Round 1, Callaghan
					"The Rettii"
	Starship Enterprise 1010 hours As soon as Grace left the confines of the bridge she felt it. It was a feeling difficult to describe, not quite worrisome or fearful but not consoling either. She shook herself briefly before assembling her small field kit and changing into the drab blue jump suits Enterprise personnel wore. After pulling her hair up into a ponytail and fitting a Starfleet Academy baseball cap on, Grace made her way to the launch bay. The others had been assembled and everyone was there except for Solomon. Perhaps Archer had changed his mind? "We want everyone to stay focused and alert. Keep your phasers at stun." Reed handed out the small odd shaped weapons as Gracie took hers with a disgusted look and attached it to her hip. She wasn't too fond of these as she felt it was too easy to set at kill instead of stun. Solomon came up behind Reed quietly and as her eyes met Gracie's she nodded. It was a rather large group, herself and Solomon, Archer, Trip, Hoshi, Reed, and Mayweather. Still, the feeling persisted and she had to briefly wonder if such a group was large enough (to handle Them?). Gracie looked to Hoshi who was staring back at her intently. Gracie knew…Hoshi felt it too, but had she heard the strange voice as well? Archer droned on about something or another as Gracie realized getting to the surface was important and that of course made it difficult to listen to him. Finally, the group loaded into shuttle pod 1 and disengaged from the Enterprise. She felt it was almost impossible to sit still as she fidgeted slightly in her seat. The lure of the planet increased tremendously now that she was away from the Enterprise. It was hard to decipher though whether it was a good feeling or a bad feeling. "Sir, we have a large clearing about…2 km from the edges of the fires," Mayweather stated. "Nothing wrong with a little hiking…" Archer smiled. Gracie turned to him, "we should consider landing closer to the village…" "Two kilometers through a hostile forest does not sound like a little hiking," Hoshi finished for her. Archer looked between the two, "we don't know if it's a hostile forest, the smoke is clearing, and it will be a nice day for a hike…what's with you two?" Gracie glanced at Hoshi then smiled to Archer, "just jittery, I suppose." She knew somehow that going through that forest was not advised though by whom she was not so sure. "Yes, jittery," Hoshi echoed. "A brisk hike under two suns should be something enjoyable and at the very least…different," Reed added his two cents in casually. Gracie hid the scowl fixing on her face and gazed at Hoshi. Both of them knew clear as day as the voice filled their head…this planet did not always have two suns. The remainder of the flight took less than five minutes as the pod entered the atmosphere directly above their designated landing zone. "I'm picking up very little life forms," Mayweather announced. "And the weather outside?" Archer asked peering out of the windows. "A delightful eighty degrees fahrenheit and sunny. Small cloud cover with the smoke but nothing too serious," Trip said. "Good, keep your eyes and ears open," Archer said before lifting the hatch. The breeze flooded Gracie's mind with flashes of memory though they were not of her own. This field was familiar to her, the smoke was the only thing different…bad…ominous. The crew stepped out into the dim sunshine each coughing a little bit. She gazed over the high grass as the flashes of scenes from long ago continued to flit through her mind. The tall peoples, long silvery blonde hair, bows and arrows…they looked familiar…it was happier times then…but now…someone was speaking to her. "What?" she asked Archer who looked at her weird. "I asked you how bad do you think the smoke is?" He seemed concerned about many things, in particular the smoke that seemed to be thicker than previously expected (welcome, hurry). Gracie glanced at Hoshi - had she heard that? Hoshi looked back to her, those dark eyes with the same exact question. What the hell was going on? "Lieutenant?" Gracie refocused her attention on Archer (tell him), "the smoke is fine…it shouldn't be too much trouble if we get out of the thickest of it." He stared at her for a moment before turning to speak with Trip. "Are you ok Dr. Callaghan?" the soft female voice uttered to her. She forced a smile, "Fine Solomon…I'm fine." Grace tried to sound reassuring though she didn't think she was doing such a good job at it. Not that it mattered all that much. That damned forest. They mocked her, the unseen creatures that waited for them inside of it. Waited…for them to move… "Ok, we have a brief hike ahead of us, Solomon, why don't you take point and myself and Trip will bring up the rear," Archer said. "Aye, sir," Solomon replied dutifully before heading towards the forest. The voices swirled in her head (don't go in there) and her feet rooted to the ground. She could not move only stare at the looming trees. Hoshi stood next to her unable, it would seem, to move herself. "Problem ladies?" Trip asked both of them with his endearing southern accent. "Those woods have eyes," Gracie said quietly, her green eyes never leaving the trees. "We did a complete bioscan…there's nothing in those wood bigger than a doormouse," Trip reassured her. "Bioscan or not," Gracie