Star Trek: Lineage Ch. 04

Writing scenes on the surface of an alien planet presents 2 odd challenges. First, the time of day at a given point on the planet will not be the same time as aboard ship. Second, the planet almost certainly has a day that is not 24 hours long. I chose to deal with this problem by describing the time of day in reference to the equivalent time of day on earth, based on planetary rotation. Thus, 1200 hours equivalent local would be the middle of the day, regardless of how long ago midnight occurred or what time it is aboard the Athena.

Hope that isn't too confusing.

Tranquility

2299, Uncharted M-Class planet, 40 light years outside of Federation space, 0200 hours equivalent local

Sahar bit down hard, and was rewarded with a sharp gasp. She released the woman's flesh, licking the spot on her shoulder that she had just bitten. Sahar's finger continued to pinch and pull sharply on the woman's pussy lips, her juices dripping down Sahar's hand onto the grass. Her other arm ran under the smaller woman's arm and across her chest, pulling her into Sahar. She nipped at the woman's shoulder again, this time closer to the neck, and again soothed the pain with her tongue.

"You like that?" she growled, and bit down again.

"Ow... oh, yes," the woman moaned as Sahar licked the mark she left.

"Yes, what?" she said before biting down on her sensitive neck.

"Ahh! Yes, sir," she cried.

"I know," smiled Sahar. She released the woman from her arm, and pushed her roughly forward. The woman fell forward, her face on the ground, arms outstretched. Sahar rubbed her free hand over the woman's back as she continued to play with her pussy. Without warning, Sahar raised her hand and brought it down with a crack on the woman's ass. At the same moment, she drove two fingers into the woman's opening.

"Ohh! Ohh, fuck," she squealed as her hands dug into the soil. Sahar slammed her fingers in and out of the woman's pussy, filling the air with wet slapping sounds and the thick smell of sex. "Oh, shit, I'm gonna come!" the woman moaned.

"Not yet," Sahar said teasingly as she slapped the woman's ass again. She continued to thrust into the woman, who struggled to contain her orgasm. Sahar bent over and kissed the red handprint on her ass, before biting down softly on it.

"Oh, fuck..." the woman moaned.

"Not yet," Sahar said as she kissed the spot where she had bitten. She added a third finger, pushing as deeply as she could into the woman.

"Please!" she begged, panting desperately for air.

"Wait," Sahar whispered. She slapped the woman's ass a third time. "Wait." Sahar rubbed over the swollen red flesh, gently squeezing. "Now," she whispered softly, squeezing the flesh in her hands tightly.

A long, high, deafening shriek split the night air.

******

Planet Surface, 0623 hours equivalent local time

Sahar sat quietly on the hillside, watching the suns come up over the plains to the east. This is one of the things she had always dreamed of seeing: an alien sunrise. But she was not happy. Her expression was blank, her eyes tired. Even as the wind tossed her long hair about, the cold morning air biting at her flesh through her undershirt and against her bare legs, she gazed off into space. The last few years had been a blur. Nothing really mattered to her. She simply went about her daily work, filled out reports, slept, ate, and drilled.

Four years of charting gas giants and barren rocks had begun to drain Sahar of her enthusiasm for exploration. The most exciting thing they had encountered on their nearly complete five year assignment had been an unusually small sloth-like creature, and this planet's atmosphere, which prevented transporters from working. Time seemed to have no meaning deep in the bowels of a starship. The corridor lights were always on, the sounds always the same. All that changed was whether or not you were on duty.

Sahar peered down at the figures in the valley below. They were a few hundred meters away, but her keen eyes could still recognize some of them. Commander Sull was the easiest, being Andorian, and Dr. Collins' white hair stood out from the others. Somewhere down there was Zula, Sedaris, Black, and Casana.

Casana.

Sahar had tried to think about her as little as possible in the last four years, but every time she had, it was painful. She thought back to the conversation after Casana's return from her ceremony. She had effectively ended their relationship before it began. After it had become clear what was happening, Sahar fled in tears. They had not spoken much after that. Casana had changed shifts, so they did not see each other much, and Sahar did not try to change that.

Something stirred beside her, and warm flesh touched her thigh. Sahar looked down at the naked body next to her, wrapped in a blanket. This had been the closest she had gotten to a real relationship: a one-night stand with some anonymous crewman.God, what was her name?Sahar tried to think of it, but she couldn't quite remember.Sarah? Samantha? Sandy? Eventually, she gave up.

