DISCLAIMER; Don't own, etc, etc.
NOTE; I realised the other day that the title say's 'Nostracassa' on the main page. Sorry - it is meant to be 'Nostarcassa'. It's a typo!!
NOSTARCASSA - Chapter 4
The walk to the village had been uneventful. It had taken about three hours for them to get there. As soon as they arrived, Trip had been taken to the village's hospital. Heureux had assured Malcolm and Hoshi that Trip would be well cared for. He had then led them to the Village hall to meet Piandre.
So now, Hoshi and Malcolm sat around a small, rectangular table. Piandre sat at the head of the table, while Heureux sat at the opposite end. Malcolm and Hoshi each occupied a side.
"I am sorry about your friend," Piandre said, "Our medical knowledge may not be as advanced as yours, but he shall be treated to the best of our abilities."
Hoshi and Malcolm both nodded a silent thank you. In daylight, Hoshi was able to see the subtler differences of the Cassian's. They had ridged above their eyes in place of eyebrows, and only four fingers. While the male's head's appeared elongated and had no hair, the female's head's were simply oval. The women only had three hair tones, dark blue, red and white. All had blue eyes. On their walk to the village hall, Heureux had told her that a female's hair colour was relative to her employment, as was a man's eye colour. Hoshi had not noticed previously, but Heureux's eyes were, indeed, red.
Like a permanent uniform, Hoshi thought. Now, sat around the table, she noticed that Piandre also had red eyes, although his were far more vibrant.
"In the mean time, you should rest." Piandre continued. "It has been many day's since you last ate a good meal. We have accommodation for you. It's not much, but it is comfortable, and clean." He stood from his chair. "I am glad to have met your people. I only wish it could have been a happier occasion." He called over for a young female. "We have contacted your ship, to let them know you are safe. If you will please excuse me, Soleil will show you the way."
With that, Piandre bowed his head and left. Heureux stood, bowed his head, and followed.
"Please," said Soleil, "follow me."
Hoshi and Malcolm stood and followed the young Cassian. She had short red hair, and, to Hoshi, looked about 18.
"It's a beautiful planet," Malcolm said, admiring the scenery. The village, although only a few miles from where they had crashed, was surrounded by a mountain range. The village itself reminded Malcolm of 18th Century Europe. The houses were tall and grand, with small, cobbled narrow streets. However, unlike Europe, there were no slums. A family lived on each floor of the houses. The village itself consisted of only a few streets. There was a market area, a hospital, a village hall, a school and a small church. Well, Malcolm assumed it was a church.
"What is your home like?" Soleil asked, bringing Malcolm out of his thoughts and back to reality.
"Earth?" He asked. She nodded. "It's a lot like your planet." He said.
"Really?" Soleil asked.
"Sure," said Hoshi. "Our houses are a little different, and we tend to live in bigger settlements. But other than that, they're very similar."
"I would like to visit your planet someday." She said, smiling. "I have never been out of the village."
"Never?" Hoshi asked, sounding surprised. Soleil shook her head. "How old are you?"
"I am....." She paused and thought for a moment. "How many days are in your cycle?"
"Three hundred and sixty five." Malcolm informed her, assuming by 'cycle', she had meant a year.
"So, in your cycles, I would be," She stopped to work it out. "Twenty-one." She frowned. " I think." She turned left down an ally-way. Hoshi and Malcolm followed. "There are 735 days in our cycle. I am nearly eleven now." She turned to look at them. "Here we are." She looked at the building to their left. "Your abode is on the second floor. I shall take you up."
They entered the door of the building into a small hallway and began to climb the stair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The accommodation they had been provided with was, in Hoshi's opinion, nice. It consisted of three small bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area and a small bathroom with a toilet and sink. Each room was furnished with the basic requirements. Soleil had apologised for them having the smallest 'abode' in the house, and informed them that it was the only accommodation available.
Before she had left, Soleil had made Hoshi and Malcolm a meal and told them a little about her people. Malcolm had returned the deed.
Hoshi, being ever curious, had asked her about the hair and eye colouring. Soleil had seemed a little put off by this question, but had eventually told them. Red, Soleil's colour, meant she was a governmental worker. Either a village leader, a follower - which she was - or a teacher. "Follower's assist the village leader's." She told them. White were medical workers, while dark blue were husbandry.
After she had gone, Hoshi had decided to try and sleep, while Malcolm went for a walk around the village.
On his walk, he met Heureux, who was out with a white haired female. "Greetings, lieutenant."
