engineering_made_easy | Crash landing in nowhere-land!

Crash landing in nowhere-land!

This emergency evacuation was very typical of Enterprise in that the chaos all happened too quickly for Priya to even gather all the details before she was thrust out into Space. Everything on that ship went a mile a minute, she'd learned to be quick on the uptake for that reason but even this time.... she had kind of half an idea what was happening. Alien ships had appeared, enemy Klingons, and fire broke out between Enterprise and one of the Birds of Prey. Negotiations were passed back and forth between her father, Kirk, and the Klingon captain... but it was all a trap. They'd only been buying time for Enterprise to be still while they sent a massive bomb over. The rest happened very quickly. It detonated, Priya had only enough time to yell before it exploded, killing dozens in the process and sending even more into the vacuum of space.

The officers gathered their wits and the ship was sealed off, cutting off the holes in the hull so no one else was sucked out to their death. But quickly the Klingons made their desires known. Hand over the T'hy'la child or face certain death. The klingons knew what Priya was, that she wasa symbol of hope for New Vulcan and that she was living on this ship with her parents. They wanted her prowess for the Klingon Emprire and Priya was of half a mind to become their prisoner and escape on her own, if it would bring peace to the ship.

But again, things were happening fast. Her father headed with her to the transport bay, allowing her to believe she'd be allowed to become their prisoner... but instead, he'd forced her into an escape pod and the ship, crippled after the bomb went off, spat her out to the nearest planet while cloaked. The escape pod burled to the planet's surface at such a speed it sank into the soil ten feet when it came to a halt. From there... Priya climbed out... and looked around at a vast grassy field.... with nothing and no one in sight.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ash'tar had roamed far this day, perhaps too far to get back before nightfall, which would surely mean punishment. Yet that was a worry for many hours later, the sun was still well over the ridges of the far mountains and why worry about the dark of night when the sun was shining so brightly?

He was startled from his tracking of a wounded beast by the loudest crash he had ever heard in his life - it sounded as though a dozen blacksmith's hammers were falling at once, and he instinctively shrank lower to the ground to cover his head. When it seemed no injury was immediately forthcoming, he crept closer. What... was that? It had ploughed a furrow in the ground deeper than ten men could dig in hours and it was utterly alien to him.

A woman got out, pale as a lily with hair like the sun, something he had only seen a few times on his journeys to the cities in the North. They had so many oddities in those cities that it wouldn't surprise him if this giant metal thing came from there... but did that mean she was an emissary of war? He suddenly stood up, a bare-chested and tanned man in his early twenties, dark eyes narrowed as he nocked an arrow into his bow and took aim.

"Shisla coyrami?"

Of course, he had no idea she didn't speak the native tongue.

Edited 2013-06-11 23:43 (UTC)

Priya was still nauseated over the deaths of her fellow crew, her father's perilous duel with the klingons, her inability to reach him or even know what was happening outside their psychic link which he of course was leaving totally blocked. He'd never let it be known if things were going to Hell in a handbasket.

She was looking at the scenery, wondering just where this was and hoping she could maybe recognize the place. But to no avail. This was a new planet the Enterprise hadn't encountered which meant Starfleet and the galactic Federation at large hadn't either. She could use her tricorder but for now she had to just catch her breath. She was reeling from vertigo and honestly when she surfaced from the pit she wasn't so steady on her feet. From panic and the crash, Priya felt wanton to collapse.

But then she flinched, there was a voice. She looked over her shoulder and her dark eyes widened as she saw a man aiming at her.

"No no!" she raised both hands, palms out. The nearly universal sign of 'don't shoot!'.

She looked hurt. The way she was holding herself and the slight sway to her step suggested injury, possibly internal, which suggested the way this thing ploughed into the ground hadn't been the intentional mode of landing. Yet even so, that didn't mean that she wasn't an enemy, and he was no fool.

