Star Trek: Starbase 777 - the-oceanside

The meadow that the shuttle had landed on stretched out for some time, until it ended in a small dip downwards - and as soon as the officers would slide down, their boots would land onto coarse sand and small rocks. The beach had some rocks lying around, medium to boulder sized, most of them dark in color, some sporting layered stripes or red and brown and grey colors. The waves crashed gently against the shore, foamy against the rocks by the water; the ocean itself was light blue, with a hint of green in it's coloration. Here and there the away team could see familiar creatures - the iridescent-winged flyers, skimming over the surface like paper planes. They called to each other, sounding a bit like a warbled yet melodic trumpet, voices loud and distinct enough to be heard over the water.

With a little spring in her step that came from being a scientist on such a fascinating planet with so many interesting life forms, T’Loran was one of the first to get to the shore. Expecting to be taking samples (after all, what else did people do on away missions, she had thought), she took a little sample of the sand and sealed it into a container to keep safe until they could analyze it later- after all, it could have interesting mineral compositions or properties. All in all, she looked like she was having fun (as much as a Vulcan could look like they were having fun, given she was still mostly expressionless through all of this).

Rehszan committed every step to memory, running over and over in his mind to make sure they'd be able to easily find their way back. He fumbled with his PADD, attempting to record the calls of the flying creatures first and foremost— just in case they wouldn't have another opportunity.

Maggie hummed as she walked over to a seashell and picked and it up and closed her eyes. “Always wanted to run tests on the seashells, will do that when this is all over.”

One followed behind some of their scientists, taking in the sight of the different animals. It may have been one of their own quirks, having gone from white room to white room until they were forty, but the vision of this undisturbed environment enthralled them. They almost struggled to pick what to look at next, the vibrant colours and moving images overwhelming in a way they'd never really experienced before.

T'kara took a deep breath of the ocean air, and mentally relaxed in such a homelike environment. If she closed her eyes she could almost imagine herself on the her favorite beach back on Earth. This was pure wilderness though, so she remembered to keep an eye out for anything that might cause problems for the team, whether it be alien animals or unstable rocks or anything of the like, really.

Five had slid a little too fast, landing with a face full of rocks and sand. Ouch. One she'd properly righted herself and hoped very hard that no one had Seen That, she brushed off her uniform. Not wanting to interfere with any potential sample collection made by scientists, Five stayed back, squatting down to get a closer look. Anything darting around in the water?

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The seashells, complex geometrical shapes, had a peculiar texture and coloration - the one Maggie picked up had a pattern similar to one you could see on a frozen window. It also sported a hole in the middle, a seemingly natural one.

"Are you alright?" One asked Five, looking up at the sound of a crash and offering a hand to steady their friend. "This looks like it would be a good place for a geological survey. The rocks are nicely layered."

Rehszan delicately collected samples of the sand and water. "What a lovely planet," he said. "A beautiful habitat for such beautiful creatures..."

"Doing fine," Five said, shrugging it off but much appreciating the gesture. "Thank you. How can you tell? That the rocks are layered?"

Hanneth resisted taking any rocks or samples for himself, at least for now. He didn't want to accidentally bring some critter aboard that was disguised as a rock, or some other things living on it. Instead he nejoyed the ocean breeze and sound, while keep a vigilant eye out. The science team was busy gathering samples and taking scans, so it was his job to watch their backs and be the attention for danger, while they focused on their work.

She walked up tho the ocean, but remained at a safe distance, so her clothes would not get splashed at and scanned the water. There might be notable chemicals solved or suspended in it and it would be valuable to know what the sea water on the planet might be of use for.

"The boulders over there, they look like they have stripes. They're usually different materials pressed together, which, with pressure and time, come to look like separate layers. It can lead to clues about how old the environment is, or what it may have looked like in the past." One explained. They weren't a geologist, couldn't actually tell you what story the layered rock told, but they had the knowledge, since they'd needed to pass a few geology classes at the Academy. They walked over and held their own tricorder up to it, to see if it could tell them more about the rocks. (edited)

T'kara then decided to climb up onto one of the boulders to see farther, making sure of course that the boulder she chose wasn't going to tip over first. She looked out over the ocean and observed the iridescent skimmers for a minute before turning to visually check the rest of the beach for creatures, or signs of hidden ones.

