Author's Note: This will be it until next week; I'm away at a conference.

2

Bashir awoke sometime later, staring at the bunk above him. Anyone else would have experienced a moment's confusion, accompanied with a blissful ignorance. But not him. He did not have the luxury of not knowing where he was or what had happened, even for a split second. His memory filled in the details neatly. He loathed that. What he wouldn't give for a second of belief that he was on his way home, that he'd be sleeping in his own bed tonight, and back among his friends in a matter of hours.

But he'd woken up with the knowledge that he was stranded on an unknown planet with a junior lieutenant he'd never met before. His enhanced hearing had picked up the sounds of her moving around in the cockpit. He could even feel the slight angle of the ship beneath him.

If it had just been him, perhaps he would have resigned himself to this. Perhaps it would have been for the best, to be removed from society, on his own, not a constant reminder to everyone that a criminal lived in their midst.

But Narayan's life was at stake here, too. She was stranded as much as he was, cut off from her ship and crew, friends and family, her entire life. She couldn't be very happy, Bashir supposed, to be stuck with a Starfleet doctor she'd never met, suddenly dependent on him as much as he was dependent on her.

With a sigh, he rose and saw the ration still on the table. Bashir muttered a curse under his breath and tore it open, staring at it for a moment before choking it down. He wondered how people stayed alive on those things; the idea of starvation was going to become appealing very rapidly if they didn't find anything else to eat.

He went back to the flight deck to find Narayan hard at work. She looked up when she heard him come in and nodded at him.

"How do you feel, sir?", she asked.

"Better," Bashir said honestly. "What have you got?"

"The environmental system is stable enough for now," she replied. "And I did got the transporters working again, although we won't have nearly the range we should have." Bashir raised an eyebrow, impressed at her efficiency. He hadn't been asleep that long, he knew; it was still daylight outside. "I also did a scan of the area, as far as the long range sensors would go. It turns out this planet is inhabited after all. There's a settlement about three hundred kilometers from here."

"Three hundred?", Bashir said, feeling dismayed. "That's a long way to walk."

"The transporters will get us part way, although I haven't been able to calculate how far," she replied.

"I can take care of that," Bashir assured her. It would take him only seconds.

She nodded.

"I have quite a bit of emergency gear in my shuttle, sir, and I did a quick inventory of what you have here. We should have enough to keep us warm and safe. And we won't have to rely on these all of the time," she added, picking up a silver ration package and waving it back and forth between her thumb and forefinger. "I figured out on my first day here what planets and animals are edible."

Bashir breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Thank God," he muttered.

She looked mildly amused, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I should be able to transport back and gather what we'll need from my ship," she said.

Something finally clicked in Bashir's mind, something about her ship that had been bothering him. He had been traveling alone, on his way back to the station, but…

"Were you alone when you crashed?", he asked.

She was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, sir. I've buried my dead."

"How many?", Bashir asked.

"Two, sir. They were sleeping in the back when I lost computer control. They weren't able to get safely strapped in before we crashed."

"I need to run a medical scan on you right now," Bashir said, cursing himself for not having though of this earlier, concussion or no concussion. "If they both died, it was a serious crash, and I want to make sure you're all right."

She nodded and let him scan her. Bashir was impressed by her own patch up job on herself; she had been injured, that was obvious, but had done a decent job repairing the damage. Still, she had been alone, and probably in shock, and there were a few things she would not have been able to do, not being a doctor.

"Take off your jacket," he ordered.

She did so, and he pulled aside the fabric covering one shoulder. She'd sustained a nasty gash, but the angle had made it difficult for her to seal the wound properly. There was an uneven scar, and the area was red and chaffed, probably from rubbing against the material of her uniform.

"You'll need to take your necklace off," he said. She unhooked the thin silver chain from her neck and Bashir ran a dermal regenerator over the area, scanning it again to make sure the internal damage was healing as well. Then he dealt with the bruised ribs, alternately healing and prodding.

"Take a deep breath," he ordered when he was finished. "Feel better?"

"Much," she replied. "Thank you."

Bashir nodded curtly.

"You sustained a concussion as well. I'm going to manipulate your neck a bit. Don't move, just let me move you."

He twisted her head gently from side to side, then back and forth, using his fingers to check the muscles around her spine and on the base of her skull. She grimaced a few times, but said nothing unless he asked her specifically where it hurt.

"Not bad," he replied. "You have some muscle stiffness from the concussion. I'm going to give you a muscle relaxant, and show you some stretches you'll do twice a day. You'll need to do them if we're going to be walking long distances carrying packs."

She nodded and Bashir showed her what to do. He was grateful that she was listening, and not trying to be strong and stoic. He didn't need a companion who was stubborn and unwilling to listen to him.

