Sharing some down time

Posted on 26 Mar 2012 @ 10:15pm by Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Tarishiana Barel

2,609 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo/Holodeck
Timeline: Day 1 1600

Quinn stepped into the holodeck and approached the shore line of a large lake, surrounded by large Ponderosa Pine trees, and other assorted conifers and hardwoods. Then around the lush valley cascaded ominous mountains, with peaks covered in snow. The sky was blue with occasional wisps of cloud. The sun was out, and the temperature was cool, but comfortable. As Markum stepped next to a large tree, a fishing pole was leaning against a small tackle box. Markum sat down, removed his boots and socks then picked up his rod and cast his line out into the mirror-like lake. Then he sat down and leaned against a shady maple tree and closed his eyes. "Just need a minute to rest. Just...one....minu......." Before he could finish his thought, he was already in a deep slumber.

Tarishiana was bored. She had been sitting in her quarters for almost an hour before she had decided to finally go exploring. She had wondered what Markum Quinn was up to. She had met him at the launch party but hadn't gotten a chance to catch up with him since.

Stopping shortly at a computer access panel Tarishiana had discovered that he was in fact also off duty and was using his time to enjoy the holodeck. Quickly finding herself outside the holodeck door she hoped that he wouldn't mind an interruption. The computer allowed her access and she shouldn't help but smile when she found the old warrant officer asleep under a tree.

Taking a seat Tarishiana's dress billowed around her slightly as she sank into the cool green grass. She watched him for a moment enjoying the restful emotions coming from him as he slept. She could tell that he was waking whether he sensed her or not she didn't know but she was going to wait for him to discover her.

Markum was dreaming of his grandmother's hot apple pie, and how the lilacs, and Lillies of the Valleys grew wild in her back yard. The very back yard that he used for this very same simulation.

Half asleep he murmured, "Please..apple pie....more caramel....." He suddenly felt a warming presence near by. It was tranquil, and refreshing. He opened one eye, then the other. He noticed a a beautiful woman sitting next to him and he rubbed his eyes to be sure. Then he realized who he was looking at, and sat up and smiled. "Tarishiana? Hey. I was...umm...fishing?.....where is that pole at anyway?"

"I believe the fish took it into the lake." Tarishiana started with a grin as she pointed towards the lake. "I hope you don't mind I just barged in here...I was hoping to get a chance to get to know you better after the party the other night. When I found out you were on the holodeck I thought I might join you."

Looking around for a moment she closed her eyes. "Yours are much more serene then mine." Tarishiana looked over at Markum with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks. I think." replied Markum with a smile. "This is my grandmothers old place in Utah, back on Earth. We would visit sometimes, and I always came to this lake to fish. Anyways, I'm glad you came by. How have you been since the party? I was planing on looking you up on some downtime, but, new ship means no rest for it's engineers. Something is always breaking or leaking."

"Good...adjusting." Tarishiana started with a nod. "It is a little odd being considered a Senior Officer." She looked over at the Chief Engineer. She was sure he might understand where she was coming from then again she had a habit of over thinking everything. "My department is amazing though...especially since Engineering quick coming in and breaking my stuff." she gave him a little wink as she finished her joke.

"Yeah, we are good at only two things. Fixing things, and then breaking things, so we can fix them" laughed Markum. He knew the feeling she was mentioning. He had it once too. "Yeah. It's a big change moving from Chief Petty Officer, to a Warrant Commission. We aren't really enlisted any more, but we are not full officers either." Quinn let out a chuckle remembering his first time being saluted by a cadet. "It's a big responsibility, and I always felt that we, as Warrant Officers, had a bit more to prove that we deserve our position, over an officer. Thing is, we usually have more time in the field, more experience. Many other officers respect that I've found."

Markum realized he was babbling, which was rather unlike him. "So what about you Tarishiana? What is your story?"