He didn't lower his bow when she called out, but neither did he loose an arrow which should be, at least for now, indication that he wasn't going to kill without question unless she forced his hand. A cool breeze raising goosebumps on the naked flesh of his chest and his brow furrowed in consternation, that was an ill omen.

"Shisla coyrami?" he repeated his question. "Negi maklon to rak'la."

Oh...dammit. She's alone with locals that spoke no English. Great move, Dad. Shoot her of onto a planet that might kill her outright anyway.

She didn't budge, still holding her hands out, she spoke in a soft tone as non-threatening as she could.

"I don't understand... I am not your enemy." she allowed herself to show her fear, perhaps that would help show how vulnerable she really was? He must think she is here to sabotage him or some sort of a demon... maybe her fear would play on any emotions he may or may not have...

He has no idea what language that is, the words she's forming are like nothing he's ever heard before. Her accent too, is completely foreign... could she be from across the waste? Even beyond the North, even beyond the sea? The look on his face is plain in any language - distrust, and perhaps a little fear of his own.

There's a silent debate in his head as to what to do for the best, but eventually he allows the string to slacken on his bow and lowers it to his side. He's prepared to raise it again and shoot in a moment though, if she gives him any indication that he's making a mistake. She could have told him that she was there to kill him for all he knew, but that tone of voice put him in mind of a mother soothing a babe.

"I'la to." he murmured, his own voice softening in response as he pointed at her, clearly asking for identification of some kind. A name, a village, an affiliation.

Of course his language was just as foreign to her only she had the advantage of understanding just what the hell was going on here. Sort of. At least for her half of it. She could help him if she could touch him, she could initiate a mind meld and show him her whole story telepathically but... well that would require a lot of trust and a lot of time to built that trust. So for now she just went with what his body language seemed to be implying.

Okay he wasn't going to kill her just yet. So she was doing well. Oh okay he's pointing at her now. That was standard.

She placed her palms on her chest and spoke one word.

"Priya."

"Pree?"

He tried to copy what she said, clearly it must be her name from the way she touched her chest as she spoke. It was an odd name, certainly not one he had ever heard, and so he struggled with the pronunciation of it a bit. He rolled his 'r' and cut off the end of the word in a softly lilting stop, not quite right all in all.

He slung the bow over his back and copied her movement of putting a hand to his chest. There was a moment when he briefly considered telling her a false name, but he didn't humour it. If it ever got back to the village that he had done that, his punishment would be truly severe.

"Ash'tar."

Of course he could tell her anything and she'd just go along with it. How was she to know? Then again it hadn't occurred to her to use a false name, but even again what good would it do her? She clearly outmatched him in technology. She had a phaser in the escape pod she could easily stun or kill him with if she needed to. But she'd rather be peaceful here... She was kind of at his mercy as long as Enterprise was too busy to come rescue her.

"Ash'tar." simple enough for her to say. It was a surprisingly Vulcan-esque name. Not that he'd know that.

There was a way he may be able to understand her better, at least a little. It wasn't a discipline he was well educated in, and it certainly wasn't something he was even supposed to know about, but perhaps she wouldn't know that.

He took a step closer and pointed at her, then held his own arm out. He repeated the movement twice, trying to get her to understand that he wanted her to hold her arm out. His voice was soothing, as it would be a lamb before the slaughter.

"Loshi mi ana."

Well... this was getting closer to what she needed to do. If he was wanting to extend the olive branch she'd play along. She held her arm out mirroring his.

And if this didn't work, whatever it was, she was more comfortable in suggesting they do a mind meld. His method for hers. This was rather basic in meeting new species. Each side offers something they can do or something they made, and and the two make something together. A simple yet fundamental key to lasting relationships with new species.

He ducked just enough to pull a hunting knife out of his boot, the blade gleaming brightly in the afternoon sunshine. His free hand made as if to close around her wrist to hold her arm in place, but slowly enough so it was clear he wasn't trying to force her.

He made a movement with the knife, a cutting motion in the air and gestured at her arm. He needed to cut her to work the blood magic, but he would much rather do it with her permission than without.

