“Bock’s
sprain”
by
Lord Thanatos
Scenes:
10.
It’s too early for this crap
SCENE
1: Day 47 - Body bearers
Serrag,
Kerr and a few redshirts are crossing
LT:
“Captain’s log, stardate 64035.24. It’s been a month since we arrived at
the river. Water is plentiful and we’re able to eat joknor birds in our
temporary shelters. We’ve got the basics covered. Roast joknor, joknor soup,
joknor on a stick… Our
diet may be a bit one-sided, but the great taste makes up for it… Next to
thousands of joknors, we discovered something else… Or rather, someone
else. So far we’ve stayed at a distance, but we’ve been observing for 8 days
and we’ve only seem him 2 times… It seems that every 4 days he appears at
the opposite end of what we have dubbed
The
Deish doesn’t hide behind trees or the brush as there’s no way to miss when
firing a weapon. He aims his weapon in a random direction and fires. He kills 2
birds with 1 shot and is clearly unhappy about this as he shakes his head.
Serrag:
“Good day, sir.”
The
Vulcan startles the Deish. In a reflex he points his weapon at Serrag and his
followers.
Deish:
“Stay back!”
Serrag
stops where he stands.
Serrag:
“No need for weapons, sir. I assure you, we have no hostile intentions.”
The
Deish, still a bit wary, lowers the weapon a bit… Looking at all the men who
just appeared from the field of birdies he finds the decency to return the
greeting.
Deish:
“Good day to you too then, gentlemen.”
Serrag:
“My name is Serrag, and these are my colleagues.”
Deish:
“Pleased to meet you. My name is Bock. May I ask what you are doing here? Not
that I lay claim to this land, but I sincerely thought this planet was
uninhabited.”
Serrag:
“We’re part of the crew of the Federation starship USS Greate Pier. Our ship
was captured by the Inj and we were forced to beam down to this planet.”
Bock:
“Ah, I see… We seem to have suffered a similar fate then… I approached
this planet and I was subsequently attacked by Inj as well… I didn’t provoke
them in any sort of way, yet they attacked me without mercy…”
Serrag:
“That would be the Inj indeed…”
Bock:
“Well, they’re off the postcard list anyway…”
Serrag:
“May I ask what you were doing here at this planet? It’s a fairly
unremarkable desert planet in a rather unpleasantly dense nebula…”
Bock:
“I’m Deish; my home planet is not too far from here. I was here to study and
map the nebula and planets in it. It seems I investigated a little too close to
the big ship I saw.”
Serrag:
“Where’s your ship? Is it still intact?”
Bock:
“Ehm, no… My shuttle exploded after I crashed, some 14 days travel from
here.”
Serrag:
“Ah. That is unfortunate. We are stuck here without transport as well.
You’ve been eating joknors I see?”
Bock:
“’Joknors’? Is that what you
call them? I hadn’t thought of giving them a name… But yes, I have been
eating these animals… It seems it’s the only thing worth putting your teeth
in on this planet.”
Serrag:
“We’ve come to a similar conclusion.”
Bock
walks over to the 2 dead birds.
Bock:
“It seems I accidentally shot 2 birds… I did not intend for that to
happen…”
Serrag:
“You cannot carry 2 birds back to your camp; let me help you…”
The
Vulcan approaches the Deish.
Bock:
“Oh, that’s quite alright…”
Serrag:
“No, I insist…”
The
chief engineer picks up 1 of the birds. Bock picks up the other one; reluctantly
it seems…
Serrag:
“Your camp is this way, I assume?”
Serrag
walks into the direction where they have previously seen the Deish walk off to
after a prior bird kill. Serrag’s colleagues follow him. Bock quickly
overtakes them. He seems nervous or worried…
Bock:
“Gentlemen? I ehm…”
Serrag:
“No, really, it’s no problem, Mr. Bock.”
They
are getting near the edge of
Bock:
“Awfully kind of you, Mr. Serrag.”
Bock,
ahead of the pack, comes up to a tree. He suddenly seems to trip over one of the
roots which has found a way to the surface. He tumbles over the floor in
dramatic fashion and let’s out a scream of pain as he grabs his ankle… Kerr
rolls his eyes… Serrag quickly responds and kneels beside him.
Serrag:
“Is it your ankle?”
Bock:
“Yes… I think it may be sprained… Or worse…”
Serrag:
“We’ll have to carry both the birds and you back to your camp it
seems…”
Bock:
“No, I think I can walk… Help me up.”
The
lieutenant commander indeed helps the downed man up. But it seems it’s no
use… As soon as he put pressure on his foot again, he collapses back to the
ground with another well articulated scream of pain.
Serrag:
“Hmmm, it seems it’s worse than it looks…”
Bock
holds his ankle and his facial expression reflects pure agony. Kerr seems
annoyed at the delay.
Bock:
“I’m afraid so…”
Serrag:
“Let me help you up again… I’ll support you. Just don’t put too much
pressure on your left foot; you’ll make it worse. How far is your camp from
here?”
Bock:
“Does your crew have medical equipment to treat my ankle? Because I have no
such devices at my camp…”
Serrag
helps the Deish up and supports him as promised.
Bock:
“Thank you. There wasn’t enough time to grab supplies from the shuttle, as
an explosion was imminent…”
Serrag:
“Then we should head back to our camp. Our doctors can certainly help
you…”
Bock:
“That would be great… Thank you so much, gentlemen. It seems I’m a bother
to you and your crew for which I am very sorry… I hope your captain will
accept these ‘joknors’ as a gift from me for your kind assistance…”
Kerr
sighs loudly and picks up one of the birds and throws it at one of the redshirts
whom is nearly knocked off his feet.
Serrag:
“Let’s get going, it’ll be at least 3 hours before we’ll reach camp at
the suspected pace. You’ll probably need the necessary rest along the
way…”
The
Klingon picks up the other joknor. Serrag and the limping Bock point their noses
in the opposite direction and head towards the camp.
Kerr:
“If we do not rest along the way we’ll reach camp in 1 hour if we march on
at a healthy pace.”
Serrag:
“Clearly that is impossible with Bock’s sprain, Kerr…”
Kerr
overtakes the 2 and stands in front of them so they’re forced to halt. The
Klingon roughly forces the dead bird into the last available hand of the Vulcan,
grabs the Deish’ arm and flips the man over his shoulder.
