Personal Log: Commander Spock Ko-fu&#39;Sarek

Ann checked her tricorder. "Life signs show this way," she said, and Jim strode off in the direction indicated, not one to let anyone take point (and the potential danger) in his stead and expecting everyone to fall in line behind him. The forest was not so dense here by the shore that they couldn't pass more or less unhindered--the wide canopies of the redwood-like tress shaded the forest floor such that ferns and flowers carpeted but did not present a barrier.

If the natives proved amicable, Jim could definitely see leave being granted.

"Take readings of everything," he said. "You know the drill. Plant life, animal life, and other readings you pick up. We'll want a thorough preliminary report for Starfleet, so they know what to send."

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anna-kowalski.livejournal.com

Anna and Lieutenant Hamilton followed after Captain Kirk. Anna scanned the strange but definitely beautiful forest with her tricorder while Hamilton kept an eye out for any danger as the party walked in the direction indicated by Lieutenant Commander Mulhall.

(OOC - Feel free to godmode Anna and Hamilton if needed, also.)

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The wilderness seemed completely untouched by any hand but nature, contradicting their readings that there was indeed someone down here as well as the communications they had received. A creature went past them, seemingly unconcerned about something new in its territory despite its massive size. It was about the size of a rhino, covered in thick shaggy fur that was a deep moss green and brown, walking on all fours. Eye stalks turned, peering at them - all four stalks - before it continued to lumber along. Despite its clunky size, it moved gracefully through the trees.

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ann-mulhall.livejournal.com

Ann tuned her tricorder on it as best as he could as it slid past them. As usual, her brain attempted to make various comparisons to creatures, both Terran and alien, she knew already--but her training let her dismiss them and focus on what was before her.

Unfortunately, it was going in the wrong direction. Kirk caught her eye as she glanced back towards the direction they were headed and shook his head.

"Plenty of time," he said. "It'll still be here."

It was all right. She had her preliminary readings, and the vid. She followed the group, proceeding at a brisk pace towards the readings they'd picked up from orbit.

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The trip was fairly uneventful; the tricorder readings remained steady, and the weather and surroundings were pleasant. So much so, Jim could almost forget about everything else he was worried about: Spock, the Narada, how Jim was holding up, Tina... The air was slightly humid, but not oppressively so (or at least, not yet), and the flora was fascinating. Possibly dangerous, of course, as anything potentially was. But thus far, nothing had happened to give any indication that the planet was other than it seemed: mostly untouched and mostly friendly.

Which was highly unusual, in Jim's experience. Not that he expected hostility. Merely that he had come to anticipate the unexpected.

The trek was a little over a mile, and they made good time. The signs of habitation were, at first, difficult to discern. But once Chapel pointed out something in the trees, they soon were all marking evidence that there were structures up there, blending in naturally with their surroundings but not made by the hand of nature at all.

It only remained to make contact, something Jim hoped Uhura would be helpful with.

Communication that relied on body language, he thought he could handle unless he got too excited. Communication based on pitch was... probably something else entirely.

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(OOC: Course I had this all typed up at home and forgot it! Oh well...)

Music... that was one of the first things they heard as they got close. It blended sweetly into the sounds of nature, as if celebrating it. The tinkle of metal, the sounds of echoing voices that had no words, only notes contained within.

Around the next bend of trees, they came to a set of gates. The gates were as intricate as iron scroll work, all done in wooden vines that were still living as evidenced by the massive green leaves that were a definite part of the decor. They were massive, but not very defensive, meaning they must have been there for decoration and a marker. With closer notice, a barely distinguishable wall spread out to either side of the gate. Could it enclose the entire village?

Above the gates, in well hidden structures, two figures moved from their watch posts and disappeared into the village. There were strange creatures outside their gates.

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Spock watched the perimeter of the settlement with keen eyes. Various non-humanoid figures moved along the walls, vanished behind flora, and reappeared in the form of indistinguishable motion. They were well suited for this environment, blended quiet sufficiently with the local foliage.

"Fascinating," Spock commented as the decorative gates parted and a rhythmic composition, likely generated without the filter of instrumentation, issued forth through the space. It was similar in timber and cadence to that which had greeted them. With a short look at the native Lieutenant Uhura, who inclined her head to both James Kirk and herself, the group progressed forward through the gates.

