Dusty Legends; Skeletons and Snakes (Part 1)

Posted on 15 Jan 2013 @ 9:27pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes

3,747 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony, Romulan War Battlesite
Timeline: MD 05 1315 hours

Previously

"I am sure we could get transported to the site, if you would rather." He then leaned forward, but not too far and softly said, "I heard that there had been some kind of military conflict with the Romulans, back about 2156. You never know. We might find something . . . with the right tools."

" I was thinking of something more of an adventure, just fun. "

"Oh," Kiri shifted her knees before looking up to meet his eyes again. To her to do something like that but not do the best possible job of it, was a little strange. The fact he was smiling made her more comfortable though, that she wasn't making things difficult for him. Almost biting her cheek she went on, "I don't really know anything about adventures," Her childhood hadn't had any, neither had her teenage years.

"How about we plan this for day after tomorrow." He said confidently. "I should have things all done and set into motion. What do you say?" and he extended his hand 'to shake on the deal'.

[Continued]

ON:

With a shimmer of blue light two figures appeared on an open patch of grass. Compared to the colony, it was cooler here. This time Kiri was dressed rather differently, a tan anorak covered a blue woollen jumper and white blouse. A pair of heavy dark green combat trousers and black walking boots completed her outfit, a black rucksack on her back. Her hair was the same, a single braid reaching down most of her neck. Walking around outside in a strange place was not something she took causally. If anything happened she wanted to be ready for it, whatever it was.

Theron stood and arm's distance next to her with the same attire as he attended the restaurant group trip. He had felt no need to change clothes multiple times a day. He believed the causual brown clothing was more appropriate for this event, and he always prefers that level of comfort.

Ahead a scene of broken ground reached out as far as the eye could see. The skeleton of a Romulan Bird of Prey stuck out in the middle distance. Everything of any sort of use was long scavenged from it, now long vines seemed to hang from its broken form. Almost making it appear as if the skin was intact in some places. Weathered craters covered in grasses and in the odd place stunted trees she took a deep breath before looking to Rhodes. It was his idea to come here, what did he have in mind?

From his large brown shoulder bag, Theron pulled out a tricorder to do a quick sweep. He thought it was always best to know who else may be about. Nothing significant appeared on the scans. Putting it away he commented, "We should probably stay clear of the wreckage." He turned to her. "There are quite a few small creatures now calling this their home."

As long as they were smaller than sheep and didn't actively hunt humans Kiri wasn't too worried by animals. Here eyes traced across the parts to avoid, making note of what to stay away from, "Okay." She wasn't really planning to go clambering inside a wrecked ship.

Theron felt there was a lot more behind that little "Okay", but didn't ask. he stepped forward without a work hand headed down what seemed like a not so used path through some knee high grass and bushes heading down the hill.

Kiri followed, finding a problem, she didn't have her land legs. Starship corridors, paved roads, Academy buildings, they all had flat ground. For the last three years it was where she had walked, it was hard to keep balanced. It took several steps before her mind remembered what ground was, back home where she could climb mountains and clamber over almost vertical hillsides. Catching up too a little effort but the memories of home brought a smile, then loss, she missed home.

Theron didn't have any agenda for this little romp. He just wanted to get away from the ship and all the crew for awhile. It was possible that the responsibility of being in charge of the department had taken its tole, but he wasnt sure how to describe that feeling yet. He was very pleased that Lt. Parker had come on board to lead the security team. He knew that their initial meeting and conversation had been touchy to say the least. But he figured they would all be professional about it and things would work out.

Kiri shared the silence, taking in what she could see around her, it was nice to be away from the ship and colony, it felt free, there was a sky. There was grass that was nice underfoot, wind, anything to distract her from thoughts of home. In turn ticking away about work, infinitesimal modifications to the sensor network, crew rotations, lab permissions.

Desending from the hill, Theron felt a warm breeze hit him soothing him. It was so, so nice to feel the warmth of a sun beating down on him and the fresh air about him. Theron stopped dead in his tracks. He saw something move in the grass before them.

