Chapter Eleven

A large floating whale-sized creature, just like one they had seen on the horizon yesterday before nightfall, was heading straight for the camp. Its tendrils draped into the woodland, pulling away leaves, branches, and whatever small creatures that were unfortunate enough to be there. No one had any idea what would happen when it got here. It would pass right over the injured, and it was uncertain if it would try to snatch them up, as it did with the flora and fauna in the trees.

Considering there was a hydrogen reading coming from them; most likely used to make itself lighter than the air around it, Lieutenant N'reinn was unsure how to deal with it. If they shot at it, even with a stun setting, it might be enough to set the creature ablaze. While killing it to stop it eating members of the crew, was something she wouldn't think twice about, the last thing she wanted was for a blazing, dying creature the size of a small whale, to land on top of them.

"What are your orders?" Jenkins, an officer in blue, who was stood with a phaser asked her. "Do I zap it, or?"

N'reinn indicated towards the weapon in his hand. "How good are you with that?" she asked him.

He looked down at it, before shrugging slightly "Well, I'm a specialist in-"

"Unless your next word is phaser shooting-" N'reinn interrupted.

"That's two words," Jenkins said, interrupting her right back. "And no, it's in nebulae composition and star formation."

The security chief held out her pawed-hand with a frown. He promptly placed the phaser into it, with half a smile. N'reinn dialled it down to minimum setting, before casting her gaze back up at the large, encroaching creature.

"Be careful," someone said to her. "The thing's full of hydrogen."

"I'm going to try and get the thing to turn around," N'reinn reassured them.

"How are you going to do that?" Jenkins asked her. "Without blowing the thing up."

"I'll aim for its face."

Jenkins glanced nervously at her. "Where is that even?"

"Where its mouth is, I guess."

Jenkins shrugged. "Where is that even?" he said, repeating himself word for word, as though he was trying to be funny.

With a sideways glance of slight annoyance, N'reinn replied. "At a guess, it's the large opening thing on the underside, that it puts its tendrils full of grub into."

"That sounds about right."

Without further discussion, the Caitian raised her phaser and pointed it at her target. A moment later, a streak of energy shot out, striking it on the underside, near its maw. It had no effect, so she dialled the stun setting halfway and fired again. For the second time, there was no effect. With a deep inhalation of breath, she put it on maximum stun, tightest beam. Carefully aiming at its face once more, she pulled the trigger.

The creatures tendrils went rigid, as the streak of energy struck it. The sounds of branches being torn and snapped echoed around them, as it gripped the trees beneath it tightly, using them as anchors to bring itself to a complete halt. Slowly, the creature turned around, and headed back the other way. N'reinn released a heavy sigh of sheer relief, handing the phaser back to Jenkins.

"Keep your eye on the tree-line." she looked at a crewman who stood by him with a tricorder, before at the other crewman who would have had a phaser if there were enough to go round.

Disaster had been averted, at least for now, but it seemed like it was becoming more common. From what she had been told from those doing tricorder scans of the surrounding area, there were more and more of the pack animals moving in around them. They were drawing attention from the local predators, and that was not a good thing. It wasn't a good thing in the slightest.

It was clear what she'd have to do. Get a team together, and try to scare them off. Luckily, they seemed to be in small groups of six to nine, and there were only five groups, scattered in the woodland beyond their encampment. Hopefully, they'd be able to get rid of them. Right now however, she had to find those she could trust to remain somewhat calm and composed, when a snarling beast was running at them at full pelt.

Though if her plan went well, the creatures would be running away from them, not towards.

Night it seemed, lasted for much longer here on the moon, than Federation standard. They had been here for around twenty-six hours now, and since the system's star had set around sixteen hours ago, it had as of yet not arisen again, or showed signs of rising.

Thalon, who was sat cross-legged on the dirt, surrounded by the crew of the ill-fated starship, thought back to recent events that had led up to this. He had been on the tactical research station on the planet Drydar only a few weeks ago, in command of just over five-hundred researchers. The last thing they had been developing, before he promptly promoted to admiral and reassigned, was enhanced deflector-shield systems for use on the larger, asteroid built starbases. Ever since the Romulans had turned up again after a hundred years of silence, and so easily destroyed a number of such bases along the neutral zone, Starfleet had been urgently looking for a better defence, placing huge amounts of resources into the project.