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Jim was more or less in the lead, but Spock flanked him to the point where they almost stepped forward together. It was pleasantly familiar but also a little astonishing, and it warmed him somewhat.

But he looked to Uhura as they crossed into what Jim could only assume should be termed their village and were confronted with the creatures themselves. They moved gracefully, the sheen on their skin immediately termed "slimy" by Jim's human instincts but rejected by his brain as being likely inaccurate.

Uhura had prepared a short greeting, which she offered at Jim's indication. He watched them for signs that they were understood, his instincts on high alert out of long practice rather than immediate signs of danger.

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Just within the gates were two large creatures, about the size of a small horse. Their stance was clearly defensive, as were the weapons held in their hands that were curved and efficient looking. The creatures, while clearly not humanoid, were surprisingly not totally unfamiliar to the eye. They resembled Terran tree frogs, but on a far more massive scale. Their bodies were slender, nearly delicate looking despite their size, but their bulk fit into the size of the rainforest all around them.

They had the strong hind legs of a frog, but the front legs and hands that gripped a blade in either were definitely meant for more then just hopping around. Along either side of their body, were tentacles, about five feet long each, that were held at their sides like wings. Their skin held a sheen to it, and looked almost like metal itself as if they were covered in liquid armor. Bright red eyes watched the approaching party carefully.

At Uhura's greeting, the two creatures looked at each one, then gave what could only be described as a chortle back. Sacs at their throats expanded and contracted rapidly, not to any bulbous size but noticeably.

There was a higher series of notes from behind the two frog-like creatures, and they parted. It was clear when sizing up the first two with the new ones that the first two were guards of some variety. The new creatures, three of them, were smaller in size and came in a much different style.

They had garments that wrapped around them almost like complicated shawls, completely unbinding and possibly just ornamental. The cloth matched their skin colors in an eye-pleasing combination, and each frog had a very different kind of skin. It was textured differently in each as much as the color was different. The one on the far right had skin that resembled the bark of the trees that they had passed coming in, white-creamy. The one on the far left had a leaf-pattern, so real that it looked like the wind would disturb the pattern. The one in the middle, a little larger, had skin that resembled the sky at night - black with spots of white in varying sizes.

It was that one that stepped forward, and speaking to them as a group, let out a series of notes that rapidly turned itself into a song. It was like musical beat-boxing, as some of the notes were clearly not just singing but clicking, softer and higher, sharper and looser, giving it a beat and more depth. It was happy-sounding, matching the greeting they had been given but longer.

From:

ann-mulhall.livejournal.com

Ann went into information-gathering mode instantly, though she could not yet get as close as she hoped to later. The creatures were unlike anything she'd ever seen, though of course comparisons to other creatures both Terran and alien flitted through her mind. IDIC.

Her tricorder operating at full capacity, taking everything in, her mind whirred just behind it. Was the variety of their coloring purposeful? Did it change, and was it conscious or an autonomic reflex? How did they reproduce? She could hear water, but did they follow the life-pattern of Terran amphibians or was that merely a superficial resemblance? And how had the tentacles evolved?

She would have to observe far more, and run tests, but she had preliminary findings that she would continually add to.

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headnursechapel.livejournal.com

Christine watched and listened with interest as the aliens appeared and the leader returned Uhura's greeting. She had no idea what either of them were saying, but the language was beautiful to listen to.

Nyota paused for a moment after the alien's greeting before speaking again. Again, Christine couldn't understand the words, but the meaning was clear enough as Nyota gestured to Captain Kirk - the leader. He nodded genially to the creatures as Nyota indicated him.

The conversation went slowly, consisting of hand gestures and body language as much as vocalizations as Nyota and the alien leader exchanged concepts of ideas. At one point Nyota pointed to the Starfleet insignia on her uniform, and at another she dropped to her knees to trace a simple drawing in the dust at her feet.

At long last, Nyota turned back to the rest of the landing party, and smiled.

"Well, they certainly seem friendly enough," she announced. "They haven't heard of the Federation before, but if I'm interpreting the nuances of their language right, they seem cautiously interested by the idea of it - they'd like to learn more. And they'd also like to show us around their village. Apparently they don't get too many visitors here."

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The leader stepped closer and dipped the lower front of his body in what also looked like a bow. He gave a brief set of musical sounds to Nyota, gesturing with a fingertip to each one of the party. He was asking for their names.