Kerr:
“Let’s go… Enough time is wasted.”
SCENE
2: Twisted neck
Bynes,
engineer, is sitting in front of a large boulder. He’s looking at a lady near
the water’s edge whom is weaving some sort of basket from leafs. The lady is
SCENE
3: Party pooper
Eisinga
and a female Bajoran colleague are cooking something in a metal container for a
cooking pot. The crackling fire is heating this white substance which apparently
gives off a pleasant odor... Another colleague approaches.
Maresca:
“Smells good! More wrunjup sauce?”
Eisinga:
“Yes, a fresh batch is in the making…”
Maresca:
“Nice!”
Eisinga:
“Well, don’t get your hopes up too high… This batch will first be
distributed among the vegetarian crew. If anything is left, you’re first in
line.”
Maresca:
“You’re both vegetarians?”
Eisinga:
“Yes, both Zanva and me are… As are a few others.”
Maresca:
“I never knew… How is wrunjup sauce made anyway?”
Zanva:
“Well, it’s nothing too fancy… You just take a pile of wrunjup roots,
grind them to a pulp, add some water, add some salt and stir until it becomes
slightly thickish.”
Eisinga:
“But it should still be pourable…”
Maresca:
“Sounds like a gourmet meal to me… I couldn’t make anything that
complex… I’m a replicator girl, haha…”
They
all laugh…
Maresca:
“But what about the name… I’ve wondered about that…”
Eisinga:
“Just like joknor, it’s another Klingon word… I offered some yet unnamed
sauce to Margon, but he told me to get that ‘wrunjup’ out of his face.”
Maresca:
“Dare I ask what that means?...”
While
staring at the sauce he’s stirring, Eisinga dryly answers.
Eisinga:
“Crap.”
Maresca
thinks for 2 seconds…
Maresca:
“So we’re eating stupid, annoying beasts with crap sauce… Right.”
Eisinga:
“Well, you eat stupid, annoying beasts with crap sauce…”
Maresca:
“Right. You just eat the crappy bit.”
Zanva:
“It keeps us alive.”
Maresca:
“Well, I for one wouldn’t like to go without joknor meat… Anyway, how did
you become vegetarians anyway?”
Zanva:
“I didn’t ‘become’ a vegetarian… I’ve never known anything
different.”
Eisinga:
“Well, I did… I used to eat meat… But then I went on vacation with my aunt
and uncle and a similar survival situation happened on Blemstaire 2… It was a
splendid week, but the shuttle wouldn’t take off again when we wanted to
leave. We had some food left, but not enough to last us the entire 8 extra days
we ended up spending there. So my uncle and I went hunting. He shot a lun, a
sort of mammal which resembles a deer. I was there when he butchered the poor
thing… I wasn’t scared about not being able to leave that place, but the
butchering was the only thing on my mind for months… I couldn’t sleep and I
didn’t eat much… My aunt and uncle ate the animal while I ate the last of
the other food we had left. I never touched meat again since that day…”
Maresca:
“I can understand… That must have been traumatic. I do consume meat,
but I also have to admit I wouldn’t like to be present when the animal is
killed and butchered. That might even make a vegetarian out of me, hahaha…”
Eisinga:
“And actually, vegetarian is not the proper term… I’m actually a
replitarian. I don’t eat meat including replicated meat.”
Zanva:
“Replicated meat patterns are often based on real killed and cooked
animals…”
The
captain joins the party of 3. Knowing the captain’s fondness of meat, Eisinga
welcomes his friend.
Eisinga:
“Welcome, captain! We were just discussing meat.”
LT:
“Or the refusal to eat it?”
Eisinga:
“Actually, yes…”
LT:
“Funny, that’s just what I wanted to talk to you about… And you’re not
going to like it.”
Zanva:
“It can’t be that bad…”
LT:
“Well, if I remember correctly you’re a vegetarian too, Zanva, so you
won’t like this one bit.”
Zanva:
“Maybe it is bad then…”
Eisinga:
“Well, what is it?”
LT:
“We eat joknors, joknors eat roots…”
A
long drawn-out ‘yes’…
Eisinga:
“Yes…”
…tells
the captain he needs to get on with it…
LT:
“…and as soon as the joknors run out of roots, they’ll likely move away to
a new location…”
Eisinga:
“Ah.”
Zanva:
“Oh.”
Maresca:
“So what you’re getting at, sir, is that perhaps wrunjup roots shouldn’t
be eaten by our crew anymore before the birds decide to pack their suitcases?”
A
few cautious nods confirm this hypothesis. Eldert just shakes his head.
Eisinga:
“I can’t believe this… Where did this nonsense come from all of a
sudden?”
LT:
“Studies by Serrag… And I’m afraid he’s hardly ever wrong about
anything… I understand your frustration, Eldert, but if the birds run out of
food and leave, we run out of food as well… And there definitely
aren’t enough roots to feed all of us…”
Zanva:
“I can’t eat meat, captain!”
LT:
“You may have to… As of today, no additional roots will be dug up.
The current supply is all we will have to work with…”
Zanva:
“Then I’ll go on a hunger strike!”
LT:
“That’s fine. But unfortunately that will not affect this decision, which I
didn’t like to make myself. But it’s a necessity, not some twisted plot to
make you eat something you don’t want to.”
Zanva
now stares at the ground, not knowing what to say… It’s not much different
for the commander…
Eisinga:
“Unbelievable…”
LT:
“I’m sorry, guys… If I don’t take this measure, we will all starve...”
SCENE
4: Al moral
Spalding
is sitting on the roof of his temporary shelter, about 6 feet from the ground.
He seems to be looking at all the activity going on in and near the river.
People are using wooden cups and bowls to collect water from the river and
downstream a few others are taking a bath. On the shore dozens of people are
going about their various businesses. A few small groups of people are talking,
some are arranging firewood for a nice fire and some people are just passing
by… Reinard approaches Spalding’s shelter and climbs on a horizontal support
which attaches the shelter to a nearby tree to the left of the entrance. His
head pops up over the edge of the roof.
Reinard:
“Hi, Spalding…”
Spalding:
“Reinard. How are you?”
Reinard:
“Fine. Yourself?”
Spalding:
“Not too bad, thanks.”
Reinard
looks at the people in front of Spalding’s shelter…
Reinard:
“So, how’s moral?”
