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.

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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."

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Crash landing in nowhere-land!

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

no problem! i was away and so took forever too

:3

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I'm sorry this is so late!

no problemos