Enjoying Shoreleave
Posted on Sun Jan 31st, 2016 @ 11:28pm by Captain Aidan Rackham & Commander Ashley Kennedy & Commander William Carver M.D. & Lieutenant Lhravitelim th'Endirhc & Lieutenant Rianna DiMarco & Lieutenant David Windsor & Ensign Daisy Skie-Cloud & Chief Petty Officer Frederick Nau & Ensign Abigaël Sorensen
Mission:
Strange Entertainment
Location: Pacifica
Timeline: 2278.67 1400hrs [Ship Time]
Sitting alone, overlooking a majestic, glimmering lake - the name of which he was quite unable to pronounce - the captain of the USS Farragut was enjoying his first chance to relax in quite some time. Pacifican folk music streamed gently from the interior of the café as he savoured the taste of the local wine on his tastebuds.
The waiter had told him that the wine on Pacifica was among the finest in the known galaxy thanks to the incredibly consistent summery weather on the planet and the natural irrigation of the ground thanks to the many bodies of water. Rackham decided against explaining that he wasn't from the known galaxy and offering him a glass of Chateau Briand from his little stash on the ship. Instead he was content to enjoy the sun beating down on his face and regret not taking his First Officer's advice to wear shorts.
The peace and quiet was unbeatable. Ever since they had left Bellatrix he had felt enclosed among the usual noises of the starship, the deep, low hum of the engines, the high pitched chirrups and beeps which punctuated every action on the bridge. Before he had been able to shut them out but ever since the last away mission on Bellatrix, and the almost disastrous survey mission into the Delta Triangle, every sound out of place had put him on edge.
Daisy was out at one of the many lakeside swimming areas, soaking up the sunlight wearing as little as possible, yet remained non-offensive to the locals and fleet morale dictums. If she had it her way. She wouldn't be wearing anything. Enjoying the sun warm rays on her body as she laid on the soft grass that went right to the edge of the huge lake. She listened to the soft music from one of the local radio stations that dotted the planet.
Nearby her was a tray with cold drinks ready to be consumed at her leisure and some fruits that had been nibbled on already. She was happy that everything from the mission had been resolved. Glancing at the time she had a few more hours sun-tanning herself before she had to return to her cottage and get ready for one of the many evening events.
Fred sat on the beach, checking over his PADD. The day had been beautiful *and* profitable. One case of what the locals here used for wine had become his for 3 pouches of tobacco via Cestus 3 . Now, he lay back in a lounge chair, soaking up the sun. Taking a deep breath, he punched a few buttons on his PADD. Soft string music began to come from the PADD and Nau closed his eyes. "Life....is good." He said in a whisper.
Telim didn't quite know what to do with himself. Unlike most of his shipmates who were perfectly happy lounging about in the hot sun, Andorians preferred cooler temperatures, and so he was keeping to the shade offered by various trees and structures around the beach. But aside from that, he didn't know what he should be doing to keep from merely looking idle and out of place. Normally on shore leave, even before his recent bout of heavy alcoholism, he'd of sampled some of the local wines or beers, and started up conversations with other patrons of whatever bar he found to sample them from. He'd managed to stay alcohol-free since before they had reached Bellatrix (he had no idea how amongst the madness of their survey mission he hadn't lapsed back into the habit), and with Doctor Carver's help the effects of withdrawal were abating, and he would like to keep it that way.
Aside from that, he hadn't actually had much of a chance to interact with the crew socially, outside of each of them performing their duties, pretty much since they had left Cestus. He knew that was entirely his fault - firstly for locking himself in his quarters with a bottle of ale every night after his shift, and then for avoiding them out of sheer embarrassment and awkwardness for his earlier behaviour. So instead he found himself randomly ambling along the shaded areas of the beach, not doing much other than taking in the views of the ocean, which had far too few (read: none) icebergs for his liking.
It was a tough decision to make, one of the toughest of his career, but William Carver was weighing his options carefully. On one hand, he had the bar tender. She had a very nice body, no doubt about that. The crests on her head were intriguing, but the fins on the back of her arms left him with some questions. Were they soft? Or would they leave him with lacerations? On the other hand, he had his waitress. While the bar tender had the better body in his opinion, there was something exotic about her purple skin and green hair. Plus, she had been flirting with him. Then again, she was also working for tips. It was a tough decision to be sure, but he always had a third option. Pick the waitress tonight, and try for the bar tender tomorrow. He hoped to be on Pacifica for at least that long. He waved at the violet skin beauty to call her over.
The hand on David's hadn't moved for quite some time now, and he found himself oddly okay with that. With Ri he didn't feel awkward and uncomfortable in his own skin, he simply felt like a person with another person and nothing was wrong with the world. Perhaps that was what drew him to her, perhaps it was her beauty, perhaps her intelligence...
Perhaps he needed to stop thinking along these lines. She was hurting and he was there to be her friend, not try to woo her into a relationship with him.
"Do you see that green patch near the horizon? I wonder if that's an algae pool... I'd love to take a sample if it is," He said, trying to make the conversation as non-personal as possible. "I do enjoy the xenobiology of alien worlds..."
"Yeaaaaah you might want to change out of your khakis before you try that," the engineer commented with a smirk. "It could be thermal vent or a shelf. Shallow, warmer water and all of that."
"Could be... only one way to be sure," David said, standing up and stripping down to his boxers. "Let's go find out. It's not that far out," He said, running toward the water.
Running along the lake was infinitely more preferable to that sterile treadmill in the Farragut officer's gym or the makeshift track she'd mapped out through the corridors of F Deck. The place was made for running and Ash was soaking it up while she could. It felt so good to be outside running for a change. It gave her a chance to think, to reflect, to come to terms even.
Ash was mortified over what had happened in that damn nebula. Although she understood the science - it wasn't her, it was the radiation screwing with her brain. It didn't make her feel any better though. She was the first officer and she behaved like some kind of madwoman. By some astounding quirk of fate, she had avoided hurting anybody. She held that blade in her hands and was perfectly willing to use it in cold blood against another human being for no reason.
Ash was ashamed. It burned deep inside and made her sick to her stomach. So she ran.
Now on to lap three.
Daisy rolled over onto her back on the big beach towel. She stretched out enjoying the moment of rest and relaxation. She adjusted her sunglasses to protect her eyes as she laid back down, feeling the warm sunlight bath her body. Taking note of the sun moving closer to the horizon. She motioned to one of the Staff that roamed amongst the guest at the resort to come and pick up the tray of snacks. She stood up and moved gracefully off towards the individual cottages that was hers for her duration of her stay on planet.
Trying to stifle a yawn, Fred got up from his lounge chair and shook off some sand. Glancing up and down the area, he noticed several of his fellow crew members chatting and soaking in the sun. Smiling, he remembered that several of the cottages nearby has been 'pro-cured' for their use. Yawning once again, he headed off to one to check out it's insides and bed and pillow..
Captain Aidan Rackham
Commanding Officer
Commander Ashley Kennedy
Weapons Officer/First Officer
Commander William Carver MD
Chief Surgeon
Lieutenant Rianna DiMarco
Engineering Officer
Lieutenant David Windsor
Science Officer
Lieutenant Telim th'Endirhc
Helmsman
Ensign Daisy Skie-Cloud
Communications Officer
Chief Petty Officer Frederick Nau
Finance Officer
USS Farragut
