An Experiment in Participation

Posted on 08 Nov 2012 @ 7:32pm by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk
Edited on on 19 Jan 2013 @ 10:23am

2,905 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: VEGA IX: Colony Grounds
Timeline: MD06 0930 Hours

ON:

The morning was brisk and had a sharp edge of frost to it as Liyar materialized into the center of the colony's main grounds. For the most part, the weather was agreeable, but this morning the chill permeated through a little more abruptly than usual. Perhaps not to many of the Starfleet officers scurrying about their duties, but the Vulcan felt it keenly and shored up his physical defenses against it.

Outwardly, he was as normal, several PADDs in hand as he made his way over to the trade station lines and began his duties anew. The Galileo was in sore need of supplies, and in this, even the operations officers hadn't quite been successful in securing some of their more rare components from the reluctant Vega locals.

A large Vegan man was hunched over his kiosk, and the Vulcan and he were engaged in some kind of rapid exchange for a long period of time before the man sighed and pressed his thumb to the PADD. Whatever had occurred, it seemed the transaction was finally underway and Liyar left with an anti-grav cart filled with various boxes of supplies, with promise of future engagements from the vendor.

As Liyar made his way back from the ship empty handed, supplies in storage, he came across the security offer he'd eaten with in the mess hall his first day aboard, who appeared to be carrying with some materiel of his own. Liyar regarded him placidly and spoke over the din of the hurried Starfleet officers all around them. "Do you require assistance." He glanced down at the box the man was attempting to carry.

Cyrus looked to see the Vulcan he had dined with a few days ago. "Liyar right?" He looked down at the box. A crate of 'data-gels' or something like that, needed by the operations and engineering department. He shook his head. "Not with this one, I got this. If you want to grab the one behind me though feel free." He motioned his his hand over to a similar box to his right. "We need to get this on the cargo train head to Galileo before 11." He picked the box up and wrapped his arm around the sides. "They aren't heavy, just awkward to carry. "

The Vulcan merely nodded, acknowledging both his name and Cyrus's additional comments in one curt movement. He took a box, and stacked another one neatly on top of it before easily picking them up and balancing them with both hands.

"So how have you been? Haven't seen you in a while, was wondering if my meal scared you away." He chuckled.

"I should not think consuming first meal would cause such a drastic reaction, Mr. Kiwosk," Liyar replied, pulling the man's name out of his fathomless eidetic memory. He placed one hand on top and one hand below the boxes he held, and followed Cyrus to the location he required to go.

Cyrus sighed. "You know Liyar you can call me Cyrus. We are on Shore leave....follow me." As he made his way through the groups of people he looked over his shoulder. "So how has your time been on the ship? People start warming up to you?" Cyrus asked as he adjusted his box slightly.

"Cyrus." He repeated it mechanically, brows furrowed slightly. The expression dissolved as soon as it appeared, and was hidden as he was behind the security officer. "Vulcan core temperature is typically warmer than in most species, and as such our temperature requirements are more disparate. It is therefore reasonable to assume that most are warmer than myself." Liyar answered the question literally, and sincerely. It only lent him further to the image he was beginning to fit into, as someone who sincerely did not belong at the diplomatic post. Nevertheless, he followed the man, who so far seemed to be the only person on board who had spoken to him of their own accord more than once. "My time has been spent functionally," he finally answered as they rounded a corner. "I presume it is the same for yourself." He eyed the materiel.

Cyrus hid a smile by looking forward. He wasn't surprised that the vulcan had taken Cyrus's question literally, but figured he wouldn't correct him. It was good to see the budding diplomacy officer start to open up so soon. It had been only a couple of days and the former marine could see a massive difference in Liyar. " Not too bad actually, the crew seems friendly enough. Hours are reasonable, and I'm getting some time off right from the get go. I really can't complain about my time here so far. " They turned a corner to see a large truck-like construction off in the distance. "That's our spot Liyar. Once we get these gel packs loaded up we should be good for the rest of the day. You saved me a trip, I appreciate it."

Liyar nodded once. As they moved past the clearing, the buzzing of the engines growing louder around them. Several men and women in jumpsuits were loading and unloading cargo. One of them shouted to Liyar and tossed him a PADD, which he caught reflexively, but clearly unexpectedly. He checked its contents before appearing to recognize what was on it, and gestured to the woman who threw it. After that was done, he settled his load onto the back of the other truck that Kiwosk was near.

"Cyrus yawned, mouth opened wide. "What do you have planned after you're done helping me?" Kiwosk asked. Stepping past a loose stone in the walkway.