Standing, Sahar dressed and began to walk down to the shuttle.

******

Deck 19, Main Engineering, 1000 hours

With adjustments to the Primary Energizing Coils, the Annular Confinement Beam can be stabilized, allowing dematerialization/rematerialization.Suvak checked her calculations again.Excellent. She downloaded her work from the console to her PADD and went to find Commander Kolarov in the Armory, where he was working on the Firing Range safety monitoring systems.

As she passed the turbolift, it opened and Chief Zula stepped out. "Greetings, Chief," Suvak said.

"Hello, Sir."

"Why are you on this deck? I believe you are assigned to decks 14 and 15."

"Yeah, well, my communicator failed, and I need it replaced, so Sahar sent me down to get one from the Armory," Zula said.

"How did you find Lieutenant Tehrani today?" Suvak asked.

Zula frowned. "Same as usual. Bad. She's just plodding through her duties like a heartless Vul... machine."

Suvak raised an eyebrow. "And what about Lieutenant Shen?"

"Saw her before the shift started. She's okay, I think. Kinda blue, but I think she'll get over it."

"Unfortunate," Suvak sighed, or as close to sighed as a Vulcan can get.

"Yeah, especially after all the trouble you, me, and Danny went through playing matchmaker for those two. I mean, you knocked Sahar out, and they still don't get it."

"I am fascinated by the ability of many species to refuse to acknowledge their own desires."

"Yeah, well, it kinda just pisses the hell out of me." Their discussion ended as they reached the Armory. Kolarov was just leaving as Suvak and Zula approached, so they parted ways and Suvak walked up to the Chief Engineer.

"Commander Kolarov, I wanted to discuss something with you."

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

"I think I may be able to modify the transporter to lock onto a tricorder through the magnetic interference on this planet, allowing safe transport. If successful, the technique could be adapted to similar environments."

Kolarov listed intently. "Let's see what you've got." Suvak handed him the PADD, and he examined her design. "Very well. Make the adjustments to the Auxiliary Transporter and a tricorder. We'll send it down with tomorrow's shuttle."

"I would prefer to go down myself," Suvak said. "The tricorder component is the most delicate, and I would prefer to be able to make any adjustments personally."

"Very well. I'll add your name to the list for tomorrow's run."

******

Deck 32, Main Shuttlebay, 0900 hours

Suvak was sitting in the shuttle, working on the tricorder when the access ramp lowered. "Hey, Lieutenant, I see you're coming with us today," said the pilot in a soft Welsh accent.

"Good morning, Ensign Morgan. Yes, I am working on a way to transport through the interference. I am going to use this tricorder as beacon for the transporter to lock on to," she explained as Morgan walked past her to the cockpit.

"Yeah, that's great," she said, taking her seat and beginning the preflight protocols. The corridor door opened, and Casana and Zula entered.

"Hey Suvak," smiled Casana.

"Morning, sir," Zula said.

"Chief, Lieutenant," Suvak replied, still working on the tricorder. Casana sat next to Suvak, reading over her PADD. Zula took the seat opposite from the Vulcan, and closed her eyes. "Are we ready to depart, Ensign?"

"Not yet, sir. Still one more," she answered. The door opened again, and Sahar stepped through. She took a seat across from Casana, and looked at the floor. Casana looked at the ceiling. Suvak and Zula looked at each other. Suvak raised an eyebrow and Zula rolled her eyes. "Now we're ready. Bridge, ShuttlecraftArmstrongrequesting permission to launch."

"Armstrong,Bridge, you are clear to launch. Be advised, solar storms have increased magnetic interference on the surface. Expect turbulence."

"Understood, Bridge.Armstrongdeparting," Morgan said closing the channel. The lights in the shuttle dimmed, and the Shuttlebay doors opened, allowing the light from the system's twin suns into the craft. The shuttle lifted off the deck and slid forward silently.

They passed out of the Main Shuttlebay, underneath the aft section of the hull. The shuttle pitched to one side and turned towards the planet below. Brilliant oranges and bright yellows from the suns danced across the inside of the craft as it turned. The planets large oceans and vast grasslands gleamed in the light, a green and blue gem in the dark of space.

"Now entering outer atmosphere. Brace for turbulence," Morgan said over her shoulder. Over the hum of the engines, they began to hear a dull roar, soft but growing. Suvak, however, heard something else as well: a slight hissing sound, very soft, coming from the aft of the shuttle. She was at first concerned, but the sound faded quickly, and she leaned back into the chair. She glanced at Sahar as the planet's gravity began to be felt. She looked uncomfortable.