Kiri didn't feel the sun the same way under her layers, she was cold, not uncomfortably so but it wasn't pleasant. Her attention was more on the grass ahead so it was rather abruptly Kiri stopped, trying to figure out what he was looking at before finally noticing.

Watch in front of them the grass shifted again. Theron pointed with his left. Then out of the grass just 2 meters ahead of them an animal slithered across the path and to the other side. I had to have been 10 cm in diameter green and tan scales, and apparently no legs. He had heard of snakes before and the classes in zoology (sp) at the academy mentioned many different types of animals across the known galaxy. His world of Tandar Prime, however, did not have such creatures without legs. He was slightly terrified and mystified at the same time. Because of its type of movement, he could only guess at its length, possibly being 6-7 meters long.

After it vanished into the taller grass now, Theron turned back to Kiri saying excitedly, "That was amazing!"

Kiri watched it also, it was certainly a large snake, or something similar. Her questions were ones of scientific curiosity, what did it feed on in these grasses that allowed it to grow so large? It had to be fast, its pray slow or it was sneaky and venomous. To her it was with interest rather than wonder she replied, "It was quite large, for a creature of its type." Her assumption was he knew what it was, at least as well as she did. It went without saying they should be very careful for the rest of the trip, maybe she should take her tricorder out?

"Is that right?" Theron was unsure . "We do not have legless creatures on Tandar."

"Yes, on Earth there are," Kiri remembered back to her lessons in school, "There are snakes and legless lizards that look very similar, but they tend to be smaller. There are also creatures like eels that swim in the sea, and molluscs, they are small and crawl on a single flexible foot," There she was, getting carried away, "Sorry," Managing an embarrassed smile.

"No. Do not appologize." Theron corrected, then took a step closer to her slowly, gently. "This is us and this is what we do. Please be yourself with me."

Kiri looked at him warily, not sure why he was moving closer. Her assumption had to be that he wanted to listen to her talk, but other than that. Kiri didn't know herself very well, at least her social self, walking in the wild was something she always did alone. The her that was here, she was new, she didn't know how to act like herself.

With a slight smile he asked, "Shall we continue?"

Seemingly deep in thought Kiri nodded slowly, "Yes," She was fine to keep going, her eyes would watch the grass for odd movement, just encase there were more snakes out there.

Theron turned and continued down the path. He glanced around from time to time and looked up at one point when his eye caught several small animals as they flew over head gently on the thermals.

They had covered quite a bit of distance by the time Kiri spoke again, soft and unsure of the words, "Do you like walking?" What else was there really to talk about, he hadn't said anything about the battle she'd been reading about or said very much to her. She was struggling, but she didn't want to make it seem like she didn't want to talk to him, it was hard.

Theron smiled at the question, but did not want to make her feel bad for asking. "Oh, I guess I do. I just like experiencing new places." He slowed, then stopped, turning half way back to look at Kiri, then out up on the valley that lay before them. "I may never see something like this again. I want to take it all in . . the beauty, the stillness, the creatures I see here." He looked at her and asked, "What about you?"

Kiri didn't mind walking, like him it was the landscapes and visuals that she liked. Looking up at the sky was much more fun, watching the stars dance across the night. He put it in much better words than her though, it hinted at something rather poetic, "I like how it looks, how it feels." The land here though wasn't all that impressive to her, it was different than home, but not as magical. There were no tree covered domes, no rivers, no towns, no people. Then she felt like a child, when she had been really a child, running in long grass, hiding. It was fun, then she had stopped, was it still fun? That was childish, silly, "Is your home like this?"

Theron looked about, "Oh, no. Very little of my planet is left for nature. If it is flat enough like these rolling hills, then it is used for farming or industry of some kind." he looked back to Kiri, "Only the rough terraine is left for the adventurers." he finished with a smile.

Earth was much the same, over the years almost everywhere that wasn't a park and wasn't too cold or hot to live in had been given over to first humans and now many other races. Still there were enough places that Kiri knew what it was like, from her own rural island in a sea of farms to jungles and permafrost forests. She thought hard about it, that would be rather horrible, she liked the outside.

