Purple Poppies Perplex People

Posted on Sat May 30th, 2020 @ 3:43am by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant Commander Estella Stratton

Mission: Unto Darkness, Light
Location: Bellum III

As the two officers exited the captain's yacht, it was abundantly clear that it was a gorgeous day on the planet. Nature was flourishing all around, with the lilac sky quite clear, lush green meadows all around them along with rolling hills, majestic dark blue mountains in the distance capped with snow, and the sound of water flowing, perhaps a brook or small stream somewhere just out of sight. One might consider this an ideal place for a romantic rendezvous under certain circumstances, but that wasn't what was happening in this case.

The planet was something taken out of the pages of a book. Everything from the green meadows, to the frosty mountaintops, to the rushing streams was picturesque for a getaway. Were the a phaser not pointed at her, she might have been swept away by it all. Perhaps even a bit more eager to explore.

Estella stood a dozen feet away from the yacht, taking in the scenery momentarily. Shran was only a few feet behind her, a phaser pointed directly at Estella, but he too seemed to be taking in the sights as well, or so one might infer. After several long moments Shran placed his hand on Estella's shoulder, "No time dreaming about shore leave. We must push forward and achieve our goal. Flying monkeys wait for no man, nor woman as a matter of fact."

The counselor tensed when Shran's hand found her shoulder.
She looked again over the vast landscape. "Strange, perhaps even silly isn't it," she whispered. "That I might find this place almost familiar." Estella spoke her thoughts, almost finding them half as crazed as those of the Captain. Yet, there were elements of this planet that made her feel as though she'd settled somewhere in the comfort of her own quarters and lost herself in a book.

"Not at all silly" he replied. "We must go that way. We shall encounter a guardian and we must find a ways past him. A difficult task without a vorpal sword, but I know we shall prevail. Beyond him and the bridge will be the great purple poppy field. I hope for snow as white as the rabbit to make out job easier, but we'll need to collect them regardless. Distill them and ingest, and poof, melt the witch and forever close the doors to Moria. " Shran smiled, a smile of someone quite mad.

She arched her brows. "What kind of gaurdian?" Estella asked before taking a calming breath. The reference to a vorpal sword made her heart pound in her rib cage, much like a small birds wings might bat against a gilded cage. The counselor recognized the reference to Alice's fight against the Jabberwocky. Likewise his fixation on the poppy field. The flowers that almost hindered Dorothy's journey to Ozz, given the sleep they induced. Was he looking for peace of mind? Even, equal footing? There were so many unknowns. Still, the counselor was taking the words he said as yet another metaphor. Bread crumbs. Clues. Each hint a piece to a puzzle. Albeit complex.

The two began to walk in a northeastern direction, the sound of the water becoming just a bit more pronounced with each step. The wind was blowing a gentle breeze which seemed to kick up a sweet aroma, a mixture of citrus as jasmine, and yet nothing like either was in sight. After several minutes of walking they came up over the top of a hill and there, a clear as day at the bottom of the hill was the water, a stream of the most beautifully clear blue with hints of green. A stone bridge looking like something out of a fantasy novel arched over the water, and past it, purple poppies as far as the eye could see.

Shran grinned and then in a somewhat jovial tone spoke, "There, you see! Purple poppies as promised. And all we must do now is get past the guardian, cross the bridge, and avoid the sleep inducing affect of the poppies as we pick up a large medical sampling. Come along now, musn't keep the beast waiting."

Estella's heart quickened with each step closer they got to the poppy field as she recounted Alice's facing of the Jabberwocky. A knot formed in her stomach at the Captain's eagerness. In some ways, Shran's behavior made her recall the eccentric ways of the Mad Hatter. While a loyal ally to Alice, some of his actions and ideas were more than a bit aloof. Then, there was the danger of the phaser he'd pointed at her. Seemed either way, she would have to look death in the face. Though the counselor couldn't help but wonder if this was all some twisted illusion or dream in which they were all to play some kind of part.

Shran chuckled. "That beast of course" he said pointing to the sky as a large purple dragon-like creature hovered above, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, almost like a cloaked vessel making itself known. Shran began to walk towards the bridge, continuing to speak to Estella, "Mustn't dawdle. It will eat you for dawdling. Poor manners dawdling is. Nothing to worry about if we just press forward. Come along now counselor. I'll introduce you."

A small gasp spilled from her lips when her gaze went skyward to the great purple monster soaring overhead. The manner in which it appeared made her blood run cold. For it appeared much to her, like a cloaked Romulan vessel. Estella bowed her head a moment, made the sign of the cross, and whispered a silent prayer as she trudged along with Shran. The way things were looking, she was likely to be an offering to the dragon. If not, she was to assume some converged role of Dorothy Gale and Alice. Two completely different heroines from entirely different worlds. How on earth was she supposed to marry these two and make sense of this madness?

