I've Been Everywhere

Posted on Mon May 4th, 2026 @ 11:41am by Enterprise Officer NPC & Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari & Lieutenant (J.G.) Chase Moore & Lieutenant (J.G.) Stacey Moore & Ensign Sayori Nakai & Ensign Mirakylin Yumerieva

6,297 words; about a 31 minute read

Mission: 9. Oubliette
Location: U.S.S. Frost River / Rogue Planet
Timeline: 2439-10-09, 12:00

Two weeks.

Two weeks in a cabin the size of a standard Starfleet walk-in closet, breathing air that had been recycled through the Frost River’s scrubbers so many times it tasted like scorched copper and old socks. For Doctor Stefaniya Losenko, it was officially the longest fourteen days of her life.

She sat at the Science station, her legs pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees. Most people would be staring at the mesmerizing, swirling violets of the Chamra Vortex through the cockpit’s forward viewports, but Stefaniya was busy watching her crewmates. She was hyper-aware of the jagged edges of their auras. Every time the pilot tapped a console too loudly or the technician let out a heavy, bone-weary sigh, Stefaniya felt a physical itch to intervene.

"Does anyone want a muffin?" she asked. Her voice was bright - perhaps a bit too bright for the dim, red-shifted lighting of a ship on a long-range scan. "I managed to trick the replicator into a blueberry-lemon zest profile. It’s not a real oven, obviously, but it’s better than the 'nutritional paste' vibe we’ve got going on."

She didn't wait for an answer, she was already up, her bubbly energy cutting through the thick, stagnant tension of the small bridge. She started moving among the stations, offering the small, warm containers with a confident, friendly smile that she refused to let waver, even when she got a tired grunt in response.

Retreating to her seat, she pulled out a small cloth and began polishing the casing of her medical tricorder for the fourth time since the start of the watch. When she was stressed, she cleaned; when she was sad, she baked. Right now, being sidelined on a mapping mission while the rest of the fleet dealt with the fallout of Deep Space 47 had her doing both in a frantic cycle.

She looked at her crewmates and felt a pang of fierce, stubborn loyalty. They were getting on each other's nerves, snapping over sensor readings and spilled raktajino, but she knew they were good people. They just needed a win. They needed to feel like they weren't just "counting particles," as the Commodore would put it.

We’re out here for a reason, she told herself, her "hopeless romantic" streak sparking in the dark. Space is too big for this to be for nothing. Something is going to happen. A miracle is going to crawl out of that dust cloud, and we’re going to be the ones who save it.

She gripped her cleaning cloth tighter, her eyes fixed on the empty nebula on the screen, waiting for the universe to prove her right.

Sayori was exhausted. Two weeks, stuck on a tiny runabout with four other people. It had started to get to her. Her usual bubbly, chatty demeanour had almost disappeared as the mood on board soured. "I'll take one of those muffins. And coffee, while you're at it, please. Thanks." For the time being, she had taken over at the helm of the shuttlecraft while Lieutenant Moore got some rest. Of course, there was little to do other than monitor the course that the Lieutenant had programmed in. As beautiful as the view of the nebula was, after two weeks, it had lost its appeal. "I can't wait to get out of this tin can," she remarked quietly. "I miss my bed."

Aidan had been trying to catch some sleep but the constant chatter and other noise was making it very difficult and the lack of sleep was starting to fray his usually very open and friendly personality. "I miss my daughter," he said as he emerged from the shared sleeping section. "And a razor." He was sporting the Start of a moustache and beard because of the lack of proper sanitary means. "Oh and a proper shower..."

From the back of the ship at the maintenance hatch of the warp core came a quiet voice, "Please save a muffin for me, if you would please..." Mira checked the telltales of the drive and did not find anything amiss, even though the monitor on the bridge was showing near yellow and not in full green. She removed her head and tail from the access and replaced the cover. She got up and headed towards the front of the runabout. Passing the others with her tail wrapped around her arm, she sat down at the engineering station. She sighed as she gave a glance towards Aidan and replied, "Yah... Ah would love a shower as well, sir." She tapped the gauge, "It's not reading right... I will get it repaired."