Spalding:
“Most of them are doing fine… They might not sleep in their own quarters or
be able to conjure their favorite food item from a replicator, but at least all
the familiar faces are here. We’re all in it together, which helps a lot.
Besides, we’re not doing badly… Water, food, shelter…”
Reinard:
“Yeah, I guess it could be worse…”
Spalding:
“But more than a few people are showing some signs of home sickness… People
miss the ship, but most of all their friends and families…”
Reinard:
“Don’t we all?”
Spalding:
“Of course… I miss my daughter Lisa Ann terribly…”
Reinard:
“No wife?”
Spalding:
“Divorced.”
Reinard:
“Ah…”
Spalding:
“Who do you miss most?”
Reinard:
“Ellard, my son.”
Spalding:
“Not your wife?”
Reinard:
“Divorced.”
Spalding:
“Ah…”
Reinard:
“Though it has its charm, we’d all love to leave this place and get back
into contact with our loved ones.”
Spalding:
“Funny how a situation like this can make us want to do that?”
Reinard:
“What do you mean?”
Spalding:
“Well, I’ve spoken to a lot of people since we arrived on this desert
planet. Most of them have people they miss. But for more than a few of them goes
that they hadn’t contacted their families in months… And now all of a
sudden they’re frustrated because they can’t…”
Reinard:
“Well, frustration levels may rise… At the moment there’s not much hope of
getting off of this desert planet.”
Reinard
snickers.
Spalding:
“What?”
Reinard:
“Oh, nothing… It’s just funny we keep referring to this globe as ‘this
desert planet’.”
Spalding:
“Oh? I’ve heard some people refer to this planet using words I best not
repeat.”
Reinard
smiles…
Reinard:
“Anyway, maybe we should give this planet a more suitable name…”
Spalding:
“That would probably add to the decrease in moral.”
Reinard:
“How so?”
Spalding:
“In the back of people’s minds it may tell them we’re here to stay… I
also think it’s a wise decision of the captain to build temporary shelters
like these…”
He
pats his hand on the roof under his butt.
Spalding:
“…instead of building permanent homes.”
Reinard:
“We might be going that way, Albert…”
Spalding:
“Perhaps. But for now it’s wise to make it feel more like extended shore
leave rather than ‘home’…”
The
camera pans to some crew making fun in the water of the life saving river.
SCENE
5: Far afield hospital
Shelley:
“Well, I can’t find anything wrong with your leg or ankle, Mr. Bock, except
for the little scrape I fixed up…”
Bock
is on a wooden bed covered in leafs in the all new field hospital. It now has a
roof, which is currently open. The roof, hinged on one side, has been lifted up
with a rope around a branch of the tree the field hospital is built under. The
last light of the day shines in from above.
Bock:
“I see… Let me try to stand on it…”
Doctor
Shelley, with a disinterested tone in her voice:
Shelley:
“Be careful…”
Bock
gentle puts his feet on the ground and after making sure it doesn’t hurt, he
takes a few paces back and forth.
Bock:
“It seems to be pretty ok now…”
Kerr,
standing close by next to the captain, simply grunts with irritation. He crosses
his arms and stares at the wooden wall.
Bock:
“Thank you, doctor. And I’m sorry for the trouble I caused, folks… I
assure you I did not set out on my hunt today with this situation in mind.”
Sarcasm
drips over the floor of the otherwise sterile looking field hospital.
Kerr:
“We’re just glad you’re ok…”
Without
looking at the Deish, he walks away, out of the hospital. The captain speaks.
LT:
“Now then… Since we’re all alright, let’s vacate the field hospital and
allow the other patient to rest in silence.”
Bock:
“What’s wrong with him?”
Shelley:
“He sustained brain damage in a fight with the Inj.”
Bock:
“I’m sorry to hear…”
Shelley:
“So am I… He may only have a day to live… There’s nothing else we can do
but make him as comfortable as possible… It’s extremely frustrating not
being able to do something while you know you could help him if I had a
simple cerebral parser…”
Bock
looks at Amato and then turns his head away shortly after as if he doesn’t
want to be confronted with it anymore.
Bock:
“Well, we better let him rest then…”
LT:
“Philips will show you around the camp.”
Philips:
“Follow me, Mr. Bock.”
The
2 leave.
SCENE
6: Gentle curves
Stuckman:
“You lack tact, but at least you have taste…”
Stilson
laughs, but Bynes isn’t too amused…
Bynes:
“What?!... Why don’t you 2 weirdoes just move along?…”
Stilson:
“Hey, no need for that, man… Calm down. It was just a joke…”
Bynes:
“Whatever. Just keep your noses out of my business… Leave me alone.”
Stuckman:
“Whatever indeed… Come on,
As
the science guys walk off, Bynes stands up and enters his shelter, slamming the
door shut, which makes a very unimpressive, light sound, not heard by anyone but
himself. The camera now pans to the right and we take a look downstream. Many
dozens of shelters can be seen in a sloppy row on the left side of the beach,
with the river being on the right. It seems like an endless street following the
gentle curves of the water line.
SCENE
7: No guts, no gory
Eisinga
and Zanva are still sitting next to the fire. Eisinga drops the last of the
roots they have available in the metal cooking container.
Eisinga:
“Well, that’s the last of it…”
Zanva:
“I still can’t believe we aren’t allowed to eat roots anymore after
this…”
Eisinga:
“Yeah, me too… But I know the captain… Like he said himself, he wouldn’t
do this if he thought it wasn’t really necessary…”
Zanva:
“But I can’t eat meat… I just can’t…”
Eisinga:
“I don’t like the fact we need to butcher animals to provide sustenance for
ourselves. But discretion and respect are observed when joknors are killed and
prepared. It’s not like we let Suder go at them with a blunt rock…”
Zanva
laughs at Eisinga’s weird attempt at cheering the both of them up.
Eisinga:
“It’s better than the way they do this back on Earth anyway…”
Zanva:
“Oh?”
Eisinga:
“Despite the fact replicators have replaced a lot of the real meat
requirement, there are still animals being slaughtered. For many centuries now
the process has remained roughly the same; animals like chickens are being hung
up by the legs in machines.”
Zanva’s
face reveals her displeasure with this beginning of the explanation of this
primitive process.
Zanva:
“Alive?”
