Colonization 101
author: Juli17
Act Two:
The first rotation of the second day was underway, and the doctor was complaining. "We're falling behind schedule."
Tom snorted. "Yesterday you said we were making good progress." He bit into a ration bar and grimaced, glad he only had to eat one meal a day in this program. He was already anticipating a good steak for dinner.
Harry glared at the doctor. "Most of us are new at this, Doc."
"Which is exactly the reason for this drill, Lieutenant."
"You could have made the weather more cooperative," Tom groused. The rain had stopped for the moment, but he was still damp. It could be worse though. After the third rotation of colonists yesterday had endured a downpour, he'd figured out that wearing his uniform wasn't a good idea, even stripped down to the regulation t-shirt. Today he was wearing a non-regulation cotton shirt and pants, and quite a few others had chosen more comfortable clothing also. The doctor had immediately questioned the likelihood of salvaging their clothing, but a hastily packed duffel wasn't impossible in the time frame of his evacuation, so he'd let it stand.
"Weather is a changeable phenomenon, Mister Paris. If you're going to be an asset to a colony, you should be able to function under even the most uncomfortable circumstances, and a little rain is far from that."
"That's easy to say when you're a hologram," Pablo Baytart said sourly. "You don't really get wet."
The doctor shrugged. "I realize that I am superior to organic beings in virtually every area, but I can't help that, Mister Baytart."
Tom wasn't the only one who rolled his eyes.
"At least the rain does cool things off," Lora Jenkins commented, seeing the bright side as usual.
"And we had the mess hall foundation poured before the rain started."
"Good thing," Tom agreed with Marla Gilmore. Duracrete set almost immediately, but it would have been impossible to pour it in the middle of a rainstorm.
"We have constructed two buildings in twenty-three hours," Icheb said. "Given the lack of prior experience, I believe the crew's performance has been commendable."
"Yeah." Tom grinned as the doctor gave Icheb an annoyed look. Icheb had joined the construction crew today, and had taken immediately to it, as he did to virtually all things. He was one of those people who were annoyingly proficient at everything they did, but Tom still couldn't help liking him. And he was also glad to see Icheb looking more relaxed after the displaced guilt that had weighed him down just a few weeks ago. "You seem to be enjoying this."
"I always appreciate broadening my knowledge with new experiences, Lieutenant Paris," Icheb said. "Besides benefiting physical health, did you know that strenuous physical activity releases endorphins in most humanoid species that relieve emotional and mental stress?"
Tom grinned. "I do recall that fact. A few things the doctor has taught me have actually rubbed off."
"Nice to know my efforts have not been completely in vain," the doctor said dryly.
"Are you also enjoying the program, Lieutenant Paris?" Icheb asked.
"Ah, Mister Neelix and his party have returned," the doctor noted, diverting everyone's attention. "It looks like they are bringing something to garnish the 'blocks of cinder' as I believe you called the Starfleet rations, Mister Baytart."
Neelix, Naomi and Renley Sharr were headed their way, all carrying full sacks. They'd gone to the woods near the river to scavenge for edible plants and fruits and apparently they'd been successful.
"Bringing us gifts?" Jenkins asked eagerly.
Neelix let the sack he'd been carrying drop to the ground. He smiled widely as he pulled it open. "We have berries we found on bushes by the riverbank, and this lovely yellow fruit that grows on some trees in the same area." He held up the item in question, a plump yellow fruit the size of an orange. "I have it on Naomi's authority that it tastes like a cross between a peach and a strawberry."
Naomi grinned and nodded, but the doctor spoke before she could. "I assume you analyzed the fruit before you allowed Naomi to eat it."
Neelix, who'd been foraging for foodstuff to supplement supplies on Voyager for years, looked offended. "Of course we did. We know better than to eat anything that isn't thoroughly tested."
"Excellent," the doctor replied. "Be frugal," he added, as Neelix began passing out the yellow fruits while Naomi and Sharr offered everyone handfuls of the lavender berries. "We have limited rations and grain stores, and it will be many weeks before any crops are produced from our seed stock."
"I sure wish someone would cure the doctor of his Napoleon complex," Harry muttered under his breath as Naomi offered him some berries.
"How likely is that?" Tom murmured, then returned Naomi's grin as she handed him his share of berries.
"How is the mess hall coming?" Neelix asked eagerly, though he could see for himself.
"If we apply ourselves, it should be finished by the end of the day," the doctor said. "For the moment it will also serve as a general meeting place until we can add another building to serve that purpose."