Mira paused for a moment, sniffed twice, and cringed a little at smelling of herself. She whispered a 'sorry' to nobody in particular. Her sense of smell was similar to a Terran, however, as a young adult female, she was more acutely aware of herself and the smells of her body. Also, it had not helped that in the tight quarters, her tail sometimes moved into rather personal spaces of the others, hence why for her wrapping her tail around her arm now.. she had ran out of apologies for it. She sighed, then opened the console to start a diagnostic of the offending reading gauge.

Stefaniya didn’t just hear the fatigue; she felt it. As Sayori mentioned her bed and Aidan mourned his shower, Stefaniya was already moving.

"One muffin and coffee for the best pilot in the sector," she chirped, handing Sayori the warm cup. She turned to Aidan with a sympathetic wince. "I have dermal wipes in my kit that’ll make you feel 40% more human, Aidan, and we’ll get you that subspace call to your daughter the second we’re in range."

"I'm not human," Aidan quipped, though he appreciated the offer.

Sayori chuckled. "Best pilot unless literally anyone else is at the helm, you mean." She took a sip from the coffee, and tore off a piece of the muffin, throwing it into her mouth. "Not bad. It almost tastes like the real thing."

Moving toward engineering, Stefaniya's expression softened as she reached Mira. She placed a muffin on a clean napkin, her tone shifting to a fierce, protective warmth. "Don’t you dare apologize for being a living person, Mira. We’re all in this tin can together. You’re doing an amazing job keeping this ship from blowing to stardust."

Looking up at their resident Doc, Mira managed a wane smile as she nodded and replied quietly, "Thanks, Doc Losenko. I.. okay." Mira left off her usual desire to explain... it was not needed. The doc knew. Mira's nose and body were reacting to the pheromones of the close space, causing arousal besides she could feel and smell her lining building up (mostly within her heightened senses of herself) getting closer to her period, due in just over a week. She was prepared, just in case, but that preparation had included an onboard shower. She brightened as her tail helped her with an internal calibration as she exclaimed, "Gotcha!" in finding the troubling circuit.

Stefaniya retreated to her seat, taking a bite of her own chalky muffin. They were a mess, but they were her mess.

"My mom used to say the grumpiest part of the mission is right before the miracle happens," she said, eyes fixing on the sensor display. "The universe owes us one."

The silence was fractured by the erratic, high-pitched whine of the comms. Static hissed through the cockpit like steam, nearly drowning out the Enterprise signal.

"Ent—prise to Frost —iver," the voice was jagged, chopped by the nebula’s interference, but unmistakably Lieutenant Sulu. "Change of —ission... detected gravitational shadow... your coordinates... rogue planet... M Class," the voice surged through a brief clearing in the static. "Confirmed... humanoid life sign... surface. You are the... asset. Reroute immediately... SAR evaluation. Enterprise is pivoting... support. Good—uck. Sulu out."

Stefaniya felt a jolt of pure adrenaline. She looked at the others, her face lighting up with a radiant, stubborn joy, "Told you."

Stacey Moore had just walked back from using the head. As she walked into the cockpit, she heard the garbled transmission. . "I'm going to try to clear that up I don't know about you all but I could barely understand it." Stacy said that she went over to the operation station and started to replay the message again trying to get it to clear up it was badly degraded.

Fatigue -and lack of muffins- forgotten, Aidan beelined towards the cockpit. "Looks like we received a set of coordinates," he announced as he checked the incoming information, "but what we're to look for when we get there we won't know until you succeed in clearing that up." He straightened and ran his hand over his two week stubble. "Set course, and we'll see what we find when we get there."

Chase listened to their conversation. "It will be good to know where we are headed so we're prepared for what we're heading into." As security, he was always prepared but knowledge was power.

