Hanging out
Posted on Tue Mar 11th, 2025 @ 4:52am by Lieutenant Christopher Blake & Ensign Nala Rider
Edited on on Tue Mar 11th, 2025 @ 11:58pm
1,734 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Holodeck 3 - Deck 5 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD005 1600 hrs
Nala stretched her arms over her head as she waited for Lieutenant Blake on the Holodeck.
Nala'd not yet met the Lieutenant, but had heard through the grapevine that he liked to hike, so she decided to take a break from her work and hang out for a bit.
The door opened as Chris finished adjusting the straps on his backpack and stepped into the crisp mountain air. He looked over and gave Nala a nod and lopsided smile. "Hey Nala, nice to meet you face to face. I usually try to avoid you medical sciences crowd by eating an apple every day."
Nala paused for a moment, then laughed.
"Nice to meet you too, Chris! Between you, me and the trees, I try to avoid medical people too, but they just keep being attracted to my blue uniform for some reason!" Nala chuckled as she adjusted her backpack's straps in preparation of putting it on.
"Better your uniform than one of these beauties." He tapped under his ocular implant. "I swear I've seen a nurse drool and leave another patient to walk towards me. Poor guys, both patient and nurse." It had been Kaida that had gotten him more comfortable with being in his own skin and with his confidence. It still felt a little foreign to him to be casually talking, but he couldn't deny it was helping.
"Ah, so YOU'RE the one Nova and Sobec were talking about! I get some looks too 'cause of these beauties," Nala pointed to the scars on her cheek proudly.
"I'm ready if you're ready."Chris stopped then to look around. "Where... is this exactly? Not familiar with this spot."
"It's the Black Hills before they put Mount Rushmore up. Took some doing, but I FINALLY got the Computer to figure it out. Let's kick it!" Nala grinned as she swung her backpack over her shoulder.
"No wonder it doesn't look familiar." Chris commented with a nod. "Interesting choice, let's go."
As they began up the path, Chris took the chance to engage in conversation before they got to any rough spots.
"For you to pick a hike like this, I'm guessing this isn't your first? I've always stayed mostly to the Earth mountains but there are some beautiful summits on Vulcan if you're up to the challenge."
"Nope, I've been hiking all my life. Really? I've not had the opportunity to got to Vulcan. That does sounds like a challenge!" Nala smiled excitedly.
"Next time, Vulcan it is." Chris gave a lopsided smile as he kept pace. "If I don't end up slowing you down this time I guess."
"Yay! What? Slow me down? No way! No matter where I hike/who my hiking partner is, I ALWAYS have fun!" Nala beamed as she skipped a little.
"Maybe we can start a hiking group if we're in orbit of an interesting planet." He said with a glance around.
"Oh heck yeah!" Nala pumped her fist excitedly at the thought.
He attempted to stifle a laugh but still chuckled. "You're an enthusiastic one."
"So is it the journey or the destination?" Chris asked after a moment. "I like the views at the top but I think I prefer the small moments along the way."
"A bit of both honestly. I like getting there, but the trip to the place is just as interesting!" Nala beamed.
He easily kept pace, and became more and more aware that neither of them was slowing the other down. It was refreshing to be able to go at such a brisk pace.
"Kaida took me rock climbing a little while back, that was fun as well but I'm nowhere near skilled enough to offer that as an option myself."
"Ya wanna know something funny? I'm actually scared of hights! Put me on a zip-line and I'm in Heaven, but put me on an aerial obstacle course, and I turn into a scaredy-cat," Nala blushed.
"To be fair, I see most of my heights through the window of a shuttle." Chris replied with a shrug. "Not sure how brave I'd be myself without those controls in front of me."
He took a step around a larger rock outcropping and paused to take in the view before continuing. "I haven't gone zip-lining in a longtime, at least not recreationally. Part of my training is how to get myself down from a tree or another height. Not exactly the fun wind in your hair type."
"Yeeikes. That's spooky. You should try it for fun sometime," Nala hopped across some rocks.
"What brought you to the Artemis?" He asked aloud. It seems that was the question everyone asked now adays. Artemis had a unique mission so it was interesting to see if people chose or were chosen.
