Star Trek: Starbase 777 - the-landing-spot

The impromptu landing spot was a small meadow. Surrounding it from the north and west side was a forest, one that the USS Drakkar tried to cross; further to the east was a hill that went downwards, leading to an ocean - judging by the sounds of crashing waves.

"...So," the man started awkwardly, clapping his hands together, "does Starfleet, by chance, have any protocol when dealing with dragons?.."

“Leave them alone, probably!” Maggjr said, sitting on the ground next to the shuttle, writing notes.

"Dragons specifically? No. Not at all." Five carefully surveyed the area from the window. "We do have measures for dangerous creatures, but.."

T'kara, having decided to meditate to center herself for the expedition, fell asleep instead and entirely missed the dragon encounter. At least she'd caught up on the lack of sleep she was getting. Upon landing she stumbled out of the shuttle and stretched. "What's this about a dragon?" (edited)

One had been observing silently this whole time, trying to put their thoughts together. Massive, heated acid producing animals that roamed the skies, presumably apex predators in this environment, an environment that had presumably remained undisturbed for the most part in its history... One couldn't say they didn't understand it. "I can think of several applicable protocols, but most of them would involve... leaving."

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Maggie hummed in agreement. “Yeah do you have any other planets to terraform?”

T’Loran had emerged from the shuttle, going over to T’Kara. After all, she wanted to be of some use, and she decided that informing T’Kara about the massive dragon that had forced them to alter course would be a good thing for her to do. After all, she was a Cadet, and leaving the important things to the actual officers was probably a good idea, she thought. “We encountered a large flying reptilian creature while we were attempting to land. We were forced to alter course and land here. Its tail was producing smoke, hence why some are calling it a dragon.”

"Interesting, I'm surprised I missed it. Must have meditated more deeply than I expected. Thank you for the information." In her head she started going over large animal encounter protocols, though most of those didn't consider the instance that said animal could fly.

"Aggressive neighbors is something we are all too familiar with," the man replied, standing up from his seat and doing a bit of a stretch. "Can't say we lack experience in dealing with things like that... and to answer your question, no. We have not found another suitable, uninhabited place as of yet."

“Then I guess we better try to make this one work.” Maggie said as she stood to her feet with a roll of her shoulders.

Rii’s colony buzzed with differing opinions, with several voices calling for immediate departure, but Rii had other priorities. “Terraforming discussion should be on hold until we assess the intelligence of these creatures and conduct further analysis. This could be a potential First Contact situation,” They informed the crew, their tone firm yet measured. Scanning the room, they continued, “We need biological samples and a full ecological assessment—let’s determine their role in the environment and any signs of intelligence before making our next move .”

"Make this one work"? One could not say they agreed, they were here to find out if it was, not to find out what needed to be done to make it fit... right?

It was only then that she began looking around and taking in the environment. Quite a beautiful one indeed, though her strategic mind couldn't help but scan for key positions in the landscape that could serve as a fallback or defense point should things go sour. Any caves in the area, she wondered? She unclipped her tricorder from her belt to begin a topological scan.

“The consensus so far seems to be that it can produce superheated acid. Does anyone know how acid-resistant the hull of this shuttlecraft is?” T’Loran said, both to inform T’Kara and because she wanted to know if the shuttlecraft would even be a safe place to shelter if the creature came back. T’Loran was very used to acids, having had to take a good three weeks off following a nasty acid burn at the end of her last posting. (edited)

"The hull should be able to withstand any acid that the internal organs of an animal can, even heated. Extended exposure may begin to chip away at the paint job, though."

“Better the paint than our heads, though.” She said, in a tiny attempt at a joke. Apparently, that was what people did in tense situations? This situation was certainly tense to her, so she had decided to give it a shot.

"Can we make contact with Eventide?" Rehszan piped up, slightly concerned. "Or is that, too, blocked by the interference?"

"I have some news regarding scans," Saren piped up from where he was seated in the front. "First of all, the air down here is clear from the interference - which will make scanning with our own tricorders so much easier while on ground. Second of all, I have some information on our... Big Guy."

"Do tell!" Even if Big Guy posed a threat to the away team, Rehszan still could not be more excited about such a discovery. It was so rare that they found something untouched and undiscovered, after all.

At last, they could get some concrete data on Big Guy 1. Their eyes lit up with curiosity as they turned to Saren. “Excellent! Let’s hear it, Lieutenant—this one is eager to know more about our big friend.”

Vara'l paused for a moment on the shuttle as he checked over some of the tactical data and loaded it onto a PADD. Once he did that he then also interrogated tactical scan data and looked to see if the scanners had picked up any other Big Guy's around as they'd attempted to break contact as he listened to people talk and watched the console.