"Finally, something more interesting than scanning space dust," Sayori commented as she entered the coordinates into the helm and set a course. "And did I hear that right; Enterprise is heading that way as well?"

"You heard it right, Sayori," Stefaniya said, her voice dropping the bubbly cheer for a tone of focused, clinical intensity. "A rogue planet. Class M but drifting in a graveyard." She gripped the edges of the Science station, her knuckles white against the console. She didn't wait for Moore to finish the signal scrub; she was already pulling up the long-range sensor overlays on her own screen. "Sulu said 'humanoid.' Aidan, if someone’s been living on a rock without a sun, we aren’t just looking for physical trauma. We’re looking for extreme sensory deprivation, vitamin D deficiency, and severe psychological shock."

She looked at the swirling purple void outside, her jaw set as she began packing her medkit. "Chase, check the atmospheric readings as soon as we break the nebula’s edge," she added, her "meddling" now shifting into command-support mode. "If it’s M-Class through a 'greenhouse effect,' we might be dealing with heavy CO2 or volcanic gases. We need to check for any environmental threats to us before we set foot out there. Just because Enterprise picked up a life-sign doesn't mean it's friendly to us."

Mira shut the panel and watched the gauge now reading properly. She had been thinking about the M-Class planet, then decided to speak up hoping she wasn't way out there with her thoughts. "Sirs, what if the humanoids are living underground? Like certain frontier colonies whose entire existence is underground with hydroponics, full spectrum light set to cycles, with trips to the surface for ores only found there? I mean, if my planet was knocked out of orbit, how would we as a people survive? Umm, also, engineering console fixed to read correctly, and the light sensor ghost rear starboard outboard was from the same circuit. Thanks." Mira returned to her muffin and coffee while keeping herself absorbed into seeing as well as feeling the warp core functionality.

"Even if it is not friendly to us, it's our duty to assist," the Trill science chief decided, "we will prepare for an evacuation of this person, or persons if we happen to encounter more, they did say SAR. Scan for signs of an SOS of any kind, on any frequency." He sat down at one of the auxiliary stations since Sayori had taken possession of the science station. "Not a bad hypothesis Mira, we should perform deep scans on the surface when we get there, scan for tunnels." Aidan rubbed his eyes, feeling the burn of lack of sleep.

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," Sayori commented. "ETA to the planet is ten minutes." She looked around the shuttlecraft. "Um, would someone else mind taking care of the landing? I really am not the best at piloting when it comes to unknown planets. Happy to be at the helm in space, or when docking with the ship, but not this," she asked with an insecure chuckle.

"Don't look at me," Aidan responded, raising his hands in a semi shrug. "I'm no good with heights."

The young scientist at the helm groaned. "Wasn't looking at you in particular. I'd prefer not to crash, that's all. Would much rather return to Enterprise in one piece, not in a body bag."

"You were looking at me," Aidan shot back, "and I don't want to crash either which is what's going to happen if I have to land this thing on a planet."

"I was looking at everyone," Sayori replied, her voice becoming more irritated. "We all know you're useless at the helm, so why would I ask you to land? You're a scientist, not a pilot. And the same goes for me as well."

"So who do you want to land this,? I was assigned to operations for this mission." Stacey asked, knowing darn well she was a qualified pilot but she wasn't going to publicly broadcast it. She wasn't in charge of the mission. Stacy looked over to Chase her husband. Landing a shuttle wasn't that difficult we at least not for her. However she was more interested, and getting down to the planning and be begining the mission.

"Preferably our pilot," Aidan answered irritably, shooting a glare at Sayori. "If I'm lousy then you must be horrible because I can pilot. I just can't land on a planet because you know...heights..."

Sayori rolled her eyes. "Look, if it was a planet that's already been mapped and all that, I'd be fine. I'm just not the most confident when it comes to landing in unknown territory. Personally I was hoping that, you know, our Beta Shift helms officer who so happens to be on board would do it, but if I have to, fine. Just don't come moaning at me when it's a rough landing."

