S5: E: 8 Echos of a Tattered Past.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

[Jungle Floor - Kaimo IV]

Akuuta watched the exchange between Nira and Lahr intently, but had the courtesy not to smile when Lahr had been reprimanded. With the conflict resolved, for now, the two groups split up with Chloe, Akuuta, and Blackfeather remaining on the floor of the jungle and the rest of the away team returning to the trees.

Pressing on with what little light remained, the away team made decent progress before night fell and it became too dark to continue. As per Nira's directions, the away team found a 'bypass' of the main branch highway to camp in. With only four present, it wasn't like they could set up a proper perimeter and had to settle for having one person on a rotating watch to guard the others as they attempted to sleep.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Nira was impressed with the progress they made, and they were just in time before night fell and it got too dark to continue. Savar pointed to the right place and they got themselves settled as best as they could in the tree.

"Okay, now that we're settled, time to arrange the watch patterns," said Nira. "After all, we are one security officer short, not to mention a medical officer short. We'll rotate every three hours. And don't forget your flashlights, but don't make them so bright that they draw attention, just enough to get a bearing of your surroundings. Lahr, you have first watch."

She decided that she could subtly punish Lahr that way; she had a feeling her threat of sending him with Davies didn't seem as effective as it was, the potential of reigniting a relationship. But having him do first watch seemed logical.

"After three hours," continued Nira, "the next watch goes to Zhuk. I'll have third watch, then Savar has the last watch. Okay, I hope you have a good night. Set your timer for three hours, Lahr."

She then snuggled into Savar's embrace and they laid comfortable with each other as they could against the trunk of the tree.

Lahr hated leaving Chloe and Blackfeather behind.  What if the local scouts thought that their odds of saving Akuuta from the 'strangers - who were headed directly towards their village - was easier now with only two people watching the kid?  So, to help ease his mind a bit, as he followed the Commander and others up through the branch pathway, Lahr set his tricorder to keep tabs on the two human bio-signs below.  It wasn't much, but Lahr would be alerted if either of their bio-rhythms, recorded through the sensors on their comm badges, were in distress.

When the Commander called a halt for the night, the Andorian was relieved to know that at least the pair were still doing fine - their signals still being picked up by Lahr's tricorder.   Watch rotations were set and Lahr was assigned to keep watch for the first shift.  Three hours apiece seemed a long time - but then Lahr hadn't paid attention to how long this planet's orbit around the sun would take.  It was entirely possible that they were about to face a 12-hour night cycle.

While the Commander and others settled down get some rest after a long and arduous day, Lahr unpacked his flashlight and set it to the dimmest setting, per the Commander's orders.  The intervening leaves would hide the dim light from being seen from the ground but Lahr was very aware that it still might attract attention from other creatures that were already in the canopy - such as that bear-like creature.

The convectional rain had stopped awhile back and if this planet's tropical region was like most others, the evening would be clear.   During his watch, Lahr would glance upwards often and be rewarded with occasional glimpses of the starry night sky through the topmost branches.  For a brief while he considered, climbing up to get a better vantage point with which to keep watch but he knew he'd just be distracted by the view of the stars, so stayed put where he could actually be effective while on watch.  Maybe later during Zhuk's watch he'd check out the view.

The jungle fauna seemed to thrive at night.  Wherever his flashlight shone the air seemed to suddenly fill with moths and other flying insects fluttering about.

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

[Jungle Floor - Kaimo IV]

Meanwhile, while it was hard going with Akuuta's injuries slowing them substantially, the young scout was correct about the distance to the village which the trio reached just before night fell. Chloe and Blackfeather faced a hard decision, leave Akuuta and attempt to shelter for the night in the already established as dangerous jungle or deal with violating the Prime Directive even further by entering the village.

Travel along the jungle floor was once again very difficult for the head nurse, not only was there no cleared pathway like the branches above, but there also wasn't an annoying helpful Andorian assisting her this time.  Instead, she was burdened with trying to help the recovering Akuuta, while Blackfeather kept watch on their surroundings, ensuring that no more bears dropped down on her.

Twice the security officer, held up a fist - a signal for both her and Akuuta to stop and keep still.  Each of those times, Chloe held her breath fearing to feel the rake of claws once more.  After several minutes however, Blackfeather would motion them onwards again.

Their trek was mostly silent.  Blackfeather was too focused keeping them safe to make small talk, and Chloe knew better than to converse too much with Akuuta, other than to check to be sure the travel wasn't aggravating his injury.  The less he knew about the strangers who had saved his life, the better.

When Blackfeather pointed out that they were nearly at the village, Chloe was left with bit of a dilemma.  She was the ranking officer and needed to be the one to decide how they proceeded from here.   While there was a sense of safety by being near the village, Chloe knew that she and Blackfeather couldn't stay.  Even if they would be welcomed by the locals - and there was no guarantee of that - it would definitely go against the Prime Directive in an inarguable way.   She couldn't do that.  With Akuuta able to continue the short distance on his own, Chloe stopped.

"This is where we part paths, Akuuta.   Please be safe.  While we have no say in what you tell your Elders about your time with us, our people have found that there is less disruption overall because of our presence when there is less said about us.  Just something to think about."

Chloe then looked to Blackfeather with a determined look.  "Let's see if we can make it up to the branches before calling it a night.   There's no way, I'll be able to sleep down here."

[Ian Galloway]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Lahr hated leaving Chloe and Blackfeather behind.  What if the local scouts thought that their odds of saving Akuuta from the 'strangers - who were headed directly towards their village - was easier now with only two people watching the kid?  So, to help ease his mind a bit, as he followed the Commander and others up through the branch pathway, Lahr set his tricorder to keep tabs on the two human bio-signs below.  It wasn't much, but Lahr would be alerted if either of their bio-rhythms, recorded through the sensors on their comm badges, were in distress.

When the Commander called a halt for the night, the Andorian was relieved to know that at least the pair were still doing fine - their signals still being picked up by Lahr's tricorder.   Watch rotations were set and Lahr was assigned to keep watch for the first shift.  Three hours apiece seemed a long time - but then Lahr hadn't paid attention to how long this planet's orbit around the sun would take.  It was entirely possible that they were about to face a 12-hour night cycle.

While the Commander and others settled down get some rest after a long and arduous day, Lahr unpacked his flashlight and set it to the dimmest setting, per the Commander's orders.  The intervening leaves would hide the dim light from being seen from the ground but Lahr was very aware that it still might attract attention from other creatures that were already in the canopy - such as that bear-like creature.

The convectional rain had stopped awhile back and if this planet's tropical region was like most others, the evening would be clear.   During his watch, Lahr would glance upwards often and be rewarded with occasional glimpses of the starry night sky through the topmost branches.  For a brief while he considered, climbing up to get a better vantage point with which to keep watch but he knew he'd just be distracted by the view of the stars, so stayed put where he could actually be effective while on watch.  Maybe later during Zhuk's watch he'd check out the view.

The jungle fauna seemed to thrive at night.  Wherever his flashlight shone the air seemed to suddenly fill with moths and other flying insects fluttering about.

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Travel along the jungle floor was once again very difficult for the head nurse, not only was there no cleared pathway like the branches above, but there also wasn't an annoying helpful Andorian assisting her this time.  Instead, she was burdened with trying to help the recovering Akuuta, while Blackfeather kept watch on their surroundings, ensuring that no more bears dropped down on her.

Twice the security officer, held up a fist - a signal for both her and Akuuta to stop and keep still.  Each of those times, Chloe held her breath fearing to feel the rake of claws once more.  After several minutes however, Blackfeather would motion them onwards again.

Their trek was mostly silent.  Blackfeather was too focused keeping them safe to make small talk, and Chloe knew better than to converse too much with Akuuta, other than to check to be sure the travel wasn't aggravating his injury.  The less he knew about the strangers who had saved his life, the better.

