dark_ages | landing party ( for thecanarylives )

landing party ( for thecanarylives )

[ He comes to with his head pounding, his vision blurred, and a persistent ringing in his ears. It takes him a while-- a good while, maybe seconds or maybe minutes, to even regain his vision properly, and to take in his surroundings. He's in a shuttle, which is completely wrecked, panels broken and burnt, wires hanging from everywhere, sparks going off and small fires here or there. They're also tilted forward slightly, so he can feel his weight pushing against the belts keeping him strapped to his chair. He looks beyond the window and he sees a lush forest just outside, trees and blue skies as far as the eye can see. It'd be pretty if not for the fact that they've clearly crashed on the planet they were supposed to land on.

Shit. Holy shit, they crashed. How the fuck did they crash? Leonard just wanted to gather some samples from the surface, it didn't even warrant a landing party bigger than two people, how the fuck did they end up like this?

That thought gets his brain into gear. Because he's not alone. He looks over to find Sara passed out, though at least thankfully still strapped to her seat. He lets out a shuddered breath, trying not to panic as he struggles to undo his own safety belt. ]

Sara!! Come on, you piece of shi-- [ His panicked grousing is cut off as his belt comes undone, and he just barely manages to brace himself against the controls rather than slam right into them. Head still spinning, he nevertheless forces himself to stumble towards her, looking her over briefly for possible injuries before he cups her face, trying to wake her up. ] Sara. Hey, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes...

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Ain't my first concussion either, and I think I'm a little qualified than you to know what could go wrong with that.

[ Yes he's just going to keep grousing and complaining about this. Surely she was counting on this sort of warm welcome when she decided to go out there on her own. Surely.

He stares at her as she works on the animals, having to look away at some point because that's just-- hell, no, he's not eating any of that. He'd rather stick to his rations, thanks. But first he'll gather some more wood into the fire, working on lighting that up so she can cook that meat for herself. ]

Let's try to go there next. Have you noticed any movement around, by the way? Or do you think the natives are staying clear of this area?

Well, good news. I didn't pass out. I even brought us breakfast. So you're welcome.

[ She shoots him a wink and a grin, glancing away to focus her attention on their aforementioned breakfast. Chuckling at the grimace on his face as she handles the meat, she shakes her head and spears some of the larger pieces onto a dagger so she can roast them over the flames. ]

Thought doctors weren't supposed to be so squeamish.

[ She smirks, working on the other animal so they can save the extra meat for their trek up. ]

Saw some movement further south. Smoke from a campfire, maybe. Land down that way seems more habitable, so the mountains are our best bet to avoid them.

[ She shifts around to settle in next to him, propping the knives full of meat up against the flames for them to cook. ]

You eat your cardboard brick yet?

I'm not. Just don't exactly like the sight of animals being butchered first thing in the morning, it really twists my stomach around.

[ Maybe later, once there's less blood everywhere, he won't be as squeamish about having some meat, right now, he's... yeah, just getting one of those ration bars and taking a nice bite, while she cooks her meat. He doesn't argue much, because with her injuries it's actually good to get a decent amount of protein into her, and fast. ]

Alright. Let's steer clear of those areas, but still keep our heads down, even up on the mountains. Just in case any of those natives decided to go for a hiking adventure. With all these healing herbs up here, he wouldn't be surprised. [ He hums at her question, tipping the bar at her before taking a bite. ] And it's delicious, thanks for askin'.

Big softie. [ she teases, getting to her feet and gathering the remainder of the mess to dispose of it outside the cave. Wiping her hands clean with a damp towel, she rotates the knives so the meat cooks evenly, settling back into a seat next to him. ]

Wanna take bets on if the natives have smoked that stuff or not? [ She quirks a small smile, pulling a face at the rations he's eating. ]

If you find that stuff delicious, maybe I don't wanna taste your mom's cobbler.

[ He just rolls his eyes at that, not getting where that makes him a softie exactly but not arguing either. He settles next to her, lifting an eyebrow at her idea. ]

That's ridiculous. Let's be honest here, they probably have anyway and I don't like to bet when I know I'll lose.

[ The last comment draws a soft chuckle from him, and he looks down and away while shaking his head. ]

Damn. Forgot about all that.

[ It's really just another excuse for her to make fun of him, really. Sara's no stranger to playing survivor in the wilderness. And if he's squeamish at the sight of her carving up an animal, she's pretty sure he'd disapprove of her life before Starfleet.

She chuckles at his reply, though, shrugging innocently. ]

Just saying. If you need to test the medicinal effects, I could be your guinea pig.

[ She smiles, focusing her attention on cooking the meat again as the memories of that morning start to resurface. ]

Mm. Not a bad morning.