Eisinga:
“Yes, alive… The machine kills them.”
Zanva
looks away in disgust, as if she can shed the image in her mind by doing so.
Fail.
Eisinga:
“There’s no subtle way to describe it… After they’re killed, they use
automatic beams to cut them to pieces and transport them to the various
processing and packaging departments.”
Zanva
looks a bit queasy and pale all of a sudden... Eisinga interprets her silence as
mere disgust and continues.
Eisinga:
“I know… Sick, huh? The meat is still warm when it’s packed.
Unbelievable.”
Zanva
has had enough… She kinda pukes and leaves a nasty stain on the sand.
Eisinga:
“Oh dear…”
Eisinga
stops stirring in the makeshift cooking pot and rushes towards the Bajoran lady.
Eisinga:
“Are you ok?”
Zanva:
“Yes, I’m fine…”
Eisinga:
“I’m so sorry… Perhaps it was a bit too graphic…”
Zanva:
“So sick…”
Eisinga:
“Here.”
The
commander gives her a drink of water. Zanva gulps the entire wooden cup of water
down when Serrag arrives on the scene.
Serrag:
“Any medical assistance required?”
Eisinga:
“No, it’s ok, Serrag. Thank you. I was just telling her about the present
day medieval practices back on Earth used to automatically butcher chickens…
It was a little too explicit.”
Serrag:
“So she puked her own guts out… Makes sense.”
SCENE
8: The captain’s ready shack
Bock:
“Impressive camp you’ve built, captain… Not at all bad for just a few
short weeks.”
They’re
in Captain LT’s shelter. Of course a bit larger than the others. The roof of
his shelter is also opened like the one of the field hospital was. In the middle
of the room, a small fire illuminates everything within the shelter, including
the 2 people there.
LT:
“Thank you. I’m proud of the crew; they’ve worked together like a really
well-oiled machine. So, tell me… Serrag told me you were studying the
nebula?”
Bock:
“Indeed. The nebula may be in our proverbial backyard, but we don’t know it
too well…”
LT:
“Really? I spoke to your Hes, or perhaps former Hes by now…”
Bock:
“Gooper? You spoke with Gooper?”
LT:
“Yes, I did… Long story… Anyway, he said that your people have experience
in navigating the nebula…”
Bock:
“Oh, sure we do, sure we do… But it’s so vast… We haven’t seen every
corner of it yet…”
LT:
“I see…”
Bock:
“As soon as I get out of here, I’ll be sure never to visit this
corner again. That’s for sure…”
Quiet
fills the room for a second.
Bock:
“Must be tough on your people… I mean, I’ve seen a lot of happy faces
around the camp when you showed me around, but I’m sure all of them miss their
families and friends…”
LT:
“Definitely… We’re able to live a decent life here for now, but that’s
not going to last forever…”
The
chief engineer comes up to the captain’s humble abode. He knocks on the flimsy
door.
Serrag:
“Lieutenant Commander Serrag, sir.”
LT:
“Come in, Serrag.”
The
Vulcan does exactly that. In his hand he carries a small device.
Serrag:
“I managed to fix your log device, Mr. Bock. It was a simple issue; easily
solved, even with the limited resources we have available on this planet.”
Bock:
“Thank you so much, Mr. Serrag… I’m not too technically inclined… Thank
you for saving my logs.”
Serrag’s
hands the Deish his device.
Serrag:
“My pleasure…”
Serrag
heads for the door again.
Bock:
“But captain, is there no way to get back to your ship in orbit?”
At
that very moment, Serrag is about to close the door behind him. He halts and
pokes his head around the door again.
LT:
“Our ship is no longer in orbit because…”
The
Vulcan interrupts his captain rather rudely…
Serrag:
“Captain! Sorry to interrupt your conversation again… But I urgently need to
discuss the joknor issue with you. Right now.”
The
captain isn’t sure what to make of it judging from his initial silence. He
soon after agrees.
LT:
“Sorry, Bock. This will only take a moment…”
Bock:
“No problem, captain. I’m not leaving the planet.”
LT
gets up and follows Serrag outside. They walk away from the shelter to get out
of reach of Bock’s hearing.
LT:
“Something about joknors?”
Serrag:
“Not really, sir…”
LT:
“No, I figured…”
Serrag:
“It’s about Bock…”
LT:
“Yes, I figured…”
Serrag:
“When I was finally able to access his logs on the device, I could read the
entry titles. The title of the last entry, made this morning, reads ‘day 46 on
the planet’.”
LT:
“Ok… And?”
Serrag:
“That means he’s on this planet 1 day less than us.”
LT
“And?”
Serrag:
“Well, Bock just mentioned the Greate Pier in orbit… But the ship was
tractored into the Behemoth before he arrived here. How could he have known
about the Greate Pier?”
LT:
“He could not have heard it from his people back on Deish, as they didn’t
know where we were headed. Although, Hes Gooper said they can easily track ships
in the nebula…”
Serrag:
“Perhaps… But I calculate the chances of that to be… well, small.”
LT:
“Let’s find out…”
The
2 men walk back inside the shelter. Bock is drinking from his cup and seems to
be happy, according to his smile.
Bock:
“Ah, gentlemen. Problem solved?”
LT:
“Almost…”
Bock:
“Good!”
LT:
“Tell me. How long have you been on this planet, Bock?”
Bock:
“Let’s see now… I think it’s about 45, 46 days…”
LT:
“46 days indeed… That’s what your log device said.”
Bock
jumps up and looks at the Vulcan.
Bock:
“You went through my logs?!”
Serrag:
“Technically, no. After I repaired your device, I was able to read the log
entry titles; that’s how I knew.”
LT:
“That means you already knew of our ship before you got here… The Greate
Pier was tractored into the Inj ship before your logs indicate you arrived
here.”
The
engineer adds some more pressure before Bock can respond to LT’s words.
Serrag:
“It seems wise to tell us who you are and what you are doing here…”
Bock,
with fear in his eyes, looks at both men and sees an earnest look in both cases.
But he refuses to answer… After several tense seconds, Serrag picks up the log
device from next to Bock’s chair.
Serrag:
“We can always check the logs of course…”
Serrag
walks away from the Deish, whom springs up from his seat, but doesn’t follow
the Vulcan.
Bock:
“Alright, alright!”
