Area Scouting Assignment

Posted on Sat Jun 22nd, 2024 @ 1:40pm by Ensign Dani Harper & Ensign S'Niri

1,813 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: What We Do With Second Chances
Location: New Sausalito, Proposed Colony Site
Timeline: MD 10, 1000 Hours

Ensigns Harper and S'Niri beamed down with a small group of other officers with orders to report to Civil Operations for direction. Dani wasn't sure why everything wasn't on hold given what they found on Serenity. If it were up to her, she'd be giving the bulk of the Atarans refugee status on a posh colony site, and leaving the so-called "masters" to fend for themselves. But orders were orders.

Dani and S'Niri approached the makeshift central operations site that had been set up and found Officer Kayto manning the station.

"We're reporting for orders, Officer Kayto," Dani said respectfully.

"We'd like to lend a paw- er, hand." S'Niri added.

The man turned around from a status board he'd been updating and smiled at the pair "Ah, more victims. But honestly I'm glad you're both here. I do have assignments for both of you. Ensign Harper there's a series of options available. There's a series of plots around here they are considering for farming, so soil samples are needed as well as checks on water sources, natural resource surveys geothermic activity, anything of that nature. Also plants and wildlife in the area could be catalogued and possible natural threats. If any of that sounds interesting to you we'd ask that you start there."

Looking at the half Caitian next "Ensign S'Niri, we have a lot of options for you as well. If you're looking for something more predictable, any of the static guard posts around here could always use another body for relief to take a shift. Otherwise any of the teams that are going out into the surrounding area are always encouraged to take security, so if you want to get out and stretch your legs, I'm sure that Ensign Harper would appreciate having someone to watch her back."

Dani turned to her friend, "I did some soil samples yesterday, feel like taking a hike for wildlife and natural threats?"

"I definitely do. It's like that hike I took you on, but better." S'Niri said with a toothy feline grin. "Is there a map we can take with us, petty officer? We might need one considering we aren't familiar with this area as of yet,"

Nevan pulled out a PADD and handed it to her "I've got a few trails on here, loops really that ought to be safe if you stick to them. There should be quite a bit of wildlife and everything to see and catalogue, plus if something happens we'll know where to look. It's split up into quadrants around us so you'll have a chance to loop back and take a break or get supplies before the next trip out if you need to. I'd recommend a standard armament loadout and a medkit just in case, and location transponders, there has been some noted interference lately."

^TAG S'Niri to take Map

"Huh," Dani said thoughtfully. "Even from down here? Any idea what's causing it?" She asked. She had blamed the comms issue the night before on something to do with the ship. Spello had been concerned with the radiation.

"It all seemed to start after we brought everyone safely back on board the Astrea. It could be a naturally occurring phenomenon or not, we don't have enough data yet, we just needed up having some trouble communicating with a team earlier this morning so I've been recommending the transponders since. It could only be an issue during the daytime for all we know. Hopefully your scans will help us determine the source, but I don't see it being linked to anything with the issues we had with the Serenity earlier this morning." Stifling a yawn, Nevan walked over to a replicator and punched in an order for coffee. "Would either of you care for something to drink?"

"No thanks, just one more thing to carry," Dani said. "S'Niri, grabbing anything before we go?"


"Iced raktajino with extra sugar." S'Niri grinned a toothy feline grin. "In a to go cup if you will? I do like my coffee."

Dani held her hand out to take the map from S'Niri while they waited for her rakijino.

Nevan punched in the order and waited for the drink to materialize in the requested type of travel mug before handing it off. "At least the weather should hold so it shouldn't get too hot out or anything."

S'Niri collected the cup with a content purr before handing off the map to Dani. "Sounds good to me, Dani. Shall we?" Part of her was already wondering what they might find. Dangerous wildlife? Challenging terrain? Yes please!

Nevan grinned and made a note of the two officers leaving and what their intended route would be, just in case.

"Thanks," Dani called out over her should as she quick stepped her way over to the outskirts of proposed sites edge. "It's good to get some fresh air, and away from the Atarans for a little bit," Dani said to S'Niri as they put a little distance between themselves and the rest of the crew that was working.

"I swear some of them think I'm one of their wild animals that stood up on two legs. At least two people have asked to touch my tail. No thanks. Only the people I trust get that privilege." S'Niri huffed. "By the way. Scuttlebutt has it that Mundy's up to his old tricks again..."

