Captain's Log: Stardate 2313.15.08
Our first contact mission with the Koko Nor is
proceeding better than anticipated. We were not only greeted with open arms, but
the Koko Nor have declared a system wide celebration, insisting the entire crew
participate. They've been at it for a month, with no signs of stopping. Games of
all sorts are important to the Koko Nor. Besides entertainment and education,
the games seem to their method of settling differences, even on a national
scale. Many are blood sports, but on the whole tend to be non-lethal. The
planetary ambassador has requested through LT Kosnox, our Diplomatic Services
Officer, that some of my officers be allowed to participate in the "Hunting
Game", a game the Koko Nor considers a test of sportsmanship, character, and
honor.
LT Kosnox and LT White both agree that not
participating in the game would insult, and damage further relations. It appears
the Koko Nor won't deal with anyone they consider dishonorable, by which they
mean anyone afraid of honest competition.
I've approved the request, stipulating only that the
individuals be asked first. So far there have been over two dozen volunteers;
though I suspect the large quantities of alcohol they've been consuming at the
celebration may have a lot to do with that. I've been informed that anyone who
wants to participate will get the chance. From what I've seen of the Koko Nor,
they could be a priceless addition to the Federation. A staunch ally or a bitter
enemy. Despite their fledgling warp technology, war with the Koko Nor would
shift the balance of power in the Koko Prime system in the Third Quadrant. That
must be avoided at all costs.
End Log.
Captain A.J. Dunning materialized in the reception
area. She was immediately surrounded by a crowd of intoxicated revelers who
shouted happy greetings and tried to give her drinking horns brimming with ale.
The Koko Nor ambassador, an apelike being about 5 feet tall, shoved his way to
the front of the crowd followed by CDR MacGiver, CDR Mitchell Pyle and LCDR
Natarajan.
Gartos bellowed a greeting and gave A.J. a
bone-crushing hug. "Come Captain! We have seats set aside for us!" Seemingly
from nowhere he produced a horn of ale and pressed it into Dunning's hand. "This
is cause to celebrate! The Koko Nor are eager to see what matter of beings you
are."
Ambassador Gartos grabbed Dunning's hand and almost
dragged her to a plush couch in the top row of an enormous theater. There was a
large screen in the center and three smaller ones to either side. They seated
themselves while food and more ale was brought. The theater filled with happily
drunken beings, hooting with excitement, eager to see the game begin.
"In ages past, we could not all watch the "Hunting
Game," Gartos said to A.J. "It is the most honored game. A "rite of passage" I
think your Commander T'al Syn called it. It's how we will judge you to be worthy
allies or enemies."
The ambassador grinned eagerly. Dunning returned the
smile. A.J. had faith in her crew, but couldn't keep from feeling a bit of
apprehension. The screen flickered to life. LT Kosnox sat down beside her with a
very worried look on his face.
A hairy apelike being howled and threw himself at CDR
Stevens. He stepped to one side and the Koko Nor smashed into a tree. He bounded
backwards and turned to attack again. Stevens brought his foot forward in a
powerful kick, hoping his attacker's testes were in the same spot as a human.
Apparently they were. The Koko Nor wheezed, his eyes crossed and he slyly
toppled to the ground. A smile spread across Steven's face as he moved on.
"Not bad," commented Sabrina Earp. She had just
finished pummeling another hunter unconscious and had sat back to watch the
show.
"Why in the nine scarlet hells did I let you talk me
into this?" Stevens demanded.
"You've been drinking," she shot back. "All we have to
do is stay alive 'till morning. How hard can that be?"
"Every time you do this, I wind up in the brig or
sickbay."
"You like it, and you know it," Sabrina replied.
A yelp of pain sounded in the distance. Without a
word, they took off in the direction of the noise.
The area they've been tossed into was 20,000 meters on
a side, and every 2,000 meters the climate changed. Since meeting up, Surak and
Aaron Williams had walked through grasslands and high desert. They had also left
over a half dozen Koko Nor hunters scattered about with a large variety of
broken bones, bruises and concussions.
