The surface of Taurus III, although alien, seemed eerily similar to Earth. The grass was green, the air was crisp, and the sky was a warm mixture of orange, blue, and purple. A permanent sunset for all to see. The Alpha colony had managed to settle within a beautiful clearing. Strange plum colored trees dotted the edges, their ethereal leaves glittering in what little light the planet's prime sun gave it.
A breeze could be felt as it swept the tall grass along the shins of a handful of colonists. The swishing of their legs was enough to disturb the quiet of the field. They walked to the center of their newfound town, a tall older gentleman in red led them. He appeared to be smiling, excited to receive visitors. Finally, a chance to show others the beauty of this newly discovered world. He beamed with pride as the familiar twinkling of lights appeared before him and his people.
The landing party materialized in the center of the clearing, a few feet from the colonists. They took a few glances around, Captain Kirk smiled at the fellow before him. "Ah, you must be Mr. Fleck. Captain Kirk. These gentleman here are our science officer, Mr. Spock, our CMO, Dr. McCoy, our navigator, Mr. Chekov, and two of our security personnel, Mr. Cliff, and Mr. Hughes. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, outstretching his hand. The party each nodded accordingly.
The man was all too happy to shake the captain's hand, grinning ear-to-ear as he did so. "No, the pleasure's all mine, Captain. Welcome! All of you, welcome," he said. Mr. Fleck turned towards the rest of his group. "These are just a few members of our colony. Mr. Strat is our chief cultivator. Ms. Vale is in charge of surveying the land. This gentleman here, is Dr. Hall, our surgeon general, and this…" he said, taking the hand of a mild-looking young woman, "This is my wife, Delilah."
The woman offered the party a small smile. "It's wonderful to meet you all," she said. Delilah squeezed her husband's hand. "I trust Roger has made you all feel most welcome? If not, I'm sure the planet's surface will do just that."
"The scenery does look rather stunning, doesn't it, Bones?" said Kirk.
The doctor took another look around, his frown softening only slightly. "I suppose it is, Captain." He folded his hands behind his back.
"Well, gentlemen, now that we're all acquainted, why don't I show you around some before we get to work?" inquired Mr. Fleck, beginning to walk towards the colony.
"Yes, I think that's a fine idea. The crew's been needing a little rest, haven't you, gentlemen?" said the captain.
Some of the party grumbled some before following, making small talk with the colonists as Kirk and Mr. Spock caught up with Mr. Fleck.
Fleck smiled at the men. "We don't have much yet, but Ms. Vale did manage to secure some of the local livestock. Until we figure out what they are exactly, they make for a pretty impressive zoo."
"Pardon me, Mr. Fleck, but if you are uncertain of the creatures' attributes, how do you know if they are indeed livestock?" said Mr. Spock.
"It's all dandy, Mr. Spock. You see, Ms. Vale is calling them 'livestock' because they look a lot like the farm animals we have back home. I agree with her. Ya' know, I saw this creature that looked a lot like a cow once. Except it was covered in blue fur and had the weirdest set of antlers on it."
The science officer raised a brow, taken a bit aback. "Fascinating," he said. "I look forward to Ms. Vale's contribution to Starfleet's Galactic Memory Bank."
The tour of the colony was short but thorough. Mr. Fleck was able to walk the party through all of the colony's facilities. Each of the members of his group was dropped off at their apparent stations. Mr. Strat displayed the different types of edible plants he had begun to cultivate, Dr. Hall showed them his ward, getting excellent advice from McCoy on how to stretch his medications until a larger shipment arrived. Ms. Vale had even given the party free reign over the "zoo" she had collected. Mr. Chekov and Mr. Spock seemed especially interested in the strange blue cow.
"What in mother's name is that thing?" asked Chekov, making his way over to the fur covered behemoth.
The creature's fur draped over its eyes and legs, making it nearly impossible to see how the cow propelled himself. It was almost as if it ghosted across the grass, chewing the curd and raking his antlers through the tall blades.
"Mr. Chekov," said the captain, waiting outside the holding pen, "Be careful. Remember that Ms. Vale still isn't sure what that thing is or what it can do."
"I do not believe the Ensign can hear you, Captain. He seems to be most preoccupied with the creature," said Spock.
As if on queue, the space cow's roar was heard across the colony, along with Mr. Chekov's screams. It was quite the sight to see the blue beast charge at the Russian. Chekov narrowly escaped the cow's rage by practically vaulting over the fence. The cow's antlers, however, managed to become wedged between the boards until Ms. Vale could dislodge them.
The party enjoyed a hearty laugh at the Ensign's expense, except Mr. Spock of course. Although, the Vulcan did permit himself the smallest of amused smirks. Mr. Chekov, however, was not so amused and resigned to sulking for the duration of the tour.
Mr. Fleck ended the tour once they reached their base of operations. Compared to the rest of their settlement, the base was in shambles. Their records were scattered amongst the quarters, and the small armory they had was stocked with next to nothing. Their rations were beginning to dwindle as well, although thanks to Mr. Strat and Ms. Vale, this wouldn't be a problem for much longer.
"As you can see, gentlemen, you couldn't have come at a better time. We could really use your help. The Beta colony on Taurus IV has some medical supplies we could use, and Mr. Strat has some seedlings he'd like to give them in exchange. It seems our colony had the luck of being the most fertile." Mr. Fleck gave them a smile.
"Yes, Mr. Spock believes it has something to do with being the closest habitable planet to the system's star. Isn't that right, Mr. Spock?" said Captain Kirk, turning to his Vulcan companion.
"Quite right, Captain. In fact, Mr. Fleck, your colony should be able to supply both the Beta and Gamma settlements with an adequate food source, as well as your own."