"We still don't know what it was actually doing with its tail. Acid is conjecture. Let's wait for the scan information." Hanneth shrugged as he watched the area for any potential threats. (edited)

Trying and failing to hide his excitement over the discovery of Huge Fuckoff Flying Reptiles, the zoologist started to infodump: "Seems to be an adult male, wingspan around 12 meters. The bulbous tip of his tail contains reservoirs of liquid that seem to house hydrogen peroxide and carbon, of all things; some inner mechanism opens the connection between these reservoirs with big, circle-shape glands on the outside of the bulb, and upon contact with oxygen, said glands start to produce huge amounts of smoke. I've been looking at the scans while we were landing, and I don't see any anatomical adaptations for, ah-- shooting this liquid out of the bulb... Perhaps the smoke is used for communication. Or a weapon up-close. Like a corrosive, hot club, or something." He paused, then looked up at the rest of the people somewhat sheepishly: "Can I just be blunt and unguarded and say that this is the most amazing and exciting accidental discovery I have never even dared to imagine happening with me as a witness? This planet needs to be surveyed and explored. A goldmine of scientific knowledge..."

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"So, technically, as long as we don't get too close, we - and the animal - should be safe," he nodded. "That is reasonable."

"Well, hydrogen peroxide is technically an acid with a pH of usually 5 or 6 in the medical grade version people used for first aid centuries ago. Might take the dye off clothing but thats about it." He observed. "Thats really frickin cool, Lt!" He grinned (edited)

“It certainly is fascinating..” While T’Loran wasn’t a biologist by any means, she still loved the subject. She adored all science in general, and while her specialty was stellar cartography, she was not the person to say no to dragons. An interesting survey was an interesting survey, and she wanted to help however she could.

Vara'l tapped on the console a bit as he continued to interrogate the data a bit as he listened to Saren talk. He wanted to ensure that the dragon hadn't called mates before they'd broken contact with it. If they'd done that, even though they seemed to have gotten away from it, that would be something that merited some consideration, he reckoned. One of them seemed like a problem already, more of them would be more of one even if they'd slipped away from the first, expecially if it turned out the dragons happened to have some form of method to communicate. They happened to just not possess enough information right now for him to be at all comfortable as he continued to peruse the data.

“Woahhhhh! This is so cool!” She said, stomping around with giddy autistic glee. “I wonder if there are others, and what other species could look like!”

"True, but still not advisable. The bulb is the size of a small barrel, and it gets heated. The dye will get taken off, as well as... the rest of the cloth, I guess." He shrugged. Syrax, sitting near him and still recovering from the fact that he almost rammed the shuttle into a flying reptile, rolled his eyes.

It was rare for T'Kastrir, who had totally been tagging along this entire time, to be speechless, considering how little he tended to speak anyway, but the more he learnt about the creature and this planet the less he could even come up with something to contribute. It was all fascinating, and the Cadet took what words he had right out of his mouth. Having been doing basic scans since getting off the shuttle, the stellar cartographer decided he would be best taking notes down, and so he put his tricorder back in his satchel and pulled his PADD out instead, and began to type up everything that was experienced and said.

"Does it add pigmentation to the steam when it heats off the peroxide?" Hanneth asked, not sure if they that information with the limited scans. This was a very random fixation he had in a chemistry class once as a kid and a coincidence. Experimenting with hydrogen peroxide to learn about thermodynamics, states of matter, liquids, gasses, and chemical reactions was a formative memory. He didn't go into science but he was still curious, and even if he was wrong or miss remembering, he did want to genuinely learn something cool, and a shuttle full of scientists on a survey was jsut the chance. He could watch the backs of the science team and ask them questions. He'd be a fool not to in his own opinion.

"The carbon gives the smoke a darker color," he nodded. "Not much other information on that, though. At least, currently."

"Let us keep it that way at least for now. We should avoid close encounters as we explore unfamiliar terrain." The big flying creatures were fascinating, and One could understand the excitement, but they did want to be reasonable. At least for the time being.

As for Vara'l's poking, if he took a glance at the scanner, he would see that the coast was clear; nothing indicated something's - or someone's - approach to the landed shuttlecraft. No big scary dots for Big Guy 2, 3, or 4!

Taking a closer look at the forest Evoras wondered if they might be save from big flying reptiles if they went inside it. At the very least they should not be able to swoop in from the air to pick someone up, the trees would be in the way. Of course technically they could still have some other way to get in there and other wildlife might not be pleasant to encounter either or the plants could be dangerous. Seeing as the interference was not an issue down here she let the others get excited over their discovery and ran some general scans of their surroundings.

