Chapter Three: Trying to Make Contact
The refuge Data for his crew discovered was comprised of a copse of trees growing next to a semi-circle of tumbled rocks, reaching about eight to nine meters in height. There was a nice hollow in the middle where they could put their backs against a wall of sorts.
"Worf, you and Data will stand guard," Picard ordered as he settled Deanna against the trunk of one tree. "Set phasers to stun, but don't use them unless absolutely necessary. For all we know, the natives are friendly here."
"Captain," Worf replied with a curt nod. His warrior side tempted him to change the setting on his phaser, but he had his orders.
Both android and Klingon moved to hide just inside the protective branches of their sanctuary. They made the necessary adjustments to their side arms, Worf keeping his at the ready while Data reholstered his. He was more curious about the natural inhabitants than he felt any need to neutralize them.
Instead, Data held out his tricorder, scanning the area. "I am detecting six individuals heading towards this location," he reported. "They appear to be humanoid in form, though one is decidedly larger than the others. I do not believe the larger entity is of organic composition. Scans suggest an artificial body, though I am having trouble do to some kind of mineral content masking my readings."
Picard looked up from administering to his unconscious companion. "Another android?"
"Unknown," Data replied. "However, scans suggest the other five share the same or at least similar physical characteristics of humans in that they are bipedal with upper appendages. Beyond that, I cannot tell due to the mineral compounds in the area. It is possible at least one of them is more animal in nature than the others."
The captain seemed a bit surprised at that. It wasn't unlike Q to show some form of mercy, even if the alien had a twisted sense of humor. "Let us hope they are friendly whatever they might be."
"I do not like it, Captain," Worf commented from his perch on a branch. "Recommend we neutralize these natives before they decide to harm us."
But Picard shook his head. "Data, do you detect anything that would suggest this planet has achieved warp technology?"
"I have not," the android responded.
"Then we can hardly go and attack a curious party of natives," Picard admonished. "Remember the Prime Directive. These people are likely primitive, having never seen an alien before in their lifetime."
Worf frowned at that but kept his phaser at the ready. "Yes sir."
Hiro held up one hand, silently telling his team to hold up. Baymax had moved ahead a few paces before stopping, but when he did, he looked back to see what his primary patient was doing. "Let's not rush into things," the boy said quietly. "They're probably just as scared of us as we are of them."
"Oh, so now you're scared," Wasabi griped, but both of the girls hushed him.
Fred flipped his mask back into place the moment they entered the forested area. It was the best defense he had against a branch whacking him upside the head. That and he really just liked wearing it. "If I were in their shoes, I'd be scared too. After all, we do look pretty awesome and potentially scary."
GoGo shook her head at the mascot, rolling her eyes. "You think they're hiding in that area over there?" She pointed to a dense section of trees that pressed up against a rock incline.
Baymax tilted his head slightly in that direction. "GoGo is correct. The small group has taken refuge in that direction. It would appear that two members of their party have taken up positions in the trees. I believe one of them is holding a weapon of some kind, though I cannot be certain of this."
Wasabi's eyes went wide at that admission. "Weapons? Oh heck no. I am not traipsing over there when some hostile alien might shoot us down just because we don't look like them. Not happening." He planted his fee to emphasize his point.
Hiro let out a frustrated breath. "How do you think we look to them?" he reminded, looking pointedly at their super suits. Their gear, in all its bright glory, as Fred had pointed out, wasn't exactly as non-threatening as something like jeans and a t-shirt. Especially not if the people they were facing had never seen anything like that before. "I'm going to try and talk to them," he decided as he started forward.
"This isn't going to end well," Wasabi warned with a shake of his head.
Baymax placed a restraining hand on Hiro's shoulder. "I recommend using caution," he said. "The two males appear to be distressed and may mistake any overtures you make as acts of aggression."
"Baymax is right," Honey Lemon spoke up. "I'm going with you. That way you'll at least have someone to watch your back."
Hiro looked up to the tall female with an expression of determination. Of the party, Honey Lemon held the most compassion and empathy. She was a good choice for this kind of thing. "Let's go," he said, striding forward once more. Baymax, despite a desire to stay by Hiro's side, didn't follow.
When they were within five odd meters of the copse of trees, Hiro stopped. His hands had suddenly begun to sweat, images of previous alien encounters filling the back of his mind. How would this turn out?
Worf had to move, causing his sturdy perch to shake ever so slightly, the leaves rustling. "They have split into two parties," he announced, keeping an eye on the brightly colored group ahead of them. "Two are approaching this direction."
"Remain calm," Picard reminded as he looked up. He slowly got to his feet and moved a few paces closer to the edge of the thicket. "We don't want to provoke them."