Thinking back made him realise how much he'd miss them. Trish, Jacob, and Gunther, just to name a few of his department heads. It was strange to know that if he hadn't been reassigned, he'd probably be in his office, looking over the days research, and tests, not sat on dirt on a strange unnamed planet, thinking of how he would be sat in his office back on Drydar right now, if things had turned out differently.

Thalon raised his numb behind off of the hard ground, with his hands. After a minute or so, his arms began to ache, so he lowered himself back down onto the dirt, knowing that he would have to stand up soon, as there was also a cramp forming in his leg.

With a push, the admiral managed to slowly clamber to his feet. He stretched his legs, then his arms, before rubbing his numb behind. He couldn't wait to be able to sit down on a nice comfortable chair again.

The admiral turned around at the sound of footfalls behind him. Approaching him, was Lieutenant N'reinn and a group of seven others, all armed.

"Something wrong?" Thalon asked her. "I saw you shooting that big thing earlier, is it coming back?" He looked around at the horizon, to see if he could see anything.

"We're drawing attention from local wildlife. We're heading out to scare them off."

"What kind of wildlife?"

"Pack animals in five groups," she informed him. "Each group has about six to nine individuals in them."

"You think they'll try to attack forty people?" he asked her with concern.

"There's bravery in numbers, and I want to get rid of them before more show up."

"Well, be careful Lieutenant."

"Don't worry, I will Admiral," N'reinn reassured him.

She moved away, and Thalon found himself looking into the forest beyond. While he didn't like the thought of dangerous predators congregating around the camp, the admiral also wasn't too fond of the idea N'reinn and others having to face them off. There were sure to be injuries, and if things went badly, even fatalities.

It had to be done though, and he knew it. If there became too many of them, then the chance of an attack would become a certainty.

Lieutenant N'reinn had picked seven people to go out of camp with her, and scare off the pack animals. It was risky, they all knew it, but they didn't really have any other option. To leave them would be asking for trouble, and it was better to take the initiative, than it was to wait for the inevitable attack.

Slowly, and very carefully, they moved onwards. It was still night-time, but the giant gas planet that still hung in the sky; which was no oddly full again, and not a crescent as it had been before, was more than enough to lightly illuminate their surroundings. If they were quick and quiet, then they should get have the upper hand. N'reinn knew that the creatures knew of their presence. The trick was to seem non-threatening, but not too non-threatening, right up to the point where there were streams of energy flowing out of their phasers.

Kneeling on one knee, N'reinn looked down at the tricorder she held. After checking the readout, the security chief silently gestured to the seven others to get into position, giving them a nice line of sight. Each of them picked a target, but as there were only seven creatures and eight of them, N'reinn indicated to the others that they had the shots, and that she would hold her fire.

As the others took aim, the Caitian increased her phaser's power, just in case one or more decided attack instead of flee. Looking at them closely, N'reinn thought they looked somewhat reminiscent of Earth dogs, but with larger, thinner heads, and longer, more muscular legs. With another signal, they fired, streams of energy lancing at the creatures ahead of them. With a howl of pain, the animals fled, deeper into the forest.

Satisfied at how well and easily the first group had been dealt with, they slowly made their way to the next, which was the second out of five. Unlike the last however, this next pack of creatures had nine in it. There were eight phasers, so there was a chance that one might try to attack. Her goal was to do a wide beam with her phaser, and try to get two at once. At least that was the plan.

She would have come out here with more people, but she felt that she was already thinning out the defence of the camp too much already. There were eighteen phasers altogether, and with their eight, that left ten. While that might seem like a lot, it wasn't when they were spread out around the perimeter of a camp of about forty people, where just over a fifth of them were injured and unable to defend themselves.

