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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2005 1:25:24 GMT
Jason followed Ietta towards one of the larger domes. He looked out at the scenery. It was breathtaking. The nearly white sand seemed to ripple across the landscape like waves upon the sea. A moderate wind in the distance seemed to be pushing it. Periodically, the plant he had been told about grew, usually loners, but occasionally in groups of two or three. Further out, far in the distance, large steep moutains pushed their way up through the desert sand.
Jason: Now that we are away from the others, I will explain. I didn't want to give away my desert secrets. If you have the right equipment, they can give you far more than prickles. There is a machete hanging from my belt. It is a very long, broad, sharp knife basically. When you use it to slice open a cactus, inside is a spongy material that holds water. You can suck the water from the cactus to provide you with fluids.
Ietta: Yes, we do that here as well. It is a common practice for desert survival.
Jason: See.
Ietta: Are you used to this type of environment, Doctor? Most humanoids are from M-class worlds with more moderate climates.
Jason: I am, in fact. I am from a desert region of my planet.
Ietta: You will do well then, I hope. Here we are.
They were led into dome and were led down a corridor. After a short distance, they turned into a room. Two more Cragorians were inside.
Ietta: Here are the members of your team. Doctor Jason Black, Cadet Lorre, this is Faril-Jabril, and his trainee, Rolat-Olan.
Farat-Jabril extending a taloned hand. Jason clapsed it.
Jason: Pleasure to meet you.
Farat: You too. I'm glad I got you're custom right. We don't use hand-shakes in our culture.
Jason: Well, you did just fine.
He looked around the room at the 4 cages with perches. Obviously intended for Cragorians.
Jason: Is that where we'll be sleeping?
Farat: It is. Unfortunately its not built for a humanoid.
Jason: I'm sure we'll manage. Right Lorre?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2005 3:13:54 GMT
Jason: I'm sure we'll manage. Right Lorre? "We'll adapt them for our needs." Lorre replied. She copied the hands open and out greeting that Ietta had met them with, hopeing it would be considerd approriate. "My name is Cadet Lorre Melain, I'm studying under Doctor Black as a medical officer." "You learn quickly Cadet Melain." Faril-Jabril commented Melain tensed at the use of her given name by a stranger. "Please, call me Lorre. It is my family name, and it is Bajoran custom that strangers use it. Perhaps when this I finished we will know each other well enough that you can use my given name" She hoped she didn't sound rude. "My mistake, I asumed you were a human female, my people have limited contact with other species, are there any human females in your group?" Faril-Jabril asked, it seemed they had moved onto small talk. "No, the other female was a Romulan. Human females resemble the males but with more curves and less body hair." Faril-Jabril smiled "Ah, I see. The Federation must be made up of many species." he turned to his trainee. "Rolat, we should go and prepare for tommorow." "Alright, see you in the morning." Rolat-Olan said as he left the room behind his master. Melain set to work trying to figure out how to alter the beds. "Well, they certainly seem friendly enough don't they doctor?"
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2005 1:00:22 GMT
Tony and S'reena looked around their room for the night. His eyes came upon the two perches that he assumed to be beds.
"Wonderful." He said simply.
"I've gotten used to having a comfortable bed, this should be good to stop me from getting too soft." S'reena said, with a small smile. "Do you imagine we're supposed to sleep on top of it?"
"You can try to get up there, but I think I'll just sleep in the hay below it." He said sitting down in the hay, then he laid back, "Hey, it's not too bad!" He put his hands behind his head and looked up at the high ceiling. S'reena did not sit in the hay, choosing to sit on the floor for the time being.
"I don't like all this mystery captain, it's strange." She said seriously.
"I don't like it either, but I don't think it's worth risking offending them. They have been fairly friendly." Marcell said giving her a quick look.
"Keeping us in the dark doesn't strike me as friendly..." She said, returning his glance.
"I'm going to try to get some sleep, I've been the bridge all day. We'll find out everything tomorrow." Tony said, and he could have sworn S'reena rolled her eyes has he turned away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Next Morning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Captain." S'reena shook Tony awake, "The wake up call just came, we can go out into the hall, they're taking us to the place where the competition starts."
Trying to rub the sleep from his eyes, he grabbed his tricorder and PADD's and made his way into the hall with his first officer.
His people and the rest of their teams were already out there, and Ietta was at the front directing them out the door. She led them into a small transport vessel and told everyone to sit with their teams. Tony and S'reena were told to sit up front with the officials.
It was suprisingly quiet inside the vessel, considering the speed they were traveling at. Soon they had left the enviromental dome of the city and the temperature rose quickly. Once they had exited the Dome, Ietta stood.
"Everyone, here is where I will tell you the details of your assignment. There are 24 competitors on this vessel, 6 teams. 4 of the teams have starfleet personel on them. We'd like to welcome you all to our training mission."
She and her fellow officials clapped properly, "This mission is an excercise in teamwork, stamina, ground navigation, and determination. We are headed to an area about 5 days away from the city by foot.... when you know where you're going. We have put together 6 packs, 1 per team. They contain a shelter set-up, for when you don't find one on your own. It also contains a water supply- conserve it. It contains food, enough for the journey if eaten conservativly. This pack is to be taken with you in the way your team decides, be the responsibility be shared or taken upon one of you."
