Dusty Legends; Skeletons and Snakes (Part 3)

Posted on 15 Jan 2013 @ 9:28pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes

2,673 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony, Romulan War Battlesite
Timeline: MD 05 1550 hours

[Continued]

As Theron and Kiri walked away, for the 2nd time, Theron glanced up at the sky and saw that the Vegan sun had moved across the sky quite a bit. He had not looked at the official time in a while, but figured they should find a place for the modestly planned Pic-nic. He looked about the area as they walked and pointed to a relatively flat area in the grass, and said for Kiri to hear, "How would that area be to sit down and have a bite to eat?"

Kiri had lost track of time, it felt a world a away when they had been sat down and eating with everyone. It couldn't be so very long though, she didn't feel that hungry. A rest would be nice though, her legs were tired and she was too. This was more exercise than she had been used to lately. Blustered slightly by the wind she answered, "Okay," Now she was trying to think about it as a problem. The wind was coming from the north, there was a small hillock near the flat patch with a large bush growing near it, "Would that be a good place?" It would block the wind and Kiri's most basic instincts told her not to rest in the open.

As they continued to approach, Theron again looked at the location and caught himself looking at it strategically or defensively. For him it was always good to have that mindset, but for this moment he cleared those thoughts and determined what would work best for eating food outside. "Yes. Yes I think you are right."

Letting him take the lead Kiri kept her eyes open for snakes, birds or anything else that might cause them a problem. It was nice to be outside, to be looking at things and it helped take her mind off work. Something even she needed once in a while.

As they stopped at the chosen location, without preamble, Theron took command of the situation and tapped his comm badge, =^= Lt. Rhodes to Galileo transporter room.=^=

=^= Crewman Heston here. What may I do for you Lieutenant? =^=

=^= I have a pre-reqested package to be transported to me. Would you provide that for me, at this location at time? Please? =^=

=^= very good. Please stand by. =^=

Kiri didn't know so much planning had gone into this event, now she was starting to feel pretty guilty that she didn't feel very hungry. She'd brought a fruit bar and a flask of tea, and that was all she expected she'd need. What was all this?

The area in front of them began to glow with the typical translucent blue shimmering as the small container appeared before them.

Theron added, =^= The package has arrived. Thank you Heston. =^=

=^= You're welcome Sir. =^=

Theron looked at Kiri who seemed slightly uncertain by this surprise. He felt that he needed to explain and did by saying, "It is just a small snack of fruit and wine." stepping to the small container quickly, he opened it and pulled out a blanket. With one movement he was able to lift it high, open it up, and let it fall flat exactly where he wanted. This he had done many times on a holodeck back at the Academy to impress a date. It just came natural to him on this day. He turned to Kiri continuing wtih the list of contents, "some sweet bread and water." He finished with a smile and waited and hoped for an approving response.

Tilting her head slightly Kiri tried to place all this. Wine might not be a good idea if she was out here, or even at the best of times. Still drinking and then having to go to the bathroom outside didn't really appeal, or cutting their trip short. Kneeing down on the blanket she placed her own bag down, she looked over what the basket held, "What kinds of fruit are they?" A small smile passed her lips as well, but mostly she was confused as to why he was doing this.

Kneeling down on the blanket he began to take out the containers of fruit. "Oh, let me see. I have some apple and citrus and . . ." Looking to her saying, "And something called Kiwi. " , removing the lid showing the multi-colored fruit that had been pre-cut for quick eating. He set the flask of wine on one side and the flask of water on the other.

Theron saw some uncertainty in Kiri's eyes about picnic that he had prepared. He may have over done it. This kind of creative event is what other guys had recommended to him over the years. He really was not trying to impress Kiri or 'woo' her. It was just the natural thing for him to do. He just kneeled there for a moment with the contents laid out, awaiting her response. He dared not, under the circumstances, reach into the container and turn the music on that had also been prepared.