Slowly, they approached the second group of five, before they all knelt, roughly thirty metres away, taking aim. The creatures had obviously noticed them, though fortunately they appeared not to be threatened by their presence in any way. Not yet anyway. They would soon feel very threatened, when beams of energy started striking them.

The security chief put her phaser on wide beam, so that their eight phasers would strike the nine animals before them. With everyone confirming that they were ready, N'reinn gave the word. Once again, streaks of energy shot from the ends of their weapons in a high-pitched whine.

The animals, all except the two that the Caitian had shot on wide beam fled. Instead, they stumbled for a few moments, before one of them regained enough composure to run at her. Two beams hit the creature in the side, knocking it into the dirt. The other stunned creature, turned and fled after its brethren, while the first clambered back to its feet before turning about, disappearing into the forest as well. With that done, there were only three more groups to deal with.

Just as they had done the last two times, they slowly crept towards the third group of animals, trying to look threatening enough so they wouldn't outright attack them, but also not dangerous, so they wouldn't attack as a means of defence. Once they were in position, they took aim at the group of six animals before them, and fired. The creatures turned and fled, deeper into the forest, as the others before them had done. With them gone, that meant there were only two more groups left for them to deal with. The first out of the two left, had another pack of nine in it, and the other had seven. They headed off towards the closest, which was the one that numbered in nine.

As she had done with the last group with nine in it, N'reinn put her phaser onto wide field, but this time she raised the power output. They all got into position, and took aim. Unexpectedly, the creatures bolted towards them before they could get off a shot. With little time to react, let alone think, they began to shoot at the multiple blurs that charged right for them.

Streams of high-pitched energy flew through the air. N'reinn managed to strike one of the creatures, and so did two others, but most missed and soon six of the creatures pounced. One got hit by a lucky phaser strike in mid-leap, but the other five hit their targets, knocking them down to the ground.

Without further thought, N'reinn set her phaser to kill, and began to shoot them off of her shipmates. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something running towards her. Instinctively, she turned and shot one of the creatures, as it leapt at her, its jaws wide open. The animal flipped end over end by the force of the phaser strike, its momentum carrying it straight into her, knocking her down into the dirt.

The creature on top of her, which lay awkwardly on its back, quickly tried to right itself. Before it had the chance, she shot it. Some of the shock went through into her, but N'reinn ignored it as she pushed the dead animal off of her. She stumbled back to her feet, before helping the others finish off the dangerous creatures, some running off, others being mortally wounded by the energy beams that struck them.

Then, there was a deathly silence. She looked around at the others. Four were standing, three were on the ground. One moved, slowly clambering to his feet, the other two didn't.

Quickly, she moved over to them, checking their vitals. There were none. "Jackson, Godfrey," she began, looking at the two stood by her, "take these two back into camp," N'reinn ordered, forcing herself to keep her composure. "We have to make sure their bodies are taken with us when we're rescued." She looked down at her tricorder. "After that's done, get back here. We still have one more group to deal with."

She watched as the two picked up Valdez and Briggs, two more souls she could add to those that had been lost. That was two more that were dead on her watch. Being security chief on a science vessel may mean a lack of any real challenge, but it also meant a lack of death. Scanning nebulae and planetary atmosphere composition wasn't very dangerous. It seemed however, that heading out to newly constructed starbases with admirals on board was. Overly so.

N'reinn didn't blame the admiral though, she blamed the Klingons. Everyone's deaths were on their heads, and she hoped that when help did come to rescue them, that they'd make them suffer for it.

The Caitian forced herself to stop dwelling on it, and to focus on what was happening now. She holstered her phaser, and knelt down to pick up the fallen weapons that her two dead shipmates had dropped. Once Jackson and Godfrey were back, they'd head for the last group and finish this. While there were seven of the creatures in the pack, and only six of them, they still had eight phasers. She'd hold two, and give an extra one to someone else, probably Godfrey, when the two returned.

When they did shortly afterwards, N'reinn passed Godfrey the other phaser. "One more group," N'reinn told them. "And only seven are in it." She checked her weapon was set to kill, before addressing the others. "We kill them outright. No more chances."

