted out once she heard the perimeter was clear. She looked around to get a sense of the place and to see if there were any signs of struggle or the missing scientists. While she doubted it, sometimes luck was on one's side.

While she waited for Percy to tell them where to go, LuAnn began to scan the area to see how the flora compared to what the earlier teams reported.

Aaron stood away from the group and took in the scenery as he leaned on his cane. He inhaled sharply though his nose. The air was fresh, crisp, the way he liked it actually. A sharp pain coursed through his leg, although he made sure no one saw the grimace. Instead, he reached into a pocket and drew out a pill. In one swift motion the pill went into his mouth and down his throat. Very soon that pain would be at bay for a few hours.

"Nice to breathe in non-recycled air, isn't it Doc?" Anahera asked as she approached Aaron. Referring to the surrounding jungle, she said. "It's a bit to green and warm for my liking, I prefer the snow and the crisp air of winter."

Amanda, who always seemed to pay extra attention to Aaron noticed him take a pill. She gave him a questioning look but said nothing more. The Counselor answered Anahera's question rather than waiting for the doctor. "It is always nice to get out and about, but what do you find enjoyable about the snow?"

"It's not the snow itself, it's the memories it brings back, some happy, some sad. I was born in a place where we had snow every winter." Anahera replied. "It was a time when both my parents were home and the food was amazing."

"Fresh air and wide-open spaces for me. It is what the human species lives for even if we will not admit it. We cram ourselves into those vessels but this is all we need. You can keep the snow. I am more of an autumn man myself." Aaron led with his good leg as he began to walk around. He thought there was not much to do until orders were given. He hoped they would be on their way back to the Ontario sooner rather than later.

"I've always been a spring girl, myself. There's always something new and fresh coming in with the season." She took a big sniff of the air and smiled warmly towards the Doctor. Figures the curmudgeon would prefer Fall.

"I'm going to check their base," LuAnn said. "Might as well start there. I want to see if there are any logs to let us know what they were doing."

"I'll accompany you, ma'am." T'Rala said.

Percy was finished with his initial glancing around, and LuAnn's announcement pulled him back to the reality of things. "We have missing scientists. There's safety in numbers. I don't want anyone going off alone. For the time being, we should all stick together. Their base camp may very well contain clues to their whereabouts."

Amanda found herself in the rare situation that she agreed with Percy. However, she was not about to completely admit that. "Very well," she started. "The Doctor and I will work together."

Anahera hid a smirk at the look on Marcus's face. To Percy she said. "I'll take point." Then to T'Rala she said. "H'Zelar, you watch our six."

"The only question is, are we off to see the wizard, or off to the races?" LuAnn asked. "Now that we've landed, we can't go off into the wild blue yonder." She chose to stay close to Percy, in case (when) they found that the scientists were dead or missing.

Aaron fell in step with the rest of the group as best as he could for someone who walked with a cane. For a moment he was not going to deign Amanda with a response however he thought of something at the last minute. He turned to Amanda with the most disgusted, and annoyed look on his face that anyone could muster. "I am here simply to heal the wounded. At the moment there are no wounded, ergo there is no work for me to do. When the time comes I will make sure you can go ask people how their mother was as they bleed out." With that remark he made sure to catch up to Anahera. At the moment his leg was painless, however, he knew that this avoidance of Amanda would be something he would regret later.

"Doctor, heal thy self," Amanda told Aaron as she trotted off to catch up with him.

LuAnn and T'Rala arrived at the base camp before the others. It looked like there had been some sort of a skirmish.

"This doesn't look good," LuAnn said. "I think we should look inside before the others get here." If any of the scientists were dead, she didn't want Percy to see them. She paused at the doorway to be sure the security officer was ready and opened the door.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Percival Bálor
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Anahera Chernova
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant JG LuAnn Lovegood
Counselor

Lieutenant Aaron Marcus
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant Amanda Rose
Chief Counselor

PO3 T'Rala H'Zelar
Security Officer

 

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