Serrag
walks back to the Deish and hands him his device.
Bock:
“There’s no sense in denying it anyway…”
LT:
“I’m listening…”
Bock:
“My government sent me to follow you.”
LT:
“And do what exactly?”
Bock:
“To see if you’d leave the area and also to gain any information that I
could about you… And also to further assess the military capabilities of your
ship, which apparently aren’t too good, seeing as you’ve been beaten so
quickly.”
Serrag:
“For your information, we have beaten 2 such Behemoths before. Next to that,
your ship didn’t perform much better…”
LT:
“We would’ve had a better chance if your people had helped us.”
Bock:
“This is a useless discussion!”
LT:
“I’m glad we agree.”
Bock:
“I am not the one who denied military support in this matter. I’m just a
simple…”
Serrag:
“…spy.”
Bock:
“Spy or not, we’re all in the same boat now…”
LT:
“Perhaps… But maybe it’s a good idea to keep you in our state of the art
prison for now…”
Bock:
“Prison? You’ve got to be joking!”
Serrag:
“I’m sure Suder would like some company, sir.”
LT:
“I think he would…”
Bock:
“Suder? Who’s Suder?”
LT:
“Our prisoner.”
Bock:
“You built a prison for 1 guy? I mean, where is he going to go anyway? This
planet is a prison itself!”
Serrag:
“That’s what he said…”
Bock:
“What’s he in for anyway?”
Serrag:
“Murder.”
Bock:
“Murder?! You are going to put a well-intentioned spy in prison with a
cold-blooded killer?!”
After
a few seconds of letting him sweat, the captain ends his fears.
LT:
“You are welcome to stay here as our guest, Bock… This spy is indeed in the
same boat with the entire Greate Pier crew, but you seem harmless. There’s
nothing here you can learn which your people may not know about, so feel free to
wander the camp and observe our new way of life. But be very sure to
understand this. I do not appreciate liars or people who deceive me.”
Bock:
“I’ve noticed… I’m sorry for the deception, captain, but it’s my
job…”
LT:
“You can put your job out of your mind until we get out of here. So no more
deception; let that be very clear.”
Bock:
“It’s as crystal clear as your river…”
LT:
“Good, good…”
Serrag:
“Was your ‘sprained’ ankle a deception as well?”
Bock:
“I assure you it was not. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was,
apparently… The initial pain was excruciating. The Deish are physically
tough people, but I am a clear exception to that rule. You may access the
medical category of my personal logs if you require confirmation of that.”
LT:
“Well, enough on this matter… I’ll arrange for someone to take you to your
shelter.”
Bock:
“Thank you again, captain, Mr. Serrag…”
LT
opens the door for the Deish and lets him out. After making sure Bock is out of
range of their voices, he shuts the door.
LT:
“What do you think, Serrag?”
Serrag:
“He is a spy, but he’s not very good at it… I also think his sprain was a
fake. Looking back at the whole incident, he did everything he could to prevent
us from going to his camp.”
LT:
“Does he have anything to hide there?”
Serrag:
“Well, we already concluded from observing his joknor hunting frequency he’s
alone. So maybe, whatever he is trying to hide, is of the material kind.”
LT:
“Like what?”
Serrag:
“I don’t know…”
LT:
“Well, anyway, I’ll send out a team to find his camp tomorrow.”
Serrag:
“What about Bock, sir?”
LT:
“Put a security detail on him. Out of sight; I want him to feel like he’s a
guest and he can enjoy all the freedoms the rest of the crew can.”
Serrag:
“I’ll arrange it…”
Serrag
leaves the shelter…
SCENE
9: Day 48 - Round 3 - Fight!
The
next morning, Stuckman is up early. And so is Isenberg. The 2 of them are having
a chat near the water’s edge, pretty much where Bynes observed her yesterday.
Unknown to Stuckman and Isenberg, someone is approaching from behind. Petra
stands up, greets Stuckman and walks away. Stuckman greets her and adds a single
wave of his hand. His eyes keep on following the lady until he notices someone
coming up from behind. He turns his head to see who it is. Bynes.
Bynes:”
I told you to stay out of my business…”
Eric
stands up and faces the unhappy, even aggravated Bynes.
Stuckman:
“I haven’t seen you since last night. How can I be meddling in your
business?”
Bynes:
“Don’t get smart with me, you bastard!”
Stuckman:
“Oh come on… Is it all of a sudden illegal to talk to someone you
have a silly crush on?”
Bynes:
“Just leave her alone, ok?!”
Stuckman:
“What?! The relationship between you 2 consists out of you ogling at her and
all of a sudden you speak for her?”
Bynes:
“Watch it, man…”
Stuckman
continues as if he didn’t hear the warning.
Stuckman:
“I mean have you 2 ever talked to each other? Does she even know your name?”
Bynes:
“And since when are you interested in her?”
Stuckman:
“Not since just yesterday anyway… But is it about who was first then?
Just ask Stilson if you don’t believe me; we talk about her sometimes…”
Bynes:
“Ah yes, Stilson… The other half of the S&S science boys…”
Stuckman:
“Yeah, that’s us… What about it?”
Bynes:
“Oh nothing… I always see the 2 of you everywhere… I’m just surprised
you’re interested in girls at all…”
Stuckman
just laughs shortly and also shakes his head while he’s not really amused at
all.
Bynes:
“And since you are men of science, science will tell you it’s wise to stay
away from
Stuckman:
“I am indeed a man of science, but tell me… What equation did you use for
that? I’m not familiar with it…”
Bynes:
“2 and 1 makes 3… And 3 is a crowd… Now get lost!”
Stuckman:
“No, thanks. But brilliantly engineered, pall… But I still don’t see any
reason to avoid her… I mean we were having such a wonderfully romantic and
flirty talk… I said to her something like ‘hey, you come here often?’, and she said ‘yeah, I live just down the street…’…”
Stuckman
points down the street of shelters down the river.
Stuckman:
“…and I was like ‘well, in that
case…’...”
Bynes
has had enough and throws a punch at Stuckman’s best side of his face. Eric
didn’t expect Manco to do this and finds himself on the sandy floor. He
quickly crawls up. After 2 seconds of staring at each other, it is now Stuckman
who attacks. Punches are exchanged for a while before they start a wrestling
match. Sand and dust fly up in the air as they’re rolling around on the floor
like oversized hogs in a mud bath. Isenberg, who wasn’t too far away just yet
to miss all of the fighting action, comes running back. She tries to separate
the 2, but it takes her a while.