While not as detailed due to the larger area the shuttle's scan intakes, compared to the very narrow, direct scan of a tricorder, the results of USS Drakkar's "look-around" were still reliable. The scan deemed the area safe - no other creatures in their proximity, a very reassuring factoid, and the air outside of the shuttle was not dangerous to carbon-based lifeforms (aka, everyone inside of the vessel). The lush flora of the meadow they landed in didn't carry any toxins or allergens that could reduce the party's size by one or many.

T’Loran was watching as everyone else started scanning everything, and soon decided to make her way over to Evoras- after all, she was kind of the only person that T’Loran somewhat knew, and the big forest she was scanning in the direction of had caught T’Loran’s interest. She walked over, taking a scan to see if there was any other interesting plant or animal life around. You know, besides the dragons.

"We are safe to step outside. There appears to be nothing in the intimidate proximity of the shuttle that should be dangerous to anyone on board. No other potentially dangerous fauna either, at least not at the moment." She turned around to check that he others has caught that. "How should we proceed?"

"Sticking together seems to be the optimal way to proceed, Commander," Obviously. He expected Evoras to know that much, and hoped he did not come off as condescending. "Even if we would cover more ground otherwise, we should make sure we stay together. I am able to memorize the path taken to and from the shuttle if we wish to explore, so we will not worry about getting lost!" :D

Mak had been standing there, silently, well not so silently with his Darth Vader like breathing pattern that was audible thanks to his refrigeration suit that made everything sound weird and electronic. Even though it was 'safe' he had a firm hand hovering over his phaser around his hip, he didn't want to solely rely on the scans anything could appear at any given time. He tapped his fingers on the phaser thinking further on the question on how to proceed, he was no scientist so hell if he knew where to start.

Rii listened carefully to the assessment before turning to the crew, whose tone was measured yet firm. * “Sticking together is a solid approach, but given the unpredictable nature of this mission, Bahram, this one requests that you remain here for your safety.” *They then looked to the team, nodding with purpose. They've been on many away missions, so staying behind was just a part of the job. “This one will stay behind —ensure the diplomat’s safety and continue scanning for large dragons. While the team is away, this one'll be your eyes. We'll contact the team immediately if there’s any sign of danger. If anyone wants to stay behind with this one,you can!”

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"I will stay behind to make sure that Big Bird doesn't steal our shuttle!" Syrax offered, now sitting sideways in the pilot seat. (edited)

While the others deliberated on who would stay and who would go, Rii rose from their seat and made their way to the shuttle’s replicator. *“Computer, Coffee Cake, Classic Recipe—five slices.” *They waited as the replicator hummed to life, then retrieved the warm slices as they appeared, nodding in satisfaction before returning to their seat.

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"As much as I would love to not potentially get eaten, I am endlessly curious about what this place has to offer. Even if my skills won't be of much use." Five offered a sheepish smile. "Well then, shall we?"

"I will also follow," he stated the most obvious thing ever. "We do have options, though - right in front of us is a forest, and looking to the east we have an ocean. Ideally we should visit both places - take soil and wood samples, as well as water samples - but we need to start somewhere."

"I wonder if we'll find any samples of the beasts. Scales, or shed skin, or maybe even part of an egg..?" Rehszan shook away the stars in his eyes.

“I’ll go with! I have to have some stuff to tell my mom about when I get back!” Did Maggie know her mom was probably having the most peaceful time of her life without her idiot daughter nearby? No! She’s delusional leave her alone smh.

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"I should go as well," T'kara stated matter of factly. "My reaction time is likely plenty to keep the group out of danger. Besides, I could use the change of scenery as much as anyone." (edited)

Noting how the teams were balancing out, Rii decided a little extra muscle staying behind wouldn’t hurt. They could likely handle things, but an extra set of hands—or fists—wouldn’t be a bad idea. “Commander Vara’l or Mak, could I bribe you with cake to stay behind? Just in case your expertise is needed here.” They offered the plate of coffee cake with a small, knowing smile. It wasn’t the most exciting duty, but someone had to keep the shuttle—and those remaining in it—secure. If both said no, they could handle it easily.

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Mak looked down at the Commander then at the cake that was offered, he tilted his head slightly before he realised what it was. Food, of course. "I will stay behind though I'm sad to say I cannot take off my helmet to eat- but if it works through a.. straw then I would be considered happily bribed." The Breen said sounding electronic, truly a voice for techno music and this was the first time he had said something coming to this away mission, wow!

T’Loran, very logically excited to go do some real science on her first away mission, quickly cleaned off her glasses again and stood up to go chill by the people getting ready to leave. While she wasn’t a science officer yet, everyone had to start somewhere, and T’Loran was very happy to start her career of cool away missions here, with an amazing planet with dragons to study.

