Exploratory.
By
Serena Aris.
Disclaimers: Paramount and other big organisations own Star Trek: Voyager, the ship, its crew and the whole trek universe. I'm just borrowing some of it for a short amount of time.
Exploratory.
By
Serena Aris.
Chapter Four.
This world was dark and full of pain. He'd died before when he was evolving into a reptile but it didn't feel like this. This new world felt too accustomed, like an occasional visit from a companion. A familiar instinct kicked in. He felt pain, pain meant that he was alive. His eyelids were lined with lead but he eventually forced one eye open. A searing pain split his head and his eye snapped shut. His head throbbed in harmony with the thudding in his chest. Wincing, he waited a few moments before a feeling of urgency entered hi mind, but he could not remember why. The rhythmic pounding in his head would not allow him to think.
Attempting again, but more slowly this time, he opened his eyes enough for his lashes to filter the light. The throbbing pain remained but he could bare it, where the anxiousness in his stomach he could not. He tried to focus his vision as it swam chaotically before him. Once the world remained on a level plane he found himself lying against his console in the little ship he had helped design and build. Then suddenly it all came flooding back to the pilot, the mission, the planetoid and the crash!
"Harry, Seven!" Tom Paris rasped out, fearing for his friends' safety. Silence was the reply. Panicked he attempted to move. His head was heavy as he struggled to lift it from the sleek surface of the console. He used his arms to push himself up from his stricken position, elevating his head as he rose. Pushing back the nausea the movement caused, he tried to fight against the vertigo that washed over him. He closed his eyes against the rapid downward rush of blood from his head.
Turning his chair, not yet trusting his legs to hold him, his eyes darted around the shuttle's interior. In the dim, smoky atmosphere he could make out a crumpled form upon the floor, and another balancing precariously on the edge of a chair. Fuelled by urgency and concern he dragged his long form out of his seat, using consoles and walls for support as he desperately scrabbled towards his prone friends. Kneeling down to the nearest form, Seven of Nine he forcibly reminded himself of his field medic training and took a shaky breath to steady himself.
Moving a stray golden lock of hair from her throat, he felt for a pulse. As he held his breath and fearing the worse he felt the pulsating of her blood beneath her skin and let out a breath. Her eyes opened suddenly, startling him before relief took over. She stared ahead blankly, before her calculating gaze turned to gaze at him. "Are you alright? How do you feel?"
"I am undamaged." She said in her ingrained mechanical way. She proved this, as she stood up in one swift, graceful movement, then proceeded towards the young man on the chair. Harry. Tom tried to rouse him but he did not stir. The pilot's heart raced and he increased his efforts. He couldn't let anything happen to Harry, his best friend. At the beginning, his only friend, now the younger man was like the brother he never had.
"Harry!" Harry Kim's eyes fluttered. He gasped for air then awoke soon after, much to Tom's relief. "How you feeling buddy?"
"Like I was body slammed by a Klingon." He whispered and elicited a small laugh from Paris.
Seven moved past the blonde man and took out a medical tricorder. "You have sustained bruises to your upper torso and hairline fractures to two ribs. You will live." She replaced the scanning device with a hypospray and a regenerator. Pain relief was administered before treating his injuries.
Kim took a breath without it causing him pain. "Thanks." Seven dipped her head in acknowledgement, as she finished treating him. She then turned her attention to Paris who was struggling to keep his eyes open. In the dim she could clearly see with her ocular implant, a line marring his handsome features from his temple to his jaw. On closer inspection she discovered that it was blood.
She pushed him assertively into the nearest seat and pulled out the tricorder again. She observed Lieutenant Paris wince as the scanning light neared hi eyes, so she shifted the tricorder into her other hand and administered a hypospray in the other. Almost immediately his features relaxed in relief and he gave Seven a smile in return. Her attention detracted from Paris when Harry gave a shout of triumph as the environmentals kicked in, venting the smoke and leaving clean air behind.
Analysing the data on the hand-held screen, Seven found that apart from the head-injury the pilot had also suffered neck injury. When she informed Mr Paris he referred to it as "whiplash." As she dealt with his injuries, Ensign Kim attempted to bring the sensors back online.
"I guess we found out that there is something solid to land on within the green mass." Kim deduced as he opened up the panel beneath his console. He scowled as he saw several fired circuits.
"Well we're not floating, and I'd certainly not call it a landing." Said Paris as he tentatively tested his newly healed neck. The trickle of blood lining the right side of his face was the only evidence of their being any injury.
Kim shot him a sympathetic look as he awkwardly peered round his console. "It wasn't your fault. We're still in one piece thanks to you."