She paused and the started again, "When we drop you, you will be equipped with a transmitter, if something serious happens- use it to get help- but remember if the transmitter is used at all- it is considered a surrender. When you are dropped off at the start of the competition you will be pointed in the correct direction. Do not lose you direction or it is very easy to get lost. The terrain is very difficult in spots. There are several crevices in the surface, which go deep into crust of Jesin, there are ways to get accross, but they must done properly, this is probably one of the most dangerous aspects of Jesin. There is also wild animals, they are dangerous, so you have been given primitive weapons in your team pack as well. The first team to reach the city is the winner."
Everyone in the vessel felt it slow and then settle into the sand. They had apparently arrived. Ietta herded them all out of the vessel and started handing each team it's large pack. She also started taking each team away from each other spreading them out. Tony got a glance of the expression on Frek Thelev's face. He looked amazed that they were sending them out into the desert with such little information or supplies. Tony understood how he felt. Tony and S'reena went from team to team patting each starfleet officer on the back, giving the words of good luck.
Ietta stood infront of them again. She got everyone's attention and then pointed out into the desert telling everyone to look and see where she was pointing, "THIS IS NORTH! ALWAYS TRAVEL NORTH, "She was trying to speak over the desert wind, "YOU ARE FREE TO ORGANIZE YOUR TEAMS, BUT THE COMPETITION STARTS NOW! GOOD LUCK!" Ietta marched towards the vessel, summoning Tony and S'reena to join her.
They stepped into the vessel and the door closed behind them.
"Thats it?!" S'reena asked increduously, forgetting diplomacy almost completely, "Just 'This is north, have fun'?" Tony gave her a sharp look.
"The training excercise is not meant to be simple, Commander Hope." Ietta said, and Tony felt the vessel start up again heading back towards the city, leaving the teams in the desert, "If you wish you can beam back up to your vessel when we get back to the city, or you can stay in the city, we have hidden surveillence posts in a few places, to tell when a team has past a checkpoint?"
Tony looked at S'reena, "Commander what do you think?" He said, counting that she had calmed down a bit.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 30, 2005 3:48:39 GMT
Melain had been quite during the entire trip. She had at times been tempted to speak with Rolat-Olan, but was hestitant to break the communal silence. It felt almost as if they were prisoners on the way to their own execution, and she wonderd absent mindedly whether or not it would end similarily. She was startled to find out that they were given water rations, she had expected a constant supply. At least Jason found out about the cacti, I don't want to dehydrate
As Ietta, the Captain and Commander S'reena left in the transport, Melain looked around at her team mates. The two Cragorians seemed tense, but eager. Doctor Jason looked concerned, but prepared. She suspected that out of their team she was the nervouse one and most likely the weak link. The heat was already beating down on her, and the wind offerd little comfort, she had only been out in the desert for a few minutes, and already her uniform was becoming wet with sweat. North, go north, that had been their only direction, but how would they keep track of north? She searched the horizon for any definate marking or sign but found none. Feeling relativly useless she took out her scanner, of course that revealed nothing but rocks and sand and the other team members.
"Well... I geuss we'd better get started." she sighe reaching down for the teams pack.
"I'll take that, you seem to have enough to worry about" Rolat-Olan commented grabbing the pack before she could grab it.
"Thank you." Melain said, only half meaning it. Obviosly the Cragorian's already saw her as inadequet, and she would have to work hard to prove otherwise
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shhouse
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Post by shhouse on Jan 30, 2005 6:01:50 GMT
They had been dropped off into the desert, and the most important thing that they had been told was that north was that way. As soon as he heard that Owen looked up into the sky to determine where the sun was.
"Which direction does the sun rise from, and where does it set?" he asked Lawen-Foralti.
"The sun rises in the east and sets in the west here." Lawen-Foralti replied.
"That's good, now I can navigate based on the position of the sun." Owen responded. ~It turns out that I actually learnt something in Scouts.~
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fthelev
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Post by fthelev on Jan 30, 2005 13:58:09 GMT
The transport disappeared behind the horizon. Frek watched it get smaller and smaller until it finally was out of sight. He sighed, they were alone now, stuck in the desert. A five day walk, Frek thought, that was going to be one hell of a trip. “I hope you know how to get us through this,” Frek said to Cragorians. “Don’t worry,” one of the cackled, “We grew up on this planet. We know how to survive here.” “I hope so,” Frek replied. He wasn’t too sure about them, but they had to do. He pulled a little device out of his pocket and showed it to his team members. “Universal chronometer,” he said, “I won it some time ago in an Andulsian gambling game. Handy little thing. You feed it the planets time parameters and it’ll show the local time. In combination with the sun we should easily be able to set a course straight north and into victory.” Frek let his gaze glide over the seemingly endless plain of sand. “If don’t die first of course.” Gordon looked pleased. “Very well, let’s go guys.” A quick calculation showed that the direction Ietta had pointed was north indeed and the team set out. The whole navigation thing didn’t worry Frek to much. After all, if he could find his way from one star system to another halfway across the galaxy, he was reasonably sure he could find the city. What worried him and filled him with dismay, was that they were dumped in the desert just like that. They had virtually been given no information at all. They would have to depend on the Cragorian team members for knowledge about the planet and the desert situation. And Frek felt a bit uncomfortable trusting aliens he knew nothing about and only knew for less than a day.
