Creepy Crawlies, Part 3

Posted on Sat May 7, 2016 @ 3:42pm by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Lieutenant Liam Reynolds

1,574 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Pangaea (Wrap up)
Location: The F'Aulan Imperium
Timeline: MD13 / 1215

[PREVIOUSLY]

...Suddenly they were somewhere else.

It was a spaceship in orbit of the planet. They had been beamed up. Quickly they realized two more insectoids were nearby pointing their weapons at them. A third came out of the shadows. This one was holding an electronic device near its mouth. "Why are you trespassing here? This hunting ground belongs to the F'Aulan Imperium."


[ON]

Liam ignored his irrational response to the whole insect walking thing. Now they were closer he could sense something. These beings were real. Just incredibly alien to anything he had encountered before. Despite sharing multiple legs as a feature to Voskenes race, they sensed so different. Liam just hoped they weren't going to end up dinner.

"We didn't mean too," he said in a measured and calm voice. "The guardian on Pangaea sent us here. We don't even know where here is. And would gladly get back to our own people if you can direct us."

"We don't know the guardian of Pangaea," the F'Aulan with the translator said. "Is that your lord?"

Crewman Nakada spoke up. "No, the guardian is just a person...I think...who guards the underground tunnels of his masters, the Fae. He sent us through one of those tunnels and we ended up here."

The F'Aulan traded looks with each other and chattered excitedly in their insect language. Then the leader spoke again. "The Fae and their allies are not welcome here. We thought we had destroyed all their stone markers, even though they are invisible to us. Do you herald their return?"

"We are no allies of the Fae," Ambassador Voskene protested, but it was unclear whether the F'Aulan understood or not.

Nakada slowly raised an open palm and used the other hand to open his tricorder, well aware that they still had weapons pointed at them. "You say a stone marker? Did it have markings like this?" He showed them the screen displaying images of the Fae lettering he had gotten off the marker below on the planet. It provoked more chatter among the F'Aulan.

The leader spoke again through his translator. "The markings are instructions. They say to stand on the marker again and it will show you the way back. That's how they traveled before they discovered how to move inter-dimensionally without them. Tell the Fae never to come here again. We sent them back to their dimension once before. Much has changed in a thousand years. This time we know how to defend ourselves."

Nakada shook his head. "You don't understand. We don't represent the Fae. They're hostile to us, too."

The F'Aulan leader wasn't listening. "Give them this message." He drew his own weapon and shot Nakada. The young Ktarian fell backward, clutching his chest.

Liam moved forward and managed to grab Nakada before he fell to the floor. He was feeling panic and in a lot of pain. Annora it seemed couldn't believe her eyes and had her weapon out on on the insectoid. Whether pulling the trigger would help them in any way remained to be seen.

"We just want off this world and back to our people," Liam told him firmly pulling the other crewman back away from the weapon. Liam desperately tried to use his hands to apply some pressure to the now bleeding wound. " Send us back to the planet. We will get on that stone tablet and if we find the Fae again tell them of our encounter with you but know this. We are not pawns in yours and the Fae's disputes."

Without a word the F'Aulan beamed them back down to the planet.

An instant later they found themselves on the same grassy meadow. The hunting party that had been enjoying their meal was gone now. The stone marker was only a few steps away.

"Hurry...please," Nakada said, barely getting the words out through groans of agony. With one arm draped around Liam's wide shoulders the group stepped onto the flat piece of engraved granite.

Instantly a tunnel became visible to them. A dark void ripped into the very fabric of this bright, sunny day. On the other side they could see the sentinel waiting for them.

There was no medical facilities where they were. Only it seemed insectoids how wanted to hunt and eat them. Liam decided to take the lead. At least if they went back to the sentinel, they were .... hopefully on Pangaea again. "Come on, Lieutenant can you help me please," Liam asked. Nakada was becoming heavy and the blood was getting all over both of them.

"Sure thing."
Annora moved up and wrapped Nakada's other arm around her shoulder."

Annora and Liam struggled to get Nakada down the small tunnel. "Have either of you got a med kit? or anything?" Liam asked quietly. If not they were going to have to do everything they could to stop the bleeding and find Amia again if he stood a chance of surviving this.

"I'm afraid I have no such kit," Voskene said, skittering along behind them.

"Dr. Telamon had it," Nakada said in despair. There was no telling where she was at right now.

"Sorry, I didn't bring one this time. We can easily create a makeshift bandage."

The security officer made a note to always bring a med kit on any away missions. Should they get separated, it would be wise to have their own medical supplies.

The sentinel watched their return with its unreadable stone expression. As they laid Crewman Nakada down on the rocky ground it said, "surprising that you returned at all. Others have not."

"Well we had a little help from some insectoids," Liam said trying to keep the anger out of his voice. This thing had knowingly sent them there and now they had a man seriously injured. And for what, some thousand year feud between those beings and these Fae who it seemed enjoyed talking in riddles and sending them into strange situations.

Once they reached the sentinel, Annora reached into her pack and pulled out the head covering for the robe. Thankfully she had decided against wearing it, or otherwise it would be dirty like everything else. It may not be sterile, but the immediate concern was to stop the man's bleeding. She tore a long strip off and tied it around his wound, using the rest as a direct covering.
"It will work for now, but we should try to find real medical care."

Grunting in pain, Nakada agreed. "Let's get out of here," he pleaded. He was beginning to feel panic that he would die down here.

The sentinel looked up at the granite cave ceiling. "It would take you more than a day to climb back to the surface. I will help you get to your ship. Go." Gently it waved the palm of its hand over their heads....

A second later they reappeared on the surface of Pangaea in a flash of light. The mouth of the cave was only a short distance away, and one of the shuttles.

Liam immediately hit his comm. badge as he with Annora's help heaved Nakada up again. "Reynolds to Telamon. " There was just static. It seemed Amia was not back or contactable yet.

"Damn," he said. "Lets hope to good we can get inside that and patch him up with whatever's in the first aid kit."

As he lay on the ground Nakada looked to the parked shuttle, then to Liam. "Please, get me back to the station," he begged in a raspy voice. "I don't want to die here, Mister Reynolds."

Liam nodded. He didn't want him to die either. "Just keep talking Nakada, stay with us. We need to keep pressure and try to stop your bleeding." He was desperately trying to remember all the things Amia would do. Digging around in the shuttle he was able to find a bog standard federation med kit. He found a hypo which he knew was a pain med. "Hopefully this will help," he told him pressing the hypospray to his neck.

The pain med did the trick. Nakada relaxed visibly although he still felt a bit of anxiety. Whatever those insectoids had shot him with was preventing blood from coagulating. He was bleeding out.

He had no idea if the Fae were telepathic at all, but he tried. ~Please allow us to get our man help. We just want to leave. All of us. Please give us our people back~ he though desperately.

Then a fighter flew over their heads. It was one of the station's. A voice from the commbadge soon followed.

"Lieutenant Reynolds, is that you? We were sent to check on you."

Liam smiled. Hearing that voice and seeing that ship was suddenly a beacon of hope. He touched his commbadge.

"Yes it me. Am I glad the cavalry got here. Solider, we have a man bleeding out and need to get him to sickbay asap. We are still however separated from the rest of our party. Its me, Nakada, Tessaro and Ambassador Voskene."

"There's a shuttle behind us. We'll have you out of there ASAP."

The fighter flew in a circular pattern while they waited for the backup shuttle to arrive.

"Doctor," Nakada whispered through his haze. He was looking towards the mouth of the cave.

Dr. Amia Telamon was emerging, followed by the Counselor and the Ferengi Ambassador.

[TBC]

 

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