Perilous Planet Pt. 4

Posted on Tue Mar 31st, 2026 @ 9:20am by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Lieutenant JG James Phoenix & Ensign Janelle Barett

2,030 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Shuttle Incident
Location: Planet

Shran remained outside as Kate followed his "suggestion" that she go eat with the others. Twilight had faded on this planet, and while darkness was coming over everything, so was the light being beamed down by the three moons. He turned to go inside when his antennae began to twitch. Something was nearby, something he could sense in his sixth sense.

Inside the runabout, Viviana put her doctor hat aside and tried to play host for everyone else, preparing a meager meal for everyone to help keep spirits up considering they were dealing with being marooned, at least for the time being.

Janelle stepped back inside, brushing a bit of sand from her sleeve as she did. The shift from the open air to the cooler interior was immediate, and she let out a quiet breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She settled onto the edge of a seat, easing her posture just slightly as she looked between everyone. “Any luck on your end?” she asked Phoenix, nodding toward his PADD. “You sounded like you had something.”

He handed her the PADD. "USS Sunfire. She once crash landed on a planet full of dinosaurs. The crash isn't important. What is, is how she got space-worthy again. Her chief engineer at the time and the rest of the damage control team deployed solar sails during the day to power up the remaining systems. It took them a while, but they were successful and it allowed them to jumpstart the warp core. The Bahamut is a much smaller package, so if we did try it would take us far less time. The only problem is that we don't have an engineer with us, and I don't know if we have the resources to do so. When the skipper comes back I'll see what he has to say on it.

Janelle skimmed the PADD, one brow lifting just slightly. “That’s… creative,” she said. “Could be enough.”

Not a soul noticed Kate’s entrance until she tapped Viviana’s shoulder, a soft pat announcing her presence. Without a word, Kate slipped around and took a seat at the table in the runabout, rubbing her slightly puffy almond eyes—proof of the sorrow and anger swirling inside her. Even so, she hadn’t lost her flair for stealth: she eased into her chair, grabbed a bowl of fried chicken someone had somehow managed to make for the meal, and bit into it while keeping her gaze fixed on the doctor. She chewed slowly, watching Viviana as if she were the most fascinating sight in the universe.

By now, Kate’s anger had cooled, but she found quiet satisfaction in her unspoken vigil. The urge to deliver a throat punch had evaporated like humidity in a storm. Normally the most talkative girl at any party, she now felt too mentally drained by so many disappointments to speak—only responding when ordered. All she wanted was to go home, kill one of her employees, take a long shower, and then, under the stars, have a guilt-free conversation with Ben about whatever he wished—strictly in that order. Meanwhile, she continued to track Viviana’s every move with her eyes. She felt she could sleep for a week once this was over, unsure whether it was the drugs Viviana had slipped her or the sting of being deceived by someone she’d called a friend. Stories of the Maqui drifted to her mind... how many Starfleet officers betrayed their closest allies in pursuit of a short-lived ideal of freedom?

And what was Kevin’s angle if it turned out he’d orchestrated the sabotage? Lost in these questions, Kate stared off into space, yet her dark pupils never strayed from Viviana, locking onto the doctor like an unerring tracking radar until she’d finished her meal.

Viviana felt Kate's gaze upon her but did her best to ignore it. It was part of her job to sometimes do things in the interest of a patient that they might not like at the moment. She could only hope that Kate would eventually understand that she was merely doing her duty, as well as following orders. The fried chicken was savory, and the Cajun style mashed potatoes and gravy, Southern style biscuits, and Southern style coleslaw all worked their magic as a satisfying meal. She hoped the others were enjoying it as much as she was, a respite from rations.

Meanwhile outside, Shran pulled his phaser and slowly walked away from the runabout, moving away from the safety perimeter. His antennae continued to twitch as he slow walked towards the tree line. The tropical trees of the planet, which looked similar to palm trees littered the area, but it was the surrounding foliage at this moment that he knew was concealing something.

The Andorian finally stopped, his feet firmly planet in a tactical stance as he glared at the tree line where he saw something rustling the thick foliage. Then he saw it, a set of eyes that belonged to a predator. The creature slowly emerged from the cover, almost arrogant despite it still attempting to be stealthy. It was large, looking like a six-legged panther, a deep purple in color with eyes like shimmering topaz, and two sinister looking barbed tentacles that protruded from its front shoulders. While Shran had never seen a creature quite like this, he knew it was a danger to him, and he knew that he was only going to have a few seconds to act.

