Zara08-Hahaha next chapter, I promise! Commander Riker is about to meet his match... *cue the evil laughter*
Silver dove through the jungle ahead of Carmen, guiding her onward and upward. Her mind raced faster than her feet as clashing emotions fought for a foothold. One second she was livid, thinking only of the scathing lecture she wanted to give Jora. And the next she was scared to death, unable to bear the thought of such a tragedy befalling the Perler family.
The roar of water reached her ears. Here, the river doubled back across the land, ripping at roots and boulders along its banks in a storm-induced rage. Silver slid to a stop above the impetuous flow. Carmen followed suit, searching for a sign of the girl. Fear clutched at her heart. For in the middle of the river, clinging to a rock as she clung to life, was her young friend.
"Jora!" she shouted. "I'm here, Jora! Just hang on!"
Riker came crashing through the brush behind her. He scanned the scene quickly, surveying it with a well-trained eye. Troi appeared a moment later. Her mouth fell open in horror. "Poor things are exhausted! They'll drown if we don't get them out of there soon!"
They? Carmen looked to the river again, and to the boulder cleaving the current in two. Jora hung on the downstream side, gripping the rock tightly lest the swirling water carry her away. But on the upstream side, Carmen spied a Romulan boy. The river rushed at him, pinning him against the boulder. He clawed for a handhold, kicking somewhere beneath the surface to keep from going under.
"Over here!" Elion's voice pulled her attention away. He had made his way lower, down to the water's treacherous edge, and stood near a sapling that bent over the river. "If we had a rope or something, I could climb out there and throw it to them."
"We don't have any rope," Carmen snapped. Though she didn't show it, a small amount of favor had wedged its way into her heart. For Elion had raced to Jora's rescue with the rest of them, thereby giving up a perfect opportunity to escape.
"Improvise, Carmen." Riker tugged on a vine that dangled down the side of a tree, testing its strength. "It always comes down to how well you can improvise. Have I taught you nothing?"
She smirked, only mildly annoyed with his flippant tone in the midst of such dire circumstances. Taking a step back, Riker withdrew his phaser. Elion stiffened at sight of the weapon, but looked on, curious to see what the commander would do with it. Riker aimed high, near the tree's top. Then, after a single shot, the vine fell into a loose tangle at his feet.
"You get that gun from Ebon Plains?" the agent quipped, eyeing the phaser with a tinge of awe.
"Oh yeah," Riker answered. A sly smile curled the corner of his mouth. "Everyone's got one where we come from."
Elion climbed onto the trunk of the sapling with a dry laugh. "I'm sure they do. Now hold tight to one end of that vine and throw me the rest."
"I'm lighter," Carmen argued. She tried to hop down to his level, but Riker stopped her short.
"No. I need you here."
"I can do it, dad." She glared back at him, meeting steel with steel. "Don't you trust me?"
"Yes. And that's why I need you here." He squeezed her shoulder, trying to convey more than he had time to say. "Because I know that you and Deanna won't give up, should the current drag me in as well."
Carmen nodded slowly, understanding. She felt strangely okay with his decision, knowing that yes, he was protecting her as a father. But he was also trusting her as a commander. And that lit an old fire in her resolve, the fire of duty and honor.
"Just a little longer, Jora! Don't let go!" she shouted, hoping that the girl could hear her encouragement over the roar of the river.
Riker threw Elion the other end of the vine. The agent shinnied down the trunk, keeping low and gripping tightly with his knees. As he neared the end he pushed himself upright, steadying himself against the sway of the sapling. It bent beneath his weight, dipping dangerously close to the water's surface. Its roots, which clutched at the crumbling dirt, began to tear free.
"Hurry up!" Riker bellowed. Elion threw him a scowl over his shoulder. Then, after coiling the vine's excess length together, he heaved it across the river with all his might. Carmen held her breath while she watched it sail through the air. The Romulan boy saw it coming. He lunged towards it, making a desperate grab that nearly sent him downstream. But the tip landed just shy of his fingertips.