When Blackfeather pointed out that they were nearly at the village, Chloe was left with bit of a dilemma.  She was the ranking officer and needed to be the one to decide how they proceeded from here.   While there was a sense of safety by being near the village, Chloe knew that she and Blackfeather couldn't stay.  Even if they would be welcomed by the locals - and there was no guarantee of that - it would definitely go against the Prime Directive in an inarguable way.   She couldn't do that.  With Akuuta able to continue the short distance on his own, Chloe stopped.

"This is where we part paths, Akuuta.   Please be safe.  While we have no say in what you tell your Elders about your time with us, our people have found that there is less disruption overall because of our presence when there is less said about us.  Just something to think about."

Chloe then looked to Blackfeather with a determined look.  "Let's see if we can make it up to the branches before calling it a night.   There's no way, I'll be able to sleep down here."

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

The jungle, always alive with sound, seemed to become even more vocal as night fell with howls, hoots, growls, snorts, and just about any know animal noises imaginable crying out in the darkness from every direction.

For Lahr, the noises made it next to impossible to be certain if the sounds came from animals nosing about with their nightly imperative of 'eat something, don't get eaten' or a dozen Jem'Hadar warriors ready to pounce. Listening to the cacophony, Lahr could tell, it was going to be a long night regardless of the planet's rotational cycle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For Chloe and Blackfeather, the sounds were the same, but they had a bigger concern, what, if any, response would Akuuta's return generate. The young AritÁ¡ri raised his arms and made a circle with his hands in front of him as he spoke.

"Among my people, this gesture represents the Great Circle of Life and is given at the end of journey to say that the road goes ever on. I am grateful for your help Healer and yours as well Warrior. Go with my thanks and the hopes of safe travels wherever your path may lead you."

He then turned a limped toward his village, the lights of fires, likely for cooking, were just visible through the thick foliage.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

The jungle, always alive with sound, seemed to become even more vocal as night fell with howls, hoots, growls, snorts, and just about any know animal noises imaginable crying out in the darkness from every direction.

For Lahr, the noises made it next to impossible to be certain if the sounds came from animals nosing about with their nightly imperative of 'eat something, don't get eaten' or a dozen Jem'Hadar warriors ready to pounce. Listening to the cacophony, Lahr could tell, it was going to be a long night regardless of the planet's rotational cycle.

Three hours.  The time should've passed quickly but it didn't.  Time dragged.  Each howl, growl and snort drawing Lahr's attention in an attempt to identify and assess for danger but it was near impossible.  As it was, he was surprised anyone of the away team was able to get any rest at all.

The dimmed light of the flashlight on occasion was reflected back by small orbs moving in the canopy - eyes.. watching the away team.  Lahr would move toward the eyes, trying to see the creature better, but whenever he did so - the eyes would slip away.   It happened easily a half a dozen times.   Lahr couldn't help but wonder if any of those watching eyes were some of Akuuta's scouts.  But if so, they kept their distance.

When his three hours was up Lahr moved to the Caitian to pass off the watch.   Lahr knew not crouch down and shake the security officer... instead he approached from the feet and called out quietly by name.   "Hey Zhuk, get up.  Your shift."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

For Chloe and Blackfeather, the sounds were the same, but they had a bigger concern, what, if any, response would Akuuta's return generate. The young AritÁ¡ri raised his arms and made a circle with his hands in front of him as he spoke.

"Among my people, this gesture represents the Great Circle of Life and is given at the end of journey to say that the road goes ever on. I am grateful for your help Healer and yours as well Warrior. Go with my thanks and the hopes of safe travels wherever your path may lead you."

He then turned a limped toward his village, the lights of fires, likely for cooking, were just visible through the thick foliage.

Chloe copied Akuuta's gesture after he explained what it meant.  Then even as Akuuta headed to his village Chloe was recommending she and Blackfeather to climb up relative safety of the canopy.  With every snort and growl, she'd grown more worried and Chloe just wanted to hurry up and return to the rest of the away team.  There was safety in numbers.

"What do you think?"  Though she outranked the Blackfeather, she wasn't about to dismiss any outdoor/away team wisdom the more experienced security crewman might provide. 

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Jungle - Kaimo VI]

[Jungle Floor - Kaimo Vi]

Blackfeather shrugged, slung his rifle, and moved to help Akuuta to his feet. The young AritÁ¡ri winced, but did not cry out. As the three prepared to depart, Lahr intervened and the tone of the Andorian's voice made him bristle.

"I do not fear you Blue Man. An AritÁ¡ri scout's mission is to observe. If I were to signal them, they would not come as it would likely mean a trap, thus your words are like the wind. My people are peaceful, but if you would fight, I will fight you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Randall made a few adjustments to the sensors and he reported what he'd found.

"The target is seed-shaped, approximately 500 meters in length and 100 meters across. The outer shell appears to be composed of... interesting... it reads as an diburnium-osmium alloy. I'm detecting extensive weathering. This thing is old, indications are the probe is on the order of 200,000 years old. I'm also seeing that many of the external components appear to be nonfunctional, with considerable heat and blast damage to the entire structure. Sensors indicate extensive long-term radiation exposure."

Randall faced Ruth and added.

"This thing is large and slow moving, no reason we can't intercept it. I'd like to have Hyperion run an analysis of the probe's trajectory."

Randall then sent the data from the sensors to the Astrometrics Lab for Hyperion's response.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Nira nodded in understanding and then gave a gesturing nod in Davies' direction to Mister Blackfeather. But then she saw Lahr come over and she saw his body language, and she was sure she heard a threatening undertone in his voice, even if she didn't hear exactly what he was saying.

"Mister ch'Verret," she snapped, "Whatever you are saying, don't push him. Leave him be."

She pulled Lahr aside and jabbed a finger at him. "Listen to me, mister," she said with a quiet snarl, her hard expression going with her black eyes making her look intimidating, "I don't know what you are talking about with Akuuta, but it's obvious he didn't like what you are saying. We don't want to give the impression we are hostile. Don't try to push him again, and I don't mean push him literally. Nor try to do so with his fellows on the likely chance we see them. We're wasting time here, but if need be, I can send you to escort Nurse Davies instead of Blackfeather."

It was the best threat of punishment she could think of, seeing as how it was clear that Lahr and Davies had a negative history, the way they behaved around each other. She couldn't necessarily send Lahr back to Challenger, she needed him. She was sure the threat of putting him and Davies, two people who would feel awkward or hostile with each other, will make him compliant.

Nira turned back to Akuuta and said, "My apologies, Akuuta, sometimes the blue people can be cold..." Well, naturally there was no pun intended; Andorians didn't just come from a cold planet, they could be plenty cold themselves.

Nira looked around to the team and said, "Anybody have any further objections? Comments? Concerns?"

Any replies given she could reply to, but the light was dimming. The team split up and made their own paths. Nira looked at Savar and said, "Any potential places to make camp for the night? Specifically any big strong trees we can climb up and sleep in? I feel we'll be safe from predators if we sleep up trees with strong branches."

Savar got to work with the tricorder, determining the right trees suitable for climbing and rest, while pinpointing the lifesigns of the village to determine distance.

Zhukdra'shar was livid at the apparent threat Lahr had provided to Akuuta when the latter spoke up again. Though he remained calm and measured, he still had a significant need to provide a smack to the back of his head of Lahr. He understood his want to continue by the book and to keep the Prime Directive valid, but he was pretty sure that being aggressive against a native was not the correct way to maintain it. Perhaps he had been wrong in providing praise before to him, and he was not the best that Starfleet had to offer. Or maybe he was just stressed about the situation. Still, that action had displeased him significantly. For now, though, there wasn't much other choice than to continue working together.

When Lieutenant Nira spoke of the new plan, with Chloe and Blackfeather accompanying Akuuta back to the outskirts of his village, he remained silent. He didn't want to butt heads once more with the Andorian, but he also didn't want to prolong the native's plight any longer. Or stall the mission they had, as night would fall sooner than later. So, once the orders were provided, he offered a nod towards his commanding officer, and continued alongside with them, rifle kept close by as he scanned the general area for danger. He just hoped that Chloe and Blackfeather would be alright.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Nira was impressed with the progress they made, and they were just in time before night fell and it got too dark to continue. Savar pointed to the right place and they got themselves settled as best as they could in the tree.

