AN: I DONT OWN STAR TREK OR ANY OF THE CHARACTER EXCEPT THE ONES I CAME UP WITH ON MY OWN. THIS STORY IS IN THE BEGINNING STAGES AND THIS IS THE FIRST CHAPTER. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. THIS FIRST CHAPTER DOESN'T REALLY FOCUS ON THE MAIN CHARACTERS BUT AS THE STORY PROGRESSES IT WILL I PROMISE! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. THANK YOU!
"Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 53160.4. The past four weeks have been quiet, too quiet. Mr Neelix has made me aware of our dwindling food stuffs and has suggested we restock at the first opportunity. We have come across an M Class planet which holds out hope of being a treasure trove of food as well as much needed mineral deposits. The crew, ever diligent, are doing their best to hide their cabin fever - but they are failing. I have put together an away team that I feel will both benefit from the time off ship, and will also be successful in gathering the needed supplies. With any luck, we should be underway in two days time. Our course, as always, will be set for home."
/
Ensign Daniels was about to embark on his first away mission and he had been overjoyed when his request to accompany the away-team was granted by Captain Janeway. The sensors had picked up a beautiful jungle planet the previous day. The crew of Voyager had been both surprised and excited to discover it contained many food-stuffs and vital elements needed by engineering. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the planet was uninhabited - making the procurement of supplies much easier.
Daniels had been assigned to the food gathering detail lead by Mr. Neelix. He knew that the Captain probably agreed to his request simply to appease him, after denying him the opportunity countless times in the past. He hadn't had the best track record in the past, but he hoped to change that by performing well on this mission.
After receiving the captain's final approval to join the away mission, he downloaded and memorized the procedure's manual pertaining to his assignments. It had taken him all night, but he was too excited to sleep anyway. It was the better use of his time then tossing and turning in bed. The following morning, his hands trembled with nervous energy as he packed a small bag with essentials he would need during his deployment. It would simply be an overnight stay, but he managed to fill the entire bag before he realized he had no more room for a clean pair of socks and underwear. Standing still, contemplating his next move, he decided an extra pair of socks and underwear weren't 'essential' and he would be fine without them.
"Let's hope I'm only gone for one night." He said to himself aloud before he snatched his bag off the bed and hurried out of his quarters.
As he entered the transporter room, he was pleased to see he was not the last, or the first, to arrive. He was able to enter without being noticed, which suited him fine as he was generally shy and didn't like to be the center of attention. Noticing Neelix against the far wall of the room, he quickly made his way over to him to get further details regarding the mission and his assignment.
"Ah, Mr. Daniels. You've arrived!" Neelix smiled exuberantly and patted Daniel's shoulder. Even at this early hour, Neelix was his usual chipper self. "I take it you were able to get plenty of rest?"
"Plenty." Daniels lied.
"Wonderful. Now, please come with me. You and the rest of the team need to get acquainted. I want my team to be comfortable with each other before we leave." Neelix indicated to Daniels to leave his bag with the rest of them that had been stacked along the wall.
"That won't be necessary, I..." Daniels replied, not particularly excited about a meet-and-greet. Generally, he knew everyone aboard Voyager, the ship wasn't that big. But he was far from friends with everyone aboard ship, in fact, he couldn't really name anyone he was close enough to call a friend.
"Nonsense, come with me." Neelix took his hand and lead him to the rest of the team that waited a couple meters away - already getting to know one another better.
Daniels reluctantly allowed himself to be lead to the rest of the group. While he was nervous, and dreaded the awkward introduction he knew awaited him, he was willing to go through whatever it took to make this a successful mission. He desperately needed a result where the Captain would be pleased with him, but more importantly, one where he could finally be proud of himself. After years of screwing up, barely getting by, and narrowly escaping getting caught, he hoped this would be the first step in turning over that proverbial new leaf.
"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" Neelix waited for everyone to finish their sentences and turn their attention to him. "This is Ensign Daniels. I'm sure everyone here knows each other, at least a little bit?" Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Hi." Daniels' voice sounded small, even to his own ears. He offered a smile and was surprised when nearly everyone smiled back. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all, he thought to himself.
"Does anyone have any questions?" Neelix asked the group.
At first, no one spoke.
"I know this is the first away mission for more then one of you here this morning. There has to be at least one of you with questions?" Neelix prodded the team.
Finally, someone spoke up.
"Are we going to have weapons assigned to us?" Ensign Gracie Stephens asked.
"Ah. A very good question, Gracie. The simple answer to that is, no. There are three separate teams on this away-mission. Our group, which is assigned the task of gathering food stuffs. The engineering group, who are assigned the task of collecting mineral deposits used in the warp core and weapons manufacturing. The third group is the security detail. They will have the weapons."
