One of Our Scientists Is Missing (part 10)

Posted on Tue Mar 9, 2021 @ 6:05am by Lieutenant Alanna Wells & Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca & Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon & Ensign Jessica Mayhew

1,124 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Si vis pacem, para bellum
Location: Pangaea
Timeline: MD 02

[PREVIOUSLY]

“We aren’t on the ground yet,” Travis warned. He could hear the whine of his boats compensating for the extra load. He prayed his power pack would last. “Sorry to be so...physical, sir,” he apologized to Alanna for holding her tightly.

[CONTINUED]


Ace looked at Travis apologizing all over himself for holding Alanna. He wanted to laugh hard, but he managed to stifle it. If there were any safer arms, those would be them. He was so stiff that a board would be jealous. Calling back to Bri, he said, "I'll take that under advisement for after dinner!"

"I promised dinner, nothing more," Bri countered.

"Right now, let's just get to the ground. I want to see if the beanstalk is going to shrink when the cloud disperses," Alanna said.

Ace chuckled at Bri. He had no idea why she was so resistant. He also had no idea why he played with her so much. Normally, if a girl was not interested, he would move on. After all, there were plenty of fish/women in the sea. Yet, for whatever reason, he put up with her barbs and first rejection. But she obviously flirted with him. The entire show on the beanstalk was meant for him. So, clearly, she must be conflicted because she could not resist him, he decided.

Alanna picked up on some of what Ace was thinking. Probably because he'd gotten used to the telepathic dead zone that was the cloud. She didn't say anything. Partly because she wasn't going to get in the middle of whatever may or may not be going on, and partly because Bri could take care of herself. Still, she wondered why Ace was here at all, given their last meeting in the arboretum.

She turned her attention to the beanstalk. Now that they were in a controlled descent, she could focus on that. She'd scanned it on the way up, so contented herself with a look from a distance on the way down. She still had seeds from the beanstalk and from the trees to keep her busy later. She wondered how the white trees would adapt to the soil on Pangaea. They were going slow enough for her to take out her tricorder and record data.

Travis was focused on keeping his boots steady so he and Alanna didn’t upend. He watched the ground approaching, closer and closer. His boots sputtered. The ground came closer faster. At about ten meters, his boots whined and went silent, and gravity took hold full force. Travis twisted around, putting himself between Alanna and the ground to cushion her as they hit hard. He grunted as something snapped and pain burned through him.

When they were all down, Alanna untangled herself and went to check on Travis. "I have a med kit."

"There's one in the shuttle. It's closer," Bri said.

Travis hissed. “You okay, sir?” he asked Alanna, clutching his ribs.

"I prefer ma'am, and I'm fine, thank you," she said. "You took the brunt of the fall. We'll get you taken care of in a minute."

Brianthe came running back with the first aid kit and spread it out on the ground.

Alanna prepared a hypospray for pain and injected the security officer. "You should feel better shortly."

Brianthe handled the medical tricorder. "Broken ribs. We can fix those faster than you can replant a geranium." She pulled out the bone regenerator and quickly fixed the break. "I think you should see a doctor to make sure there isn't anything else wrong, but that'll get you safely home."

Alanna turned to the beanstalk. It was gone, as were the clouds. "We got down in good time."

Ace laughed. "Anytime you need someone to take a plunge, well, you now know where to find him."

She laughed. "Duly noted. No offense, but I hope Jason will be around if there's a next time."

"Indeed, Jason should be with you. Do you know where he is?" Ace asked curiously and professionally.

Alanna paused to reach out telepathically for the man she considered her bond-mate. After a moment, she smiled. "Yes. He's here on Pangaea. He's been taking a bit of a sabbatical.”

Travis sighed as the drugs took over and his bones reknit. He sat up gingerly. “Thank you.” He slipped off his grav boots, which smoked a little bit from the fried power packs. They had made it just in time.

Alanna nodded at the boots. "That will likely make a great story in a few weeks."

"Why didn't you take Jason with you?" Ace asked.

Travis eyed the two officers, who looked like they were about to have a thing. “I’ll go get the shuttle,” he said, picking up his boots and heading back in the direction of the cabin. Wind drift and walking in the cloud had landed them fairly far from Alanna’s homestead where they had left the shuttle.

Alanna watched him go and shook her head. "Because I was only going up to the cloud line and back. The clouds lowered as I approached and once I realized there was a problem, I couldn't reach him, or anyone."

"I'll let you know what I find when I study the seeds," Bri said. "Or are you coming back with us?"

Alanna shook her head. "I still have a week of my sabbatical left and I want to work on the site." She also wanted to find a place to plant the runners. Those trees would be gorgeous. "Let me know what you find."

"Okay. I'll call you later tonight so we can go over those reports."

Alanna sighed. "Okay. Give me time to shower and have a decent meal."

Bri hugged her. "I will. And next time, let me know before you climb any beanstalk."

"I'll try," Alanna assured her.

She turned to Ace. "Thank you for the rescue."

"Think nothing of it," Ace told Alanna. "It has been worth it."

Bri chuckled. "We'll see if he feels the same way after dinner," she said telepathically.

"Be careful," Alanna said, although she really wasn't the best person to tell someone else to be careful. Especially after climbing a beanstalk.

Out loud, Alanna said, "I'll file a report with Federation Sciences about the beanstalk and send a copy to Captain Soran."

"Good. I'll gladly let you deal with that."

Bri turned to Ace. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," Ace replied, noting Bri's happier attitude. He put his arm outward, leading her way towards the shuttle, saying, "After you."

____
OFF

Lieutenant JG Ace Cannon
Assistant Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant JG Brianthe Oaxaca
Assistant Chief Science Officer

PO3 Travis Nottingham
Security Officer

 

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