"Okay, now that we're settled, time to arrange the watch patterns," said Nira. "After all, we are one security officer short, not to mention a medical officer short. We'll rotate every three hours. And don't forget your flashlights, but don't make them so bright that they draw attention, just enough to get a bearing of your surroundings. Lahr, you have first watch."

She decided that she could subtly punish Lahr that way; she had a feeling her threat of sending him with Davies didn't seem as effective as it was, the potential of reigniting a relationship. But having him do first watch seemed logical.

"After three hours," continued Nira, "the next watch goes to Zhuk. I'll have third watch, then Savar has the last watch. Okay, I hope you have a good night. Set your timer for three hours, Lahr."

She then snuggled into Savar's embrace and they laid comfortable with each other as they could against the trunk of the tree.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Three hours.  The time should've passed quickly but it didn't.  Time dragged.  Each howl, growl and snort drawing Lahr's attention in an attempt to identify and assess for danger but it was near impossible.  As it was, he was surprised anyone of the away team was able to get any rest at all.

The dimmed light of the flashlight on occasion was reflected back by small orbs moving in the canopy - eyes.. watching the away team.  Lahr would move toward the eyes, trying to see the creature better, but whenever he did so - the eyes would slip away.   It happened easily a half a dozen times.   Lahr couldn't help but wonder if any of those watching eyes were some of Akuuta's scouts.  But if so, they kept their distance.

When his three hours was up Lahr moved to the Caitian to pass off the watch.   Lahr knew not crouch down and shake the security officer... instead he approached from the feet and called out quietly by name.   "Hey Zhuk, get up.  Your shift."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Chloe copied Akuuta's gesture after he explained what it meant.  Then even as Akuuta headed to his village Chloe was recommending she and Blackfeather to climb up relative safety of the canopy.  With every snort and growl, she'd grown more worried and Chloe just wanted to hurry up and return to the rest of the away team.  There was safety in numbers.

"What do you think?"  Though she outranked the Blackfeather, she wasn't about to dismiss any outdoor/away team wisdom the more experienced security crewman might provide.

Eventually, the time came to rest, as the team hunkered down within a relatively safe spot in the jungle. Unexpectedly, he was given the second overwatch, just as he was about to volunteer for the first. He took a deep breath but offered no comment about it. If there was something that he despised, was to be woken up in the middle of his sleep. He needed to be mature about it, however, and he soon enough found a nice spot with some moss to serve as an impromptu pillow of sorts. Closing his eyes, he attempted to doze off while Lahr took the first watch, hoping to rest some of his exhaustion.

Of course, that proved to be more difficult than he had first imagined. The strange sounds and noises proved to be hard to ignore for Zhuk's keen hearing, ears wiggling around constantly as now his acute senses proved to be his downfall. When he had grown accustomed to the feeling and the fur on his back was no longer raised up, slowly beginning to fall asleep, he heard Lahr speaking to him about his turn to take over the watch.

No....

The Caitian took a few moments to respond, lazily opening an eye to confirm his fears, before stiffly sitting up, taking his rifle and nodding as he finally stood up.

"I shall carry on your watch... then..." He made a pause, as he yawned, showing off his rather feline teeth over to Lahr, before shaking his head as he tried to focus once more, adopting a proper defensive stance "Do not worry. I am fine. Sleep, you require it..."

He reassured Lahr, doing his best to be cordial. He glanced away from him as he instead focused on the cuddling pair of Savar and Nira. A twinge of momentary jealousy came to him, as he wished that he was able to sleep as well as they seemed to do. Just as quickly, he turned away to inspect the general terrain, ears constantly moving as they continued to pick up things. He wondered for a moment if he would have to turn on his flashlight, however, considering that he had an excellent nightvision. Maybe not, would keep them away from prying predatorial organisms that came looking for the source of light. Correct?

[Buck McNair]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The distance to the ancient probe closed slowly until reaching 300,000 kilometers, when a powerful beam began to scan the Challenger. Ian didn't order the shields raised as he figured the probe, being so old, had to be automated, thus a scan would be a normal response to an unknown object.

However, the instant the scan ended, Lieutenant Commander CatalÁ¡n spoke up.

"Sir, we are being hailed."

"On screen."

The message was visual with no text or audio. Based on the report from the away team, the symbols were familiar if not immediately obvious.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The sound of the hail cut through the bridge. Buck immediately tore his blue eyes away from the screen as he looked to Lt Cmdr CatalÁ¡n before his gaze moved over to the Captain as the message was brought up on the screen. His brow furrowed, his hands planted on the station, still running background scans but all the same enraptured by the visual image. It took him several drawn out moments to realise that the symbols were all counting up by one 'dot' each time, though whatever else it was supposed to say was being lost in translation to the new Ensign on the bridge.

Glancing between the senior leadership on the bridge currently, Buck opted that his opinion probably would not add anything to the potential train of thought which went through each of their minds. Hell, he didn't even know what to think. The probe had to be so old that it had lost capabilities but even now it seemed intent on giving them a message.

Buck sighed, slowly trying to pull his attention away from the screen to focus on number-crunching. Perhaps they would need him later on but so far everything was green from his point of view. He turned to his PADD and began to triple check that the inventories were up to scratch.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo VI - Jungle]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Jungle - Kaimo VI]

Eventually, the time came to rest, as the team hunkered down within a relatively safe spot in the jungle. Unexpectedly, he was given the second overwatch, just as he was about to volunteer for the first. He took a deep breath but offered no comment about it. If there was something that he despised, was to be woken up in the middle of his sleep. He needed to be mature about it, however, and he soon enough found a nice spot with some moss to serve as an impromptu pillow of sorts. Closing his eyes, he attempted to doze off while Lahr took the first watch, hoping to rest some of his exhaustion.

Of course, that proved to be more difficult than he had first imagined. The strange sounds and noises proved to be hard to ignore for Zhuk's keen hearing, ears wiggling around constantly as now his acute senses proved to be his downfall. When he had grown accustomed to the feeling and the fur on his back was no longer raised up, slowly beginning to fall asleep, he heard Lahr speaking to him about his turn to take over the watch.

No....

The Caitian took a few moments to respond, lazily opening an eye to confirm his fears, before stiffly sitting up, taking his rifle and nodding as he finally stood up.

"I shall carry on your watch... then..." He made a pause, as he yawned, showing off his rather feline teeth over to Lahr, before shaking his head as he tried to focus once more, adopting a proper defensive stance "Do not worry. I am fine. Sleep, you require it..."

He reassured Lahr, doing his best to be cordial. He glanced away from him as he instead focused on the cuddling pair of Savar and Nira. A twinge of momentary jealousy came to him, as he wished that he was able to sleep as well as they seemed to do. Just as quickly, he turned away to inspect the general terrain, ears constantly moving as they continued to pick up things. He wondered for a moment if he would have to turn on his flashlight, however, considering that he had an excellent nightvision. Maybe not, would keep them away from prying predatorial organisms that came looking for the source of light. Correct?

The slow and almost lazy way that Zhuk responded to his wake up call, opening a single eye first before sitting up and yawning, was not at all how the Andorian thought the Caitian would awaken.   He had expected something more... threatening... with teeth, and claws extended, especially given their location.  Lahr's antennae swiveled forward as if studying the security officer to be sure Zhuk was even awake enough to stand watch; but the Caitian seemed to note this and assured him that he was fine and ordered Lahr to get rest.

Lahr was exhausted, but he doubted he'd be able to get any sleep tonight; not so much because of the noise - Lahr was known to sleep through Burke's snoring no problem - but rather because of his worry about Chloe and Blackfeather - yeah maybe even a bit for the kid too.   He still didn't see why they all couldn't have gone together, dropped the kid off outside of the village.. and then continued on to here as a group... rather than splitting up.

What made it worse was that it was his own disagreement about going INTO the village that had made the Commander rethink about the away team sticking together.  HE was the reason Chloe and Blackfeather were out there by themselves.  Yeah there was no way Lahr was gonna get any sleep this night.

[Nira Said]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Three hours.  The time should've passed quickly but it didn't.  Time dragged.  Each howl, growl and snort drawing Lahr's attention in an attempt to identify and assess for danger but it was near impossible.  As it was, he was surprised anyone of the away team was able to get any rest at all.

The dimmed light of the flashlight on occasion was reflected back by small orbs moving in the canopy - eyes.. watching the away team.  Lahr would move toward the eyes, trying to see the creature better, but whenever he did so - the eyes would slip away.   It happened easily a half a dozen times.   Lahr couldn't help but wonder if any of those watching eyes were some of Akuuta's scouts.  But if so, they kept their distance.

When his three hours was up Lahr moved to the Caitian to pass off the watch.   Lahr knew not crouch down and shake the security officer... instead he approached from the feet and called out quietly by name.   "Hey Zhuk, get up.  Your shift."

Eventually, the time came to rest, as the team hunkered down within a relatively safe spot in the jungle. Unexpectedly, he was given the second overwatch, just as he was about to volunteer for the first. He took a deep breath but offered no comment about it. If there was something that he despised, was to be woken up in the middle of his sleep. He needed to be mature about it, however, and he soon enough found a nice spot with some moss to serve as an impromptu pillow of sorts. Closing his eyes, he attempted to doze off while Lahr took the first watch, hoping to rest some of his exhaustion.

Of course, that proved to be more difficult than he had first imagined. The strange sounds and noises proved to be hard to ignore for Zhuk's keen hearing, ears wiggling around constantly as now his acute senses proved to be his downfall. When he had grown accustomed to the feeling and the fur on his back was no longer raised up, slowly beginning to fall asleep, he heard Lahr speaking to him about his turn to take over the watch.

No....

The Caitian took a few moments to respond, lazily opening an eye to confirm his fears, before stiffly sitting up, taking his rifle and nodding as he finally stood up.

"I shall carry on your watch... then..." He made a pause, as he yawned, showing off his rather feline teeth over to Lahr, before shaking his head as he tried to focus once more, adopting a proper defensive stance "Do not worry. I am fine. Sleep, you require it..."

He reassured Lahr, doing his best to be cordial. He glanced away from him as he instead focused on the cuddling pair of Savar and Nira. A twinge of momentary jealousy came to him, as he wished that he was able to sleep as well as they seemed to do. Just as quickly, he turned away to inspect the general terrain, ears constantly moving as they continued to pick up things. He wondered for a moment if he would have to turn on his flashlight, however, considering that he had an excellent nightvision. Maybe not, would keep them away from prying predatorial organisms that came looking for the source of light. Correct?

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo VI - Jungle]

The slow and almost lazy way that Zhuk responded to his wake up call, opening a single eye first before sitting up and yawning, was not at all how the Andorian thought the Caitian would awaken.   He had expected something more... threatening... with teeth, and claws extended, especially given their location.  Lahr's antennae swiveled forward as if studying the security officer to be sure Zhuk was even awake enough to stand watch; but the Caitian seemed to note this and assured him that he was fine and ordered Lahr to get rest.

Lahr was exhausted, but he doubted he'd be able to get any sleep tonight; not so much because of the noise - Lahr was known to sleep through Burke's snoring no problem - but rather because of his worry about Chloe and Blackfeather - yeah maybe even a bit for the kid too.   He still didn't see why they all couldn't have gone together, dropped the kid off outside of the village.. and then continued on to here as a group... rather than splitting up.

What made it worse was that it was his own disagreement about going INTO the village that had made the Commander rethink about the away team sticking together.  HE was the reason Chloe and Blackfeather were out there by themselves.  Yeah there was no way Lahr was gonna get any sleep this night.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Nira had almost gone to sleep when she remembered that she should've reported in. Ah well. First thing when they got ready to move. Besides, her sleep had gone down to a heavy one; a whole day of trekking through difficult jungles would do that. She practically slept like a rock. When Savar woke her six hours later to remind her of the night watch, she was surprised how heavily she slept, particularly in company like a camp; the one time she went to a sleepover, she had trouble falling asleep, what with all the feelings of excitement churning around her like she was feeling various gusts of wind blow around her.

She approached Zhuk and informed him that she was to relieve him for the watch. Then she took her post and kept watch. Hearing all these noises, she was equally surprised she slept through them. However, what she was more intent on was keeping an eye out. She was especially drawn to the stars. Remembering when she went to Ri'lowo, to the city at the pole where it matched that of its twin, Fi'turs, and especially seeing Discovery up in orbit, trapped by the two tractor emitters at both poles, Nira wondered if she could see Challenger from there.

Similarly, when Savar relieved Nira and took the rest of the watch until morning, he kept a keen eye out, and also often looked up at the stars.

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The sound of the hail cut through the bridge. Buck immediately tore his blue eyes away from the screen as he looked to Lt Cmdr CatalÁ¡n before his gaze moved over to the Captain as the message was brought up on the screen. His brow furrowed, his hands planted on the station, still running background scans but all the same enraptured by the visual image. It took him several drawn out moments to realise that the symbols were all counting up by one 'dot' each time, though whatever else it was supposed to say was being lost in translation to the new Ensign on the bridge.

Glancing between the senior leadership on the bridge currently, Buck opted that his opinion probably would not add anything to the potential train of thought which went through each of their minds. Hell, he didn't even know what to think. The probe had to be so old that it had lost capabilities but even now it seemed intent on giving them a message.

Buck sighed, slowly trying to pull his attention away from the screen to focus on number-crunching. Perhaps they would need him later on but so far everything was green from his point of view. He turned to his PADD and began to triple check that the inventories were up to scratch.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian watched the symbols as they appeared on the viewscreen and knew from the data gathered by the away team, they represented numbers in base eight. These appeared to be counting upwards from one to seven and repeating, but what this was supposed to mean was lost on him.

"Clearly it is a challenge/response message, but I'll be buggered if'n I ken what the bloody hell the response is supposed ta be."

Ian had time to say before the probe fired massive subspace pulse that hit the unshielded Challenger like nothing he'd felt before. The wave washed over the ship and when it matched frequencies with the ship's ODN relays, this caused a massive ship wide overload. Throughout the ship power systems and every control node on the ship shut down, leaving the ship drifting and in the pale glow of the emergency lighting.

Unknown to Ian or anyone else aboard the Challenger, the power surge had changed the course of the ship slightly, but enough for her to be caught by Kaimo VI's gravity well and Challenger was slowly heading toward an uncontrolled entry into the planet's atmosphere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Three hours.  The time should've passed quickly but it didn't.  Time dragged.  Each howl, growl and snort drawing Lahr's attention in an attempt to identify and assess for danger but it was near impossible.  As it was, he was surprised anyone of the away team was able to get any rest at all.

The dimmed light of the flashlight on occasion was reflected back by small orbs moving in the canopy - eyes.. watching the away team.  Lahr would move toward the eyes, trying to see the creature better, but whenever he did so - the eyes would slip away.   It happened easily a half a dozen times.   Lahr couldn't help but wonder if any of those watching eyes were some of Akuuta's scouts.  But if so, they kept their distance.

When his three hours was up Lahr moved to the Caitian to pass off the watch.   Lahr knew not crouch down and shake the security officer... instead he approached from the feet and called out quietly by name.   "Hey Zhuk, get up.  Your shift."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Chloe copied Akuuta's gesture after he explained what it meant.  Then even as Akuuta headed to his village Chloe was recommending she and Blackfeather to climb up relative safety of the canopy.  With every snort and growl, she'd grown more worried and Chloe just wanted to hurry up and return to the rest of the away team.  There was safety in numbers.

"What do you think?"  Though she outranked the Blackfeather, she wasn't about to dismiss any outdoor/away team wisdom the more experienced security crewman might provide.