"Not that much to tell really." Tarishiana started with a grin before turning her stare out over the water. "Was raised on Betazed with my Socialite mother and absent father. Learned what it meant to be a "Proper Betazoid"...As my mother put it." she turned back towards Markum. "Ran away from home basically when I was 18 and enlisted in Star fleet. Spent the first few years in Operations and Engineering before I found my calling with the Universal Translator and have been a linguistic officer every sense." She gave a little nod as she finished speaking.

Quinn listened intently to the story and smiled through the part about running away. "Runaway eh? Yeah, me too. My family has a civil engineering firm. They build everything from houses, to three hundred storied buildings. After college, I realized I hated it and wanted more. My family freaked out and most disowned me. Of course that was after I already enlisted and was half-way through boot camp." He looked down as he tore some grass up from the holographic ground, then tossed it away. then returned his stare to Tarishiana. "I guess we are more alike than I thought. So, does that mean we both have issues with authority, or really hardheaded?"

Tarishiana laughed, "I would definitely say that we both have issues with family expectations." She grinned. "Authority and I get along pretty well...but I am a bit hardheaded when I decide I want something." She looked over the fishing pond before looking back at Markum. "So you ended up at an Engineer anyways?"

Markum chuckled, "Yeah. Irony at its best. Funny thing though, I am in love with propulsion. I even went out and got a Master's Degree in the subject. If I'd stayed with my families business, I'd be building...well...buildings. But in Starfleet, I have built things that have saved lives, and things that I am forbidden to ever discuss. I know how to take apart an entire Warp Drive, and put it back together again, and not worry about the parts left over. I would never be able to do the things I do, if I'd stayed. Out here, we're free."

It was refreshing to meet someone with whom she had some much in common. Tarishiana couldn't help but look over the older Warrant Officer for a moment. "I love my life in the black." She said happily. "I don't want to imagine what my life would have been like had I stayed on Betazed." she shook her head as she finished speaking with an easy grin.

Quinn nodded in agreement. "You would probably gotten married, and had a dozen kids running and screaming about. Plus, you would of missed out on this great fishing trip....that did not produce a single fish." Markum was glad that she had found her way in here. Markum thought to himself how her eyes were so captivating, she smelled pretty too, and even was wearing a dress. Not often you find that on a ship old man .

Tarishiana broke out laughing at the mention of her being married. She wasn't sure if it was that or the idea of Lestian having a dozen kids that kept her going. She reached out and touched Markum's arm as she finally began to speak. "I am sorry...I just can't imagine Lestian with twelve children." She paused for a moment and realized Markum didn't have any idea who she was talking about. "Lestian is my fiance through genetic bonding...escaping my impending marriage was why I ran away." She gave him a flirty little wink before looking back over the lake.

Markum blushed, not something the man was used to. "Oh. I...umm...didn't realize that arranged marriages still happened. My luck I'd get stuck with an irrational beast of a woman that made a Klingon beg for mercy." He chuckled a bit to himself at the mental picture it produced. "Well, in any case, I'm glad we both ran away." replied Markum as he tried to conspicuously looked over the woman next to him as not to have her think of him as some dirty-old-man "Besides, the galaxy would probably fall apart if we weren't out here, protecting it."

"I am lucky in a way." Tarishiana started. "Lestian is my best friend...more like an older brother." She smiled at Markum's subtle embarrassment. "That is kind of the problem...We have been engaged since I was eight months old and were raised together." She nodded, "I have no doubt...some of the best engineers and scientists I have ever met were enlisted. Most of us have the same stories. Officer's don't quite understand what it means to enlist rather then start off at the top of the food chain." She gave him a playful wink to follow her joking tone.

"A good CO will take advantage of it, beside that's what I have been preaching for the past thirty-two years I've been in Starfleet...."Markum stopped suddenly, then started shacking his head while producing a face palm with a chuckle. "You probably think I'm some old man, or a relic or a relic that belongs in a museum."

"You don't know me as well as you think." Tarishiana said with a flirty smile. She leaned in a little closer to him. "They don't make many like you any more..." she leaned back to her normal posture before she finished. "It is a pity really." She gave a light laugh before touching her hand to the grass on either side of her legs.

