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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[ To be fair, he does know some of her life before Starfleet. He definitely knows there's a story there, kept under classified seals, ones that he knows he could find a way around in an emergency, but so far he's had no reason to do that. He doubts he ever will. So unless she tells him, it's likely he'll never learn.

He lets out a weak chuckle at the question, looking up to the night sky. ]

Not sure I could come up with another dare for you, to be honest.

[ The fact that any of her file is hidden under lock and key should probably tip him off that something's not quite normal with her, but then again he's seen the scars up and down her body.

She smiles a little at that, thoughtful. Hell, it's the least she can do, after all the awkwardness. ]

Alright, then. Truth.

[ He raises both eyebrows, surprised that she picks that option. And oh, there are so many questions he wants to ask, but— well, some are invasive, some are intimate, some are far too personal. He's trying to steer clear of all of those. ]

What's the fondest memory that you have?

[ Or one of the fondest, whatever. He's not picky. He just wants a (hopefully) lighter, happier topic. ]

[ It's not at all any of the questions she was expecting, but then again he's too polite to prod. She thinks a moment, head leaning back against the stone. ]

It's not really one memory, but... my family and I used to drive out of the city and go camping together when I was younger. The four us out in the woods, away from everything. Back then, things were just... a lot simpler, you know? [ She follows his gaze to the sky. ]

[ Leonard hums quietly. Simpler times, indeed. ]

Sounds really nice. I've never done a lot of camping, admittedly.

[ Jim likes it a lot. More often than not, he tags along with him, of course complaining all the while. Or at least for a portion of it.

But it's nice, imagining Sara with her family, out there traveling, setting up camp, bonding, having fun. Even if she might not do that anymore. (He doesn't know, really; he won't ask, either.) ]

I'll go with truth again.

Yeah. Didn't realize all that survival stuff my dad taught me would actually come in handy eventually.

[ She's toeing the line here, but it's actually a little freeing. She hasn't talked about her family in far longer than she'd like. She pauses a moment to think up another question. ]

When's the last time you went on a date? [ What? It's top of mind. ]

[ They did learn plenty of survival stuff back at the Academy too, but maybe she just had that advantage over everyone else. Could also be that it came in handy at some point in her life before the Academy, that nebulous part of it he knows nothing about.

Her question kind of distracts him from that, and he lets out a chuckle, a hand running through his hair awkwardly. ]

Jesus, I don't know. Maybe... couple of years? Longer, I think. More like three or four.

[ She can't help but smile as she glances over at him. He's kinda cute when he gets all bashful. ]

Got you beat there. [ She doesn't actually tell him, though, because where's the fun in that? Also, telling him would mean she'd have to count. ]

Truth.

[ Please don't call him cute, he might just die.

Right now he's just weirdly curious when she says that, but he doesn't get into that. He just murmurs, ] Wasn't aware it was a competition or anything.

[ He clears his throat and tries to think of a good question for her. After their conversation, turns out that truths are just as tough to think of as dares. ]

What is something that would embarrass you?

[ She just might do it out loud, then. ]

If it's a competition, I don't think either of us actually wins.

[ She falls quiet a moment, smile faltering. ]

There's a lot... a lot that happened before Starfleet that I'm not proud of. It's not exactly embarrassment, but... I'm not exactly shameless, if that's the question.

No, doesn't sound like either of us is actually a winner, there.

[ You know, he's got a divorce under his belt already, a kid he hasn't seen in years now, and a number of failed relationships since. Not a huge number, granted, but enough for him to have decided a while ago that maybe it is for the best that he's not so active in pursuing something like that again. ]

No, that's different. I meant embarrassing as in... stupid shit that makes you feel awkward. Shame and regret are— entirely different things.

Least I'm in good company.

[ She nudges her elbow against his, putting on another smile. Truthfully, she's never actually had a healthy relationship in her life. Neither Oliver or Nyssa were all that level-headed. Not that she is, either.

