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

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)

About that time Harvey placed a cup in Alden’s hand and then one in Rand’s. Normally, Rand would serve herself last, but she was past caring. It was niggling in the back of her mind that something wasn’t quite right with Roman, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Roman nearly dropped the cup. The feeling hadn’t yet fully returned to his fingers. He managed to keep his grip and took a long drink of the tea, enjoying the heat. Then he set it down next to him, not wanting to drop it. The heat on his hands was nice but he’d rather not lose the tea trying to hold it.

She cupped her hands, using palms more than fingers, around the warmth of the thermos. She was warming up and though it was painful it was a welcome sensation. The hypo was easing the pain but she moved her ankle…the one that had been hurt before, and realized she’d sprained it. That was an issue for later, she wasn’t walking anywhere any time soon.

While they drank, Rand walked Harvey through heating food. “This stuff is nasty cold, Rand. Not sure I want it hot.” Rand nodded sleepily at the ration pack. “Foil pack, smaller than your palm. Dump the contents in. It’s called a flavor packet.” Meanwhile Franks and Valos we’re trying to talk Alden’s ear off. At least long enough to keep him awake to finish the tea. “Water is safe, and there is a lot of plant life around here. When the rain stops I want to get a look. It’s too bad for the sink hole, I would have loved to sample that old river bed.” Valos shrugged, “Doesn’t matter we used all the empty sample containers checking the cave.”

Rand mumbled to Morgan who grinned and went to Rand’s pack and pulled out two black padded cases. Rand waved lazily at them. She was too drowsy from the meds to wonder if she should keep her mouth shut or not, or if it was her place. “You can get plenty of samples from my and Cmdr Alden’s uniform and boots. And there are two empty sample cases.” And then she was curled up on the sleeping bag almost asleep. Valos and Franks looked at her like they had never seen her before. Valos opened one case and sure enough all empty sample cases. “Rand, I could kiss you.”

Rand didn’t even move, “No. You won’t, but you’re welcome.” And then she was out.

Yeoman Rand

Roman listened to them talk his ears off, but only just. He didn’t quite grasp most of what they were saying. It sounded like distant chatter. “I’m sure the storm will pass before we leave,” he mumbled, his speech slurred in exhaustion, “Can’t wait to go looking for the wildlife…” He sipped the tea slowly, but he was drifting to sleep, the thermos still mostly full. He was just too tired.

The storm raged on outside the caves. The wind howled at the entrance. Water seemed to pour out of the sky. They could still hear the relentless thunder. The clouds had brightened slightly, letting a small amount of sunlight through, showing that the storm might slow soon, but it had yet to show any sign of doing so.

Roman must have been thoroughly exhausted by the events because he did not wake until 0600 the next morning, sentinel time. That made it day two of their trip to the planet surface. By then the storm had slowed to a drizzle and some tolerable winds. The sun was lower in the sky. It looked like late afternoon, nearly evening.

His awareness returned to him slowly, and he felt groggy and tired. He was no longer cold, the hours sleeping near the heater had warmed him up. Roman flexed his fingers, testing the sensation. They felt better.

His leg still hurt, and a lot more than it normally did, but at the same time it was nothing like the day before. It felt a lot more manageable. His story about pulling or spraining it trying to pull Rand out of the sinkhole could explain the limp he expected to be unable to hide. Before moving around too much, he looked around their cave to see who else was awake.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

The only other person in the cave was Rand. She was sitting up, leaned against the cave wall. Working with something at stove. As he moved slightly she looked over and smiled. “Good news is the storm is over. Franks said to tell you there is a lot of animal activity near here. He and Valos set of the motion sensor cameras and the receiver is there beside you. They have been going back and forth collecting different samples. Morgan and Harvey went to scout a different path back to the clearing. Franks said the ground should be stable, but they don’t want to risk it. The comms are working again. Morgan reported the equipment and previous samples survived but the clearing is gone. Several trees fell, would have crushed the tents.”

“Oh, good,” Roman said in response to the news, pulling himself carefully into a sitting position. So the mission was going better. That made him happy. He wanted to be out with them, not sitting in a cave. He’d try standing once he felt a little more awake.

She passed him a bowl of oatmeal and from the smell is was apple cinnamon. “Not much, but it’s hot. Bad news, neither of us are going anywhere. Your leg and my ankle are swollen almost double normal size.” She had her leg stretched out with a wet wrap around it, and even with out it it was obvious her ankle was swollen. “Franks isn’t budging on it. Quoted me all sorts of regulations that we both know. But if we are careful we should be up and moving later.”

Roman accepted the bowl of oatmeal. “Thanks.” Then she gave him the bad news, and his face fell. He looked down at his leg. Even through the pants it was obvious she was right, his right thigh around the area that hurt looked much larger than the same area on the left leg. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely a lie, and he had actually pulled it or something. But he was sure something else was wrong, a simple sprain or pulled muscle wouldn’t cause so much pain. “It’s feeling better than yesterday, I’m sure it’s fine.” He said stubbornly. He still planned on trying to get up.

Rand paused in what she was doing and looked at him. It was the same hesitant, unsure, but steeling herself, look she’d had the night she confronted him about his reports. “It would be extremely unwise and inconsiderate, Cmdr, were we to push ourselves before we should. We could put the whole team at risk doing so, and help is very far away.” She was right of course, but there was more too it, but she left it at that simple statement.

She passed a pot full of ice cold water and some bandages - cold compresses for the swelling -over to him. “In other news, they all left a few hours ago. The work is progressing so the mission isn’t a failure. Harvey said the storm left her with data for months. Also Franks knows.” She looked like she wasn’t sure if she should be embarrassed or relieved. “After everyone else left, he came back and told me he hated to leave when we were both incapacitated. But he figured you wouldn’t try to leave if I didn’t have a partner to stay with me.”

Yeoman Rand

Taking the ice water and bandages reluctantly, unsure if he actually planned on using them just yet, he shrugged at the information. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it, either. It bugged him that Franks was right - he’d not go anywhere leaving Rand alone. It was an effective way to keep him from going anywhere.

~ Lt Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

It was also possible that Franks was banking on Roman’s strict adherence to the rules and didn’t know anything. But it was the way he’d said it that made her think he knew. After their date on the observation deck, Rand knew someone had to have noticed. She’d had a couple hours to consider whether or not her concern was more based on stories they were told at the Academy than on actuality. She scooted across the floor, lifting herself on her hands, careful to keep her right ankle still. She reached into the medkit and pulled out two long rectangular packs. She squeezed both and then shook them and passed them over. “Ice will reduce the swelling faster.”

She ate quietly, they’d both fallen asleep before Harvey had finished cooking. From what Morgan said, Rand and Roman were the lucky ones. Putting the bowl aside when she was done she pointed to the control box for the cameras. There was another small case. “Harvey left a drone outside, and that’s the control She said it’s made to go in the air and water. The ground is too unstable to walk to the river, but you could use it to get samples and vids of any aquatic life in the river.”

Yeoman Rand