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Jungle - Kaimo VI]

Zhukdra'shar was livid at the apparent threat Lahr had provided to Akuuta when the latter spoke up again. Though he remained calm and measured, he still had a significant need to provide a smack to the back of his head of Lahr. He understood his want to continue by the book and to keep the Prime Directive valid, but he was pretty sure that being aggressive against a native was not the correct way to maintain it. Perhaps he had been wrong in providing praise before to him, and he was not the best that Starfleet had to offer. Or maybe he was just stressed about the situation. Still, that action had displeased him significantly. For now, though, there wasn't much other choice than to continue working together.

When Lieutenant Nira spoke of the new plan, with Chloe and Blackfeather accompanying Akuuta back to the outskirts of his village, he remained silent. He didn't want to butt heads once more with the Andorian, but he also didn't want to prolong the native's plight any longer. Or stall the mission they had, as night would fall sooner than later. So, once the orders were provided, he offered a nod towards his commanding officer, and continued alongside with them, rifle kept close by as he scanned the general area for danger. He just hoped that Chloe and Blackfeather would be alright.

Eventually, the time came to rest, as the team hunkered down within a relatively safe spot in the jungle. Unexpectedly, he was given the second overwatch, just as he was about to volunteer for the first. He took a deep breath but offered no comment about it. If there was something that he despised, was to be woken up in the middle of his sleep. He needed to be mature about it, however, and he soon enough found a nice spot with some moss to serve as an impromptu pillow of sorts. Closing his eyes, he attempted to doze off while Lahr took the first watch, hoping to rest some of his exhaustion.

Of course, that proved to be more difficult than he had first imagined. The strange sounds and noises proved to be hard to ignore for Zhuk's keen hearing, ears wiggling around constantly as now his acute senses proved to be his downfall. When he had grown accustomed to the feeling and the fur on his back was no longer raised up, slowly beginning to fall asleep, he heard Lahr speaking to him about his turn to take over the watch.

No....

The Caitian took a few moments to respond, lazily opening an eye to confirm his fears, before stiffly sitting up, taking his rifle and nodding as he finally stood up.

"I shall carry on your watch... then..." He made a pause, as he yawned, showing off his rather feline teeth over to Lahr, before shaking his head as he tried to focus once more, adopting a proper defensive stance "Do not worry. I am fine. Sleep, you require it..."

He reassured Lahr, doing his best to be cordial. He glanced away from him as he instead focused on the cuddling pair of Savar and Nira. A twinge of momentary jealousy came to him, as he wished that he was able to sleep as well as they seemed to do. Just as quickly, he turned away to inspect the general terrain, ears constantly moving as they continued to pick up things. He wondered for a moment if he would have to turn on his flashlight, however, considering that he had an excellent nightvision. Maybe not, would keep them away from prying predatorial organisms that came looking for the source of light. Correct?

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo VI - Jungle]

The slow and almost lazy way that Zhuk responded to his wake up call, opening a single eye first before sitting up and yawning, was not at all how the Andorian thought the Caitian would awaken.   He had expected something more... threatening... with teeth, and claws extended, especially given their location.  Lahr's antennae swiveled forward as if studying the security officer to be sure Zhuk was even awake enough to stand watch; but the Caitian seemed to note this and assured him that he was fine and ordered Lahr to get rest.

Lahr was exhausted, but he doubted he'd be able to get any sleep tonight; not so much because of the noise - Lahr was known to sleep through Burke's snoring no problem - but rather because of his worry about Chloe and Blackfeather - yeah maybe even a bit for the kid too.   He still didn't see why they all couldn't have gone together, dropped the kid off outside of the village.. and then continued on to here as a group... rather than splitting up.

What made it worse was that it was his own disagreement about going INTO the village that had made the Commander rethink about the away team sticking together.  HE was the reason Chloe and Blackfeather were out there by themselves.  Yeah there was no way Lahr was gonna get any sleep this night.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Nira had almost gone to sleep when she remembered that she should've reported in. Ah well. First thing when they got ready to move. Besides, her sleep had gone down to a heavy one; a whole day of trekking through difficult jungles would do that. She practically slept like a rock. When Savar woke her six hours later to remind her of the night watch, she was surprised how heavily she slept, particularly in company like a camp; the one time she went to a sleepover, she had trouble falling asleep, what with all the feelings of excitement churning around her like she was feeling various gusts of wind blow around her.

She approached Zhuk and informed him that she was to relieve him for the watch. Then she took her post and kept watch. Hearing all these noises, she was equally surprised she slept through them. However, what she was more intent on was keeping an eye out. She was especially drawn to the stars. Remembering when she went to Ri'lowo, to the city at the pole where it matched that of its twin, Fi'turs, and especially seeing Discovery up in orbit, trapped by the two tractor emitters at both poles, Nira wondered if she could see Challenger from there.

Similarly, when Savar relieved Nira and took the rest of the watch until morning, he kept a keen eye out, and also often looked up at the stars.

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

Surprisingly, the night passed uneventfully for the larger group of the away team. Perhaps it was the unknown scent or the way the wind was blowing or even the phase of the moon kept the animal life of the planet at bay, whatever the reason, they'd stayed away.

Everyone rose the following morning sore and tired from their exertions from the previous day and from not sleeping well perched in trees amid the ceaseless jungle noises. Based on the information that had from Akuuta, they had less than an hour to make it to the spit of land that would give them access to the Temple of Thunder and Fire, they would have to hurry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Surface - Kaimo VI - Three Kilometers Southeast of Away Team]

Chloe and Blackfeather had had a rough night. With only two, setting a watch was very difficult with two hours on two hours off leaving precious little time for restful sleep. Despite their fatigue, after parting from Akuuta, the pair climbed back into the trees for the limited security such a position provided compared to the jungle floor. Adding in for Chloe's injury, the fatigue from the previous day's trek, and the lack of proper sleep had left the two on the brink of exhaustion.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo VI - Jungle]

Lahr lay silently awake for the first hour of Zhuk's shift before sitting up and giving in his need to check on Chloe and Blackfeather's progress.  With his tricorder still locked onto their Human bio signs - albeit weakly - Lahr was able to determine that the two were still moving on a path towards the land bridge.   With luck, the two separated teams would meet up before there and in time to be able to cross the lake.

After checking on Chloe's progress and noting that the pair were moving at a pace that suggested they were on one of the treetop pathways and not on the ground, helped Lahr's worry immensely.    He was able to drift off into a bit of fitful sleep.  Though it was far from restful.  Rather, Lahr mumbled incoherently in his sleep and flailed on occasion.  (If asked it was moments like exactly this that Chloe had insisted that Lahr seek counseling, back when they were dating.  Counseling which Lahr had tried with limit success.  What had helped most was the sense of security that Lahr felt when curled about his senior ranked lover.  Much like the Commander and Savar as a couple, Lahr was happiest and less troubled by his traumatic past when with his Ruth.   But Ruth wasn't here and the physical exhaustion he'd been feeling all day was too much like how things had been during the retake of Innominatum.

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

Surprisingly, the night passed uneventfully for the larger group of the away team. Perhaps it was the unknown scent or the way the wind was blowing or even the phase of the moon kept the animal life of the planet at bay, whatever the reason, they'd stayed away.

Everyone rose the following morning sore and tired from their exertions from the previous day and from not sleeping well perched in trees amid the ceaseless jungle noises. Based on the information that had from Akuuta, they had less than an hour to make it to the spit of land that would give them access to the Temple of Thunder and Fire, they would have to hurry.

When Lahr finally awoke, he was covered in a sheen of sweat from the nightmare memories of his past.

The Andorian knew from Chloe that such troubled sleeps were noticeable; and his had probably been witnessed by the Commander and Lt Savar.   He would bet a whole case of Andorian ale that more counseling sessions were going to be recommended for him in his near future.

To avoid discussing his issues sleeping with them while on mission, Lahr kept himself packing up and fixing things so there was less evidence of their passing through the area.  One of the last things that he remembered to do before setting off again was checking Chloe's position.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

[Surface - Kaimo VI - Three Kilometers Southeast of Away Team]

Chloe and Blackfeather had had a rough night. With only two, setting a watch was very difficult with two hours on two hours off leaving precious little time for restful sleep. Despite their fatigue, after parting from Akuuta, the pair climbed back into the trees for the limited security such a position provided compared to the jungle floor. Adding in for Chloe's injury, the fatigue from the previous day's trek, and the lack of proper sleep had left the two on the brink of exhaustion.