"Are you ill, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"Guess," she snapped, trying to breathe deeply.

"Might I..." she stopped mid-sentence as she heard another sound. This time, she heard a soft popping, coming from the same area as before. Suvak turned to Morgan. "Ensign, I suggest you run a diagnostic on-"

She was cut off by a deafening bang, followed by the sound of tearing metal and rushing wind. Alarms sounded, and the shuttle lurched to the side sharply. "Shit!" yelled Morgan. "Lost impulse power. Hull breach. We're losing altitude!"

"What the hell?" Sahar yelled. Another bang shook the shuttle, and it began to tumble.

"I've lost control! Brace for impact!" screamed Morgan.

There was a thunderous crash, and sparks flew through the cabin. The flight controls overloaded, exploding in Morgan's face. Another crash, and the shuttle came to a stop.

******

Shuttle Io Crash Site, 0930 hours onAthena,1743 hours equivalent local

Suvak calmly looked around, but her eyes saw nothing. She groped around her waist for the emergency restraint's release lever. Her fingers found it, but when she pulled, nothing happened.Damaged.Suvak grasped the restraint itself and shook it.Loose. Possible structural damage. It may be possible to detach manually.She grabbed the restraint belt with both hands and pulled with all her strength. The belt immediately snapped free on the seat, and she tossed it to the floor.

The cabin was completely dark, but she knew where the door was. She stood, nearly falling on the heavily tilted floor and moved to the ramp. It too was loose, and with a firm push the ramp swung down before falling from its hinges onto the ground. The shuttle was bathed in light, and Suvak turned to assess the damage.

The damage was total. The main window had been knocked out of its frame and now lay with one side on the top of the pilot's seat and the other on the controls. Despite numerous cracks, it was still supporting the weight at least a ton of rock, which now covered the front part of the shuttle. The controls themselves were destroyed, a smoldering mass of scrap. Zula stirred, groaning quietly as she opened her eyes.

"Ow," she mumbled.

"Chief Zula, are you injured?" Suvak asked.

"Huh?" She looked up at Suvak in confusion. "What the hell?" Finally, her mind began to work again. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said, pulling the release lever. The restraint released its grip and she nearly fell forward, her seat being on the elevated side of the wreck.

"Good. Help me wake the others," Suvak ordered as she moved to Casana. Behind her, Suvak heard Sahar moan as Zula pulled her from her seat.

"Easy, sir," Zula said as Sahar tried to move.

"Chief? What the hell happened?" she asked as she looked around.

"We crashed," said Zula flatly as Sahar surveyed the situation.

"I can see that, thank you Chief." Suvak removed Casana's restraint and examined her. She was breathing, but unconscious, and appeared to have received a blow to the head. As Suvak forced one of her eyes open, Casana jolted awake. She swung an arm out, catching Suvak in the jaw, causing her to stumble back and trip.

"Lieutenant Shen, please refrain from striking me." Casana looked around for a moment before realizing where she was.

"Oh. Sorry, Suvak," she apologized. "It's been awhile since I've been in a crash this bad," she blushed.

"When were you in a crash?" Sahar asked.

"Uh, a long time ago," she answered nervously.

"What about Morgan?" Zula asked, changing the subject.

"I do not know," Suvak said as she stood. She slowly worked her way through the debris to examine the Ensign. Tiny shards of glass and metal were embedded in her face, and blood ran down her uniform, but she was still breathing. "She requires medical assistance."

"Chief, get the medkit," ordered Sahar as she joined Suvak. Zula retrieved a medical kit from underneath one of the seats and opened it.

"Sir, most of the stuff in here is smashed, including the tricorder."

"Toss me a light," she said. Zula pulled a light from the box and tossed it to Sahar. Clicking it on, she shined it in Morgan's eye, watching the pupil. "She's responsive. We should move her," she said to Suvak.

"Agreed," the Vulcan responded. "Release her from the harness." Sahar bent down and forced the release, freeing the restraint and letting Morgan's body slump into Suvak's arms. As the others stepped out of the way, Suvak slid her arms under the unconscious pilot's shoulders and dragged her from the cockpit back to the ramp and out of the shuttle. Suvak set her down on the grass a few meters from the shuttle before returning to the wreck.