"Then perhaps you need to pay better attention to where you are going," Aidan snapped back at her, "you have eyes...sensors will tell you where terrain is. Perhaps you need extra training in data interpretation?"

Mira was listening and feeling what was happening between the officers, their words and emotions feeding into her own just past teenage years angst. Without realizing it, she kept shrinking herself while moving closer towards the bulkhead so as to not interfere. She did not at all volunteer her services as she only did shuttle hops between service areas and main mooring pads, no help here at all. Without noticing, her tail wrapped around the chair pedestal beneath her as an anchor for the emotions swirling within her.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Stacey asked, noticing a little hostility. I don't mean to be disrespectful but it seems like there's a little something going on here." She said try not to be disrespectful but obviously noticing the tension in the air.

Sayori was about to reply to Aidan, when Stacey cut in. Instead, she took a deep breath, and shook her head. "It's been a long two weeks, that's all. Fine, if nobody else is volunteering, I'll land us." She glared at her superior officer. "Never dare question my analytical skills, ever again. Or else. Sir."

"Is that a threat?" The senior Trill demanded angrily, not at all seeming to realise just how he was responding. "No Stacey there is absolutely nothing between us, yes please land the shuttle if the pilot is unavailable. Thank you."

"Enough!" Stefaniya’s voice cut through the hostility, not with her usual chirp, but with the firm, clinical authority she used when a patient was spiraling. She stepped into the center of the cramped space, looking between Aidan and Sayori as her protective instincts flared.

At the 'Enough!' Mira's past training in keeping herself from being noticed by Valorin Fanatic Soldiers came fully to the fore. She clasped her knees to her chest, made herself small as possible, and totally stilled herself so as to not be noticed and hopefully stay alive. She didn't move, didn't even seem to breath, eyes closed to slits in hopes of not being found as fodder for a blade.

"Aidan, you’re sleep-deprived and snapping at a junior officer. Sayori, you’re brilliant, but you're letting anxiety over a landing cycle compromise your confidence. And Mira is practically trying to phase through the bulkhead to escape the tension." She shot a quick, reassuring glance at the young engineer. Stefaniya turned her gaze to Stacey, her expression softening but remaining resolute. "Lieutenant Moore, you’re the most level-headed person in this 'tin can' right now. If you can land us, please do. We need to be a team before we hit that atmosphere, or we’re going to be a liability to whoever is down there waiting for a miracle." She didn't wait for a rebuttal. She grabbed a dermal-cleansing wipe from her kit and pressed it into Aidan’s hand. "Clean your face. It’ll wake you up. Sayori, drink the rest of that coffee."

With the glance towards her from the Doc, Mira found herself back into 'starfleet' and began going back to a sitting position, albeit still closer to the bulkhead than the middle of the seat. She was still wary, but the Doc was trying to get the others to calm down and get back into the situation at hand.

Standing tall, her stubborn optimism returning to her eyes, Stefaniya looked at the viewscreen. "There is a person alone in the dark on that rock. They don't need a bickering committee; they need Starfleet. Now, let’s bring this ship down."

Stunned, Aidan stared at Stefaniya, then at the wipes pressed into his hand. "Yes mother," he answered almost automatically even though he barely remembered what having a mother was like. "I could probably use some coffee too," he added softly, while running the cleansing tissue across his face. It did feel better, though he was of a mind to replicate some foam and a razor, not liking the feel of the starting facial hair. It itched!

"I'll take 'mother' if it keeps you from biting Sayori's head off," she quipped, her voice regaining its melodic lightness. She pivoted to the replicator, tapping in a triple-shot black coffee and handing it to Aidan. She ensured her fingers brushed his for a second - a grounded, clinical check of his tremors. "Drink. Then sit. I need you functional, not just conscious." She turned back to the viewport, resting a hand on the back of Sayori's chair in a silent gesture of support.

