Storms and Mountains and Pirates, Oh My, Part 7

Posted on Sun 31st Jan, 2021 @ 3:31pm by Lieutenant Elliot Jericho

1,159 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Denouement
Location: Uncharted Planet in the Thetacron Sector
Timeline: MD: 2, 1815 hours

Elliot had nearly gotten the end of one of his sticks sharpened to a point from rubbing in on the rocks. He looked up when she approached, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I'll drape these by the fire to dry. I don't think I'll have to worry about pirates this time." Now that they were back in relative safety she could joke about their recent encounter.

"Yeah, they won't be bothering us again." Elliot said as he continued to sharpen his stick then glanced at the fire that had been keeping the chill at bay, "I better go and get some more firewood, we're getting low." He set down his stick and stood up to leave.

Kiara nodded. They'd need the fire to keep predators out tonight, too. She grabbed the improvised broom and began to sweep, more out of a need to be doing something than anything. She still didn't like just sitting around.

After about 5 minutes Elliot came back with his arms full of wood. It was almost enough to keep the fire burning through the night. He would have to make one more trip for wood, but it was bringing to get dark.

"That was fast," Kiara said. She set the broom down and began to stack the wood so Elliot could get another load before it got too dark. she put another log on the fire and turned her pants, checking to see if either pair was dry yet. One pair was, so she put them on before he returned, then picked up her broom again. She wanted to go outside and look at the sky to see if any ships were out there, but she knew it would be wasted effort. If anyone came, they'd find the shuttle and she'd hear them land.

Elliot headed out one more time for another load of wood before it got too dark for him to see the ground. The hours of darkness and light were not a constant on this planet and were hard to figure out. He made it back to the cave as it became pitch black, guided only by the light of the fire. “Well, that's it for tonight. Its so dark that I can't see my hand in front of my face."

"It's enough for now. We'll stock up tomorrow. I'd like to have a few days' supply in case we have another storm like that last one," Kiara said. She stacked the new wood with the old, making sure it was far enough from the fire.

They ate more replicated rations. Tomorrow, Kiara promised herself, she'd try to catch some fish. "I'll sleep by the wood and keep the fire going tonight. You need the sleep."

Elliot nodded, "Okay, I won't argue with you there." He moved back to where his backpack and blankets were. Still close enough to the fire to feel its warmth and he got comfortable for however many hours of sleep he could get. "Good night then."

Kiara continued to busy herself around the cave. She was feeling restless tonight, although she couldn't tell why. She was tired, but not enough to sleep. After a few minutes, she gave up and went outside to look at the stars. Growing up, she'd occasionally stare at them and imagine herself living among them. She worried about what would happen if no one came to see what the beacon was for and if Elliot would ever get back with his wife. Things that were entirely out of their control, but tonight, after all they'd gone through to place the beacon, she couldn't seem to help herself.

The wind began to pick up causing the trees to sway and move heavily and then came the noise of a small vessel as it flew low, just barely over the treetops. The thruster’s flames illuminated the forest as it flew by in the direction of the shuttle.

For a moment, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then she ran to the nearest tree to hide in its shadow, not sure if the occupants were friend or foe. Part of her hoped for rescue, but with the pirates so recently gone, there was a very good chance it was someone looking for them.

Elliot came up behind her after a moment and put a hand on her shoulder, "Not again." Then another thought went through his mind. "We need to go see who it is, it could be a rescue after all. If it isn't then we can stay hidden."

She nodded. "As long as we stay in the trees, we should be okay." She hoped that if it was pirates, they'd see the state of the shuttle and think their friends had salvaged it and gone off.

"Agreed." Elliot said before leading the way. He stumbled several times, tripping over limbs since he really couldn't see anything. Once they got near the shuttle, they could make out a shuttle craft that appeared to be Klingon in origin. Between the shuttle lights and the lights that the men had, it was light enough for Elliot to make out 5 tall Klingon Warriors and one big, dog like animal that Elliot figured was a Targ.

Klingons. "But are they friendly, or are they part of the group after Ambassador Krell?"

The targ sniffed the air and turned in their direction.

The Targ Handler said something in Klingon then released the targ. Excitedly, the targ ran straight at Kiara and Elliot, easily picking up their sent in the night air. The Klingon warriors followed quickly behind, their wrist lanterns emitting wide arms of light that illuminated the trees. "Oh crap." Elliot said quietly, "We can't outrun that thing. He'll just find us by tracking us. What's that old saying, you can run but you can't hide? Well, we can do neither."

"No, we can't," Kiara said, stepping out in the open. If these were the bad guys, better they find her than Elliot. He still had a wife to get home to. She put out a hand for the targ. "Are you looking for me?"

The targ ran at Kiara like it had found it next meal. When he reached her, it knocked her down and began licking her face lovingly.
She couldn't help laughing. "Hello there. Can you let me up?" she asked the targ, scratching it behind its ears. His ears? She wasn't quite sure.

The Klingons came running up after the targ and one said something on Klingon. The targ reluctantly pulled away from Kiara and went back to its master

Kiara got up and dusted herself off. "Forgive me if I sound rude, but who are you and why are you here?" Better to get an answer now, she thought.

A fifth Klingon came up behind the others and pushed his way through the warriors. This one wore an Ambassador's Robe over his Klingon Armor. "Commander Lena, are you alright?" Krell asked.

 

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