Star Trek: Starbase 777 - the-ocean-cliffs

A family of relatively small cliffs, packed chock full of life - with a colony of skimmers sticking to the off-colored rocks, their mass sounding a bit like an alien orchestra of wind instruments. Above and below, foliage could be seen sprouting from the crevices of the cliffs, creeping down to the water.

Despite the disadvantage of being shorter than everyone else and thus having to take more steps, T’Loran did manage to catch up to Saren. She had wanted to show him the protofeather she had found- after all, he was a zoologist, he could probably do more with it than she could as a Cadet about to become a stellar cartographer. Once she caught up to him, she pulled out the iridescent protofeather, in the clear container she had kept it safe in- after all, she didn’t want it to break. It had come from one of the skimmers, and it was quite pretty and shiny. “Ah- Sir? I think I have found something that might interest you.”

To have a better view of the cliffside, Saren led the group halfway back up the hill - the closer it got to the point of interest, the more varied it's terrain became, and coincidentally there was a nice, flat spot in the middle of it where the away team could observe the cliffs from. "What is it, Cadet?" he turned his head, before carefully plucking the feather-like feature into his own hand and scanning it over with a tricorder, "Oh, peculiar. Must be from one of these skimmers. It looks really similar to the structures the ancestors of Earth birds had - not quite feathers, but functioning like those covering a bird's body to keep it warm. A very good find indeed." In the meantime, people could try and scan some more of the cliffside, the plants, as well as observe the creatures in the crevices, building little nest-like structures out of mud. It seemed that the cliff was inhabited by more than one species?..

“Fascinating.. Thank you for the insight, Sir.” She nodded to him before going off to check out the cliffs. It was interested how the creatures made their nests out of the mud. She managed to lift her tricorder up enough to scan one of the nests, which was empty except for some more protofeathers. She almost wanted to climb up a little to check it out for herself, but that would be a little silly of her. So, she refrained from doing any rock-climbing and stepped back before the skimmer who called the nest home came flying in, only a few feet from her head. She looked up as it flew over her, it was an amazing sight. She walked away so as to not disturb it anymore, plucking a protofeather out of her hair.

"This cliff seems to provide an advantageous nesting place for a variety of animals," One offered, trying to look at the different creatures coming and going. "I have never seen anything like this. Are such sights common on other planets?" They weren't a biologist, after all, they researched people instead.

Rehszan inspected the path to the cliffs for any insects, taking every large step very carefully. "It depends on the planet, but it is not uncommon," he answered, looking up from his feet.

"It does happen sometimes, yes," he mused out loud, watching the creatures fly. "Happens to species that can coexist peacefully, so without competition for food or other resources, and no mutual killings. Let's observe."

Here and there, between the light bodies of the skimmers, darker blobs of color could be spotted, performing an almost bat-like crawl on the rocks and, occasionally, the nests and backs of their bigger neighbors; sporting an ever so slightly muppet-esque appearance, the palm-sized critters were busy picking up the leftover pieces of fish and some other unidentifiable vertebrae, left by the nests. More curiously, those who climbed on top of the skimmers were burying their tiny faces in the white floof, picking something out of it.

4

His turn for beauty shots! Rehszan made sure the flash or camera sound on his PADD was still off, helping himself to plenty of photos of the little guys from afar.

Twelve watched the scientists science from a safe distance as she clutched her medical kit ready to use it if someone ended up injured by something that they approached that didn't appreciate being approached. As she remained near but at a safe distance, she also looked around. Considered all she saw and mentally logged her observations within her mind for later consideration and analysis. For now, she just noted any emotional reactions she experienced in response to things observed and worked to suppress any emotion that detracted from her efficiency.

Rehszan didn't want to get too close to the nests for fairly obvious reasons, he tried to zoom in to get a better look. Could he see eggs? Babies? If he could spot either, it would be fantastic.

There were babies in the nests and scattered eggshells, indeed :)

Eggshells!!! "They are oviparous," Rehszan said, directed towards his fellow zoologist with an offer to see the photos— even if his specialty was different, he still had much knowledge about the field as a whole.

T’Loran was watching the little critters climb around, taking a few photos. They moved too fast to scan very well, so she just took pictures and watched them. She watched as one climbed on top of a skimmer, burying its face in the floof- it looked like they were picking something out of it. She thought back to her biology courses, thinking of symbiotic relationships, where one organism ate the parasites off of another organism, benefiting them both. “Fascinating.. it looks as if those little furry creatures are picking parasites off of the skimmers.” She commented.

He nodded: "Here's our answer as to how these two species coexist. And there are probably more zones like this, somewhere on this planet. So much to see and describe... but we have a different task at hand. Has someone checked out the mineral composition of these cliffs?"

"I can," One said, holding up their tricorder again. They somehow got put in the geologist position for this trip, but that was fine. "If it is at all similar to the boulder earlier, there are a lot of minerals in it that could... prove useful to a fledgling colony." One was speaking the truth, but why didn't they like the words they were saying?

Oh man, jackpot - there were plenty useful minerals here as well. A goldmine, if you took the whole cliff down!

5

Well, One was definitely not going to put it like that... "As suspected, similarly useful mineral deposits are located in this cliffside. However..." they hesitated, briefly, "accessing them would, in all likelihood, necessitate large-scale disturbance to the habitat of these animals."

One's response was met with a pregnant pause, before Saren averted his gaze to the side, watching the nearby nest with a parent and its chicks inside: "...I see." (edited)

"Lieutenant," One said, turning to Saren with a low voice, as if not to make themself heard too obviously by their fellow scientists. "I must admit it is a selfish thought, when faced with a group of people with no home to return to. But I have to say with honesty that I do not think that this planet is suitable for desperate and inexperienced colonists." They paused for a second more, thinking how to continue. It wasn't that they thought this planet could never be colonised. There was potential, and even setting up a research station here could be very interesting. But for a displaced people, this planet would be a valuable natural resource... and nothing more. "As the Federation, we should be able to do better, for both the potential colonists and the planet."

1

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"I understand what you mean," he replied in kind, angling his head just a bit downwards and lowering his voice as well. "We will still need to hear their side of the story, but what we've seen so far here, makes for a compelling argument against a colony. If anything, I personally would argue that this planet needs to be restricted and given the status of a reserve, only accessible to researchers. There is at least one species of dangerous megafauna, and the amounts of resources might be... too tempting." A portion of the colony suddenly took off, forming a sizeable flock. The flew in a swirling, shifting pattern, known as murmurations in ornithological circles, before moving deeper into the ocean. The Romulan watched their departure with a small, somewhat sad smile. "I think it is time we move on, if we're done here."

"I agree. There are-" One said, cutting themself off. They were thinking of cultures that had historically lived in harmony with nature, rather than exploiting it; but even that they didn't want to bring up now. They could always say it later. "I agree," they reiterated instead. "Let's move on."

Twelve continued to watch the group and listen as the scientists discussed matters. As they did, they idly considered the possibility of tapping their combadge and reporting back. Considered it and decided against it for the moment. They lacked the required information to make a progress report back or well, the required understanding. They were a doctor, not a scientist, 'By the Goddess' and that was that. So they just...listened.

Saren looked around in hopes of spotting their Chief to give her the indication that they were about to move: "Our last stop is the forest. Plant and bug enthusiasts, it is your time to shine." And with that... off they were towards #the-forest.

With a little spring in her step, she quickly caught up to the senior staff in order to follow them out towards the forest. While her specialty was not plants and bugs, she still liked them anyways- she had had a Vulcan desert plant in a pot on her old ship, which was sadly now.. a little bit incinerated. Such was what happened when your ship blew up.