Kiri settled herself, placing her own bag down and taking out the flask of tea. Trying to work out what he was trying to do with the situation still and if it was like a scene from a book or not she asked rather absent-mindedly, "Do you have any lemons?"

Theron schrunched up his face, squinting his, looking about and looking in the container. Looking at Kiri with raised eyebrows he replied, "I guess . . . no lemons. Sorry." He looked at the cut fruit in the bowl then said, "Maybe you could try some of the red ones there. I think those are straw-something or other." He picked up on of the red fruit. It appeared to be a quarter of a whole. It was odd that the seeds were on the outside, instead of the inside.

Kiri liked sweet flavors, but she liked sour and tart even more. Smiling she nodded at him, "Strawberries," They weren't as nice as Yangmei that grew behind her house but they were nice still. Taking a segment she placed it in her mouth, sucking on it behind her teeth before eating it.

"Ah, yes. Strawberries." Theron replied and put the one he had into his mouth as well. It had a great semi-sweet flavor, but the gritty seeds were a touch irritating, but enjoyed it overall.

"You can get little alpine ones that taste like pineapples," She liked those better, you could eat them right off the plant. There were a few patches in hills at the back of the village, spreading very fast once they got started.

They are in silence for a while. Theron could tell that Kiri was not really hungry, probably from the large lunch the group had earlier.

Theron thought for a bit longer then asked, "Kiri, are you happy?" He left it as open a question as he could. He hoped the recent experiences had given her opportunities.

Almost on reflex she would have answered yes. She was where she wanted to be with the job she wanted, a rank so quickly that few had it happen to them. Yet, she was lonely and yearned for friends to be close to, to make her whole, "I don't know."

Theron thought for a moment, then finally said, "I can accept that." He shifted his body so he could look at her better. "Psycologists say that happiness is all a matter of perspective and what is important to the individual. You have made many friends in the short time here on the Galileo. I hope you will allow yourself the opportunity to be happy."

Kiri didn't see it that way. She had made many acquaintances in her short time aboard, that was good. There hadn't really been that many friends though, people she was herself with, people she was really comfortable with. People she wasn't scared of sharing her secrets with and being close to. Fussing with another piece of fruit but not eating it she answered, "I try to be happy, but its hard."

"I understand." Theron said calmly as he put another piece of fruit into his mouth. When his mouth was empty enough he added, "I am looking forward to our next mission. It will be good to get back into space."

"Lots of different work to do again," Kiri liked working in space much more than projects on the ground, even if they weren't bad. They just weren't why she had come all this way, that was the stars she got to explore, "Do you think it will be safer?"

"Safer?" Theron questioned as he tapped the finger of his closed fist in thought. "There are no guarantees in space. That is why we are trained well and have a diversity of talents aboard the ship."

"I meant, just, I know its never safe but safer than it was," Wouldn't just about anything be safer than trying to escape Klingons? Placing another strawberry in her mouth she forced a smile.

Theron did not reply audibly, but opened his mouth slightly moving his head up and down slightly in recollection of her prior history. He did not want to bring that up and discuss it with Kiri. It was not his place to drag up a sad time in ones life. Pursing his lips slightly he looked away for a moment. Finally, Theron turned to face Kiri with a smile, "This next mission I understand is a low security issue. You should not have anything to worry about for a while longer."

Kiri nodded, "Yes," This time the smile was less forced. Pouring some of her tea into the cap she looked to him, "I don't have another cup, but would you like some?" The green water still steamed slightly in the air and wafted a herbal sent that couldn't quite be pinned down.

"It smells wonderful, but no." Theron replied.

"Okay," Taking a sip she felt a lot warmer on the inside, "Do you like archaeology, or well exploring like this?" She was down to bad small talk again but she didn't want to fall silent.

He smiled slightly when he realized that she had changed the subject and was asking about his interests. "In a way. Not so much the archeology of digging things up or finding them. But I do have an interest in different types of hand weapons from the past and the techniques used in handling them." He felt he had to correct himself further, "Not so much that they were used to mame or kill, but the difference in the technique in contrast to their culture." he hoped that made sense.

