The Beach; After the Storms (Part 1)

Posted on 23 Dec 2012 @ 4:09pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Chief Warrant Officer 2 Arthur Willis

3,915 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony, Puam Digh
Timeline: MD9 0930

[ON]

Cyrus was already up, eating breakfast when he had heard that the crew was making their way to the beach. It had been ages since he had been able to go swimming anywhere other than in holodeck projections. It would be a nice change of pace, and it would be a good chance to catch the crew on a good day, which seemed to be few and far in between.

He couldn't say no to surfing swimming and the possibility to seeing Pola in a bathing suit. As he first made contact with the beach he took a deep breathe of fresh air and sighed warmly. "This is going to be good." He said to no one in particular.

Quinn and Willis emerged from the small hut that has served as their housing for the past several days since they first arrived here via the small sailboat they rented...which was seriously overdue to return. Quinn noticed Cyrus and approached him as he cracked open a morning beer. "Cyrus, how the hell are you man? Beautiful day for a beer and a swim."

Willis sat down across from Cyrus, while holding his head. "Never again will I drink that saltwater ale stuff."

Cyrus looked up and smiled. "Not too bad old man, and yes it is. It's like you read my mind. " He reached over to grab a beer from his own stash and drank deep. "Saltwater ale eh? You get used to it after a while Willis." Kiwosk added.

He leaned back and smiled. "It's gonna be awesome, who got this together anyways? All I got was a random message saying I should go."

Quinn downed his beer and then took one of Cyrus'. "Junior and I ended up here about three days ago when the sailboat we are renting got caught in a storm. It blew us here, thankfully. We tied the boat up over at the little cove on the north side of the island. I think we may owe a large fee when we bring the sailboat back."

Willis looked up from his stupor and grabbed a beer and twisted to top off, then downed it. After a smile and an extremely audible belch, Willis shook his head. "Damn nasty fish from last night. Hey, Quinn. Didn't we use my ID to rent the boat?"

Quinn smiled and sat down next to Cyrus. Then tilted his beer towards Willis. "He's a nice kid, but slow to catch on."

Cyrus laughed loudly and sipped his own. "Looks like you got played Willis!" Chuckling he pushed his bag back to make room as he laid back in the sand, enjoying the early morning sun. He didn't mind Quinn taking his beer, he owed the old man one in any case. " Blown in here eh? Where the hell did you guys rent the boat...and how did you get caught in a storm..." Cyrus couldn't but ask the dynamic duo.

"I hate you old man."

Quinn chuckled at Willis' comment, then looked to Cyrus. "The town we rented the sailboat? Damn good question. Whatever the name of that town we almost skidded into with the Gali. Anyway, we took this nice little boat out for what we thought would be a nice quiet day at sea."

"With my credentials!" moaned Willis.

"No wonder a search party hasn't been sent out." remarked Quinn. "Anyway, after a few hours this nasty storm came out of nowhere. Seventy foot waves and sixty knot winds with gales close to eighty, maybe ninety knots, even. I headed into the waves, but it only took us farther away from the mainland."

"Two days of hell! I was like dealing with my mother-in-law, but less painful." remarked Willis as he was ordering another round of drinks for the three men from a young waitress.

"Yeah, it was great." answered Quinn. "You can sail back with us to the mainland if you want. That is, whenever we decide to go back."

Cyrus nodded, he couldn't stop laughing, the two of them were two much at times. "You know what Quinn, I'll take you up on that. It'll be good to hang around some of the boys for a change. I've bumped into quite the number of females on board, well...I did talk to Watt and Theron..." He shrugged. It'll be nice to get back out on the sea for a bit too. My great great grandfather was in the Canadian Navy way back when."

Approaching from the side, the familiar dark-capped head of Warrant Officer Kell ducked out of the transporter beam and walked up to Willis, Quinn and Kiwosk where he'd been transported near the outskirts. "Morn," he offered them all with a small wave. He knew that Tiffany Darwisch would be down with her own ensemble soon enough, and that would put a damper on their Boys Time if nothing else would, but the place was nice. He had a small wooden hand-drum lodged under his arm, and he was watching the sky, intrigued by the distinct play of colors in the atmosphere, the sounds of swimming and activity slowly rising.

Quinn tossed Kell a beer. "Heads up sailor!"

Willis let out a moan as he finished off his beer. "NO more beer, for me, guys. I need something stronger to knock this hangover out."

The Capellan reached out a hand to catch it, but was distracted by something crab-like moving at his feet and it bounced off of his knuckles. He hissed, and caught it with his other hand in a dicey maneuver involving shifting a drum, shaking his head. "That went well," he said to himself as he approached the three of them, popping the tab. He knelt for a moment, letting the crab thing crawl up onto his arm, before stopping next to Quinn. "Look at this," he mused curiously at the Prog Crab, arms full.