As her Vulcan friend went through the debris, Sahar bent over the young woman in front of her. She picked the glass and metal fragments carefully from her face, brushing aside a lock of dark red hair. She took a gauze pad from the medkit and gently dried the blood from her face. The dermal regenerator was destroyed, so she tore bandages into small strips and used them to cover the wounds. When her face was clean, Sahar could see another injury.

It was a long gash running from her right forehead down her face, through the eyebrow, across the cheek and ending at the jawline. Whatever had caused it had missed her eye by millimeters, sparing her any serious damage. The autosuture was also broken, so Sahar used another set of bandages to seal the injury without obstructing vision. Sahar stared at the Ensign's face, struck by the marred beauty of the young officer.

"We gotta get out of here!" yelled Casana, pulling Sahar back to reality.

"Why? What's wrong?" Zula asked as she looked up from some salvaged equipment she had been gathering.

"That," Casana said, pointing to the horizon. Sahar looked up to see dark clouds in the distance. Bright flashes lit the clouds a few times a second, and lightening was striking the ground almost constantly.

"Holy shit," Sahar gasped. "An electrical storm? On an M-class?"

"It's rare, but possible," Casana said.

"Suvak, can you get that transporter working?" Sahar called into the wreck. Suvak poked her head out.

"It will take time," she answered. "Time that we apparently lack," she added when she saw the storm.

"Get everything you can. We have to get out of here."

******

2 kilometers from crash site, 1803 hours equivalent local

"A few dozen more meters!" Casana shouted back to the others. Powerful gusts of wind lashed at the treetops, sending the weaker branches crashing to the ground as thunder rolled in the distance. They had covered more than 2 kilometers in a matter of minutes, but they were in danger of being overrun by the storm. They had entered a sparsely wooded area to minimize the chance of direct strikes from the lightening, but it would provide little protection from the full fury of the storm.

"Stay together!" Zula shouted back. "Sir," she added, remembering that she was, in fact, the lowest ranking person on the planet. She was carrying two bags of equipment, staying just behind Casana. Immediately behind her was Suvak, who was carrying Morgan in her arms. Behind them all was Sahar, who carried the least equipment, but was responsible for keeping track of the storm and was the most likely to get separated.

"We have to move!" she yelled forward. She could barely see Casana in the rapidly fading light. The Trill climbed a few meters up a tree, staring into the dark.

"I found an entrance!" she called back, pointing. She stayed in the tree, directing each person towards the cave entrance. Casana had memorized the geological scans of the area, and remembered that there was a network of caves in the hills near the crash site. They would provide sufficient shelter from the storm, assuming that they could get far enough in.

"Are we missing anyone?" Sahar asked Casana, having to yell despite being next to her.

"No. Come on, let's get in there," she answered, pointing to the cave entrance. Cold rain began to fall as they reached the cave entrance, and Sahar clicked on her light. It was useless outside, but in the tight quarters of the cave, it was very effective. But despite the light, she could not see Zula or Suvak.

"Suvak?" she called.

"Up the left passage, Lieutenant," said a voice, echoing down one of the passages. Sahar and Casana made their way carefully up the passageway until they reached a massive chamber. The chamber was at least 50 meters across, roughly circular, with a 20 meter high ceiling. Most of the chamber was underwater, covered by dark, still water, but there was a large dry area in front of her. The floor of the cave was covered in a fine sandy material, scattered with a handful of large rocks. Sahar shined her light into the water, and saw that it was not black, but rather emerald green.

In the center of the dry area, Zula was setting up a makeshift camp while Suvak examined Morgan. Sahar set the survival kit she had been carrying down and went over to the Vulcan. "How is she?"

"I am an engineer, not a doctor. While she does not appear to have suffered any major injuries, her pulse continues to slow, and her fingers are growing pale," Suvak said, holding up one of Morgan's hands for Sahar to examine. She took it in her own hands, and she saw that the hand was extremely pale and cold to the touch.

"She's losing blood," Sahar said.

"Are you sure?"

"Pale skin, restricted blood flow to the hands and feet, slow pulse. All signs of blood loss."

"There is no sign of bleeding, and her uniform is not torn."

"Take it off," Sahar said. Suvak looked at her questioningly. "We have to be sure."

"Very well." Suvak and Sahar removed Morgan's crimson jacket, setting it aside. Her undershirt was white, indicating her department. As Sahar started to pull it off, Suvak grabbed her hand. "Wait," she said, pointing to Morgan's abdomen, "here."