Neelix looked from one member of the group to the next. He saw apprehension in their eyes and added, "The planet is uninhabited. There is evidence of predatory animal life, thus the security detail. But don't worry, there is relatively no risk. The Captain gave me her assurance." Neelix hoped the mention of the Captain's word on the matter would help to solidify their confidence. He was pleased to see it had the desired affect.
"I have a question." Daniels spoke up, surprising even himself.
"Yes, Mr. Daniels?"
"Do you have a list with descriptions of all the varieties of vegetation we are to collect?"
"Why, in fact I do. I took the liberty of downloading an image and brief description of each of the varieties of plants we are after." Neelix handed each of the team members a small data chip. "Simply scan that information into your tricorder, and we'll be set for departure."
The entire team quickly downloaded the information they had been given, into their tricorders. Shortly thereafter, the group was ready and eager to depart.
Daniels made is way through the crowded transporter room in search of his overnight bag. He wanted to take the last few minutes before they left, to double check his supplies. He arrived at the wall where he thought he left his bag, but it wasn't there. He turned around and began frantically searching the surrounding area. Surely, no one had taken it?
"What's the problem, Mark?" Daniels was knocked off guard at the utterance of his first name. No one had called him Mark, since before he came aboard Voyager five years earlier. He turned around to see who had just spoken to him.
"Um..." Daniel's ability to speak had suddenly left evaporated as he saw who had addressed him. It was none other then, Gracie Stephens. His heart began to pound, and he could feel the sweat begin to form beads on his top lip.
"If you're looking for your bag, I'm pretty sure they transported it to the surface already." Gracie smiled at him.
"Um..." Daniels' voice squeaked. Um? Really? That's the best you could come up with? You're such an idiot. He chastised himself for not being able to talk to her. While he had never been one to comfortably speak with anyone aboard ship, Daniels had never been able to complete a full sentence when addressing Gracie. She was just too beautiful, smart, and out-right intimidating.
"Ok, well...I guess I'll see you on the surface then?" Gracie smiled again and took a deep breath before turning around to leave.
"Gr...um...hey!" Daniels called after her. "Thanks."
Gracie glanced momentarily back over her shoulder before proffering a quick nod and continued on her way.
"Man, you're smooth." Daniels heard the words come from behind him just before a heavy hand patted him on the shoulder. He turned around and found Ensign Joseph Morales standing there with a look of pity smeared across his face.
"I know. She probably thinks I have some incurable mental disorder that renders me completely and utterly doomed to my own stupidity." Daniels actually enjoyed JoMo, as he liked to call him. He would have to be the closest thing to a friend he had the past five years aboard Voyager.
They had been roommates aboard Voyager since the beginning, and JoMo knew the difficult time Daniels had getting to know people. At first, JoMo tried everything he could think of to bring Daniels out of his self-imposed shell - with no success. Now, he simply accepted that his friend was shy and needed time to let others get to know him.
"Aw, I don't think its all that bad, but man you have got to get some new moves. Ha! The ones you're using are not good. Not good at all." The two shared a quick laugh before they heard their names announced by the transporter operator.
"Well, I guess it's our turn to transport down." JoMo said.
The two men made their way up to the transporter pad, along with the rest of the team, and awaited the familiar disorientation of transport. The last thing Daniels thought about, before his decompilation into the pattern buffers, was how after this mission was completed, he was going to ask Gracie to join him in the mess-hall for a meal.
/
When his atoms were finally recompiled upon the planet's surface, his first thought was something had gone horribly wrong. Struggling to inhale, the thick-humid air immediately covered him in a blanket of moisture - limiting his body's natural cooling system. As if the sensation of drowning wasn't bad enough, the stifling heat, and surprisingly loud chirps and rings of insect life, brought about a sudden feeling of disorientation.
Daniels struggled to remain calm. He stood hunched over with his palms pressed to his ears, trying to muffle the noise that had begun to make his head spin. Feeling weak in the knees, he momentarily entertained the thought of simply lowering himself to the ground - curled up into a ball.
"...an...ey!" He thought he heard someone attempt to call to him. Lifting his head, he spotted a member of the security detail approaching him quickly.
"Ensign, are you alright?" The guard again attempted to talk to him.
"Yes. I think so. I just felt..."
"Not to worry, it happens to some people when they first transport down. The environment is extremely different than what's on Voyager. Its nearly thirty-six degrees Celsius, with ninety percent humidity. If that's not bad enough, many of the insects here communicate on the same frequency of vibration as the human eardrum - it can be deafening."
