Posted by Ensign Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in side-sim: The Study of Kelmao

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in side-sim: The Study of Kelmao

(snip)

Rand moved toward the camping equipment, making quick work of clearing a spot before staking one down. Sticks, rocks, thorns, or whatever else, under the floor the tent could puncture holes and that defeated the purpose of having shelter. When the comms beeped she reached for hers, out of habit, before she heard Roman responding and she slipped hers back on her belt. She looked up at the sky as if she could see the Sentinel leaving. She knew such things were routine, but she felt her stomach drop at the knowledge they were now on this planet, alone, for three days - well three Earth days.

Roman was watching the sky too as the Sentinel departed. Though he couldn’t actually see the ship leaving, it felt as if he could sense it was no longer there. Then he turned and began helping set up the tents. All were the same size, just enough for the crew - two per tent.

Morgan helped set up the tents and then stowed her gear in one of the tents. Harvey piped up, “I’m bunking with Morgan. No safer place than with security right?” She was laughing, but in her mind it was the obvious solution for she and Morgan to share, leaving the guys to share a tent. Morgan shrugged, “Cmdr I’m going to finish walking the edge of the clearing, just to become familiar with what is and is not there. Rather than guessing later.” She wasn’t planning on venturing into the actual forest without a partner, but her job was to keep the team safe, mostly likely form wild animals. She wanted to know what the terrain and vegetation looked like, so that at quick glance or at night she knew what should and should not be there.

Rand had been camping many times, and was familiar with most of the equipment they had. She could also tell Franks, Valos, Harvey and especially Roman were eager to get started. “Cmdr I can finish setting all of this up on my own.” She figured it would be a little bit before they actually had samples or notes or readings she would need to organize and label, and they would probably start in the clearing and move outward. At least she thought so. That made the most sense to her, to test what they were ‘living’ around first to make sure it was safe. She wasn’t foolish enough to go wandering anywhere.

Rand came across the combination camp stove/heater. Mostly they would use it for warmth. The rations they brought with them would taste much better cooked and prepared, which Rand could do, but they were designed to be eaten as is. Looking around she spotted Harvey, “Hey Harvey, do you think it will get cold enough to need the heater?” The question mattered because if she didn’t need to unpack it she wouldn’t, but also if they needed it for heat, the tents should be pitched to circle it so that it was blocked from as much wind as possible so the heat seeped into the tents rather than being snatched into the wind. If they didn’t need it for heat, then she’d just set up the stove portion. They were going to need hot black tea, and coffee for the others.

Yeoman Rand

The region was mountainous, but the terrain was more hilly than rocky. There weren’t any drop offs or tall cliffs within the immediate area, but there would be within a mile or two. About a quarter mile to the east was a large lake, fed by a river which originated deeper into the mountains from where they were, flowing southwest into the lake. Through the trees, it was hard to see but there were a few wispy clouds in the sky. The temperature currently sat at a warm twenty three degrees Celsius or seventy five in Fahrenheit. The gentle breeze brought a light chill to the air.

Roman was indeed excited to get started, though he was trying to resist the tiredness resulting from neglecting to at least sneak a nap in before they left the ship. He nodded to Morgan scouting the immediate area. “Don’t go out of line of sight of the camp without a partner,” he warned. It was one of his safety rules. “Valos, Franks, scan the immediate area and make sure everything is safe. Harvey, Rand, finish setting up the campsite.”

Morgan nodded crisply and moved toward the edge of the clearing, one hand resting on her phaser. Not that she expected anything to come rushing at her, but bad things happened to red-shirts that were lax. Valos and Franks grabbed their tricorders and a small sample case each. “Yeoman!” Valos called to get Rand’s attention and she looked up from where she was threading a tent pole. “When you’re done, this case here,” he bent down and tapped it. “See if you can find a flat area to set it up. It’s a chemical analysis kit. I want to be able to run some basic chemical analysis when we’re done.” He didn’t bother to explain why. She was a yeoman, not a scientist. He was part of Beta shift and although he knew that she was often in the labs he figured it was because Alden was XO and he wasn’t aware of her role in helping with the animals. Rand nodded, “Sure thing.” Unless they brought a table she wasn’t sure what he thought she could do. She went back to the tent pole.

Harvey’s comment about sleeping arrangements caught his attention, and he glanced at the team he’d chosen. Harvey and Morgan would be a good match to share a tent. Valos and Franks as well, especially since then, they could go over samples or data in their tent if they wanted to, considering their specialties were adjacent to each other, quite similar. But that left his tent… Himself and Rand, together. In a tent. For three days. That was… quite the thought. But it would have to be that way, it wasn’t like he worked it out, it just happened that way.

Harvey turned to look at Rand and shook her head. “It’s late spring and this area shouldn’t drop below fifteen degrees Celsius.” She said. That would be about fifty nine to sixty degrees Fahrenheit. Her specialty was weather and atmospheres, and she was excited to get a read on the precise chemical makeup of the air. And she wanted to see if her equipment could guess the weather. It depended on how similar it was to Earth weather.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

Rand considered that. The current temp wasn’t too bad, but the breeze carried a chill. And even with the tree cover the breeze still reached them, and there was the stream coming off the mountians into the lake. Which meant the water was cold…wasn’t it? Rand wasn’t sure, but she knew on Earth it would be. She and Harvey each finished one of the tents and then it was very short order to pitch the last one. Then sleeping bags and various other gear was divided into 6 and then two sets were placed into each tent. Rand took the time to unroll the bags and store the other gear out of the way. She didn’t think anyone else on the team found time to grab a cat nap, so by the time they were done, everyone would crash.

Setting up the camp stove didn’t take long, not for Rand. It seemed to vex Harvey, but Rand was familiar with the equipment. It was an upgrade from what her dad used back home, but still familiar. She didn’t start the heater, but she did the stove, and started heating water for tea and coffee. She pulled collected the thermoses she’d passed out earlier, and then while that was starting she found the kit Valos asked her to find a place for. An inspection of the tree stump proved to be a good place. It had two sections where it had fallen, but both were flat with no large cracks or uneven places. She flipped the kit open, took one look and closed it. She set the container on the stump and left it. She wasn’t messing with chemicals and vials. Roman would have a fit.

She moved back into the main camp and helped Harvey finish separating the gear out for who needed what, and then they were done.

Yeoman Rand

With the camp put together and Morgan finished with her security check, Roman got the attention of the team. “The sleeping arrangements will be Harvey and Morgan, Valos and Franks, and… Rand and myself.” He figured if anyone commented he could say it made sense to house command with command support. “It’s been a long night already. If you’d like to get some sleep before we start, that’s okay. Better data collected correctly and safely by well rested officers than haphazardly by tired, rushing officers.”

Roman had plans to test the water, he figured that could be what they did day two, hike up to the lake and river and collect samples there. But he thought it best to start with the clearing and surrounding forest. There were more than enough things to collect and test for the first day.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO