AND! We're back! Roselynde here to start us off! Before we begin, I need to address a few things that Carrie (Our anonymous reviewer) mentioned.
Yes, I'm aware that I tend to ramble; unfortunately this is part of my ADHD and something that I'm working on (Hooray for finally having a beta! Peachly is totally awesome!)
As for this story turning into a Mary Sue, I can guarantee you guys that Rook and I would sooner throw in the towel than allow that to happen.
I was planning on touching on this later, but since it was brought up… no Danny is not a genius. She tends to see things differently than most otherwise would (there's more background info that will come in later chapters), hence why she's a contributor to papers. She does not have anything published under only her name, something that was again, going to be mentioned later, but I thought I'd clear that up right quick. So, sorry for the confusion there!
Last but not least, Thanks to Carrie and lele for reviewing our story! (We'd love more!) And thanks as well go to My3scape, Con4ti, and Black-Dirge for adding us to their alert list! WOO! I'll shut it now and get on with it!
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Chapter Four
The three officers stopped, trapping Danny just outside of the shuttle. Despite all of the progress made over the centuries, the three men had moved into a defensive arc around the cadet. The cadet in question peered around the doctor's shoulders, attempting to get a look at whoever had spoken. Once she finally did, she simply stared. The young man was scruffy; his clothes patched a dozen times over, and a scowl that rivaled even McCoy's. Danny huffed, jumping in an effort to get a better view, barely managing to peep over Commander Spock's shoulder.
"Are you the only survivor?" Kirk finally asked, making himself as unassuming as possible as he stepped to the side slightly to let his sister forward, and so she'd quit hopping around. The natives finally moved from the cover of the jungle, surrounding the shuttle.
"Obviously. Your shuttle landed on the gravesite. Of most of them anyway. Now do yourselves a favor and fucking leave, you're not welcome here." He held his glare, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his faded hoodie.
"Well, that's really a matter of perspective, isn't it?" Denali pointed over at the wreckage of the small ship, "That sent out a distress signal."
Kale stared over at the ruined ship in disbelief, "You gotta be kidding me…" He sighed, running a hand over his face as he shook his head, "It's been five fuckin' years. Nobody came and there was no sign that anyone knew we were even out here. The bridge is practically buried! How the hell did it send out a signal?"
Denali frowned slightly, having pulled up the ship's flight registry as soon as it had been identified, "This planet is in a star system that's only recently been explored extensively. The flight registry didn't mention anything about you guys heading this way, so the search crews didn't know to look here."
The Vulcan officer nodded slightly in confirmation, "The midshipman is correct. The signal was weak when it was picked up by a freighter. The location was then noted and transmitted to Star Fleet. Due to the ship having been presumed lost, the Enterprise was given the mission of ascertaining its status and conducting a rescue mission."
"Look, as far as I knew, we were taking a short cut. We'd been out in space for almost a year, with just a few days for a break, and we just wanted to go home. I know you guys are just doing your jobs and all, but the longer you stay here, the more likely it is that you'll be killed and eaten. So why don't you get back on your shuttle and leave. There's nothing here to find." Kale explained as one of the humanoid lizards stepped up next to the young man.
McCoy completely ignored the argument, flipping open his tricorder and scanning the ragged youth. Jim shook his head in amusement as he watched his friend before turning his gaze back to the crash survivor, "See, that's where the trouble starts. There's whole thing with the Prime Directive, and you crashed right into it. This means that we get to clean up the mess."
The creature, a Palkwe as they found out later, chattered rapidly to his human companion, the speech punctuated occasionally by a low whistle. The youth sighed, carding his hair annoyedly, "I know Arc'el, but you hear them as well as I do, they're not leaving."
The Palkwe, Arc'el, communicated rapidly with his fellows for a moment, "Arc'el says that we need to move. We can go back to the village and sort this bullshit out."
"Great! We know your friend's name, but what about yours?" Kirk asked.
Kale's eyes narrowed slightly, "How about you get your guy to stop scanning me, and we'll go from there?" He shifted away from the Doctor, "Dude, you can see I'm fine, will you put that thing away already?"
"I'm a Doctor, not a 'dude.' So shut up and let me be the judge of whether or not you're healthy, kid." McCoy snapped, continuing to gather readings. Once he'd finished and pronounced the young men as healthy as could be given the circumstances, introductions were made.
"Kale Argyle. Now who the hell are you guys?" The youth smirked slightly as several hunters came forward to sniff at the newcomers.
"James T. Kirk. The Enterprise is my ship. The good Doctor is the ship's CMO, Leonard McCoy. Mr. Spock here is my first officer, and the midshipman is Denali Morgan." Jim offered, gesturing to each in turn.