“What are these animals Ietta mentioned,” Gordon informed as they made their way. “Cha-cha’s,” the shortest of the two Cragorian’s replied. Gordon and Frek learned he was named Anavrin. The Cragorian, not the Cha-cha. “Why are they so dangerous?” Frek asked, “They dance you to death?” The Cragorian looked at him in a non-understanding way. “They’re nasty little creatures,” Selgnab, the tall one, explained, “They hunt in packs. Alone they aren’t strong enough to do a thing…” “…but in a group they are quite lethal,” Anavrin finished. Frek started to feel worried. “And of course then there are…” As they hiked on, some more sweaty than the other, with the setting sun to their left, Anavrin and Selgnab happily explained the hazards of a Jesin desert.
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djgordon
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Post by djgordon on Jan 31, 2005 4:39:37 GMT
Walking at a measured pace beside Frek I listened to our cragorian teammates explain the indigenous dangers of Jesin and checked that my weapon (a typr of short sword) that the cragorians had provided was safely strapped to my leg just in case we needed it.
"Ok, guys we need to set up a schedule for how long we walk, how long we rest, a watch rotation for when we sleep."
"Anyone have any suggestions?"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2005 5:02:52 GMT
Melain's team had walked for several minutes before Melain finnaly plucked up the courage to ask a question that had been bothering her since Ietta's breifing. "So.. Ietta mentioned wild animales, you wouldn't happen to know what that involves would you?"
"The Jesin desert is full of mostly small non-threatening lizards and other reptiles, but there are a few who are dangerouse. The Kanth snake's poison is strong enough to paralise a fully grown adult in five minutes and the Yestan spider has been known to leave it's victims feeling nauseose fore several days before death." Farat-Jabril explained.
Melain shudderd at the thought of spiders, her skin crawled with just the thought of them, the med kits contained treatment for bites right?
Farat-Jabril continued "What we really have to worry about are the Cha-cha, small predators that hunt in packs. The trick with them is that they don't like fire. So when we sleep, we'll keep one person on watch to keep an eye out and keep the fire going."
"I thought we were planning on sleeping suring the day and travelling in the cool of night?" Melain asked hesitantly.
"We'll try to travel when it's cooler out, but if we want to get there first, we can't limit our travel hours." Rolat-Olan was swift to reply.
"What's so important about getting there first? Is there a prize?" Melain was getting frustrated, there was no way their team would be first, she'd be happy if they just made it.
Rolat-Olan sighed "Not exactly, you gain your family great honor by being the first, it is being last that we want to avoid."
Melain really did not want to here what came next, yet somehow she couldn't not ask. 'Why, what's so bad about being last?"
Rolat-Olan sped up to walk with the Instructers, leaving Melain trailing behind "You are not Cragorian, you would not understand."
Melain was about to respond, but no comment came to mind.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 31, 2005 9:30:04 GMT
S'reena waited until the Cragorian had walked out of hearing range. "I don't like this one bit captain," she said softly, "the local cadets and instructors have a clear advantage over our cadets and instructors. They have to ration water equally, but I have no doubt that the locals will claim their full share while they obviously need less." She scowled as Ietta came walking back, carrying what looked like refreshments. "No thank you," she said, counting on the fact that the refresment very likely contained alcohol. "I would feel much better if we could monitor the progress of the teams," she added, "we can do so from the Hanson." <sorry it isn't much,....but I'm rather out of inspiration at the moment >
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yrdisblayne
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Post by yrdisblayne on Jan 31, 2005 14:57:13 GMT
YrDis was very unsatisfied about their mission so far. Their briefing had been just that, brief. And going north wasn't the most informative piece of advice either. He shrugged inwardly. The teams only had what they could go on, and that was that.
He could hear Owen briefly asking about directions here. Like most planets, the sun rose in the east and set in the west, which would provide a good basic directional pointer. YrDis walked to the top of a sand dune and looked into the distance for any landmarks that might be used to mark their direction. There was nothing but endless sand and heat haze.
"I wouldn't stand on top of a dune if I were you" Lawen-Foralt called out in a chiding tone, as if he were speaking to a child and giving a quick, amused glance to Beli-Torad.
"Why's that?" YrDis asked, climbing down off the dune.
"Visibility" the Cragorian replied. "The local predators might be able to see you, and you wouldn't want that" he said, his voice trailing off threateningly.
YrDis looked at the two of them. They seemed almost...arrogant...in their manner. Like they were expecting very little from Starfleet personel. Perhaps the Cragorians had something to learn as well. "Desert day hunters?" YrDis asked. "In my experience, desert hunters don't commonly have good eyesight, due to intense solar conditions, dust, sand and the like, but generally have superior scent tracking ability. In addition, there is little hunting done during the day due to loss of moisture, and that food searching most commonly takes place at dawn and dusk. Are things different on Jesin?"
The two Cragorians exchanged an uncertain glance, and YrDis took advantage of the silence. "I understand that we should be travelling north. Let's get going." YrDis started walking north with Johnson at his side. The counsellor never looked back, but could hear the two Cragorians. They seemed to be talking, and their language was composed of quiet whistles, hisses chirps and clicks.