He began to walk again, raising his voice so she could hear, "Other planets in the Tandar Sector still have open areas like this. I'm sure that someone in the planetary high counsel has plans already made up for most of it. It may take a few hundred cycles, but they will find something to do with it."

"What about the animals?" There were no legless creatures, but what about all the others, if there was no open land where would they all live? Was it already gone?

Theron stopped and turned to face Kiri. It was an uncertain and sad look on his face. "It is the typical growth of society and encroaching on wilderness areas. The native creatures run to where they hope to find a place to live, but many many times they roam into the neighborhoods and industrial area and are killed by ground traffic or killed by animal control personnel."

Kiri was rather disheartened by that, it was starting to sound like it wasn't a very nice place. The wild wasn't something she really fitted into, neither were animals but she appreciated it, she couldn't really imagine a planet without them.

Theron explained, "There is no need for zoos or wildlife refuges in the Tandaran society."

Trying to read his expression she asked, "Would you like to visit a zoo then?" Kiri found them interesting once in a while, mostly for the fish. There was a whole lot of life in the galaxy, the most alien things she saw were at the Beijing Zoo.

Theron was a little stunned by the question. He was not sure how to answer it. His face was squinted slightly with his lips also slightly puckered, looking past her in thought. He finally replied, "I think that would be very educational." raising his eyebrows, "And possibly fun too."

Kiri was glad he thought so, already she was trying to think if it was possible to do it while on shore leave. It would have to wait until almost the last day, she wanted to do something with him though. This was going well right? "I can see if we can go before we leave, if you would like?"

Theron nodded slightly about the idea. "Yes. Sounds like a great idea. Were you thinking of just us two going or asking a couple more to join us."

The question struck her as slightly odd but fair, "I don't know, no one has really talked of animals or ecology since I joined the ship." Now she was lost in thought, thinking of the others she knew. Which of them would enjoy spending more time with her, looking at animals from afar?

Theron added, "Just leave the idea as an option if a person comes to mind." She looked slightly uncertain. He felt he needed to help refocus them both on the here and now. "Kiri, there appears to be a small stream over there." point to the left further down the hill another 300 meters. "Shall we go in that direction?" Which would mean going off the path and through the ankle high grass in this that area. He was not sure how she would respond to walking across uneven/rough terraine.

Kiri's main worry was huge snakes rather than how hard the ground was. Peering into it she tried to see if there was anything moving or resting in there, snake or not. After a few seconds of tip toe she nodded, "Okay," What would the waters be like here, sparking or brown, would something be drinking there?

Theron could see the hesitation in her body language, but proceeded. He glanced about as they went. There seemed nothing of interest in the area. It was very possible that the entire area had been gone over and anything of value had already been picked up and taken.

Kiri followed but froze every now and then when the wind blew the grass, trying to work out if there was anything there or not. She knew she could just use the tricorder but that would make it clear how worried she was. What she was doing made sense in her head at least, even if it made her look rather odd.

As they approached the stream, Theron could hear and enjoyed the comforting sound of flowing water. It was just a small stream about a meter across, but the bank was about 2 meters high. It must have erroded this channel deeply over the years. Stopping at the edge he turned back to look at Kiri.

Kiri returned the look and peered over the edge, it was a long way down to the water. There were tiny shellfish in it, sparkling in the light. Her attention was then grabbed by a tiny yellow bird, zipping from the grass to a small hole in the bank. There were lots of them, now she looked tiny heads with beady black eyes watched her silently, it made her smile. They were the smallest birds she'd ever seen, so quiet.

Theron followed her gaze and then saw the small birds that seemed to flit around at a group. The thought of a group conciousness used by the birds popped into his mind. He looked back at Kiri and smiled.

Kiri kept watching them, they seemed to relax when they didn't move. Preening themselves and flying around, they seemed to be gathering things, thick grass, seeds, berries. She didn't know anything about the birds but putting things together she gathered they were a colony. Like feathered bees, that was really cool.

Then something below him at the water's edge glinted in the light. Theron stepped forward to the edge of the trench and looked down focusing on that spot. After a moment, he said, "I think something is down there."

Her attention was drawn to where he was looking, her brow furrowed. Whatever it was, it was quiet small. It was a long way down into the water, the ground looked too soft to climb.