"I will assist with escorting the team in the field." He smiled and offered. "Happy to watch everyone's back! Plus, I am always curious as to what's out there, even if I am not a scientist I am still a nerd." He chuckled as he followed the team out when they were ready.

She slightly raised an eyebrow at the cake, but she supposed the people staying behind might as well make the Annari feel comfortable. Turning over to the people preparing to leave the shuttle she gave them a nod. "To the east there appears to be an ocean. Let us start by investigating in that direction. Unless someone has objections?"

Rii gave a slow nod, considering for a moment before rising from their seat. “Give me a second, Commander.” They made their way to the replicator, speaking clearly. “Computer, coffee cake—same recipe as before, but blended smooth like a milkshake. Serve it in a classic diner cup with a 30 CM straw,” As the replicator materialized their order, Rii grabbed the drink—then, without hesitation, one of their hands detached, floating over to Mak with the cup in tow. Settling back into their seat, they turned to Vara’l with an easy grin. “Coffee cake?"

Vara'l looked to Rii then looked to the coffee cake and then looked up at Rii. "I am very much bribed." The ACTO responded then before he looked to the other Lieutenant commander and then to Rii as the other offered the platter and proceeded to speak again. "Your bribery has been effective, I shall remain, commander." The Romulan responded his tone calm and 'serious' even as his mind positively vibrated as it reacted to the prospect of coffee cake. (edited)

"Indeed," she responded to Hanneth's comments about the situation. "Just because i'm a fighter doesn't mean I can't enjoy learning."

Mak casually watched what the Commander did before realising, he was a little slow at some times but he finally realised and when the cup was offered to him in the most fascinating way possible he gladly accepted it, the straw though was very very long not that he minded it. He clicked a button like shape on modified helmet so he could put the straw into it to effectively slurp it which he did. "Oh.. this is very good!" He exclaimed in a happy chirping electronic tone.

"I would love to see what this planet offers, but I see reason in your decision, Commander," the Annari replied. A sensible non-Federation man? What a treat. Speaking of, that cake looked mighty fine.

Assuming that no objections followed because Evoras is just that cool and epic and cool, the shuttle doors opened to let the away team out. While the meadow could also be an important spot to look over, it could be done on the way back or the people staying in the shuttle. As soon as everyone got out, they could go to #the-oceanside.

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Rii casually offered a slice of coffee cake to Vara’l before turning their attention to Bahram. “Would you like some Bahram ? It’s an Earth delicacy—quite good.” They leaned back slightly, their tone light but curious as they continued, “So, tell this one, what brings you all the way out here? Quite a long way from home, is it not?”

“Tally ho my fellows! Let’s go do stuff!” She said, marching with the exaggerated swagger of an autistic person.

Vara'l accepted the slice of cake with a nod of thanks before he turned to the console again and watched it as he chomped on part of the cake as he monitored the readouts. "Cake." The Romulan softly hummed as he worked and monitored. "Coffee cake."

Rii grinned at Vara’l’s reaction before cutting into their own slice, taking a deliberate bite. Their gaze shifted to Bahram, curiosity evident in their tone.“You mentioned earlier that your people were facing some issues—tell me more about that. What challenges brought you all the way out here?”They gestured lightly with their fork, an open yet deliberate invitation for the diplomat to share.

The Romulan tapped out one handed a command on the console and proceeded to set the shuttlecraft to scan their surroundings once and directed long and mid range sensors on the shuttle to keep an eye out for anything big guy like that decided to approach the ship. If something spotted them and decided the shuttle was edible, Vara'l wanted to be sure the tactical scans picked them up sharpish.

“Sea of stars, sea of stars…heave ho, to the sea of stars- There we are!” Mavna had been occupying herself by setting up her medical equipment, but she had somehow misplaced one of the osteoscanners…by organizing it differently. Prophets forbid a girl try a new way of keeping things stored! She peeked out of the shuttle to give the commanders who’d stuck around a thumbs up, “Med stuff’s up and running,” She hopped down onto the ground, wandering over toward the small group, “Something something…frontier medicine, pfft.” (edited)

"Oh, that is..." he trailed off, thoughtful, gaze softening as it focused on some invisible dot on the shuttle's ground. "I'm not sure if such discussions are appropriate for an atmosphere like this. "

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Vara'l turned to look at Bahram then as he allowed the console to continue its scans. Looked at them and then frowned a bit before he glanced back to Bahram. Watched them for a moment before he resumed his watch of his console. "Twelve would say the atmosphere is irrelevant..as we're in a controlled environment." He softly mused as he watched the console before he lapsed into silence again, focused on it and cake.