He found it interesting that the Cragorians had their own language, but had gone out of their way to learn Standard English. That said that the Cragorians knew a lot more about the Federation than the Federation knew about the Cragorians.
Not looking at Johnson, YrDis said quietly, "Impressions of our hosts, Mr. Johnson?"
<Owen>
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2005 4:22:13 GMT
Jason walked alongside Farat, with Rolat and Lorre a few paces behind them. He listened to Rolat's and Lorre's conversation, then saw Rolat catch up. Jason was loaded with questions about information neccessary for their survival.
Jason: How many hours do you have in a day?
Farat: We divide the day into 24 equal hours.
Jason: As do we. Although that doesnt mean the days are of equal length. By my estimates on our time, it has been approximately half an hour since we boarded the transport.
Farat: Hmm, that would mean your day is longer than ours. By our time it has been three-quarters of an hour since we boarded the transport.
Jason: Hmm, that means your day is only 16 of our hours, or in other words 36 of your hours. We'll have an advantage over the other teams then.
Farat: That will be beneficial. We'll be able to travel more in a day. That gives a better chance of winning.
Jason: Not necessarily. The others of us on the other teams will have the same advantage. I am also curious about the Sun. Our planet's axis is tilted by 24 degrees. Does your planet have a tilt?
Farat: No. The Sun hit each part of the planet equally. It rises in the east and sets in the west.
Jason: Good. That means the days and nights are of equal length. ::he glanced at the sun:: It also means that is now about 2 hours past dawn, by my estimate. And we can use it to determine north as well.
Farat: Correct. You are used to desert navigation then?
Jason: I am. I grew up in the desert. I noticed the blade on your belt, and heard you asking about the aselath plant. I had my doubts, but you seem more able than I originally anticipated. We have a good chance of winning.
They continue to walk through the desert, headed straight for a cluster of aselath.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2005 4:36:02 GMT
Melain and Jason's team arrived at the plants. Melain sat down while Jason examined the plants.
"We will take a breif rest here while we collect these." Farat exclaimed as he helped Jason with the plants. "You young ones should check out the supplies"
"Alright" Rolat set down the bag and Melain helped him look through it. In her opinion there was not enough food, and barely enough water, at least they would have these plants.
"Hey, what's this?" she pulled out a bow like weapon. "Is this a weapon?"
"a perimative one yes" Rolat pulled out some arrows. "We need to hunt with them and protect ourselves."
"I know, we have.. or rather had things like these back on earth. I'm not too bad with them. I'll carry it." she put on the quiver, ~Finaly, something I can actually do~
"All done here." Jason exclaimed standing up from the plants, now mangled and harvested. "We should have enough here to pad out rations out half a day or so."
"We should finish up a bottle now, I know I have not been drinking enough" Melain fishe dher bottle out of the bag and popped one of the electrolyte pills in it.
"What's that for?" Rolat asked in fasination.
"They will replace the vital minerals lost in our sweat, I'd give one to you, but I'm not sure it would work with your physiology." Melain explained, closing up her medkit.
"I'll be fine" Rolat took a drink from his own bottle
"Alright, let's go." Farat herded Melain and Rolat to their feet and they continued the trek northwards.
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shhouse
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Post by shhouse on Feb 1, 2005 7:48:14 GMT
Owen stepped in beside commander Blayne.
" Well, commander, they appear to be capable yet they believe that we won't be capable of succeeding in this task. Admittedly, if we gave them a task specifically arranged for us, we too would believe that we'd have to do all the work."
As the groups started to move off Owen looked around and saw one of the groups stop. It appeared that they had started hacking at cactus-like plants and Owen wondered what could be useful in a cactus.
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fthelev
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Post by fthelev on Feb 1, 2005 15:47:46 GMT
As they hiked a long, Frek gave it a thought. “What if we walk for three hours and take one hour rest,” Frek suggested, “We could rest at night and stop for lunch when the sun is at its peek.” The group discussed the suggestion and came to the conclusion it wasn’t that bad an idea. In silence they continued there way. Frek made a point out of checking their position and heading during each rest stop. So far they were doing reasonable well. At least the Cragorians seem to be quite excited. He just couldn’t grasp why it was such a big thing in arriving first. All he cared about was making a good time so he could get out of that damn desert as soon as possible. They’ve been walking around for only a couple of hours now, but Frek already had enough of it. His hair was soaking wet with sweat, as were most of his clothes. He could feel the drops trickle down his antennae and gather in little pool at its base. He should have joined the Andorian Skiing Society instead of Starfleet. Gordon progressed silently a little ahead of Frek, he didn’t say much. The heat must be affecting him as well.
It was not until later that Frek noticed something strange about the Cragorians appearance. Apart from them being Cragorian of course. First he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. “You said that?” he whispered to Gordon as he came up besides him, “It seems like they’re swelling all up.” “I’ve seen it too,” Gordon replied, “I hope they’re okay. It would look bad if we got back to the city without them.” “Hey! What’s taking you?” Anavrin shouted. He must have noticed the two Starfleet men were falling behind. Selgnab muttered something his companion in his native language. It sounded like some clicks, clacks and muffled puffs. It reminded Frek of the sound his grandmother made when she put in her false teeth. “We noticed you looking at us,” Selgnab said after a while. Gordon nodded. “Yes, you seem inflated.” Both Cragorians started to giggle in a most annoying way. “In extreme heat we put out our feathers,” Anavrin explained, the Cragorian instructor. “That way we have a layer of air between us and the heat. It helps us to keep cool.” “Just like the old Arabs on Earth,” Gordon noted as he took a swig from his water ration. Frek never heard of a thing called ‘Arab’, and neither had the Cragorians he reckoned.