"Cadet Im'er Mor'an is the same," Kiri smiled, "I've been trying to learn a bit," She had put a few hours in to get a little bit of an understanding, "Mostly Earth weapons though."

"Yes, humans have done very well over the years, creating interesting ways to hurt each other. Some more eliquint than others."

"Yes," Humans didn't need any help in that regard, "It is part of the reason the race is so progressive though."

"That is an interesting way to look at it." Theron replied. Looking to the side in thought, "Can creative ways of doing harm to others be corrilated to the level of creativity and or inteligence of a species?" Turning to face Kiri, he added, "What do you think?"

"I think its more they are creative. From space travel to weapons and warfare, they develop quickly and create new ideas. The global threat of war was part of what drove groups to develop until the late twenty first century. From space more so, they wanted to show they were better than each other. Cultural Wars." She wasn't very good at history, but the overview she had covered in school, humans were a topic she did as well.

"I can see your point." Theron replied, "But what of United Federation of Planets. Where do they fall in your scenario?"

"That was after things changed," She smiled, again this was fun, "When Humans met the Vulcans they started to join together and knew there was more in the Galaxy than themselves. Competing against each other was much less important than discovering new things and that lead to more creative endeavours. They were also recovering from the damage that their unrestricted creativity, the Eugenics Wars and the Atomic Horror. Working together they could stop things getting so bad."

"I see." Theron said thoughtfully, placing his hand upon his chin. "So, using your premise, internal conflict provides the influence to kill more creatively?"

"Yes," Kiri didn't realise quite how grim their talk had gotten.

"I will have to write that down later. May I quote you on that?" Theron jested putting an orange piece of fruit in his mouth.

Kiri smiled, "You can, but I'm not an expert," Taking her own piece of fruit and chewing on it, "What about Tandar, what is your history like?"

"Ah, now that is a long history of fear and separation."

"Oh?" Kiri looked slightly confused, but she honestly didn't know anything about his people.

"Let me just say, that the Tandarans, did get out from their planet into space and took in several systems under their protective hand, but then became very isolated within themselves." Theron stopped to let that sink in, then added. It was only after many years of Federation influence did Tandar Prime become more accepting to others.

"I see, so you developed your own colony system? When was your first contact?" Earth's had been dramatic, but Kiri guessed that most contacts were different than that.

Theron explained, "The Tandar Sector had done trade for a couple hundred cycles with other species or space faring societies, but always very controlled."

That didn't answer the question she asked though, did he not want to talk about it? Some first contacts could be very hostile, was that why? Whatever it was she didn't ask again, taking another bite of fruit and drinking most of her tea, "Do many join Starfleet?"

He did not answer right away, thinking with pursed lips. Theron finally said, "My brother Stephon and I were the 2nd and 3rd Tandarans to attend Star Fleet Academy." He waited another moment, then added, "Tandar Sector is a member of the Federation, but only after many years of talks. Much antagonism and fear still remains in my society."

"I see," She knew he had a brother at least now, "Would you mind if I read about it?" It didn't make much sense to ask, she knew, but he seemed reluctant to tell her much, was it a topic he would rather she didn't know about?

Theron shrugged and immediately replied, "Oh, not at all." After a moment he added, "There is not much out there, though. They are still quite reserved with contact, but widening with each cycle." He bobbed his head and said, "That means a year for most people."

Kiri considered that for a moment, still it might be helpful. If she knew more about him then maybe she could be a better friend? Plus it might help her predict what he would like better, other than swords and walking. "Okay, do you talk to home much?"

"From time to time, but not much." Theron replied but did not explain further. He smiled and ate for fruit.

It had been a great day. A time of socializing as a group and now the afternoon, just two friends spending time together, finding out about each other.

Kiri had her normal reluctance when it came to talking about herself, but answered most of the questions he asked. Her own were mostly about his people, what life was like at home. It was nice and quite different from what she was used to.

OFF:

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Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Theron Rhodes
Assistant Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo

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