The Fabled Treasure of Najera Delevan/Lepage

[Isabeau Delevan 0]

Nick was sitting in his office on the Mercury, reading a PADD, feet up on his desk. He was enjoying a moment of peace and quiet now that the move of sickbay was finished.

 

Isabeau finished checking and rechecking the medical file transference from Aegis to the Mercury and rose from the console to let Nick know. Approaching his office, she saw that he was just sitting there with his feet up. "You look swamped, Nicolas, should I come back later?" She smiled, knowing he hadn't had a minute's peace for the last week.

 

He smiled in response and waved her in. "It's all right, you know I always have time for you, Isabeau...well almost always," he added with a grin, sitting up straight and taking his feet off the desk. "What can I do for my favorite doctor?"

 

Raising her eyebrows in mock surprise, Isabeau walked into his office and stopped at the front of his desk. "Favorite doctor, eh? You are in a good mood, mon ami. Very nice to see," she responded and found herself distracted by an open carton on his desk. "What's all this?" Peering in, she could see that it was full of the personal things he'd kept in his office on Aegis. She recognized most of it but one item caught her eye, and she looked from the box to Nick. "You kept it..."

 

Nick gave her a questioning look. "Kept what?" he asked as he leaned forward to peer into the box.

 

Smiling with delight, Isabeau reached in and carefully pulled a small, carved figure from the box. Only six inches high, the green stone reflected the overhead light dully and appeared to be the form of some reptile. She ran her thumb affectionately over the totem, murmuring half to herself. "I'd almost forgotten about Najera."

 

Grinning, Nick looked at the small figure and nodded. "Yeah, I just had to keep a souvenir of the second time you almost got the two of us killed." His tone was teasing and his broad grin showed he was not quite serious but he knew how Isabeau would take it. "Najera...oh the memories."

 

"I almost got us killed? Second time?" Isabeau was genuinely puzzled. "What are you talking about? Najera was beautiful!" She looked at him with mock irritation. "You never did thank me for letting you come on vacation with me."

 

Nick laughed out loud. "Well, remember when we met...that huge Bolian with his huge disruptor? And Najera...well, I remember the cliffs where we almost fell down like a couple hundred feet. Oh, and that snakebite I had. I thought I was going to lose my hand."

 

"Mon Dieu, Nicolas! Not that tired old 'I saved you from Big Bad Bolian Blue blah, blah, blah, blah, blah'. You'd think you'd get tired of hauling that out...and those cliffs? Thirty-forty feet, tops and you were roped in." Isabeau thought for a second, remembering back. "I did tell you not to move so quickly... You scared that snake."

 

 

***

 

Eight years ago on Najera...

 

Nick was standing on the bank of a river and looked at it, somewhat desperate. After tramping through the jungle for hours and almost being eaten alive by mosquitoes, he was tired and drenched in sweat. He sat down and carefully placed his machete next to him in case there was another vicious snake trying to bite off his hand. "So, what now?"

 

Hands on hips, Isabeau casually waved away what looked like some kind of stinging insect. The river was only about twenty feet across and moving very slowly. She glanced down at Nick who looked very hot. She was enjoying the heat and humidity. "Feel like going for a swim? The current looks almost non-existent."

 

Nick looked up at Isabeau. The idea of going into the water kinda appealed to him. He couldn't remember ever being this hot before. However, he was still a little skeptical and looked around. "Are you sure there aren't any...crocodiles or alligators or whatever there is on this planet that would enjoy sneaking up on us when we're in the water and tear us apart?"

 

"No, of course I'm not sure. How could I be sure?" She gave the murky brown water a thoughtful look and then glanced down the riverbank, tapping him on the shoulder excitedly. "Look, a couple of trees have fallen. We can get across on those."

 

He turned his head to look in the direction Isabeau indicated. Secretly he was relieved they didn't have to swim. Getting up took a deep breath and shook his head. "You know, I could be with my family, playing with Jacques, Sébastien, Marie, Julie and Céline. And instead I'm out here, hoping those giant mosquitoes will leave at least some blood in my veins and chasing after some treasure you've heard of."

 

Completely surprised, Isabeau looked back over her shoulder, and stopped. She turned around to face him. "You mean you'd rather be visiting family than looking for the fabled treasure of Najera?" Her tone was completely disbelieving. Again, she waved an insect away, diverted by his comment on mosquitoes. "Are you being bitten? I don't think I've gotten a single bite." She slid her pack from her back and rummaged in it, pulling out a small spray. "Try this. I haven't felt the need for it, but it might keep the bugs off you." She held it out to him. "I can't believe you're not having fun. Why did you ask to come with me?"

 

Nick took the spray from Isabeau with an incredulous look on his face. "Why didn't you tell me you had this before? I am scratching myself half to death! And, what do you mean I'm not having fun? Look at me! I'm out of my mind with joy! My hand feels like it's going to fall off," he raised it to emphasize his point. "I have blisters on my feet, and I feel like I'm being roasted alive! Of course I'm having fun! And just so you know, I only came with you because I feared you might get yourself killed!"

 

"I told you not to move so quickly around the snake!" Isabeau exclaimed. "I'm the one who had to suck the venom out and do you hear me complaining? No! Of course, you don't, because I realize that when you travel you have to expect that there will be unusual discomforts and compromises to be made."

 

Frowning, Isabeau looked Nick up and down from head to toe. He did look miserable. Had he really come along just because he thought she would be at risk? She lifted her chin and met his irritated gaze. "Why would you think I would be in danger of killing myself? I grew up in conditions very similar to these. What made you think it would be dangerous, anyway?"

