Fancy seeing you here

Posted on Sun Feb 9th, 2025 @ 12:29am by Ensign Mercy Mourne & Lieutenant Darru

Mission: Remnant
Location: Planet, near the rendezvous
Timeline: Day 408 PM
2085 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Despite the Captain’s orders, despite her best intentions, Mercy had lost the rest of her party. She hadn’t meant to wander off. One minute she had been working near them and the next she was hyper fixated on following an anomalous reading on her scanner. When she had next looked up she was lost. And now she was trying to remember which way she had come.

Suddenly she heard a noise and whirled to face it. “H-hello? Captain? Doc? Is that you?” She tried to keep her panic in check. She was a highly trained member of star fleet. She was a rational being, there was nothing to fear. She bit back a whimper unable to shake the feeling she was being watched.

Darru had noticed instantly as the other group finally joined them that one person was missing and quietly started back along the path that he saw them take. It was easy to find her there scanning without a care in the world but he could see the moment where she panicked and realised she was alone.

“It’s just me.” He called stepping out from behind a tree to reveal himself. “What are you doing?” He demanded quietly.

Mercy’s relief was instant. Upon seeing Darru she places a hand over her heart. “D-Lieutenant, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. Not that I mean my eyes are sore, or that you are particularly pleaseant sight. You are, but I just mean…” Mercy winced and took a deep breath trying to slow her racing brain. “I thought I saw something interesting and stopped, but by the time I was done double checking the results I didn’t realise the others had moved on.”

Darru waited for her to stop talking before he spoke up. “A true scientist but not the best Earth Starfleet Officer. You should always keep track of everyone else as well.” He said indicating that she should follow him to where the group had wandered too.

Mercy blushed and rubbed her suddenly hot cheek. “S-sorry sir. It’s just been a while and there’s so much to see here. I fear all day Doctor Avira has been looking at me like she can’t work out how I got assigned to Atlantis.” She shoved aside the gnawing feeling of never being good enough and gave the Lieutenant a smile. “Lucky for me you found me, I’ll try to be more aware of the others in future. How has your day been?”

“You were assigned because you got assigned.” He said simply. He had not been in charge of anything to do with the science department and who was picked to join the Atlantis. But he had no doubt that everyone was there for right reason as they were all amazing in his opinion. For someone fascinated by humans he had the pick of studying if he wished. “It has been fascinating trying to work out the species that once had been here. They were smaller in stature.”

Mercy felt her smile growing and warmth bloomed in her chest. She could understand how some might view Vulcan logic as cold, but she found it rather comforting. She couldn’t tell if that was something uniquely Darru or if she would have felt that way around other Vulcans. Either way she simply nodded.

“They were?” Mercy looked at the structures around them with new interest, and noted how she might have to stoop a little to get through some of the doorways. “Did…” She hesitated, not sure if she really wanted an answer to her next question. It was somewhat eerie enough walking through the ghost city, but curiosity got the better of her once again. “Did you find any remains?”

“They were slightly shorter than humans on average from the areas I saw earlier.” He surmised his answer in to a shorter form as it not easy to work out without more information but from what he had observed with security everything was set for someone under 5 foot. “We did not find any remains.” He assured. It was the strangest thing about everything that there were no remains at all anywhere. Planet population did not just disappear.

“We didn’t find anything either. It’s just the oddest thing. If this was a result of war, there would be bodies right? Or something… but… it’s really like everyone just suddenly vanished.” Mercy thought back to Iryna’s words in the shuttle. “Do you have any theories as to what may have happened?” Mercy took a step closer to Darru, subconsciously seeking to stay close, unsettled by a number of possible answers.

"No one had found anything which is unusual. It is like they all just disappeared one day and never came back." Which to Darru that was entirely possible but was not convinced at all that, that was the reason for it. All cultures had stories of it but it was not something he had ever beleived in. "I have several theories but they are feeling more and more like they are myths and not exactly what I have learned to theorise."

“A feeling rather than a theory?” A teasing smile flickers through the worry for a moment as she looks at Darru. “You May have been spending too much time with humans.” She said with a small wink. Then she feels a prickling on her neck, looking back towards the closest building, before she shuddered slightly. “Well whatever did happen I can’t help but feel… it’s felt like we’ve been being watched all day. Can’t shake it, it’s the most eerie feeling.”

The Vulcan did not answer her teasing but he did glance around to see if he could figure out the source of the eerie feeling. He was not dismissing her feelings but he had not felt the same. “I have not felt the same but something to ask the others.” He suggested quietly as he stepped back and offered a hand to help her over a structure that was fallen but it would be impossible to go around.