Her eyes widened as he demonstrated his intent and she quickly withdrew her hand with a small gasp, resuming the 'don't shoot' hand gesture. She paused... and then pushed one hand forward, her right hand moved towards his face very slowly. Like his movement, she did this in a manner where he could step back or brush her hand away.

She had to touch her fingertips to various psychic points on the face, they were nearly identical for all species she had encountered. Only varying in location by a few centimeters.

A flicker of impatience crossed his face as she resumed her rather frightened position... how ridiculous, if he had meant to harm her then he wouldn't have demonstrated his intent first, he would simply have slashed her throat and be done with it.

He takes a half step back before she can touch his face, he will not allow so intimate a gesture immediately and he is beginning to suspect her once more. How else could she have known to go for the face that way?

Dark eyes narrowed, he gestures to her arm once more with the clear intent this will be the last time he asks before retreating once more.

...

Well that didn't go over well. She overstepped her bounds. Granted she tried the mind meld gesture too early, of course this guy got spooked.

She just didn't want to let him slash her when he didn't HAVE to. It was so simple! But she wasn't going to force herself on him. Mind rape was a capital crime on Vulcan.

She sighed and with resignation she offered her arm out.

For the briefest of moments Ash'tar hesitated, it wasn't too late to turn back now and he might still make the outlying houses of the village by nightfall. He wouldn't be in trouble, he wouldn't be mixed up with strange foreigners who fell from the sky in metal pods, he would be back to his normal life. He knew if he did this, everything would change. They might know he performed forbidden blood magic and, even if they didn't know that, he was sure to be late back.

But she needed him, he could just... tell.

So his knife came down on the soft skin of the underside of her arm and sliced deep, letting the blood flow. He coated three of his fingers in the sticky crimson, before touching them to his lips, forehead and chin in turn. The blood patches glowed a bright silvery blue, and then all of a sudden they were gone and the cut in Priya's arm would be sealed.

It was imperfect, he could tell as soon as the glow faded. His grasp on these particular disciplines was not good and so the results were fragmented at best. His voice was still heavily accented when he opened his mouth, but at least the words were understandable, if not a perfect representation of English.

"I no hurt you. Girl fall from sky, how?"

Edited 2013-06-12 01:45 (UTC)

She watched with dread as the knife plunged to her arm, she gasped and her body crunched up as she winced in pain. Her posture sank into a hunch as if she were elderly and yet her arm was straight as he held it, she didn't withdraw it.

And then he was... what the hell was he doing? This was gross, had she ended up with a pervert? She wished she had her phaser on hand instead of down in the escape pod. She'd stun this guy... and then weird shit happened. The blood began to glow, her arm stopped hurting, the wound was gone, her blood on his face was gone...

and then he started talking broken english. That was... interesting and unprecedented. Fascinating. Did this go both ways despite her not having dotted his blood on herself?

She replied anyway.

"I didn't know what you were doing, how was I to guess you were going to do...whatever you just did? What is that by the way? How does it work? Do you communicate like this with all foreigners?" she paused

"Oh. Right. Well it's kind of.... a long story." indeed she might not be able to fill him in. Starfleet had a rather hefty law called the Prime Directive which stated that any species that was behind in technology or development must be left alone. Modern civilizations were forbidden from interfering with the development of those still growing.

But that kind of got broken already by her escape pod falling from the sky. And she clearly was dressed in fabrics he wouldn't have seen before. And she spoke another language... and she was likely going to die here without his help so... you know what? Whatever.

"This is an escape pod, I was sent here to avoid being taken prisoner by my fathers' enemies."

Even though he had performed the spell himself, forming the foreign words still felt odd to him, the sound of them like ashes against his tongue. It was a great effort not to slip back into his native language, but then she would be unable to understand and would surely be even more scared than she already was.

The sudden flood of questions broke over him like a tidal wave and his eyes widened in surprise. His eyes darting back and forth and his hands up in that same 'stop' gesture she had used when he had his bow drawn.