[ Disapprove? Maybe nothing quite so harsh. It probably wouldn't have been the life for him, though. For all his complaining, he does like the comfortable life that Starfleet allows him, although fairly simple in a lot of aspects.

But then he's always been a simple man.

He smiles a little to himself, finishing the last bit of his bar. ]

No. I guess it wasn't, no.

[ There's not much on the official record when it comes to her past. Between surviving a shipwreck and joining Starfleet, the timeline is a little... sparse, to say the least.

There are a fair few that know her full story, the Captain included. The darkness and the violence that came with it was a little much to divulge, so officially she's just... a damn good fighter.

She turns the meat again, testing it with a fingertip before taking one of the knives off the flame to let it cool. ]

You guess? [ She quirks a brow at him. ] Seemed like you enjoyed yourself a little more than that, Doc.

[ Leonard really doesn't know everything about her past himself, just enough to get a solid medical file on her. But that's about it. He's never asked either, not one to pry, and he hardly feels like it's his place. Jim must know, and if he doesn't think Leonard needs to know, then it's because he doesn't need to know.

He takes in a breath at her comment, looking into the fire. ]

No, it was... [ He nods. ] It was-- fun. Yes.

[ He might have an inkling that she hasn't been all too forthcoming with her whole story, considering the vast array of scars that can't all possibly be the outcome of a crashed ship. And if he won't press it, she's not the type to talk about it all on her own.

She glances over at him, watching his profile a moment before glancing down to pick one of the pieces of meat from the skewer and munch on it. ]

See? You are capable of having fun.

[ She nudges him playfully with a shoulder. ]

[ He rolls his eyes at that, letting out a deep, pained sigh. ]

Oh come on, not this crap again. Yes, I do know how to have fun. We also know about stuff like that, back in Georgia.

[ She chuckles, brow furrowing a moment as the haze surrounding their conversation the night before starts to come back to her. ]

I teased you about that again, huh? [ She laughs, munching on another piece of meat. ] Well, at least we know I'm consistent.

[ She takes the other knife off the fire, massaging her temple a moment to try and ease the headache there. ]

We should get going.

Couple of times, yeah.

[ He notices how she doesn't entirely remember last night's events, which, while not surprise him, does worry him slightly. He rests a hand on her shoulder, getting her to sit still as he reaches for his med kit again. ]

Hold on. Let me do a quick check-up, first. Just to be sure you're not getting worse.

I'd apologize, but we both know you could use a little more fun in your life.

[ She shoots him a wink, setting the knives back down against the stone and straightening so he can do whatever tests he needs to do. She feels fine, for the most part - a hell of a lot better than the night before, though the headaches still come and go at times. The cut he'd bandaged at her shoulder was healing slowly, though all the moving she'd done in the past few hours had done nothing to stop it bleeding. ]

[ She doesn't seem to be any worse for wear, in fact it looks like the swelling has gone down, and he can't detect anything alarming in his readings. With a sigh, he loads the hypospray with a low dose of analgesic, pressing it to her neck to administer the drug. ]

That should ease some of the pain. Alright, let's-- gather our things and get goin'.

[ He puts all his things away in his med kit, blankets and everything shoved back into the bag so they can head out. ]

[ She can feel the tension in her muscles ease immediately as the hypospray does its work, rolling her shoulders a bit for a moment. ]

Sir, yes, sir.

[ She salutes playfully, getting to her feet and crouching near the fire to pack away the cooked meat into a compartment of her bag. The rest of her weapons get tucked back into their various holsters and she gets to her feet, slinging the bag over her good shoulder. ]

[ Leonard gives her a flat stare at that, though his lips do twitch very faintly. He packs up his own things and carries what he can, making sure they don't leave any strange traces of their presence behind before he follows her out of the cave.

He holds up a field scanner just in case, so they can be sure not to cross paths with anyone else or expose themselves too much as they head up the mountain. It hopefully won't be too lengthy a walk, but keeping at a slow and steady pace means it'll probably take them a while to get to the top. ]

[ She can't help the breath of a chuckle on her lips at his reaction, tucking a few knives and blasters into holsters at her ankles and thighs before following him out of the cave.

The climb is easy at first, but grows rocky and steep as they climb higher. The air is cooler at the higher altitude, but the sun is high in the sky by the time they stop for a break.

Sara perches on a rock to take a few gulps of water, casting a gaze down at the valley below them for any signs of movement. Tugging her communicator out of her pocket, she lifts it to try and pick up a signal. ]

Still nothing. You?

