Famous Last Words (aka hints of Malcoshi for @deadheaddaisy ) This has been in my notes for the better part of a year, and tonight I decided to clear it out! A cliff notes “here’s what happened” story in the hand beats a full on fic that will never exist. And the card attached says Thank you for being a friend 💕
—
“I promise we’ll be on our best behaviour,” Trip had assured her seriously, so of course T’Pol had been wary throughout the proceedings.
In her colleagues’ defense, the sequence of events that led a small fluffy white creature to bolt out of its den and the mayhem that had ensued as it ran amok amongst the crowd of vendors nearby was neither their fault nor something they could have reasonably predicted. Still, wasn’t there a human expression about famous last words?
An ice festival was not an event high on her list of desirable outings to attend voluntarily, but it had certainly been interesting.
Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Reed had engaged in some type of jousting sport involving motorized vehicles they had excitedly referred to as “snowmobiles!” Malcolm had successfully scored a point by unseating Trip, tumbling him off his snowmobile onto the ground in a puff of disturbed snow. The victor stopped to help his opponent up with some friendly teasing. Both men were laughing, pink cheeked with a combination of exertion and good humour.
And that was when the arrow hit.
T’Pol dashed across the field to assess the situation. The arrow had sliced a deep gash across Lieutenant Reed’s left thigh. As she knelt and applied pressure to the wound, she looked up at Trip.
He spoke before she could, “On it. You stay with Malcolm. I’ll get a med kit and let Hoshi and Travis know we’ll be heading back early. Be right back.”
While not life-threatening, the injury was clearly incredibly painful, although their tactical officer was doing his best not to react.
Their Meruvian hosts were incredibly apologetic, and if nothing else their excited apologies and superstitions seemed to be distracting Malcolm from his discomfort somewhat.
“Please accept our apologies! Friends, I am so sorry! But the first sighting of the anuren of the season is a cause for celebration! Good fortune will surely be upon us tonight,” the Meruvian administrator said just as Trip returned with the med kit.
Malcolm nodded at the man before making incredulous eye contact with Trip, who coughed to mask his bark of laughter.
“Anuren? That cute little arctic fox critter caused all this trouble, huh,” Trip chuckled as he knelt down with a crunch of snow. The mayhem appeared to have morphed into raucous celebrations with chants of “Anuren ki!” sounding throughout the crowd. The administrator left, promising to return shortly with a chair for transporting Malcolm and some departure gifts. Everyone else was ignoring them.
As she and Commander Tucker rendered first aid, T’Pol took note of their colleague’s pale complexion and muted hisses of pain. They exchanged a concerned glance and Trip nodded before speaking in a low calm voice, “Hey Malcolm, we’re gonna get you back up to Phlox as soon as possible, but it’s probably gonna be about an hour or so. I think you should let us give you something for the pain, okay?”
Ashen and sweaty, Malcolm nodded once, “Very well, Commander.”
T’Pol would have to have a word with Phlox about the medkit supplies once the mission was complete. Although she and Commander Tucker both carefully reviewed the label and administered the recommended dose, Lieutenant Reed didn’t respond well to the available pain medication.
Or rather, he responded to the medication extremely quickly and … exuberantly.
By the time she and Trip had loaded him onto the provided powered chair to transport him back to the Shuttlepod, he was, to put it delicately, as high as a kite.
“Lieutenant Reed, I will assist you into the shuttle now.”
“Okay, Commander,” he said brightly, accepting her proffered arm.
Without turning his head or moderating the volume of his voice he exclaimed, “You’re right, Trip! T’Pol does have nice hands.”
Trip raised his own hands in a placating gesture, “Take it easy, buddy. Keep your voice down.”
“Oh! You have nice hands too, Commander!”
Trip hung his head in resignation. “Yeah, ok. Everybody here’s got real nice hands. Just hang tight till Hoshi and Travis get here and we’ll get you home.”
“Hoshi!” Malcolm exclaimed. “Oh, now, she has beautiful hands,” he sighed.
Ignoring Mr Reed’s ongoing chatter and Trip’s unsuccessful attempts to quiet his friend, T’Pol pullled the bed down in the rear seating area.
As they got him settled and secured in the bed, Lieutenant Reed babbled on about what lovely eyes they all had as well.
Trip turned away and rubbed a hand over his face, shaking his head.
Satisfied that Malcolm’s vital signs were stable and his leg wound had stopped bleeding, T’Pol moved to take her seat. Malcolm sat up slightly and grabbed her arm as he looked up pleadingly with almost-lucid eyes. “T’Pol,” he whispered hoarsely. “Please… don’t let me embarrass myself in front of Ensign Sato .”
T’Pol’s brows rose sharply, “I will do my best, Lieutenant.” Apparently satisfied with that, Malcolm laid back down and closed his eyes sleepily. She shot Trip a questioning glance which yielded only a shrug in response.
Ensigns Sato and Mayweather arrived then at a sprint. Once assured that no one was in immediate danger, Travis settled into the pilot’s seat while Hoshi moved to sit in the back with Malcolm.
“Were you aware of their … attachment?” T’Pol asked Trip quietly as they prepared for takeoff.
“Nah, I’m not sure if they were even aware of it,” he said with a half smile. “Ooh, they’re setting off fireworks down there!”
“The Meruvians are enjoying their revelry,” T’Pol agreed, “but the appearance of the anuren doesn’t seem to have brought good fortune to Lieutenant Reed.”
“Ah, honey,” Trip said softly with a twinkle in his eye. “Look again.” He touched his fingers to the back of her hand and nodded subtly toward the rear seating area.
Malcolm appeared to be on the brink of slumber while Hoshi held his hand and spoke quietly, admonishing him for giving her such a scare. He mumbled something softly, and she smiled warmly at him before stroking his hair.
T’Pol looked back at Trip, raising an eyebrow as she entwined her fingers with his briefly and discreetly, “Perhaps I was mistaken.”
Over the past few weeks I took part in a game jam organised by Weave Games to create a one-page RPG, and here's the result! You can find my game, Alien Festival, among a bunch of incredible games in this bundle! http://tinyurl.com/gamejam24
In Alien Festival, you are a bunch of aliens on a distant planet in the distant future, preparing for the biggest festival of the year! Will the celebration be a success, or will it go down in history as a hilarious failure? It’s up to you to find out!