They were about to get on there way when Selgnab suddenly spun around. “Duck!” he shouted and pointed toward the horizon. Gordon and Frek immediately dropped themselves on the sand, scanning the surroundings for those wild animals. For a moment there was silence. Selgnab and Anavrin stared down at Commander Gordon and Frek. For a second they had this bewildered and puzzled look on their faces. If such a thing was possible on a bird face. It was a rather funny look, Frek thought, if he wouldn’t have been in mortal fear. Then the two Cragorians began to cackle, crackle and puff again. Apparently they were in joy. Frek was getting back on his feet when Selgnab began making a noise like an air-raid alarm. Cragorians having a fit of giggles. For moment Frek couldn’t help wondering if they would taste like chicken.
When they finally calmed down Anavrin explained: “It’s a Jesis desert duck. A bird.” Another whine interrupted the serene desert silence. Selgnab had another giggle attack. “So?” Gordon asked a bit annoyed, “What of it?” “A water bird. It means there’s a small oasis nearby,” a finally more silent Selgnab explained, “It would be an ideal spot to set up camp for tonight.” Frek and Gordon had to agree it wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Still it was another ninety minute walk until they finally reached the oasis. If you could call it that. A bunch of exotic trees, three bushes, a rock and a little pool of water. Still, it wasn’t bad.
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fthelev
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Post by fthelev on Feb 3, 2005 17:09:00 GMT
ooc: Okay guys, this will give us something to gone on. Let's sim!
on:
It was the glistering of the water that attracted Frek’s attention as they walked into the little oasis. The setting sun reflected on the surface giving it a fiery glance. Frek fell to his knees and cupped his hands and greedily began to drink. To say the water was nice, cold and tasty would be a lie. It was half-warm and it tasted earthy, but this was no place to be picky. From the corner of his eye he noticed Gordon and the two Cragorian’s follow his example. Selgnab got back to his feet and started to rummage through the bushes. “Wood,” Anavrin explained, “With all the wild animals it a wise idea to have a fire.” Gordon nodded approvingly and Frek had to admit this was one of the better ideas their friends had put forward. Not much later the sun had gone, the four men sat around the crackling fire. Anavrin had managed to put together some sort of stew. Frek didn’t know what went in it, but he was reasonable sure it didn’t contain any rations Starfleet had provided. He decided to just eat and not ask. Frek dozed of a bit, tired of walking all day and the satisfaction of a good meal. It was indefinable, but not entirely untasty. He could hear the Cragorian instructor and Gordon talking to each other softly. The night was filled with sounds. He didn’t notice it until know. During the day everything had been quiet, but now, during the night, the desert seemed more alive then ever. It was decided Selgnab would take the first watch, to make sure the wild animals wouldn’t get to close. The others turned in.
Frek woke up with a shook. A high pitching sound penetrated the air and in the diminishing light of the fire he saw the Cragorian cadet hopping up and down and flapping all about. Okay, Frek knew Cragorians were weird, he established that for himself a few minutes after arriving on this godforsaken planet. But this beat everything. Frek felt a bit sorry for him, he’d finally gone cuckoo. Or perhaps his parents accidentally dropped him out of their nest when he hatched. Who knew? Gordon was already on his feet with his hand weapon in his hand. “What’s worng!” he shouted. “Cha-cha,” Selgnab cried back, “Cha-cha’s.” He clearly didn’t know the cha-cha. Anavrin grabbed a burning stick out of the fire and ran over to his cadet. “He’s trying to scare them away! Come one,” he shouted back at Gordon and Frek, “You want to be eaten?” The two Starfleet officers, well one officer, one cadet, had already realised the feared desert, pack-hunting, animals decided to show up. “They’re gone,” Selgnab said heavily breathing. Frek peered into the darkness, standing next to Anavrin. To be honest he didn’t see or heard a thing. But perhaps he just didn’t know what to look for. And at that time he didn’t care. He accepted the hot drink handed over to him by Anavrin and drank it quietly. It was soothing and soon he felt sleepy again.