Isenberg:
“Stop it! Stop it!”
The
men now seem to notice who is screaming at them and they stop fighting…
Isenberg:
“You are behaving like little children! What’s going on here?”
37
seconds later they find themselves in the captain’s shelter with
LT:
“What was going on out there, Bynes, Stuckman?”
Stuckman:
“We ehm… we were fighting, sir…”
LT:
“Really?”
Stuckman:
“Yes, sir.”
LT:
“Obviously you were fighting! What were you fighting about?”
Bynes:
“What are fights usually about, sir? Nothing.”
Stuckman:
“It was actually about nothing, sir.”
LT:
“Gentlemen. Sitting in those chairs will be the entire extent of your life
until it is clear what the fight was about. And I have all the patience in the
desert world.”
Some
moments of silence pass…
LT:
“Alright… I see this is going nowhere…”
The
captain stands up and prepares to leave. At that moment Bynes decides to speak.
Bynes:
“Sir, I threw the first punch…”
The
captain sits back down with his eyes aimed at Bynes.
LT:
“I don’t care who threw the first punch! A fight takes 2 people. What
was the fight about?”
Bynes:
“It was about a girl, sir…”
LT:
“A girl? I see… What girl?”
Stuckman:
“Yes, a girl, sir. That’s the truth…”
LT:
“Are you guys still avoiding answering questions? What girl?”
Another
uneasy, quiet moment passes…
Stuckman:
“That’s not really important, sir… The most important thing is we did not
behave like officers should…”
Bynes:
“We were a bad example to the rest of the crew, sir. What will be our
punishment?”
The
captain parks his elbows on the desk and covers his eyes with his hands. In a
slow, calm, but stern voice he asks a familiar question.
LT:
“What… girl?...”
Bynes:
“Crewman Isenberg, sir.”
Isenberg:
“What?! Me?!”
Isenberg:
“Why would your fight be about me?”
The
2 bleeding ensigns avoid looking at her and stay quiet.
LT:
“Was this fight to determine the outcome of this silly love competition or
something?”
Isenberg:
“Love? Are you suggesting these 2 jerks are in love with me, captain? They
don’t even know me!”
The
captain is fed up with their silence. He stands up and places his knuckles on
the shaky table. A loud and long drawn out call for attention follows.
LT:
“Hellooo?!”
Bynes
and Stuckman seem to awaken out of their slumber.
Bynes:
“Something like that, sir…”
Isenberg:
“Unbelievable… I mean, I only remembered your names just now because the
captain mentioned them… How can you 2 be ‘in love’ with me if you don’t
even know me?!”
Stuckman:
“Well, I would perhaps not call it ‘in love’, but…”
The
captain just sits back down and let’s Isenberg address them.
Isenberg:
“Whatever you want to call it, let’s make the following very clear. I
do not have any interest in immature guys who fight like a couple of
adolescents. You being out here in the wilderness doesn’t mean you need to act
like cavemen. Keep your primal urges in check, will you? This female isn’t
going to be clobbered… Have a nice day.”
An
enraged
LT:
“You’re free to go and sit around a campfire…”
Stuckman
shows a little smile, apparently relieved.
LT:
“Just the 2 of you. And no medical treatment for you guys until you sort
things out.”
Stuckman:
“But, sir… Isn’t it a little too warm for a campfire?”
The
captain sighs deeply…
LT:
“I didn’t say you’d have to light a fire; just go and sit somewhere
together and sort this crap out!”
Bynes:
“Sir, I don’t think…”
The
captain’s had enough.
LT:
“Out!”
Stuckman
limps out the door first, followed by an equally battered, beaten and bruised
Bynes.
SCENE
10: It’s too early for this crap
A
group of people is sitting around the smoldering remains of last night’s
campfire. Their chairs form a shoddy semi circle. They’re talking about
nothing much.
Longworth:
“I hope I can build a dozen more chairs today; I’ve already cut all of the
wood to length yesterday…”
Stilson:
“That would be nice… I’ve heard many people complain about a lack of
chairs.”
Most
people around the former campfire are stuffing their faces with whatever they
managed to make out of joknor meat. Wrunjup sauce is running out, since
Commander Eisinga and Zanva made the last batch yesterday.
Longworth:
“Well, even with all the engineers we have, it’s impossible to give everyone
a chair at the same time… We had to build the field hospital and its beds
first. And not to forget: over 450 shelters… Chairs were not a priority…”
Maresca:
“People have actually scorched their names onto chairs with a phaser so they
don’t get ‘borrowed’ by someone else.”
Longworth:
“What has this world come to? Hahaha…”
Rodney
reaches for a wooden cup and pours the wrunjup sauce contained in it over his
roast joknor.
Longworth:
“What?”
Voices
are now being raised…
Longworth:
“What makes you think it’s yours?!”
Maresca:
“Now, calm down, guys…”
Longworth:
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have put it right next to my chair then!”
And
the fighting with words goes on and on... While we continue to observe this
scene, the captain’s log is heard.
LT:
“Captain’s log, stardate 64037.88. A fight between Bynes and Stuckman has
not made for a good start this morning; tempers may be getting a little frayed.
This notion is further strengthened by the fact that a wrunjup sauce war seems
to have sparked since I prohibited the further harvesting of wrunjup roots. Fact
of the matter is we may need to stop consuming joknors as well…”
Rodney
and John are now standing opposite each other, flailing their arms around and
apparently screaming at each other. Longworth is taunting Mansfield by taking a
sizable bite of his roast joknor, drenched in
LT:
“Counts indicate they’re breeding at a higher rate than our consumption,
however, Serrag’s studies show it takes years for these animals to reach
sexual maturity. Before long we’ll have eaten our way through this entire
colony… Who knows, this may be the only one on the planet. Making an animal
species extinct is not on my list of things to do. We need some good news
soon… And/or a new food source.”
SCENE
11: Shipshape
Reinard
is walking down the beach staring at his tricorder. From the opposite direction
a colleague of his, Ensign Philips, meets him.
Philips:
“Sir, have you seen Bock?”