The Colony murmured at the edges of Rii’s mind, a quiet pulse of voices nudging them toward curiosity. One thread of thought bled into their subconscious, but they let it drift—perhaps the steely officer simply had an unexpected fondness for cake. When another officer approached, Rii offered a slice without hesitation, their tone light yet inviting. “Cake, Lieutenant?” Their gaze flicked to Bahram, curiosity sparking as they glanced at Vara’l before adding, “This one feels the environment is perfect. Please, share your thoughts.” *They turned toward the pilot with an easy grin, head tilting slightly. *“Do you want cake? This one understands if not.”

“Oh! I’d love some, thank you Commander,” She gave Rii a polite smile and took the slice into her hands, leaning up against the shuttle walls and taking a small bite, “I haven’t quite been listening, but hey, whatever it is, you’re fine,” Mavna offered to Bahram, “We’re Starfleet, we’re here to help.”

"Ooh, thank you!" fuck yeah, free cake! Hopefully no dragon would come and steal it... they can't smell it here, right?

"Well... we come from the Delta quadrant. As you may know, that particular corner of the space is... never quite calm for too long," he sighed, while gently prying a smaller mouthful of the cake from the piece. "I mentioned our neighbors. They were Kraylor. The Annari... do not have a perfect relationship with the Kraylor." He pressed his lips together: "I want this to work. I need this to work. I will do anything to find a place for my people to live and prosper in, scary creatures be damned. We've faced worse. Things can be changed, via terraforming and such, so..."

“Hey, we’ll make it work,” Mavna gave a reassuring smile to Bahram. She knew a thing or two about making things work in her favor under bad conditions. She was a doctor, after all, and spent her childhood as a nurse aboard a pirate ship. Often, she did her best work under less-than-best conditions, “We’re in the business of making things work.”

Vara'l glanced over to Bahram again and listened. Listened and idly frowned as he wondered if there was more to this situation than there initially seemed to have been. Considered it and then..looked back to the console and to cake as he looked down at the Tactical console and checked the readouts once more.

“This one values such honesty, Bahram,” Rii said, voice steady and measured, their expression open yet discerning. “The Delta Quadrant is rarely forgiving. This one does not doubt your people have endured much.” A pause—not hesitation, but calculation. “You said you faced worse before these giant creatures. What do you mean ?” Rii asked curiously, taking an unhurried bite of cake as they spoke.

"An animal is an animal, Commander," he mused, his body language becoming a bit more free and relaxed. "It can be tamed, or scared away, or forced to flee. Species with higher sentience are much more vindictive, especially when your and their species have had disagreemints spanning for multiple decades. We left our previous homeworld, but before that, we tried to fight for it."

Vara'l turned and looked to Bahram. Looked intrigued, grimly so as the other explained they had fought for their home world. That had grabbed at his attention. That had certainly grabbed at his attention.

Rii’s colony held differing views on the matter, but Rii felt no need to debate semantics. Instead, they inclined their head slightly, expression measured. “Fighting for one’s home is admirable,” they said evenly. “This one is sorrowful for what was lost. Yet, this world could be yours—what future do you envision for your people here?" They asked, hoping the away team didn't find any sentience or problems, or it would get much more complicated to terraform.

"We have an industrial past. Building for and trading with other Annari colonies, mostly... instruments of defense," he replied, picking the cake layers apart. "Many of our elders don't know a different way of life. My father doesn't either. I like to envision something more... peaceful. Farming, perhaps. Farming sounds nice."

The doctor let out a soft hum, “Farming’s nice,” She offered, “On uh- On the ship I grew up on, we had a hydroponics farm. It was fun running around the crops, but I doubt something like that compares to theee…real deal, yeah? I bet you could make a nice farm out here,” She glanced out at the clearing, envisioning it. Yeah, a nice farm.

"Farming is quite nice, agreed." The Romulan softly hummed then as he continued to monitor the console and idly mourned the fact he'd started to run toward the end of the slice of cake he currently possessed. He'd run out of coffee cake slice soon and he mourned that. Coffee cake was nice and he liked it a lot, suspected he'd like it better when once they got back to the station he worked out a replicator setting to make the cake with actual caffeine in it. Caffeine happened to be like the nectar of the gods to him. He loved it.

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She hummed. They’re in the business of making things work, it’s true, but…there’s a lot of things here that they’re going to have to push against. Mavna could see a farm, yes, but she could see it being destroyed, too. She stepped up to the windshield of the cockpit to look up into the sky, trying to see if the flare was still lingering above them.

Cute talk and all, but what was that... pitter-pattering noise on the shuttle's hull above them?..

Mavna froze in place as she stared upward at the sky, before turning back toward the others within the shuttle, “…did anyone else hear that?”