"I concur," said the half-Borg who was now scanning the interior of their ship with a remaining undamaged tricorder. "From my scans, although limited I have deduced that the ship was struck by ionised particles. Details of which are inconclusive."
"Could it have been a natural occurrence?" Said Harry muffled by the console, who became instantly intrigued.
"It is possible. Without the ship's sensors I am unable to clarify."
"Meanwhile Paris moved back towards his station and attempted to look out of the windows. As he looked closer at the void that stared back at him, he noticed tonal differences. Light was trying to get through, and as he searched he found a speck piercing through. If he was in the holodeck, driving his Chevy he would have put the wipers and screen wash on. The Delta Flyer however was not equipped with them.
"I think I've got it!" Harry called, rising from the floor and brushing himself clean. "Seven try sensors now."
She prodded the console with a metal-coated finger and slowly it spluttered to life. Her sapphire eyes roamed over the information-streaming in. "Sensors are at thirty percent. For now."
"Good maybe now we can find out if its safe to go outside? The air in here will only last for so long." Tom said glancing between his friends and squinting at the windows.
"I'll try to send a signal to Voyager while we've still got power." The Ops officer interjected.
"I am reading a nitrogen-oxygen based atmosphere. Analysis states that it is an M-class planet." She said with a raised eyebrow. "It is safe to leave the shuttle. However the oxygen ratio is lower than the Earth's so you will be required to adapt. Normal activities may now become strenuous for you."
"What about you? You're more human now how will it effect you?" Paris asked.
"My Borg nanoprobes will adapt and compensate for the lack of oxygen. I will be unaffected." She informed him. The two blonde crewmembers both looked towards Harry Kim as he let out a noisy sigh. He was still tapping at his console.
"A message has been sent. Whether Voyager gets it is another matter. I'm not sure what effect that outer layer will have." Harry Kim said without looking up.
The three humans unintentionally stood in a moment of silence, mulling over their situation and any possible consequences or foreseeable problems. Voyager's helmsmen moved towards the shuttle's hatch, his footfalls loud in the silence. The manual control was stiff and screeched its reluctance but finally it released them to the environment outside.
The first thing Ensign Kim noticed was how thin the air was. It wasn't what he was used to but it was fresh and clean. As he took deep, slow breaths he noticed how green the area was. They were surrounded by big thick feather- like vegetation that whistled in the breeze. On the back of the breeze floated in the sweet humid scent of plant life. He looked up to the sky and it was blue where he was expecting green. There was no evidence of the green anomaly that they had seen from space. It alluded him as he slowly made his way down the ramp, watching his footing as he stepped onto the ploughed brown earth. Seeing Paris assessing the area around them, his hand holding a phaser ready, Kim opened his tricorder.
As soon as the tricorder registered no other life signs and he reported the fact to the others he started scanning everything else. The air, vegetation and earth were within the M-class parameters. Paris called to him it seemed that Seven had found something more interesting. His two friends were leaning towards the Delta Flyer's port side. Paris was rubbing the back of his neck while staring at something just past Seven. As Kim drew near he could see the cause of their concern. Marring the shuttle's side was a scorch mark that was the same size as him. Other marks had been uncovered from the layer of earth that covered them. The force must have been strong, as gaping holes had been made in the duranium hull plating.
"Did the green layer do that to the shuttle?" Asked Kim his eyes wide open. A flying insect flew over head, halting them immediately with its buzz. The rhythmic beat of its wings was like a heartbeat in the stillness. There was life on this planet.
Continuing on unfazed Seven replied, "it is the most logical cause. It is the main variable in our investigation."
"How did we miss the ionised particles? Surely the sensors would have registered a build-up?"
"Perhaps the ionisation was a by-product of the anomaly that struck us and therefore was undetectable to our sensors until now." Theorised Seven
"Also puts a dampener on the theory that the anomaly is natural." Added Paris, still partly preoccupied with watching the sky.
"It is possible that the anomaly is artificial, however we have yet to uncover evidence that is anything more than inconclusive. When Voyager arrives I can study this planet more efficiently, with its full facilities."
"That's one of the problems. We don't know that when the Captain comes looking for us, that the same will happen to them?" The pilot stood up from his squat position and started to pace, his hand still clasping the back of his neck.
"Whatever impacted the Flyer didn't scatter us into particle dust, so Voyager should be big enough to withstand the force." The Ops officer assured his friend, the pilot took in the logic of his words and ceased his pacing.
"Well, what I want to know is why we can't see or read anything of that green anomaly? Its like it doesn't exist from here." The Lieutenant said exasperated by the many unanswered questions. "So the Delta Flyer is still sending out calls to Voyager?"