"Dor-sho-gha!" Carmen spat.
Elion, too, whispered something harshly as he reeled the vine back in. The sapling shuddered beneath him.
"Please…" Jora pleaded, weak and exhausted. Fatigue was prying her fingers one by one from the rock.
"One more time!" the agent called. "Don't worry, Jora! I've got you!"
But the next throw did not meet its mark, either. Nor did the next. Finally, after the fourth throw, the Romulan boy caught the vine with a cry of relief. After wrapping it around his wrist, he swung himself around the rock, right into Jora's path. Upon impact, the children clung tightly to one another.
"Get ready!" Riker called over his shoulder. Troi and Carmen fell into line behind him. They braced themselves as the current swept the girl and boy downstream.
Then the vine stretched out, snapping taut at the end of its length and nearly yanking Riker off of his feet. Carmen and Troi slid across the muddy ground, coming closer and closer to the river's edge. With a roar of effort, Riker dug his heels in and brought them all to a stop.
That's it! Troi encouraged. Now let's bring them in! Riker took a step back. Then another step. And another. As he pulled the brunt of the weight, Carmen and Troi held fast to their end, keeping him from getting dragged forward again between pulls.
Meanwhile, Elion had begun to work his way down the sapling's trunk. He kept one eye on the children's progress and one eye on the shore. Just as he was starting to feel hope's warm hand, a loud crack rent through the air. He had only a second to register the sound before he found himself plummeting towards the raging rapids.
Troi cried out in alarm. "No! He'll die if we don't get him out!"
Carmen, too, felt a surge of panic as the agent's head ducked beneath the surface again and again. He fought bravely but in vain against the current that hurtled him downstream.
"Go," Riker urged. "Keep an eye on him. We'll be right behind you." The children were almost within reach by now. Silver, who had been pacing the shore nervously, jumped into the water as they neared. Just promise you'll be careful?
I will. See you soon, my imzadi. Troi set off in a hurry, leaping over twisted roots and jutting rocks in her path. Carmen's lips drew into a thin, worried line as she watched her mother leave.
"Come on Carmen," Riker ordered. "Just a little more. Then we can go after her." Together, they pulled the exhausted children up onto the banks. Silver followed them, circling worriedly and whining.
Carmen dropped to her knees at Jora's side, turning her face up as she lay in the mud. "Jora! Can you hear me?"
"Carmen?" Her face scrunched together. "What are you doing here? I thought-where is Elion?"
"He's...going to be alright. And so are you," Carmen promised.
The boy coughed and sputtered nearby, hunched over his own knees. Riker thumped him on the back a few times to help clear his lungs. He was small for a Romulan, and seemed somehow frail and pitiful. His stay in the Vakronian jungle must not have been a kind one, Carmen mused. "This is him, isn't it?" she asked, nodding her head in his direction. "This is your friend?"
Jora smiled weakly. "Yes. I...I had to warn him. After you left, Elion came by. Something bad happened to his partner."
"Something bad did happen to his partner. And it could have happened to you, Jora." Her relief was quickly doubling back to anger. "You should have stayed home, where it's safe. What were you thinking? And during a storm!"
"Hey, hey," Riker interceded. "Go easy on her. She's had a pretty bad day." Yet he couldn't help but smile, to see the roles reversed for once.
Carmen clicked her tongue against her teeth. "We'll discuss this more later. Right now, my dad and I have to go after-"
A deep-throated growl rumbled through the air, loud as the Drums. Silver crouched before them protectively, hackles bristling and fangs bared in a fearsome snarl. Riker's hand slid towards his phaser.
"Silver?" Jora prompted. "What is it, boy?"
Three figures stepped out of the shadows. Carmen hissed something under her breath, poising herself between them and the girl. She knew the uniforms. She knew the jet black hair, the V-shaped ridges on their forehead. Romulans. They had been discovered by the Romulans.