"Heureux." Not knowing the woman's name, he simply smiled at her and nodded his head.
"This is my wife, Joyeux."
The woman bowed her head at Malcolm.
"I am afraid that my wife cannot speak, lieutenant." He said, looking at the petite woman by his side.
"Do you know how Trip's doing?" Malcolm asked. They had been in the village for several hours, and had received no word on their friend.
Heureux turned to his wife. She signed something with her hands. Heureux turned his attention back to Malcolm. "She says he is much improved."
"Thank you," Malcolm said to Joyeux. "May I see him?"
Joyeux looked at Heureux. Malcolm noticed a look of alarm in her eyes. Heureux placed a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "I am afraid that will not be possible, Lieutenant." He looked around him, as if searching for the right words. "The Medicals are still watching him closely. They think it would be best if he had no visitors." He smiled.
Malcolm thought it a nervous smile. "Well, makes sense." He smiled at them both. "I best be getting back."
"Indeed, Lieutenant."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm telling you, they're...." Malcolm searched for an appropriate word, "odd."
"Why?" Hoshi asked. She had been sleeping in one of the bedrooms, and had been awoken by Malcolm's return. "Because they wouldn't let you see Trip?" She asked. "They had a reason, Malcolm. Do you think, maybe, you're just bein' a little paranoid?"
"It's not what he said, Hoshi," Malcolm replied, "It's they way he said it." He sat down in a chair next to the table. "He seemed.......I don't know. Like he didn't want to answer."
"So?" Hoshi asked.
"So......." So what? Malcolm thought, "You know earlier, when you asked Soleil about the whole hair-eye thing?" Hoshi nodded. "Didn't she seem a little odd?"
"She was probably knocked back by the question." Hoshi said, defending the younger girl. "She probably assumed that things were that way on Earth as well." She sat down opposite Malcolm. "I really think you're reading too much into this. I mean, were stuck here, you're worried about Trip,"
Before she finished the sentence, there was a knock at the door. Malcolm got up to answer it. Soleil was standing there. "Piandre sent me," she said. "He wondered if you wished to send a message to your ship."
"Thank you." Malcolm said. Hoshi had stood and was now standing behind Malcolm.
"If it is OK," Soleil continued, "we should go now."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Archer was sat in his quarters. He had been recording his personal log, but had been forced to stop by Porthos, who had been jumping on his lap repeatedly throughout the whole recording.
"There," He said, turning off the computer. "Happy?" He stood and walked to his bed. He sat there for a minute before lying down. Porthos jumped up and lay beside him, placing his head on Archer's chest. "You miss 'em too?" he asked, scratching behind the dog's ear. "They'll be back soon," He said.
"Bridge to Captain Archer." T'Pol's voice came over the comm.
"I hope." He added, getting off his bead and walking to the panel. "Archer."
"Captain, we are receiving a hail from the surface."
"Thank you. I'm on my way." He said. "Get Ensign Kelso."
"There is no need, Captain." T'Pol replied. "We are being hailed by Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hello Captain," Malcolm's voice came over the comm.
They still had no visual, but simply hearing the lieutenant's voice was more than enough for Archer. "Malcolm? Are you OK? How's Hoshi?"
"We're OK, Sir. They're treating us well," Hoshi's voice answered.
"How's Trip?" Archer asked. It was a question to which he was desperate to know the answer, but yet scared of it at the same time.
"He's OK as far as we know, Sir." Malcolm said.
"As far as you know?" Archer asked. If they didn't know, how was he going to find out?
"They won't let us see him, Sir," Hoshi replied. "But from what they tell us, he's OK."
"We'll send a shuttle to pick you up." Archer said.
"Actually, Sir," Malcolm said, "with respect, Sir, I think we should stay. It would be an opportunity to study the Cassian's further, and I think moving Trip may do more harm than good."
Archer thought for a moment. "Very well. Good luck, and, take care."
"Thank you, Sir" Came Malcolm's and Hoshi's voices, in near unison.
"Archer out." The comm link went silent. Archer sat in his chair, a look of concern of his face.
"Lieutenant Reed is correct," T'Pol said. "It is a perfect opportunity to study the species."
"Yeah, I know," Archer said. It was, she was right. He just wasn't happy about the three of them being stuck on the surface. "You have the bridge, T'Pol." He said on his was to the turbo lift and back to his quarters.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What?" Malcolm asked, bewildered. After contacting Enterprise, Malcolm had gone back to the abode and slept, while Hoshi had gone walking. He was just drifting off into a peaceful slumber, when Hoshi had rushed in shouting something about translators. "What the hell are you going on about?"
