Two Alone

Chapter Three

"Praised be my Lord, for our sister water."

St. Francis of Assisi,

Canticle of the Sun"

Jim woke up as faint light touched the mouth of the cave. He was closer to the entrance, so he could tell it was just breaking dawn. He looked over at Bones who was still sound asleep, snoring softly. He'd go take care of bodily functions then start on the fire pit. Bones could sleep a little longer. After he dug out the fire pit, searching for water would have to be their first priority. He climbed out of the warm sleeping bag as quietly as possible, picked up the canteen to take with him and a couple of the sanitizing wipes. He'd make coffee for them as soon as he got a good fire going. He also put the binoculars around his neck so he could check out their immediate surrounding and all the areas much further away. He glanced at his communicator, it remained silent. Nothing from the ship, so the Romulans must still be traveling toward this solar system.

Jim sighed as he walked. Why couldn't anything ever be simple...it seemed that Enterprise existed within the bubble of Murphy's Law. If anything could go wrong, it did. Spock would say that was illogical, but what he really meant was that that kind of thinking was nonsensical. One of these days Jim was going to have him run stats to determine just how often things that could possibly go wrong for them, did go wrong. If the stats checked out like Jim thought they would, Spock would have to eat his "illogical."

After taking care of physical necessities, Jim came back to the cave, pulled out their small power shovel from their field pack and turned it on. It made short work of the hole he needed for the fire pit. There were plenty of flat rocks to line it with so he got it done quickly.

"Mornin' Jimmy," Leonard said, standing at the mouth of the cave. He looked around for a private area.

"Our make shift latrine's a bit further out behind those rocks," Jim pointed. "Afraid it's small, but it's just the two of us, and I wanted it as unobtrusive as possible. I haven't seen any animals around, but we have to be careful. Be sure you cover everything thoroughly afterward."

"Thanks, Jim." Leonard took his personal necessities, a couple of wipes, then disappeared behind the rocks. When he came back, he looked down at what Jim had done. He'd dug a real fire pit, lined it with rocks then lit a fire. He'd also assembled some kind of tripod out of the wood he'd collected so he could hang one of their collapsible pots from it. "There'll be boiling water for coffee in a minute, Bones. We'll have ration bars for breakfast, save the real food for lunch and supper. Is that okay with you?"

"Jim." Leonard looked admiringly at Jim's handiwork. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me; but hey, you're doin' all the work around here, that's not right. I don't want to be an albatross hangin' around your neck. I wanna' do my part. We're in this fix together."

"Bones! You could never be that. You'll be doing more plenty soon. To start with, how about fixing that area on the back pack for me, then I'd like for you to look at my shoulder. It's still feels a little sore."

"Let me look." Jim stripped off his undershirt while Leonard brought out his Med kit. Jim's muscled shoulder was still pink and slightly irritated, but the blisters were gone; it looked much better. "I'll use the salve one more time, that should do it. It'll be right as rain tomorrow," he said spreading the salve with cool fingers. Jim shivered at the touch, but his shoulder felt better immediately. "Thanks, Bones."

Jim got out the instant coffee essence, put a spoonful in each mug, then added the boiling water, stirring it with his spork. They sat down to eat the ration bars, drink the hot coffee and plan their morning.

"Okay, Bones, as I see it, our first priority is to find water. We'll take the two extra collapsible emergency containers. They each hold three gallons, so that's 6 gallons plus what we already have in the canteens. We'll search in concentric circles around the area where things look the greenest so that way we don't miss anything. I think we're safe to scout around for several hours. Somehow, I don't think the Romulan Warbird was in a big hurry, because there's nothing much in this quadrant. Why speed when you have no particular destination in mind? It saves the engines to temper your speed when you're patrolling. So let's fold up the sleeping bags and the thermal blankets, put them away in our packs and be on our way. We don't want to attract any animals around here."

"Whatever you think best, Jim." They quickly took care of housekeeping chores, then Jim doused the fire. "Jim, Let me have that backpack real quick. I'm going to wrap gauze around the strap, sewing it down real tight. I'll carry it until your shoulder is completely healed."

Jim watched in fascination as Bones wrapped medical gauze around the strap seam, then with needle and suture thread from his med bag, sewed the bandage gauze tight around the strap. His hands worked quickly, deftly, making sure, tiny, back stitches.

"Bones, I didn't know you could do that, that doctors still did that?"' Jim asked, hazel eyes wide.

"Jim! Of course we do. What would happen if regenerators ran out of charge in the middle of an operation or we were stuck somewhere without one. All surgeons have to be proficient at sewing. There, that should do it," he said, showing Jim his neat work.

"Thanks, Bones. It looks great." Jim fingered the gauzed area that covered the seam. It was tight, smooth and neat. "Perfectly done, Doctor." He stood up. "Shall we go? We'll use the binoculars to check the horizon, too. It seems strange to me that we haven't seen any animals anywhere, or even any type of birds or insects. "

"They're probably more afraid of us than we are of them. Imagine this...they've never seen any sentient beings before, probably only other small animals, birds and insects; we're big, tall, bipedal, alien. Of course they're hidin' from us," Leonard told him.