"Slow." The command was quiet. "Hard to understand. Fast, too much."

His own words were slow, mostly due to his command of the new language being shaky at best and having to think through each word before he used it, rather than using the language instinctively as should happen if he had done this right. Still, at least they were getting somewhere. Not too far, as there were words she was saying that made no sense already... escape pod?

"Is blood magic." He looks a little embarrassed. "Is forbidden."

She stopped at his gesture, actually looking a bit sheepish. Poor sap, she'd overwhelmed him. Well that wasn't really a surprise, that was normal for her. She'd done that to anyone who had something of interest to her.

So... he could speak broken English now. Well better than where they were. She'd rather speak to a child than a brick wall.

"Blood... magic." she mentally chewed on that one for a bit. "...okay."

"Will... this... last ...forever?" she took deliberate pauses so he had time to digest each word. If he didn't understand one, he need only ask and she'd try to dumb it down some more.

At least it seemed he had made the right choice and she wasn't about to attack him, for that he was grateful. It also meant he felt better about breaking the rules, he would rather have broken them to help someone lost and in need, than for someone who turned out to be an enemy.

"Yes. Always now. Where home for you?"

This was the next important thing, if he was going to help her back there then he had to know which direction to set off in.

"Wow. That's...amazing!" well she wouldn't have wanted to see him waste this precious gift on her if she'd be leaving anytime soon but... well for now... she was kind of stuck here.

"Home is very far away." she pointed to the sky. "No way home yet... I have to wait." she shrugged and then climbed into the pit where the escape pod was. She had to gather her supplies, her survival kit with a change of outerwear, a communicator and her tricorder. The communicator was almost useless here on this planet but the tricorder might be fun.]

He nodded in agreement, blood magic was amazing. Yet what he had done with it was not, he was still a novice and he was a little ashamed that her only insight into this amazing discipline was his shockingly bad rendition of the language spell. If a truly accomplished mage had done this, not that there were many left at all, they could have conversed with her as fluently as if they had been born to the language. He had heard that some of the most skilled in this art had been able to perform it for five whole languages, something that Ash'tar couldn't even comprehend.

Following her to the wreckage of the 'escape pod', he glanced inside with a little fear on his face. This was so alien, and when she affirmed that he was from the stars his eyes widened almost comically.

"You are star? Star has not fallen since mountain only tiny hill."

She's got no reference level so just allow her to be wowed by your primitive nature that is actually a better solution than what she was going to offer. She gathered her things and closed the door as she exited it. The pod sealed itself and would remain impenetrable to other natives.

She climbed out of the hole again, sitting on the edge of it. Best not to let him get too good of a look at the superior tech.

"I am not a star. I come from a place... among the stars. Another world... what do you mean? Another person like me came here?"

Edited 2013-06-12 02:48 (UTC)

Ash'tar glanced sideways at the pod as it sealed itself, wondering what sort of magic it harboured to be able to behave that way. His hands itched to dismantle it and examine its secrets, but he was no mechanic and so he would surely have been disappointed if granted his wish.

"Star fell long ago, when ocean was lake and there was no magic."

He smiled a little, just a slight curvature of his lips that said this story was one that held a lot of fond memories for him.

"Star fell from night sky. Once the Ji'him scorned him. Once the Loqu refused him hospitality. But the Mayli gave him bread and aid. Star gave the Mayli magic in thanks."

She'd never grant him the chance to see this pod any closer. Him knowing about its existence was a violation of the Prime Directive already. He was made aware of a higher technology...

Oh he was telling his world lore. Interesting. He did look fond of the legend and she was keen to listen. She took a fond sort of pleasure in hearing various planets' origin myths.

"The Mayli are... your people? What happened to the others?....Oh wait." you think she's here to give you magic powers if you help her... great. Well someone's going to be disappointed...

He nods when she asks if the Mayli are his people, but she's mistaken if she thinks that he expects magic in return for his help. The stars had already granted his people magic long ago, it would be greedy to ask for more.

