"Hello, ladies," Commander Lataro said, coming up from the thicket. He had his weapon at the ready but pointed towards the ground. He didn't want to appear threatening to the women who were sitting on their blanket seemingly enjoying the sun. But the sun was harsh on him. As he came out of the shade the first thing he thought was how hot it was. Sweat again began to pour out of his skin.
The women were startled and tried to quickly get up. One did and ran to the nearest tree furthest from Lataro's direction. The other tripped and got tangled up in the blanket that they were sitting on. "Ladies! I am not going to hurt you."
They didn't listen. The one on the ground panicked and tried to free herself, but before she even got unwrapped from the blanket, Lataro was there and outstretched his hand. "Please. I am not going to hurt you." He laid his weapon down and freed her legs. She stopped thrashing around but calmly got up and ran. Lataro plopped down on to the rumpled blanket and looked at them. They were now peering out from behind a tree that did little but give them some kind of security. Lataro just looked at them and smiled.
The sun now beat directly on Lataro's exposed head, and he almost thought that he could feel his hair searing in the heat. No longer protected by the shade of the trees, everything seemed to get spin in his mind. The women just looked and then started to smile. He saw this, then tried to smile as well, but as he did, he got light headed and then darkness. Lataro now collapsed on the blanket. The last thing he heard was a the soft smashing of grass and sand as someone or something approached him.
"Captain Maruu. The Lambda Flier is ready whenever you are," Lt. Loran said tapping his com badge. In the shuttle bay, he had just come out of the shuttle and reset the inertial dampeners to take the impact of the hot belt around the planet. The modifications were complete; all he needed was the captain's go ahead.
On the bridge, Commander K'Lara was at the science station testing and plotting the trajectory the shuttle might have taken. As she entered the last set of variables, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Captain Maruu. "K'Lara how is everything?"
"Fine, Sir," she said coldly.
"K'Lara. Please don't be mad. You have got to understand the position that I am in right now. If you weren't...well you know, then of course I would let you fly that ship down there and get Jon. But now you are in no condition to be doing anything like that." He sat down in the extra chair at the adjacent station. "I know Jon means a lot to you. Understand he means a lot to me as well. He is my friend, and I want to see him back safe and sound as much as you do."
"Sir, I know that. I am a big girl, and I can take care of myself," K'Lara said turning to him. "It is just that I am the best pilot here. I know that he is alive down there, and I need to be the one to get him."
"I am not doubting your ability, not in the least. But the baby..."
"Sir with all due respect, please don't concern yourself with the baby. I, we, can take care of ourselves."
There was a moment of silence, a silence that made K'Lara wonder what he was thinking. She returned her attention to the monitor.
"Listen. Go to Dana. If she okays you, then I will let you fly this mission. However if you do, I want you to have a medical officer with you. Understood?"
K'Lara smiled and looked at him. "Captain. Thank you." She reached over and gave him a hug.
"Commander," Maruu said.
"Sorry, Sir," she said, smiling.
<Trajectory plotted.>
The trajectory plotted the course of the shuttle into a swamp that the sensor picked up as making up most of the planet. After launching a disposal probe, as suggested by Lt. Valdago, the telemetry sent back to the Virgo showed one major continent. The planet was mainly made up of over 83% water and most of that swamp or wetlands. The life that the initial sensors had picked up were that of amphibious creatures and swamp-dwelling creatures mirroring the Terran Swamps of Louisiana and Mississippi. However, a few cities were present suggesting an industrialized people and from the attack earlier, a pre-warp or even warp capable civilization.
The ship that attacked the Virgo never made known the motivations for doing so. Lt. Tara was still trying to analyze the data about the attack, however, the only thing that they had come up with was that the ship originated from this planet. But where was the prevailing question on the minds of Tara, Valdago, and even Captain Maruu. There was no evidence of a space dock where a ship that size could be constructed. If that was the only ship this planet had, then the Virgo was responsible for the destruction of the planet's only space vehicle. Unlikely as that may seem, Maruu didn't bother himself with those details, but the retrieval of his first officer.
"Okay, Captain. Here are the possible coordinates," K'Lara said as she punched them into the computer which sent them to the captains con panel. It also sent them to Tactical and Ops.
"Very well, K'Lara. Put them on screen, and let us all take a look at them." With a push of a button the main view screen was filled with grids and a projected trajectory.
"All right. Good work. Now go to sickbay, and have Dr. Nori take a look at you. Remember, you can go if she says so. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir. Thank you," K'Lara said as the she entered the turbolift, and the doors shut. In his mind he hoped that Nori would say no. He never wanted to be responsible for something like this again. Mental note: Put Commander Lataro on report for putting me in such a precarious position. He laughed as he walked around and sat in the command chair.
"Um, Sir. Something funny?" Lt. Valdago asked turning to look at Maruu.
"No, Lieutenant. Carry on."
"Aye, Sir."
"Come out of there you little bugger," Jonny yelled putting his hand in a burrow. He was hunting dinner, and the "hare" ran into the said burrow. He had needed to recharge his phaser, and, obviously, he had no way of doing so, so he was out of luck. Now he had to rely on some things that he had learned from off the street, and what he might've read.
