Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Nytha’rae of Vael’Lume (Chief Science Officer) in A hunting trip

Posted by Ensign Skye Shepherd (Scientist) in A hunting trip

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Nytha’rae of Vael’Lume (Chief Science Officer) in A hunting trip
The holodeck doors parted with a soft hiss.

Warm air rolled outward immediately.

Not simulated starship warmth.

Jungle warmth.

Dense humidity touched the skin first, carrying with it the scent of wet earth, moss, distant rain, and growing things older than cities. Somewhere deeper within the simulation, unfamiliar animals called to one another through layers of towering trees.

The arch vanished behind her as the holodeck fully engaged.

Night settled beneath an enormous alien moon.

Bioluminescent plants glowed faintly blue-green across the forest floor while massive trees stretched upward into darkness so deep their upper branches vanished completely into the canopy above. Mist drifted low between ancient roots thicker than shuttlecraft hulls.

Nytha’rae stood motionless for a moment within it all.

Not as a Starfleet officer.

Not here.

Tonight she wore the traditional hunting attire of her people.

The clothing was crafted from layered natural fibers, scaled leather, and soft woven fabrics designed for silence and movement rather than display. The outfit was close-fitted through the limbs and practical for climbing and running—but every part of her that should be covered remained properly and securely protected.

Dark blue-gray fabric wrapped across her chest and torso beneath carefully fitted leather harnessing that supported tools and survival gear. Sections of scaled armor guarded vulnerable areas without restricting movement, while layered cloth panels hung from the waist for flexibility and modesty alike. Her arms and legs bore intricate woven wraps reinforced with natural plating that looked grown rather than manufactured.

Nothing about the attire felt primitive.

It felt evolved for survival in wild places.

Her tail moved slowly behind her as golden eyes studied the forest ahead.

On one hip rested the obsidian blade.

Across her back hung her quiver of volcanic rock tipped arrows and her bow crafted from dark wood-like material with stains of glowing material in the wood her people called it living wood. No energy cells. No powered mechanisms.

Only balance.

Precision.

Intent.

Above her shoulder, Nytha’kae clung comfortably against the harness crossing her back, the little dragon’s bioluminescent markings glowing softly in harmony with the forest around them.

For the first time since boarding the Chimera—

Nytha’rae looked fully at ease.

Bare feet pressed into soft moss without sound as she crouched near the ground, two fingers brushing across disturbed foliage.

Tracks.

Fresh.

A low clicking sound escaped Nytha’kae as he noticed them too.

Nytha’rae’s expression shifted subtly.

Focused now.

Hunter.

“The mothers passed through recently,” she murmured quietly.

Somewhere deeper in the jungle—

Something enormous answered with a distant call.

LT.JG Nytha’rae
All are welcome to join

---

This setting to the ensign appeared to be somewhat familiar. Forests on Trill were different, not as humid as the world from which Nytha’rae had come. But for this simulation, she wasn’t wearing a Starfleet issued Science Officer uniform.

Those clothes appeared to be awkward for her, which had once been worn many cycles ago by her people. First happened to be a top which almost resembled a two piece swimsuit. Revealing the leopard like runes that trailed over both sides of her body, leading down to her feet from both temples. While the lower piece happened to be a skirt like semblance. This time; they would be doing a hunt the primitive way. No energy based weaponry had been allowed.

Her feet brushed green moss beneath, offering a silent nod as they walked. Brown leather armature protected bare skin from harm, an interesting piece leading from her neck and down her spine almost resembling vertebrae. It wasn’t unlike anything she was used to wearing onboard the New Jersey. Where holodecks were limited. Mostly for training purposes.

She happened to be mostly unarmed, except for the fact of a tiny laser gun hidden beneath pieces of ina raptor leather and a spear. This would only be drawn in case of an emergency should the creature trample on them unannounced.

Her eyes drifted toward Nytha’rae’s bow, then toward the glowing little dragon perched comfortably against her back.

Then finally toward the darkness ahead.

The smile faded into concentration.

Skye reached over her shoulder and unslung the primitive spear she’d chosen upon entering the holodeck, its polished stone head secured tightly to a dark wooden shaft by woven bindings.

Ensign Skye Shepherd
Science Officer
U.S.S. Chimera - 98730 (Mjolnir Class)

Nytha’rae acknowledged Skye’s presence with little more than a slight turn of her head and the soft pulse of silver light beneath the markings along her throat.