Mr. Fleck raised a brow at the science officer in confusion, before nodding. "I suppose you're right, Mr. Spock. That's a fine idea, and I'd love to tell the other colonies about it, but I can't seem to get ahold of them. The communications hub is all old tech, stuff the Federation doesn't have any use for. We were supposed to be getting upgrades any day now, but we haven't seen hide nor hair of a freighter in this system. Contacting Starfleet's been a real nightmare. I'm surprised your ship could hear us at all, Captain."
Kirk cocked his head to the side, folding his hands in front of him. "Well, to tell you the truth, Mr. Fleck, our communications officer could barely get a read on your frequency before we closed our lines."
"We got mostly static, but your message came through okay," said Mr. Chekov.
"Well, wasn't that a miracle?" said Mr. Fleck, throwing his arms above his head in mock celebration.
"Actually, Mr. Fleck, I believe it was simply our proximity to the planet's surface," said Mr. Spock.
Dr. McCoy rolled his eyes, groaning in annoyance. "It's a figure of speech, ya' damn hobgoblin."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen," said the captain, "We didn't come to the colony to argue. We came to help out our friends here until Starfleet arrives. Now, why don't we get started, hmm?" Kirk clapped his hands together with another smile.
Mr. Fleck laughed at the party, but agreed. "Yeah, well, we can start with the damn communications hub. Any of you know how to work this old thing?" He threw his thumb at an old interface panel. It closely resembled a large CB radio, although it appeared to be outfitted with much more knobs and dials.
"Christ, is that what they gave you to work with? Our tricorders are better equipped at communications than that hunk of junk!" cried the doctor.
"Actually, Dr. McCoy—," interjected Mr. Spock.
"Spock, I swear if you make one more blasted analysis, I'll—."
"That's enough, gentlemen!" said Captain Kirk. "Mr. Spock, you help Mr. Fleck get that panel working again. Dr. McCoy, you go back to Dr. Hall and get a very detailed list of all the supplies he needs. Mr. Chekov, you and security head over to Mr. Strat and take any and all shipments for the Beta and Gamma settlements to the clearing. Have Scotty beam you up and put them all in the cargo hold. Do I make myself clear, gentlemen?" he asked, very annoyed with his crew.
"A most logical notion, Captain," said Mr. Spock, folding his hands behind his back and walking to the communications panel.
McCoy glared at the Vulcan, chewing on his lip before he sighed. "Right away, Captain," he said, heading off to the infirmary.
Kirk turned towards Mr. Chekov. "Anything to add, Ensign?" he said, noticing his hesitation.
"No, sir. I'm just curious about one thing."
"What's that?"
"Well, if we're all doing this, sir, what will you be doing?"
The captain gave the Ensign a smirk. "Why, I have a very essential job, Mr. Chekov. I'm going to be making sure Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock don't kill each other."
Mr. Chekov gave a small laugh before walking off with security to the farm, making sure to avoid the animal pens this time.
With the captain keeping watch, and Spock busying himself with the colonists' communications panel, loading the Enterprise was relatively easy work. Dr. Hall and Dr. McCoy were able to make up a list of needed supplies, and Mr. Spock and Mr. Fleck were able to upgrade the hub with a few parts from some spare communicators. The repairs weren't enough to completely get rid of the static, but the signal was now strong enough to reach the Gamma colony on Taurus V.
The captain called his party back to the clearing after the hub was fixed. They said their goodbyes to the colonists and waited for Scotty to lock onto their coordinates. Kirk turned to Mr. Chekov. "Ensign, did you and your men manage to load all of Mr. Strat's seedlings onto the ship?"
"Yes, Keptin. Mr. Scott was able to transport the boxes onboard. We packed them all into the cargo hold as ordered. According to Mr. Strat, there should be enough to feed both of the colonies."
"Excellent, Mr. Chekov," he said, taking out his communicator. "Mr. Scott, we're ready to beam aboard."
'Aye, sir. I've locked onto your coordinates. Ready at your say so,' chimed the Scotsman.
"Energize."
With that, Scotty beamed the party back aboard, thankfully without incident.
Once back aboard, Kirk turned towards the security personnel. "Thank you for your time, gentlemen. I suggest you take your lunch now before we reach the Beta colony on Taurus IV, as I'm sure we'll be needing you again."
The security officers nodded to the captain, making their way out of the transporter room.
Kirk turned towards Dr. McCoy, "Well, Bones, I'm sure you'd like to take your lunch as well. Maybe a little food in you will make you more cheerful."
McCoy just rolled his eyes, marching out of the transporter room. "If you weren't my captain, Jim, I'd clock ya!"
The captain laughed, making his way out of the room, himself. "Mr. Spock, Mr. Chekov. If the two of you aren't terribly hungry, I'd like us all to report back to the bridge."
Mr. Spock followed the captain without a word. It seemed that he wasn't hungry, or at least he deemed it inefficient to eat anything while still on duty. Mr. Chekov, on the other hand, hesitated.
"Sir, I think I'd like to take my lunch. Carrying all those seedlings to the cargo hold worked up an appetite in me."
"Say no more, Mr. Chekov. Have your lunch, but report to the bridge as soon as you're finished."
"Aye, Keptin," said Mr. Chekov, heading off after McCoy.
Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock reached the bridge, manning their stations. The captain turned towards the helm. "Mr. Sulu? Set a course for Taurus IV, warp factor 2."
"Course computed, Captain."
So far, the mission was going considerably well. The Alpha Colony was successful in a peaceful establishment, the cargo hold was full, and the party was unscathed, albeit a bit irritable. Hopefully, the rest of the mission would fair the same.