Upon a closer look, the skimmers looked somewhat similar to the Big Guy - a different species, but similar morphology. A head with a long beak-like mouth, long neck, thin body held up in the air via strong, membrane-covered wings, small backlegs and a similarly membraned tail that the creatures used to steer themselves around in the winds above the waves. The coloration was white, with a bright green spot on their beaks. There was life in the sand, too - like the tiny, ten-legged crustacean that suddenly popped up in front of T'kara and booked it, trying to dig itself into the sand again some distance away. The scan of the rocks could tell the Lieutenant two things - that they were, of course, old, their age easily reaching over a million, and that some of the layers were hiding useful minerals in them. Something a newborn colony could use, for example - as fuel, or for trade, or for building.

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Saren, meanwhile, was absolutely vibing, getting a photograph after a photograph of the skimmers hunting for food. The rest of the gang should keep an eye on him, lest the zoologist decided to stay on Thrakos V forever to study it's every inch.

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"Oh, that's incredible." Fives followed carefully behind, peering curiously over One's shoulder at the rocks. "This is amazing. Glad you tagged along, huh?" she mused, patting their friend affectionately on the shoulder before swiveling, hoping to catch sight of anothet of the little critters digging around.

"Of course I am. It is good practice as a researcher to seek out new environments," One said, internalising the information the tricorder had told them before trailing after Five.

T’Loran leaned down in order to pick up a seashell to look at it more closely, only for another little crab to pinch her finger, dangling in the air a little as it held on. She didn’t make any noise or anything, just slowly brought her hand down so the little creature could let go. The crab skittered off in Five’s direction, and she was left staring at the tiny little cut on her finger. Though, she still had the seashell, and she marveled at the pretty geometric patterns it had. This whole beach was absolutely beautiful and scientifically interesting. Honestly, she didn’t want a colony to be here, this planet needed to be properly surveyed and then preserved for its unspoiled natural beauty , and that would take way longer than they had here today.

"Well.. Yeah, I suppose," she said in a hushed voice, watching the little crustacean skitter past her to bury itself in the sand once more. "It's also quite pretty, and getting some air after being cooped up on 777 is good."

"Are you alright, Cadet? Feeling abnormal?" Rehszan peeked over T'Loran. "Please do be careful. We don't know what biological functions these creatures are capable of, and the last thing we want is a medical emergency while we are so far from the shuttle," he said, gesturing for her to show him her hand while holding their little first aid kit.

Hanneth kept an eye on things, his gaze sweeping across the horizons and observing the area. He felt a faint tug at his pants leg and saw one of the crustaceans had crawled onto his boot and now clung to his pants leg just above it. He froze and didn't move, not out of fear, but out of not wanting to scare the critter or harm it. If anyone was looking, they'd see the Bajoran stiff as a board with a curious smile on his face as he looked at the cute little thing.

While he was busy taking candid beauty photos of the animals, Saren spotted a cluster of seaweed in a small puddle. A quick scan proved it to be rich in minerals and seemingly harmless. A potential source of food?.. The Romulan had to swat away the intrusive thought of chewing on the damn thing.

She looked up at Rehszan, having been busy looking at the seashell. It really was just a tiny cut on her index finger, only a dot of green blood showing on her pale skin. It didn’t really hurt that much, and it would probably stop bleeding in only a couple minutes. “No, I do not feel abnormal. It is only a small cut.” She said, holding up the hand.

As for the water, it was, well... water. Saltwater, to be exact - 35 PSU, 23-25°C temperature. The swirly colors that could be seen from the orbit seem to come from algae blooms in certain areas - not here, though. Water .

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"Still, we should be careful of the wildlife. They may be capable of more than a small pinch; we don't know anything about them yet." T'kara had stepped down from the rock she was scouting from to stroll back towards the group. "The crustacean creatures seem to be the only ones on this beach besides the aquatic fliers. The latter are likely more dangerous, but I would still not recommend going barefoot."

A quick sweep over with the regenerator and it was good to go. "There you are, Cadet." He nodded, offering a toothy grin. "There are likely more life forms in the water, given that the ones flying appear to be hunting. However, we cannot be certain at this moment.. It would require aquatic specialists, and a larger team, I imagine. And we are here purely for first impressions, no?"

