After The Rain

Posted on Mon Feb 1st, 2021 @ 11:13am by Commander Alexis Agrax (*) & Commander Christopher Mitchell

Mission: Cosmos
Location: New Rixx
Timeline: 2396
1905 words - 3.8 OF Standard Post Measure

Alexis glanced back from the cave entrance and smiled as she saw the beings below in the pre dawn light. They were beautiful and glowing, she could not believe even on a Betazoid colony many light years away from Betazed that they had the whispering monkeys. How was it possible? Nothing existed for long off Betazed, flora, fauna or even people in her opinion. So how was it possible that they were there? It was beautiful and she wanted to show the sleeping man. She moved back quickly and nudged the sleep man, he was going to be cross that she had not woken him but at least one of them were okay to focus now.

"Hungh...I'm awake..." Christopher groaned. He took a moment to catch his bearings. In a fraction, their previous evening's events came flooding back. "What time is it? Has the sun already come up?"

“Yes it is Sir. I want to show you something.” Alexis indicated for him to follow her and pointed to the silvery monkey that was swinging below them oblivious to the pair that was stood there watching. “They are called whispering monkey’s. They are native to Betazed. I have never seen one here anywhere. Betazed things do not thrive else here." They made sounds that sounded like whispering and to humans it would be hard to tell if it was telepathic or not. They had a fairly limited range of sounds they make to indicate discoveries, dangers and otherwise communicate with each other. The one they were observing had to be old for the whispering to be heard this far away as they very timid and they have no real territory and wish to avoid conflicts. Alexis closed her eyes just listening to the noises. “My father used to tell me all about them in the jungles around where we lived at one point on Betazed. They mate twice to three times a year and they mate and bond with a single partner for life. Which, with their fairly long lifespans, isn't too surprising but I am stunned they are here.” Alexis said listing off the facts she knew.

"This is a Betazoid colony, right? Perhaps they life-seeded some of their own wildlife from back home?" he suggested. "They sound fascinating. Must bring back a lot of memories of home?"

“Nothing survives off Betazed like that. There have been so many attempts over the years to attempt but it all dies. Scientists have no idea why.” She repeated it differently as the monkey finally ambled out of view leaving the pair alone.

"Someone succeeded." Christopher watched her expression. It was unusual to see her so entranced by something. Perhaps it was the mystery of it all. "We can ask when we get to the colony, if you want."

Alexis looked at the man looking at her and snapped herself back to the Alexis they all knew. “You can bet your pips I will asking that and so many more questions,” Alexis assured without hesitation. She wanted to know what was going on here that allowed this view where so many other attempts have failed. “Come on we need breakfast and to get moving now that the storm had broke.” She said hopeful now that things were brighter. She had been monitoring the tricorder there was still a lot of issues that was dampening their signals but clear skies and them being so much drier would really help the process. “We cannot be far from the others the transporters would not have thrown us to far.”

"Breakfast. Ah yes, more rations," Christopher said, pulling a packet from the kit she had brought with them. "I'd say a couple of kilometers and we might be able to get to a position above the treeline. Hopefully the atmosphere will be clear enough for us to signal the Cosmos."

“I would have fixed you breakfast but I forgot my pots and pans.” The woman commented on throwing one of the packs to him as she started to put back in her uniform correctly. It was mostly dry apart from her socks and boots which were fully dry thankfully. “I am sure by now someone has noticed we are not there and they are looking.” She would be looking for missing people by now if it was her.

"Of course. The Commodore won't have waited. It's our job to be found, now." He finished pulling on his boots, which were in reasonable condition from the previous evening. "So, monkeys aside, have you spotted anything else that might be an obstacle for us to overcome?"

"As long as she has been told." Alexis countered thinking the lack of communication would be an issue for everyone, not just them. "I would like to think she would have sent a shuttle down after we failed to check-in and knows who is missing etc." Alexis knew how to run rescue operations so it was a logical course to run through. "Not really the fog pretty thick. We might be closer than we think." Alexis said almost sounding hopeful.

"That's good. If we can get above the fog, even better - that way visual surveys will see us," he said. "A pity we haven't got the terrain to walk in circles and make a signal out of our footprints," he joked.

"I have a few flares if we need something but yeah this terrain is not the best." Alexis agreed hoping that people would be able to see them as they were not coloured the same as the jungle with red and yellow accents but it all depended on who was looking and who was not. Breakfast was over in moment despite trying to take things slow and soon the fair were out in the cool morning.