Vara'l frowned and checked the proximity scans he'd directed the shuttle to keep on with earlier. * "Sounds of movement." *He tapped the tactical console and fired through a command to close the shuttles ramp if it hadn't already been closed as he switched the proximity scan to active scanning and checked the readouts as one hand idly dropped to his holstered phaser.

A small dot sitting right above the shuttle.

"One contact, right above the shuttle, it'd appear scanners didn't pick it up until now.." Vara'l reported as he checked the proximity scan log and idly wondered why, if the scanner had picked up something now, it hadn't picked up something before hand, was this something that happened to have some form of active cloaking, he wondered? "Initiating further scans." Vara'l directed the shuttle to scan the detected object further and attempted to determine..why it hadn't been picked up sooner.

Rii swallowed the last bite of cake just as the soft pitter-patter reached their ears. Their expression sharpened, the momentary indulgence giving way to focus as they rose smoothly to their feet. Their gaze flicked toward Vara’l, posture shifting effortlessly into readiness.Thank God we had the last bite of the cake... Aegar rumbled through the subconsciousness “Fascinating, how did it evade sensors?A big guy 2?” They asked, stepping forward to get a better look out the windows themselves. That didn't bode well in their head

"The dot's tiny though... could be something tiny, no?" the helmsman asked out loud.

"It'd need some form of active camouflage that could manage to evade Starfleet sensors." Vara'l started as he watched the scan as it progressed. "I don't think this is as large as the other entity sir, at the very least." The Romulan added as he checked the tactical readouts and interrogated the scans for any indication as to why they'd not been detected by the scans. "It could well be something tiny though the question would then still remain as to how it evaded sensor coverage." The Romulan then continued as he waited for the scan result.

"Well we don't have a sunroof in this thing, so we won't be able to, uh, look," he scratched the back of his neck awkwardl, looking at the sensor. Yup, still there. No other dots. "Should we just... go and check? The thing sounds tiny."

"Even something small could be deadly." The Romulan responded simply before he continued on to say. "I've commenced scans, hopefully we'll at the very least get a slightly better picture of what's going on before anyone disembarks for further investigation." Vara'l paused then and looked to the Commander. "If we can get a picture of what we'll be expecting out there before we go out, we'll be better prepared for whatever this turns out to be."

“It might just be one of the birds,” She offered with a shrug. The more worrying answer would be baby dragon, but hopefully it’s just one of the birds, “Somebody could take a peek and then pop back inside. I’ve got uh- I’ve got all the medical stuff ready, so…just in case.”

"Tactical recommendation is that we wait for the scan to finish before someone then goes out and 'takes a peak'" Vara'l responded simply as he looked to the Lieutenant and then back to Rii. "While we do need to discover more about this new arrival sir, the scan result may provide further information that'll better prepare the officer that goes out to meet whatever..the dot is."

“Commander, this one hears your recommendations,”Rii said firmly, their tone measured yet resolute. “However, our search group could return at any moment, and this one will not risk them walking into an ambush or an unexpected threat. For that reason, this one is ordering Commander Mak and another to secure the landing site. If we receive any further data, this one will relay it immediately." Rii looked to Mak and gave a firm nod, having confidence in their teams ability.

Mak who had been slurping away at his milkshake quickly put it away as he heard the order and gave a simple nod back to the Commander. "Of course Commander." He added to his nod, then off he went out of the shuttle to secure the landing site as ordered.

Vara'l had offered his input and it had been considered and the commander had proceeded on to make their decision. Now any further grumble he might have harboured was simply filed away and surpressed to be unpacked later. Certain emotions were less relevant for now, they were weaknesses that detracted from his operation as an officer in a way that ensured his conduct wouldn't cause injury or anything. They'd be considered later. For now, an order had been issued. "I volunteer to join the commander." Vara'l stated simply. "I've set the scan results to come up on the tactical station sir, I'd put forward that I'm not presentatly needed at station and have weapons experience should it be needed." He declared as he idly noted Mak's move as they they lowered the ramp and exited without a second officer. Grumble grumble was what probably best described Vara'ls internal thought processes as he had reacted to that. (edited)

"I think making that tiny thing see a large, two-legged monstrosity of an alien emerge from the flying box is also very tactical," the pilot allowed himself to be just a bit cheeky. "I can follow our Security friend."

Tiny. It's organism containing a cocktail of chemicals similar to the ones that were interrupting the communications and scans in the skies above. And... quilly?.. While the officers were deciding it's fate, the creature was stomping up a storm above their heads.

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Vara'l first looked to Syrax and then...glanced at the tactical console. "It'd appear the scan has completed, its tiny and has quills." The Romulan observed before he frowned, look closer at the console and looked to the Commander. "It looks like the chemicals in it are disrupting scans, or well..could." He paused a moment then. "That's something that'd need to be confirmed by a science officer though sir, I'm a tactical officer not a scientist.. after all.." Grey eyes then flicked to Syrax again then as he noted the cheek but elected to let it pass. They were in command, he was a tactical officer and they'd not exactly elected to be directly cheeky at him. They had just elected to be cheeky, he wasn't too phased about that.