"All the peoples are still living, long after the star has gone. But the other clans saw the rewards of the Mayli and became jealous, called them demons and outlawed magic."

Well at least he doesn't expect... wait that means he may be hoping for something else from her. Ugh, still the same issue, not that she knows what he is thinking. The military she serves would strike harshly with disciplinary action if she got caught handing superior technology to an undeveloped civilization.

Oh he was still talking. Wait... what??

"Everyone is still alive?" either he meant they were immortal or the mountain was 'a mound' not long ago at all. But barring the obvious lack of recent seismic activity...

"How can that be?"

The fact that she's surprised is a little curious to him, but he doesn't know how stars reproduce or what their society is like at all. Perhaps they were all just one singular star by themselves, and they burned bright alone in the sky until they died.

"Yes, the peoples have children and grandchildren. For many hundreds of moons the clans live on in their ancestors."

"I see..." how strange. She'd like to see living proof of that if it wasn't too much trouble but she dared not ask right now. They were still strangers, more or less.

She of course had no idea he was assuming things about her and what she was or wasn't. She'd quickly inform him that she was just a person, not a star or a goddess or anything but a lost girl in need of sanctuary.

"I didn't think magic was real until now." and honestly she isn't sure what she saw wasn't somehow fake. She's still wrapping her head around it.

"How can you be star and not know magic?"

He doesn't understand and he's wondering if he just misunderstood her words from the poor grasp of her language he still had, once more cursing himself for not studying the blood magic harder than he had.

"Stars are magic. That is how they light the dark of night."

She stared at him a moment, wondering how to make this easy for them both... telling him magic wasn't real was a very bad idea. Especially considering she depended on him at the moment and they had a bit of a blood bond going.

"Yes they are our only sources of light in the dark, you must mean fusion. Nuclear fusion is how stars make power, you're right..."

Wait. Shit, did he think she could do magic?

"I'm... not a star. Or... well not like you mean." there it's out there. She wanted to please him but it was only going to get worse if she didn't tell the truth. Hopefully he wouldn't be angry?

"I don't have the powers you mean. I was sent here by my father to keep me safe. I..." oh that's a bit complicated and he didn't understand her species at all yet. But she was already beginning to ramble so... "Yes the stars you mean do exist." as stars, not as ethereal beings. But she'd met some aliens that could give you a run for your money, Ash'tar. "I'm not... I don't have powers like you. I mean I have some. But not with the blood..." she could read his mind and if she really tried, she could move things. "I was going to do something else when I didn't want you to use the blood magic..."

Most of what she was saying was flying over his head, it was both too fast and too complex for him to keep up with. Besides which, he thought he must be misunderstanding her for everyone knew that the stars had powers and what else could come from the sky except a star.

"Not... a star?"

He repeated her words in confusion, before suddenly his brow cleared and he smiled. Ah-- He understood now, she wanted to avoid detection from the people who might try and hurt her, and so wanted to pass as something other than what she was.

"I understand. You not know magic, you not a star, is very clever. I can keep your secret."

She groaned softly.

"No no, I'm really..." she paused mid-sentence. He had a point, though he didn't understand it. She was still obligated to not disclose technology beyond the development of natives on any given planet. Starfleet forbade her to educate him on the wonders of the universe until his people came to that discovery on their own. And while her presence here alone was a violation of that Prime Directive, it was something that happened beyond her control. She'd be best not to violate it anymore or she'd never explain her way out of disciplinary action when she got home.

"Right. Not a star." she smirked at him. "Very good, Ash'Tar."

He beamed a bit brighter at apparently getting it right, giving her another wink and then laying a hand on her shoulder in some measure of reassurance.

"Not hot irons will prise your secret free from my lips, my lady. I promise you."

He wouldn't dream of betraying the first star to fall on this land for many hundreds of thousands of years. Perhaps her coming here now was a sign that the trials of his people were nearly over and a new age was approaching.

