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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Wouldn't know. Never been one of his bed mates.

[ Never really considered it, either. Jim's his best friend, though, and Leonard does think he's far more considerate now than he used to be in their Academy years. Leonard's also fairly sure he hasn't quite indulged as often, but he hopes that he's gotten mature enough to show a little more respect than that.

Either way, Jim's charm applies to plenty areas of his life, and Leonard should know. He's been on the receiving end of it often, whenever Jim wants to convince him to do something dangerous, crazy, or otherwise ill-advised. Leonard's charm, on the other hand, is hidden under some layers of grump and pessimism, and is reserved to specific occasions. ]

You're tellin' me. He just comes whining to me after about how mean you are. [ He chuckles. Then a thought comes to mind and he asks before he thinks twice of it. ] He never... you know, tried anything with you?

Guess we both dodged a bullet there, huh?

[ The Captain certainly had calmed down quite a bit since she'd first joined The Enterprise. He'd earned himself quite the reputation around Starfleet for both his recklessness and his long list of bed mates, but a five year mission in deep space seemed to have taught him a few lessons in maturity.

Not that he'd necessarily turned over a new leaf entirely. While the mission might feel a little isolated at times, it wasn't exactly boring. And she was the last person with the right to judge anyone for being reckless and a little... open in the bedroom.

In any case, she's been on the receiving end of the Captain's charm enough times to know that she appreciates Leonard's more subtle approach. God knows the Doctor can turn it on when he wants to. ]

And I'm sure you're very sympathetic. [ She laughs, slouching a little and resting her temple lightly against his shoulder. At his question, she barks out a laugh. ] Plenty of times. Even got close a time or two, when I first joined. [ She shrugs. ] Back then, he would've slept with anything that moved.

Guess we must have.

[ Aside from Jim's tendencies, Leonard doesn't want to think about what sleeping together might've done to their friendship, even if he may not have considered it. The truth of the matter is that he was in a pretty low place when they first met, and it probably wouldn't have taken much for Jim to wiggle his way into his bed, and he's immensely grateful that Jim never tried. Their friendship is one of the most precious things in Leonard's life, he doesn't know where he'd be without that in his life.

Also, he's quietly very glad that he didn't manage to wiggle his way into Sara's bed, either. Not that it's any of his damn business, but anyway. ]

Right, [ He hums, remembering those days well. ] Pretty much, yeah.

[ Sleeping around with anyone at the start of a long mission in deep space was a bad idea at all angles, and thankfully she'd managed to steer clear of any of that drama... for the most part, anyway. Present company excluded. But despite the playful flirtation, she liked to think she and the Captain had a good rapport. Not as close as he and Leonard were, by any means, but they'd been on enough missions together over the years to trust each other implicitly in the field.

Still, she's thankful she was smart enough to dodge the awkwardness that would've come with having slept with two commanding officers on a deceivingly small ship.

The windchill nips at her cheeks and nose now, the terrain quickly growing dark around them. ]

What about you? He never tempted you into the Casanova life?

[ Yeah, that probably would've been awkward. Not that Jim tends to tell him who he's slept with. Leonard sort of knew at the Academy, but that's mostly because the concept of privacy was entirely alien to Jim, and at all times it was public knowledge who was the last pretty face that Jim had managed to charm into his bed.

At least he exercises some discretion, these days.

He lets out a soft laugh, shaking his head. ]

We've gone out a couple times, back at the Academy. I'm sure his idea was that we'd be each other wing men. But... it's never been my style. Sleepin' around.

[ She'd joined the team a few years into the five year mission, and even then Jim's reputation had preceded him, and the story of the Enterprise's maiden voyage had been a buzz around the Academy for a long time afterwards.

She smirks at the image of the Captain dragging Leonard to a bar to meet women. The grumpiness that would've ensued. ]

Kind of a shame to waste that talent. But I get it.

[ At least these days Jim's admired and applauded by the good he does, not just talked about and mocked. It gives Leonard a modicum of happiness, knowing Jim's appreciated as he should.

Well actually he is pretty good at meeting women, he doesn't do too poorly in that regard. The problem comes when he's not the casual hookup type and it's sort of hard to have a relationship when he's never around. ]

I can still use my legendary hands in my own field of work, at least. Reckon that's better than nothing, don't you think?

[ Even back then, despite Jim's reputation, she still had to admit he knew how to get a job done. Even if he broke about a thousand rules in the process.

She chuckles, shrugging a shoulder. ]

I guess I can live with knowing it's not a total waste.

[ He smiles quietly, not looking at her. Silence lingers between them for a while, though he finds it surprisingly comforting, with Sara sitting next to him, her head resting on his shoulder like that.

Eventually he speaks up. ]

You should try to get some sleep, Sara. I'll keep watch first.

[ An easy silence settles between them, and with it the weight of the day starts to take hold. They'd been hiking the bulk of the day, and with her injuries still healing and a concussion lingering around the base of her skull, soreness and exhaustion starts to tug quickly at her senses.

Welcoming the urge to get some sleep - even if the chill of the night air means it won't be all that restful - she tugs her blaster from its holster and rests it between their legs. ]

Wake me in two hours. Earlier if you hear anything.

Will do. Don't worry.

