The first
thing she noticed was the heat. An oppressive, muggy, stifling,
energy-sapping warmthness that left a person sweating from pores she
didn't even know she had. Even with her Academy uniform on -- a uniform
designed to provide comfort and protection in almost any environment to
be found on Earth -- she was still perspiring like a boar being led to
the slaughter.
"Move faster you should, or left behind by Serin we will," complained
the Tellarite behind her. Sure, Tellarites could tough it out, and
Vulcan's grew up on one of the hotter planets in the Universe (although
if you asked her, Serin wasn't his usual crisp self in this
environment), but there was nothing on Betazed to compare to *this*.
"I'm moving as fast as I can in this gunk," replied Cadet Krystal to
her Tellarite companion, Cadet Gonar. In truth, the dense underbrush
that clung to her uniform and refused to let go, the soggy ground the
her feet kept sinking six inches into, making every step an agonizing
effort for her abused calf muscles, the buzz and pinpricks of a hundred
little flying insects that formed personal clouds about each of the
trio, all that combined with the Hades-like atmosphere were making this
little jaunt something just short of the worst experience in her young
life.
"Cursed I be, be on same squad as you, most unfortunate," retorted
Gonar as he pushed Krystal to try to get her to move a bit faster.
Unfortunately he caught her off-balance, which only caused her to fall
down face first into the muck. Unfortunate, or perhaps this is what he
had intended all along thought Krystal as she pushed herself up, mad a
Rigellian Rhinoceros and ready to plant one on her squadmate.
|
Cadet Serin
took that opportunity to interrupt by placing his hand on Krystal's
should in the way that meant "be quiet". Krys immediately drew her
phaser and scanned the jungle, as Gonar scanned the other side with his
phaser. Krystal finally noticed that the entire jungle -- which up
until then had been filled with a cacophony of chirps, whistles,
groans, and a multitude of other soundlets, so much so that her mind
had just shut it off from her conscious thoughts -- seemed to have gone
silent.
That deathly silence was like a icy blanket, and it had a chilling
effect on the three cadets. Serin cocked his head, intently listening
for *anything*, vainly trying to pierce the sudden silence that had
come over the jungle. Gonar grunted under his breath, the sort of thing
you do when you're too startled to swear properly. Krystal kept looking
around, trying to spot whatever was dangerous enough to quiet a jungle
of sounds.
And then she saw it. Two green eyes, with slitted pupils, staring
unblinkingly at her from the brush. Krystal noted the two long fangs,
hanging below the eyes, each the size of a Kry'th Blade. And then it
was coming at her, it's fearsome four legged body a marvel of supple
hide and steely muscle. Before she had a chance to raise her phaser, or
cry out in warning, it was on top of her.
The impact knocked her to the ground, knocking the breath out of her.
Serin, belying his cool Vulcan composure, jumped on the thing and tried
to Vulcan Nerve Pinch it while Gonar shouted a warning to Serin, as he
couldn't fire his phaser with Serin in the way. Krystal inexplicably
found that she couldn't make her body do anything, as she watched the
hunter rip into Gonar, cutting a bloody swath through his uniform.
|