 

For a few seconds Nick didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether to be irritated or amused but he decided to go with irritated. He felt giddy from the heat and he had a hunch the snakebite might have something to do with it, too. "You know the first clue that this trip might get you in trouble was the fact that we had to lie to get here. I'm a medical student, same as you are, not an assistant botanist for crying out loud!" He started spraying the bug repellent all over him. "And why the heck is it only me that gets bitten by these damn mosquitoes? Oh, and by the way? Discomforts and compromises, I can deal with but dying is definitely way beyond discomforts and compromises. You do realize that it's somewhat final, don't you?"

 

"Dying? You aren't anywhere near to dying--yet!" Her tone made it clear it might only be a matter of time before that happened and it wouldn't be because of snakebite, either. "And it wasn't a lie! Well, not exactly a lie, anyway," Isabeau qualified. "Najera is a Federation protectorate because of the flora and fauna and only qualified professionals and graduate students can get permission to come for field study." She threw him a jaundiced glance. "May I remind you that I am pursuing a graduate degree in Botany? And you could be of some assistance if I weren't having to constantly step in and save your life."

 

"You step in and save MY life? That's preposterous! You just said I wasn't dying...yet. And yes, Isabeau Delevan, it was a lie. I am neither qualified professional nor a graduate student, Heck, I don't know anything about plants other than that they are green! Besides, do I really have to point out that we're not here for the wonderful flora but some sort of...of...fabled treasure you're after?"

 

"Well we don't know if that snake was poisonous, do we Nicolas Lepage? No, we don't, so I risked my own life to save yours when I sucked the 'venom' out. And it tasted horrible! Not that it matters to me, I would do it again," Isabeau added virtuously. "And so what if you're not a botanist? You’re still a medical student and that's sort of in the same realm and I don't know if you've been too self-absorbed with your personal discomfort to notice but I have been taking samples!" She smacked the side of the sample case, which hung from her shoulder for emphasis as she glared at him. "And so what If I wasn't completely 100% honest in getting us here? We're here and that's what matters! Najera hasn't been inhabited for millennia. The treasure doesn't belong to anyone, anymore." Isabeau smiled, her irritation falling away. He really hadn't been enjoying himself and it was his vacation, too. Her tone softened, changing from abrupt to cajoling. "Nicolas, think of it... Something lost for ages and then rediscovered...by us! You can't tell me that doesn't appeal to you?"

 

Nick rolled his eyes and threw up his hands in a gesture of defeat. "You know what appeals to me? The idea of getting out of this green hell and back into the civilized world. So let's get this over with and make sure it's not us who'll be lost for ages and rediscovered by someone else after millennia." With that he picked up his machete and made his way down the river towards the fallen tree trunks Isabeau had pointed out earlier.

 

***

 

A few days later...

 

Nick was trudging along behind Isabeau. He had long since given up counting his mosquito bites and his arms and face were scratched in several places. He also had a deep cut on his thumb from tripping and accidentally cutting himself with the machete when they’d been caught in a torrential downpour, the likes of which he’d never seen before and hoped to never see again.

 

They'd been drenched by early morning rain, which Isabeau had found refreshing. It had come down so hard and so furiously that she'd felt like she was taking a shower. She was only just now starting to dry out a little. They were still in deep jungle but yesterday they'd entered an area with natural rock formations. Just like the map said they would. She was sure they were very close, and said so aloud, over her shoulder to Nick.

 

Nick gave a grunt to indicate he'd heard her. He was trying to keep up as they were clambering over the rocks and at the moment he didn't care for anything anymore. Looking around he scratched his beard and tried to find any indication people had lived here thousands of years ago.

 

Nick's grunt was not the enthusiastic response she was hoping for but she generously overlooked it. You certainly learned a lot about people when you traveled with them, she thought to herself. Clearly, Nicolas preferred the hotel and guided tour way of doing things. She congratulated herself that perhaps this trip was broadening his horizons. Some day he would thank her, she was sure of it. She stopped suddenly. "Look!" She turned excitedly to Nick and yanked on his hand, forgetting until she saw him wince that he'd gotten a nasty cut on his thumb earlier. He seemed to blame her for that, too. Odd. "Oh, sorry, Nicolas, I forgot you cut yourself.” She smiled apologetically but then grinned as she pointed to something up ahead. “Doesn't that look like some kind of lizard?" She indicated a natural rock formation which to her looked very much like an angry crocodile with a foreshortened snout.

 

"It's a rock, Isabeau," he said somewhat resignedly. However, he got a PADD with a map of the region out of his bag. While he studied it, he added calmly, "And yes, I did almost chop off my thumb this morning. Let's see...according to this map this might be the place. Didn't your legend say something about a lizard being the signpost to the entrance or whatever?"

 

"Yes, it marks the gateway!" Isabeau was ecstatic and forged ahead. "Nicolas, I want to always remember this moment!"

 

***

 

Eight years later...on the USS Mercury...

 

"Well, Isabeau I know I have never forgotten it," Nick said with a chuckle as he remembered their first and last adventure in the jungle.

 

She set the green stone figure on his desk, remembering that her own souvenir was packed away and at her brother Andy's home for safekeeping. "Admit it, Najera was fantastic."

 

"Yes, it was fantastically green and mosquito infested," he agreed. "And may I remind you that we never actually found anything."

 

He still had the ability to surprise her. "How can you say that? We found the series of caves and we could clearly see the empty niches which once held something wonderful, I just know it." She nodded to the little reptilian figure on his desk. "We found those."

 

"Yes, we found those. But why do you always believe there's some kind of a treasure? I mean, honestly, Isabeau, you're obsessed with this."

 

"Because Nicolas, there always is some kind of treasure," she responded quietly. "Even though we weren't the first to get there, doesn't make it any less amazing that we did so." She smiled, adding, "You know for me it really is the journey. It's not always about the destination."

Edited December 15, 2008 by Isabeau Delevan