"Good point." Jim took the lead, Leonard put the back pack on his back, checked that his medical bag was across his shoulder, his phaser and communicator clipped to his belt, then followed Jim.

"Bones, let me have the Med bag since you've got the back pack," Jim said stopping suddenly. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes as Leonard pulled the Med bag off himself to hand it to him. "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," Jim murmured, quoting the ancient 'Night Before Christmas.' Thank goodness for small favors. Let's go find us some water."

Dawn had given way to full daylight with the night's coldness receding to a welcomed warmth. They went slowly down the hill, and started walking close to the promontory of massive rocks surrounding the cave, circling it, slowly widening their circle away from it. As they drew away the rocky terrain slowly began turning into, first, tall amber grass, then greener grass, then scrub brush and finally trees. The trees had thick trunks with large canopies meeting overhead. The leaves looked familiar, but yet not quite Earth like. Every bush, plant and tree was almost, but not quite, like the ecology they were familiar with on Earth. The sunlight cast a golden sheen over all the plant life, bringing out the different hues of green; forest, lime, loden, and celery, all lush and very beautiful.

Jim noticed Bones looking at the plants in fascination. "I wish we had time for you to study more of them, Bones, but we don't. Maybe when Enterprise comes back, you Sulu, and a few others can gather more samples."

"My initial scans looked very interesting, Jim. I've isolated and identified medicinal properties in several species but we need further research to be sure. There's so much to research because this planet is an enigma. Why is it that only this area of the planet has flora and animal life?" He sighed in resignation. "I know we don't have the time right now, but some of these plants look really promising for further research. Even here in this Eden, we have the proverbial serpent in paradise, that Romulan Warbird," he groused.

There was a movement behind a copse of smaller trees, and Jim held out an arm to stop Leonard from moving. He put a finger to his lips. They crept forward making no sound, phasers in hand, until they were directly by the tree line. Jim motioned for Leonard to stay put. He crouched down on his hands and knees, crept forward silently, and parted some branches so he could see. The sight stopped his breath. It was a cat-like creature, midway in size between a large house cat and a bobcat. Her fur was dark sable and her large feline eyes were a bright clear green ringed with black. She had three kits with her, and they were drinking water at a small stream. The kits were a lighter sable with white stripes, and they had the same green eyes as their mother. Jim motioned for Bones to creep forward quietly. Leonard set down the backpack, got on his hands and knees and crept to Jim's side. He too drew in a silent breath. The young kitten-like animals were playing: tumbling, and gamboling under the watchful eye of the mama. One of the kits, the most aggressive one, bit one of the other kittens in the ear and it squawked in pain. The mama growled then came forward; she put out a paw and swatted the aggressive little kitten. He looked at her, a deeply shocked expression on his little face. Bones put a hand over his mouth to stop from laughing and Jim grinned widely. The mama uttered a sound, much like a mild roar, and the three kits came quickly to stand around her. Apparently playtime was over. She herded them gently into a line and they left.

Jim and Bones sat down on the grass, letting out their collective breaths. "That was amazing," Jim said softly.

"Cutest thing I've ever seen," Leonard said. "Appears that mamas are the same all over the quadrant, discipline must be maintained in the ranks," he laughed softly.

"Bones, we've got water!" Jim said triumphantly.

"We sure do, and not far from us too," Leonard leaned over to get out his tricorder from the medical bag. "Let's go check it out."

He picked up the backpack while Jim pulled out his phaser, set it on stun and they made their way to the edge of the clearing. Leonard scanned the water. "It's just this side of potable, wouldn't really hurt us to drink it," he said. "Not as clean as the pond we camped by, probably because animals come to drink and bathe in it, but we can use it for cooking for sure, boil it for drinking if we have to," he said in satisfaction.

"That's great, Bones. It's a big load off my mind to find water...and the animals, although I'd hate to kill one if those beautiful creatures for food."

"God, no, Jim! We have plenty of food, and I hope we won't be here that long!"

Jim looked at his chronometer. "Let's get the water back to the cave. I'd like to make one more trip here for more if we can find somewhere to store the water. That would give us another 6 gallons, 12 in all plus the two canteens. That's plenty of water, even enough for a sponge bath and shaving if we're careful."

"That's good, Jim. I don't want us to get so ripe that we'd stink up the sleeping bags or the cave. I know Fleet has some biodegradable soap and bathing wipes in the pack, but fresh water is always best."

"It's going to be slow going, Bones. Three gallons each will get very heavy going back."

