"The Unknown", Parts 1-3

Posted on Fri Apr 30th, 2021 @ 7:12am by Lieutenant Commander Adonudo Tlanuwa

938 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Where do we go from here?
Location: Away Mission, "Sunflower People"

__***"The Unknown", Part 1***__
Duty Log of Lt. Cmdr. Adonudo Tlanuwa
SD 202104.29

. Lt. Cmdr. Adonudo Tlanuwa, Native American Medicine Man and Chief Counselor of the *USS Roddenberry-A*, was on an Away Mission, even though he was older than anyone else on the Away Team by at least a decade (and older than some by nearly three decades!). And when they encountered the local indigenous life-forms, to some it seemed he was the obvious spokesman for the group, even though Cmdr. Magnus Morgensen was the ranking officer in command.

. Though Adon wasn't the only one who spoke, of course. He wasn't even the first to speak. In fact, it seemed as though none of these Starfleet Officers could restrain themselves from interacting with this new life, this new civilization. None could resist the urge to go boldly where no one had gone before!

. And when the enormous sunflowers they found transformed into sentient humanoids, it seemed appropriate that Cmdr. Morgensen, the ranking officer in command of this Away Mission, was the first to speak to them. He told them, "Don't be alarmed," and introduced himself, explaining that they were explorers.

. But the team's first interaction wasn't a simple, "Hi, how ya' doing?" Their first interaction was a Science Officer desiring to take a sample from an interesting-looking plant. At first glance, there was no way for Lt. Thea Queen, that Science Officer, to know the plant was a sentient humanoid! It was a sunflower! And of course, she couldn't know the tiny shoot was its child!

. When the mother responded to the threat to her child with violence, slapping Thea in the arm, it nearly ruined the entire First Contact. Marine Capt. Kirsten Maud quickly stepped into a defensive posture, though Adon was impressed that she resisted raising her rifle. Even the Ferengi Engineer, Ens. Dimitri Core, went into a defensive stance, as though he, too, was a Security Officer instead of an Engineer.

. === TO BE CONTINUED ===

__***"The Unknown", Part 2***__
Duty Log of Lt. Cmdr. Adonudo Tlanuwa
SD 202104.29

. Others of the flowers transformed into humanoids and began gathering. Thea noticed the circle forming and muttered, "Ok, I'm not sure this is a good thing." She took a step back as Ensign Laurel Lance, the other Engineering Officer on the Away Team, noticed the circle forming around them too.

. Core tried to nudge the Away Team towards a gap in the circle. Adon whispered to the Maud, "They've got us surrounded."

. "I'm aware, Adon," she whispered back and joined Core in ushering the Team towards an escape route.

. The Tellarite Intelligence Officer, Lt. Nikosh Targus, began scanning for a way out of the field of flowers.

. Morgensen stepped up towards the female and her child. "What do you intend to do?" he asked, then repeated the statement that the Away Team were merely explorers.

. A male flower-person stepped forward. "We are Chlorivan," he said.

. Adon bowed. "Greetings, Chlorivan. I am Adon, and as my companion said, we are explorers. Many of us are Human, though some are other races."

. Lance, glanced at the senior officers, then faced the male. "Do you have a name?"

. "I'm Solus. She is my mate, Safi." He gestured to the female guarding her child, then asked, "Why do you come here?"

. Maud answered, "We wish to learn."

. Adon glanced around the Team, then addressed flower-people, "Solus, Safi, hello. Are there many more of you? Is this your home? We didn't injure any of you, did we?"

. Morgensen stepped back, allowing the "Honored Elder" to speak for the Team. As he did, he gestured for Core (and Maud) to relax.

. Solus responded to Adon, "No, no, we are unharmed. Do not touch anything without touching. Much here can cause great harm."

. "Thanks for the warning," Adon replied. "We'll try to be more careful. As we said, we are explorers and all of this is new to us."

. === TO BE CONTINUED ===

__***"The Unknown", Part 3***__
Duty Log of Lt. Cmdr. Adonudo Tlanuwa
SD 202104.29

. Morgensen stepped back up. "If it would be permitted," he asked, "We would be quite happy to take a few samples of the local fauna and wildlife for study. Is there anything you would be willing to let us borrow?"

. But Solus ignored Morgensen and instead stretched out a long, willowy arm towards Adon, stopping just short of touching him. He was pointing at Adon's tattoo.

. In the middle of Adon's forehead was a stylized hawk. A symbol of his Spirit Guide and a mark of his recognition as a "Didanawisgi", a Medicine Man of his people. Adon smiled and said, "Oh, you noticed that did you?" He touched the tattoo on his forehead. "It is a symbol of my people. It marks me as a Shaman, a Medicine Man."

. "Why you marked?" Solus asked. "You bad?"

. "What?" Adon was startled at the question. "No! Nothing like that. The opposite, really. I am a seer and a healer of my people."

. Maud commented, "Many of us have markings like his for different reasons. They do not mean we are bad."

. Solus looked up, glanced around the Away Team, then asked, "Oh. More of you are here?"

. Maud noticed Thea standing to the side, still cradling the arm the female, Safi, had struck. She stepped over to her and asked softly, "You OK?"

. Thea responded, also softly so no-one else would hear, "No, I don't think I am. It felt as if my arm was broken."

. Maud examined her arm. She had some training as a combat medic and could perform triage and field first aid. She said, "Looks dislocated, but not entirely broken."

. === TO BE CONTINUED ===

 

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