When We Get Back
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. All rights go to Gene Roddenberry and associates of the Star Trek universes. I make no money from this work.
Chapter 1
The shuttle rocked and shattered and felt like at any second it may just fall to pieces around them, just fall apart and leave them falling and falling. Uhura closed her eyes, leant forward into a brace position and held on until she couldn't feel her fingers, until her knuckles were white and it hurt to hold on any longer – but she kept holding on. The sound of klaxons filled her ears. She kept thinking about things they'd taught her at Starfleet – well, trying, but the heat of the metal around her, warping and rattling, and the sound of her teeth chattering in her head - she couldn't think any longer! Couldn't do anything but scream as the shuttle began free falling into the atmosphere. She felt her stomach rise into her throat and threaten to spill out.
She grasped at the oxygen mask that had fallen from the roof, wrapped it around her head and took in a deep breath. Ahead she could see the topography of the planet below them, of the vast forest, of the crystal blue lake, and then the clearing, the mountains that looked like they were snow-capped. For just a glimpse, it was beautiful. She took a deep breath into the oxygen mask, tried to read the altitude through the cracked altimetre. Quickly and then she leaned forward, grasped the lever and pulled roughly. Immediately the shuttle seemed to slow. She lurched upward as the emergency parachute opened.
They were less than five thousand metres from the ground, falling through the blue hued clouds that shadowed over the land. She could eject her seat and use the emergency parachute on the back, opening it when she was clear from the shuttle but…
No, that was not an option!
She had to land this thing, even if it killed her.
Uhura leaned over to grasp at the controls, steadying the shuttle. The land was coming in quickly, and the shuttle was still moving fast, still boiling hot from entering the atmosphere. She adjusted her harness, tried to use what remained of the damaged thrusters to slow them down, but the engines spluttered and groaned. Comms was out, engines were out, it was a falling metal craft with only a parachute. And they only a few emergency supplies to welcome them to this strange new planet.
Through the thick forestry, she saw a clearing. It was only small, but it was coming up fast and they were beginning to brush the tops of the trees. Coming in too fast, branches snapped up against the windshield. And then they cleared the trees and were beginning to be lowered into the field.
But they were going to overshoot the field.
The trees were coming up too quickly, the grass underneath them disappearing and she ducked her head. She reached over to the pilot and unbuckled his harness before pulling him into his lap. They slowed suddenly as a tree branch crashed through the windshield, sending shards flying throughout the cockpit. The branch impaled itself through the pilot's chair, right through the headrest and left small pine-like needles settling throughout the cabin.
Uhura breathed and looked around. They were fine. Well, almost fine, she supposed. And almost on the ground, too.
She could smell the shuttle burning. Smell the engines that had shorted out, caught on fire, smelt the fuel, and rubber burning and knew they had to get out quickly.
And then suddenly, the shuttle lurched.
The branch impaled into the pilot's seat snapped as they fell to the ground with a thud! Uhura winced as her teeth bit her tongue, felt blood seep into her mouth as the shuttle settled on the ground of this strange, unknown planet. Everything was suddenly quiet. The shuttle died, the klaxons dimmed to a warped noise them disappeared altogether. The parachute was caught up in the trees above them as Uhura opened the emergency latch.
She undid her harness, and then leant over to the pilot's chair to undo the buckles. Then she leant back and looked down at her colleague, unconscious but breathing, with a large head wound oozing deep emerald blood onto her new active duty uniform - Lieutenant Commander Spock.
Uhura was thankful the shuttle had not caught on fire, so at least there was a little shelter in the rear to shield from the wind and the rain that had suddenly come over. There were shock blankets in a small compartment – three of them, and they were thick and warm and dry. She'd wrapped one around the Commander, then around herself, and then strung another one up between the exposed front of the shuttle and the back, to protect from the wind.
His head wound was not life-threatening. Enough time spent with McCoy had at least helped her that much – how she'd had to get basic first aid training, and then she'd signed up a sixth subject for two semesters in intermediate healthcare, especially in xenomedicine. After that McCoy had taught her to bandage, to splint, to do basic things that could help.
But he still had not woken up.
If he had, she would have known what to do. Would have had a clue as to where they were.
"Certainly not in Kansas," Uhura muttered, wrapping the blanket around her tighter. They weren't on Earth – she never even saw Jupiter or even Mars, and they were still in their Solar System, she was sure. But the wind outside whipped against the shuttle, and the rain pelted against the warped metal exterior. Nothing was ever made for a crashlanding, but the shuttle at least had gotten them to their destination in more or less one piece. They could be beamed up to the Columbia, if only they could get the comms working on the shuttle to send out a message.
That was the plan then, Uhura decided. She needed to repair the comm system on the shuttle, or if that wasn't going to work, figure out a way to send out a beacon for rescue. There would be no profit in sitting around waiting to be rescued. They must be proactive to live.
