PO2 Lohkina: Roughing It

[Tony Colella]

(( Raft, After the Sinking of the Sower ))

Lohkina: Well, then, getting to cover seems like a good plan. (brandishing an oar) How do you each feel about paddling?

Lohkina was the least grievously injured member of the team, and with the painkillers now fully doing their jobs, she felt almost like she could've swum to shore. She wasn't going to try it, but she no longer felt like she'd been in the crash at all. That, she knew from long experience, was a dangerous feeling. But even so, they weren't out of the woods yet, and in order to take the next step, they first needed to get into the woods that O'Reilly had spotted.

Sh'shelor's antennae perked up, and she stretched a hand toward Lohkina. 

Sh’shelor: Give me a paddle.

Lohkina: Yes, ma'am.

It was difficult to salute with a paddle, but Lohkina made a game attempt before she passed it over. Even if O'Reilly wasn't able to help, two rowers were better than one -- and she looked over at him to see what he thought. 

Lohkina: O'Reilly, how do you feel?

O’Reilly: Not great. (beat) What if we find a way to camouflage ourselves? It’s getting late, sunset shouldn’t be too long, we could reduce our visibility (beat) Sure, it would decrease our likelihood of rescue, but it would also increase our chances if whoever attacked us returns. (looking at supplies) Those (pointing to a container marked "Shelter") I think they’re grey in color, that should help to mask us from anyone looking for us, at least for the night. 

Lohkina shrugged. It sounded like a good idea to her. But then she wasn't usually an out-in-nature type. As much as she hadn't wanted to get on that awful little runabout (and she'd been proven right, hadn't she? she was never getting on anything shuttle-sized again), she wanted to spend time in the awful outdoors even less.

Lohkina: Sounds reasonable.

Meanwhile, Sh'shelor was feeling well enough to reassert her authority. Good! Someone needed to, now that things had completely fallen apart.

Sh’shelor: Lohkina, set the pace. O’Reilly, grab a phaser and keep an eye out for trouble.

Lohkina: Sure thing. Just point me in the right direction.

Or "a" right direction, since none of them knew where was best -- or worst. Lohkina very much hoped that there wasn't anyone with eyes still on them, but if there was, she was at least pleased that O'Reilly had spotted land.

O’Reilly: I agree, we can still row towards the closest shoreline, but we can do it at a slower speed, one that won’t make our injuries worse. 

That would certainly be a good thing, but easier said than done. As they began to paddle, Lohkina was made painfully aware of just how long it had been since she'd done anything like this. The painkillers were helpful, true, but they couldn't entirely squash the soreness of her protesting stunted muscles along with the injuries she'd already suffered. Nevertheless, she kept paddling, and soon enough she and Sh'shelor fell into a rhythm. Even better, the distant smudge of land grew larger and larger. Unfortunately, the rising of the seafloor also meant that the waves were growing in size.

Sh’shelor: Catch the motion of the waves - it will help us move faster to the shore. 

Lohkina: (a slight groan) Anything that helps.

Moreover, Sh'shelor's advice was good, and they fell into another rhythm, not only paddling with each other, but using the waves to make the most of their motions. Lohkina had surrendered to the reality that paddling would be her life forever -- and only a moment later, the raft made landfall.

Lohkina: Let's never, ever do that again.

Sh'shelor: Response

O'Reilly, meanwhile, immediately dug into the box marked "Shelter."

O’Reilly: Well, that’s certainly good news. (looking down at his arm) If you wouldn’t mind (looking at Lohkina) helping me get this up (holding up a canvas) Once it’s up we can start the journey. (beginning to unfold the canvas) These are meant to retain heat as well, should help reduce any signature we give off.

Oh, she thought saw what he meant now, as she moved to help. Thankfully, the shelter was so easy to assemble that it almost put itself together, which was good news because Lohkina was pretty utterly spent. The sooner they had some protection, though, the better.

Lohkina: You want us to move with this thing now? Or set up camp here on the shore?

She looked from lieutenant to lieutenant as she asked. She was certainly no expert, and she flew a desk for a reason.

Sh'shelor / O'Reilly: Responses

Lohkina: Sure, no problem.

No problem that some extended time in Sickbay and/or a spa program on the holodeck wouldn't solve, that was. They only had to present themselves for a rescue, and survive until that happened.

No problem at all.

Sh'shelor / O'Reilly: Responses

Tags! and TBC!

--

Petty Officer Second Class (PO2) Lohkina

Diplomatic Aide

USS Octavia E. Butler

V238208LV0

she/her/hers (this character)