After everyone set their phasers, the group moved onwards towards the last pack. This time, they stopped further away, just in case. With each person in position, N'reinn gave the order. Beams of energy shot out, two from N'reinn and Godfrey. The creatures went down, one of them getting struck by two blasts.

Quickly, N'reinn scanned the area with her eyes, before checking the readout from her tricorder. The area was clear of larger fauna, at least for now.

"What do we do about the dead animals?" Godfrey asked. "They're sure to draw in more."

The security chief dialled her phaser to disintegrate. "We vaporize them."

"Couldn't we use them for food or something?" Jackson questioned.

"The smell of cooking food might draw more of them," N'reinn pointed out. "We can't risk it." She raised up her weapon and vaporized one of the creatures.

The others followed her lead and soon, apart from a black mark in the dirt, there was no evidence that the creatures had ever existed.

It had started when there had been a bright flash of light from her console on the bridge. Since then, things had stopped making sense, and her memory seemed more selective in what she remembered. First there was the captain, who had told her something that she couldn't recall. Then she found herself here in sickbay. It was clear to her that she must be injured, and that she was on the diagnostic bed for that reason.

Right now, Doctor Schaffer was stood over her, using his scanner to take some readings. He periodically looked at the back to check the readout, but soon continued on, the scans he required seemed to have no end in sight.

He looked at her and smiled. "I see you're awake."

Saaris regarded him for a few moments, before responding. "I was unaware that I had been asleep?"

"Oh yes, very peacefully I might add."

Small talk was something she noticed humans liked to do a lot. She however found it to be a waste of time, and as such she decided not to continue the pointless discussion. Doing so would only delay the doctor and his scans.

Unfortunately, the doctor didn't appear to share her opinion on that . "Everything okay, Saaris?" he asked her.

Saaris turned her attention to him. "No, that is why I am here, is it not?"

"No, I don't mean that. It's just that you're very quiet."

"I am awaiting you to aid me, heal me from the injuries I sustained." Saaris looked at his scanner, that lay in his hand. It was now by his side, not being used. "Have you finished with your scans?" she questioned.

Schaffer shook his head. "Oh no," he replied raising it up to continue.

The Vulcan turned her gaze back to the light green ceiling, awaiting for him to complete whatever it was he was doing. Several minutes later however, and he was still scanning.

Feeling annoyance begin to build inside her, she turned to him. "Doctor, may I ask what it is that's taking you so long?"

"Don't worry, it won't take much longer for me to finish. Then, I'll get the sub-dermal regenerator and begin healing your burned flesh."

Suddenly her face began to throb, as though his words had reminded her nerve endings of the damaged flesh. Instinctively, she reached for her face, but the doctor grabbed her hands, and gently pulled them away.

"No, don't touch it, that's silly."

Saaris frowned at how he had just spoken to her as though she were a small child. Unfortunately the act of moving the muscles in her face hurt, and she found herself fighting the urge to rub the pained area with her hands.

"You've hurt yourself now, haven't you?" Schaffer said, much to her annoyance.

"It is fine, Doctor. Please just continue with your scans."

"Call me Paul," he said to her with a smile.

"That would be inappropriate," Saaris said, disregarding his request.

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it."

"Doctor Schaffer, it is regulation."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, of course it is. You are a stickler for the rules, and it's quite annoying."

"Your annoyance is none of my concern."

Schaffer folded his arms, staring at her. "Y'know it would do you some good to have some fun once in a while."

"I do not require fun," she told him with tempered annoyance. "What I need, is healing from my injuries."

The doctor raised his hand scanner. "Of course you do, now lay back and relax."

Saaris turned her gaze back to the ceiling, wondering what game he was playing. Soon, he lowered his scanner and moved over to her with a hypospray.

"What is that?" she questioned.

"Medicine," he said unhelpfully.

Before she could say any more, he injected her. Almost instantly, she felt the room start to spin around her and for a moment, she thought she glimpsed a dark cloudless sky, but it all soon faded away.

Updated 9/2014