Surak's Soul - J.M. Dillard [2]
“Gorgeous,” Archer murmured, half to himself, as he piloted the shuttlepod closer to one of the larger islands, their destination.
“Yes,” Hoshi echoed, while Phlox made an enthusiastic noise. “Too bad they’re having an emergency. This looks like it would be a beautiful place for shore leave….”
“Quite the tropical paradise,” Reed added.
Archer smiled faintly to himself, remembering the pleasant times he had spent on the island of Kauai. “Just don’t expect to be welcomed with garlands of flowers, Lieutenant.”
“It is rather Earthlike,” T’Pol commented neutrally from the jump seat, which made the captain consider that a blue-green planet might seem inviting to humans, but perhaps to Vulcan eyes, a red desert planet would be more aesthetically pleasing.
Still, the ride down through the atmosphere to the coastline of the island was breathtaking; the water closer to the shore was celery-colored and so clear that even from a distance brightly colored creatures could be seen swimming beneath the surface. The sand was pure white, reminding Archer of a Florida beach he’d once visited; at the meeting of water and shore, long-legged birds raced to pluck buried meals from the wet sand before waves rolled in again. Too bad Trip isn’t here to see this. Trip Tucker, Enterprise’ s chief engineer and the captain’s best friend, had spent years scuba-diving in the Keys.
Archer brought the shuttlepod to a smooth landing at its destination, a large paved strip closest to the largest cluster of remaining life-forms. He had wondered whether this large paved area was used strictly for planetbound air travel—but a glance at his surroundings made it clear that this culture, if not used to extraterrestrial contact, was probably capable of spaceflight. In a nearby hangar, a number of sophisticated vessels rested; Archer eyed them covetously as he brought the shuttlepod to a halt, wishing there were time to inspect them. Instead, he pushed the hatch controls open, and followed his away team out onto the landing strip, adjacent to the coastline.
Once outside, the first thing Archer noticed was the sun: the sun, shining bright in a cloudless Earth-blue sky, the sun reflecting off the nearby diamond-white sand, off the dappled water, off tall, spiraling buildings that shone like mother of pearl, reflecting pale green, turquoise, and rose. Tall trees, their great blue-green leaves draping down like weeping willows, rustled in a light breeze.
“An island paradise.” Archer sighed. The landing party had dressed in their copper-bronze colored spacesuits on Dr. Phlox’s insistence. Had the captain been alone, he would have risked exposure and relied on the decontam procedures on board Enterprise just for the chance to feel the sun and wind against his bare skin. The notion of breathing in a lungful of sea air was enticing. Besides, the suits, with their domed helmets, might make them look rather outlandish to any species unused to regular extraterrestrial contact. But he respected Phlox’s opinion, and where his crew members were concerned, he would take all precautions. Reed had insisted on them arming themselves with phase pistols. Medical emergency or not, it was impossible to predict exactly what they might encounter.
“Beautiful,” Reed breathed.
“Ambient temperature twenty-five degrees Celsius,” T’Pol announced clinically, her gaze on her scanner. “Life-forms…” She paused, then pointed in the direction of the spiraling buildings. “In that direction, Captain. Very few, and very faint.”
“Let’s move,” Archer said, all appreciation for his surroundings dismissed. He led the group at a rapid pace, slowing only when Hoshi cried out behind him.
“Captain!”
He turned and followed his communication officer’s gaze. Peeking out from the profile of one of the silver ships was a hand. Not a human hand—this one was six-fingered, curled in a limp half fist, the skin a deep greenish bronze.
Archer arrived at the humanoid’s side first, closely followed