[ He does know how keeping watch works, and Sara certainly doesn't have to worry about him trying to play hero just so he won't wake her. If anything happens, either with the device or anything else anywhere near them, he'll wake her up.

It's about coming up to two hours of him being alone with his own thoughts, an arm put around her shoulders in the meantime just to keep her warmer and more comfortable, that static noise starts coming through the comm device hooked to the improvised satellite. Leonard straightens up, then he nudges Sara awake. ]

Hey. Sara, wake up. I think they're trying to send a message through.

[ Sara's a light sleeper as it is, and she's fairly used to only getting a few hours at a time. She's up as soon as she feels him stir, blinking her eyes open and hissing in a breath. ]

Mm? [ Her eyes focus on the fluttering light in front of them, brighter than it was when she fell asleep, the static noise hissing against the wind. Shifting the blanket off herself, she crawls over to fiddle with the signal a little, attempting to coax the message out of it. ]

Shit. [ She frowns, casting a gaze around them and using the edge of the blanket to cover the blinking light. ] Hopefully none of the locals have seen it. You hear anything come through?

[ Leonard moves after her, kneeling next to the device and peering over her shoulder while she tries to get it to work properly. It's faint, but there seems to be some kind of tapping noise coming through, rather than words. ]

Yeah. Hold on. [ He's quiet then, holding a hand up for her to be silent. ] You don't happen to know Morse code, do you? I'm a little rusty, myself.

[ He can make an attempt, but... yeah. ]

[ Her attention is still on the patch of darkness to their left, brow furrowed at the trail that lead them up the mountain. ]

Hm? [ She glances at him distractedly, falling silent at his direction and listening curiously at the taps of static coming from the device. He's right. It's been ages since she's heard Morse Code - it's not exactly the most current way to communicate, but they'd spent a brief amount of time on it at the Academy.

Reaching for her bag, she rummages around for a knife and starts to scratch the pattern into the stone behind them. ]

[ Leonard falls silent, aware that she's focusing on what's coming through the message. Morse code is admittedly odd and unusual, and it makes him wander what could be affecting communications so badly that they can't even send an audio message through.

He looks between the device, Sara, and the stone she's carving into, only speaking up when she stops, and it really looks like she's done. ]

So? What is it?

(( ooc: figure it could be a message about some ongoing storm that's affecting ship's systems and that they should wait out the night? but if you have something else in mind roll with it! :D ))

[ For a moment she scratches the pattern of dashes and dots into the dimly lit stone, pausing a moment when the sounds start to repeat themselves. Frowning, she divides the words up and fills in the vowels she remembers, then the consonants, eventually spelling the brief message out in full. ]

Solar storm. Stay put. Sunrise. Scotty.

[ She shrugs, glancing over at Leonard with a brow cocked. ]

I give him bonus points for alliteration.

(( ooc: yesss rolling with it! ))

[ Leonard heaves out a sigh, then nods. A storm. That's good, actually. Really good. Means that when it passes, communications should be fine again and they can get beamed the hell out of this rock.

At her last remark he snorts, moving to sit against the rock again. ]

Wouldn't put it past him that he did it intentionally. Anyway, we may as well get some sleep while we wait.

[ The fact that he's not grumbling in pessimism at the message is a relief in and of itself, really. Sunrise won't be horribly far away, and at least they don't need to get trekking God knows where else in the middle of the freezing night to get picked up.

She nods, gaze shifting back to the trail behind them for a moment before returning her attention to him. ]

You get some rest. I'll keep watch for a while.

[ Any message is an improvement right now. A message they can actually understand, and one that promises that in a few hours they should be back on the ship and back to safety, is a pretty damn good reason for him to practice some optimism. It won't do them any good to start grumbling right now, anyway.

A hundred things could go wrong before then. The way she keeps looking at the path they came from is leaving his hairs standing on end already, his own eyes darting back to it before he looks back to her. ]

It's alright. I'm not that tired. [ He shrugs. ] Maybe we can keep each other company 'til sunrise.

[ At least he's selective about his grumbling. She hesitates a moment, thoughtful before a small smile settles on her lips. ]

Got any puzzles? Board games? Deck of cards, maybe?

[ She settles back into her spot next to him, leaning back against the stone. Her blaster is still nestled between them, her fingertips grazing against the handle. ]

I'm afraid I didn't pack that up for the journey, no.

[ He pulls the blankets up over them, crossing his legs so he can get as much of himself under the covers as possible. ]

There are always stupid question games, if you want to distract yourself. Not sure my life's that interesting, though.

I'll try and find it in my heart to forgive you.

[ She smirks, tucking her knees up to her chest and huddling in next to him. ]

What, like truth or dare?

Thanks. All my emotional stability depends on that.

[ He jokes back with a snort, particularly when she asks that question. Yeah, putting it like that makes it sound childish and stupid, but... ]

Yeah, sure. Something like that. Should keep us distracted, so why not?

What emotional stability?

[ She flashes him a grin, leaning back against the stone wall again. ]

Alright, fine. But I'm picking dare first.

[ He snorts at that, shrugging promptly. ]

Fine, then. I dare you to cluck like a chicken in the middle of a crowded mess hall, once we're back to the Enterprise.

[ Surely she was expecting a totally ridiculous and embarrassing dare. ]

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