"As long as no one takes a swim, we don't have to worry about what's in the water just yet, I imagine"

“Thank you.” She said, nodding as Rehszan smiled at her. Pocketing the shell for purely scientific purposes (her room was empty and she had no belongings, and it would look nice on her desk), she walked over to where the water met the sand, looking for any tide pools with other cool animals and such. She also saw the seaweed, but had less of an instinct to munch on it than Saren did, even though she did enjoy seaweed normally. She didn’t wander far, she was just a cadet having a wonderful time on her first away mission, she was a little lost in her own head.

Ah yes, water. Nothing too worrying, at least as far as she could tell, although the algae would be worth looking into. The temperature was reasonable considering how warm it was in general and the salinity was not too strange if she remembered correctly. She turned around and walked up to Saren who seemed to be inspecting some sort of seaweed. Then she proceeded to stand next to him and look down at it for a few moments an eyebrow slightly raised, before holding out her tricorder with the water readings to him in silent question.

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“I wonder what the dragon eats? Because if they are herbivores, things become way easier with the colonists! If not? They should probably pack a few swords and ballistas.” *She wondered aloud. “Pretty water!”

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“I would not advise attacking them. For all we know, they do not have any humanoid prey here now, it could be that they will ignore the colonists as they do not match any of their current prey.” She said politely, before wandering off a little ways to take a bark sample off a piece of driftwood.

"Would something like this really be safe?" Five wondered out loud. "I know the colonists are desperate, but if there are more big guys out there and they want to build on their territory..."

T'kara tilted her head at Lieutenant Roode's commentary. "I fail to see how swords would be useful against a dragon. A halberd would be able to pierce its hide much better while keeping the user at a safe distance, and besides, phasers would be far more practical for fending off threats than melee weapons." (edited)

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Knowing rather than seeing his chief's approach, the Lieutenant Junior Grade turned his head towards her upon the silent request. "Pretty standard stuff. Very similar to Earth ocean's parameters. Funny how similar climatic factors can create sibling planets thousands if light years apart... well. If you don't count the flying lizards." He then angled his head towards the seaweed - translucent green with spade-shaped leaves: "Scan shows it could be edible. Care for a snack, sir?"

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Why were they discussing what weapons to use against the fauna of this world? "Let's examine if it is safe to exist around these creatures without the use of weaponry, first. The goal should be to disturb the natural environment as little as possible, especially during a preliminary examination." One turned to look at Saren, then, but didn't react further. Their fellow ACSO was free to eat whatever he pleased, but One would not be following in his footsteps... and besides, that looked slimy.

“Man idk” She actually said I D K. “I just think swords are cooler then halberds when you’re fighting a dragon. Halberds are cooler in fights against dudes though.” She said. “I mean, theoretically there could be ways to get around the big guys? It would just be a big resource drain, like devoting power to shields around the city or some such.”

"Can someone help me get my new friend off me?" Hanneth called out lightly, pointing at the crustacean that was now up to his thigh.

"Agreed. Nonviolence is always preferable to aggression. With that in mind, perhaps studying the wildlife would garner clues on how not to anger them." She watches the fisher birds more, studying their movements and behavioral patterns. "Swords are only practical against foes who are likewise wielding swords. When a polearm enters the mix, it wins eight and a half times out of ten."

Big lizard to the rescue. "I carry no risk of being injured, as I am an android," Rehszan assured him, scooting over to pry the little creature off Hanneth with the gentleness of a man very used to dealing with tiny creatures.

"We are lucky, then, that the large flighted animals of this planet do not carry polearms," One said plainly. (edited)

"Wait, why are we talking about polearms?.." he, admittedly, had tuned out the conversation; Saren sent an inquisitive look towards the group, eyebrows furrowed.

She nodded and put away her tricorder. "Earth used to have flying lizards. If people do set up a colony here it would be in their interest that these ones do not die out in a similar manner." Once more her eyebrow was raised, eyes slowly going back and forth between Saren's face and the seaweed. "You can, I suppose, take some of it with you. It is perhaps unwise to rely on the 'could'. When you are certain that it is edible, perhaps.... Wait... what?"

“I made a joke about the colonists, having to bring swords and ballastas to fight off the dragons cuz that’s what fictional mediaeval humans did! And then it spiraled.” She said with a quick nod.

