Ensign T’Fearne - Wild Lopp Riders of B’Hala [Part 2]
teayl.thorn
((Road to the Mountain Pass, B’Hala, Kendra Province, Bajor))
The impromptu caravan of refugees escaping B’Hala’s slow demise had paused for a momentary respite at the city’s river boundary to the mountain pass. As the weary animals and people paused to drink at the cool waters, T’Fearne had left the cart with the children and other wounded to sit by Alieth and Vrozek on a rocky outcropping overlooking the city below them in the valley.
Alieth, ever the steady presence, had already begun to tend to T'Fearne’s wounds, her hands precise and practised. She had cleaned the blood from T’Fearne’s forehead, rebandaging it as she squinted intently in the dim light of the torch and two of Bajor’s moons.
Alieth: It looks better. It is not swollen or oozing, but you should get it checked out by a doctor when we get back to... where we belong.
T’Fearne winced as Alieth pulled the bandages tight once more, the wound still tender to the touch. She could feel the deep ache of her injuries, but it was the ache of profound exhaustion and the uncertainty about what came next that made her feel helpless.
T’Fearne: You think that we will get back to our...to where we belong?
Her voice was quiet, a thread of doubt woven into the question, but she could not suppress it.
Alieth nodded but did not answer immediately, as a Bajoran youth approached them, his hands clutching a bucket of cool water, his wide eyes flicking nervously from Alieth to T'Fearne to Xan. The boy seemed in awe of Alieth in particular and scurried away after a few quiet words with her.
Alieth: Take off your jacket, I want to see if the arrows we removed have caused any damage. :: Turning then to face Xan:: Do you need any medical treatment?
Sitting cross-legged on a flat stone, T’Fearne glanced down at the stained, embroidered jacket. Gingerly, she removed it, her motions a little slow and shaky as her body protested. She rolled down the stiff, blood-soaked collar of her tunic, exposing the raw arrow wound that marked the back of her left shoulder.
Vrozek: Response
The former Vulcazoid gave him a pointed glance, her patience with this civilian wearing thin. She had little time for his snarky remarks during a crisis, but perhaps her injuries and current Bajoran physiology had sapped her ability to rein in her temper.
T’Fearne::: to Xan:: Well, you seemed upset last time we didn’t directly ask if you were ok! How we work—if you get injured and are not transparent about it, you become a liability to the mission. You need to trust us enough to tell us when you need help.
She bit back what else she might have said as the commander administered her brand of tender mercy to the arrow wound. Alieth’s hands were gentle as she worked, cleaning and applying a bandage to the wound with expert care. Still, T’Fearne couldn't help but close her eyes and clench her jaw against the pain, concentrating very hard on meditating and not screaming at the ministrations.
Alieth: I think now that we got this group out of the city... we should go back.
T’Fearne’s eyes snapped open at the sound of that, her heart suddenly beating faster in her chest.
T’Fearne: I’m coming with you! :: Interjected quickly::
She feared that Alieth might suggest she stay behind in her injured state. She needn’t have worried. That hadn’t been what the commander was concerned about.
Vrozek: Response
Alieth: We still have time to guide more people to the pass, or at least point them in the right direction... and we have to find our companions again. :: looking at Xan:: at all of them. We cannot leave them behind.
Vrozek: Response
T’Fearne: Yes, Sir. :: forgetting herself a little:: We don’t leave people behind.
The commander dipped a cloth in one of the buckets of clean water and ran it over her face before resting it against her ear, no longer pointed, which had lost a good notch with the first arrow.
Alieth: I told Luxara to wait for us by the Batanca Spire. I am sure she will do her best to be there. We cannot fail her, none of them. We have to go back.
The security officer tugged the jacket back on, carefully over her bandaged shoulder. She stood, a little unsteady at first, her gaze sweeping across the growing crowds. The refugees were packing their carts, livestock, barrows of belongings and their beasts of burden ready to continue the journey to the pass.
T’Fearne: Then we need to move quickly. What about those things?
Gritting her teeth and pointing to a line of hulking, quadrupedal beasts, their brown leathery skin and sawtoothed neck ridges were almost as disturbing as their deep dark eyes.
Vrozek/Alieth: Response
She just shrugged her shoulders and then instantly regretted the gesture, turned and went to speak to the head drover.
((District close to Bantica Spire, B’Hala, Kendra Province, Bajor))
After a few moments of intense conversation and haggling with an ancient battle axe of a Bajoran woman who was as leathery as the beasts she drove, she agreed to lend them 3 of her 1lopps. The cost had been a blessing of a Priestess of the Prophets on her 3 grandchildren from T’Fearne and Alieth. She had kissed each of their foreheads and hoped that would suffice. The old lady's face was still sour as they clumsily rode back towards the moonlit city.
The ride back to the city's heart was swift, even with the strangeness of the lopp beasts, the debris and the chaos. But the closer they got to the Bantica Spire, the slower their progress became. The city was in a terrible state. Spot fires burned unchecked in the rubble, lighting the streets but pouring smoke and ashes into the firelit gloom. People and animals lay crushed beneath the ruins. Some of the bodies looked like they had been cut down in the street. The security officer in T’Fearne made her slow her lopp to look more carefully and assess the acts she was seeing from a tactical perspective.
T’Fearne: What is happening with the guards or the prylars in B’Hala? Are they all part of the amoran sect, or are there more factions operating here than just one?
Vrozek/Alieth: Response
They were possibly near the Bantica Spire by her admittedly rough calculations. They had been relying on Vrozek’s begrudging guidance, as he had been in the city longer, but she was having some doubts about his overall usefulness.
T’Fearne heard the clink of metal and someone trying to be stealthy. If she or Alieth had their Vulcanoid ears, they probably would have been able to pinpoint the sound and tell how many people were hiding around the buildings and what kind of metal it was.
Risking a whisper in the gloom as she wasn’t sure a gesture would be visible.
T’Fearne: Tis:: emitting a low noise to grab her companion's attention:: I think there might be guards to the left. Should we detour?
Vrozek/Alieth: Response
She glanced at Alieth and noticed the little green gem attached to her 2d’ja pagh seemed different, glowing softly with a feint steady pulse.
T’Fearne: I don’t know how we will find them in this mess, but your earring, the green gem is doing something different. I think it’s glowing and pulsing.
Vrozek/Alieth: Response
[Act 3 / Tag, You’re It! / TBC]
((OOC: 1Lopp- Bajoran beast of burden, like a horse. 2D’ja pagh - Bajoran earring.))
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Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14