BACKPOST: Festival of Unity - Search and Rescue

Posted on 15 Oct 2025 @ 7:16pm by Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Ensign Emilie D'Astous & Lieutenant Maralen Seitha

901 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Shakedown
Location: Beach
Timeline: Immediately following When the Dust Settles

Whatever it was that Ravi had found in those crates back in the hangar, they certainly weren't hiking clothes, thought Bast as he moved around the beach. It certainly had felt like a hiking kit when he'd put it on, but it had tightened on him in minutes, and become like a second skin on him - like wearing nothing but body paint on his naked skin. It was also remarkably smooth, and had a texture almost like fish scales, leading Bast to think that this was something designed for swimming.

He heard the whine of a shuttles's engines as he finished touring the medical staff's installations, and looked up to see Émilie land the shuttle some fifty meters away.

The shuttle door opened, and the young pilot stepped out. "Commander, I... Whoa! Hello, there!" she broke, suddenly taking in his appearance, smiling as she eyed him up and down.

"As you were, Ensign," he said. He actually didn't give a damn if people were offended or otherwise bashful that he was practically walking around naked, but the Ensign's reaction was just another evidence that if he was to be effective in his role as Executive officer, he would need a uniform. And the shuttle would be equipped with a replicator that could provide just that.

He stepped onto the shuttle and walked to the aft compartment, where the device was located. He ordered two uniforms - one for him, and one for the Captain. As he stripped off the - what would he even call the thing he was wearing? - and put on the uniform, he instructed Émilie on her orders, to collect Lieutenant McConnor and Ensign Lagnas, and inspect the satellites' that made up the weather modification grid.

As she prepared for takeoff, he walked off the shuttle. He handed the Captain's uniform to a passing crewman with instructions to deliver it to the Old Man, and set off in search of Maralen.

Maralen, meanwhile, had been far less concerned with his clothing. His native coverings covered what was necessary to be covered, so his focus was on gathering as many people as he could, sifting civilians from Starfleet personnel, and organizing search teams. At least, that was the plan. Unfortunately, he had found only a few Starfleet officers, and he was not recruiting civilians -- it was his job to protect them. He was about to expand his search from the beach areas deeper into the woods when he noticed Bast and paused.

"Lieutenant Seitha," spoke Bast as he approached. He used the Security officer's rank and surname to indicate he meant business. "We have scans from the orbiting shuttles from Starbase 375. There's still too much ionization in the atmosphere to get precise sensor readings, but we do have the general areas where survivors have been located. Take whatever security personnel you need, let's find these people." He handed Maralen the data padd with the sensor readings Xaeralan's team had provided them with.

Maralen took the PADD from Bast, reading through the information. "I don't suppose you have a spare communicator?" he queried. "Mine seems to have gone on a very long flight." He was, of course, referring to the wind likely carrying it off along with everything else that had been in his hut... including the hut itself. "I have found a small number of Starfleet officers and organized them into small search teams of three. They have been instructed to send any others they find to me for orders, but it would be much more efficient if they could just call me and go from there."

Bast swore under his breath. A communicator - that was what he'd forgotten to replicate when he was in Émilie's shuttle. "Sorry," he said. "I don't even have one for myself. See if you can find Ensign Chell. He's the supply officer, he'll provide your team with recorders, communicators and whatever else you might need. He should be around here somewhere." The Bolian officer, formerly a Cygnus crewman, had been completely seduced by the beauty of Elysia, and transferred to the resort as Starfleet liaison.

Maralen nodded, accepting this with his usual calm. It was not, contrary to what some thought, that he did not feel the same frustrations, irritations, or other emotions that others felt at such times. It was merely that he'd had it trained into him at a very young age to channel the energy being fed to one emotion into a more constructive form of itself or another, more constructive emotion. For this reason, he seemed to always have an air of calm around him. The rest was just... buried for dealing with later in meditation if necessary. This was not such a situation. The emotion was redefined and then discarded. It was too minor to rate a later meditative evaluation.

He nodded. "Understood. I will see if I can find him. Is there anything else you need of me before I continue my search, Commander?" This was not intended to rush Bast away; rather it was a respectful request.

"Nothing. Proceed with caution, make sure you bring everyone home," said the First Officer.

With that, he walked away, leaving Seitha to form the search party.

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A post by

Ensign Émilie D'Astous
Helm officer
USS Cygnus

And

Lt Cmdr Temerant Bast
Executive Officer
USS Cygnus

And

Lt Maralen Seitha
Chief of Security
USS Cygnus

 

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