A Good Coffee

Posted on Tue Feb 16th, 2016 @ 2:48am by Lieutenant David Windsor & Lieutenant Rianna DiMarco

Mission: Strange Entertainment
Location: Cafe on Pacifica

"No, no, you're right. Swimming out into the middle of the ocean to investigate an algae slick is not the best option for scientific endeavor," David was saying as he sipped his cappuccino.

Ri nodded emphatically. She still wouldn't look David in the face out of fear that she'd start laughing again and further hurt his feelings. Honestly, who just decided to drop their trousers on the beach in front of anyone to see? "And like I said, I don't really swim well. It's more like sinking with a little flailing." She recanted while studying the swirls in the froth of whatever fancy coffee drink it was that they were having. "I passed the tests for it at the Academy by a prayer and some luck alone. Comes from never even seeing bodies of water until you're nearly twenty."

"Really?" David asked, glad to suddenly have the attention off of him. He was wearing boxers, after all. How was he to know that they had... allowed some... freedom in all of his walking around. This was the 23rd century, people were supposed to be beyond that sort of non-sense.

"Three different asteroids,. Never been planetside before leaving for the Academy. That's why I despise shoreleave. It feels so unnatural with your feet dirtside with atmosphere and gravity without hab domes and green stuff. Water. I love it all- I mean there's so much beauty and power once you get past the transpos and buildings, but it will always weird me out a little. Everything's clean, too. Polite. It's weird." Probably not for him, Ri thought as she finally chanced a glance upwards.

"You know, you've told me that before, but I never considered the broader ramification of that type of lifestyle," David admitted. "If you've never swam in the ocean, it's something we simply must resolve. I'll teach you how to swim," He said, suddenly raising a single finger, "While wearing swim trunks" he added, quickly.

"That's great. I mean, the stars will be difficult to out do, but swim trunks will likely be more opaque." She got the statement out without giggling outright, but the mirth was evident in DiMarco's voice.

"That's not funny," David replied, pointing at her and arching a disapproving eyebrow.

Ri pointed right back with a flourish towards his nose. "It is! David, you were downright jaunty. I looked to the right and there are your pants on the ground. Not much shocks me- I told you that my mother entertained- but that's the most abrupt depantsing in public that I've ever seen. Is it not a problem for people to do that?"

"It's not supposed to be!" David protested. "And I was wearing boxers! I didn't think it'd make a scene!" He insisted.

"I don't know if it is or not, but where I grew up, dropping trou had a whole different connotation, you know? It just caught me off guard, is all. You're normally pretty physically reserved. Professional even. Not like.. not like other people." Or more exact, not like the type of people that she was the most accustomed to. "Don't be embarrassed, okay? I'm the odd man out in this picture."

"Not judging by the other people on the beach," David replied, ruefully.

"Well they could have been utter jackholes. They could eat babies. You don't know.." the engineer responded flippantly, "You're at your best when you're just being you. I'm just giving you a hard time."

David laughed suddenly, "Eat babies?!" He asked, highly amused. "Where in all the stars did you pull that one from?"

Rianna leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms behind her head, grinning. "It got your attention, didn't it? Then I did my job.."

David chuckled and took a sip of his coffee, "I've never met anyone quite like you, Ri. I'm glad to know you. You seem to cut through my insanity."

"Salt of the earth as a friend of mine used to say.," that was his description of Ri, though it never quite made sense to her. "Don't ever worry about the opinions of others unless you hold them higher than your own. They don't see what you see or know what you know or value what you value. Therefore they mean real little in the way of things."

"Truer words have never been spoken, my dear," David said, raising his coffee mug to her.

"Dear? I've been promoted!" Teased the engineer as she finished off her coffee. "So what are we going to do while we're here besides eat, sleep and scandalize beach goers? I'm not in the mood to get drunk. Or belligerent. Or pick a fight. You got any ideas?"

"Well, tomorrow when the sun is back up, we'll go swimming. It's far past time you learned how," David said, simply, giving her a daring smile.

Ri's smile faltered just a little. "You know I love the ocean," she began in a more somber tone than before. "It's powerful. Beautiful. It also freaks me the hell out. If you plan on teaching me to swim, you'd better be ready to take it real slow because I'm just a hair shy of a panic attack in water above my waist."

David chuckled, "We'll start in the hotel swimming pool. How's that?"

"A shoreline that never shifts and a bottom that's absolute? That sounds doable. I can do that." The tone in Ri's voice stated that she wasn't all that sure of her statement, but she would put on a brave face. "I mean I can tread water, you know. I can sorta float. I just don't get nowhere for the most part unless I'm on my back and kicking like an idiot."

"We will fix that, I assure you," David replied, confidently. "Now, as for tonight. I hear there is a fantastic Vaudeville performance group here on Pacifica this week. Over the top, silly, very enjoyable. Sound like an evening to you?" He asked.

"Great! Sure!" Ri piped up with enthusiasm. Or maybe it was the coffee. "What's Vaudeville?"

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