Despite Chloe's insistence to Blackfeather that she could continue throughout the night up along the treetop pathways, physically it was impossible for her.  Twice she stumbled over her own feet as they dragged over the branch and it was only Blackfeather's quick grab that kept her from tumbling down to her death from such a height.   He forced them rest, finding a small niche in one of the trees.  They rested switching off watched every two hours until both had a four-hour rest.  Then Blackfeather recommended they attempt to continue their way to the land bridge where they were supposed to meet up with the others.

It was still mostly dark when they left the security of their niche and continued along the branches. Chloe noticed how Blackfeather kept close to her.  But Chloe was feeling much better.  Working in the medical field meant that Chloe had learned to get the most out of limited sleep.  Besides which she'd give both herself and Blackfeather a vitamin and stimulant boost via hypospray to ensure they had the energy to catch up.   There was no way she wanted to be left on this side of the land bridge away from the others when the waters returned. 

[Nira Said]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian watched the symbols as they appeared on the viewscreen and knew from the data gathered by the away team, they represented numbers in base eight. These appeared to be counting upwards from one to seven and repeating, but what this was supposed to mean was lost on him.

"Clearly it is a challenge/response message, but I'll be buggered if'n I ken what the bloody hell the response is supposed ta be."

Ian had time to say before the probe fired massive subspace pulse that hit the unshielded Challenger like nothing he'd felt before. The wave washed over the ship and when it matched frequencies with the ship's ODN relays, this caused a massive ship wide overload. Throughout the ship power systems and every control node on the ship shut down, leaving the ship drifting and in the pale glow of the emergency lighting.

Unknown to Ian or anyone else aboard the Challenger, the power surge had changed the course of the ship slightly, but enough for her to be caught by Kaimo VI's gravity well and Challenger was slowly heading toward an uncontrolled entry into the planet's atmosphere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

Surprisingly, the night passed uneventfully for the larger group of the away team. Perhaps it was the unknown scent or the way the wind was blowing or even the phase of the moon kept the animal life of the planet at bay, whatever the reason, they'd stayed away.

Everyone rose the following morning sore and tired from their exertions from the previous day and from not sleeping well perched in trees amid the ceaseless jungle noises. Based on the information that had from Akuuta, they had less than an hour to make it to the spit of land that would give them access to the Temple of Thunder and Fire, they would have to hurry.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo VI - Jungle]

Lahr lay silently awake for the first hour of Zhuk's shift before sitting up and giving in his need to check on Chloe and Blackfeather's progress.  With his tricorder still locked onto their Human bio signs - albeit weakly - Lahr was able to determine that the two were still moving on a path towards the land bridge.   With luck, the two separated teams would meet up before there and in time to be able to cross the lake.

After checking on Chloe's progress and noting that the pair were moving at a pace that suggested they were on one of the treetop pathways and not on the ground, helped Lahr's worry immensely.    He was able to drift off into a bit of fitful sleep.  Though it was far from restful.  Rather, Lahr mumbled incoherently in his sleep and flailed on occasion.  (If asked it was moments like exactly this that Chloe had insisted that Lahr seek counseling, back when they were dating.  Counseling which Lahr had tried with limit success.  What had helped most was the sense of security that Lahr felt when curled about his senior ranked lover.  Much like the Commander and Savar as a couple, Lahr was happiest and less troubled by his traumatic past when with his Ruth.   But Ruth wasn't here and the physical exhaustion he'd been feeling all day was too much like how things had been during the retake of Innominatum.

When Lahr finally awoke, he was covered in a sheen of sweat from the nightmare memories of his past.

The Andorian knew from Chloe that such troubled sleeps were noticeable; and his had probably been witnessed by the Commander and Lt Savar.   He would bet a whole case of Andorian ale that more counseling sessions were going to be recommended for him in his near future.

To avoid discussing his issues sleeping with them while on mission, Lahr kept himself packing up and fixing things so there was less evidence of their passing through the area.  One of the last things that he remembered to do before setting off again was checking Chloe's position.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Despite Chloe's insistence to Blackfeather that she could continue throughout the night up along the treetop pathways, physically it was impossible for her.  Twice she stumbled over her own feet as they dragged over the branch and it was only Blackfeather's quick grab that kept her from tumbling down to her death from such a height.   He forced them rest, finding a small niche in one of the trees.  They rested switching off watched every two hours until both had a four-hour rest.  Then Blackfeather recommended they attempt to continue their way to the land bridge where they were supposed to meet up with the others.

It was still mostly dark when they left the security of their niche and continued along the branches. Chloe noticed how Blackfeather kept close to her.  But Chloe was feeling much better.  Working in the medical field meant that Chloe had learned to get the most out of limited sleep.  Besides which she'd give both herself and Blackfeather a vitamin and stimulant boost via hypospray to ensure they had the energy to catch up.   There was no way she wanted to be left on this side of the land bridge away from the others when the waters returned.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Savar ensured that he wake the rest of the team half an hour before the end of his watch, and he had to raise an eyebrow at the rest of the team waking sore. But then he realized that he fared better, mostly because of his strength. Nira was especially feeling a little sore from not sleeping against her Imzadi like a cushion, but she certainly got a unique form of a waking kick better than coffee: Savar coming in, saying, "Morning, Imzadi," and planting a good kiss on the lips. That woke Nira up fully and smiled, though she gave an embarrassed shrug at the rest of the team.

Seeing everybody ready, and just in time, Nira looked at the sky and said, "Okay, team, let's get moving. Look of things, we have an hour to get to that spit of land. Probably less, but definitely no more. Onward!"

Recalling Akuuta's directions, Nira and Savar led the team as fast as they could. She could tell it definitely wasn't dawn yet, just light enough. She did take notice of Lahr; she had heard him mumbling in the night while she was on watch and she could feel something from him...some kind of trauma or past bothering? She made a note to talk to him once she got a good chance, maybe even if they missed the time appointed and they'd have to wait until sunset.

The couple ensured the team stuck to the treetop paths, being the fastest way they are, and they were in quite a hurry enough that Nira realized there was no time to report to Challenger.

[Zhukdrashar Mrekrerhas]

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Jungle - Kaimo VI]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Nira had almost gone to sleep when she remembered that she should've reported in. Ah well. First thing when they got ready to move. Besides, her sleep had gone down to a heavy one; a whole day of trekking through difficult jungles would do that. She practically slept like a rock. When Savar woke her six hours later to remind her of the night watch, she was surprised how heavily she slept, particularly in company like a camp; the one time she went to a sleepover, she had trouble falling asleep, what with all the feelings of excitement churning around her like she was feeling various gusts of wind blow around her.

She approached Zhuk and informed him that she was to relieve him for the watch. Then she took her post and kept watch. Hearing all these noises, she was equally surprised she slept through them. However, what she was more intent on was keeping an eye out. She was especially drawn to the stars. Remembering when she went to Ri'lowo, to the city at the pole where it matched that of its twin, Fi'turs, and especially seeing Discovery up in orbit, trapped by the two tractor emitters at both poles, Nira wondered if she could see Challenger from there.

Similarly, when Savar relieved Nira and took the rest of the watch until morning, he kept a keen eye out, and also often looked up at the stars.

Zhukdra'shar remained dutiful in his watch, needing not his flashlight as his eyes remained keen as they were in day throughout his vigilance, thanks to his darkvision. That said, he had to fight the exhaustion he had accumulated, beginning to grow wearier and wearier as time went on. Eyelids weighted as much as steel, and his head was beginning to spin, though he never backed down on his duty to protect his fellow crewmembers. He would not rest until he was sure that no creature from the jungle would jump upon them, or be relieved of his duty in due time.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts and on the sounds and sights of the jungle night, that he failed at first to hear Nira when she had called for him to wind down to sleep. When he did, however, he was more than thankful, and in his woozy state, made sure to offer a nod to the Lieutenant, as he tried to find a cozy spot to crash down onto.

