"Survival Means Using all Available Skills and Abilities"
(Previous Post: "Out of the Shadows")
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Stardate: 62231.0540
The planet to which the crew of the USS ANUBIS had
been sent to, while onboard the USS HATHOR, had been
nicknamed *Osha'lal* because the senior staff had
found the designation of P338451 to be somewhat
lacking in personality. Translated from its Romulan
origin the word *Osha'lal* referred to a place of
great serenity and beauty, a welcoming heaven for all
to visit, unfortunately what the crew discovered
immediately upon their beam down to the planet surface
could not have been further from this description.
When the USS HATHOR entered orbit around P338451 a
preliminary planetary scan had revealed an abundance
of flora and fauna on all of the major land masses
below. Several settlements had also been identified
and Captain Rikar had selected one of the larger
isolated cities to be their beam down location.
Established amidst a thick forested area surrounded by
impressive hills and mountains the industrial-aged
settlement had been thought to be the perfect
insertion point for the undercover mission the senior
staff of the USS ANUBIS had been sent on.
The moment contact was made with the inhabitants of
the settlement things went wrong despite the
intelligence gathered which pointed to a
technologically inferior race that possessed nothing
that could or would present any immediate danger to
the away team. By the time the dust had settled chaos
reigned and the away team had scattered in an urgent
search for cover and protection.
Over the last 280 days the Shillian scientist had used
every trick in the book and several others that had
not been previously thought of to stay one step ahead
of the various dangers that this world had thrown at
the Starfleet Officer. The advantage of this had been
that the transformation skills of the Shillian had
improved which allowed the scientist to now remain in
animal form for a few minutes longer. The repeated
shape-shifting had also reduced the amount of time the
Shillian required to recuperate from the physical
demands placed on her body. Practice it seemed had
done wonders in that domain but the situation had not
been without drawbacks, one of which had been the
uniform and equipment of the Chief Science Officer
which had long been left behind. The frequent and
extended transformations in animal form had also left
Maya to behave less as a person and more as a wild
animal in how the Chief Science Officer acted and
reacted to any given situation.
As soon as the light of a new day began to make its
way through the narrow opening of the damp cave where
the Shillian had spent the night the humanoid form of
the Starfleet Officer gave way to that of a Shillian
Night Howler. In this form Maya had gained speed,
agility, strength and the ability to stay warm during
the daily search for food which had now become routine
for the Chief Science Officer of the USS ANUBIS.
In the form of a wolf-like creature the Shillian had
quickly made her way into the forested area to seek
refuge after having used her shape-shifting to escape
a trap that the scientist had triggered. All that the
Chief Science Officer could recall was the frantic
order of their Commanding Officer telling everyone to
scatter and seek shelter. With several of the
inhabitants of the settlement after each and every of
the Starfleet Officers, everyone had gone their own
way, some having remained in smaller groups while
others like the Shillian Scientist had found
themselves alone in their escape.
It had taken several days for the Shillian to lose her
pursuers and by then there had been no way for the
Starfleet Officer to return to the settlement and
search for other members of the away team. Instead
the Chief Science Officer had been left with the sole
responsibility to survive this hostile world deprived
of her clothes and equipment that would have made the
task far easier. The discovery of a clear pool of
water had provided the Shillian woman with both the
means to quench her thirst and a way to wash, a luxury
that the scientist dared not engage in for more than a
few minutes for fear of being discovered.
Although other forms had been available through
shape-shifting to the Shillian, the Chief Science
Officer had set her preferences onto the Night Howler
because it granted her the greatest ability to deal
with the unknown of this world.
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"To see the world in a grain of sand, 2008 post #002
Setting: P338451, Underground cavern
Jessica Solarik
Lieutenant Commander Maya
Chief Science Officer
USS ANUBIS
and a heaven in a wild flower.
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour."
- William Blake (British, 1757-1827)
