Storms and Mountains and Pirates, Oh My, Part 2

Posted on Mon 28th Dec, 2020 @ 5:01pm by Lieutenant Elliot Jericho & Lieutenant Commander Kiara Lena

964 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Denouement
Location: Uncharted Planet in the Thetacron Sector
Timeline: MD: 2, 0615 hours

Kiara was missing, probably taken by whomever arrived in the ship. The question remained, why not take both of them unless this was some type of game or perhaps even a test to see how resourceful Elliot was. It bothered Elliot not knowing. Not knowing where Kiara was, not knowing why they hadn't taken him and what was this. First things first, he packed up their belongings and hid them in the cave to retrieve later, if there was a later. He kept the tricorder.

Next thing to do was to create some weapons. He found some sturdy branches and broke pieces off. One long enough for a staff/spear and a couple small enough to conceal as a makeshift knife. He found a good size rock to sit upon and he began to sharpen the ends of his weapons. ~What are these guys waiting for, I'm right here.~ Elliot thought as he sharpened his weapons.

====

Kiara was on a ship, but it clearly wasn't a Starfleet ship or she'd be in sickbay or with people. She wouldn't be alone in a dark room. She listened to the sounds of the ship, the low thrum of the engines. It didn't sound like they were at warp, so maybe they were in orbit of the planet. But where was Elliott?

She sat up, grateful she was still in her underwear. Was there a replicator in this room? Was there anything but the bed in this room? She stood up and felt along the bed until she found a wall at the top, then followed it. A counter, a door that didn't open, a table and chair, and the bed again. No replicator. No food. She went back to the bed and lay back down. Someone would come check on her and she wanted them to think she was still sleeping.

====

When Elliot had finished sharpening his weapons he moved away from the cave so that he could use his tricorder to locate any life signs. Unfortunately, that would also allow someone that was actively scanning for him to locate him as well. He would just have to take that chance. He began his scan. He located a small vessel still on the ground then picked up life signs. Probably the ones that were now hunting him. Elliot knelt down and grabbed a handful of wet mud and with his fingertips ran streaks vertically across his face to break up his outline. It was time to do some hunting of his own.

====

The door opened and someone large walked in. Kiara could tell by the sound of his footsteps. She bit the inside of her lip and held still.

"I know you're awake," a deep male voice said. "We found your ship. What we want to know is, what brought a Starfleet shuttle to this backwater planet?"

She said nothing. She wasn't sure if he was here to kill her or not. She doubted he was here to rescue them.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her upright. "I said, why did you come here?"

His hands were too tight, causing her to gasp. "We crashed on the way to a diplomatic assignment."

He shook her. "Try again. No distress signal, no call for help. The ship isn't damaged enough for you to be injured. So, why are you here?"

"I told you. I'm a diplomat. The shuttle crashed. We were heading for the mountain to plant a distress beacon." It wasn't hard to read his surface thoughts. He thought they were after something valuable. Not the same people who shot them down, but still dangerous. "We've been here for weeks. Do I look like I came here on purpose?"

"You look like you and your boyfriend were having a little campout. I've sent some of my men to find him. Whether they bring him here alive or not depends on you. Tell me why you came here."

He wasn't going to accept her answer, even if it was the truth. She would have to come up with a plausible lie and make sure Elliott was safe at the same time.

====

Elliot's hunch was right, this was a game. The men from the small ship seemed to be hunting for Elliot. Perhaps they figured that hunting and tracking him would be training for them. Perhaps it was an initiation for one of them. He would give them more than they could handle. Once he got a bearing on the men, he adjusted his tricorder to mask his life signs and began to set a trap.

It began to get dark again, a thunderstorm began to roll back in. Loud thunder, streaks of brilliant lightning, heavy rain and winds, all began to work in Elliot's favor. Elliot watched from above in a tree as the men walked about looking for him. They could no longer track him since his tracks had been washed away by the heavy rain. The men began to spread out as they looked for signs. Elliot counted 4 of them, all big and healthy. He waited patently as each passed underneath him. The heavy rain drowned out all sound and then the occasional burst of light followed by the deafening thunder clap.

Elliot eased down the tree slowly, quietly, never taking his eyes of his target. Like a great cat ready to pounce on his prey, Elliot leaped from the tree with a small weapon in each hand. Elliot's first victim went down quietly with stab wounds to both sides of his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground. Elliot quickly hid behind a tree as he kept an eye on the others from a distance. Blood dripped from each of his sharpened sticks. Elliot began to advance on the others.

TBC......

 

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