But in surprise, he looked directly at Captain Kirk and croaked out, "Kirk." Repeated well, even if musically.

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"Fascinating," Spock announced with an arch of a brow. They had the aural dexterity to duplicate unfamiliar cacophonous phonology? Spock noted it with an even tilt of her head.

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Jim agreed, perhaps for different reasons. Was it accurate to read surprise into the being's reaction?

"Kirk," he agreed, gesturing to himself. The meeting had gone well so far, typical for peaceful societies which did not yet know what the Federation had to offer or whether it would be to their benefit but did not object to learning. "What may I call you?" He glanced to Nyota.

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After Nyota's translation, the leader nodded. He leaned back and sat on his hind legs, almost canine or feline like, and touched his chest. He gave three distinct notes (♫♫♪). The leader turned and gestured to the creamy-white frog and gave another set of notes, four this time. (♪♪♪♪) The last frog, green-leaved, was given two thrilling notes (♫~♪~) as its name. The creamy-white one was female and his daughter, the green-leaved was male and his son. The males tended to lead with a lower, quicker note while the females lead with higher, slower notes.

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Jim understood the implication of their sounds, but he understood something else that made his heart sink. He hoped they could calibrate the universal translators quickly. Though it was unlikely that they'd do so before he revealed he was an interpreter of songs, which really didn't help in this case.

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With a duplicate of Lieutenant Uhura's notes, and a general conceptual knowledge of tonal linguistics, Spock stepped forward. Lieutenant Uhura shot her a short glance and Spock acknowledged her with a short inclination of her head.

"Greetings," Spock said and attempted the intonation structure of their language. Something must have maintained cohesion because the creature closest, the central entity whose name consisted of a minor lift, let out a bright sound and an action that must have passed for applause.

"We wish to examine your culture," Spock attempted and glanced askance at Lieutenant Uhura. She translated to the best of her ability and Spock continued. "May we have permission to do so? And, if necessitated, transport further officers to this general location?"

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♫♫♪ listened to Uhura, asked for a bit of clarification, then bobbed his head with a chortling sound. The frog leaped once (clearing about twenty-five feet in a small bound), and knelt down. He drew in the dirt a large symbol that ended up being the outline of Starfleet's delta symbol, then a circle around it. It encompassed about a ten foot area. He gestured over it, and nodded once. This was a good spot for them to come. It also meant they were familiar with transporter capabilities.

The creamy-white one identified as ♪♪♪♪ sidled up to Jim and looked at him curiously, her voice rippling gently as she asked him why they had come to their planet.

The leaf-green one, ♫~♪~, was intrigued by Spock. His tones were lower, like the chieftain's, as he asked about her greenish skin. Could they all change their skin colors, like they could?

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Uhura was going to be taxed, Jim knew, but she offered her services to Jim first and explained for him that Starfleet's mission was to seek out unknown life and, where appropriate, make contact. The details as to why this planet specifically in this moment didn't change that. Jim assured the being, through Uhura, that they sought an exchange of information and friendship and that they appreciated the opportunity to interact with their people. He'd done this hundreds of times, and yet it was new every time.

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"No, it does not," Spock responded. She had ascertained enough of their lilting structure to provide simple, conceptual answers with reasonable accuracy. Her comprehension of their language was significantly less than the Lieutenant's, but the creature seemed aware of such.

Spock engaged in a brief, simplistic conversation and gradually programmed her findings into the tricorder. If they continued at reasonable a rate, she could addend the Universal Translator with the complete linguistic pattern of this species. In theory, it was possible to input partial data into the translation circuit, though it would not provide a permanent solution. Yet, admittedly, a temporary solution was superior to nothing.

It took very little time to fashion the programming, though the data was sparse.

"Sir," Spock prefaced and moved alongside James Kirk and lifted her tricorder display. "I have constructed a partial translation circuit. It is not complete, but it should relieve some of the stress on the Lieutenant, as well as permit further personnel to travel the surface.

"With your leave, it can be distributed across the landing party's communications devices."

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♫♫♪ turned to his two children and they spoke in rapid, quiet communication for several moments. He lifted his head and his throat-sac expanded widely before letting out a musical pattern that was as loud as if it had been attached to powerful amplifiers. It rippled across the village, telling all within two miles that they had guests, to allow them where they wished to go, teach and learn.

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