I don't own the Star Trek franchise or any of the characters.
Kira didn't know how everything managed to get so far out of his control. Everything had started out so simple. How did it a simple exploration mission manage to turn into a tragedy?
The mission had been a simple one. Sisko wanted to know more about the area that surrounded the settlement, so he asked for a three person team to volunteer to do a more thorough exploration of the area. Kira Nerys and Angie Kirby had volunteered to go on the mission. Kira had plenty of experience mapping and exploring unknown terrain from her time fighting with the Bajoran rebels during the Cardassian Occupation. Angie just wanted to get away from the settlement for a while, things becoming a bit tense between her and another one of the medics Bashir had been training. Sisko had permitted the two women to go on the exploration mission by themselves, even though he would have preferred there to be a third member on the team.
In the beginning everything had been fine. Kira and Angie walked at a steady pace, looking for anything that could be of use or a danger to the settlement. Already the two women had discovered two patches of edible barriers, a burrow dwelling bird that tasted somewhat like turkey, and several more plants Angie identified as possible medicines.
Suddenly, a massive predatory creature came bounding towards the two women. The creature was at least three meters tall, had a massive build and a bulky frame. The creature walked in a posture similar to that of a gorilla, but its appearance was more like that of a bear. Its body was covered in long shaggy fur, a dark mane running the length of its back.
Kira and Angie noticed the creature as it began to run towards them. The two women dropped the heavy packs they had been carrying, quickly drawing the bow and arrows they each were armed with.
The creature was now less than fifty yards from them and closing. Angie stared at the creature, unsure what to make of it.
"What is that thing?" asked Angie.
"That's a yar-bear. Worf and I ran into one the last time we were out hunting. We saw that thing take down three chattel all on its own. Whatever you do, Angie, don't take your eyes off the yar-bear for an instant." explained Kira.
With a nod, Angie kept her eyes locked on the yar-bear. The two women drew their bows, waiting until the yar-bear was within range before firing upon the beast with a rain of arrows. Neither of the two woman was remarkably good at archery, evident by more than half their arrows missed their intended target, but soon enough the yar-bear had been brought down.
Slowly, the two women approached the body of their kill. Up close the yar-bear seemed even bigger than they had initially thought. The creature did in truth look like something out of a nightmare. Angie was even sure for an instant that the yar-bear was just playing dead, but she pushed that thought aside when she saw the arrow that had entered through one the yar-bear's eyes and exited through the opposite ear. There was no way any normal creature could survive a wound like that.
"Angie, quit daydreaming and help me look over this corpse. If we can determine if the yar-bear's meat is edible, then we won't have to worry about hunting until fall. At the very least we can use the hide to make clothes and the bones, claws and teeth for tools." spoke Kira.
Angie snapped out of her daydream and went about helping Kira test the yar-bear corpse to see if it was edible. The two women spent the next two hours taking measurements and recording their findings on the yar-bear in the journals they had been using throughout the mission. By the tests Bashir and a few of the other scientists had invented, Angie could clearly say that the yar-bear's flesh was indeed edible. She was about to cut into the beast's stomach and examine the contents when she heard a scream.
The scream had come from Kira. The Bajoran woman was clutching her hand, a large stream of blood pouring from the open wound on her palm. Angie ran to the Bajoran's side, quickly looking over her injured palm.
"How did you injure your palm, Kira?" asked Angie.
"I was trying to extract one of the yar-bear's teeth when the forceps slipped and I cut my hand. It's not that bad, Angie. Really." insisted Kira.
It was true. The cut on Kira's hand wasn't that deep. Angie knew it wouldn't need stitches, so she disinfected the Bajoran's wound and put a bandage on it.
Feeling they had collected enough data on the yar-bear, the two women decided to head back to the settlement. They had originally planned to spend another two days collecting data, but with the yar-bear already beginning to attract insects, the two knew they had to act fast before the scavengers claimed perhaps the best kill the crew would get all summer.
After setting up a few traps to deter the scavengers and covering the yar-bear with a tarp to keep away the insects, Kira and Angie made their way back to the settlement. Everything was going fine until they were less than half a mile from the settlement. Kira suddenly collapse without warning. Kira was instantly at Kira's side, helping the woman sit up as she tried to catch her breath.
"Kira, what's wrong? Why did you collapse?" worriedly asked Angie.
Kira looked at the other, but couldn't speak. Angie watched in horror as Kira's eyes grew glassy and her breathing became shallow. Pulling a tricorder from her pack, Angie quickly scanned Kira's vitals. It was just as she feared. Kira was suffering from some kind of infection. But how could Kira have gotten an infection? That's when Angie remembered Kira had cut her hand on the yar-bear's teeth. When she conducted the test on the yar-bear's mouth she had seen nothing that would be of danger…for a human. But Kira was a Bajoran. Whatever bacteria was in the yar-bear's mouth must have responded differently to Kira' Bajoran physiology than it would to a human.
Angie didn't know what to do. She didn't have the right equipment to properly treat Kira. She had to go back to the settlement and get Bashir. That was the only way Kira could survive.
"Kira, I have to go get Bashir. I don't have the right equipment to treat you. I'll be back as fast as I can. Just hang on." spoke Angie.
After moving Kira to a safer location, Angie ran back to the settlement as fast as she could, hoping she would make it in time to save the Bajoran's life.
The yar-bear was a real animal mention in the Children of Time episode. I kept thinking of it as a bear, but that description just seemed to plain. I hope you enjoy how I described the yar-bear, and also how I explained how Kira had been injured.
Sorry about the late update. I've been busy with college and couldn't update until now. Exams are coming up in a week so I might not be able to update again until winter break. Comment if you like the story.