“Wake up!” Some one screamed in his ear, “Wake up! Frek, come on…” “Let me in peace,” he mumbled, ignoring the heavy jolting. “I gotta huge hangover…” His head, it was exploding, his tongue felt like a piece of leather and everything else was hurt. He recognized the voice vaguely. Female, a familiar accent. With a groan he opened one of his eyes. Bright light. The sun was up again, it was blotted out by the face of a concerned Lorre Melain, trying to get him to wake up. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dr. Black doing the same thing to Commander Gordon. “What’s wrong, what are you doing here,” Frek asked. He was sitting upright, feeling somewhat better after gulping down a few litres of water. “The Cragorians,” she said, “They’re gone.” Frek looked around; he couldn’t make out the annoying Cragorians. “Where are they?” “We don’t know,” Melain told him, “They left us behind. I’ll tell later. What happened you?” “They must’ve drugged us,” Frek realised, “Last night. It was all a trick.” Gordon was up in the mean time and came swaggering over to Lorre and Frek. “Check the supplies,” he grumbled to Frek as he helped himself to some water. Frek did what he was told and followed by Lorre headed over to the backpacks. He very quickly came to a nasty conclusion. “I knew they couldn’t be trusted!” Frek threw the backpacks back on the ground, accompanied by his whole vocabulary of not-so-nice words in every language he knew. “Those [word deleted] took everything,” he shouted back to Gordon and Dr. Black. “I should never have come to this crappy sand filled world,” he said to Melain who was remarkably quiet at Frek’s outburst. “Have you seen Cadet Johnson and commander Blayne,” Black asked quietly and seriously. They all shook there heads. “They still must be in the desert,” Lorre commented, “What are we going to do now?” Nobody knew a good answer to that. “We have to find Johnson and Blayne,” Black said, “If we’re left on our own by the Cragorians, it is likely the same thing happened to them.” “We can try to find them with this oasis as a base,” Frek suggested. “You showed up here is well. It might be the best chance to find them.”
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2005 18:45:59 GMT
After seeing the teams off to their competition, S'reena and Tony beamed back to the Hanson. Together they walked up to the bridge, eager to get a datastream on the competing teams.
S'reena walked over to the science station, and fiddled with the controls to get a feed from the sensors. At first, they got a datastream which she relayed to the main viewscreen. They could see the teams starting off, and they sat back to watch it. After a while, they shut down the screen believing that they should just check up on their progress every now and then, instead of continuously watch their progress.
After enjoying dinner with her family, and having a fitful night of sleep, she returned to duty early next morning. "Any news?" she asked Marcell, who was already on duty."
Marcell shook his head grimly. "I am not getting a data stream."
Instantly concerned, S'reena walked over to the science station and started running several diagnostics. "Our sensors are working just fine, so the problem is not caused on our end. Do you think we should try breaking radio silence with our teams?"
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2005 23:02:46 GMT
Melain stood up from where she had been helping Frek. She had never really trusted the Cragorians, but had suspected it was becvasue she did not know them. This changed everything. "I don't understand why they would do this, Leaving us like this is practically an act of war against the Federation!" she found herself in an outbreak of emotion, there wasn't a very good chance of her survival without the packs, she'd been struggling even before this happend, now it would only be worse.
"You still have your medpack, and that bow? How did you guys manage that?" Frek asked.
"Prophet's blessing I suppose" Melain explained. "They offerd me the drugged soup, but I have allergies to some food so I scanned it out of habit. Something in it regesterd in the tomato family so I wasn't able to eat it. They kept insisting it would be fine, and I should eat it. At the time I thought it was simply because they took offense at my turning it down, but now I know why. After Dr. Black fell asleep I went over a nearby sand dune for some privacy and when I got back... they were gone. I looked for them, but where can you hide out here and I was not exactly gone that long." she sighed. 'I just don't understand how they could have dissapeared so quickly."
"That is... odd, but we should not dwell on things like that. We need to find The councellor and Owen before something happens to them, who knows what effects this drug will happen on Yrdis Blain." Officer Gordon pointed out. "Two of us should go and find them, the others should stay here in case they are drawn to the oasis."
"That makes sense." Melain agreed, taking out her scanner for a moment before putting it away again. "As much as leaving the oasis sounds appealing to me, I should probably stay. It seems that of all of us, I am the least climatized to this enviroment. Besides I took some scans of our featherd friends earlier, perhaps they may help to solve some of the mysteries surrounding their rapid dissapearence."
"You scanned them!" Frek exclaimed. 'Without thier permission!"
Melain blushed. "I couldn't sleep, and I was curiose. I don't see how it could hurt them anyways."
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cragorian
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Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by cragorian on Feb 4, 2005 0:12:42 GMT
~FARIL-JABRIL~
Peering at his ugly looking counterparts, as they settled a temporary shelter, Faril summoned Rolat over to him.
"Get the soup, young, now is a good time. I don't want to look at their disgusting faces any longer anyway." He said, speaking in his native tongue.
"Yes, elder." Rolat said, and went to make the soup containing the drug. Faril smiled to himself as Rolat offered the starfleet's the soup. The plan was going well, the instructor accepted the soup gratefully, but the young woman- she refused! This was a problem! She was would undermine the whole carefully developed plan if she saw! Luckily she left to a sand dune to be alone once Black had fallen asleep.
"Quickly, Rolat!" Faril said, bringing the electric scalpel out of his pocket and cutting deep in into the doctor's neck. Rolat handed him the miniscule listening device and Faril carefully inserted it into Black's flesh. He ran the medical tool over the wound several times and soon the skin healed, a barely noticable scar was all that remained to be seen from the outside.
"Get the packs, young, hurry! Before she returns!" Jaril grabbed his own pack and Rolat and himself ran into the desert sand and then with a sigh of satisfaction glided off the ground and into the sky. His wings barely moving, he made his way closer to his young trainee.