"I figured out how they work!" Hoshi exclaimed, sitting on the end of Malcolm's bed.
"How what........Hoshi, what the hell are you going on about?"
"The translators," she said excitedly. When she saw Malcolm's confused face, she explained. "Since we got here, I've been trying to figure out why, if they have translators, we needed to be able to speak French."
"If this has excited you," Malcolm said, sarcastically, "you really need to get out more."
Hoshi ignore him and continued. "Then, I asked Heureux."
"So you didn't figure it out," Malcolm interrupted. "You asked."
"Whatever," Hoshi said before continuing. "He told me they're not translators, they're enhancers." Malcolm shrugged his shoulders. "Then don't translate. Than can only enhance whatever capabilities you have for speaking French."
"Oh," Malcolm said, sounding very under whelmed.
"That's not what's been bothering me, thought." She said, standing. "Their culture. Their technology." She sat back down again. "Doesn't it strike you as weird. I mean, it doesn't seem to fit." Malcolm was still looking confused. "Technologically speaking, they're about a hundred, maybe two hundred year behind us. Yet, how can they have these enhancers? It seems.........wrong."
"Now who's paranoid?" Malcolm muttered to himself. "Look, get some sleep Hoshi. You're tired, and, thanks to you, I'm confused. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"You're right," she said standing. "Good night, Malcolm." She left the room and went to her own bedroom. Malcolm was right. Something was 'odd'.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You know what you have to do?" Piandre asked.
Feignez said nothing. He simply nodded.
"You shall have to wait until enough time has passed for his recovery. They may become suspicious if it seems to soon."
Feignez, again, said nothing.
"We need this one," Piandre continued. "His species' life coil is almost identical to our own. The tests must work." It's the perfect opportunity, Piandre thought. Any irregularities would simply be traced back to the accident. "We cannot fail this time." He said sternly, looking, for the first time, directly at his companion.
"I understand." Feignez replied.
A/N. Good, bad? Tell me. Getting interested? Wanna know more? Think it's a pile of kake? (If you do, why have you read to chapter four???) It might be a while till my next update; I'm back at University (sobbing sounds). Oh well. See ya, Jen.
NOTE; I realised the other day that the title say's 'Nostracassa' on the main page. Sorry - it is meant to be 'Nostarcassa'. It's a typo!!
NOSTARCASSA - Chapter 4
The walk to the village had been uneventful. It had taken about three hours for them to get there. As soon as they arrived, Trip had been taken to the village's hospital. Heureux had assured Malcolm and Hoshi that Trip would be well cared for. He had then led them to the Village hall to meet Piandre.
So now, Hoshi and Malcolm sat around a small, rectangular table. Piandre sat at the head of the table, while Heureux sat at the opposite end. Malcolm and Hoshi each occupied a side.
"I am sorry about your friend," Piandre said, "Our medical knowledge may not be as advanced as yours, but he shall be treated to the best of our abilities."
Hoshi and Malcolm both nodded a silent thank you. In daylight, Hoshi was able to see the subtler differences of the Cassian's. They had ridged above their eyes in place of eyebrows, and only four fingers. While the male's head's appeared elongated and had no hair, the female's head's were simply oval. The women only had three hair tones, dark blue, red and white. All had blue eyes. On their walk to the village hall, Heureux had told her that a female's hair colour was relative to her employment, as was a man's eye colour. Hoshi had not noticed previously, but Heureux's eyes were, indeed, red.
Like a permanent uniform, Hoshi thought. Now, sat around the table, she noticed that Piandre also had red eyes, although his were far more vibrant.
"In the mean time, you should rest." Piandre continued. "It has been many day's since you last ate a good meal. We have accommodation for you. It's not much, but it is comfortable, and clean." He stood from his chair. "I am glad to have met your people. I only wish it could have been a happier occasion." He called over for a young female. "We have contacted your ship, to let them know you are safe. If you will please excuse me, Soleil will show you the way."
With that, Piandre bowed his head and left. Heureux stood, bowed his head, and followed.
"Please," said Soleil, "follow me."
Hoshi and Malcolm stood and followed the young Cassian. She had short red hair, and, to Hoshi, looked about 18.
"It's a beautiful planet," Malcolm said, admiring the scenery. The village, although only a few miles from where they had crashed, was surrounded by a mountain range. The village itself reminded Malcolm of 18th Century Europe. The houses were tall and grand, with small, cobbled narrow streets. However, unlike Europe, there were no slums. A family lived on each floor of the houses. The village itself consisted of only a few streets. There was a market area, a hospital, a village hall, a school and a small church. Well, Malcolm assumed it was a church.