"For now anyway. I don't know how long the power is going to last." Kim acknowledged.
"We don't know if the anomaly is in fact an anomaly or if there is any sentient life on this planet. It would help explain a lot if we did find intelligent life."
"Well we do seem to be in the middle of nowhere, in dense forestation. And if there were humanoids on this planet, with any sort of communication device they might have picked up our distress signal." Theorised Kim out loud. "As for the anomaly, it could be affected by light, making it invisible from down here."
"I hope to study the area more closely. This planet could hold valuable resources that Voyager could harness. I would need to leave the immediate vicinity to avoid the results being contaminated by the crash-site," said the former Borg drone.
"Alright, we don't want to go back empty handed, Harry you go with her. I'll see what I can do around here." The ensign and Seven turned to leave their tricorders at the ready when Paris spoke again. "You'll best be taking this," as he threw a phaser in their direction. Seven caught it easily with her cyborg reflexes. At her look Paris explained, "there could be lions, tigers and bears." Harry laughed but Seven merely raised her ocular brow and stated "unlikely," before continuing on her way.
/ o / o /
It had been at least twenty minutes since Harry and Seven had left on their scientific expedition. In that time Paris had pulled open several panels and had wires and connections in organised disarray. The sensors had fluctuated from thirty percent to three percent and communications was soon to follow. Doing the best with what little he had, he tried to maintain his main priority, establishing contact with Voyager. And at the moment with the weather as pleasant as it is life support isn't a priority at this moment in time thought Tom. When he had finished the manual re-routing of power the only console that remained alit within the Flyer was communications. Its small green light flashed rhythmically like a heartbeat, still flashing, still functional. Using the faint green intermittent reflection on the black sheen of the consoles to guide him, he made his way out of the dark ship.
Scrambling over the ripped up earth that surrounded the ship, Lieutenant Paris with what little undamaged tools he could find searched the ship's perimeter. Slowly and carefully he checked the outer hull for damage. He would need Seven and Kim's help to get the other ship's systems online. He had just spotted something that was partly concealed by earth, when a feeling washed over him. His eyes glanced about the area around him, the odd feeling slowly dissipated so he returned to his work.
Drawing his bric-a-brac tools closer to him he knelt down on one knee to inspect the hole he had found. The sun was pleasant on his face and neck and he took a moment to enjoy the natural experience. He took a deep breath savouring the plant smell that brought with it memories of sunny days sitting on the freshly cut lawns of the Academy campus. As he dug away the soil that was obstructing his way he remembered a few of the ladies he would sit with enjoying the sun. That was then, he was different now and he had B'Elanna. A woman with such fire, determination and strength yet harboured a vulnerability that she concealed deep down. He had recognised that vulnerability as it was mirrored within himself. He hoped that he was helping to heal her tarnished soul, as he knew she was for him.
Finally revealing more of the damage to his creation, he was about to start repairs when the feeling returned. He looked about him but it did not falter. The tree line before him was empty and still. Shrugging it off to an over-active imagination he continued with his digging.
A loud "SNAP" halted him immediately and he swung around to face the sound. Unconsciously he held his breath as he listened for danger, his eyes darting. He held this position for a few moments, his lungs heaving. Moving towards the area of the sound, he stalked towards the tree line hefting a hyper-spanner as a weapon. Then a small fuzzy creature no larger than a cat darted out of the undergrowth and he exhaled in relief. Feeling slightly light-headed and chuckling at his absurdity he inhaled deeply and turned back towards the Flyer. Get a grip Paris thought the young pilot.
He came face to face with a black mask. Startled he jumped back, dropping the spanner. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw two more black clad figures phase out of camouflage. They surrounded him as he subtly assessed them. All three, no now six of them had some sort of weapon pointed at him, with other hardware on their waists.
Hoping to break the stand-off Paris spoke, "I mean you no harm, my name is Tom Paris." A she spoke another figure came into view holding a cat- creature like the one that he had seen before. Not liking the feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach he eyed the spanner at his feet.
Just as he looked up and tapped his combadge one of the humanoids fired its weapon. The blast hit him in the thigh. His leg gave out and he toppled crying out in pain. As he landed, he tried to grasp the air that had been knocked out of him. Taking quick ragged breaths he warned his friends, "Harry, Seven, run!" His outstretched hand groped for the spanner. But the proven hostiles were upon him like vultures to a carcass. His weapon violently kicked out of reach. He was struck sharply in his side before convulsing with shock as an electric current plunged him into darkness.
To be continued ...