“It’s probably just me being silly. No need to cause alarm.” She didn’t want the others thinking she could handle away missions. The last thing she needed was the doctor getting angry at her again about ghosts. However all that disappeared from her mind a moment later as Darru offered her his hand. She blushed and took it, surprised by how warm his grip was as he helped her over the fallen structure. Once on the other side she was reluctant to let it go. “Thank you.” Her blush increased as her voice came out much higher pitch than she realised.

“Should always mention things even if it causes alarm.” He pointed out. “Every fact or comment could trigger other crew members to speak up or recollect their own experiences.” He pointed out as he let go of her hand and climbed over the structure himself and stepped a lot more earlier than she would have without help.

“Yes of course, you’re right. But still, human minds so easily run away with themselves when in places like this.” She waits for Darru to finish climbing over the structure then falls into step with him as they continue the walk back. “But unsettling thoughts about an unknown species aside, this is quite a beautiful planet to find oneself on. Days like this, even though we are lost, I find myself without a single regret. Just think we could be the first sentient beings to walk these roads and look at this sky since the people who once called this place home. And the first humans and Vulcan to do so ever. Feels like a humbling scientific privilege.” Her face lit up as she gave Darru a bright smile. The clumsy awkward data cruncher for a moment replaced with excited explorer.

The man paused and looked up at the sky and for a moment his mind wandered. He finally tore his gaze away from the sky to look back at the woman. “I have no regrets about it any of this myself Ensign.” The man said quietly as he offered a nod. A smile did not pass his lips but the muscles twitched a little before he coughed awkwardly. “You are correct this place is humbling.” He agreed.

Mercy paused beside Darru, and turned to look at him taking in the surroundings. She quirked an eyebrow at the twitch of his lips and the small cough. He had mentioned before his control had been compromised lately. She didn't know whether it was a sign of the grief for his wife, or other feelings he might have towards the crew. Definitely the crew, not her specifically. However the longer she looked at him the harder it was to look away, but she also knew she had been caught staring. She opened her mouth to say something, anything to try and head of an awkward moment, when suddenly a strange sound disturbed the evening quiet. It was accompanied by a rustling and a suddenly flash of movement as some sort of creature darted between the buildings. What would have been something smooth and debonair, quickly turned into a strangled shriek of surprise as Mercy twisted on her feet to try and face the thing. However with the uneven flooring she tripped over her own ankles and went' crashing into Darru.

Darru was just as suprised as the creature bounded into first Mercy and then him they both ended up on the floor in a heap but thankfully Darru was underneath breaking the fall. He would have been worried if he had landed on her as he was aware of how much larger he was than her. "Are you... Are you okay?" He wondered quietly trying to regain some type of equilibrum to get up off the floor.

“Ahh.” Mercy’s breath had left her in a rush as she went down, and it took her a second to be able to formulate a response to Darru. She looked at him, wide eyed, “I am so sorry!” Then it her her that she was still lying on top of the man and she stammered as she tried to get up. It was as if all her limbs decided in that moment to go different directions. “Am I okay? Are you okay? Im sorry! I didn’t mean to take you down with me, are you hurt?” She finally got her arms and legs to co-operate. She staggered to her feet, then held her hand out to Darru. “I’m so sorry.” She said again, trying to ignore how hot her face was or how her hip felt like she might have bruised it.

The man took the offered hand but did really need it to get himself up as he took several deep breaths to get some air back where it needed to be after he was winded. “I am quite alright Ensign. A lot more solid than I look and we at least know there is wildlife here now.” He stated quietly as he looked her over. “Are you okay?” He wondered hoping she would calm down.

Mercy blinked and took her own deep breath, subconsciously following Darru’s lead. Why did he have to be so nice? “Yeas, yes I’m okay, but bruised and embarrassed but nothing that time won’t fix.” She said with a small self-effacing chuckle. “And of course, I know your solid, I mean uhm more than you look. Not that you look bad, you look great! That is to say… we should get back, before someone comes looking for us or gets the wrong idea. Not that we’re doing anything to- oh uhm.” Mercy turned and started to walk in the wrong direction, clearly still flustered.

“Other way Ensign.” He called quietly watching as she turned around and walked in front of him again. He said nothing to embarrass her. Conversations with Alexandra had taught him that sometime when people were embarrassed they just wanted it to be left alone and not mentioned. He could do that if it helped her stop being so flustered.

“Right!” Mercy turned on her heel and shot Darru a wince as she had to walk in front of him to go the correct way. Where was a convenient space monster distraction when you needed one?