Well good on him for being morally upright. She kind of was and kind of wasn't being as much right now. Allowing him to believe a lie was low but then again it was in the name of a bigger cause... and she didn't plan on making a life here or anything.

"So... are there any villages nearby? Or do I need to get materials to set up camp with?" she still wasn't going to assume she had joined him in any way.

"I will care for you."

Perhaps 'care for' wasn't quite the right words, it had to it a familiarity that Ash'tar didn't mean to imply, but his grasp of the language meant that he didn't realise how that might sound to her.

"We can go to my village. I will bring you food and show you safe shelter to hide in."

Perhaps it was a bit too familial but she got the idea. He'd look out for her. Unless he had somehow claimed her as a wife and that's what the blood magic was really about. He thought she was a kind of goddess so why wouldn't he want that? Priya doubted it though. He hadn't shown any body language changes implying he now owned her. No standing too close or sudden grabs to drag her like she belonged to him. And if this whole star thing was true he'd not have a right to do such a thing to her by his culture.

She bowed her head shallowly.

"Thank you. I will try to contact home as soon as I can... I'll be out of trouble for you then. So which way are we headed?"

He would have been horrified if he knew what she was considering, he had no thoughts that way and that she was a star meant she was far above his mortal form even if he had thought of her in that manner.

Ash'tar shoulders his bow and arrow a little more securely and points to the foothills of the mountains about a half-day's walk away.

"My village is there, we must go quick before the moon is high and the grethan come out to hunt."

Well she's a bit horrified by the idea too, so best to leave that alone.

"...How long does it take to get there?" she had wasted enough of this man's time already. Maybe she should try to get a crude warp drive together from the escape pod. It would take some time but she could manage it. It would send them across the land instantly though.

"Nearly six turns of the sand-glass."

He has no idea that she could even do something like that, such technology was a dream even for people who could perform magic. Most people walked, and the lucky people rode if they were rich enough to afford mounts.

"Come, walk with me. If you hurt or need rest, I will carry you."

Well she has no idea he needs to avoid punishment and she'll gladly offer herself as his excuse should anything happen upon their arrival at his home. It would take a few hours for her to even operate on the escape pod to re-purpose the thing. In the event that it didn't work they'd only be out time, she might as well go along with him.

"Alright. Ah.. thank you." that's rather cute of him. She's tougher than she looks though. She did have to pass the rigorous physical credentials to get into Starfleet after all, not that he'd have a clue what that was.

"Tell me about your home on the way?"

Ash'tar would have no clue what the Starfleet was if she were to tell him, and she looks too slender to be that hardy. Her clothes mostly hide the muscle tone that make her much stronger than she looks, so he thinks his offer was necessary.

He hesitates a moment, brow furrowed, at her request. It's not that he won't tell her about where he's from, but he wishes to keep certain things back and he's not even sure that he can convey everything well in a language that still felt very alien on his tongue.

"Nim is big houses." He means a city. "Big street, big rocks, big priests. Hunting and money. I will find way to help you there."

He doesn't think much to Nim, and it's clear in his expression that he holds little fondness for his home.

Big houses... yes she understands. Big rocks? Like statues? Big priests... the government? Hunting and trade were the major markets.

"Are there other places here? Is Nim the only city? Do you not like it much?"

she wondered a bit

"Are your people oppressed?"

"My people?"

His smile becomes a little twisted, bitterness underneath the show of good humour he tried to keep up for her sake. He didn't want to scare her, but there was no point lying to her when she'd see the truth as soon as they got inside the walls of the city.

"My people are no more. The few there are exist as slaves, we are property and nothing more."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Crash landing in nowhere-land!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Would his lips still be making the shapes of his native tongue? Would his mouth not match his speech

No, he's actually talking English with a lot of effort

Ah I see, Handy stuff there.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I am a terrible person, sorry I took so long!

no problem! i was away and so took forever too

:3

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

I'm sorry this is so late!

no problemos