It was enough.

In the dense humidity of the simulated forest, words carried farther than footsteps.

Nytha’kae rested comfortably along her upper back beneath the curve of her bow, glowing eyes half-lidded as he watched the undergrowth around them with alert curiosity.

For several moments Nytha’rae said nothing at all.

She simply walked.

Bare feet touched moss and exposed roots with uncanny silence, her movements fluid in a way that felt less like navigating the forest and more like existing within it. The bow remained loosely in one hand, relaxed but ready, while her golden eyes moved constantly—not searching for danger alone, but reading the life surrounding them.

Only after Skye adjusted her grip upon the spear did Nytha’rae finally speak.

“You are watching the darkness ahead.”

Her voice was low enough to blend with the distant calls of unseen creatures.

“That is how prey walks.”

She slowed slightly, allowing Skye to move closer beside her before gesturing subtly with two fingers toward the forest floor.

“The hunter watches everything.”

A soft tap of her bow against a patch of disturbed moss.

“Broken growth.”

Another gesture toward a tree several meters ahead where bark had been freshly scraped away.

“Territory marking.”

Then toward the canopy where birds had suddenly gone quiet.

“And silence.”

Nytha’rae lifted her gaze upward briefly, listening.

“The forest speaks constantly. When it becomes quiet, something has changed.”

Nytha’kae gave a soft chirring sound as if agreeing.

They continued forward slowly.

Nytha’rae adjusted her path by several inches around a patch of broad ferns before glancing back toward Skye’s footing.

“Not there.”

Quietly she pointed with the lower curve of her bow.

“There.”

A narrow stretch of exposed root partially hidden beneath moss.

“The ground beside the fern sinks deeper. Step there and the soil shifts beneath your weight.” A pause. “Noise travels farther than scent in humid forests.”

She waited until Skye repositioned before continuing onward.

No impatience.

Only observation.

“The forest is alive beneath your feet,” she said softly. “You do not move through it. You move with it.”

Ahead, faint impressions pressed into damp earth between tangled roots.

Nytha’rae crouched smoothly beside them.

Three-clawed tracks.

Fresh.

Her fingers hovered near the print without touching it.

“See the edges?” she murmured. “Still holding shape. The moisture has not yet reclaimed them.”

Golden eyes flicked briefly toward Skye.

“It passed recently.”

Nytha’kae lifted his head, nostrils flaring faintly.

Nytha’rae remained crouched for another moment before drawing one finger lightly through the disturbed moss beside the track.

“The creature is heavy,” she explained. “But not rushing. The stride remains even.”

She looked upward toward broken branches ahead.

“Confident animals rarely fear they are being hunted.”

A faint smile touched the corner of her mouth then.

“That confidence is useful.”

With fluid ease she rose again, bow settling back into her hand as naturally as breathing.

“Come,” she said quietly.

And once more she began moving through the living forest—silent, aware, and utterly at home within it.

LT.JG Nytha’rae

Three toed tracks resembled those which would have been left by a long extinct theropod on Earth. Dinosaurs had disappeared millions of years before either of them had been born at all. She clutched onto the spear with careful hands before lowering its rock-carved tip to the side.

Water beads clung to her skin to the point in which heat happened to be almost unbearable. But light colored lips had remained sealed, hoping it wouldn’t disrupt that search for a prehistoric creature they were actually looking for. Whatever this animal happened to be, its size was unlike anything the ensign had seen before.

Their species was used to saving lives, never actually taking them since dark ages. It was what vastly separated them from several other humanoids sharing that quadrant of the universe. Skye had found her footing over some gnarled roots that almost gave out a creepy atmosphere.

Mist escaped her nostrils before approaching the Vaelari with a precise amount of caution. It was evident she wasn’t as used to such primitive ways of hunting. Not even when stories about Trill’s dark past had been shared by Guardians at the caves. Nytha’rae happened to be a seasoned huntress. But she had been a girl who had grown amongst starship floors and recycled air for almost a decade after leaving her home planet.

Oh how she wished for a phaser right by this instance, but this was a time to learn how other cultures functioned. “Those are defining characteristics to a dinosaur…” the ensign spoke out loud as her gaze when back to the fresh trail. Dirt felt awkward beneath her bare feet. But nothing which the hybrid wouldn’t be able to handle.

Ensign Skye Shepherd
Science Officer
U.S.S. Chimera - 98730 (Mjolnir Class)