"Can you blame them? Your tail is exquisite," Dani offered as a playful compliment. "As for Mundy," she added dryly, "I'm over it. That's just who he is, we'll never hear about him acting any other way," Dani said dismissively. She pulled out her tricorder as they walked nearer to the property line that had not been cleared yet.

"Yep. Good riddance. And to think he's supposed to be my boss." S'Niri shivered. "Eugh. He's not tried bothering any of the female crew yet, which is good, so maybe that's a sign he's got some idea of boundaries." She kept an eye out for potential threats as they approached the edge of uncleared territory. "And he better stay in that lane as far as I'm concerned..."

"I wouldn't be so sure on Mundy," Dani murmured. "Until a few days ago he was obsessively in love with me. Give him time."

Dani flinched as a small creature brushed against her leg in a quick flurry to flee from the area they were walking in. "Hey did you catch that?" Dani asked, trying to get her tricorder on the animal, but it moved too quickly away from her before she got a reading.

S'Niri was instantly on alert. Her ears pricked up and the fur atop her head seemed to stand up - clearly she too had seen something, no matter what it was. "Looked like a rat of some kind to me." She answered cautiously. She stared in the direction the animal seemed to have disappeared in, seeming somewhat tense. "Could be something else. Maybe some kind of local squirrel."

"Well, we should keep going, find out what it was, and what else may be lurking back here," Dani stated. "That's what we signed up for isn't it?" She asked as she took a few more steps into the brush and toward the tree line.

"Yeah! Maybe it'll be a new type of squirrel. Don't go chasing after it, now, that's my job." S'Niri joked as they moved closer and closer to the tree line. As S'Niri's paw set foot just a few feet from the tree line the trees began to rustle, almost angrily. Odd. The half Ferasan was instantly on alert, with ears pricked up and tail puffed up like a river cattail. "Lovely. Hopefully it's not an ambush." She quipped dryly. "That's what we absolutely need right now..."

Dani aimed her tricorder at the rustling trees, and made a semi-circle sweep with it in front of them. "I'm not picking up anything," Dani said softly. She reached for her small handheld phaser and held it in her dominant hand as she stepped forward into the tree line.

The grass mere feet in front of Dani's boots rustled. From it emerged what seemed to be a medium-sized feline creature the size of a lion that meowed at the pair before running away. Seeing that S'Niri's posture relaxed, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Nothing that we'll have to fight." She said. "Onward." More cautiously now she stole forward, watching her surroundings at all times.

"Did she just meow?" Dani asked. "Maybe she wants to be friends." Dani put her tricorder back in her dominant hand, her phaser also in that hand, but she wasn't holding it in any sort of position to be ready to shoot it as she scanned again for life forms.

"Something large in the trees up ahead... though I can't really make out if it's avian, or a climbing mammal..." Dani did a few quick steps to get closer. "Or... if it IS the tree. S'Niri, I think this tree is alive." Dani stopped in her tracks and stepped backwards almost knocking into her friend.

Dani whispered, "I mean, I know it's alive. But like, an actual neurological system like it could be an animal. But it also has plant like properties. This is... wow."

"Neurological? Nerves, sensory neurons, all of that?" S'Niri breathed as she gazed upon the towering tree in front of them. She would never have guessed that it contained complex biological features such as that found in mammals - from the outside it looked like an ordinary old tree, but inside... who knows? "We'll need to be careful with them, then. All the trees here. In case it's somehow able to feel pain..." She murmured. "Shall we move on? We can scan as we go."

"They probably can feel pain," Dani said. "I wonder if they can communicate. I didn't see anything about these in the planetary debriefing."

Dani gestured to S'Niri to move on, and she followed, but didn't turn her back on the tree right away. She was relieved... disappointed to not find another as they continued on.

"The other plant life all seem normal," Dani said as they walked. "I kind of want to go back before we leave." As the two continued walking more animals darted through their path and quickly away. More than Dani would have expected for a casual walk through a wooded area. It was past their shift, and Dani circled them back to where they came to study the strange life form again, only to find it was gone.

Dani ran up to the space. "S'Niri, it was right here. How fast do you you suppose that ... can move?" Dani started scanning the area with her tricorder, looking for any signs of the gigantic being. "Where does it go?"

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