"Good job, Rolat. We completed part of our mission. The listening device in the doctors neck will relay all information he receives and send it to the Jesin council. Now all we must do is hope that our fellow operatives are as successful with their humans."
"What about the female that we didn't drug?" The younger Cragorian asked, as they flew through the air to the meeting place for the Cragorian's.
"She is of no consequence. Once our fellow operatives report to the base so we can make sure the plan worked we can go and wipe all the starfleet's memories and continue as normal. Then when they report back to their federation, all the information they send us about the starfleet through the devices implanted in their necks, we can begin our invasion. We are hero's of Jesin, Rolat." The cadet smiled at his elder and didn't speak.
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shhouse
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Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by shhouse on Feb 4, 2005 3:13:44 GMT
Something wasn't right. Owen couldn't place his finger on it but something was bugging him. The Cragorians spent more time talking amongst each other in their native tongue and they spent more time falling behind when they had said that it was dishonourable to finish last. ~I'm probably just being paranoid.~
"Commander, it's probably nothing, but I don't trust the Cragorians. They're not exactly trying to work with us to finish first, it almost seems as if they have their own agenda."
<Tag Blayne>
When they stopped to rest for the night the Cragorians offered them a soup. It appeared to be made out of a tomato-like plant and smelled extremely rancid, at least in comparison to replicated Terran tomato soup. However Owen was hungry and his distrust of the Cragorians wasn't going to stop him from eating.
When Owen woke up it appeared that the Cragorians were nowhere in sight. The supplies appeared to be gone as well and Owen started vomiting. Something had happened to him that didn't agree with his body and it wasn't just the soup.
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fthelev
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Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by fthelev on Feb 4, 2005 12:18:24 GMT
Frek couldn’t suppress a grin. He didn’t expect she would do a thing like that. “You know that isn’t standard Starfleet procedure?” Melain reddened a bit more. He looked at her face with interest. It was always fun to see how pink could turn to red. Typical for red blooded species. Feeling more relieved now Melain and Dr. Black were here, Frek found himself thinking how to proceed. Not only were the Cragorians definitely the weirdest beings he encountered, they proved to be treacherous as well. “Communicators are being jammed,” Gordon said gloomily, “I tried to contact the Hanson. With no luck unfortunately.” It didn’t come much as a surprise. Frek had already suspected it and he had no doubt the others had too. The horizon turned from a deep shade of purple into the clear celeste common to the desert. “I suggest Cadet Lorre and Thelev stay here,” Dr. Black suggested after some contemplation, “It seems Commander Gordon and I are the more resistant to the desert.” The other Starfleet’s silently agreed. “I’ll built a fire,” Frek said, “We could moist the wood, that’ll give us some nice smoke.” “Good thinking,” Black agreed, “It’ll help us to find our way back here and might guide Commander Blayne and Johnson to the place too.”
The two instructors took their water supplies and headed of into the desert in search of their missing colleagues. Frek and Melain stood side by side and watched them go. Soon they disappeared over the edge of a sand dune. Frek turned away and began building his fire, leaving Melain analysing her scans. Fifteen minutes later the fire was burning well, sending up a nice column of smoke. Frek felt all sweaty and sticky. He quickly refreshed himself in the pool, jumping in with clothes and all worked perfectly for him. Still dripping with water he walked over to Melain and peered over her shoulder. “So, what did you find Lorre?” Frek asked curiously.
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yrdisblayne
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Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by yrdisblayne on Feb 4, 2005 15:13:42 GMT
Their team had quit for the day, and YrDis was quite grateful. His home planet was fairly temperate, and this heat and dryness had been sucking out his strength faster than he cared to admit. He was tending dinner, which was simmering over the fire. Johnson was sitting beside him, while the Cragorians seemed to be walking the perimeter of the camp, just within the flickering light of the fire.
Owen leaned over and said quietly "Commander, it's probably nothing, but I don't trust the Cragorians. They're not exactly trying to work with us to finish first, it almost seems as if they have their own agenda."
YrDis nodded at the cadets astute observation. "I agree" YrDis whispered back. "They seem more interested in learning about us than winning. We should try to learn as much about them as we can."
The Cragorians returned from their patrol. "We seem to be safe here, for now. We should eat now. It looks about ready" the elder Cragorian said. He and Johnson nodded, took their share and the four of them ate. Johnson had a mildly disgusted look on his face, and Yrdis couldn't agree more.
After eating, the exertion of the day overcame him, and YrDis fell into a deep sleep.
When he awoke, he immediately knew that something wasn't right. He was lying on a cold hard floor, not sand. When he opened his eyes, it was pitch black. Not even stars were shining. YrDis got up slowly, and was rewarded for the effort by a blinding pain that shot through his head.
A moment later, bright white light powered into the room, intensifying the pain in his head. A door had opened into the room, and in it stood the shape of a Cragorian, who YrDis didn't recognize. "You're awake. Good. Your implant is not responding as it should, probably due to the fact that you are not human. We shall be able to make some adjustments now that you are conscious."
The Cragorian pulled a control off of its' belt and pressed some buttons. Instantly, the pain in YrDis' head intensified. He fell to the floor, in to much pain even to scream. The shape shook it's head calmly. "That is not correct." He thought for a second as YrDis rolled on the floor clutching his head, then entered some new commands. The counsellor stopped writhing and the Cragorian said something in his own language, then spoke to YrDis again.
