Collateral Damage - A Sudden Detour Part VII

Posted on Tue 6th Oct, 2020 @ 9:02pm by Lieutenant Elliot Jericho & Lieutenant Commander Kiara Lena

1,107 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Uncharted Planet in the Thetacron Sector
Timeline: MD:17 0500 hours

Previously:

"Let's try that smaller mountain over there." Elliot pointed to a mountain top of a much shorter mountain that was probably a half days walk to the base.

She looked at it for a long moment. "Okay. We'll leave at first light. If we make good time, we can be back by nightfall." At least, she hoped so.


And the story continues.....

Elliot woke up at first light. He had packed a small backpack with the emergency beacon along with a small power source and one of the solar cells that he had constructed. The solar cell would charge the power source and run the beacon during sunlight hours and the battery/diode power source would have to last during the hours of darkness in order to keep the emergency beacon going.

Elliot looked over and could see that Commander Lena was also ready to go. She would be in charge of their meals while they were gone from the cave.

Kiara had packed two water bottles for each of them--and a small filtration system in case they had to refill them from a stream. She also had ration bars and some old-fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the trip. And, in case of emergency, she had a fishing hook and line, some flint and steel, and two solar blankets in case they got stuck. She hoped they'd be back by dark, but she was prepared, just in case. Or she hoped so, anyway. She checked her pocket knife, tricorder, and utility tool on her belt. "Okay. Let's go."

Elliot stepped outside, the darkness retreating but only a little. It was a cloudy morning and those clouds looked like rain clouds to him. Just as he thought that a raindrop hit him on the cheek, "Oh great, it looks like a wet one." He smiled and thought that at least things would stay cool for their little trek to the mountain.

"Let's hope it doesn't last long," she said, hoping it would only be a morning sprinkle. "Unless you want to wait and go tomorrow? Personally, I don't mind a little rain." And if they got stuck, they could find shelter for one night.

"I'd really like to get the distress beacon going as soon as possible. I don't mind getting wet as long as there is not too much lighting." Elliot looked up at the clouds again, "Those are storm clouds, at least they are where I come from and we'll probably get pretty wet." Elliot thought for a moment, "I think that there are some rain ponchos in the survival kit that will help some."

Kiara pulled out the rain ponchos and handed one to Elliot. "Might as well have these handy." She put hers in an easily-accessible pocket of her pack, picked up her walking stick, and began to head in the direction they'd agreed on. She'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail as it was easier to manage. She was especially grateful for it now as it wouldn't get in her face if the wind picked up. "What do you like to read," she asked to start up a conversation.

"I actually like to read a little of everything, but I'm always finding myself back to reading Shakespeare. He came up with such interesting stories." Elliot paused for a moment to ley Kiara catch up on the small trail, "What about you, what piques your interest?"

"Like you, my interests vary. I like Shakespeare--although I prefer his comedies to his tragedies. I also like Plato and Aristotle. I read a lot of biographies and histories, too." It started to rain before they reached the base. Fortunately, it was mostly a drizzle.

"We should stop here and take a small rest and break out some rations and some water. The hike only gets harder from here on out." They needed a break since they had been walking steadily for hours and who knows when they would find another good spot to stop for a break. They needed the rations and fluids to keep up their energy.

She nodded and let her pack slip to a dry spot under a tree and stretched. "Yes, that would be good. I don't want to wait too long or my muscles won't want to get moving again." She smiled, but it was true. While they'd done a lot of walking since they crashed, but today would be tough.

The couple ate quickly and only rested for a few minutes, however, it began to rain harder. "We should get moving," Elliot said as he stood up and began putting on the rain poncho. Elliot looked up and noticed that the clouds were dark and threatening. He blinked several times as the rain struck him in the face repeatedly.

"Let's see how far we can go before we have to find shelter," she said, grabbing her gear. It would be just her luck that someone would find the shuttle while they were halfway up the mountain. She took a minute to adjust her pack under her poncho and follow after Elliot. With the rain coming down in sheets it was impossible to make conversation, she fell in behind him and focused on keeping up.

Over the next few hours, the hike was demanding. The small trail that the two followed began to get muddy and slippery. Elliot couldn't really talk to Kiara because of the rainfall, but every few minutes he would glance back at her to make sure she was still there. If not possible, the clouds seem to make it even darker. Perhaps it was an eclipse of some type mixed with the dark clouds making it like nighttime.

Elliot thought he heard some type of growl off behind them and turned, but saw nothing. Perhaps it was in his mind or some type of thunder that was just coming into hearing range. He shrugged it off and kept trudging.

There it was again, the growl, but this time it was much louder, like a grizzly bear on earth. Elliot looked back again at Kiara to see if she had heard what he did and he noticed movement behind them. A large bulk of fur, dark brown had come out of the tree line behind them about 25 meters. It had the form of a grizzly, but the face and head were different. This thing had tusks and was almost pig like in the face. It noticed them and began running towards them.

Elliot stopped and pulled his phaser while putting a hand on Kiara's shoulder so he could shoot past her. He squeezed the trigger...

 

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