"Tiny and has quills... well, can't be worse than dealing with a sehlat, right?" he stood up (Jesus Romulan Christ) and stretched out his arms (Jesus Romulan Christ²): "Commander Relem, are we good to go and try to persuade the Little Guy to get off of our shuttle, then?"

“Aww. Sounds kinda cute,” Mavna said with a little chuckle, “I don’t think taking a peek would hurt. If it does hurt, you’ve got me,” She pointed at herself with her thumb. This dork.

"We shouldn't pet the guy, that's for sure," Syrax nodded, taking a step closer to the exit.

”Your Clear to go persuade it off, be careful to not pet little guy or get poked “Rii said as they looked to the group going, Cortan noting something but Rii would attend to that later

The Commander received a two-fingered salute while the door to the outside was opening. As soon as it did, the helmsman went outside!

"So... what do we do if the pilot gets eaten while outside?" the Annari piped up, only to immediately sag his shoulders. "An awful attempt at a joke. I'm sorry." (edited)

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“I give the animal the Heimlich maneuver,” Mavna said, with a slight grin, “Afraid I opted for my medical license rather than my pilot’s.”

"I can still hear all of you!" came his muffled voice. "I'll get stuck in it's throat, most likely. Speaking of it... I think I see it?" (edited)

Vara'l noted that the Commander had in essence decided all three should go, nodded once to the commander and then looked to Bahram before he then headed outside to follow Syrax. Headed outside as he idly commented. "Its the thought that counts, joke wise." He mused before he stepped out, palmed his tricorder one handed and snapped it open and then moved to join Syrax.

It looked like a mammal, covered in blueish-gray quills, and sporting a long, rat-like tail. Currently it was puffed up, mouth open, trying it's damn bestest to intimidate the hell out of these two-legged, hairless aliens and their ugly metal box, via furious sneezing sounds.

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“What is it?” The doctor asked, having made her way to the exit and peeking out a bit at Syrax and Vara’l, “Baby dragon?” Satiate her curiosity. (edited)

And from the wilderness doth emerge ye olde away team, unaware of the danger the others now faced. "Are you all alright? Not horrifically scorched by acid, I hope?" he called out, extending a hand in a wave.

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More of them?? This called for an angry bounce up and down.

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“Any of you guys kissing over here.” She said as she entered the spot. “Oh my god! Oh my god!” She dropped her padd and tricorder and ran over to the shuttle and dropped to her knees on the outside of the shuttle. “Hiiiii! You’re so cute!” (edited)

T’Loran was not far behind, with a PADD also filled with photos and data, and pockets filled with shells, which were audibly rattling about. She watched as Maggie ran over to the visibly angry and distressed spiky creature, raising an eyebrow and staring at her with her most judgmental glare. “Lieutenant? I would advise backing away, that animal looks distressed already.”

Five stayed well away from the whole scene, One remaining by her side for the time being until everything was properly dealt with. "That is a wild animal, Lieutenant. Stay back here with me until it's been safely removed," and while Five was not her direct superior, she was still senior staff, so her words still carried weight!

Vara'l frowned a bit, looked to Maggie who'd charged up at that and proceeded to look to the Cadet and then to the Lieutenant. "Lieutenant, the Cadet's advice is very sound, as is the ACOO's." The Romulan commented as he watched the wild animal in question carefully and moved up just slightly closer as he continued his tricorder scan and watched for any sign that he needed to move in, grab Maggie and pull them away from danger.

"Some spiky fella, not a flying lizard this time," he responded to Mavna, amusement clear in his brown eyes as he watched the mighty performance. "Maybe it got curious and decided to check out the shuttle. Wildlife here is quite brave - probably because they never had seen humanoids before."

"How did it end up on the roof?" Saren questioned as soon as he arrived by the shuttle. "Well, at least it's not a shuttle-sized dragon..."

Even the bravest warrior picked their battles wisely. Seeing the pack of these creatures grown in size, the critter gasped in some air, which made it's quills pop out more, giving it an actually threatening appearance, before it turned tail and skedaddled off into the forest. Gotta go fast.

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Maggie frowned. “Bye friend, I know you weren’t dangerous!” She said as she waved them away.

"It does not matter if it was not dangerous or not. It was a wild animal on an unfamiliar planet. The chance of you being lethally injured was not zero," Rehszan responded, exasperated. "Not to mention, it was already clearly stressed and frightened by strangers in its habitat. You squealing at it only made that worse." (edited)

“Spiky fella…” Mavna said wistfully, smiling to Syrax. She then turned her attention toward the away team, “Hello again!” She hopped on out, medical tricorder in hand, “Anything I should check up on?”