challenged, "those woods…" "…are dangerous. We should find an alternate route… perhaps take the shuttle closer to the fires…there's another clearing on the other side of this corridor." Hoshi finished for Gracie. "Ok, that's it…what the hell is wrong with you two?" Archer demanded as the rest of the party waited some distance off just outside the tree line. Gracie looked to Hoshi (maybe we could make it through?) Hoshi apparently heard. "It's this planet sir…these woods…they…seem strange." Archer looked at her concerned, "Strange in what way?" "I dunno…" Hoshi stuttered. "It's like…something…I feel it, too…we are not welcomed in those woods…we should find another way to the village," Gracie said though she wasn't exactly sure where the village was or even what it was. Archer looked at Trip than back to the two women, "as much as I believe in women's intuition being an acute sense…we have to go through those woods." Gracie stared at him looking for the truth in those blue eyes of his though she did not find any. Perhaps he felt it too and was working with the enemy. To deliver herself and Hoshi to Them? "Yes, Captain," she heard herself saying. "Good," he motioned for them to walk in front of himself and Trip. They reached the others who wore looks of concern and curiosity as to what was holding the party up. "Everyone stay close to each other…and be alert," Archer reminded them before nodding to Solomon to lead the way. As soon as Gracie set one foot in the forest she felt her chest start to tighten and it became a little difficult to breathe. Hoshi was also experiencing the same as she often looked to Gracie. As they moved further into the woods the trees became taller and more dense, the undergrowth thicker and more difficult to navigate. There were no paths that they could see, as it was darker in the thicker part of the forest. The sounds became dimmer though Gracie thought nothing of it, as with the fire most animals would have fled. The smoke seemed thinner actually though Gracie was finding it increasingly more difficult to breathe. Both herself and Hoshi could feel the little creatures (the Rettii) closing in on the unknowing party as they made their way slowly through the woods. The urge to run…fast and far to try and escape gripped Gracie. She froze, breathing heavily, listening…it was too late. The rest of the group stopped as well and stood silent. They were now hearing what Gracie and Hoshi had felt. The soft rustle of leaves though there was no wind; the faint childlike noises almost too quiet to hear; a glimpse now and then of something moving though it moved too fast to identify it. Trip moved his bioscan back and forth trying to pinpoint the small creatures, as it was clear now there was more than one. "There," Archer said quietly looking up into one of the trees. Grace knew what to expect somehow before she looked up. The little creature stood no more than two feet tall on a thick branch above the tallest of the men. It was tan colored and wore tangles of leaves and vines haphazardly over its little body. Its head was oblong shaped and had two ridiculously large brown eyes that peered down on them mockingly. Two small openings served as its nose and they quivered constantly picking up the familiar scents of humans and its mouth was partially open revealing a row of sharp tiny teeth. It's body was plumper around the middle and gave way to thin legs and long arms with hands that wrapped around a small staff that had some sort of crystal attached to it (that's a fire crystal). Around its tiny waist was a sheath that housed a small sword of sorts. It stared at them then made funny noises (spoke) to them. "It is the Rettii," Gracie said quietly, as the voice in her head echoed her sentiments. Archer turned to her, as did most of the party except Hoshi, "What?" The creatures overwhelmed her as they moved all around the confused group. She felt her strength leaving her body as she sunk to her knees. Hoshi also partially collapsed near her. "Grace…Hoshi," Archer moved towards them as did Mayweather. The shocked looked on the others gave way to fear… The creature that stood on the tree branch stretched its face upward to the sky and let out a long shrill shriek and the forest suddenly sprang to life with answering shrieks and calls. "The rescue party left too late," Gracie said to Hoshi. Hoshi was already unconscious though and did not answer. The sounds of the phasers were unnatural in the forest as the group desperately tried to protect themselves by working to engage the creatures that surrounded them. The little creatures were too fast and laser particles left holes only in branches and leaves. "Grace…what are they?" Archer asked, the urgency in his voice apparent. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how to contact them…" Grace muttered before the edges of her vision became blurred and the shrieks blended together into a dark pain in her head. One of the Rettii jumped on Archer pulling him backwards and wrapping a deceptively strong little arm about his throat. The Rettii had been successful in breaking the group and pulled them one by one into the woods. Grace felt her hands and feet being bound, the smell of the creatures overwhelming before the darkness thankfully enveloped her...
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