"Thank you... ma'aaammm..." Were the only words that he could garble out, however, resorting to crawling towards a nice, flat plant, and slumping on top. While he still remained awake for a few minutes afterwards, his mind finally couldn't take any longer and the snoring came soon enough.

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian watched the symbols as they appeared on the viewscreen and knew from the data gathered by the away team, they represented numbers in base eight. These appeared to be counting upwards from one to seven and repeating, but what this was supposed to mean was lost on him.

"Clearly it is a challenge/response message, but I'll be buggered if'n I ken what the bloody hell the response is supposed ta be."

Ian had time to say before the probe fired massive subspace pulse that hit the unshielded Challenger like nothing he'd felt before. The wave washed over the ship and when it matched frequencies with the ship's ODN relays, this caused a massive ship wide overload. Throughout the ship power systems and every control node on the ship shut down, leaving the ship drifting and in the pale glow of the emergency lighting.

Unknown to Ian or anyone else aboard the Challenger, the power surge had changed the course of the ship slightly, but enough for her to be caught by Kaimo VI's gravity well and Challenger was slowly heading toward an uncontrolled entry into the planet's atmosphere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Surface - Kaimo VI]

Surprisingly, the night passed uneventfully for the larger group of the away team. Perhaps it was the unknown scent or the way the wind was blowing or even the phase of the moon kept the animal life of the planet at bay, whatever the reason, they'd stayed away.

Everyone rose the following morning sore and tired from their exertions from the previous day and from not sleeping well perched in trees amid the ceaseless jungle noises. Based on the information that had from Akuuta, they had less than an hour to make it to the spit of land that would give them access to the Temple of Thunder and Fire, they would have to hurry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Surface - Kaimo VI - Three Kilometers Southeast of Away Team]

Chloe and Blackfeather had had a rough night. With only two, setting a watch was very difficult with two hours on two hours off leaving precious little time for restful sleep. Despite their fatigue, after parting from Akuuta, the pair climbed back into the trees for the limited security such a position provided compared to the jungle floor. Adding in for Chloe's injury, the fatigue from the previous day's trek, and the lack of proper sleep had left the two on the brink of exhaustion.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Savar ensured that he wake the rest of the team half an hour before the end of his watch, and he had to raise an eyebrow at the rest of the team waking sore. But then he realized that he fared better, mostly because of his strength. Nira was especially feeling a little sore from not sleeping against her Imzadi like a cushion, but she certainly got a unique form of a waking kick better than coffee: Savar coming in, saying, "Morning, Imzadi," and planting a good kiss on the lips. That woke Nira up fully and smiled, though she gave an embarrassed shrug at the rest of the team.

Seeing everybody ready, and just in time, Nira looked at the sky and said, "Okay, team, let's get moving. Look of things, we have an hour to get to that spit of land. Probably less, but definitely no more. Onward!"

Recalling Akuuta's directions, Nira and Savar led the team as fast as they could. She could tell it definitely wasn't dawn yet, just light enough. She did take notice of Lahr; she had heard him mumbling in the night while she was on watch and she could feel something from him...some kind of trauma or past bothering? She made a note to talk to him once she got a good chance, maybe even if they missed the time appointed and they'd have to wait until sunset.

The couple ensured the team stuck to the treetop paths, being the fastest way they are, and they were in quite a hurry enough that Nira realized there was no time to report to Challenger.

Fortunately for him, the night went on without a hitch, the rest of the team finding the Caitian face down, limbs splayed in all directions, though he held his phaser rifle tightly. As he was woken up, he felt almost immediately the stiffness of his muscles, no doubt a result of his awkward positioning while sleeping. After stretching for a bit, he decided that he would have to contend with the pain for today, as the away team had to reach the area where water would recede, and they would be able to advance into the Temple of Thunder and Fire.

Taking once more to the treetops, he advanced alongside the rest of the away team swiftly, though anyone would see that, compared to the day before, he seemed to be sluggish. He was determined, if the look on his eyes was any indication.

[Ian Galloway]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Kaimo VI - Jungle]

Lahr lay silently awake for the first hour of Zhuk's shift before sitting up and giving in his need to check on Chloe and Blackfeather's progress.  With his tricorder still locked onto their Human bio signs - albeit weakly - Lahr was able to determine that the two were still moving on a path towards the land bridge.   With luck, the two separated teams would meet up before there and in time to be able to cross the lake.

After checking on Chloe's progress and noting that the pair were moving at a pace that suggested they were on one of the treetop pathways and not on the ground, helped Lahr's worry immensely.    He was able to drift off into a bit of fitful sleep.  Though it was far from restful.  Rather, Lahr mumbled incoherently in his sleep and flailed on occasion.  (If asked it was moments like exactly this that Chloe had insisted that Lahr seek counseling, back when they were dating.  Counseling which Lahr had tried with limit success.  What had helped most was the sense of security that Lahr felt when curled about his senior ranked lover.  Much like the Commander and Savar as a couple, Lahr was happiest and less troubled by his traumatic past when with his Ruth.   But Ruth wasn't here and the physical exhaustion he'd been feeling all day was too much like how things had been during the retake of Innominatum.

When Lahr finally awoke, he was covered in a sheen of sweat from the nightmare memories of his past.

The Andorian knew from Chloe that such troubled sleeps were noticeable; and his had probably been witnessed by the Commander and Lt Savar.   He would bet a whole case of Andorian ale that more counseling sessions were going to be recommended for him in his near future.

To avoid discussing his issues sleeping with them while on mission, Lahr kept himself packing up and fixing things so there was less evidence of their passing through the area.  One of the last things that he remembered to do before setting off again was checking Chloe's position.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse
[Surface of Kaimo VI]

Despite Chloe's insistence to Blackfeather that she could continue throughout the night up along the treetop pathways, physically it was impossible for her.  Twice she stumbled over her own feet as they dragged over the branch and it was only Blackfeather's quick grab that kept her from tumbling down to her death from such a height.   He forced them rest, finding a small niche in one of the trees.  They rested switching off watched every two hours until both had a four-hour rest.  Then Blackfeather recommended they attempt to continue their way to the land bridge where they were supposed to meet up with the others.

It was still mostly dark when they left the security of their niche and continued along the branches. Chloe noticed how Blackfeather kept close to her.  But Chloe was feeling much better.  Working in the medical field meant that Chloe had learned to get the most out of limited sleep.  Besides which she'd give both herself and Blackfeather a vitamin and stimulant boost via hypospray to ensure they had the energy to catch up.   There was no way she wanted to be left on this side of the land bridge away from the others when the waters returned.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Savar ensured that he wake the rest of the team half an hour before the end of his watch, and he had to raise an eyebrow at the rest of the team waking sore. But then he realized that he fared better, mostly because of his strength. Nira was especially feeling a little sore from not sleeping against her Imzadi like a cushion, but she certainly got a unique form of a waking kick better than coffee: Savar coming in, saying, "Morning, Imzadi," and planting a good kiss on the lips. That woke Nira up fully and smiled, though she gave an embarrassed shrug at the rest of the team.

Seeing everybody ready, and just in time, Nira looked at the sky and said, "Okay, team, let's get moving. Look of things, we have an hour to get to that spit of land. Probably less, but definitely no more. Onward!"

Recalling Akuuta's directions, Nira and Savar led the team as fast as they could. She could tell it definitely wasn't dawn yet, just light enough. She did take notice of Lahr; she had heard him mumbling in the night while she was on watch and she could feel something from him...some kind of trauma or past bothering? She made a note to talk to him once she got a good chance, maybe even if they missed the time appointed and they'd have to wait until sunset.

The couple ensured the team stuck to the treetop paths, being the fastest way they are, and they were in quite a hurry enough that Nira realized there was no time to report to Challenger.