What he was seeing was not what had his antennae going wild however. He knew of this tactic, understood the situation far better than what this creature's instincts suspected. He had to wait for the creature to make its move. In a split second it did, charging towards him aggressively before leaping at him like any other big cat trying to pounce on its prey. Shran rolled out of the way, flipping backward in a 45-degree angle and firing his phaser at the actual creature. The creature landed from its leap looking dazed, but overall, no worse. Shran quickly increased the setting of his weapon to maximum stun and fired again, hitting the creature squarely in its side. The creature fell to the ground this time, and the image of the creature that had been projected disappeared as if turning off the holodeck. It was fascinating in one sense, but Shran wasn't staying around to do a zoological survey.

He raced back towards the runabout and called out, "Activate the shields!"

Phoenix heard Shran and the commotion behind him and threw himself into the cockpit. He swiftly acted. "Shields at maximum!" he called out before getting in to check in on the CO as he entered. "Are you alright sir?"

Shran stood at the door and looked out. The creature slowly got up, shook itself clean of the sand, and then attempted to move towards the ship, running into the energy barrier. It stalked around for a few moments before giving up and returning to the foliage.

Shran kept an eye out for another few moments before looking back as he entered the runabout and closed the hatch. "Perfectly fine. We now know that predators exist on this planet. We'll keep the shields up at night and the hatch closed. Everyone will stay inside until daylight. Hopefully we won't be here too long, and it won't tax the energy reserves we have." He made his way to the rear compartment and say the others sitting at the table. "Looks like a fine meal. Hope you saved some for me."

Janelle shifted slightly, nudging a chair out with her foot. “We saved you a spot, Captain.”

James took a bite of his food before setting it down. "As I was telling the Ensign sir, I believe we may be able to utilize solar sails to provide us extra power, potentially to jump start the Bahamut. I just don't know if we have the resources to do so. The report that Janelle is reading is from the USS Sunfire, which crash landed on a desolate world about eight years ago. She was able to fly again with solar sails providing her power to do a jump-start. I believe that we can replicate that on a much lower scale" he reiterated before passing the rations to Shran.

Shran took a bite of the food, wiped his face, and then looked at the PaDD. "This will absolutely generate more power for us and we can set this up, but we won't be able to get the runabout back into space. The sabotage has crippled the navigation computer to the point that we will need to purge the system and reinitialize the code line by line, and that will require an engineering team. We also ejected the antimatter pod before we crashed, and while we certainly have plenty of antimatter available on this planet, we have no means of safely containing it. But yes, I like the idea to give us an additional power reserve for however long we remain here."

Janelle’s gaze drifted briefly to the PADD as the Captain spoke, her expression settling back into focus. “So, we’re not going anywhere,” she said quietly. "Still... it beats waiting it out in an escape pod."

"Indeed" Shran noted. "Being on a planet works better, especially one like this. This planet has been explored, so we'll take a look around in the morning, safer to explore in daylight. We know of at least one dangerous predator to watch out for, but there may be other creatures to look out for. We can also search around and see if we can find anything edible to supplement our supplies. We will be here for at least another day, depending on how long it takes the Washington to locate us."

Shran finished eating and then looked around the table, "Despite the shields being active, I suggest we carry out a watch. Enough of us here to keep it short and simple, 2 hours each. Doctor, I'd like you to take first watch. We need you clear come the morning."

"Understood captain. I can handle this" Viviana replied.

Kate scraped the last morsel of chicken from her plate and retreated to the cramped bathroom of the runabout, her fork clattering against ceramic in the silence she'd maintained throughout dinner. The harsh fluorescent lighting emphasized the dark circles under her eyes as she methodically brushed her teeth, the mint paste bitter on her tongue. She splashed cold water against her feverish skin, then pressed her palms against her swollen eyelids, as if she could physically push the evidence of her distress back inside. The paper bag containing the isochip that might be Kevin's fingerprints seemed to pulse in her mind like a beacon—so flimsy a container for something so potentially damning, now locked away in the cargo hold until they reached the Washington. She gripped the edge of the small metal sink, knuckles whitening. What if those smudges revealed nothing? Or worse, what if they belonged to someone else entirely? Her stomach twisted as she recalled the words that had tumbled from her lips earlier, accusations hanging in the recycled air of the runabout. Intelligence officers verified before speaking—that's what separated them from gossips and rumormongers. She stared at her reflection, water droplets clinging to her lashes like tears. The cat was out of the bag now, prowling between her and Kevin, between her and her own professional integrity. She pressed her forehead against the cool surface of the mirror and closed her eyes, caught in the impossible space of hoping simultaneously for vindication and error.

Viviana holstered a phaser after checking it was set to stun. She picked up her tricorder and walked over to the others who were still at the table. "Before you go to bed, I'd like to give everyone a quick medical scan. Prolonged time on a Class-P world has never been studied. I want to make sure no one is having any unseen effects."

Shran nodded. "Proceed doctor. Sounds like a wise precaution."


TBC

 

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