"Careful, stone."

He sidestepped it easily, folding his hands behind his back now that his cargo was unloaded. "I will return to the Galileo and continue my economic research," he said.

"Research? Sounds interesting. Economic, what exactly are you researching." Cyrus set his box next to the diplomatic officers before smacking the back of the truck. "It's all yours boys. Make sure she gets there safe and sound."

"I am calibrating the effects of Cardassia Prime's destabilization and the introduction of Ferenginar policy into that part of the Quadrant. I am attempting to utilize their efficient recovery among other economic overlays as an example of the benefit inherent in free enterprise." Without the box and walking in his natural gait, speaking on a topic of his natural expertise, he seemed graceful, dignified, severe and saturnine. It was quite possibly the longest thing he'd said to Cyrus, but still in the same detached tones as ever. If he was at all interested in his work, it didn't show. Perhaps only in that he'd answered so thoroughly.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. The vulcan...actually...spoke . "Sounds like you're passionate about that Liyar. Wish I could contribute, unfortunately the only thing close to economics I ever learned was how to gauge charges in a rifle clip. " He chuckled and strode over to his alien friend. "Have you ever gone golfing Li? " He smiled and rolled his shoulder, feeling much better since the second treatment with Pola. "Because I'm looking for a partner and it seems like everyone else has already made plans." He smiled. "And besides I owe you for giving me a hand with the boxes."

"My name is Liyar," he corrected blandly. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that Cyrus wanted to spend time with him. He had absolutely no idea what could inspire such a thing, and seemed a little ... confused, almost, as he replied, "I do not know what golfing entails, so I cannot assess whether or not I am amenable." It wasn't exactly a no.

Cyrus laughed and stretched. "Golfing, you know...um.." Cyrus looked down at the ground in thought as he searched for the proper words that would convince his potential golfing partner to join him. "Um, you are given a series of metal and wooden clubs and some balls, and the aim of the game is to place one ball in a small hole anywhere from 300 to 1500 yards away." Cyrus stretched his arms in emphasis of the distances. "So you must find out how hard to hit the ball, taking in varying factors of wind resistances, gravity and mass and all those...uhh factors and you try to hit the ball into the hole in few strokes than your other player." He stopped and grinned. "Like a competition!"

"Indeed." Liyar had a think on that a moment and tilted his head, before following Cyrus to the area where presumably this would occur. "If you desire to participate in this competition with myself, I will indulge you." They seemed to be walking to a small hill, which was filled with something green and soft. It sunk a little under Liyar's weight as he stepped on it. How alarming. "Are you certain this area is stable?" He lifted a foot and stepped down again. Clearly he had never encountered turf before.

They were not far from the nearest course that Kiwosk could find, it was a simple 8 hole course, the occasional sand trap and/or water hazard, but nothing serious. It had been a long time since Kiwosk had played, but figured it was as good a time as any.

Cyrus glanced questionably at the vulcan before nodding. "It's just the grass. they call it 'turf' it's supposed to help the ball." They approached the stand and Cyrus paid for two sets of clubs and a cart. Setting his clubs in the back he stepped into the small golf cart and smiled. "Grab your clubs and get in, I'll take us to the first hole."

Liyar lifted his bag, filled with several different 'sticks' as Cyrus had called them, and followed to the golf cart. It was perhaps an indulgence, but as a Vulcan, he could not deny he was somewhat curious about the ordeal.

Cyrus drove carefully along the small winding path, crossing a small bridge before arriving at the first hole. It was about 1200 yards away and was deemed a par 4. Seems easy enough Cyrus thought to himself as he exited the little cart. "So the goal is to get the ball in the hole within 4 shots, you lose points the less shots it takes, which is good. If you take more than four shots than you gain points. The more points you have at the end of the game the worse your score is." He picked out a wooden one and a ball. "You want to stay in the negatives for as long as possible. Cyrus instructed the Vulcan.

"I understand." Liyar confirmed, and picked out the similar wooden stick that Cyrus had chosen. He held it upright in one hand, before lowering it. He looked to Cyrus for further instruction, and it was declared he would go first. After which, he placed his ball on top of the small tee, as Cyrus had instructed him, and eyed the terrain carefully. He discerned the hole at approximately 1200.034 yards from their location, his eyes narrowing in on it. He seemed to be doing some kind of calculation in his mind, before he gripped the club in one hand, his stance all sorts of wrong. That was quickly negated as he abruptly swung the club forward, striking the ball fiercely and rocketing it effortlessly across the turf. It landed about two inches from the hole. "Do I take another turn?" he asked as he spotted it, unsure if he had done Cyrus a favor or if it was a good thing.