Data continued to scan the individuals with his tricorder. "They appear to be wearing some strange form of armor. I do not believe I have ever seen anything like it before. It seems designed to stand out instead of blend in with their surroundings. I also detect that this armor is the source of the unknown mineral blocking my scans."
That brought the captain up short. "What kind of warrior race tries to stand out?" he mused. Apparently this planet was far from ordinary.
"They have stopped moving," Worf reported. "The two are now standing approximately five meters from our current position."
Picard could see the brightly colored armor through the branches. Well, one was brightly colored. The other seemed designed to blend into the shadows of night, being black and deep purple in color. The other was hard to miss with its pink and red top, though the black leggings hardly seemed like battle-appropriate wear. Nor were the high-heeled boots this obvious female was wearing. What he wasn't sure about was the bag she had slung over one shoulder. Their headgear was decidedly not the most practical for combat either, with protrusions at the top stretched like Vulcan ears.
And if he looked out further, he could make out a giant wearing red, a splash of yellow, and possibly something green that didn't fit in with the rest of the foliage. But the other creature, because he couldn't think of any other way of describing it, was something else entirely. Maybe a pet? It stood upright like a man, so maybe it was something more. After all, it was possible that whatever it was could be sentient as well.
"Your orders, Captain," Worf reminded.
Picard didn't see anything threatening from the stance of the two closest to them. One was decidedly shorter than the other, though it was a bit difficult to judge actual height from the distance between them. "Let's wait and see if they try to communicate."
Honey turned to face Hiro, looking at him with compassion, mixed in with a bit of worry. "Are you sure about this?" She would understand if he changed his mind.
The boy looked up to her with somewhat frightened eyes. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit scared. This was an unknown, and even though they'd dealt a lot with the unknown lately, this somehow felt completely different. He took a deep breath, knowing Baymax was behind them, keeping an eye on his, and everyone else's vitals. "I can do this," he said, more to himself than to her.
The pink-clad chemist took his hand in one of hers and gave him an encouraging squeeze. "We're all behind you," she reminded.
Hiro nodded, a look of determination filling his eyes. He didn't know if these guys spoke English or not, though he wasn't sure if it mattered. The important thing was to try and find a way to communicate without getting shot with whatever weapons their… what was the right word? intended rescuees? had on them.
Looking around, Hiro noticed a decent-sized rock. It was about the size of a baseball. "Do you have a pen or a marker?" he asked Honey Lemon. He wasn't too surprised when she pulled one out for him to use. He picked up the rock and scribbled something on it, hoping they could read English. Then he tossed it towards the trees.
"Incoming," Data announced as the figure in black and purple lobbed a rock towards them. It didn't quite go high enough for him to catch so he had to scoop it up from the ground instead as he jumped down to the forest floor. Turning it over in his hands, he moved to take it to the captain.
Picard moved forward enough to intercept him. "What is it, Data?"
The android held out the rock. "I believe they are trying to communicate with us. It is entirely possible they are as yet unsure of our nature, just as we are of theirs." He placed the rock in the captain's hand.
At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything unusual about the stone his officer had given him. But when he turned it over, Picard saw some hastily scrawled letters. "It's in English," he announced with some surprise. He then moved the rock to try and cipher what their visitors were trying to tell them. "It says 'We come in peace'."
Well that was simple enough, standard vernacular for "don't shoot us". At the very least, it was a form of truce flag. And as Captain, Picard couldn't ignore it. After all, they were trying to make contact. Unfortunately, they didn't exactly have anything they could use to write back.
"Stand down," Picard ordered Worf, realizing the Klingon still had his phaser out. "I don't believe they intend to harm us. The question remains, however, how do we convey to them that we don't mean to harm them?"
Data contemplated this for a moment. "Captain, if I may suggest, I believe it would be prudent to send one of our party to meet with them, seeing as we do not have any other means of communicating with them except for face to face."
Picard nodded. "I'd come to the same conclusion. The only question is who. The obvious choice is, of course, myself."
"Unacceptable," Worf interrupted. "If you should be attacked—"
But the captain waved him aside. "I thought we'd already established they're only trying to communicate. However, if it makes you feel better, you may have your phaser at the ready should they attack. But keep the setting on stun. We don't want to antagonize them unnecessarily."
A quick glance at Data confirmed this strategy as the most logical. If they sent Worf, there was no way of knowing what would happen. It was very likely these natives had never seen an alien before, and they definitely didn't want to scare away any potential help. And though Data would also be a good choice, the captain was right in thinking it should be him who approached the strangers.
Seeing as his officers were in agreement, albeit a bit reluctantly on one part, Picard straightened his uniform, brushing off the dirt that had collected there. He'd retrieved his jacket when it had become unnecessary to use as a sling right off the bat. "Very well," he said to no one in particular. "Let us see what they have to say. Since they can write in English, I am hoping they also speak it."