"Now," Bashir said. "Since you've been working on this while I was asleep, how soon do you think we can be ready to go?"

"I can get my gear easily enough," she said, "With the transporters working, and since there's only two of us, I'm sure we can get organized quickly, sir. But I think it would be best to stay here overnight. There's no sense sleeping outside if we don't have to."

Something about the way she spoke the last sentence caught Bashir's ears.

"What do you mean?", he asked.

She gave him a puzzled look, as if she were confused that he didn't know, or surprised that she would assume he was as up to date on their situation as she was.

"Sir, we're in a mountain range," she replied.

Bashir stared at her for a moment, then nearly ran to the shuttle's hatchway, clambering out. He found himself standing in a high glacial valley, mountain peaks jutting up toward the sky on either side of him. The tops of the mountains were capped in snow, gleaming a brilliant gold-white in the sunlight, standing out against the blue and grey rock that made up the slopes. They were obviously young mountains, sharp and unworn, with steep and craggy cliff faces. Dense stands of dark green trees made their way boldy up the sides of the mountains, tapering out long before they reached the snowy peaks, although Bashir could see the occasional pioneering tree further up, on its own.

He stared up the length of the glacier-carved valley. To his right, about twelve meters away, a river roared past, its water an opaque blue-green, laden with glacial dust. It foamed an icy white as it swirled and tore around the rocks buried beneath the current. The valley floor itself was an alpine meadow, with short grasses, wildflowers, and mosses carpeting the floodplain. His shuttle had cut a swath through the meadow, but an eerie short of peace had returned after his ship had come to rest, and the plants danced gently in the breeze that came off the slopes around him. The only sound was the thunder of the river rushing past on its way out from the mountains.

Narayan stepped out and he turned to her, mouth still open in shock. He had never been in such a young, wild-looking range, at least, not when he could appreciate it. He had been to the Himalayas once, when he had been at the Academy, and Bashir felt it was the only thing in his experience that came close. The governments in whose territories the Himalayas fell had done their best to keep Earth's youngest mountains pristine and wild. Bashir had, of course, been to the American Rockies when had been living in San Francisco, but they had the sense of being well known and lived in; it was rare to find a tourist in North America who had not been to some part of the Rocky Mountains.

He wondered if anyone had ever set foot in the valley in which he and Narayan now found themselves.

"Where is that settlement?", he managed to ask.

She pointed to her right, which meant little to him.

"Northeast," she said. "In the foothills. Do you see those mountains over there? No snow caps."

He followed her gesture and noticed what he had not noticed before. In the distance, there were indeed mountains without snow on their peaks. It was a good sign in more ways than one; it meant it wasn't late spring or early summer, but mid to late summer. The weather would be more cooperative, although it was always a risky business in the mountains. But it also meant there would be game and plenty of edible plants.

Well, he decided, Being in the mountains doesn't change the situation. He turned away from the wild beauty around him, back toward the shuttle.

"I suppose we have a lot of work to do," he said.

Narayan nodded and slipped back into the shuttle, Bashir following her.

By that evening, they were ready to go. Narayan had transported back to her shuttle and returned with a wealth of survival supplies, which had surprised Bashir. She had pointed out quite logically that she and her crewmates had been on an away mission, and he had been attending a conference, so of course her shuttle was better stocked than his. He was still surprised.

He had let her go alone, of course, not wanting to intrude, but he worried about her. Right now, she was focused on her own predicament, but the time would have to come for her to grieve for her dead crewmates. Perhaps, he realized, if now was not the time for her to do that, then nor was it the time for him to worry about it.

While she had been gone, he had determined that the transporters would take them approximately one hundred and seventy kilometers, which put them at the very inward edge of the foothills. From there, it would be about one hundred and twenty kilometers of walking, not a prospect which Bashir relished. Narayan had taken the sensible approach again, saying it was better than walking all the way through the mountains.

He had also mapped out their course. The river would take them most of the way, which would make the journey less difficult. They would be on a relatively level surface the whole way, even if they had to follow a short distance off the banks. As much as they could, they would walk along the banks themselves. Passingly, Bashir had wished for a boat, until he thought about the white water in the river just outside. He did not want to contend with that, nor any unannounced waterfalls.

They both worked on an inventory of their supplies and Bashir was heartened by it. Narayan had brought back with her one pack, and Bashir had one on the Orinoco. She had also brought a tarp, wrapped up quite small, thermal clothing, a set of which looked a bit too big for him and one that fit her, the field rations she hadn't eaten, three phasers, two books of matches, two flashlights, water purification tablets, two thick blankets and two pairs of bulky gloves. Bashir found himself wondering who her captain was; he or she was obviously serious about sending away teams out fully prepared. He just wished they'd provided her with a backup com system.