"We can manage it. You're very strong, and though I'm skinny, I'm wiry." They filled up the two collapsible containers to begin their walk back to the cave. It was awkward and heavy going carrying the two containers filled with water. It took much longer to walk back; but they managed. They set the containers outside the cave door then sat down to rest . "Bones, the tent material is waterproof. What if we tear a couple of large pieces from the tent floor to make bags to store the water, we have the tarp to use as waterproof flooring. You could sew up the sides," Jim said.

"I know something better and it's just as water proof as the tent material, " Leonard said. "Surgical glue will seal the sides real tight, no possible leaks. I have plenty in the Med kit, it comes standard issued with the all the field med kits. A little goes a long way too, we can spread it out real thin; it'll work great. You'll see."

Jim looked admiringly at him. "Bless Starfleet Medical! Great idea Bones, let's get to work." Jim used his boot knife to cut off two large pieces from the tent floor handing them to Bones. Leonard folded each of the pieces in half to glue the sides together. Then he glued the tops together, leaving only a five inch hole at the top to pour the water in. After the glue bonded, they tested the makeshift water bags by pouring in a little water, not a drop leaked out. Leonard grinned at Jim triumphantly. Jim then cut two more thin strips to tie up the top openings. "That'll do it. Let's go get the rest of the water." He looked at his chronometer. "It's almost noon and I'm getting antsy about that Romulan ship."

They hurried back to the stream and filled up the collapsible containers again. At least this water they could leave stored in the two containers. They came back to the cave as quickly as they could, storing all the precious water inside at the back of the cave. No use taking chances or tempting fate by leaving the water outside where animals or Romulans could find it.

"Let's eat, Bones. Real food this time. I'll get a couple of the ready meals out while you make us some more tea. I don't know about you, but I could use a little rest after lunch. Hauling 12 gallons of water is hard work."

Jim went to the backpack and got out a couple of the flattened ready meals. Fleet prided itself on the quality of their survival meals. All one had to do is press the two ends together. The container expanded heating the food at the same time. These meals had saved many lives since their invention in the late 21st century. They could be transported very easily, they were well balanced, nutritious, and they tasted pretty good too. They sat down to eat drinking their tea. Jim sighed. "It feels good to sit and rest for a little while. I feel a lot better now that we have water available."

"Yeah me, too, Jim." He glanced up at Jim who was standing up again. Jim!" He protested. "Light somewhere and rest, you make me more tired looking at you going up and down like a yo yo."

"I'm just going to scan the perimeter, Bones. Be right back." He pulled the binoculars off his neck then scrambled up to the highest rock formation. The long range sensitive field glasses let him see pretty far, but again there was nothing to see. "Good, " he muttered to himself. He frowned as he looked up, then scrambled quickly back down. "Bones those black clouds forming to the north of us look like heavy storm clouds. We could be in for a bad storm later today. If it gets bad, this cave is pretty shallow and it gets pretty cold in the evening." He looked at the tent. "We need to set up the tent at the entrance pushed up tight against both sides of the cave, the tent opening facing in; it should provide us with some extra shelter. We'll anchor it down in case it gets windy. What do you think?"

Bones looked up at the sky, at the threatening clouds. It caused a deep foreboding sensation in his chest. "I think you're right Jim. We certainly don't need to get soaked as well as cold. Exposure isn't good, and we sure didn't being any cold weather or rain gear. Let's see if your tent idea will work." He looked down at the nice fire Jim had made. "It's a shame about the fire though."

"We'll have to take the wood in the cave to keep it dry, otherwise we won't have a fire tomorrow morning. Let's do that first." They carried the wood Jim had gathered, stacking it as far back in the cave as possible; they also put the backpack, field pack and Med kit on top of the stacked wood. Jim looked up at the swiftly darkening sky, already seeing flashes of lightning in the distance as he quickly gathered their collapsible pots and mugs to bring them inside the cave too.

Bones was already opening the small two man tent. It was a simple matter of moving the open tent to the mouth of the cave and more or less wedging it in at the cave entrance with the tent door facing the inside of the cave. Jim anchored it down, and for good measure weighed down what remained of the tent floor with some heavy rocks. Then they placed the two sleeping bags half in and half out of the tent to give them more room to spread out. The cave was a little crowded with all the stored water, the neatly stacked wood, the field and back packs, the Med kit and their cooking equipment, but everything was safely inside the cave now. They had just finished when the first flash of lightning lit up the cave, and a booming clap of thunder followed; then the rain started beating down hard against the tent. The wind picked up speed and the temperature began to drop.

The two men sat inside the tent with their feet and legs tucked inside the sleeping bags. Their sitting bodies and spread legs provided more weight to the tarp that was the tent floor. The tent swayed a little with the force of the wind, but the Starfleet issued tent was indeed water proof. The amount of rain that seeped in along the two sides of the cave was minimal since they had wedged the tent so tightly at the entrance. Jim turned to Bones and leaned in to be heard above the sound of the storm. "Snug as can be," he smiled. "Are you cold, Bones?"

"Nope. This is great, Jim. We'll ride out the storm in fine shape just like this."