Lieutenant Commander Riley Delar: Next Guess
Zeph
They had beamed down to the planet into some kind of … heavily saturated sap-like swamp. It wasn’t really a swamp, it was in fact farmland, coated with an extremely thick, viscous sappy substance. However, there were no crops. The canopy over head was thick with greenery, almost in such a fashion that it reminded him of thick rainforests he’d seen on Earth.
They made their way closer to the town, and Riley put his tricorder in his pocket. He didn’t like the notion of walking in there without any visible technology, but then again, he had improvised before under much worse conditions. For now, this was probably going to be the easiest approach. He hoped.
There seemed to be a lot of people, perhaps different cliques of people. However, as they got closer, there was evidence of malnutrition in several of those folk they could see. Merchants apparently trying to sell their wares to uninterested parties, several families huddled together, and so forth.
Richards: Oh good. We wouldn’t have wanted to skip the wait or anything.
Katsim: Hm.
From what he had seen during his time in the militia, the usual reason for walls was to keep people out, versus letting them in. In this case, he wasn’t sure what the situation was. His first thought was the township was under attack by raiders, hence the walls. But why then, were merchants and what looked to be families, congregated outside the walls with evidence of malnutrition?
Riley: High walls…sap covered farmland that isn’t being utilized… hm.
Nis: How do we get in? Is there a checkpoint or something?
Richards: I’m not sure they are letting anyone in.
Riley: Correct me if I’m wrong, but the concept of a “farmer’s market” usually takes place in a town square, right? This looks to be the exact opposite, but at the same time there’s something weird going on that I can’t place my finger on.
Nis: You don’t have a wall like that unless you care a lot about keeping people out.
Richards: Thoughts?
Katsim: Something isn’t right. ( momentary pause ) If they can’t get in, then we likely can’t either.
Riley: Raiders?
Nis: We can just as easily gather information outside the wall.
Riley: And where would you propose we start with that?
Nis seemed to glance around and spotted a couple of people arguing, one who appeared to be a merchant of some kind with a … donkey, perhaps? Or donkey equivalent? Pulling a cart. At the man’s feet, a young girl seemed to have what Riley knew as the ‘thousand yard stare’ going on.
Nis: :: whispering :: They seem like a good place to start.
Katsim: I suppose.
Of all of them, Riley perhaps felt like the most socially awkward. He didn’t know any of his travelling companions particularly well, and thus wasn’t particularly aware of their skillsets. However, he didn’t easily open up to folks either. It was weird to watch, in a way. He was perhaps too introverted for his own good, and needed to make more friends.
Riley: Shall we venture in their direction, then?
Richards: Response
The group approached, the argument over. The father rubbed his forehead with one hand as the merchant got preoccupied with his wares. Riley noticed that Nis was presenting herself as the face of the group, which was, in Riley’s opinion, perhaps the best course of action as opposed to presenting himself, because he didn’t have the correct questions.
Nis: Cute baby. How old are they?
Father: :: barely turning to face her :: Huh? Six years, I guess.
Nis: -Six-?!
Peri’s brow furrowed, as did Riley’s. While his knowledge of humanoid biology was at basic first aid level, he had some knowledge from his own experience that nutrient levels in general were important in some fashion. However, he didn’t know what to ask.
Father: Yeah, you know how nutrient limits affect kids. (nudging the seated girl with his foot) This one at my feet is thirteen.
Nis seemed to be taken aback by the response, her face conveying what Riley perceived as surprise. Though whether that was from a medical standpoint or just in general was another story. The father’s almost lack of a reaction seemed to be even more surprising. Unsurprisingly, Delar was at a loss for words.
Richards: Response
Father: (chuckling dryly) :: Unless you’ve got a cousin in the civil guard, you might as well set up camp out here.
Katsim: (Softly) They aren’t letting more people in.
Riley: (softly) I suspect there is more to this story than meets the eye.
Nis/Richards: Response
Peri’s gaze shifted between the walls and the fields. Riley watched quietly, listening. For the moment, his tactical mind was drawing a blank as he felt the “out of his element” sensation. He made a mental note of it being something to bring up with the counselor after the mission.
Katsim: (softly) We need to focus on the problem.
Riley: (softly) Agreed.
Katsim: Perhaps Doctor Nis and you can ask about information regarding when the famine started,whether it’s caused by lack of rainfall or other things. Riley and I can examine the fields and see if we can get more information.
Her gaze once again turned toward the fields, then toward the wall once more. Then, she locked eyes with Anton. An unspoken question hung in the air between them for a moment.
Nis/Richards: Response
Katsim: Riley, with me.
Riley: (nodding) Right behind you, commander.
The pair of them made their way to the fields themselves, this set different from their entry point as there wasn’t any of that strange sap that coated the ground. They were ready for a harvest, but there was nothing here except vacant fields.
Riley: Seems odd that there are fields ready for farming, but for some reason they are vacant.
Katsim: Response
Riley: I was thinking raiders, actually. What little I gleaned from that parent outside the wall makes me think that there’s something in the soil. My initial readings of the sap didn’t give off any indication that it contributed to the famine at all.
Katsim: Response
Riley: My next guess was actually going to be the soil itself. Logically, it'd make sense for us to run a scan, would it not?
Katsim: Response