bend it with science

[anatural]

WHO: Chekov & Korra
WHAT: Chekov finds himself stranded on a strange planet...

[It is a rare and unusual day. A day so rare and unusual, Korra almost doesn't know what to do with it.

A day with no responsibilities.

No training with Tenzin. No practice with the Fire Ferrets. No lessons with the White Lotus. Just herself, Naga, and whatever they feel like doing.

So they head out to the mountains just outside Republic City, because Korra knows Naga's been going a little stir-crazy at the urban environment (and, okay, she might be too, just a bit). It feels good to get out, to be a part of nature again. Korra hadn't even realized how much she missed it. She grins down at Naga.]

Ready to see what the mountain holds for us, girl?

Comments

[candothat]

[It was supposed to be a standard away mission. Safe, even, because, as the ship's baby, Chekov isn't allowed to go anywhere remotely dangerous (except for engineering). Just a run of the mill mapping expedition, unremarkable in all ways.

Except Chekov finds himself alone, Sulu and the two redshirts they were to beam down with nowhere to be seen. The snow is a bit of a surprise, too, since Tau Ceti III is supposed to have a tropical climate. The ensign immediately tries to hail the ship, but is met with nothing but static. He adjusts the frequencies multiple times with no luck before his hands go too numb to fiddle with the communicator.

It would be ironic if he froze to death. He's Russian, after all.

Not one to sit idly by and freeze, Chekov starts walking, looking for wood that's dry enough to serve as kindling. Or civilization. That would be nice, too.]

[anatural]

[Korra and Naga are deep in no-man's-land when Naga suddenly stops and sniffs the air.]

What is it?

[Then Korra hears it -- somebody tromping around. Lost, maybe? Korra can't imagine anyone living in this area of the mountains. She leans down to pat Naga's shoulder.]

Let's go check it out.

[Try not to scream when you're approached by a giant polar bear dog, Chekov.]

[candothat]

[Tromping is just the word to use. It's the inevitable result of walking about on legs that have frozen. Unfortunately, the only alternative to tromping is stopping, and stopping means dying, which Chekov is not keen on.

All thoughts of freezing to death on what should be a tropical planet disappear the moment a giant white creature appears in front of him. Startled, the ensign fumbles for his phaser and, naturally, succeeds only in dropping it. His attempt to pick the weapon up results in falling over with a dismayed squeak, icy limbs failing to cooperate even in the face of almost certain death. Chekov looks up--way up--at the doglike creature and tries addressing it in Russian.]

Good dog...?

[Okay, not what he thought his last words would be, but.]

[anatural]

What the -- [Korra gapes at the stranger on the ground. She's never seen anyone that pale, with hair that color, or heard a language like that.]

Who are you?!

[candothat]

[When the creature neglects to eat him, Chekov takes notice of the young woman accompanying it. His universal translator doesn't know her language, but it hums away in its attempt to learn. Until it's been given enough material to work with, it'll be next to useless. Knowing that she won't understand him, he gives up on the phaser and puts his hands up in what he hopes is a universal gesture of peace and please-don't-kill-me. She sounds startled. Startled isn't good.]

Ensign Pavel Chekov. [He speaks in calm, slow Standard. She may not understand him, but Standard has been designed to be readily understood. Russian? Not so much.] Chekov.

[What he wouldn't give for the ability to say please help me, I think I'm frozen in whatever language is native to this planet.]

[anatural]

[Yeah, that's all jibberjabber to her. She gapes at him for another moment before something registers. Spirit or not, he's freezing to death.

She jumps off of Naga and takes off her topcoat.]

We've got to get you to shelter. Come on.

[candothat]

[Normally, Chekov would insist that she keep all of her jackets. Right now, however, he's really freaking cold and gratefully accepts the offered garment, wrapping it tightly around himself.]

Thank you. [Not that she'll understand, or that he understands what she just said. Universal translators? Pretty much useless around a language they're not programed to recognize. He looks between the girl and the creature, wondering how to ask her to drop him off somewhere warm until his crew tracks him down.

He settles for mime. Chekov gestures to himself, then to Korra, then waves in a general away direction.]

[anatural]

[The mime is less than effective. All it really does is make Korra wonder if the guy is crazy, or if that's how weird human-shaped spirits communicate. Some bridge between worlds you are.]

Come on. [She reaches out to haul him up onto Naga. Crazy spirit or not, he's going to freeze to death if he stays out here.]

[candothat]

[Okay, perhaps nonverbal communication isn't one of his stronger suits.

A fleeting sense of panic sets in when she drags him up onto the dog-like creature, but the animal is warm and Chekov is fine with being abducted by a girl from a prewarp civilization if it means not freezing.]

Thank you. [It's worth repeating, even if she doesn't understand.] Even if you are going to feed me to your dog once I've thawed.

[anatural]

Yeah, I still have no idea what you're saying. [But for the time being, that doesn't really matter. She nudges Naga and the polar bear dog takes off down the mountain, moving as quickly as possible. They'll be back down in Republic City in no time.]