The desert changed to softwood forest with golden,
aspen-like trees. K'nra, Tal S'yn and Quin emerged into a clearing to see LCDR
Wharton struggling with a hunter. Klingon blood seeped from a cut on his
forehead. There were two other hunters there as well. One was draped over a low
branch, unconscious, and the other was sprawled out on the ground, groaning and
mumbling incoherently. Wharton's hand shot forward and seized the hunter at the
base of the neck, only to find the Klingon maneuver didn't work on the Koko Nor.
Stevens and Sabrina ran into the clearing and watched
as Wharton shifted his stance and drove an elbow into the hunter's temple. The
apelike being went down like a pole-axed meat-beast. Sabrina whistled in
appreciation. Wharton dabbed at the cut on his head.
"When, they said this was a hunt the Koko Nor would
use to judge our character, they neglected to mention we were to be the prey."
"Left out intentionally, no doubt," Tal S'yn added.
From a thicket at the opposite side of the clearing
came a bloodcurdling shriek. A moment later, a Koko Nor arched gracefully over
the tops of the bushes, landing in the clearing with a sickening thud. The
hunter lay completely still. Another Koko Nor burst from the thicket. A maroon
uniformed arm shot out from the bushes, catching the hunter by the ankle. The
apelike being screamed, clawing at the dirt as he was dragged back into the
undergrowth. A wet, fleshy smack echoed from the thicket, making all of the
officers’ wince. CDR Scar emerged from the thicket, brushing leaves and dirt
from his uniform jacket.
Stevens was going to ask him what she had hit the Koko
Nor with, but decided he didn't really want to know.
"Now what?" Scar demanded.
"I recommend we stay together," Jonic La Vad
suggested. "There is strength in numbers."
"No one said we can't make weapons," White said. He
watched as Surak experimented with a heavy club. "Though I was going to suggest
spears."
Quin grinned. "A little low tech, but a kinetic impact
enhancement has its own virtues." He thought a moment. "The hunters haven't'
used anything but blunt instruments so far. It may be another of their unspoken
rules. I don't think we should break it, just in case. We shouldn't kill any
either if we can help it, though I don't rule out great bodily harm."
They all agreed and began to look for suitable clubs.
A roar sounded from the trees a hundred meters off.
Over two dozen Koko Nor charged, waving sticks over their heads and howling
their blood lust.
"All right!" Scar growled eagerly in anticipation of
the coming brawl. He turned to see his comrade's backs retreating through the
woods. "Shit!" he grumbled. Deciding there was no dishonor in avoiding this
particular fight, Scar took off after his friends.
The terrain abruptly changed from airy woods to a
snow-scape. The hunters were gaining. The crewmembers soon came to a frozen
river.
"We'll never make it across," said Charles Smith,
Starquest's newest crewmember
"Then we stay and fight!" yelled Scar.
"The hell you will!" yelled Quin back. "Get out of
here!"
Sabrina, Williams and Scar made it across, but as Tal
S'yn made it to the middle of the frozen ice, it cracked open sending him into
the icy water. Quin, Stevens, Smith and Wharton all jumped in to help him. The
ice began to crack underneath everyone else.
Running Wolf and MacGiver ran out of the woods toward
the river. There were fourteen Koko Nor right behind them. They made a dive for
the water but one of the hunters reached Running Wolf. Her left arm stiffened,
shot out and flattened the lead hunter. Two murderous blows to their heads left
two more Koko Nor crumbled in the snow. She looked up to see more Koko Nor
coming back to help. There was nothing she could do but make a jump into the
frigid water. A Koko Nor caught a handful of her jacket, stopping her in
midstream. Three more hunters piled on top of Running Wolf in a tangle of
flailing fists and thrashing limbs. Seeing more Koko Nor entering the river,
other Starquest crew came back to fight. The river looked like a school of
piranhas at feeding time. All of a sudden everyone vanished beneath the water.
Captain Dunning stared in horror at the screen. She
felt sick as she looked at Gartos, who hooted his appreciation and slugged back
more ale. To interfere might be a cause of war, and A.J. knew it.
The camera was still trained on the large hole in the
ice. The water was already beginning to freeze over. Drifting snow stuck to the
thin crust of ice, and the opening no longer appeared.