"Well, I heard that there was a ship doing a new kind of mission...and after a bit of asking around...it was HARD finding that out mind you, I put in an application, and zip-zam-thank-you-Ma'am!" Nala grinned...before cartwheeling over some rocks!
"I'm good!" Nala giggled sheepishly.
Chris was about to rush over to her aid when she popped back up. "You sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you. Thankfully all my years of hiking and Parkour have kept me limber and flexible," Nala grinned as she dusted herself off.
"I had my application submitted on my behalf." Chris said soulfully as he remembered those dark days after the incident and rehabilitation. "I immersed myself into my flying and nothing was bringing me out of it. I didn't want to be brought out of it. My commander at the time decided that if I was determined to just fly, then I was going to have a purpose. I haven't thanked him for that. I should."
"Whoa...and yes you should. Hey, we ALL go through dark days. I...I even thought of killing myself once," Nala looked out at the mountains, the wind teasing her hair.
"I'm glad you didn't." Chris replied. "I'm glad both of us are here."
"Besides, if we weren't here what would everyone else gawk at?" Chris managed a lop sided smile as he walked up next to her and admired the view.
"Hehe, ain't that the truth? I'm glad too. The Artemis is a really cool place, and the people aren't half bad either," Nala smiled, nudging Chris's shoulder playfully.
"Jury is still out on the lawyers though." Chris replied quickly. He was quite pleased that the reply had come to him as quick as it did.
"How close are we to the summit?" Chris asked with a look around. "I think I got turned around somewhere."
"Pfff! Also true. I think it's just around this ridge, if memory serves," Nala fussed with her hair, making a mental note to get to the barbershop in the next few days as her hair was trying to be rebellious.
As they continued walking Chris found himself humming a song from his childhood and then as the words came back to him he broke out into the chant to make sure he could remember the words.
"This is the trail that never ends. Yes it goes on and on my friends. Some people started hiking it not knowing where it led and they'll continue hiking it until they all drop dead..."
He giggled a bit to himself at the memory and how his old scout leaders absolutely did NOT appreciate those lyrics.
"The more I think back the more I realize how annoying I must have been as a kid..." Chris comment with a grin.
"Ah, troop leaders deal with MUCH worse than silly songs...I know MINE did," Nala snickered at the silly song Chris sang...which then brought to mind the version she knew, which made her laugh all the more!
"Here's the version of that song that I grew up with: 'This is the song that never ends! Yes it goes on and on my friends! Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll continue singing it forever just because!'" Nala had to stop as she started laughing all over again!
Chris chuckled. "I remember that one, that was my inspiration."
He caught up with his energetic companion once more and picked up on her lyrics as he sang the next verse off key and a little louder, still trying to hold back a chuckle all the while. It'd been a long time since he had felt so free to just live in the moment.
"Wonder what the Captain would do if I sang that on the bridge during my next duty shift?" Chris laughed aloud.
"Pfff! I think if you tried that, the Captain'd hang ya from the highest yard arm in the Holodeck!" Nala laughed, enjoying the fresh air and companionship.
"If it got that kind of reaction, it might be worth it." Chris laughed.
"Eyup! I should say so!" Nala continued to chuckle softly.
"Whoa...this place sure is beautiful. My ancestors saw this place long before any white man even thought of this place," Nala looked at the vastness before her: lower mountain ranges covered in trees with rivers winding their way through them, misty half hidden valleys, and the smell of rain mixed with the woody/piney/Earthyness of a world before technology.
Ever the pilot, Chris was staring out at the horizon, at the clear uncongested skies and the clouds rolling gently along the winds. Just as Nala was focusing on the intricate beauty of the the land, he could almost picture gliding over the tree clad hills with the breeze blowing in his face as he circled the peaks and valleys. Swooping low and only barely missing the tree tops before soaring high into the sky once more to take in the beauty and majesty of it all.
"Amazing..." Chris said with a whisper.
"It sure is," Nala whispered back.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Christopher Blake
Chief Flight Control Officer & Second Officer
USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Ensign Nala Rider
Facial Reconstruction Specialist, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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