Cyrus blinked, rubbed his eyes as to see if he wasn't dreaming, and then blinked again. No matter what he did, it was no different. Liyar cleared the hole and was going to score an eagle easy on the first hole. "Um, uhhh" Cyrus began to laugh hard. "And you said you never played before?! You almost got it in one swing!!!!" He laughed some more and shook his head. "It's my turn now, then you get to go again."

If this was how the next 7 holes were going to go. Cyrus could only hope to survive. He set his ball on the tee and stared hard out towards the hole. He steadied his breathe, practicing his swing carefully. Every movement counted and was recounted. He closed his eyes, envisioning the ball sailing in the air.

Finally Kiwosk was ready, the incredible shot had to have been pure luck...right? In almost perfect form Cyrus swatted the ball hard and watched as the small white orb sailed through the air.

Into a patch of tall grass.

As a Vulcan, humility was not one of Liyar's strong points, especially as the event had been phrased essentially as a challenge, but he managed not to look entirely smug as he walked across the turf after Cyrus took his turn and gently tap the ball he'd landed by the hole into the circular embedding. "An interesting past time," he commented stone-faced as ever.

Cyrus chuckled and shook his head as he made his way to the tee. "if this is what I got myself into , it`s going to be a long 8 holes." said aloud. one hit knocked the ball onto the green and one more knocked it near the hole. After his fourth stroke he was able to make a clean put and claim the par.

He looked up at the vulcan who had 'smug' written as well as any emotion could be written on a Vulcan's facial features. "Oh put your eyebrow down, it was a lucky shot." Cyrus retorted heatedly, then busted out laughing. "Oh, who am I kidding, that was perfect. I have a feeling we might have found the a new pastime for you Li."

"Liyar," the diplomat automatically corrected, lining up his next shot with his usual brand of terrible 'golfing posture'. Nevertheless, he consistently shot the ball directly on target, nearly every time. It was not difficult, as the game mostly utilized strength and trigonometry to achieve its objectives, both skills with which he had relative experience, despite his inexperience at the sport. He noted that despite this, his partner appeared completely comfortable, even though he was clearly on the losing side of their competition. Perhaps it was a human ritual he was unaware of.

The rest of the game was without a doubt the most one sided competition Cyrus had ever participated in. The same thing would happen every time. Liyar would make an almost perfect shot only to tap it in on the second or third. The former marine struggled even to make par, which was 50/50 at best. by the end of the 8th and final hole, Liyar and come away with one of the best records he had seen, while Cyrus laughably grumbling, assumed it was the clubs. They returned the clubs without delay and after a quick drive back to the cart station they were near the entrance of the golfing range.

"I'm telling you Liyar you had the better clubs. It must have been. I don't see how else it could have been." He grumbled to his new friend. "There is no way that I could hit that bad that many times in a single game."

"Vulcans possess superior strength and visual analytical ability," Liyar reminded him. "I assumed that you were aware of this when you insisted. You appear," he said, pressing his lips together as if he could not think of a better word before reluctantly settling on, "Comfortable with me. Therefore I believed that you had previous contact with Vulcans. It was not my intention to deprive you of a fair competition," he said, taking Cyrus's words seriously, with no concept of what it meant to play for fun or to be a good sport.

Cyrus laughed. "I sort of figured how it was going to go, but I figured I'd have the veteran's edge you know." He sighed. "And no Liyar, you certainly didn't deprave me of a fair competition." He said cynically. Looking at the vulcan is grinned. "And why wouldn't I be comfortable around you? You're a person just like any other...and you haven't even accused me of my bad jokes. That's a bonus in my books any day. You're a good guy, else I wouldn't have invited you to play in the first place."

That earned Cyrus an inscrutable expression. It seemed that the ex-Marine had a more forgiving nature than most he had come across, or perhaps, like himself, he did not require verbal acknowledgment of tacit intent.

As they made their way back to the ship cyrus clasped his hands to the back of his head as they walked. "Next time I won't go easy on you...I was just practicing you know." Cyrus lied.

"It is illogical to lie to a telepath," Liyar said without ire.

Cyrus's brow twitched as he faked a yawn. "you know...I think I liked you better when you didn't seem so human." He laughed and gave Liyar a soft pat on the shoulder. "Let's get back to the ship Li. Who knows, maybe I'll teach you how to play poker next time."

OFF:

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, SDD/VDF
USS Galileo

CWO Kiwosk
Security/ Tactical
USS Galileo

RSS Feed