"What is your home like?" Soleil asked, bringing Malcolm out of his thoughts and back to reality.
"Earth?" He asked. She nodded. "It's a lot like your planet." He said.
"Really?" Soleil asked.
"Sure," said Hoshi. "Our houses are a little different, and we tend to live in bigger settlements. But other than that, they're very similar."
"I would like to visit your planet someday." She said, smiling. "I have never been out of the village."
"Never?" Hoshi asked, sounding surprised. Soleil shook her head. "How old are you?"
"I am....." She paused and thought for a moment. "How many days are in your cycle?"
"Three hundred and sixty five." Malcolm informed her, assuming by 'cycle', she had meant a year.
"So, in your cycles, I would be," She stopped to work it out. "Twenty-one." She frowned. " I think." She turned left down an ally-way. Hoshi and Malcolm followed. "There are 735 days in our cycle. I am nearly eleven now." She turned to look at them. "Here we are." She looked at the building to their left. "Your abode is on the second floor. I shall take you up."
They entered the door of the building into a small hallway and began to climb the stair.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The accommodation they had been provided with was, in Hoshi's opinion, nice. It consisted of three small bedrooms, a kitchen and dining area and a small bathroom with a toilet and sink. Each room was furnished with the basic requirements. Soleil had apologised for them having the smallest 'abode' in the house, and informed them that it was the only accommodation available.
Before she had left, Soleil had made Hoshi and Malcolm a meal and told them a little about her people. Malcolm had returned the deed.
Hoshi, being ever curious, had asked her about the hair and eye colouring. Soleil had seemed a little put off by this question, but had eventually told them. Red, Soleil's colour, meant she was a governmental worker. Either a village leader, a follower - which she was - or a teacher. "Follower's assist the village leader's." She told them. White were medical workers, while dark blue were husbandry.
After she had gone, Hoshi had decided to try and sleep, while Malcolm went for a walk around the village.
On his walk, he met Heureux, who was out with a white haired female. "Greetings, lieutenant."
"Heureux." Not knowing the woman's name, he simply smiled at her and nodded his head.
"This is my wife, Joyeux."
The woman bowed her head at Malcolm.
"I am afraid that my wife cannot speak, lieutenant." He said, looking at the petite woman by his side.
"Do you know how Trip's doing?" Malcolm asked. They had been in the village for several hours, and had received no word on their friend.
Heureux turned to his wife. She signed something with her hands. Heureux turned his attention back to Malcolm. "She says he is much improved."
"Thank you," Malcolm said to Joyeux. "May I see him?"
Joyeux looked at Heureux. Malcolm noticed a look of alarm in her eyes. Heureux placed a reassuring arm around her shoulder. "I am afraid that will not be possible, Lieutenant." He looked around him, as if searching for the right words. "The Medicals are still watching him closely. They think it would be best if he had no visitors." He smiled.
Malcolm thought it a nervous smile. "Well, makes sense." He smiled at them both. "I best be getting back."
"Indeed, Lieutenant."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"I'm telling you, they're...." Malcolm searched for an appropriate word, "odd."
"Why?" Hoshi asked. She had been sleeping in one of the bedrooms, and had been awoken by Malcolm's return. "Because they wouldn't let you see Trip?" She asked. "They had a reason, Malcolm. Do you think, maybe, you're just bein' a little paranoid?"
"It's not what he said, Hoshi," Malcolm replied, "It's they way he said it." He sat down in a chair next to the table. "He seemed.......I don't know. Like he didn't want to answer."
"So?" Hoshi asked.
"So......." So what? Malcolm thought, "You know earlier, when you asked Soleil about the whole hair-eye thing?" Hoshi nodded. "Didn't she seem a little odd?"
"She was probably knocked back by the question." Hoshi said, defending the younger girl. "She probably assumed that things were that way on Earth as well." She sat down opposite Malcolm. "I really think you're reading too much into this. I mean, were stuck here, you're worried about Trip,"
Before she finished the sentence, there was a knock at the door. Malcolm got up to answer it. Soleil was standing there. "Piandre sent me," she said. "He wondered if you wished to send a message to your ship."
"Thank you." Malcolm said. Hoshi had stood and was now standing behind Malcolm.
"If it is OK," Soleil continued, "we should go now."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Archer was sat in his quarters. He had been recording his personal log, but had been forced to stop by Porthos, who had been jumping on his lap repeatedly throughout the whole recording.