[ Despite the cooler air, the sun warms them considerably, and the climbing also ups his temperature slightly. He's pulling his uniform shirt off when they pause for a break, pulling up the sleeves of his black undershirt, taking a few gulps from his own water before reaching for the sunscreen spray on his kit. Pretty glad he's included that one in there, now. ]

Let me check. Here. [ He hands her the spray so she can apply a layer to any exposed skin, pulling up his own comm device and trying to get some sort of signal. ]

Still dead. Whatever's interfering with communications, it wasn't exclusive to that cave.

[ Their uniforms are meant to adapt to the temperature, somehow. Breathable and insulating - an impressive kind of technology, but more meant for the chill of space than long hikes in the beating sun. Mostly, the long sleeves are just annoying after too long, and she quickly follows his lead in stripping off the top layer of her uniform and tucking into the side of her bag.

She glances over and takes the can from him, applying some of the spray to her arms and shoulders and a bit to her face. ]

It's not just the cave. It's this whole planet. The atmosphere's all messed up. [ She sighs, tucking her comm link into her bag and taking another few sips of water. ]

Scotty's gonna need to work a hell of a lot of magic to beam us back this time.

[ It's true, and as a doctor, Leonard's a great advocate for their uniforms' capabilities, however that shirt is damn filthy right now, and no matter what reason says, it felt hot and uncomfortable. This at least lets him breathe a little easier, and the undershirt's made of the same kind of versatile material, so it'll do just fine to keep him protected. ]

Which means we're probably in for some extended vacation down here.

[ He lets out a soft groan, not looking even a little bit pleased about it. ]

I'd give it... a couple days, three at best, before Jim gets tired of waitin' and just decides to come down here himself. That is, if they can't figure out some other way to pierce through all this interference. Meanwhile, we should find a place to actually settle into and make ourselves as comfortable as we can. Is the cave alright, or do you think we should find someplace with better visibility?

[ He'd defer to her expertise on that. He's admittedly not the most experienced when it comes to survival, but she evidently is. ]

[ There's a chance her gaze lingers on his arms, dragging down to those legendary hands he likes to brag about so much. But eventually she diverts her attention to the trail behind them again, making sure there's no movement in the brush. ]

What, this isn't luxurious to you? Fresh air, the great outdoors, damn good company? You could do a lot worse, you know.

[ She quirks a small smile, downing a bit more water before tucking the canteen back into her pack. ]

Captain's not all that great with patience. And you're one of his favorite crew members. I'll put a bottle of whiskey down we'll see him by sundown tomorrow. [ She gets to her feet, furrowing a brow and scanning the landscape in front of them. ]

The cave is a good backup, if we can't find something livable on higher ground. Let's keep an eye out either way. [ She wipes the sweat from her hairline with the back of her hand, handing him back the bottle of sunscreen. ] You ready?

[ He tries not to brag so much about his legendary hands these days, at least not around her. Things still feel a little awkward, even if they do seem perfectly capable of spending time together and working alongside each other. Honestly, of all the people to get stuck with in the middle of an alien forest, she's probably one of the best options on the ship, if not the best. ]

You've got yourself a deal. [ He nods at her, smiling faintly. Spock's there too, and Leonard's fairly sure that he'll keep Jim in check if he starts getting any reckless ideas.

He nods for now, shouldering his bag again and setting it up in the most comfortable position he can manage. ]

I'm good, yes. Let's get goin'.

[ Concussions aside, she's made a conscious effort lately to try and keep everything friendly and platonic between them. Still, even encountering him in the halls felt awkward and stilted at times - a tight smile, a professional nod, entirely normal for anyone passing by but somehow still leaving a strange after-taste in its wake.

This is the most time they've actually spent together since that night and breakfast the morning after. The realization tugs at her out of nowhere, and for a fleeting moment it's comforting to know they've gotten this far without things getting any more awkward.

She leads the way back up the mountain, picking the way up carefully as the path starts to narrow and the ground starts to turn rocky. The further up they climb, the steeper the drop to their right, jagged rocks jutting out to a sharp angle down the side of the cliff. ]

How are you with heights? [ she asks innocently, the flat of her hand pressing to the stone wall at her left for balance. ]

[ Weird and terrible though it is to think of it in such terms, the truth of the matter is that the fact that they've crashed has probably helped a lot with keeping things more or less comfortable between them. They've got so much to worry about, so much to focus on, that they don't even have the time to allow for awkward silences or ill-considered comments. At most they had a few moments the night before, but then she was quick enough to fall asleep, so there was that.

It probably won't last much longer. Especially if it takes the crew longer than a day to get them out of here. But for now, at least, they have more pressing matters at hand.

Leonard lets out a soft little groan at her question, his eyes going down to the cliff despite his best efforts to keep his eyes fixed ahead. He regrets it almost immediately. ]

Bad. Just-- bad. How much longer until we make it to the top? [ He just doesn't wanna start feeling dizzy now. ]

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