She frowns, thinking again. ]

You mean like thinking you're gonna have some really great sex and then getting rejected instead? [ They can joke about that now, right? ]

[ Well. Things would be a lot easier right now and a lot less awkward if only she hadn't said that. Leonard's expression sobers almost instantly at that, eyes wide that she'd even say something like that.

If it's a joke, it's not a good one, and if anything it just makes him think that she's more upset over all this than she's letting on. ]

Never mind.

[ Yeah. Truth or dare, bad idea. ]

[ Shit. She scrunches her nose. ]

Too soon. Sorry.

[ She stares down at her hands again. ] You should get some sleep. It's my turn to keep watch, anyway.

Right.

[ He's not going to be able to sleep, now. But things are just awkward and tense, and what he thought would be the best way to diffuse that has apparently only made it worse. Figures, really, given his track record with relationships. And they weren't ever even dating to begin with, yet he somehow's still managed to make it crash and burn.

Fucking fantastic. ]

Wake me up if anything changes.

[ He'll just close his eyes now and pretend to get some sleep, until either the sun goes up or something happens. That should do the trick. ]

[ Welp. Her attempt at humor hadn't exactly smoothed things over. Nice going, Sara.

It was probably for the best that they nip it in the bud, all things considered.

She nods, scanning her surroundings again more for something to do than for any real necessity.

Shit. ]

[ Can't be that long until sunrise, he wagers. Or he hopes, anyway, because the silence is awfully stifling and he can hardly stand it right now.

He shifts so he's leaning with his side against the wall, facing away from her, and closes his eyes. Maybe who knows, he might just be exhausted enough that he drifts off until the Enterprise finally manages to beam them back on board. ]

[ She wakes him a few hours later, crouching over him with a finger pressed to her lips so he keeps quiet. Pushing a blaster into his hand, she mutters under her breath. ]

There's something out there. Keep your back to the wall, if you see anything that's not me, shoot.

[ He actually managed to doze off there, so he startles a bit when she wakes him up so abruptly. He's quick to grip the blaster, though, nodding quietly at her, shifting position into something more alert as he tries to look around them and spot where any movement might be coming from. ]

[ She draws her own blaster, slinking along the shadows of the mountain and into the dark.

It's quiet for a while, just the faint rustle of wind in the leaves before a soft thud. Then another, and the muffled sounds of a blaster. A moment later there's a scuffle, grunting and a cry of pain, and then silence. ]

[ Leonard stays back for a good while. Longer than he feels comfortable with, admittedly, and at some point he starts thinking about following after her.

That's around the time when the phaser sounds come through, and at the cry of pain he's throwing caution to the wind and delving into the dark after her, muttering a curse but otherwise keeping quiet so that whatever attacked Sara won't come for him next. Hopefully. ]

[ It's pitch black, but soon enough he'll come upon one of the locals, unconscious on the ground. Then another, and then a few more. Sara's doubled over against a boulder, a bloodied spear in one hand, other hand clutching the right side of her ribcage. ]

Holy shit.

[ That's pretty much all he can say. At least it doesn't look like there are any others around, but she's evidently hurt now, so he rushes towards her as soon as he's sure the natives on the ground won't just get up and come at them. ]

What happened? [ He urges her to lean against the boulder, bending a little lower so he can check the injury. ] Let me see.

M'okay. [ Her breath is tight, and she has to willingly force it to even out. She's bleeding from an open wound, and it's not exactly shallow. ]

Locals were watching us. Probably saw the light from the transmission. [ She scrunches her nose, attempting to straighten and then thinking better of it. ]

Don't give me shit, Sara. You are not okay.

[ He needs to take her back to his med kit. He may not have his tricorder working anymore (thanks for that by the way), but he should at least have the trauma kit to tend to her wound the old-fashioned way, while hoping all the harder than the sun rises soon. ]

Come on, let's go back before any more come lookin' for these two. We need to stay close to the signal.

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