"Don't start decorating too soon," Tom told Neelix.
"Can't we think of a name more better name than 'mess hall'?" Marla asked. "Something more suitable to a planetary environment?"
"Right," Baytart agreed. "On a planet an eating establishment is a restaurant, and it usually has a name. Maybe we could call it something like 'Neelix's Place'." He grinned at Neelix.
"A restaurant," Neelix repeated, clearly pleased with the concept. "I suppose that's what it would be."
"My aunt in Wyoming has a restaurant called 'Monica's Grub'," Jenkins commented.
"Neelix's Grub..." Naomi, who had settled herself next to Icheb, tried out that title.
"On Rynax it was common to name a restaurant after its most popular dish," Neelix said.
"Anything but 'The Leola Root,' Neelix," Marla begged.
"Unfortunately leola root won't be available on the colony." Neelix shook his head sadly, though nobody else looked particularly heartbroken. "But I do remember a little cafe on Rynax called 'The Grilled Intestine.' The food there was quite tasty-"
"Yuck!" Naomi practically shrieked. "That is *not* a good name for a restaurant, Neelix. You won't get any customers."
"That would not be the case, since it will be the only place to eat in the settlement-"
Naomi rolled her eyes, and Tom rescued Icheb from his literal nature. "Maybe you should go with something less body part oriented, Neelix. You could always stick with a classic, like 'Chez Neelix'."
"Chez Neelix," Neelix repeated. He smiled. "It does have a certain ring to it."
"Speaking of names, Doctor, is there going to be a name for our colony?" Sharr asked.
The doctor pursed his lips thoughtfully. "That is a very good question, Crewman. I'll let you know as soon as I come up with one."
Tom snorted. "If it's going to take as long as it has to come up with your own name, don't bother."
"What on Earth!"
Everyone turned at Jenkins's exclamation to see several people running toward the settlement site from a small rise just to the north. It took only a moment to recognize one of the engineering teams that had gone in that direction earlier to check out some nearby mineral deposits.
"What is the great rush, Mister Mulcahey?" the doctor asked, as the ensign reached him and doubled over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"We saw a...thing!"
The doctor's eyebrows rose. "A...thing?"
"An animal," Freddie Bristow clarified as he stopped next to Mulcahey, breathing hard himself. "It was huge, at least three meters tall, maybe four, and it was bipedal and very hairy. It looked like those pictures of an ancient animal on Earth called Bigfoot."
Tom let out a bark of laughter, then covered it with a cough. "Uh, Bigfoot was a myth, Freddie."
"Maybe on Earth, but you should have seen this thing. It was huge!" Mulcahey spread his arms for effect.
"Is this true, Lieutenant?" the doctor asked as Joe Carey arrived at a more leisurely lope, with Vorik following a few steps behind at an equally unhurried pace.
Joe shrugged. "I didn't see it. Neither did Vorik."
"Mulcahey and I were a few meters away, finishing our readings on some rocks, when it suddenly appeared in front of us," Freddie said.
"Did it try to attack you?" Jenkins asked.
Mulcahey frowned. "I don't know. We ran."
"Maybe it just wanted to ask for directions."
Sharr and Baytart sniggered, while the doctor shot Harry a quelling look.
"It could be a sentient species." Tom grinned. "We should try to make first contact, and shake its hand or something."
"We did a complete survey of the planet, Mister Paris," the doctor said tartly. "There are no sentient species."
"We did not catalogue any animals of this size either," Vorik pointed out.
"Standard surveys do sometimes miss small populations of flora and fauna. In any case, it was probably more frightened of you than you were of it."
Mulcahey and Bristow gave the doctor a look a pure disbelief.
"You have phasers with you as a precaution when you leave the settlement boundaries. If anyone encounters such an animal again it should be a simple matter to stun it if it makes a threatening move."
Tom wondered if the doctor knew more about the animal than he was revealing. He'd programmed the simulation after all, even if he claimed he'd used general parameters and had let the computer fill in the specifics.
"I hope I don't run into it," Jenkins said a little nervously.
"This is a holoprogram," Harry reminded her. "It can't hurt you."
"I think we should go look for it, like Tom said."
That's not exactly what he'd said, but Tom grinned at Naomi. "You name the time, and I'll bring my bat'leth just in case." When Harry rolled his eyes he added, "I'm sure Harry will want to come too."
"At the moment we have more pressing matters to attend to," the doctor reminded them. "Break time is over. This is an official drill, don't forget."