"Here" Theron stated, pulling the bag strap off his shoulder and handing it to Kiri, "Hold this."

Taking the bag she looked very perplexed, he wasn't planning to go down there was he? Why take the risk? Rather meekly she asked, "Shouldn't we find another way down?"

"Just stay put." Theron replied, "I am going to see what this is."

Frowning Kiri waited, she didn't approve of this. Holding his bag she watched in silence the birds seeming more worried than she was.

Making his way down the steep grade of the trench to the water's edge, Theron stopped, just getting his feet wet, but side stepping on a stone to not get any wetter. He glanced up at Kiri and smiled. He realized that the trench was deeper than the 2 meters he had earlier predicted. He could not see out of the trench. He then looked down to where the shiny object was located. He reached forward and lifted this small piece of metal from the sand and rock. He turned it over in his fingers for a moment. It was flat round and not quite 2 cm in diameter. It had a loop on one side and flat with a design in the metal on the other.

The tiny yellow birds fluttered away squeaking as he got closer, watching Kiri felt sorry for them. This was their home and they were disturbing them, poor birds. There was also the matter how how he was going to get up from the steep soft soil, that afterwards he would be covered in soil and water as well.

Theron looked up smiling slightly excited, "Kiri, I think it is a button of some kind."

Buttons were mostly out of fashion on Earth. Kiri had few things that had buttons, most had magnetic clasps, ties or zips rather than the older fiddly buttons. She couldn't really see it from where she was but it didn't seem something worth making much fuss over. Quizzically she answered, "Okay?"

Then, Theron's eyes went wide with amazement. There in the mud, just below the grass at the top, appeared to be the hilt of a hand weapon. He could already make the grip and hilt, the blade buried further into the hill. No one would have ever seen this, Theron thought.

With the button secure in his pocket, Theron reached up with his right hand, moving some sand and rock out from around the grip. He grasped it firmly and pulled. It would not budge.

Kiri watched with confusion and slightly annoyance, what was he doing now? There wasn't much thought that he could be hurt but if he was then she'd have to help him. Wasn't this meant to be a nice walk?

Taking another stance and putting his back foot into the water, which this time he did not care. Placing his left hand against the mud wall near the hilt, he again tried to pull it out. But this time, he moved it up and down first repetitively. Once he got a couple centimeters movement, with all his might he pushed against the wall and pulled the hilt. He extracted a blade from the mud wall.

Watching with wide eyes Kiri had her breath caught in her throat, a sword? How did? Putting the peices together she kept her eyes on it, she didn't know much about swords but maybe, given the location.

He did not recognize it right off, as he looked at the short sword in his hands.

"I think, maybe its a Romulan Officer's Gladius," Crouching down on the edge for the bank she looked down. Her lessons on Romulan culture had a little bit on weapons and history. During the war they could disable ships and in boarding actions sometimes officers had swords. Most of the time though they just hung on the wall or on dress uniforms.

Theron looked away from his find, up to Kiri, "You may be right." He looked at the sword again turning it over in his hands.

Trying to confirm it she asked, "Does it have carvings of swirls along the blade, a hawks head on the pommel?" If it was then it was quite a find, they should report it to the Colony's Archaeological Representative.

He tried to wipe the mud away, but decided to squat down and moved the blade through the water, and wiping the blade with the other hand. As he stood the water dripped away to reveal a shiny blade with swirling patterns etched into the blade. Theron glanced up smiling ear to ear. "Yes. I think you are right."

Kiri was quite excited, but she wasn't going to let it get in the way of her duty. Looking down at him she managed a smile, feeling warmer inside her coat and jumper, "We should report this find." Overall it wasn't that important. Still it didn't belong to them and either the government here may want it or even the Romulan Government might want it returned.

Theron knew she was right, but part of him found it as a find that he wanted to keep. Still holding it in his hands and admiring it, "Maybe i can turn it in with requests and stipulations that if they do not want it . . it might be returned to me for my collection?" He ended with more of a hopeful question.

[TBC]

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Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Theron Rhodes
Assistant Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo

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