"There," He said, turning off the computer. "Happy?" He stood and walked to his bed. He sat there for a minute before lying down. Porthos jumped up and lay beside him, placing his head on Archer's chest. "You miss 'em too?" he asked, scratching behind the dog's ear. "They'll be back soon," He said.
"Bridge to Captain Archer." T'Pol's voice came over the comm.
"I hope." He added, getting off his bead and walking to the panel. "Archer."
"Captain, we are receiving a hail from the surface."
"Thank you. I'm on my way." He said. "Get Ensign Kelso."
"There is no need, Captain." T'Pol replied. "We are being hailed by Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Hello Captain," Malcolm's voice came over the comm.
They still had no visual, but simply hearing the lieutenant's voice was more than enough for Archer. "Malcolm? Are you OK? How's Hoshi?"
"We're OK, Sir. They're treating us well," Hoshi's voice answered.
"How's Trip?" Archer asked. It was a question to which he was desperate to know the answer, but yet scared of it at the same time.
"He's OK as far as we know, Sir." Malcolm said.
"As far as you know?" Archer asked. If they didn't know, how was he going to find out?
"They won't let us see him, Sir," Hoshi replied. "But from what they tell us, he's OK."
"We'll send a shuttle to pick you up." Archer said.
"Actually, Sir," Malcolm said, "with respect, Sir, I think we should stay. It would be an opportunity to study the Cassian's further, and I think moving Trip may do more harm than good."
Archer thought for a moment. "Very well. Good luck, and, take care."
"Thank you, Sir" Came Malcolm's and Hoshi's voices, in near unison.
"Archer out." The comm link went silent. Archer sat in his chair, a look of concern of his face.
"Lieutenant Reed is correct," T'Pol said. "It is a perfect opportunity to study the species."
"Yeah, I know," Archer said. It was, she was right. He just wasn't happy about the three of them being stuck on the surface. "You have the bridge, T'Pol." He said on his was to the turbo lift and back to his quarters.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"What?" Malcolm asked, bewildered. After contacting Enterprise, Malcolm had gone back to the abode and slept, while Hoshi had gone walking. He was just drifting off into a peaceful slumber, when Hoshi had rushed in shouting something about translators. "What the hell are you going on about?"
"I figured out how they work!" Hoshi exclaimed, sitting on the end of Malcolm's bed.
"How what........Hoshi, what the hell are you going on about?"
"The translators," she said excitedly. When she saw Malcolm's confused face, she explained. "Since we got here, I've been trying to figure out why, if they have translators, we needed to be able to speak French."
"If this has excited you," Malcolm said, sarcastically, "you really need to get out more."
Hoshi ignore him and continued. "Then, I asked Heureux."
"So you didn't figure it out," Malcolm interrupted. "You asked."
"Whatever," Hoshi said before continuing. "He told me they're not translators, they're enhancers." Malcolm shrugged his shoulders. "Then don't translate. Than can only enhance whatever capabilities you have for speaking French."
"Oh," Malcolm said, sounding very under whelmed.
"That's not what's been bothering me, thought." She said, standing. "Their culture. Their technology." She sat back down again. "Doesn't it strike you as weird. I mean, it doesn't seem to fit." Malcolm was still looking confused. "Technologically speaking, they're about a hundred, maybe two hundred year behind us. Yet, how can they have these enhancers? It seems.........wrong."
"Now who's paranoid?" Malcolm muttered to himself. "Look, get some sleep Hoshi. You're tired, and, thanks to you, I'm confused. We'll talk about it tomorrow."
"You're right," she said standing. "Good night, Malcolm." She left the room and went to her own bedroom. Malcolm was right. Something was 'odd'.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You know what you have to do?" Piandre asked.
Feignez said nothing. He simply nodded.
"You shall have to wait until enough time has passed for his recovery. They may become suspicious if it seems to soon."
Feignez, again, said nothing.
"We need this one," Piandre continued. "His species' life coil is almost identical to our own. The tests must work." It's the perfect opportunity, Piandre thought. Any irregularities would simply be traced back to the accident. "We cannot fail this time." He said sternly, looking, for the first time, directly at his companion.
"I understand." Feignez replied.
A/N. Good, bad? Tell me. Getting interested? Wanna know more? Think it's a pile of kake? (If you do, why have you read to chapter four???) It might be a while till my next update; I'm back at University (sobbing sounds). Oh well. See ya, Jen.
