The trio had searched for forty minutes. They moved along a dusty trail covered in dry leaves.

The two officers had exchanged looks of skepticism along the walk. It was starting to seem like Slog didn’t know what he was doing.

“Here we are. This is the spot where we break trail”, the Ferengi said confidently.

“You said that fifteen minutes ago”, Caaral said, the slow loss of patience emanating subtly through his tone.

“Yes, well. These two areas look similar.” Slog sounded defensive. He turned hard left to walk between two large tree trunks. “Now just on the other side of this hill.”

A rocky outcrop formed at the base of a hill. Trees spread along its base and up the slope.

Slog’s small boots dug into the soft soil as the others followed him. Caaral was cynical. They hadn’t heard the marine calls since they were closer to the beach.

Slog waited for the others on the crest, looking down to Caaral and Michael with a grin.

“Gentlemen, I present to you, the squabbling tucket.”

As Caaral reached the summit of dirt and grass, his eyes opened wide.

Two large animals were sunning themselves at the edge of a small lake. One beast seemed to be studying the root beer colored waves that splashed along the surface. It peered deep below in a search for lunch.

The other snapped a long neck towards the group. It barked a warning call, raising its dog-like snout towards the sky. It had a long, muscular body with stubby arms. Massive wings were tucked and folded into flaps of skin along the creatures back.

The other creature turned from its hunt to howl and squawk at the other. It rose on its four legs. Large wings unfolded from along wide shoulder blades and rose down the length of the animal’s body.

“I’ve never seen anything like this during my time at the Academy”, Caaral whispered.

“What do you mean? Are you saying they are not native?” Michael asked Caaral, looking out towards the defensive beasts. Michael lowered himself, reaching out with his mind to try and sense just what was causing this creature distress, and to see if he could calm it. He had not brought a phaser on this trek, and did not want to get into a fist fight with a giant, muscular bird.

Caaral couldn’t resist taking out his tricorder. The creature didn’t stir as the bag was unzipped, nor as the scientific Tricorder began to whir.

“It says they’re native.” Caaral read a small screen on this variant of the instrument. “They apparently have a small range along the coast here.”

The creatures exchanged another glance at each other and leapt into the sky. They flew above in an elliptical orbit and watched carefully.

“Good thing it says they only eat fish.” The Trill hybrid felt a sense of relief at his words.

“They will still defend their territory”, Slog cautioned. “Maybe we should move on. There should be more wildlife out here, since we’re getting further from the resort.”

Another warning bark called out from the skies above. Two dark shapes passed between the break in trees. Lanky bodies twisted and rocked as their wings propelled them forward.Michael watched as the creatures took flight, picking up the distinct sensation of frustration from them at being interrupted in their hunt. He was then overtaken by shame, as he had fully convinced himself the Ferengi had been scamming them somehow, due to the more than lackluster start to their journey. “Yea, lets keep going” he agreed with slog. “What other kind of wildlife do you expect we should be able to find out here?” he inquired.

“As you can see, a lot of the wildlife here is secretive”, Slog cautioned. “I know where certain large, burrowing mammals live.”

The Trill hybrid was tempted to search using the instrument. Instead he slid it back into his bag. “Let me know if you need help.” Caaral figured he’d bring the tricorder out if Slog took longer than an hour to find the next animal.

“They’re called yellow-bellied slurm. I’ve been getting these ones used to me.” The diminutive Ferengi patted a padded pocket. “I brought treats to coax them out.”

Slog led them around the other side of the lake, back into the grove.

“As you can see, a lot of the wildlife here is secretive”, Slog cautioned. “I know where certain large, burrowing mammals live.”

The Trill hybrid was tempted to search using the instrument. Instead he slid it back into his bag. “Let me know if you need help.” Caaral figured he’d bring the tricorder out if Slog took longer than an hour to find the next animal.

“They’re called yellow-bellied slurm. I’ve been getting these ones used to me.” The diminutive Ferengi patted a padded pocket. “I brought treats to coax them out.”

Slog led them around the other side of the lake, back into the grove.“I didn’t get much time around other Betazoids growing up, always wondered if all the wildlife on the planet was a touch empathic,” Michael confessed as they hiked. “I mean, I know culturally we don’t tend to employ beasts of burden like Humans do. Kinda hard to ride a horse when you can hear its thoughts, it’s complaining about how fat you are…” he chuckled. “If the wildlife is so weary, it must be the off-worlders. The locals would have been able to sense them and would have kept out of their way.” He said, trying to spark up a conversation in case the hike took as long as the last round.

“More and more tourists are visiting this resort”, said Slog. “I’m not sure what’s going on now, but there have been a lot of visitors lately.”

“Starbase Bravo is running a lot of officers through shore leave”, Caaral added. He turned to Michael. “There’s a massive Betazoid population here on Mellstoxx. The campus here houses one of the best counseling programs in Starfleet.”

The group made their way deeper into the woodlands. They hiked up and down a series of rolling hills. Slog slowed his pace towards the base of a rocky cliff.

“There should be burrows around here.” Slog reached into the cargo pocket of his pants and pulled out a sealed dish. Small fingers peeled away foil wrapping, the smell of alien meat wafted around the package.

“Is that one of the”, Caaral was interrupted by the arrival of a long, squat creature with six legs. It was covered in tawny fur and had a long snout. It ran out of a crack in the rocky wall and hid between two dry bushes.

Slog laid the container on the ground and backed away. The creature sniffed as it approached.

“Do you see wildlife like this on Betazed?” Caaral turned from the creature to study Michael’s reaction.Michael keeps his eyes on the creatures as Caaral asks the question.

Michael casually shakes his head, “Never stepped foot on the planet before in my life. Grew up in Sol. Being here on Mellstoxx is the closest I have come to Betazed Culture, so it’s still a bit foreign to me.” As he watched the creature stick its snout out of the bushes and sniff the air, he added. “I mean, I’ve been around Betazoids here and there before, but never in this kind of capacity.”

The creature sniffed the container. A long, prehensile tongue extended to lap at the food within. Its pupils dilated in excitement.

“I haven’t been to Trill as often as I would have liked. I spent a lot of time growing up living aboard ships.” Caaral sounded disappointed.

Slog knelt closer to the creature and whispered to it. It twisted its neck to the side to study him quizically.

“The good thing is that Mellstoxx is right here, so close to the station. You can explore this place anytime. There really is a lot to see.”

“Yea, I was reading the onboarding information, and saw that there were housing options planet side. I might look into that once shore leave is over and I get settled in my position.” Michael remarked, watching Slog with interest.

“Moving planet side, eh?” Slog stepped closer to Michael. “I can get you a great deal on a condo. Amazing views into the Terrathorne mining depot come with every unit. Totally unmatched living opportunities are available.”

“Slog”, Caaral began. “Just stick to the wildlife tours for now.”

The officers shared a laugh as the Ferengi continued to offer his services. “No, really!”

“Living on the surface does sound like a great idea.” The thought began to ruminate through the Trill hybrid’s mind as he spoke.