Star Trek: Eventide 777

As Jack neared the village conversations in an alien language and general goings about could be heard. If he was careful he might not be spotted, but he couldn't know for sure the risks of getting this close.

He barely could contain the sheer excitement bubbling inside of him, but he only managed to do so because hey. To the people of this planet he was an alien, he was strange, and he'd probably be shot, and that wasn't very good. Skittering amongst the shrubbery, he looked around for any way to get in.

3

The only way in would be to risk going through the river itself, and it was impossible to tell how deep it was or how strong the current was.

....well it would be handy to actually have a... a hand. Oh well, it's not like it could get any worse- Taking off his glasses, he zipped them up into his waterproof satchel and took a big ol' jump into the river. Apparently taking swimming classes back on Earth had its vantages.

3

13:57

This man had no impulse control.

2

The water was surprisingly calm, but deep. On the downside, however, the sound of Jack jumping into the water alerted the villagers. If he was quick, he could escape back to the woods, or get into cover somewhere along the bank. Alternatively, he could try and hold his breath underwater, but that was not advised.

2

Bright, seeing how close he was, decided to pop back up only enough to take a deep breath of air before he dove down again, diving down so he wouldn't be seen but also wouldn't be touching the bottom of the river. Mans loved diving, so look at that.

This would end up being a terrible decision to make, as Jack would soon realise the villagers were quite persistent. They had assumed someone or something had fallen into the river, and so were looking quite thoroughly just in case it was one of their children. Jack would need to act soon before he ran out of breath, either attempting to swim underwater, far enough away so he could pop back up, or to try and go back to the forest where he couldn't be seen. Time was running out.

His air was running out and he knew he'd probably get caught, so he put all of himself on swimming the HELL away and fast enough so he could pop up again and not pass out and float up. Or die, too. Because that wouldn't be very nice.

Luckily for Jack he managed to resurface just around a bend and behind some buildings where no one could see him. How convenient!

He swam back up and took a really deep and heavy breath of air before he tried getting out of the river, coughing and moving around like a wet cat.

It was quite easy to get out of the river as the bank wasn't steep. The issue now came with the fact he was in an alien village with no knowledge of if they have warp technology or not. Very risky.

He looked around and quickly went on to hide somewhere, skittering quietly and making his way about so he could try to find out more about everything around him.

The only place he could hide was in what could only be assumed was an alleyway filled with trash cans. How nice...

Sigh. Well, if it was a hiding place it was a hiding place. No judgement, because now this was an unfamiliar place. As soon as he made sure nobody was around, he took a running start and hid in the alleyway, hiding behind one of the trash cans and far enough from it so he would he still hidden, but actually pressed against a corner.

And now all Jack had to do was figure out either what was going on, how to leave, or how long he'd last before being found by these people. One of these options was obviously the best. But alas, he decided to go to a village he didn't know without telling anyone, and now he was soaking wet in a miserable alien alleyway with nothing but his tricorder, commadge, thoughts, and questionable life choices.

7

He sighed and got up, rummaging for something to cover himself to get the hell out of there and warn the others about this village. Not worse than sleeping in a drawer, nuh uh! Albeit he was... just a tad cold.

Oh look, a convenient blanket someone had thrown out! But wait, it was bright purple, the best colour to camouflage yourself with. He'd have to keep looking.

...alright. He'd keep the purple blanket because it looked amazing. So he wrapped it around the shoulder strap of his satchel and kept on looking for another less noticeable thing to cover himself with, sniffling.

"Come on... Come ooooonn..."

It was only a matter of time before he found a tarp. It was dirt-coloured, which was awfully convenient. It might help him escape, but it was also loud. Besides, the only exit Jack knew of was the way he came in, which was wet, cold, and loud.

"A-HA!-.....wait. Oh, fuck me sideways...." He took the tarp and groaned loudly, not knowing how the hell should he use this without making too much noise. But then... He had an idea. It was dirt colored and would probably camouflage itself with the bottom of the river he came from, so... He sighed heavily and loosely strapped the tarp around his neck like a cape, then skittered back to the less visible section of the river while being as quiet as he could, even pinning the tarp against his body so it wouldn't rustle.

2

All Jack had to do now was swim against the current while wearing a dirt-coloured tarp cape. What could possibly go wrong?

4

Even he knew the risks. And those were a lot, so much so that even Bright, the madman himself, was uncomfortable with doing so. But he had no choice, right? So using his remaining hand and strength... He jumped into the water and began grabbing at the larger rocks of the bottom of the river, using its calmness to his advantage as he began making his way upwards by using both his feet in case he slipped. Thank fucking god for Starfleet boots, these were great.

The splash once again alerted the villagers, who came across Jack's wet boot prints and general drips in the dirt. This, naturally, caused them to sound the alarm. Despite this, Jack was yet again unnoticed underwater, but he had to act fast before he ran out of oxygen again and was spotted. He still had a short way to go before exiting the village and getting back into the forest.

He knew he had to act fast. He knew he had to get the hell out of there if he wanted to leave, but it was cold and it was getting dark. Bright himself had no sense of self preservation, but he was doing it for his brothers mostly. Who'd take the blame for them even though they did the mess? Who'd tell all the funny stories? Who'd tell his older brother Mikell Bright that they'd work together in Starfleet? That's right. It was him. And he'd do it for them. So mustering all his strength and all the fire in his heart, he swam against the current until he actually got out of the village.

2

Jack managed to get far enough from the village to leave the water, but he still had to hide, and fast, as people were now searching for whatever had entered their village.

He got out of the water and breathed in heavily before he untied the tarp and ran fast into the woods, eventually stopping at the base of a huge dead tree and hiding beneath under one of its immense roots.

He covered his mouth with his hand and breathed through the slight gaps between his fingers, still almost completely out of air and on the verge of hyperventilating.

Thankfully the alerted villagers didn't come close enough to where they'd find Jack. He could breathe now.

Hearing no rustling behind him, Bright took the deepest breath of his life and almost collapsed and fell over, but he sighed heavily and got up before running all the way back up the river, still holding onto the purple blanket he grabbed. A wash, dry cleaning and some dish soap would do wonders on it.

And so Jack ran back the way he came, towards #field, and then #forest, straight back to the Ferengi monument. Despite Starfleet uniforms being waterproof, there was no getting around how drenched he was.