Reinard:
“Not directly…”
Philips:
“I’ve seen him steal a phaser. I followed him, but lost him and I didn’t
have a tricorder on me…”
Reinard:
“I’ve got one right here and I’ve been tracking him all day, recording his
every move. I received a report just minutes ago from someone who claimed Bock
had stolen his tricorder.”
Philips
looks at Reinard’s tricorder.
Philips:
“Ah, there he is… Let’s catch him before he does something stupid with the
phaser.”
Mark
walks off into the direction he previously came from, but the commander makes
him come back.
Reinard:
“No, Philips… We’ll let him go…”
Philips:
“What? Why? He has a phaser!”
Reinard:
“I don’t think he’s going to use the phaser on anyone… We’ll keep on
tracking him until we find out what his plans are.”
Reinard
looks at his tricorder again.
Reinard:
“He’s coming this way. Don’t look at him and act natural…”
Bock
passes the security men with a comfortable distance of 12 meters between them.
Philips:
“What is he up to?”
Reinard:
“Be patient…”
Philips:
“I’m trying to be patient, but the guy has a weapon he’s not supposed to
have.”
Bock
is looking at the tricorder he previously stole… He walks a bit further down
the beach after hiding the tricorder again. The security men walk into the
wooded area behind the shelters and try to catch up with him. Moments later Bock
produces the tricorder again, looks up at one of the shelters and after a quick
look around he enters the shelter.
Philips:
“2 counts of theft and now entering someone else’s shelter without
permission…”
Reinard:
“3 counts of theft… He has a second phaser in his pocket now…”
The
Deish leaves the shelter and heads back into the direction he came from.
LT:
“LT to Commander Reinard…”
Reinard:
“Good morning, sir… I thought the com badges were not to be used to conserve
energy.”
LT:
“I couldn’t find you, commander… Where are you?”
Reinard:
“I’m right here in the camp, sir.”
LT:
“Anyway… I’d like you to find Bock’s camp. Find Serrag and take him
along, he knows its probable location…”
Reinard:
“I think that might not be necessary, sir… I’m following Bock as we speak
and I think he might be headed for his own camp right now…”
LT:
“We have reason to believe he may be hiding something there, but we don’t
know who or what. Take a team with you.”
Reinard:
“I have Ensign Philips with me, but I don’t think it would be in our
advantage to take along more people. I’d like to stay hidden.”
LT:
“Alright, but be careful… Let me know what you find.”
Reinard:
“We’re on it, sir. Reinard out. Let’s go, Philips.”
The
2 men head after the Deish. Some time later, they crouch behind a bush.
They’re looking are Bock going around a rocky corner, just after they left
Joknor Valley on the other side from the Greate Pier crew’s camp. Jens and
Mark emerge from the shrubberies and plant their backs against the rock face.
Reinard, on the left, takes a careful peek around the corner. He turns around
and looks at Philips.
Reinard:
“You’re not going to believe this…”
They
trade places and Philips also takes a quick, careful look around the corner...
Philips looks straight at the commander in amazement…
Philips:
“I thought his ship had exploded a long distance away from here!”
Reinard:
“That’s what he told Serrag indeed…”
Philips:
“Bastard!”
Bock
walks into the shuttle which he just opened. Philips is furious and walks around
the corner in a quick pace. Reinard tries to stop him by whispering a shout…
Reinard:
“Mark! No!”
It’s
too late… Mark walks into the shuttle after Bock, quickly followed by Reinard.
Bock is extremely startled and can’t find any words. Philips, however, has a
few stern words lined up…
Philips:
“You son of a bitch!”
He
pounds both Bock’s shoulders back with his hands, causing the Deish to fall
backwards over the control panels.
Bock:
“Please! Don’t hurt me…”
The
alien cringes and puts his hands up to protect himself…
Reinard:
“Philips, stand down!”
Philips
just stares at Bock with a tremendously angry gaze. Reinard puts his hand on
Philips’ shoulder. Mark turns around and heads towards the door of the
shuttle. Reinard addresses the Deish…
Reinard:
“Why didn’t you tell us you had a perfectly good shuttle sitting right
here?!”
Bock:
“Actually… It’s not perfect, really…”
Philips’
eyes locate a med kit. He decides to investigate.
Bock:
“The Inj attack damaged a few systems, but I fixed them… It’s just that
the shuttle doesn’t have enough energy left to take off…”
Philips
grabs a device from the med kit and looks at it.
Reinard:
“That’s why you needed the phasers… Energy. But I don’t think that’ll
be enough. Especially since a lot of phaser energy was used to cut wood for
shelters and other stuff… Be that as it may, you have the only means to
potentially get us all off of this sandy rock…”
Philips:
“BOCK! You bastard!”
Mark
runs over to Reinard hands the device to his superior. Reinard blocks the path
to the Deish, so Mark is stuck with merely threatening Bock. He aggressively
points at him.
Philips:
“You’re history, pall!”
Reinard
examines it quickly. Without moving his head, his eyes move up to Bock. He moves
the device from his right to his left hand and uses his right hand to make a
fist and planting it firmly in the visage of the futily cringing Deish.
Immediately after, he grabs the bleeding alien by his clothing and roughly
throws him into 1 of the seats.
Reinard:
“This cerebral parser could have helped Amato a lot sooner, you lowlife!”
Bock
puts his hands up in defense again.
Bock:
“Stop! I didn’t do anything!”
Philips:
“That’s exactly the problem! And you’re lucky Commander Reinard hit
you.”
Reinard
throws an unsure look at Philips.
Philips:
“You knew about Amato’s condition! You knew this device could
help him!”
Bock:
“Please! I had to keep my ship secret! I was afraid you might take it from me
and leave me behind…”
Philips:
“So you faked your sprain… Anything to be taken back to our camp and keep
your ship secret…”
Reinard:
“Amato could have been treated a full day earlier!”
Philips:
“You better hope he makes it… Else I’ll dig a hole for you and make sure
you’ll permanently occupy it…”
Reinard:
“Let’s not waste any more time and get this device to the camp
immediately… Move, Bock!”
Bock
is violently pushed towards the door.
Reinard:
“I’ll personally appeal to the captain to have your worst fear come true…
I’ll ask for you to be left behind all alone…”
Philips:
“That’s if Amato makes it, of course. And if you slow us down on the way
back to camp, I swear I’ll shoot you…”
Bock’s
eyes are full of fear… The 3 start their journey back to camp in a high tempo.