Quinn smiled at the crustacean...just before grabbing it and ripping a claw off of it. He then tossed the crab onto the table as he pulled the lower half of the claw down and then detached it at the joint, exposing a giant hunk of white crab meat. The CoB tossed it into his mouth and chewed, while taking a swig of his frosty beverage. "Damn, I never get tired of those things."

The crab skittered over towards Willis, when the young man noticed the approaching critter, he jumped up and sprinted ten paces backwards. "Kill that damn thing already!"

Quicker than any of the others Cyrus flicked his wrist, only to have a steak knife burst through the crab's shell. Grunting, he hefted his muscled body and walking over to where the dead crustacean lay before picking him up knife first. "Got him." He chuckled, laying the crab on the table before taking a swig of beer. "Man Willis, that crab nearly had you there. It's a killer it is," he teased.

Willis started smiling. "Hey, I thought it was a spider, okay? Damn crab."

Kell didn't visibly react at all to the stimulus as it happened. He looked to the crab, the knife, and then Cyrus, before shrugging as it clicked into place. "Edible, then," he noted wryly.

Cyrus chuckled and extended a hand to the Warrant Officer. "Cyrus Kiwosk, you must be Kell."

"Yeah," Kell said, taking the hand in yet another brilliant maneuver of balancing. He set the drum down. "You were at the target practice," he remembered, taking a drink of his own beer and leaning against the wood of their makeshift hut-thing-whatever-it-was.

Suddenly Cyrus remembered the nonchalant Warrant. "That's right! Man I didn't recognize you there for a moment." He gave a quick up/down shake of the man's hand before releasing it. "Sorry about that mate, things have been a blur the last few days. " He took a sip of his beer and laughed.

"Mm," the intelligence officer replied with a friendly (for a Capellan, which largely just looks like neutral, which is perhaps the best description of every facial expression that Kell has) duck of his head. He gestured between Quinn and Willis. "We haven't met, though. Evan Kell," he introduced evenly.

Quinn smiled back at the Capellan, "I'm Markum Quinn, you can just call me Quinn, and Boy-Wonder over there is Arthur Willis, but you can call him Screech."

"Ha-ha, old man," replied Willis. "Willis is fine, just call me Willis. Nice to meet you, Evan Kell."

"You can just call him 'he who runs away from crabs.'" He laughed loudly and shook his head. "I've seen some damned funny things Willis, but you jumping back almost three feet over a crab... that was impressive, I have to say."


*** Tiffany ***

By the time she felt sand under her feet and the beginning of the nice sun on her face and shoulders, she was coming close to an upset. Not only had she had to drag all the stuff by herself, but Kell broke a promise to her and didn't come by to escort her as he said he would. Why he would think she'd ever be interested in going out with a guy who couldn't keep a single promise was beyond her. And she had waited for him. For an eternity! before she asked the computer to locate him and found out he'd already transported to the beach.

She let her bags drop in the sand where she appeared and pulled the gauzy white linen shirt around her shoulders. She spied the objects of her ire, both of them together, and she wasn't going to let either of them see her new bikini until they were both good and sorry and atoned for their miscreant deeds! Making sure to tighten the sarong around her waist, she called out: "Kell!" as she marched up to the hut.

The intelligence officer turned, raising a hand in a wave.

She went right for the Capellan and smacked him, hard, on the arm. He blinked. "You're a brat, an absolute brat! You promised me that you'd come by to pick me up at my quarters at 1000! 1000! I waited and waited and waited for your for forever and ever and you didn't come. Then you transport down without me? You even promised you would help carry all this gear for the games and you didn't come by and help me! And I'm mad!" she stomped her foot as she smacked him again, "and you will be quiet and let me have my say this time! Well! What have you got to say for yourself? I'm waiting to find out why you are being such a buggery brat!"

"I -" and he paused, frowning this time, because he did remember that conversation, but did not remember what she was talking about. Then again, she looked pretty angry, so he settled on the truth, "Thought you said I wasn't invited?" He held out a hand in an offer of assistance for all of her... stuff.

"Okay, I think you've talked long enough Mr. My Blue Eyes Can Get Me What I Want!" She smacked his shoulder again while stomping a foot, "Now it's my turn! First of all, when we talked about coming this morning you agreed to pick me up at 1000 hours at my quarters! And I said you weren't coming inside because I'm not that kind of girl," here she flashed an angry glance at Kiwosk, while smacking Kell again. "Then you agreed to help me bring stuff down."