Markum smiled at the compliment he was just given. "Thank goodness for that. I'm usually too bold and outspoken for my own good. Probably why I never got married. When I was younger, I was hell-on-wheels, and not many could keep up. Once I cooled off...a bit...with age, the girls were all women with families and wanted to be old, and still couldn't keep up. And the rest, well, thought I should be old too I guess."

Tarishiana shook her head, "Such a shame." She started in her normal flirty fashion. "I think you should do what makes you happy...I don't see you as the type that slows down." She grinned, "Well, except to fall asleep under a tree." She gave him a little wink with a laugh as she once again touched his arm lightly. She let out a little sigh as a cool breeze touched her face.

Markum smiled at the remark, then warmed as the hand rested on his arm lightly. He placed his hand over hers and enjoyed the cool breeze across his bald head. With his free hand he rubbed his clean shaven head. "I may be fifty-six, but I feel more like twenty-six on most days." then with a wink of his own, "and the whole sleeping while fishing thing isn't my fault. Fishing is an excuse to either drink beer, take naps, or get your girlfriend alone. So since I forgot my real beer back in my quarters, and I'm single...and old...I figured I was required by interstellar law to take the nap."

Tarishiana laughed. "Your logic seems sound." she grinned. "You keep throwing around this old term along with how young you feel." Her eyes showed a glint of deviousness. "I keep thinking it is almost a form of a challenge." She paused for a moment. "Like the scientist in me needs to find out which term is more fitting." The smile on her lips grew as she watched his reaction.

Markum moved to inches away from the Betazoid Science Officer, while never letting go of her hand. "I'd appreciate a....professional opinion...in regards to my age."

Tarishiana was unphased by the closeness of the Engineering officer with the smile never leaving her lips. She simply looked at him for a moment before leaning in and give him a light brushing kiss. "Don't tempt me." She said softly as she pulled back with a grin. "I may not react how you might expect." Being a betazoid she wasn't bashful with public displays of affection even with people she was unfamiliar with. It sometime got her in trouble but in this case it was just amusing.

Markum could feel his heart racing at the moment their lips touched, but held his gaze steady. He knew there was a possibility this girl..no...woman was toying with him. He almost expected it. It had been that way for over a decade now. "I should warn you," He paused to brush across her neck, then stopped at her ear as he whispered, "today....I feel like I'm twenty-six."

Tarishiana cocked a brow at his comment. She grinned as she raised her hand to touch his where it touched her face. "I guess that makes me the old one in this scenario." She grinned before she leaned in keeping her eyes locked on his she stopped just short of his lips, "For tradition sake I think you should take me to dinner...before I kiss you again." She pulled back slightly with a twinkle in her eye.

Markum gave a whole-face smile along with a chuckle. "An old-fashion lady. They don't make many like you anymore. It is a pity really." He slowly broke away, then stood up and offered his hand to her. "Dinner, tonight. I'll pick you up around eight? I know this great place. It's quiet, and will allow us to talk." Markum smiled at himself, he hadn't been on a date since....well...a very, very long time.

Tarishiana took the offered hand and gracefully rose to her feet. "It's a date." She replied easily with a smile and she used her free hand to brush the grass from her skirt slightly.

Markum leaned over some and kissed her hand, then looked back into her dark eyes, "You are a breath of fresh air Tarishiana Barel." He let go of her hand and walked toward the exit, "Arch." Then before he exited he turned over his shoulder, "You just might enjoy yourself tonight. Besides, if you've never been out with a genuine human gentleman, then you're in for a treat."

"I have no doubt of that." Tarishiana said from where she had remained standing. "See you at eight." She said with a nod as she watched him leave. She looked down at her feet for a moment before looking over the lake. "Computer end program." She called easily with a smile on her face as she turned and walked towards the exit. She had entered the holo-program hoping to get to know Markum better. It seemed like tonight would be her chance.


OFF:

Chief Warrant Officer Markum Quinn
Chief Engineer

Master Warrant Officer Tarishiana Barel
Chief Science Officer

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