"If anything this will make for a fine story when we get back," Christopher smiled, trying to remain positive and lift her spirits. He motioned for them to make a start on the next leg of their ascent. "Perhaps we can tell people you nearly had to cut my arm off to survive or something."

Alexis found herself smiling for a second before she laughed as she climbed up a rock and leaned back to help the man. She looked him up and down. "They would not believe that Sir." She said with a giggle. "They would know I would have left you." She teased just a little letting go of his hand jumping down looking down into the valley they had been in. It had looked nothing like that the previous day no wondered they had struggled to communicate and the water had seemed to be coming from everywhere.

"And that's where you and I differ, Commander. I don't leave anyone behind." He hauled himself over the rocky outcropping and took in the sight along with her. "Amazing, isn't it?" he remarked. "Under other circumstances, it would make for a pretty good shore leave, rather than an obstacle to overcome."

"You misunderstood Commander." The woman said smartly back taking only a little offence to his words. "I would have left but I would have come back. I would not have cut your arm off sickbay frowns at the type of thing and there would have been no way to safely stop the bleeding apart from a phaser and that hurts like hell." She spoke of someone with experience there. Alexis just shrugged. She could not remember the last time she had a normal shore leave.

Her unusual sense of humour about cutting off his arm aside, Christopher couldn't argue. They'd been fortunate to both avoid serious injury or problems. Though if they weren't recovered by nightfall he could see them having other concerns. "I'm glad one of us is so pragmatic, then. Let's hope the rest of the crew follow suit in finding us."

"Now imagine if you Karis or Dariars with you," Alexis said before they grew quiet as they started the hike to higher ground. It was a long time before Alexis stopped dead in her tracks and closed her eyes listening to the subtle sound that had stopped her.

"I'd rather not..." he sighed, considering the possibility. He looked up as she froze. "What? What is it?"

"I hear something in the distance. It sounds like a shuttle maybe?" She yelled excited as she looked around trying to see where it was coming from as she took off the rucksack.

He followed her gaze and the growing sound. Sure enough, he began to pick out the tiny shape in the sky, almost barely visible. "Commander Mitchell to any Cosmos shuttle. Do you hear me? We're here if you can lock in on my comm signal."

The security officer let out a sound that could almost be a cheer as she spotted the shuttle getting closer and closer. When nothing came from the communicator Alexis grinned holding up the flare. She took a few steps away from the man and took off the cap before slamming the bottom. For a second she thought nothing was going to happen then a whoosh escaped the canister shooting up into the air giving a sky signal whilst she was left with a burning red light that she started to wave to attract attention. “I’ve always wanted to do that.” She admitted unable to hide her glee.

Christopher grinned and held a hand aloft. "Come on now Commander. Don't leave me hanging."

Alexis was just about to comment and pass him a flare when obviously a transportation lock was found on him and the man disappeared from her view. Onboard the shuttle Leah turned around and frowned, this was not her expertise at all being security but she was trying. "I only managed to get a lock on one of them." She sighed looking down to make sure she did not lose sight of the other officer.

Suddenly aboard the shuttle, Christopher held his hand aloft with a mildly inconvenienced expression. "Well, you got it half-right, I suppose. Lock onto Commander Agrax's bio signature and boost the annular confinement beam. I'm sure she's had enough of walking in the hills as well."

“I can’t Sir.” Leah admitted glancing over at the pilot. A lot had gone in in the 12 hours or so the pair had been missing. . “Something is in the atmosphere making it difficult to track Betazoids.” She admitted.

"She's still wearing a comm-badge. We can lock onto that. Take us in lower, closer to the canopy; she's in the open, so we can eyeball it if we need to," he said.

The pilot frowned but did as instructed. Soon Alexis started to materialise on the platform very slowly her image fading in and out for a lot longer than normal before she appeared gasping for breath. She dropped the flare leaning over taking in deep breaths of air. “I hate when that happens. What is going on?” She demanded as she saw her security Ensign finally returned from Seabase incident to full duties and the flight officer sharing looks.

“The other team got to fixing the weather controller but the colony is sick.” Lea admitted looking the new Executive Officer over. She had yet to meet him.

"Take us to the colony, then," Christopher replied. Despite their little adventure, he and Alexis had come to the planet to do a job.