"Oh," Kell said, genuinely perplexed, realizing that she had intended for him to go get her all along. The girl was unnecessarily confusing at times, but he supposed he knew that all along, too. "I'm sorry."

"And you said you would bring drums for the campfire singalong, did you bring drums? I don't see any drums! You expect me to go out with you when you treat me like this? I don't think so! And be quiet! You had your chance to talk now it's my turn! I'm not seeing any drums! No, you probably forgot them but made sure to bring a PADD to work on stupid Cardassian/Ferengi financial plots though! You ask a girl out to a beach party and then you don't pick her up OR bring your part of the deal and bring along work! You're an absolute brat and no I won't go out with you because I want to be treated like a lady, not an afterthought. And quite frankly, I told you that you needed to be quieter and find out about the ladies you're interested in but you just can't do that! No, you have to keep going on and on and on and on and never let me have a word edgewise!" She smacked him again, foregoing the footstomp this time as it was loosening her hair from it's updo. "So, huh, what have you got to say for yourself you big, buggery brat who doesn't even deserve a second chance!"

Kell lifted up the drum he'd placed behind him, offering it to her. "It's not a whole set - I don't have one. I can get a good rhythm on this. You still want me to play?" he asked with a rather unreasonable amount of equanimity, considering the verbal lashing he'd just been subjected to. And the hitting. Don't forget the hitting. He rubbed his shoulder as an afterthought.

She glared at him, crossing her arms as she did so. "You just think you're so clever and have an answer for everything. Fine!" her foot did a half stomp. "But this doesn't mean you're still not in trouble for breaking your promise to escort me to the party! And embarrassing me by making a scene in front of everyone here! They must think I'm an awful person because of you! And the Cob! Right there having to watch me endure your berating! It's so unfair! You owe me, mister! You owe me big time! Dinner! And a nice one! Not the messhall or something replicated. I want to put on something pretty and go out! Maybe dancing too! And you won't wear that stupid fedora, it's so ugly even if we dropped it into a black hole the black hole would reject it! Now you'd better make this up to me by finding a good place to go out!"

Kell shifted the drum back down on the ground gently and stood akimbo, a brief look of amusement crossing his face, whistling slightly, but nodding. Dinner it was. "Low blow, Darwisch. You wound me. My fedora is excellent." He gestured to Quinn. "I'm sure he doesn't think you're awful. You don't think she's awful," the Capellan drawled, "Hm?"

Tiffany glared at Quinn, just daring him to take Kell's side in the matter, but she smiled sweetly anyway. After all, he was the Cob.

Quinn just smiled while reaching for another beer.

"You break this promise, Kell, and you'll never get another chance. Never! No more. So don't even try. AND you'd better be a good friend for the rest of the day!"

Kell could only nod once again.

Having finished with Kell she turned to Chief "Aren't I Too Sexy For A Date" Kiwosk and smacked him on the arm. "And you Kiwosk! You're a pig! An outright no doubt about it pig! You think just because you go all sweaty and hard at the gym to get those useless muscles," here she smacked him on the arm again to emphasis the objects of her ire, "that gives you the right to be an absolute pig! And don't sit there and flex those things at me because I don't date swine, horrible, horrible slimy hoofed-footed swine! So, what do you have to say for yourself, Chief "Aren't I Just A Gift To Women" Kiwosk? Huh? Well?"

Cyrus just stared dumbfounded. "The hell did I do?" He dodged an incoming swat to his arm and took a step back, staring at the crazed intelligence officer. "Pig? Now you listen here-" He started only to be cut short by another stinging slap to the arm. "Will you STOP THAT! " He snapped, trying not to laugh. "Gift to Women? The hell are you on lady?" He retorted, obviously confused.

The fact that Kell was Capellan and naturally reserved emotionally might have been the only thing that prevented him from the small smile forming in the back of his mind.

"To have you know I do have a date and I'm very happy, so you call my swine one more time..." He cracked his knuckles and glanced to the beach. "And you're going in the water." He chuckled.

"I dare you," was all he said.

"Oh, like you don't know what you did! You oaf! You cad! You...you...Oh, I know just what you are! You think you're so charming but you're nothing but a womanizer! Oh, yeah, go ahead and front all you want but that's it! Nothing but a large, musclebound jerky pig going around breaking hearts, thinking you're so great! No! You be quiet right now and let me have a say, you had yours now it's my turn!" She stomped her foot hard while smacking him again. "You remember Tabby? You remember going around flirting with her, flexing for her, smiling that 'oh, I'm so devil may care' smile of yours? Remember her? Remember how you were going to take her out on a date after all that flirting, huh, you womanizing pig?