Hunting and gathering for Jonny came easily. He had survived this ordeal now for 18 months. Things were happening to him that he couldn't quite identify, things like getting hungry all the time, facial hair, even his clothes became smaller. The obvious reason was that he was growing up. This he knew, but he didn't know all that it was to entail. Well a philosophy he learned to accept now was made reality for him, DEAL WITH IT!
The poking and prodding in the burrow finally resulted in something. His fingers from within the burrow felt something. It was furry and warm so he tried to grab it. As he did he felt a prick that caused him to jerk his hand out quickly. On his hand, he saw four puncture wounds, two on top and two on the bottom. The pain intensified the longer he stood there looking at it. "Oh man! I don't believe it," he said to himself. Amazingly, he remained calm. He cradled the bitten hand and walked back to the pod that was about 200 meters away. Jonny never traveled far from it for a rescue team might come, but in all this time, not one but for that one creature who had tried to have him for dinner. Jonny walked briskly, but not to much so whereby his heart could beat any faster and move the venom that much faster.
Now he felt a burning pain in his wrist. It was tingling and burning at the same time, and he knew he had not a lot of time. Jonny finally made it to the pod and the venom now was 1/3 way up his arm. He frantically looked for the med kit which he couldn't find, then finally he remembered something he had learned. Jonny found an old sock and tied around his elbow and grabbed a knife. He went outside to his campfire and placed the knife's blade into it. Keeping the arm dangling, he grabbed the knife and cut a cross at each of the puncture marks. Then, where he still felt the venom, he cut himself deep enough so that he could draw enough blood to allow the venom to be carried with the seepage of blood. The cut was made about an inch above the proposed site of venom. He noticed as the blood was pouring out from the cut, a greenish-yellow substance started to come out. It was working but he was also starting to feel a little lightheaded and Jonny knew that he couldn't keep this up for too much longer.
Finally, the blood started coming out a deep red, no traces of green or yellow. Jonny put the knife back in the fire and held his arm up over his head trying to keep the blood now from flowing. He applied pressure and saw that it was working. Come on knife. Heat up, Jonny thought frantically. He was yelling in his mind. The knife finally starting to glow red, and he was starting to feel light headed again. So Jonny grabbed the knife and tried to cauterize the wound. He screamed in pain, but the bleeding stopped. "I am going to have one hell of a scar. I am tired. Forget food." He laid down and closed the door ensuring it was secured and fell fast asleep.
Commander Lataro woke up being nursed by one of the woman he tried to approach. He was inside something, didn't look to be a building, but dug out of the ground or earthen. Lataro was lying on a bed, or a makeshift bed that was quite comfortable. It was a far cry from the rock he slept in last night. He also noticed that his clothes were off. Lataro immediately shot up. "Where are my...whoa!" The room suddenly flip flopped.
"Shhh. Lay down," his pretty nurse said as she patted his forehead with a wet cloth. "You have experienced tangfur."
"Huh? 'Tangfur'? What is that?"
"That is when our god touches you with his hand. When we have been bad or not obedient to the overlords, we are experience tangfur."
"This tangfur: headaches, dizziness, thirst?"
"Yes that is tangfur."
Lataro smiled. Tangfur is a heat stroke! "Where are my clothes?"
"They are over there on the chair. We had to get your temperature down so we had to remove them."
"Okay. Am I well now...? Uh. I don't know you name." Lataro said with a charming smile.
"My name is Nalia. Yours? And yes, you are well, but I would like you to rest for a few more hours."
"I am Commander Jonathan Lataro of the Federation Starship Virgo."
"Starship? What is that, Commander?"
"Just call me Jon. A starship is a ship that travels between planets."
She stopped and looked at him almost in fright. "You are an overlord?"
"What is this 'Overlord'?"
A older man, as dark as Nalia comes into the shelter carrying Lataro's phaser rifle. "Nalia. Outside. Let me have a word with our 'guest'," he said forcefully. Nalia grabbed the bowl of water and hurriedly left the room. "I am Janti, the proprietor of this village. And you are?" he said sitting on a chair.
"I am Commander Jonathan Lataro of the Federation Starship Virgo."
"I see, Commander Jonathan Lataro of the Federation Starship Virgo."
Lataro laughs, "Please call me Jon, or even Lataro. But Jon would be better."
"Okay Jon. Who are you and what are doing on Trelane?"
"You get right to the point, don't you? Okay. I told you I am Commander Jonathan Lataro. My shuttle crashed on, I guess the name of this planet is Trelane, Trelane the other day and I am waiting for my crew to pick me up."
"Your crew?"
"Yes. I there are about 500 hundred of us up there in a starship."
"I see. Well...Jon...we don't like visitors so you must go."
"Janti, that would be great. I would love to but I can't get in contact with my ship. My fiancee...well I think...my fiancee is up there and I would like to get back up to her."
"What is fiancee?"
"The woman I am in love with..." They heard a bowl drop from just outside the door. Janti and Lataro both looked and saw Nalia frantically trying to pick up her mess. Lataro smiled. "...and whom I am going to marry."
"I see. Well good. You must leave as soon as possible," Janti said getting up. "If the overlords find you here they will kill us all."
"Who are the overlords?"
"You just rest. The sooner you rest, the sooner you leave," Janti said leaving the room.
I need to find out who are these overlords, Lataro thought as he laid back down.