Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters created therein.
First Impression, Chapter 10: It's Like Gilligan's Island, but in Space?
Metal clanked on metal as the ship made its way uneasily into one of the rusty docking ports. Rusty? Una wondered at that. There really shouldn't be rust in the vaccum of space. She couldn't tell much else about the structure as Jack had programmed the ship to back them in blind. Aside from the unspectacular view of a docking clamp and entry port, there weren't many clues as to their current whereabouts.
The ship connected successfully with the structure and Jack activated the de-pressurizing and docking sequence. The door of the shuttle hissed open and Una took a breath of humid, musty air. She started coughing, surprised by the smells that greeted her.
Before she could get accustomed to her new surroundings she felt a hand over her eyes.
"Now this is ridiculous. I'm not going to stumble around this place with my eyes closed!"
"I'm not asking you to, but you need to keep your eyes shut for a couple of minutes."
"Should I ask why?"
"I'll tell you…in a couple of minutes." She felt the muscles in his hands twitch as he shifted slightly. Something clattered to the ground and she started, eyes flying open beneath his cupped palm. Her breathing became more rapid and she tensed. This guy really could be anyone—had he lured her here to kill her? She blinked rapidly, trying to get a sense of her environment.
"Relax," he told her. "Just keep you eyes closed." She didn't respond. He sighed.
"Look, I'm going to take my hand away now. You don't have to do what I asked, but I highly recommend that you do. I'll be right back." With that the hand fell away, giving Una barely a fraction of a second to squeeze her eyes shut again.
She heard him walking away down what sounded like a hall. The footsteps receded beyond her hearing and she was alone.
Silence stretched all around; she tried to gauge what kind of place she was in by the quality of it. In the distance she began to make out small sounds, almost like…animals shuffling around. When she shuffled her feet the walls seemed to absorb the sound—slightly strange since most ports of call in space were largely metal. The air around her was warm and damp, almost like a greenhouse. And the smells! It was earthy, mingled with a heavy sweet fragrance. Her curiosity was aching to know what this place was.
The light through her closed eyelids suddenly got a lot brighter. Someone had turned on the lights.
His footsteps sounded again in the corridor. She turned in his direction expectantly.
"Go ahead and open them," he told her.
She did.
Her jaw dropped.
She had been wrong—they were metal walls. They were covered, though, with some type of creeping reddish moss. Vines tangled over part of the doorway in front of her and a large red and white flower bloomed audaciously along the doorframe. Through the doorway she could see more vines and leaves.
"What is this place?" she asked, awestruck.
Jack didn't answer. Instead he held out a PADD to her.
"Cat got your tongue?" she asked. He waved the PADD insistently. She took it and looked.
He had typed a message on it.
The generator has been switched on—it should block their optical feed. They can still hear us. Use this PADD for communications.
He was watching her expectantly so she nodded that she understood. She typed on the PADD: what is this place?
Abandoned Vulcan science station.
What's with the plants? Who's taking care of them?
Don't know what the Vulcans were doing here. Experiments on deep space hydroponics, I guess. The plants took over.
Are those animals?
Yes.
What kind?
Don't worry about them.
Not a good answer!
He smiled and pocketed the PADD, to her infuriation.
"Would you like a tour?" he asked out loud.
Una followed him through the door and into the jungle.
Taurik stood calmly in one corner of the cage while Vesta paced—or rather, prowled. She hadn't said a word to him since they had been deposited there.
Turning his attention to the bars, Taurik waited. There was nothing else to do at this point.
"Ambulating continuously will not get us out of this situation," he observed.
"We wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you!" Vesta exploded. She had stopped pacing and stood, hands on hips, in the center of the cage. "Our crewmate is gone, the mission was compromised, and now more lives may be at stake."
"I know," he answered softly. Vesta was startled by the response. It was almost…emotional.
"I should have been better prepared for the away mission," he continued, turning away and gazing through the bars. The lilt was gone. "I am not accustomed to using violence."
"Sometimes you have to," Vesta snorted. She did not like her new role in this plan—being captured went against everything she believed a good security officer should be. But his answer dissipated some of her anger—not because she blamed him any less, but because it reminded her that she was the experienced officer on this mission—she had to act like it. She walked behind Taurik and peered out with him.
"It must be terrible, being kidnapped from your home and family, brought here and sold to people you don't know by people you don't know…"
"It must be quite…frightening for them."
"By the time Starfleet gets a contingent of ships out here to close them down all these people will probably have been sold. I wonder how many of them will get home." The Andorian looked sad and angry at the same time, Taurik noticed. He did not feel the emotions with her, but he did experience a surge of compassion towards both his cell-mate and their captured companions.
Lights above their cage door started to flash and an Orion stomped into the room. Instinctively Taurik stepped in front of Vesta. Vesta not so instinctively pulled him aside and stood almost nose to nose with the guard.
"You're up," he told Vesta. "Be nice."
Taurik braced himself for the coming melee…but it never came. Vesta sneered at the man and sashayed out of the cage and up to the podium. "Anything's better than this place," she spat at the guard, "and THAT Vulcan."
Vesta stood defiantly atop the block as the Orion auctioneer announced her and prodded her. She swatted at his pointer, much the amusement of the crowd. When bidding began it was fast and furious as Vesta quickly became hot property. When she finally sold there was a round of applause and catcalls to the lucky winner. From the cage Taurik could not see who this was and did not have time to ruminate on it as he was dragged the the block himself only minutes later.