"Call me Danny." The girl piped up, starting visibly when one of the Palkwe buried its nose in the collar of her jacket.
Twitching slightly, Danny gently pushed the curious hunter back, "Sorry big guy. Kinda need my space."
The hunter looked over at Kale questioningly, whistling to him, "Ka'tri says you're being very rude."
"Does he have to stick his nose down my shirt?" She asked, leaning away from the Palkwe as he stretched over for another sniff.
"It's the best way to get your scent, and you can't lie with it. You might wanna deal since the little ones will really invade your space. Plus, they won't let you in the village without making sure you don't pose a threat."
Denali made a small sound and held still after getting a rather meaningful look from the captain, who was likewise holding still for a check. The group of hunters chattered quietly, taking note of the information they had gathered before finally motioning for the away team to follow.
Kale stayed back to be sure no one was left behind, falling in step with Denali. "Oh and by the way Ka'tri is a girl." He mentioned before he moved to the front of the group, leaving Denali a little stunned.
"Hey, wait a minute! How do you tell them apart?" She called after him, only receiving a laugh in return. Frowning, she jogged to catch up with her commanding officer's and set the matter aside until later.
It was lucky that the village was not too far away. Any longer and it was likely that they would have been found by one of the planet's hostile creatures. Walking along the path, they were watched from afar by several other Palkwe, who constantly passed along messages back to the village.
"Fascinating. The inhabitants of this village seem to have developed an advanced method of communication using scouts. Due to their natural coloring, it appears as though they are able to pass relatively unseen through the surrounding habitat, and thus, relay their messages to the next member of the scout line." Spock commented.
Kale glanced back, looking for the most part surprised, "You're very perceptive."
"No, he's just a green-blooded hobgoblin." McCoy griped.
Within the village, the noise grew as the natives went about their own business. However, as word spread about the newcomers, the tasks were forgotten. Slowly, the Palkwe gathered to watch, chittering to each other and gesturing excitedly. The set up was obvious the further they went, rings of homes surrounding places of trade and meeting, with the homes along the outer edges newer than those nearest to the gathering places.
A group of Palkwe waited impatiently near the meeting area they approached, bouncing softly with excitement the closer the humans got. In truth, they were Palkwe in miniature, obviously the children that Kale had mentioned earlier. No sooner had Jim been revealed that the group leapt forward, tackling the Captain to the ground and sniffing at him enthusiastically. Kirk burst out laughing, wriggling around as the little ones found his ticklish spots, causing McCoy and Danny to both chuckle while the Commander simply raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. The children really admire leaders here, if you hadn't noticed. Doesn't help that you're from space." Kale mentioned, quirking the corner of his mouth in a partial smile.
"Alright! Alright! I give! C'mon, guys, let me up!" Jim laughed, managing to sit up as the youngsters chattered happily, each vying for his attention. It took a little maneuvering, but he managed to stand up at last, surrounded by his own little flock.
Denali laughed, "Captain, it looks like you have fan clubs on planet's you've never visited before."
Kirk turned one of his grins to his sister, patting one of the little Palkwe on the head, "That just shows you that Captain's really are awesome."
"If that ego of yours gets any bigger Jim, the Enterprise won't be able to leave orbit." McCoy poked him lightly in the shoulder as a reminder.
"Indeed. Mr. Argyle, since you seem familiar with the language native to this planet, perhaps you would be able to assist me in adding it to the universal translator." Spock intoned at last, turning his attention from his Captain's exploits to the young man.
"Yeah, whatever. The sooner you can talk to them on your own the soon I can stop playing babysitter. But at the moment I believe the elders wish to speak to you." Kale sighed, stuffing his hands once more into his hoodie.
Spock did not comment on the young man's attitude but instead directed his attention to the four Palkwe that approached them. Age on a Palkwe looked a bit strange. The feathers were longer and drooped, while the skin sagged and the bone plating looked scratched and worn.
The young Palkwe skittered away, knowing best that the elders were to be respected and to keep out of the way.
One of the elder Palkwe stared at the group for a moment before turning toward Kale and speaking in a slower than the other natives that they had encountered. Kale listened before speaking, "You are welcomed here for as long as you need to be. However, it would be wise to stay within the village for now. It would unfortunate if any of you were to fall victim to the animals out there."
"We're very grateful for their welcome and their advice." The captain said smiling at the elders. Kale on the other hand was resisting the urge to protest. He knew they meant well but this could only mean trouble, at least for him anyway.
A second elder spoke in faster tones than the previous. Again, Kale felt a bit of anger at the elders for being so welcoming. "Apparently they want to hold a special evening meal for all of you. A welcoming gift if you will. But since that will be in a few hours you are free to roam the village, just don't wonder out into the forest."