But then, the front of the shuttle was all but soaked from the rain. It may not be as easy as she thought.
Number of days on the planet: 1
Stardate 2256.96
He didn't know how it could have happened.
And now he had to inform the Ambassador to Earth, and his wife, Amanda, of their son's disappearance, assumed death, four hours after a shuttle had malfunctioned, steered them through an asteroid belt and made them untraceable, even by the standards of the U.S.S. Columbia. Captain Stephen Garrovick remained motionless in his captain's quarters. With the death of a highly capable young cadet and a fine Starfleet Commander, and a colleague, he could kiss goodbye his promotion to the U.S.S. Farragut.
"Shit, shit, shit," he cursed and then turned to where the COMMlink was set up.
This was not to be a pleasant conversation. It was never a pleasant conversation to tell the family of a death. It was his duty as a captain, and yet, this seemed, even more difficult. He wondered, would the Ambassador show any emotion to the disappearance and assumed death of his son? It was not an aspect of his job he enjoyed doing, and yet, it was necessary. He connected the COMMlink and waited for the picture to appear.
Sarek of Vulcan was a stern-faced man, like most of the Vulcans Garrovick had met, even his son, who according to Captain Pike, was a sort of funny kind of man in his own sort of way. He was well respected and well liked, and this was not the first time Garrovick had spoken to the Ambassador. This was, however, the first time he had bad news to report.
"Ambassador, I am afraid I have bad news. You may want to sit down," he said.
"It is regarding my son," Sarek said. Garrovick didn't know if it was a question or a statement, though he felt it better to reply nevertheless.
"Yes, I'm afraid it is. Perhaps we should also include your wife in the conversation," he suggested.
"I will relay the information," Sarek said. "Tell me."
"At 1023, Stardate 2256.96, Lieutenant Commander Spock and Cadet Nyota Uhura were engaged in a routine training exercise when the shuttle malfunctioned and was dragged into an asteroid belt. We have been unable to locate them since, they do not appear on the scanners of the U.S.S. Columbia. Sir, we are doing our best to locate the Commander and the Cadet, but it has been four hours and all attempts have proven futile," he said. "I thought it best to inform you and your wife of the incident."
For a moment, Sarek did not speak. Off screen, Garrovick threaded his fingers together nervously.
"We will arrange for transportation aboard," said Sarek. "Inform your transporter room. My wife and I will arrive at 1430."
Garrovick nodded, "We will arrange for living quarters."
"I must inform my wife. You will notify us of any new developments," he said. Garrovick only managed a quick, "of course, sir" before the COMMlink screen died. He leant over to connect to the bridge, to arrange for living quarters for the Ambassador and his wife, then he noted down the codes of the cadet's family, the Uhura compound in Kenya, and began dialling that. This was not going to be any easier, he mused, even though they were human. The link to the bridge was still open.
"Any developments?"
"No sir," said the First Officer Coulson, "Commander Ming and Cadets Ramsay and Jamison have returned from their missions, as routine. Nothing strange to report, though they did have to deviate sixteen percent off course to avoid the asteroid belt. Despite this their shuttles were able to be tracked and communicated the entire time."
Garrovick said, "Good. Let me know of any more developments," and then shut off the link.
It had been a simple training mission. What could have gone wrong inside that asteroid belt? And how was he supposed to be explaining this to Starfleet? But he had much more than to worry about what went wrong – he had to get the Commander and the cadet back, all in one piece, call the Uhura's, and he had to prepare for the Ambassadors visit. He sure hoped this could be figured out soon, but something deep in the pit of his stomach, told him simple and easy solutions just wasn't the way space worked.
So yes, as you can probably tell, this is a crash-landed/stranded fic, but with a twist. Of course, I'm not going to tell you what that twist is, but I hope it sets it apart from the other stranded type fics out there – don't worry, the twist includes major adorkableness from Spock and Uhura. I feel the title of my other Spock/Uhura fanfiction "A Day on the Planet" (insert self-plug here) would have been more suited for this fanfiction, therefore, I've added "day on the planet" little numbers to the end of Spock and Uhura's journey just to keep it cute.
In this timeline, Uhura is a second year cadet, in 2256. Garrovick is the only difference, I suppose, as he is supposed to meet his death in 2257 and he's supposed to be on the Farragut (TOS). Then Vulcan is destroyed in 2258, when Uhura is a fourth year cadet (Alt. R). I hope this makes sense. I know a lot of fanfiction writers don't care much for minor inaccuracies within the plot, but I definitely do and I try my hardest to make sure everything makes sense, so please, if you see something that doesn't make sense in the timeframe, let me know!
If you guys don't mind this introduction, please let me know. It's shorter than what I would have liked, and I was going to introduce Gaila, but she doesn't really have much of a story line at the moment, so though I love the girl dearly, there won't be much of her. I'll post the second chapter in the next few days. Please take the time to review before you go. :)
See you soon
~ Arlia'Devi