With their advice roundly ignored, Vara'l just watched the creature as it departed and allowed himself a soft. "Hm." Before he looked to the Cadet and nodded slightly. "That was sound advice Cadet, very good." He then looked to Rehszan and then looked back to Maggie. "Lieutenant Rehszan is correct, Lieutenant Roode." Vara'l then looked in the direction that Evoras was presumably in, looked to the science officers and then walked off toward Rii and co.

"No, Lieutenant, thankfully none of us were injured." Safe to approach the shuttle now. Five offered Mavna a smile! "I did trip over some rocks at the beach, but I was lucky enough to catch myself. Shall we get back on board, then?"

“Oh good, I was starting to get worried you all were gonna cut my work out for me,” She grinned to Five and snapped her tricorder shut, “If everybody’s nice and safe, I’d say we’re good to go.”

"We can! Unless you need to collect something here as well?" he decided to ask just in case. "Though the shuttle has made like three billion scans while parked here, so you guys can probably use that data."

"Glad we didn't need to do anything other have superior numbers to chase them off." Hanneth took his hand off his phaser, having not even pulled it out. "Though it may be wise to leave before it potentially summons help."

"No sir, I'll say we got quite lucky in the "no giant acid dragons around" department." And thank goodness for that. She yawned, stretching out. "I'll second that, I've had quite the adventure but I am ready to go home."

Having slipped around the group as they headed toward the shuttle, Twelve halted her forward momentum behind the Medical Lieutenant. "All officers are currently functioning at optimal capacity, any injuries were minor." Twelve softly commented, having not realized she'd not otherwise announced to the Lieutenant that she was behind them.

"Attack of the blue porcupines," the helmsman snorted. "Terrible. We should leave as soon as possible."

The doctor quickly slipped back into the shuttle to start packing up her medkit, holstering her tricorder and getting ready to head off, “Well Bahram, here’s hoping things will turn out well,” She nodded to the Annari.

“Gotta go fast!” Maggie said as she picked up her tricorder and PADD. “Ready to go!”

"The creature could secrete some acid or otherwise corrosive material onto their spines using a special gland," Rehszan said thoughtfully, wholly unhelpfully on the matter.

Evoras looked at Vara'l with a blank stare, before looking at Maggie and slightly raising an eyebrow. "Lieutenant Roode? What do we know about this creature?" Far to little to definitively classify it as harmless.

"I am glad to see everyone return in good health and limbs intact," he angled his head downwards. "Back to the station?"

If you looked very hard, you could see a tiny bit of a green blush on the tips of her ears and cheeks from the compliment, she certainly wasn’t expecting it. It was just the logical thing to do, after all. But still, being complimented by a Senior Staff was amazing to the tiny self-conscious Cadet, so she was quite happy inside. Of course, it didn’t really show on the outside, she was quite good at the neutral expression thing. “Thank you, Sir, it was only the logical thing to suggest.”

Oops. Five was on the shuttle. Probably going to nap the whole way home.

Triple checking all his equipment was intact and samples still in place, Rehszan clambered on as well, humming a jovial tune to himself. What an adventure!

“That it is cute!” She said as she sat on the shuttle.

"We can discuss the protocol of encountering undocumented wildlife and what sort of terrible things those spikes could do to you in theory, inside of the shuttle, on the ride back home," Saren commented mildly, prompting a chuff from his cousin.

"Nobody got hurt, I didn't have to fire my phaser, I made a little crustacean friend, and we got to see some pretty cool animals." Hanneth smiled, a dimple showing on the side with the larger portion of his smile. "I'd say not a bad trip at all!" He climbed aboard the shuttle last once everyone was secure on board, making sure nothing climbed inside when it was time for the ramp to close. (edited)

Twelve looked to Maggie, Amazed at their comment before she looked to Evoras. She then looked back to Maggie and then looked away and walked into the shuttle. Not her problem, this was a problem for Science Senior staff. Not her. She was a doctor, not a scientist!

The eyebrow was definitely not coming down. It was a good thing that she had the self-control she had otherwise she might have been facepalming as she moved to enter the shuttle. Saren was right, this could be discussed later, would be discussed later. Cute... really?

With people packed back in, the shuttle took off into the skies, intent on returning to the USS Eventide. While flying upwards, as a last goodbye from Thrakos V, the away team could see the large flare-tailed dragon again - flying in the distance, he was joined by a second individual, her colors ever so slightly dimmer than her mate's. The two danced in the skies, basking in the sun's rays, unaware and uncaring of humanity.

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