He himself had his own clothing, his medkit, his own pack, another blanket and he insisted on bringing a small pillow. They pooled together all of their rations and decided on bringing four water flasks, just in case. Bashir looked at the pile of rations that was split between the two of them, and found himself anticipating a real meal, even if he had to catch it and kill it with his bare hands.

They spent the night in the shuttle, their last night of luxury. In the morning, Bashir awoke before Narayan did, and left her sleeping in the top bunk. He dressed and shaved, reminding himself to appreciate this now, because it would be the last time for a long time he got to do it. Then he went outside, bundled up in the thermal clothing, into the cold mountain morning air.

He looked around, his breath misting in front of him. The surrounding peaks, so brilliant and vivid only yesterday, were shrouded now by wispy clouds. It didn't look as though they were massing for a blizzard, however, and Bashir was grateful. He could see the sun beginning to peak out from behind them, just coming over the mountainous horizon. Nearby, the river still flowed, the only sound in the chilly valley.

He heard Narayan emerge from the shuttle and nodded a good morning at her. She nodded back, then snapped her head to her left, looking upstream. Bashir's eyes followed hers, picking up on some small sound, and he saw what had caught her attention. About thirty meters away, two sleek black animals were fording the icy river. They had either not noticed the humans, or simply didn't care that they were there. To Bashir, they looked like cougars, only smaller and shorter. They both had stubby tails that stuck straight out behind them, and large, pointed ears that sat upright on the tops of their heads.

As Bashir and Narayan watched, the lead cat-creature turned its head in their direction, gazing imperiously at them. It had a bright blue nose that stood out sharply against its black fur. The other cat-creature seemed unimpressed with its companion's pause and continued through the water, picking up its paws delicately with each step. The first animal turned away and rejoined its companion. Bashir and Narayan stared after them until they vanished into the thick forest.

"Beautiful," the woman said, shaking her head, and rubbing her hands together.

"How in the world did you hear that?", Bashir asked. His own hearing was, of course, superb. But she shouldn't have been able to pick that up.

She looked somewhat uncomfortable.

"I have better hearing than most people," she admitted.

"Oh?", Bashir asked, raising an eyebrow.

Narayan sighed.

"I was born deaf," she said, not meeting his eyes. "I had gene therapy to restore my hearing, but the doctor accidentally made it better than it should be. At least, he said it was an accident. I don't know, I was just a baby. But Starfleet knows! I told them when I had my entrance physical. And it was done by a Federation doctor. A Starfleet doctor, actually."

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Bashir said, then sighed. Might as well get it over with. "It's actually nice to meet someone else with heightened senses."

"Someone else?", Narayan asked.

He pursed his lips. Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut.

"I'm genetically enhanced. I was only six when it was done to me, so, like you, I didn't have a choice. And Starfleet knows about it, too."

"You're an Augment?"

Bashir winced; he hated that word.

"I suppose so, yes."

Narayan looked at him silently for a moment, her lips pursed into a thin line, her expression unreadable.

"What did they enhance?", she asked.

"Everything."

"Hearing, eyesight, coordination, memory?"

"Among other things."

"Good."

Bashir started, staring at her.

"Good?"

"Doctor, whatever my personal views about this may be, Starfleet obviously thought you were an acceptable candidate if they let you into the Academy knowing this. And if you can help get us out of here, then I don't care how enhanced you are. If it increases our chances of getting help, I'm all for it. Here and now. Do you understand?"

Bashir nodded. It wasn't true acceptance, but he knew that only a few people really accepted him as he was now anyway. He didn't bother to correct her assumption that Starfleet had allowed him into the Academy knowing about his enhancements. To her, it was probably logical; she had been allowed in with her heightened hearing, after all.

"Let's go," she said, nodding toward the shuttle. "The sooner we beam out of here, the more time we'll have to cover ground during daylight."

It was almost like working with a Vulcan, he mused, following her back into the disabled Orinoco. She was so no-nonsense about everything, so focused on the task before her. On one hand, Bashir was relieved to know that he had someone reliable with him, someone who would pull her own weight without prompting or complaining. On the other hand, it worried him slightly. She was almost too efficient, too organized. But perhaps it was her way of dealing with what had just happened to her. He, after all, hadn't lost any crewmates to this planet. And he hadn't been alone for five days. And maybe she just wanted to get home. After all, despite her enhanced hearing, she was a normal human, and he was willing to bet that people didn't walk around eggshells around her. A normal human, a normal life. It was a dream that was just as unobtainable for him here on this unknown planet as it was back home on the station.