Shran began to move briskly as they approached the bridge, forcing Estella to keep pace with him and laughing maniacally. As they good within 150 feet of the bridge the large dragon creature landed before them, directly in front of the bridge, gave off a ferocious roar and then placed its gaze upon them. Shran looked to Estella, a smirk on his face. "I'm certain you think you are here to be sacrificed, but the truth is I need you to gather poppies" he said, handing her the collection bag. "Get as many as you can, but don't smell them, and wait for the snow before you start picking." The deranged look began to come upon him once, "Now off you go," he said sweetly, then his face seemed to change color into a deep arctic blue, "I'll deal with the wee beastie" he said, his voice a deep eerie tone suddenly.

It was like she'd stepped into some kind of psychological thriller or dark fantasy movie. Shran, by all appearances, seemed to have completely lost his mind. The way he laughed was more than slightly unsettling and the manner in which he rushed into danger seemed almost impulsive. Everything about his behavior was erratic. Unpredictable at best. Unsure how to respond, the counselor took the bag. His instructions, while peculiar, were ones she committed to memory. "Are you sure about this, Captain?" she asked, but couldn't get a word more out before he went charging towards the enormous monster.

Shran raced towards the massive creature with complete abandon, the creature focused on him and nothing else. As he got within 10 feet of the creature he pulled out the phaser and fired two precision blasts, hitting the creature in the eyes, stunning it if only momentarily. He looked to Estella, "Fly you fool" he said, then turned back and charged the beast. The creature reared back and then opened its mouth and unleashed a torrent of purplish-black flame which seemed to engulf Shran.

At the sound of the phaser blasts and Shran's urgings, the counselor found herself recognizing yet another line from another famous piece of fiction. Bag clutched tight in her hand and held close to her chest, Estella made a mad dash for the poppy field. Though she almost stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Shran enveloped by a dark and fiery blast. "Come on, Essie. Do what you came to do."

As the creature ceased its flame jet it turned around to find Estella not only past it, but beyond the bridge, only a dozen or so feet away from the poppies. She seemed to have stopped, as if waiting for something. The creature roared in her direction, the concussion of the roar enough to shake her body and the ground around her momentarily. The creature seemed to take flight once more, hovering just above the bridge and slowing moving towards Estella. It cast a massive shadow that seemed to grow ever larger as it neared her position. Suddenly the bright sky turned dark and overcast, and Estella could feel the temperature drop drastically, and then suddenly in the sky above her she saw a shining white light that seemed to be moving towards her.

Suddenly, as if by magic she felt the touch of snowflakes on her her face, a sensation that at least briefly took her attention away from the approaching light. She began to hear something, it was strange, whispering of sorts, or perhaps singing. The snow continued, applying a light dusting upon her and the poppies all around her. The bright light came quite close, but passed overhead and seemed to land on the bridge between her and the creature. The light intensified brighter and and brighter, into a blinding white and then suddenly the light was gone and in its place was a figure, humanoid certainly, but difficult to make out any specific details at the moment.

Suddenly an unmistakable detail emerged, two blue antennae poked straight up from his head, and in a menacing voice he spoke, "Heeeeere's Shran!"

The dragon's roar brought Estella back into alertness. No longer concerning herself with anything but the purple flowers that the Captain had been adamant about, she made one last mad dash for the flower fields. Between the snow and light, there were whispers. Perhaps even a song carried in the wind. One though, she could not place. With the light powdering of the poppies, Shran's previous instructions came to mind.

Good God, let the Captain be alive. And if possible, help them out of this madness.

The counselor shook her head, dismissing any lingering fear that might have kept her there and went to work. She grabbed as many poppies as she could and stuffing them into her bag.
Cold winds whipped her hair, biting her nose and cheeks. The shifting of clouds too made her blink as the brightness of the sky intensified, becoming almost unbearable. The bag almost fell from her hand when she moved to shield her eyes against the light, but fell instead into the crook of her arm as she watched Shran reappear in the form of yet another fictional character.

When was this craziness going to end?

Suddenly there was a great and terrible shriek followed by a large thudding noise. The sound of footfalls could be heard approaching Estella, and then she heard a familiar voice, "It would seem you have collected the poppies counselor. We can get these to Samantha and have her make the necessary medicine to protect the crew." The voice was unmistakeable and sounded rational and sane, it was Shran.

The Andorian hit his comm badge, =^= Computer, activate transporter. =^= The two officers dematerialized in a blue hue.