[candothat]

[Hopefully she's not saying anything about belonging to a tribe of humanoid-eaters. Chekov has read about them. It would be even worse if, by being found, Chekov broke the Prime Directive. At least he probably wouldn't get demoted if he died.

He doesn't say anything else since that's an obvious practice in futility. Instead, he entertains himself on the way down by playing a game of "guess which digits are frostbitten" by himself.]

[anatural]

[It's an awkward journey, but soon enough they're down at the base of the mountain.]

How are you holding up?

[Not that he can understand her, but it still seems the polite thing to ask. She's worried about his extremities.]

[candothat]

[She sounds concerned, so he forces a smile. He's not a doctor and can't make an accurate assessment of his current state, but he's alive. As long as that remains true, McCoy can fix just about anything as soon as the ship finds him.]

What is funny about this situation is that my home--my home on Earth, not the Enterprise--is similar to this planet during the winter. Why our reports and scanners told us that this was a tropical planet, I have no idea. They are never wrong like that. [Talking out loud is helping Chekov even if it's not doing anything for his rescuer.] Perhaps there was a transporter malfunction? If so, Mr. Scott may be able to trace the nadion signature to this place.

[He hopes so. This girl seems friendly, but she can't be the only humanoid inhabitant of this planet. If the rest of her people look like her, he's going to have a hell of a time fitting in.]

[anatural]

Uh, yeah. Sure? [A few of those words sounded familiar, which can't be possible.] Here, let me see your hands.

[candothat]

[Maybe if they keep talking at each other, something will stick! Although he still doesn't understand her words, her meaning gets through and he presents his hands. The fingers are grayish and waxen--almost not real.]

Dr. McCoy would likely not be pleased. [Chekov's a little alarmed. He's Russian enough to know what frostbite looks like. Maybe his fingers won't fall off, but it's unpleasant nonetheless.] Do your people treat frostbite? Maybe you are all clever enough to not be caught in the cold.

[anatural]

[The universal translator is getting perilously close to being able to translate their language. Not that Korra knows this, but she's excited (and confused) to understand a little more of what he's saying.]

Dr. McCoy — is he with you? Did he crash here too? [Is there someone else she should be looking for?]

[candothat]

[Thank science for universal translators. The device will take some time to pick up vocabulary, but it has already more-or-less learned the structure of Korra's language. Chekov is finding it easier to parse out her words even with a limited vocabulary.]

No, there is no one else that I know of. This is not where I intended to beam down.

[anatural]

Beam down — from the Northern Spirit Portal?

[These words, they make no sense to her.]

[candothat]

Portal? No. The ship--I cannot tell you much about it--has the technology to dissemble people at the atomic level and reassemble them at a distant location. Very safe process, usually, but working at the quantum level as transporters do can result in unforeseen difficulties. The smallest shift in subspace has--but no, I have said too much and I think your world is not so technologically advanced as mine.

[Nervous babble. He still has his communicator on him; someone from the ship should have hailed him by now.]

[anatural]

.............huh?

[That was a whole lotta words her world has absolutely no words for.]

[candothat]

I said nothing important. [He said enough to get himself into Prime Directive-says-no territory, so it's a small blessing that this girl--and the rest of her people, he assumes--won't understand anything he shouldn't be talking about.] May I ask your name?

[anatural]

Korra. How are you suddenly speaking my language?

[This is the weirdest thing that's ever happened to her.]

[candothat]

Korra, thank you. I am Pavel Chekov.

[It takes him a moment to remember how strange the translator must seem to her. It's such a part of life off-planet.]

I am not. I would explain, but the explanation is long and I am very cold.

[Somehow, his accent still comes through loud and clear regardless of the language at the other end. Maybe the kid just needs to stop speaking Standard; technology obviously hates it when he does.]

[anatural]

[Yeah like that's going to cut it for her.]

You can talk and walk, right? There's a cabin not far from here.

[candothat]

This cabin is not occupied by anything that will eat me, is it?

[Like more dog-bears. He says it lightly, however, as if this particular situation is not the single most disconcerting situation he has ever personally been in.]

Before I try to explain--what is your technology like? Do you have machines?

[anatural]

[That is...a really weird question. Both of them.]

It's a cabin. [Duh. She shakes her head.] Uh, yeah? Why?

[candothat]

Yes, I see this. [He assumes that that means there aren't things that will eat him. Good.] Okay, then maybe this will make sense. We are communicating because I have a small machine that uses a linguistic database to translate and to learn new languages. It emits a-- [what is the best not-science word here] --field that allows those within it to understand each other, regardless of what they are speaking.

[anatural]

[the blankest of all blank stares]

What?

[candothat]

[If he could feel his hands, he would facepalm right now. Let's try this again.]

Where I am from, we often encounter people who speak languages that we do not know. In order to communicate with them, we wear devices that translate for us and allow those nearby to understand us, as well.

[anatural]

[Slightly more understanding, but still really confused]

How is that even possible?