Sayori, meanwhile, downed the rest of her coffee in one big gulp, before standing up and going through a few stretching exercises. "Thanks, Doc. Sorry about that, the close quarters must really be getting to me." After finishing her stretches, she quickly walked over to the replicator in the back, retrieved another coffee, and returned to the helm.

At the Engineering panel, Mira had already settled into doing her job for which she had been selected for while on this mission. She quickly looked over the readouts for power distribution as well as core stability and impulse engine status. She was still sitting on the edge of the chair nearer to the bulkhead but that did not stop her focusing on her tasks. She managed to call out in just a slightly trembling voice, "Impulse Engines on Standby, full power active for needs, Warp Core Stable with Power Output for Shielding, Navigational Shields, Integrity fields, and Inertial fields. Impulse Engines resonance at 1/4 impulse when coming out of warp. Next, once within upper atmosphere of the planet, Nebula effects should go away to allow for full shielding versus minimal. Thruster packs fully charged with burnable gasses for better control from Nebula gasses." She looked towards the helm and finished with, "Helm, Engineering, Engines at your discretion."

The warm fingers against his cooler ones almost felt like a jolt but he ignored it. He held the cup with both hands, carefully sipping the hot caffeine rich beverage and felt the effects almost immediately. The engineering report was almost like gibberish to the science chief but he said nothing, knowing that those who needed to, did understand. "Steady as she goes," was the only comment he provided as he sank down in the nearest available seat. "ETA to touch down? I want every one armed before leaving the shuttle, we'll have no surprises." As per usual, he had taken his ushaan, but it was displayed on a desk in the sleeping section of the shuttle. "What are the atmospheric and weather conditions?" He loved cooler temperatures, but knew from experience that heat was going to be a challenge.

"Well, if you look out of the front, you'll see our destination," Sayori commented as the rogue planet came into view. "I'm going to orbit just above the atmosphere until we finish some scans of the surface to find a suitable landing site as close to the life sign as possible."

Aidan shook his head, having no intention of looking out of the front window as they approached the planet. "Sounds like a plan," he answered, more kindly now as the caffeine was taking effect. "It'll be good to get out of this tin can and go on a bit of a walk too, if necessary."

Stefaniya watched the dark silhouette of the alient world swell in the viewport, the purple haze of the nebula finally thinning. The cockpit felt quieter now - not the heavy, resentful silence from before, but the focused hush of a team finding its rhythm. She stepped back to the replicator, her movements precise. She pulled a final blueberry-lemon muffin from the slot, the scent of artificial citrus briefly masking the metallic tang of the air. Walking over to Aidan, she didn't just set it down; she waited until he looked up, pressing the warm container into his hand with a small, encouraging smile.

Mira, now caught up in the needs of the moment, called out in a steady voice, "Warp Field successfully collapsed, Impulse Engines stable, Shields Strengthening due to planet proximity. Aux systems stable and ready for planetfall."

"Eat this," she commanded gently, her eyes softening. "Caffeine on an empty stomach makes for a shaky tricorder hand, and I need you steady. Besides, it’s my last 'miracle' from the replicator until we get back to the Enterprise." She gave his shoulder a quick, firm squeeze - part doctor, part friend - before returning to her station. As they began their descent and the Frost River caught the first buffets of the rogue planet’s gravity, Stefaniya felt the gentle rumble of the inertial dampeners struggling with the turbulence as she turned to her station.

"Atmospheric data is stabilizing," Stefaniya’s hands flew across the Science console, her voice rising above the low-frequency rumble of the hull. "It’s... incredible. Pressure is at 1.04 atmospheres, so no specialized pressure suits required. Oxygen levels are holding at 19%, and Nitrogen is roughly 76%." She paused, tapping a specific sensor spike, "But it’s not exactly a walk in the park. Without a sun to drive a standard nitrogen-oxygen cycle, the greenhouse effect is being fueled by an abnormally high concentration of Methane and Argon. It’s thick, heavy air and because there’s no solar radiation to break them down, there are trace amounts of Ammonia ice crystals in the upper troposphere."