"I felt...dizzy." Daniels couldn't come up with a better description.
"Yes, the disorientation will start to subside as your body adjusts to the new environmental conditions." The guard patted him on the shoulder in way of reassurance before searching out others that may be suffering the same as Daniels.
Daniels watched the guard walk away. He could feel his clothes cling to him like a statically charged balloon, only they were wet and uncomfortable - bordering on sufficating. In hopes of finding a solution to his breathing difficulties, he fought hard against the irrational urge to tear his clothes off.
Spotting his fellow teammates a few meters away, he caught up with them as they headed off to collect their overnight bags. They were also going to need their supply bags to gather the food-stuffs. As he dragged his bags through the dense ground cover, he quickly realized, that he should have made room for the extra socks and underwear. His were already soaked through, and it wouldn't be long before he started to smell. Never a good thing to happen when trying to impress someone as perfect as Gracie Stephens.
"Gather around everyone!" Neelix waved his arms in a grand sweeping motion.
Daniels was secretly glad to see that he was not the only one who appeared to be suffering from the planetary conditions. JoMo had rivers of sweat dripping off his nose and ears. He looked like he had been swimming in his uniform.
"Hey buddy, you doing ok?" JoMo asked.
"Yah. Man this heat is rough." Daniels replied as he wiped the sweat from his face with his forearm. "I see Gracie seems to be coping pretty well though."
Gracie stood a couple feet away. She was clearly hot, and breathed heavily, as she waited for Neelix to address the team. However, to Daniels, she looked even more beautiful with glistening skin, and hair that no longer wanted to stay perfectly quaffed into a ponytail. She turned in their direction and smirked as she saw the two boys, who at first were staring, and then who were quickly attempting to appear nonchalant and absorbed in what Neelix was saying.
"I can assure you, that in no time at all, you will adjust to the conditions here. Remember to drink plenty of water and rest if you start to feel disoriented or light-headed." Neelix directed his team over to their bags. "Let's get started, shall we?"
The team, eager to distract themselves from the oppressive conditions, hurried over to get the equipment needed to identify and harvest the edible vegetation.
/
Daniels started to wonder if the tricorder was indeed waterproof. The sweat dripped from his hair and face regardless of how many times he wiped them dry. His tricorder bleeped. At least it's still working, he thought to himself. A picture of a plant, similar to a beet found on earth, was directly ahead of him. Kneeling down, he dug through the tall grass until he found the edible vegetable. Finding that it was easier to pull them out of the ground if he dug a small hole directly in front of it, he did just that. After wiping his brow, he pulled hard and upwards toward himself at the same time - the root gave way quite easily. After placing the item in his bag, he decided now was as good a time as any, to have a quick break and a sip of water.
"Hey, Daniels! Any good finds over here?" JoMo came walking up to his friend and sat beside him. The two men rested under a large leafy tree, and wished that the shade had provided some escape from the intense heat and humidity. Their wish was not granted.
"I found at least fifteen kilograms of capenagra root. I sure hope it tastes good." Daniels smirked.
"Ha! Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants. We spend all this time and effort out here collecting food for everyone and only to find out it tastes like some kind of Klingon delicacy." Both men laughed followed by a simultaneous shudder.
After sitting silently for a few minutes, the two friends got up and turned their tricorders back into active mode.
"I guess we should get back to work. I'd hate to get reprimanded for being lazy on my first away-mission." Daniels said.
"You know, I really wanted to tell you that...I'm really proud of you for coming along." JoMo shifted uncomfortably as he attempted to share his personal opinion.
"What? Come on, man. Let's not get all gushy." Daniels looked away, anywhere but directly at his roommate.
JoMo smiled and gave his friend a quick side hug before giving him a rough push aside.
"Get back to work." JoMo smiled and walked off toward a clump of promising-looking shrubs that might be hiding some edible plants.
Daniels was surprised to realize he was still smiling. JoMo had said just what he had needed to hear. For the first time in five years, he felt like maybe, just maybe, he had made a real friend aboard Voyager. Things were looking up already.
His tricorder bleeped - more capenagra root dead ahead. He plodded heavily through the long grass as he made his way deeper into the surrounding wooded area.
"Daniels! Stay in the clearing!" JoMo called out to him. Neelix had instructed the team to stay in the open. There were predatory creatures on this planet and it was easier for the security detail to monitor the team in the clearing.
"I'm fine." Daniels waved his arm to his friend, but didn't look back in his direction. He was only going to be a couple meters into the wooded area, well within visual range of the rest of the team.