With that, the crowd dispersed, Kale walking away as quickly as he could. Though a few stayed and stared for a good long while their presence was somewhat forgotten. The away team was free to do as they wished. Spock decided to follow Kale and request that they work on the translator right away. Danny split from McCoy and Kirk to take a look at the village on her own.
"Well Bones it looks like we've got a bit of time to slack off." Kirk chuckled, giving McCoy a pat on the shoulder.
Passing by some of the trade houses, they found that several of the Palkwe paused to watch them. It took only a few minutes before they were approached by one of the natives holding two wooden cups of what looked like a purple fruit drink. At first McCoy had tried to wave the Palkwe off, knowing it might be better to refuse and save them from possible sickness. However, the Palkwe was insistent, refusing to back away. Kirk, not wanting to cause trouble, picked up the cup before his friend could stop him.
Taking a sip, he grinned and looked over at McCoy, "Don't worry Bones, it's only fruit juice." Leonard didn't looked all too convinced,
"If I get sick I'll blame it on you." The doctor took a swig of the drink and found himself liking it.
It was about ten drinks in and later that evening at the meal that the drink started taking effect. Kale had finished up with the translator and had gone to the large meeting hall were the feast was to be held with Spock. Only to find Danny munching on some trail mix she had brought along watching the captain and good doctor sing in loud, off key tones. The Palkwe were enjoying the show to say the least.
Spock, looking concerned, walked forward to quiet his captain down. Kale on the other hand moved over to Danny and sat down at the table beside her. "They…They didn't drink anything funny did they? Like a purple fruit drink?" He asked.
"Yup." Danny replied unconcerned.
"That's alcohol; they're only supposed to have one." Kale stated as he watched Spock grab Kirk's arm and pull him down from the table gently.
"Yup. That's why I didn't drink any. Never drink anything in a foreign place. Or that's what I'm told anyway." The midshipman answered again.
"How many did they have?" Kale asked.
"I think somewhere around eight. I came back somewhere after they started on the second one." She replied.
"Wonderful…" he muttered.
"Spock… I don' wanna go to bed." Kirk whined but didn't truly try pull away from his first officer's gentle pull.
"Captain I insist that you and Doctor McCoy go outside and calm down."Spock insisted.
"I wanna have one more drink. Last one, I promise. It's really good you should try some too."
Spock's eyebrow inched towards his hairline at the suggestion, "No, I believe I'll refrain from doing so." Looking over at Kale, "Mr. Argyle, I think it would be best to take the Captain and Doctor McCoy somewhere to rest."
"Guess the meal is off for tonight. I'll go ahead and show you guys where you'll be staying." Kale sighed, standing up from the table and motioned for the away team to follow.
He moved quickly outside and down the rows of houses before stopping beside one of the older homes, "This one has been empty for awhile, so it's yours for now. Make yourselves comfortable, there is water, oil lamps, and blankets inside. I'll come back in the morning."
Kale glanced over at Danny as she unbuttoned her jacket and slid out of it, leaving her in her turtleneck, "Shit, a strong breeze would blow you over. You ever heard of eating?"
She rolled her eyes, looking over at him as she pulled another baggie of trail mix from her bag and started munching, "I have a fast metabolism. Now if you don't mind… the Captain and CMO need their rest." She stepped back and swung the creaky wooden door shut.
"Bu' I'm not sleepy!" Kirk harrumphed as Spock lit one of the oil lamps.
"Yeah… I'ma 'greein' with Jimbo…" McCoy nodded, swaying dangerously.
"So I can see. How about you guys work on standing without falling over? And you know the best way to accomplish that?" Danny asked, holding the Doctor up and wincing when he leaned on her smaller frame.
"Wha?" He snickered faintly, propping his arm on the top of her head.
"By taking a quick rest! And once you do that, then maybe we'll see about dinner." She huffed slightly, refusing to comment on the fact she was being used as an arm rest.
"Tha's no' fair…" Jim pouted as Spock bundled him in a thermal blanket and settled him into a corner.
"Indeed." Spock replied, raising an eyebrow again.
Denali chuckled, guiding Bone's to his own corner and draping a blanket over him once he'd gotten settled. After finishing off her snack, Danny flopped down and draped her jacket over herself. Spock stiffened visibly when Jim wiggled over, pillowing against the Vulcan and dropping quickly into sleep as he mumbled something about Spock being snuggly warm. She started to grin, only to tense up in her own right when McCoy's head fell over into her lap, followed soon by the good Doctor's snoring.
"I think it's going to be a long night…" She grinned nervously over at Spock, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"An accurate assessment."