"What planet are you from?" the avian creature asked.
"Ornara" YrDis replied obediently.
"Give my your highest priority access code for your ship." the Cragorian ordered.
"Blayne Blue seven delta Y 4" YrDis replied.
"Good. You will forget that you were here" he said.
"Yes."
"This one is now ready. Take him back to the surface" the Cragorian called over it's shoulder.
YrDis woke up. He had a blinding headache, which wasn't helped by the bright light of the desert sun. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly. He could see cadet Johnson lying on the sand near him. The fire had gone out, and there was no sign of the Cragorians, but their packs were still on the ground. YrDis stood up slowly and walked over to Johnson and shook him lightly till his eyes fluttered open.
"Wake up cadet. We seem to be in trouble" the counsellor said.
<Johnson>
"I'm not sure. The Cragorians are gone. We need to get moving. Take inventory of our supplies and I'll take a look around from the top of that dune."
<Johnson>
YrDis climbed to the top of the tall dune. Throught the heat shimmer, he could vaguely see two shapes heading over the sand.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2005 15:16:32 GMT
Melain shook her head in astonishment. "Something I should have been able to figure out when we first met the Cragorians." she showed him the scans. "They made such a big to do about not flying we all assumed they'd lost the ability. Obviosly that is simply not true, but when an entire population doesn't display an ability it's pretty easy to assume it does not exist." sh tapped the scan. "So that's how they got away so fast, this was all a trick, why invite us to go on this trip with them, if all we would be doing is slowing them down. Other then that the only thing I can't figure out is why they came to Jesin in the first place. Their basic physiology points at a more mountenous and temperate climate, so why colony a desert?"
"They seemed to have adapted quite well, they were ahving little if no difficulties." Frek pointed out. "They puffed out their feathers to keep them cool."
"Oh, I hadn't actually noticed that, but it does make sense, pretty much every bird does that, and birds are basically what they are. They must have colonised a long time ago to be able to adapt this much, which makes me wonder if they posses more technology then they are letting on." Melain put her scanner away. "How's that fire going?"
"Pretty good, but if we aren't careful we may run out of wood." Frek pointed to the small pile he had collected. "If we keep it damp it shouldn't burn too quickly... do you think Councellor Yrdis will be alright?"
"I have no idea, It didn't harm you, or the Human officers, but Yrdis is a Ornaran. It may effect his very differently, maybe not at all." Melain wished she knew, but really her xenobiology was limited
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djgordon
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Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by djgordon on Feb 4, 2005 19:06:24 GMT
heading out with Jason we initiated a standard search procedure.
Black: Well this mission has certainly changed hasn't it?
"It certainly has, I really don't know what to think about this whole situation except that I do know one thing."
Black: Whats that?
"I don't think we were left in the sand all night while we were drugged."
Black: What makes you think that?
"I brought a subspace transponder and a small phasor hidden on my person. When I came to this morning they were both gone."
Black: So, that just means that they rolled you while you were asleep in the sand.
chuckling I replied, "You don't understand Doctor, I hid the phasor in my pants, If they went in there to get the phasor out here in this sand then there would have been sand left behind in there as well."
Black: You can't be serious!
"Oh trust me Doc, I am not pulling your chain. Had there been sand I would be alot more uncomfortable than I already am." I said as I laughed
"Hey look up there" I said as I pointed up to the top of a dune. "Is that YrDis?"
Black: It certainly looks like it, shall we signal to him.
"Sounds like a plan to me." I replied as we both started waving up towards Yr'Dis and Owen.
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2005 5:31:52 GMT
Melain continued to study the scans she had done, but found her concentration split between them and the rumblings of her stomech. "By the Prophets, I haven't eaten since those rations last night!" she exclaimed finally putting her scanner away and turning to Frek who was tending the fire. "I'm not much of a cook, but I'm betting we can make something worth eating out of the ration packs the Cragorians didn't take and this vegetation."
"Good idea. The other's will be back soon, and no one likes to grumble about the heat on an empty stomech." Frek started rustling through what supplies they had left.
"Your handing this heat worse then you're letting on aren't you?" Melain asked as she took out her scanner yet again to find something edible.
"What do you mean, I'm doing as well as you?" Frek pulled out a bag of freeze dried potato.
"Don't be such a hero! Andoria's an ice planet, even I know that." Melain laughed. "I have to admit, I respect you for still being able to stand."
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shhouse
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Registered: Apr 28, 2024 11:45:41 GMT
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Post by shhouse on Feb 5, 2005 6:10:06 GMT
"Wake up cadet. We seem to be in trouble" the counsellor said.
"Mrrmmhmm." Owen responded as he regained conciousness. His mouth was extremely dry and his voice didn't seem to be working right. "Wwwhhaat ... , What happened?"
"I'm not sure. The Cragorians are gone. We need to get moving. Take inventory of our supplies and I'll take a look around from the top of that dune."
Owen had a look around. There didn't seem to be any supplies left. YrDis had already left so Owen followed after him.
"Sir, it appears as if the Cragorians left us without any supplies. ... Say isn't that Commanders Black and Gordon down there."
Owen and YrDis headed down to meet up with them.
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