A shadow passed by his peripheral vision while he was knelt in the grass digging up the cluster of roots he had just located. Startled, he looked up quickly, but saw exactly what he expected to see - trees. Rolling his eyes at his own overactive imagination, he busied himself at the task at hand.
Crack
Again Daniels looked up, this time his heart rate increased ten fold. He was sure, had he not already been sweating, he would have felt the familiar moist underarms and upper lip that always came when he was terrified.
Snap
The sound of a dried twig cracking, drew his attention to the left. At first he saw nothing but trees. He fought to control his breathing and the nervous energy that was bubbling up from within him. He closed his eyes, took two deep breaths, and reopened them.
Still nothing but trees.
Momentary relief passed over him like a cool breeze.
Something hot brushed past his ear. Reflexively, he grabbed for it. He wasn't surprised it was dripping wet, but what did surprise him was it dripped with blood - his blood.
He turned around to run for the clearing, only to stop dead in his tracks. A figure stood before him. Silhouetted by the sun, Daniels could only make out the vague outline of a large humanoid standing in his way of escape.
"Hello...I'm Da..." The second projectile passed through his upper right chest and hit the tree directly behind him. He looked down at the small hole left behind and marveled at how quickly his blood began to ooze from it.
He could feel himself begin to loose consciousness and desperately tried to remain standing and alert.
"Daniels! I said you're not..." JoMo rushed into the wooded area looking for his friend, but stopped short when he too saw the large humanoid standing near his friend. Next, he noticed a steady stream of blood dripping from Daniels' chest. Panic surged through the large ensign's body.
The alien turned toward JoMo, who quickly tapped his comm-badge and alerted the security team. The alien reached for another projectile he carried in a sheath on his back. He drew it out and placed it onto a bow-like weapon and aimed it at Daniels. JoMo rushed toward his friend.
"No! Daniels!" JoMo screamed.
Daniels saw that the alien had been distracted and rushed for the clearing. As he passed by his attacker, he glanced back to see JoMo charge the alien. The Starfleet ensign lowered his shoulder and rammed the large man. The alien simply shifted his own weight, allowing JoMo's body to slide past his own, before he shoved him hard to the ground. Daniels watched in horror as he saw his friend struggle to stand. The alien deftly drew a small spear and plunged it into JoMo's temple. Daniels' reality seemed to slow, as he watched his friend's body violently twitch. Blood seeped from his nose and mouth, and the sound of gurgling intensified as JoMo attempted to breath. Seconds passed like days, as Daniels witnessed the death of his best, and only friend. JoMo's body went limp - lifeless.
Daniels was about to return to the fight when two security personnel entered the wooded area with phasors drawn. The large alien stood up, raised both his arms above his head, and released a blood curdling scream. Daniels felt a deep chill for the first time since stepping foot on this planet.
The security detail opened fire, but not before two more men stepped out from behind trees with their own weapons drawn. The aliens seemed to appear from no where. They blended into the trees and surrounding flora, their camouflage had been made perfectly for the surrounding environment. Daniels turned and ran for the clearing. He could hear the screams of the security personnel behind him. Unsure if the phase rifles had no affect, or if they simply didn't have the time to fire long enough, it was obvious to everyone in earshot, the natives were winning this battle.
"Neelix! Neelix!" Daniels ran toward the rest of his team.
Everyone looked up at him in surprise.
"What's going on ensign?" Neelix asked.
"We aren't alone. Shots fired." Daniels was laboring to breath under the conditions and his own injury.
"You're bleeding." Gracie rushed over and placed her hand on his seeping wound. "We need to get you medical attention. What happened?"
Neelix tapped his comm-badge.
"Neelix to security team alpha."
No response.
"Neelix to security team beta."
No response.
"Oh dear." Neelix began to wring his hands together. "Neelix to Voyager."
"Voyager here, go ahead Neelix." Harry Kim answered almost immediately.
"We need to have immediate beam out of all teams. We are under attack." Neelix nearly screamed his request.
"Attack?" Harry's voice no longer sounded calm and confident.
"Neelix, this is the Captain. What's going on down there?"
"The Security teams are not responding, one of my team members has been attacked. We need immediate beam out."
"Stand-by." Janeway answered.
The whistling sound of arrows could be heard from the surrounding wooded area. The team, which had gathered around Daniels, looked up in horror as projectiles rained down on them like a swarm of killer bees. Screams downed out the sounds of insects, as one team member after another dropped to the ground - impaled by multiple projectiles.
Daniels last conscious thoughts were of his friend JoMo, the man who tried to save him. He only hoped his sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. He could hear the whine of the transporters and hoped that everyone would make it out alive. Hopes that would ultimately be dashed.