[Ensign Zhukdra'shar Mrekrerhas | Jungle - Kaimo VI]

Zhukdra'shar remained dutiful in his watch, needing not his flashlight as his eyes remained keen as they were in day throughout his vigilance, thanks to his darkvision. That said, he had to fight the exhaustion he had accumulated, beginning to grow wearier and wearier as time went on. Eyelids weighted as much as steel, and his head was beginning to spin, though he never backed down on his duty to protect his fellow crewmembers. He would not rest until he was sure that no creature from the jungle would jump upon them, or be relieved of his duty in due time.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts and on the sounds and sights of the jungle night, that he failed at first to hear Nira when she had called for him to wind down to sleep. When he did, however, he was more than thankful, and in his woozy state, made sure to offer a nod to the Lieutenant, as he tried to find a cozy spot to crash down onto.

"Thank you... ma'aaammm..." Were the only words that he could garble out, however, resorting to crawling towards a nice, flat plant, and slumping on top. While he still remained awake for a few minutes afterwards, his mind finally couldn't take any longer and the snoring came soon enough.

Fortunately for him, the night went on without a hitch, the rest of the team finding the Caitian face down, limbs splayed in all directions, though he held his phaser rifle tightly. As he was woken up, he felt almost immediately the stiffness of his muscles, no doubt a result of his awkward positioning while sleeping. After stretching for a bit, he decided that he would have to contend with the pain for today, as the away team had to reach the area where water would recede, and they would be able to advance into the Temple of Thunder and Fire.

Taking once more to the treetops, he advanced alongside the rest of the away team swiftly, though anyone would see that, compared to the day before, he seemed to be sluggish. He was determined, if the look on his eyes was any indication.

[Surface Kaimo IV]

The two groups of the away team, each tracking the other by tricorder were able to link back up again at the spit of land that connected to the peak in the center of the lake. Not knowing the exact cycle of the tides, when they arrived, the water was at mid-calf as they started across the two kilometer long sand bar. Based on the rate the water was raising, they would have to hustle if they were going to make it across without having to swim.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

When the universe stopped sparking and spinning, Ian found himself clutching the command chair in near total darkness. The air had an acrid scent of charred circuits and it didn't seem like life support was able to clear it. Shaking his head to clear the fog, he croaked.

"R-Report!"

[Nira Said]

[Surface Kaimo IV]

The two groups of the away team, each tracking the other by tricorder were able to link back up again at the spit of land that connected to the peak in the center of the lake. Not knowing the exact cycle of the tides, when they arrived, the water was at mid-calf as they started across the two kilometer long sand bar. Based on the rate the water was raising, they would have to hustle if they were going to make it across without having to swim.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways >- Sandbar to Island | Kaimo IV]

Nira, Savar, Lahr and Zhuk arrived at the sandbar just as Nurse Davies and Mister Blackfeather did. Nira beamed at their timing. "Head Nurse! Mister Blackfeather! You made it in time!"

Indeed, they could still see that spit of land...Nira could see it was some sort of sand bar. She heard about sand bars; some were natural, others manmade. She recalled one time when she joined an Academy field trip to the Great Salt Lake and saw Spiral Jetty; impressive artwork made from rocks.

"We all made it in time," Nira added, seeing the dawn. "Onward!"

She and Savar stepped on almost at the same time, and both were perplexed that, despite the sight of the sandbar...

"Commander, the sand bar's already submerged," Savar observed as they both stepped into water up to mid calf.

"Water's already receding," said Nira. "We'll need to hurry, everybody. Savar, how long do you think it'll take before it completely submerges?"

"Well, without any idea about how tidal cycles work on this planet," said Savar, "we'll need to hurry to get to that island before it submerges deep enough that we have to swim."

"Well, too late to fell a tree to improvise a boat," said Nira. "We'll have to make a run for it."

"Even if running in water is difficult?"

"You did say we'll have to hurry. And how far do you estimate to the island?"

"Best guess...two kilometers."

"Well, then, I'm sure we'll make it far enough that by the time it does submerge deep enough to swim, as you say, it'll be a short swim."

And with that, Nira and Savar led the way to a run, sure as they were that the team heard what they said. They didn't care that they were kicking up water.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

NPC Lieutenant JG Chloe Davies, Head Nurse and
PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Surface of Kaimo VI - land bridge]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways | Kaimo IV]

Seeing everybody ready, and just in time, Nira looked at the sky and said, "Okay, team, let's get moving. Look of things, we have an hour to get to that spit of land. Probably less, but definitely no more. Onward!"

Recalling Akuuta's directions, Nira and Savar led the team as fast as they could.

The couple ensured the team stuck to the treetop paths, being the fastest way they are, and they were in quite a hurry enough that Nira realized there was no time to report to Challenger.

Moving through the treetops following the Commander and Lt Savar, Lahr was wondered at the lack of communications with the ship.  Being formerly a part of the Operations department, Lahr knew the standard call-in procedure.  Was he just so pre-occupied that he hadn't noticed when the Commander called in?  Maybe it was something she'd done during her time at watch, while Lahr was asleep?  Yeah, that kind of made sense... more so than assuming that both the Commander and Captain would forego protocol.

[Surface Kaimo IV]

The two groups of the away team, each tracking the other by tricorder were able to link back up again at the spit of land that connected to the peak in the center of the lake. Not knowing the exact cycle of the tides, when they arrived, the water was at mid-calf as they started across the two kilometer long sand bar. Based on the rate the water was raising, they would have to hustle if they were going to make it across without having to swim.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Treetop Pathways >- Sandbar to Island | Kaimo IV]

Nira, Savar, Lahr and Zhuk arrived at the sandbar just as Nurse Davies and Mister Blackfeather did. Nira beamed at their timing. "Head Nurse! Mister Blackfeather! You made it in time!"

Indeed, they could still see that spit of land...Nira could see it was some sort of sand bar. She heard about sand bars; some were natural, others manmade. She recalled one time when she joined an Academy field trip to the Great Salt Lake and saw Spiral Jetty; impressive artwork made from rocks.

"We all made it in time," Nira added, seeing the dawn. "Onward!"

She and Savar stepped on almost at the same time, and both were perplexed that, despite the sight of the sandbar...

"Commander, the sand bar's already submerged," Savar observed as they both stepped into water up to mid calf.
...

"Well, then, I'm sure we'll make it far enough that by the time it does submerge deep enough to swim, as you say, it'll be a short swim."

And with that, Nira and Savar led the way to a run, sure as they were that the team heard what they said. They didn't care that they were kicking up water.

Lahr was relieved to see the other portion of the away team, namely Chloe and Blackfeather, arrive at the spit of land at the same as them, the main group.  Lahr thought for sure Chloe would be dead on her feet.. but surprisingly she seemed more alert than he.

When the away team leaders paused after their first few steps in the water covered bridge to discuss what to do, Lahr half hoped that they'd decide to wait til the next outgoing 'tide'... but no such luck.   Instead, the pair decided in all their wisdom to have the exhausted team sprint across the rapidly sinking land bridge.  Running in water was fine and all - when one was showing off at the beach and didn't have to cross a distance of 2 km before the land you were running sank deeper.   He wanted to complain but realized it would only delay them more.   With his antennae swiveling sensing the path ahead in hopes of avoiding soft spots and sink holes, Lahr plunged on, with Chloe running alongside.   

[Buck McNair]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

When the universe stopped sparking and spinning, Ian found himself clutching the command chair in near total darkness. The air had an acrid scent of charred circuits and it didn't seem like life support was able to clear it. Shaking his head to clear the fog, he croaked.

"R-Report!"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

One minute they were discussing the nature of the message, and the next they had been hit with something. Buck had hit his back on the chair behind his station, effectively tumbled into it as the ship juddered and fell into darkness. The stench of fried electrics filled the air as the team reeled from what just happened. His eyes tried to adjust to the new level of light as the world stopped ringing. He stood upright, bracing himself against the station. "Buck McNair, Ops, reporting in. Systems aren't functional." Buck tapped on the various parts of the screen, bending over to check underneath it. "What was that?"