"Did you take her out? Did you? NO! You didn't! And what happens? She sees you out canoodling with the doctor! Now I have to stay up all night having wine and fondue and telling her that she's not a terrible person and that she's too good for the likes of your scummy, jerky pig oafish self! Now you stand there pretending like you didn't do anything wrong when you broke her heart and stomped on it just like I should stomp on your overgrown, steroid deformed foot right now! No, you were all 'Kiwosk pretty! Kiwosk SMASH puny Tabby heart hahahahahaha!

"So now what have you got to say for yourself you giant, stinking, squealing, piece of overgrown scum! You broke her heart after making her think she was special enough to be attractive to a pig like you and you just broke her heart and stomped on it and then went off canoodling with another woman!" She smacked his arm again. "Oh, now you're all quiet and don't have two words to say for all the guilt of what you've done to poor Tabby and so many others!?"

"Tabby...what, who the hell is Tabby?!" Cyrus stood there taking the abuse of the poor woman before finally he had enough. "You know...you did call me pig..." He rolled his shoulder only to see Pola and who he could only assume was the Commander approaching. He looked to his left gauging how far it would be to dunk the crazy lady in the water. Realizing that it would have to wait. He looked at her chuckled, and left. "Tell Tabby I'll put her cat treats out next time okay?" Before making his way to his beloved doctor.

"Yeah, that's right, you'd better run away you good for nothing womanizing oafish pig!" Tiffany called after him. "But you know, he does have a nice butt. You think he works on that a lot?"

Kell shrugged. "Probably."

Having managed to drag Jonathan out of his paperwork and a quick stop at his quarters, Pola and the XO arrived on the beach for what could only be described as a shouting match. Turning to look at Jonathan with a raised eyebrow, she figured that his inquisitiveness would match hers and lead the way.

"See this is why I never go to the beach without a phaser..." John started, speaking to nobody in particular but certainly reminding himself that had the doctor not decided to almost drag him from his desk, he probably would have been much happier updating the last crew transfer records.

From a distance Pola had finally spotted Cyrus but the happiness she felt was quickly squashed as she caught some of the words being said to him by a strange woman. Pulling the sunglasses from her face, she moved up closer as she tried to understand what was going on. "Well...it seems like we are missing quite the party."

"Indeed....although I don't think there are defined procedures for Beach Activities in the Starfleet handbook...not the regular sort of Away Mission that Command envisaged I don't believe."

John replied, before reaching into the pocket of his shorts to pull out a pair of his own sunglasses and quickly placed them on his face. Just because he was here out of uniform and not as the ship's XO didn't mean that he was any less cautious.

"Hey!" He jogged up to the Pola and John with little trouble. Bare chested and sporting a of reflected sunglasses, he couldn't take his eyes off the slim figure of the doctor. "I was hoping you'd be here." He looked over to see the Commander. "I don't think we have been formally introduced yet Commander. CWO Kiwosk, a pleasure."

"Mr Kiwosk. Nice to make your acquaintance." The XO replied as the bare-chested security officer made his presence known. John wasn't used to socialising with his subordinate crew members in this fashion, so today would certainly be a test.

Kell picked up his drum. "Think the XO likes s'mores?" He pointed up the way as Holliday and Ni Dhuinn headed down and when they reached the hut, he turned and rose an eyebrow at them. "Morn, sir, doctor," he offered neutrally from across the way.

"Well of course he likes s'mores!" Tiffany said, smacking him with the back of her hand in the stomach this time. "What kind of a stupid question is that!? Everybody likes s'mores! I mean, you've had to be like...a borg or something not to like s'mores and not even then! You think the Borg came all the way to Earth just to colonize us? NO! They came for s'mores! They're all like 'We are the Borg! Deliciousness is futile! All your s'mores are belong to us! We will assimilate their gooey goodness into our tummies!'"

"Of course," Kell agreed with a Serious Nod.

"So of course the Commander likes s'mores, RIGHT COMMANDER!! YOU LIKE S'MORES RIGHT?" she called out, right next to Kell's ear. Kell, in perfect composure, decidedly Did Not Wince. Even if that was a very shrill note. "See, Kell, of course he likes s'mores. Y'know, for being an intelligence officer you sure can be unintelligent a lot! Sheesh...does the Commander like s'mores. Can you believe this guy?"

[TBC]
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Lieutenant Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Master Chief Petty Officer Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Senior Chief Petty Officer Arthur Willis
Engineering Computer Specialist
USS Galileo

Warrant Officer Evan Kell
Intelligence Officer, SFI
USS Galileo

CWO Kiwosk
Security/ Tactical
USS Galileo

PO2 Tiffany Darwisch
Operations
USS Galileo

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

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