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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[ Given their current circumstances, any sense of awkwardness will have to be set aside for the sake of comfort, safety and conserving their body heat. He tucks the fabric closer, making sure they're both settled comfortably and as covered as they possibly can be. ]

I'm not that strong.

[ He shoots back to her with a raised eyebrow, smiling crookedly at her, his eyes going back to the contraption she's put together. ]

Somehow I'm startin' to get the feeling that's the only reason why you took it apart.

[ They're both fully functional adults, mostly. They can get through life threatening disaster without being totally awkward about it.

She pulls her knees up to her chest, blanket tucked around her shoulders as she watches the devices sit idle in front of them. Smirking at his words, she glances over at him to return his smile. ]

You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. [ Her gaze lingers a moment before she shifts her attention out to the horizon, a chuckle on her lips before she shakes her head. ]

Alright, maybe it was a little of both. But it'll be worth it if anyone up there picks up the signal.

[ He sort of wants to point out that going down this steep mountain on his own is already going to be hard enough, let alone carrying her and all their things, but he kind of picks up on a hint of teasing there and he lets the matter drop, lest the conversation will delve into awkward territory. He smiles faintly, leaning his head back against the rock too, trying to get some rest even if he doesn't plan on falling asleep. ]

How long do you think we should stay up here?

[ She keeps her gaze trained on the devices, as if willing them to confirm something - anything - helpful. Chewing on the inside of her lip, she shrugs her good shoulder in response to his question. ]

Until it works. Promised you you'd see the Captain by tomorrow, didn't I?

Great. We're gonna freeze halfway through the night up here.

[ It's a very real possibility! But well, at least it's still somewhat early, so they should be fine. For now. He might have to insist that they go back down and find some shelter later if it gets to be too cold. ]

Appreciate the vote of confidence, Doc.

[ She chuckles softly, leaning her head back against the wall again and watching quietly as the sun starts to hover over the horizon. ]

You always been this much of a pessimist?

[ He just grunts at that, eyes fixed on the horizon, eyes closing a bit. Her question doesn't even give him pause, he's quick and dry as he answers promptly. ]

Yes. Don't tell me this is a surprise to you.

[ In which case, damn. He must've fooled her well. ]

[ She smirks, a huff a laugh escaping her at his response. ]

Not much of a surprise, no. But little Leonard McCoy grumbling around the playground was probably pretty cute.

[ She lets her eyes sink closed, forearms resting on her knees, blanket draped lightly over her arms. She can already feel the warmth of the sun start to dissipate, feel the shadows growing longer and cooler across her skin. ]

Shut up, [ He mumbles with a quiet chuckle, eyes set on the horizon, watching the sunset. Well, at least it's one hell of a sight.

Starting to feel the chill, he looks over at Sara after a while. ]

Feelin' cold yet?

[ She laughs at his retort, opening her eyes to glance at the tangle of machinery again. Glancing over at him, she shrugs a shoulder. ]

I'm fine. Been through worse, remember? [ She shifts the blanket so it hitches up around his shoulders a little more, though. ] If we're in danger of hypothermia, I'm sure you'll let us know.

Just because you've been through worse doesn't make this any less unpleasant.

[ But he supposes she's right, in the sense that for now at least it's not too unbearably cold yet. He hasn't even felt it affect him yet, and she tends to be more resistant than he is. He'll just have to keep an eye on her and himself too. ]

Right. And you let me know if you start feeling cold or numb anywhere.

Who said I found this unpleasant?

[ She quirks a small smile, nudging her elbow against his. Still, this high up and with the sun gone, the temperature does drop quickly enough. She can feel it start to nip at the tip of her nose, the darkness slowly starting to spread across the valley below them.

She glances over at him again, cocking a brow. ]

You're feeling pretty naked without your tricorder, huh?

[ He shoots an eyebrow up, glancing at her. Stranded on some planet with no means of communication while sporting the injuries he has? He certainly would call that unpleasant. Doesn't matter how much she might enjoy his company, he doesn't think it's enough to quite make that better. ]

Guess it's better than being actually naked in this cold, [ He grumbles, frowning as he stares at what used to be parts of his tricorder. Damn, yeah, he doesn't like not having it at his disposal, even if there's nothing he could do with it right now. ]

[ She can't help herself. It's all worth that skeptical twist in his features - that grumpy brow of disbelief arched high on his forehead. She bubbles out a laugh, smile spreading on her lips as she casts her gaze back over the dimming horizon. ]

Sure about that? [ she teases, still smirking. After a moment, though, a soft flicker of light teases from the end of his tricorder, and she sits up, furrowing a brow. ]

Tell me you saw that.

