The Emerald City (part 7)

Posted on Sun Oct 13, 2019 @ 12:10am by Lieutenant Jason Haines & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Lieutenant Commander River Morgan & Ensign Jessica Mayhew & Ensign Tizo Criteser & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca

1,599 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Elsewhere
Timeline: MD 8, 2200 Hrs

Previously in The Emerald City (part 6)

“So now we’re worse off than we were before,” Jessica said. “No shelter, no food, no allies, and no closer to a way home.”


And now, the continuation

"So why haven't we gone home," Yolanthe asked, “if everything else is disappearing?"

Everywhere they went, they saw the same destruction. There were some shrubs here and there, and some grass, but it was nothing like it had been before. When they reached the forest, everything was gone. There were no large trees, no village, no people.

Alanna ran through where the village had been to where the mother tree once stood. It, too, was gone. On the ground she found three acorns, scattered in the dry brush. She pocketed one to plant on Pangaea if she got back. The other two she held up and turned to the others. "I think we should plant these here."

"If the mother tree is just acorns, does that mean we've gone back into the past before it grew?" River wondered out loud. "Are we here to undo what shouldn't have happened?" It was a wild guess, but there might be something in it. Who knew?

"I don't know." Alanna shook her head. "From what I understand, the entire planet was affected by the two ships crashing. It was under some sort of temporal flux. I don't know if we righted it or not, but it would have happened when Denegal died anyway."

"Maybe we were here not to stop him, but to help rebuild once the ship was gone," Brianthe said, looking at the others. "It makes sense. If they're gone, we have to be the ones to plant the future?"

Alanna considered that and nodded. The Mother Tree would want someone to plant the acorns and start a new forest. "I think we should plant the acorns and go back to where we started. Maybe we'll find a way out back at the saloon?"

“If the saloon is still there,” Jessica reminded. “We are going to get into so much trouble with Temporal Affairs,” she said with a sigh, trying to get the mud off her again. “And I want a shower.”

"I think we can plant trees without contravening the Prime Directive, but I don't think we should try to rebuild or approach the locals," River offered. "We could return to where the saloon was, even if it's not still a building or a saloon as such, because the rupture we all fell into would likely be there as a physical anomaly. Maybe we need to get back there to cross back over so the breach can heal?" she suggested.

"Makes sense to me. If that's where we entered, there's a good chance that's where we'll return from." There was also an equal possibility the anomaly was closed, but it was a risk Annora felt worth taking.

Alanna nodded. "Okay. I'll plant the acorns. Brianthe, can you help me?" The botanist was the best person to make sure the acorns would grow.

Alanna closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to feel where the right spot would be, where she could feel any trace of the Mother Tree. "Here," she said. She dropped to her knees and began to dig.

Brianthe found some detritus to use as mulch and packed it around the acorn. Alanna filled the hole and moved a few feet away to plant the second. She sent a silent plea for the acorns to grow and start a new forest.

River took a risk and sacrificed the remains of the contents of her water flask to give the tiny acorns the best chance to germinate and grow. She spread the remaining moisture between the three neatly dug and carefully mulched and covered sites, and then added her own silent wishes and what she supposed was some kind of clumsy inner prayer, although she had no idea what kind of deity she could call on without getting struck by lightning for the cheek of even asking for something. She hoped that as the benefit she was appealing for was not to herself directly, then perhaps she might have some right to ask for it, and did so anyway on the supposition that if you don't ask, you don't get. She stepped away and stashed the flask for hopeful refilling, somewhere, sometime.

"Okay, let's go see what's left of the saloon," she said.

Brianthe nodded. "And hope there's a way home."

The trip back to the saloon was much easier compared to when they first came to the village. But when they got there, they found nothing but the dilapidated remains of a building.

As the group approached, each of them felt the strange energy they felt when they were first brought into this world. It was an odd sensation, as if they were being stretched.

As the feeling of being stretched grew, in each of their minds they could see a small star system. A large Borg cube moved through the system. Three vessels that looked similar to Starfleet starships followed it, firing weapons.

Their weapons started to get the better of it, but two of the Starfleet vessels were destroyed. The third put what was the killing shot into the Borg cube. Part of the cube broke away and slammed into one of the warp nacelles, breaking it in two. The cube fragment and the Starfleet vessel got trapped in the gravity pull of the nearby planet and plummeted toward the surface.

On the surface near the ocean, a young alien fished with a spear. A shadow caught his eye. Looking up, he saw the Starfleet vessel fall. It slammed into the ocean, and its momentum caused it to almost bounce off the water as it flipped over and then started to sink. The force of the crash generated a large wave that, no matter how fast the young man ran, he could not escape.

Elsewhere, the cube plummeted toward a wooded vale near a mountain. Villagers went about their day, oblivious to the danger falling their way until almost the last moment. The cube ripped into the side of the mountain, sending numerous boulders rolling down the side of the mountain and through the village, crashing into a number of buildings. Two days later, the dust from the crash settled, revealing a scar in the mountain, revealing a large green vein of ore. Curious to what the ore was, some approached, and then they start to feel dizzy as its latent energy washed over them.

And then the feeling of being stretched goes away, and the group found themselves in the holosuite. The cards were still sit on the table, the player piano played in the corner.

"Where did you all go?" asked Sam the bartender.

Alanna looked around, hoping that by some miracle Jason was there, but there was no sign of him. She reached into her pocket and felt the acorn. "To a galaxy far, far away," she said. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go back to my room now." She needed to be alone. After everything that happened, being here, without Jason, was more than she could deal with.

"Do you want some company?" Brianthe asked.

Alanna shook her head. "No, thanks. I need to be alone."

She nodded to the bartender. "Sorry, Sam."

Alanna turned to the others. "Thank you." She couldn't stay here. Being back without Jason was more than she could deal with. Before she started to cry again, she left.

Brianthe turned to the others. "Well, care for a drink?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll retire to my room as well. It's been an ordeal, to put it mildly," River declined politely and went off as well, unable to deny that she was very relieved to be out of that suite and back in the familiar corridors of their own ship in their own time at last.

Tizo looked around the room as it materialized into view. He wanted adventure when he requested a deep space posting, but wasn't sure what to make of the recent experience.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to turn you down. I'm going to get changed and head to the Temple and say a proper prayer for the Lieutenant."

Annora's first instinct was to check with the computer to confirm the date and time. The familiar voice confirmed it was still 2393, with the local time being 2200. Aside from a torn costume and gaining the possession of a hunting spear, she'd come out of this temporal event relatively unscathed. What she didn't look forward to was the numerous debriefings that were bound to come out of it. If there was any consolation, she was already familiar with Temporal Investigations.

"I'll take you up on that drink.”

“Me too,” Jessica said, slapping down her new knives. “And someone send for a padd. It’s going to take all night to write this report,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t suppose we can holo up a bath?” She asked, picking mud from her once-blonde hair.

"If you don't mind mixed company," Brianthe said. She ordered drinks for all of them and sank into a chair.
____
OFF

Lieutenant (jg) Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner
The Box of Delights

Lieutenant Commander River Morgan
Acting Chief Medical Officer

Ensign Jessica Mayhew
Security Officer

Ensign Brianthe Oaxaca
Botanist

Ensign Tizo Criteser
Security Officer

Lieutenant Annora Tessaro
Chief of Security

Sam, holographic bartender
APB Lieutenant JG Jason Haines

 

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