She looked at Aidan, her eyes bright with a mix of scientific wonder and medical caution. "The temperature is stable thanks to the geothermal venting and that thick gas blanket, but the air is going to taste... metallic." She adjusted the scan range, her jaw tightening, "I’m not seeing any industrial pollutants, but the CO2 is creeping up near the geothermal vents. We land in the wrong spot, and we’ll be asleep before we hit the dirt."

"We'll take precautions and take oxygen masks," Aidan decided as he eyed the muffin which was placed in his hands. "And land in the right spot of course. Any natural bodies of water, or foliage that stands out?"

"Oxygen masks definitely sounds like a good idea," Sayori commented from the helm. "I'm not seeing any bodies of water within walkable distance to the life sign. I am seeing a pretty clear and flat bit of terrain about 2 kilometres from the target, so unless anyone sees a better landing zone, that's where I'm setting us down." She entered a few commands and the shuttle began to descend.

"Dear passengers, this is your pilot speaking," she continued, adopting the tone and style of a space liner captain. "We are about to enter the atmosphere of our destination. Please ensure all heavy items are safely stowed away, return to your seats, and fasten your seatbelts. Planetary gravity is expected to be 1.05 standard, please be aware as we begin to transition from artificial to local gravity conditions. We will reach our landing destination in approximately six minutes, please stay seated until the vehicle has come to a full stop. Thank you for travelling on board Frost River spacelines, we do hope you choose our services again."

Upon hearing the Civilian jingle for landing on planets, Mira let out a small snort of laughter. She was happy Savori was helping to alleviate the mood of landing on an unknown world She returned to micromanaging the power feeds to the fields to keep the runabout as smooth as it could be, given the turbulence in the atmosphere.

Stacey took her seat thinking to herself, "please don't crash the shuttle, please don't crash the shuttle, please don't crash the shuttle." She kept saying to herself over and over again. With the amount of bickering going on on this mission she wasn't certain of anything. She kept your feelings to herself as she looked over to Chase. Her eyes basically said what she wanted to say out loud, and that was how did it all did we get ourselves into this mess?

Aidan held on tight to his still very hot coffee as he turned to the controls behind him. "Planetary condition seems stable," he announced, echoing the medic's earlier assessment, "temperature looks to be pleasant but might change any second." He remembered one mission where he had gone to explore with temperatures of about twenty degrees Celsius and in a matter of minutes that had changed to subzero and arctic conditions. He shivered visibly at the memory which has rendered him blind for months. "Steady as she goes," he breathed, refusing to look towards the large front window.

Stefaniya checked the reading on her console as the Frost River hit the first thick layers of the troposphere. The ship shuddered, the hull groaning as it pushed through the heavy methane-rich soup. She didn't look away from her monitors, her fingers dancing to calibrate the medical sensors for a broader sweep.

"Stacy, the wind shear is picking up, geothermal heat meeting that ammonia ice upstairs is creating some nasty crosswinds," Stefaniya warned, her tone focused. She spared a glance for the others, seeing the way they were tensing up. Even with the light-hearted "pilot" routine from Sayori, the reality of landing on a lightless, rogue rock was settling in.

"Aidan, foliage is... strange," she continued, answering his earlier question. "Sensors are picking up massive fungal structures and chemotrophic plants near the vents. No photosynthesis, obviously, but there's a huge biomass down there. It's not a dead world; it’s a hidden one."

She felt the jolt of the landing struts extending. "Masks on everyone. We don't know the local spore count, and I’d like to keep our lungs clear of alien mold." She grabbed her medkit, her thumb tracing the strap. "Whatever is down there has been alone for a long time. Let's make sure we're the best thing that's happened to them in years."

The runabout's floor leveled as Sayori fought the controls, the darkness of the surface rushing up to meet them.