SCENE
12: We meat again
Zanva
is sitting at her regular campfire spot again when Eisinga arrives. There’s no
fire just yet, as it’s late in the morning…
Eisinga:
“Hey, Zanva, good evening…”
Zanva:
“Hi, Eldert…”
Eisinga
puts down a basket next to his chair. He puts his tricorder on top of the lid
after he sits down.
Zanva:
“What’s in the basket?”
Eisinga:
“Roast joknor… A whole one.”
Zanva
seems disappointed.
Zanva:
“Oh…”
Eisinga:
“The captain asked me to find someone to make replicator patterns for roast
joknor and wrunjup sauce.”
Zanva:
“Is there still wrunjup sauce left since the wrunjup sauce war of 2386?”
Eisinga
snickers shortly.
Eisinga:
“I managed to save a bit.”
Zanva:
“Wait… The captain asked you to find someone to make replicator
patterns. Why are you going to do it yourself?”
Eisinga:
“Well, to be frank…”
He
pats the basket’s lid.
Eisinga:
“…this bird isn’t just for scanning… It’s also dinner.”
Zanva:
“What? Your dinner?”
Zanva
sounds disappointed.
Eisinga:
“I know… I don’t particularly like the idea myself, let me assure you…
But as first officer, I have to keep my strength up. I can’t perform my tasks
as first officer, with or without a ship, if I don’t eat…”
Zanva
hasn’t quite found the words yet to respond. A short while later Eisinga goes
on.
Eisinga:
“I’m not supposed to say this, but everyone knows it already… It’s not
likely we’ll find a way off of this planet any time soon. A hunger strike
until we are able to leave might prove fatal.”
Eisinga
stands up and produces the joknor and wrunjup sauce from the basket. He replaces
the lid on the basket and puts the complete roast joknor on top so he can
properly scan it. Eldert puts the cup of wrunjup sauce next to it.
Zanva:
“Until the wrunjup ban I was quite happy here… I’m sorry, but I won’t
join you in a joknor feast, Eldert…”
The
commander flips open his tricorder.
Eisinga:
“I understand… But I hope that you also understand that eating leafs
isn’t going to be enough to keep you going forever.”
Zanva:
“Perhaps not…”
Eisinga:
“Those leafs will also be part of my diet though… As soon as this last
wrunjup runs out in about 30 minutes… I’m not looking forward to it
though… I had my first taste weeks ago, but haven’t touched the stuff since.
But it will serve as part of my diet.”
Eisinga
starts scanning the meat and sauce…
LT:
“Captain’s log, stardate 64038.26. Bock has been treated for his wounds,
though I was initially inclined to refuse medical treatment for him, like I
refused it to Bynes and Stuckman earlier. On a more positive note, Serrag has
started work on an idea to make ourselves scarce before the birds are…”
There
ends the news flash from the captain. In other news…
Zanva:
“I hate this situation…”
Eisinga:
“I know… So do I…”
Eisinga
puts down his tricorder.
Eisinga:
“There. All done… I’m not sure these replicator patterns will ever be
used, but we’ll see…”
Eldert
breaks off one of the legs of the joknor and looks at it… Zanva also look at
it from a distance, but with considerably more disgust in her look.
Zanva:
“Horrible…”
Eisinga:
“Well, here goes…”
Eldert
digs in.
Zanva:
“I never thought I’d see you eat meat…”
Eisinga:
“Well, it doesn’t taste bad at all, you know? It’s just the idea of the
animal being killed that’s not very appealing…”
Zanva:
“Your butchering machine story didn’t help either by the way…”
The
first officer smiles, pours some wrunjup sauce on the meat and continues
eating…
SCENE
13: The snitch is a…
Bynes
and Stuckman are sitting on the ground staring at what used to be a campfire a
dozen hours ago. Nothing is said for a long time… Some more time goes by in
silence. What follows next are many moments of quiet… The men keep staring at
the former campfire, looking at the trees in the distance when a gust of wind
stirs the leafs or at people when they walk by. After some more of that the
first word is finally said… Bynes looks at Stuckman with a serious face.
Bynes:
“Hey…”
Stuckman
looks back at him with a similar face, but doesn’t say anything.
Bynes:
“What a bitch, huh?...”
Stuckman’s
serious look disappears… He tries to prevent it, but he starts laughing…
Bynes quickly joins him in loud laughter. People walking by have no idea what
possesses these men.
Stuckman:
“Yeah, she is, isn’t she? Clearly not worth fighting over…”
Bynes:
“Right.”
Stuckman:
“Actually, I’ve never talked with her before this morning… And it was
coincidence, you know?”
Bynes:
“Ah, never mind, man. We should talk about something interesting for a
change.”
Stuckman:
“Mundane stuff like the weather?”
Bynes:
“Well, that’s a start… I love summer and warmth, but I’ve had about
enough of this constant baking…”
Stuckman:
“I know what you mean… Back in
Bynes:
“You’re from
Stuckman:
“Yeah…”
Bynes:
“Me too, man!
Stuckman:
“
Bynes
produces a PADD and pushes the necessary buttons… Stuckman knows what he’s
doing, walks over the Bynes, crouches down and checks out what’s he’s coming
up with on the device.
Bynes:
“That’s just 240 kilometers apart as the shuttle flies.”
The
PADD shows a map of
Stuckman:
“Never knew where
The
both men stand up.
Stuckman:
“Listen, Bynes… I didn’t mean to get between you and that Isenbitch,
but…”
Bynes
laughs at the wordplay and stops Stuckman’s apology speech.
Bynes:
“There was never anything going on with us of course… Like you said, our
relationship consisted purely out of me ogling at her.”
Stuckman:
“And I guess that resparked my interest in her a bit…”
Manco
shows a wry smile on his face.
Bynes:
“I mean, if we actually had talked I wouldn’t be interested in her anymore,
would I? Hahaha…”
The
both of them laugh…
Bynes:
“So, let’s stop talking about her already, ok?”
Stuckman:
“Alright, alright, hahaha…”
Stuckman
extends his hand.
Stuckman:
“Friends?”
Bynes
accepts and shakes his hand.
Bynes:
“Friends.”
As
they walk away, Manco puts his hand on Eric’s shoulder.
Bynes: “Let’s go ogling tomorrow…”