[ Leonard has to snort at that, and he's about to tell her that there's no amount of activity that could warm them up in this cold if they were naked, when that flicker of light comes up. He sits more upright, eyes fixed on the tricorder. ]

I saw it, alright. Think it's working?

[ She stares at the tricorder amidst the jumble of wires and spare parts, afraid to look away in case she misses another flicker of light. The fact that he's seen it, too, is a help at least. ]

Maybe. Don't move, you might scare it.

[ Her brow furrows, limbs rigid as she keeps her gaze steady. Another moment or two and the light flickers again, slightly stronger this time. ]

Okay. Okay, that's a good sign. If it can hold steady long enough, maybe it can someone up on the Enterprise will notice.

[ He doesn't even comment that machines can't really get scared, because a) he knows she's joking, and b) he's also kind of worried he might actually scare it.

He lets out a sigh when the light comes up again, nodding. ]

Yeah. And I'm sure they're scanning the planet everywhere looking for anything, so it's only a matter of time until the sensors pick it up.

[ He smiles at Sara. Guess she really was right, huh. ]

[ Now who's the nonsensical one.

Then again, she's now torn between fiddling with the controls to try and boost the signal and scaring that signal away, so she just sits there, frozen in place as she stares at the device.

After a moment, though, she glances over at him. ]

Look at you, sounding almost optimistic. [ She offers him a smile in return, shifting slightly to lean back against the stone again. ]

Better get comfortable. We won't be heading back to the cave any time soon.

[ Probably best not to do anything right now, no. If there's a signal, weak though it may be, then the Enterprise will pick up on it. No point in doing anything that might ruin that. ]

I know! Must be the drop in oxygen up here. [ He snorts, following her as he settles back against the wall again. ]

Great. Let's get huddled up for the night, then.

[ That one gets a genuine laugh out of her, relief evident in the ease of her breath. Shifting a little closer to him, she tugs the blanket up to her shoulders, eyes still lingering on the device even as she settles in. ]

Can't exactly light a fire up here, since there's a good chance the natives'll see us. But if it gets too cold, let me know. We'll figure something out.

[ He's still smiling a hint as he settles next to her too, scooting as close as he can manage so they can at least share some body warmth. At this point the awkwardness will have to be set aside for the sake of both their well-being. ]

It's alright. Let's just get under the same blanket, body heat should help some.

[ It does help that their clothes are fairly insulating, too. No cold feet either, hopefully. ]

[ She leans in so their shoulders are flush against each other, shifting her blanket over to him and then overlapping his blanket on top. Double insulation and shared body warmth should help against the wind, which is conveniently picking up.

She's about to say something flirty, but manages to bite her tongue, tucking her feet underneath the blanket to anchor it in place. ]

I'm assuming you've been stranded on a foreign planet like this before?

[ The proximity and sharing the blankets does help in conserving the warmth, so hopefully they won't feel the chill quite as much. It's probably a lot to hope that the ship will be able to beam them up before they get to the really cold hours of the night, but who knows. They might be able to get out of here sooner than they think. ]

Couple of times, yeah. Not usually on a crashed shuttle, though. More often than not we were beamed down and then there was just something keeping us from beaming back up.

[ She's fairly comfortable, save for the nip of the wind at her nose and cheeks. The wind chill is likely to pick up soon enough, though, so hopefully the ship can hone in on their signal sooner rather than later.

Hopefully.

She rests her arms on her knees underneath the blanket, testing the ache in her shoulder with small movements where the wound from the crash is still healing. ]

Really? I can't even tell you how many times I've been a shuttle crash. Or a ship wreck. [ She frowns. ] Most of which were totally not my fault, if that's what you're thinking.

Who, me? Of course not. I know how good a pilot you are.

[ Leonard's pretty good at it himself, he just doesn't like it at all. But he can certainly recognize that same skill in others. And besides, her track record speaks for itself. ]

To be fair, you're probably sent on shuttle missions more often than I am. Mine, I'm usually just beamed down to the planet.

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HI sorry for the delay, I'm back now <3

annnd so am I haha hello :D

Re: hiiii hallo

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