Finally, the runabout slowed down, and with an audible thunk, it set down on the surface. Sayori let out a breath she hadn't even noticed she'd been holding in. "And we're on solid ground. Powering down to standby power."

Breathing out a sigh of relief from the ride, Mira began her preparing the runabout for a high power standby for immediate needs dustoff, just in case. She managed a brief smile warmly towards Sayori before returning to her tasks. Everybody else was done, hers were the extended needs for the runabout.

Once the post-landing procedure was complete, she stood and briefly adjusted her uniform before reaching for an oxygen mask and a phaser pistol. "I think we're all ready to go. Everyone, remember where we parked."

Mira raised a hand and asked, "Should I remain behind to make sure the runabout is ready to depart at a moment's notice?" She thought a second, then continued, "I.. do hops between maintenance and shuttle pads... I could do a hop for immediate pickup if needed?"

"That is not a bad idea, thought I'd prefer you don't remain here by yourself," Aidan agreed, "not that I doubt you can't handle yourself, because you can." He adjusted the oxygen mask and strapped the phaser and tricorder to his right side, phaser handle facing forwards, the attached his ushaan to his left side.

"If Mira is staying, she needs a guard," Stefaniya suggested, nodding toward Chase as she deferred to Aidan's lead. "And Mira, keep the heaters on high. That 'pleasant' fourteen degrees is going to feel like an icebox the moment we crack the hatch and the internal atmosphere starts to equalize."

Mira nodded to Stefaniya as she replied, "Aye Sir, understood, to both. Company would be welcome." She also got ready to close the hatch as well so as to not keep the heaters blasting, but not secure latch it so it could easily open without cycling.

"Tricorders are calibrated for the fungal interference, Commander," she reported as she pulled her own oxygen mask over her face, the seal hissing against her skin. "The methane fog is going to be thick out there," her voice came through the comm-link with a slight mechanical edge, "We’ll need to stay on a tight tether to keep from losing each other in the dark."

She paused at the airlock, adjusted the strap of her medkit, and looked at the Trill officer. "Ready when you are, Sir. Let’s see what’s waiting for us."

"Tether is a sensible suggestion," Aidan agreed, "and I want anyone starting to feel anything but their peachy self to notify Stefaniya or myself immediately." He waited for the hatch to lower then stepped outside into the harsh environment. "Stay close, I want everyone in arm's reach of at least one other person, preferably two. Keep an open comm at all times."

Stefaniya silently nodded, eager to get the mission started.

Mira moved over to comms and activated them on the runabout. Now she could track what they were saying and be available if called for. Once away, she would soft close the hatch while listening to comms. After this would be a coffee and chatter with her Guard, well, if he didn't mind a running dialog about diagnostic checks on now not used systems as they waited on the Away teams findings.

Sayori put on her mask - due to the reported ammonia in the atmosphere she had chosen one that also covered her eyes - and strapped the phaser to her side as she stepped towards the airlock. "The life sign is about 1900 metres, um, that way," she reported and gestured towards the aft of the runabout. "Based on what I saw during the approach and the planetary scans, the way should be pretty clear. Don't know about you guys, but I'm looking forward to stretching my legs a bit."

The pressurized seal of the Frost River hissed open, and the cabin’s recycled, scorched-copper air was instantly replaced by the heavy, alien atmosphere of the rogue world. It was thick and clinging, smelling of wet earth and a sharp, metallic tang that bit at the edges of their masks. Stefaniya stepped out behind Aidan, her boots sinking slightly into a soft, bioluminescent carpet of moss that glowed with a faint, pulsing indigo. The darkness was absolute, save for the narrow, cutting beams of their hand-lights and the eerie, scattered light from the chemotrophic flora. Towering fungal pillars, some thirty feet high, reached toward the invisible sky like skeletal fingers, their caps shimmering with a fine dusting of ammonia frost.