"Snack, sir," he moved his wrist, jiggling the algae in his grasp. "It was a joking offer to eat this thing." Ah, shit, he was stuck in two correspondences now. "Hopefully no actual fighting will happen. It is... rather unfair to kill someone for trying to defend its home," he slowly replied. "For all we know, the large smoke flare was doing exactly that."

Hanneth smiled at Rehszan in thanks. "Thank you! I didn't want to come at them from above like a swooping predator and have them pinch me or try to burrow into a pocket or something. Swooping is bad. Cute little thing!" He appreciated the gentleness that the critter was removed. He figured it would eventually get bored of pant leg material and scurry back into the sand, but the little thing had been slowly crawly up his leg and taking curious nibbles at the cloth. (edited)

Seeing something shiny in the sand, T’Loran wandered off a little further away to go and pick it up. It looked like a protofeather from one of the iridescent flyers that were still in the air around them. She scanned it with her tricorder before putting it in a bag to keep safe in case anyone wanted to check it out later. She was having an absolute wonderful time, and she honestly was kinda forgetting about everyone, lost in the science. She could still see and hear them from where she was, she just wasn’t really concerned about anything. (edited)

"And you are certain this potential course of action will not require us to materialise medical officers out of thin air?" She was still eyeing the seaweed slightly suspiciously. "We do not have close to enough information about them to decide what measures may or may not be necessary, either way pole arms are most likely not the optimal approach."

"Of course. I find them quite adorable as well," Rehszan flashed Hanneth one of his sharp-toothed grins. As much as a smile as a giant reptile android could manage, anyway. "My specialty revolves mostly around handling small, delicate creatures, so I am happy to help as much as I can while we are around."

Twelve idly walked over at this point having tagged along with the group having just been around. They settled in behind the commander and the science officers and idly mentally checked over their first aid kit. Confirmed mentally that they had what was needed if someone decided to...consume.

"Only one way to find out?" he angled his head with a slight squint, a hidden smile. "Joking of course. On a more serious note - while photographing the skimmers, I noticed them flying up north, where there seems to be a small cliffside by the ocean. I think it would be a curious place to visit, with the additional information about animals and plants, and minerals, and whatnot. "

"I will follow you. It will be good to learn more about the native wildlife, before coming to a conclusion." One wasn't keen on seeking out dangerous native animals, but what must be done must be done. Besides, Saren was a biologist. They trusted him, and the fact that they'd be fine.

She raised an eyebrow at Saren. "Of course." She too was more than willing to follow to whatever place he thought might be interesting to inspect. They just needed to make sure everyone would join them she thought looking at a particular Cadet that was well on her way to wander off just a little bit too far. She did not sigh, but she may have expelled air through her nose a little more forcefully than she did when breathing entirely normally. "In that case we will be taking a look. Feel free to start heading there, I'll make sure our newest Cadet does not get swallowed by some sort of sand monster and follow you as soon as I have averted tragedy."

Said Cadet had stopped, now busy trying to get a crab to stop climbing on her leg and go back to the sand. She managed to get it to climb down, and she watched as it skittered off to go bury itself back in the sand.

"We do not advise the consumption of any instance of local Flora or Fauna until extensive checks are conducted." Twelve commented then before they moved over in the direction of the Cadet. "Distance of Cadet from away team...problematic." The xB then muttered.

"Yes. I am aware." Evoras joined Twelve on their way over to T'Loran. Once they had caught up to her she tilted her head at the Cadet. "We intend to move on, it would be optimal if you joined us. That is to say, I regret that I have to interrupt your... shell gathering? But do come along."

With directions clear, Saren began leading the rest of the people towards #the-ocean-cliffs.

T’Loran heard them coming, looking up at them. She could tell it was Evoras and someone else she didn’t know, even though they were a little blurry. They came into focus as they got closer. She was a little embarrassed upon realizing how far she had wandered, although you couldn’t tell except for a tiny green blush. She had been off in her own world, unaware that everyone was getting ready to leave. “Ah- I apologize, I had not realized how far I had gone. Yes, it would be optimal if I came along, I would not want to be left behind here.” With that, she began to follow the rest of the people towards the ocean cliffs.

Twelve glanced to Evoras when they responded to something that hadnt been directed to them. "Statement: We were talking to ourselves Commander,any Insult was not intended and is apologised for,Commander." The El-Aurian responded blandly before they turned and followed the Cadet toward the cliffs.