The forest around them was breathtakingly beautiful, exactly the sight Sanjiv had been hoping to see on Casperia. Everything was abundantly green, from the cascading layers of tree branches to the moss that blanketed the ground. The sun peeked through in patches of gold that shifted with the breeze in the canopy. Purple mushroom caps crowned the trunks of fallen trees, and a strange, staccato birdsong filled the air.

And through it all ran the massive gash of their downed shuttle, its trail of scorch marks long stopped smouldering. The pilot had done a fantastic job of keeping them in one piece during their emergency landing. Rather, it was the shoddy repair practices of the guided tour company that Sanjiv took issue with, and which had become immediately apparent as he’d helped the pilot get the shuttle up and running again.

He glanced at their erstwhile assistant, the man who’d introduced himself as fellow Starfleet officer Aakon Keacen. His help had consisted mostly of handing them their tools and providing lighthearted banter, but he looked a bit more in his element now as he prepared an over-stuffed hiking pack.

Sanjiv braced himself as he lifted his own pack, carrying enough gear for himself and two of the family of four that had stormed off into the forest several hours ago, raving about “incompetent guides” and “outrageous practices” and “finding their own way back to civilization”. Neither Sanjiv, Aakon, nor the pilot had managed to impress upon them the fact that “civilization” was at least a four day hike from here.

Sanjiv scanned the clearing, trying to remember which direction they’d gone in. “I don’t suppose you brought a tricorder along, did you?” he asked Aakon.

Aakon paused as he started to lift the heavy pack of supplies before promptly sitting it back down. “Of course. My Ecology professor would have fit if he found out I was wandering around a jungle without one.” He paused again as he was rummaging around his pack. “I got lost in the jungle on Verva IV because I woke up an hour late and rushed out the door. Even after 20 years, I still remember the look on his face when he found me after I wandered around for 6 hours.” His hand soon found its target, pulling the sleek grey device out of a pocket on the inside of the pack.

He flipped it open and set it to scan for humanoid life. The top half of the screen showed a wide angle view of the area while the bottom half laid out the detailed readings of immediate area. A short moment passed before the Tricorder let out a disapproving trill and a large red X appeared over the map on the top of the screen. Aakon gave the Tricorder his own disapproving look before tapping in a few commands. “Tricorder isn’t picking up their lifesigns. They can’t have gotten far enough to be fully out of range, not with those kids they had with them.”

The bottom of the Tricorder screen finally spit out of the answer Aakon was looking for. “Looks like there is a vein of Topaline that runs through the area. It’s enough to interfere with the Tricorder’s ability to pick up lifesigns and knock down its range.” What he could pick up, however, was residual energy signatures. “Looks like someone used a laser device four kilometers northwest of here. The energy signature matches devices used in emergency survival packs, so I’d guess that’s them.” He left unsaid the fact that that emergency tool could be used as a defensive weapon, all be it a weak one. Hopefully they had only used it to heat up lunch.

He set the Tricorder into passive scan mode and slid it into his pocket. If they got close enough to any lifesigns, it’d alert them. With a grunt, he lifted the obscenely heavy pack onto his back. “Shall we?”

“After you!” said Sanjiv. As soon as Aakon turned and started forward, Sanjiv gave himself a quick pat-down to make sure his phaser was in easy reach. Just in case. He tried to recall from the Casperia travel guide which predators might lurk in this forest specifically, but he couldn’t remember, so he decided to simply assume that they all did.

“If only I’d had an ecology professor drill it into my head to pack a tricorder,” he said. The urge to converse on their trek came naturally, but he further justified it to himself as a means of warning away the local wildlife. “It was quite easy to talk myself out of packing one for this trip, but now that I’m away from my ship, I remember how reassuring it is to have advanced technology right at hand. Though still not advanced enough to scan through topaline, apparently. You’d think someone would have improved on that by now.”

Aakon shoved aside a large branch in their path, careful to avoid the thorns lining the blue branch. “You’d think, but that would make things too easy.”

A whooping sound echoed around them and Aakon held up a hand to stop Sanjiv. He glanced up, and a few moments later a bird launched itself from a branch above them; its wingspan was massive and its feathers gave off an almost rainbow metallic shine in the sun. The sounds of its beating wings and whooping call faded as it quickly made its way towards whatever hunting field it had claimed.

”Advanced technology has nothing on seeing that.” There was an undertone of awe in his voice. “Casperian Parotel. Absolutely stunning; that’s got to be a full grown female. Nasty things though; they can and have taken down humanoids that get close to their nest.” He glanced back at Sanjiv. “I suggest we pick up the pace; won’t be pretty for us if she comes back home and notices us.”

Sanjiv whistled in appreciation of the awesome sight, but nodded in assent to Aakon. “I definitely have no desire for a closer look,” he said, as he quickened his pace to keep up.

Continued in Part Two.