"Gravity is definitely heavy," Stefaniya noted, her voice crackling over the comms as she adjusted to the 1.05g pull. She maneuvered her tricorder in a wide arc, the holodisplay from her wrist mounted unit illuminating her masked face in a steady glow. "The fungal spores are dense, but the masks are holding. Aidan, the life sign is still there. It's steady, but weak. It’s coming from the base of a massive geothermal vent up ahead," she pointed ahead through the swirling fog toward the vent in the distance. "I'd recommend we keep our lights low. If they've been in the dark this long, our beams would be like staring at the sun in an eclipse."

"A little bit heavy, but not too bad," Sayori remarked as she stepped out onto the surface and took a look around. "This place doesn't look like it's straight from a horror holo at all," she added sarcastically, before adjusting the flashlight on her wrist. "There doesn't seem to be much of any advanced technology on the scans, and it certainly didn't look like any form of civilization lives here, at least on the surface. Still, that life sign had to have come from somewhere."

"The mycelium mat is vascular, Aidan," Stefaniya whispered over the comms as she cataloged the anomalies of the pulsating, indigo moss. "It’s reacting to our pressure like a nervous system." She knelt, her tricorder giving a sharp, melodic spike. Her eyes widened as she refined the sweep, filtering through the thick methane interference.

"Commander, I’m picking up a second signature. The humanoid life-sign is weak, coming from that fissure near the vent, but there is an animal signature directly adjacent to it. It’s small, rhythmic, possibly a pet or other local fauna." She stood, checking her medkit. "One humanoid, one animal. Whatever is in there isn't alone, but they are breathing hard."

Aidan nodded as he looked at his own readings, feeling the softness under his boots. "Tread carefully, let's try to avoid damage to the local flora as much as possible." He blinked a few times, feeling the air sting in his eyes. Unlike Sayori, he wasn't wearing a full face mask, but now wished that he had. "If it is a pet, whoever is out there is fortunate to have company." He held the beam of his light low, aimed just slightly ahead. "Not much further, according to these readings. Sayori, take as many readings of this mycelium as you can. If possible, without causing damage, take a few samples for later study. We don't want to disappoint the biologists on board."

"Got it," Sayori acknowledged as she began to scan their surroundings in more detail as the group began the march towards the lifesign's location. "Interesting. It seems like this weave of mycelium goes deep underground. Almost like it's holding the whole planet together." She briefly stopped and almost knelt down, retrieving a sample container from a pouch on her belt. Carefully, she used the container's collection function to gather up a little bit of material, before sealing it. Almost instantly, new threads of mycelium grew to cover the spot where she had removed some.

"Remarkable regeneration," Sayori observed. "Of course, I am no biologist, by any means." As she glanced at her tricorder again, she frowned. "Wait. Apparently, this kind of fungus is already known in the database, but it doesn't tell me anything about it. Like, not even a name. Weird."

Stefaniya checked the reading on her medical tricorder as they crested the final rise, her brows knitting together behind her mask as she filtered out the thick methane interference. The readings from the life-sign were growing more distinct as they approached the looming geothermal vent, which shimmered in the heavy air.

"Commander, the humanoid's pulse is thready, but the animal signature is remarkably vibrant," she reported, her voice hushed with clinical concern over the comm-link. "The life sign is right over the hill, tucked into a small depression behind those crystalline formations." She adjusted her medkit strap, her mind already cycling through triage protocols for a body struggling in the dark. "I’m seeing signs of severe malnutrition and hypothermia, but they’re still fighting," she noted, her eyes tracking the flickering data.

"Keep monitoring," Aidan suggested while carefully trudging on, "and fingers crossed it is a species we know or communication is going to be difficult. Hypothermia we can treat once we return to the shuttle. I'm more curious on how this person ended up here. And how this person seems to adjust better to its current condition than its master." He gestured ahead to the crystalline formation that was now coming into view. "Tread carefully we don't want to risk cutting ourselves. We do however want samples for the geology department."

RSS Feed