Trip to Rigel (Part 1 of 3)

Posted on 14 Jan 2014 @ 1:45pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Commander Luke Wyatt & Ensign Matthew Plumeri

1,796 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: Earth - Runabout Jermias
Timeline: MD 30 - 0835 hrs

[ON]

San Francisco - Starfleet HQ

Lirha threw the last of her packed duffel bags into the aft cabin of the runabout Jermias and took a deep breath of the cool morning air as she looked around the large outdoor support craft staging area just outside of Starfleet HQ. It was a pleasant morning, albeit a bit chilly for San Francisco at this time of year, but the fresh scent of the ocean breeze tickled her nostrils and calmed her. She had to admit, she was a bit anxious about returning to Rigel VII and the place of her birth, especially since it had been over five years since her last visit. On the other hand, she was happy to have Nesh coming along with her especially for little sister's first trip back to the Orion homeworld, and she was also pleased that Siren was coming as well. In addition, two unlikely faces had expressed interest in visiting the world; Galileo's assistant chief counselor and the new engineering officer, Asahi.

Looking around the busy tarmac which housed over twenty various types of shuttles and runabouts all neatly parked in their designated spaces, she noticed it was strangely a rather busy morning for Starfleet personnel, with many of them already hustling to their various crafts and getting ready to depart. Hopefully her passengers would arrive soon so they could get going and avoid early morning orbital traffic.

"Seems like everyone else had the same idea," Siren said with distraction as she walked through, surprised at how busy it was. She hoisted her bag higher up her arm, smiling when she saw Lirha. She had been eager to get her off ship. It was the only way the Captain of a ship would get some real rest. While still onboard, there would also be something calling at her for attention.

It was easy to spot Siren's distinctive red hair as she approached, and the captain gave her a friendly wave with her green hand then smiled when she came closer. "Good morning...not too sleepy, I hope? You can always take a nap once we get underway," she teased, then gave her a light kiss on the lips.

Asahi was careful not to interrupt the moment between Lirha and her... Oh, well there was something. The engineer had vaguely seen the other around the Galileo, recognizing her as part of the intelligence staff. Past that, however, all he really had to go on was a name. 'Hex.' It was easy to remember, but it was definitely a last name. He suspected calling her 'Hex' while noticing that she was close in proximity and relationship to Lirha was probably not the best of ideas.

"Ma'am..." He tipped his tan cabbie hat in the pair's direction, before hoisting his own large bag into the runabout. Shivering, the engineer pulled the collar of his jacket over his neck, frowning at the cold. Even after eight years of deep space travel, he could have left the cooler weather of a San Fran morning behind.

Only thirty days into their leave and Abbey couldn't wait to get rid of him it was her idea for Luke to go on the trip to Rigel. It becomes something when your daughter knows more about the going ons of the crew than you do after just a few weeks. Luke walked towards the runabout, he was wearing beige khaki cargo pants, navy blue v-neck shirt, a black leather jacket and baseball cap. Despite the cold which Luke was used to he wanted to be dressed ready to sight seeing. "Morning" He waved with his free hand and dropping the duffel bag on the floor.

Delainey brought up the rear, and arrived looking especially relaxed in her light blue dress and sandals. Her blond hair was down loosely around her shoulders, a sure sign she was relaxed. It had taken her a good two weeks to wind down, but now she was fully in the groove.

The decision to go to Rigel was partly out of curiosity and adventure, and partly out of maternal professional concern. She figured the trip would give her an opportunity to talk with Lirha about recent changes.

Ensign Matthew Plumeri, duffle bag in hand poked his head inside the runabout Jermias and looked about at the occupants. After a beat he asked with a cheeky smile, "This is either the most upbeat committee on soil reclamation that I have ever seen...or...this is the express party runabout to Rigel seven?"

He held up his single duffle bag and asked, "I feel like I overpacked?"

Plumeri recognized the Engineer from the circus trip and greeted him, "Lieutenant Kita!"

"Hello," Delainey offered Plumeri and Kita, liking the relaxed humor in the air. She even chuckled at Matthew's joke, and she couldn't recall the last time she'd laughed and felt so relaxed at the same time.

Matthew smiled back and said, "Hello there!" He couldn't help but notice how pretty this blonde woman was and he hoped that he wasn't staring. He liked her chuckle and laughed a quick laugh himself as he stepped further into the runabout.

Lirha gave a friendly smile to all the arrivals and greeted them as they approached the sleek, sliver runabout. "Thank you all for coming. We should depart before traffic gets too congested," she said, motioning for everyone not already inside to enter the small craft and prepare to depart.

Asahi nodded, quickly weaseling himself onto the runabout. The sooner they got in, the sooner they could get to the planet. He was eager to at least learn, and potentially poke around.

"You should wear one of those cute little flight uniforms like the women on those civilian flights," Siren teased on a whisper to Lirha as she passed her and moved in.

The Orion smirked at the comment, wondering what she would look like in such an outfit. Certainly not as prestigious as in her Starfleet uniform, for sure.

Matthew boarded the runabout and not wanting to be in the way, he turned aft and went into the rear section of the runabout where he took a seat at the table. He plopped his duffle underneath him and said, "Hello, I'm Matt," to the person who just entered.

"Delainey," Carlisle replied, finding her own seat and offering her hand.

He took the Lieutenant's hand and gave it a shake and a warm smile. She had the prettiest blue eyes too. He said, I'm trying a 'new thing' here. Heard this at the Admiral's Ball...not too long ago in fact, right here...on Earth. Instead of asking 'What do you do?' as a way of introduction; ask 'Whom do you work with?'"

He smiled and chuckled, "You see the difference?"

Delainey chuckled and nodded. "I suppose in that case, my answer is everyone." Her eyes sparkled mischieviously but also with good humor. She enjoyed just being able to engage in friendly banter with someone who wasn't judging her because of her work or trying to manage her impression of him.

He sat back in his seat, as comfortable as he usually was and with a boyish grin to match her sparkling eyes said, "Everyone? I like that!" He nods his head and tried again not to stare. "Must make...free time...difficult?" He leaned back as he listened.

Delainey looked genuinely puzzled, "What is this free time you speak of?"

The last one to enter the runabout, Lirha tapped the door's keypad and watched as the ramp folded up and closed itself, creating an airtight seal. She walked forward into the front cabin and took a seat at the helm console then began to power-up the runabout while she waited for someone to join her at the forward operations console to her immediate right.

After stowing his kit away Luke took the empty seat next to Lirha. "Need a second?" He asked adjusting the seat to himself. He wasn't the best pilot in the fleet and with his military background he would much rather be flying a fighter but this wasn't to bad.

Watching the former Marine take a seat next to her, Lirha couldn't help but be a little surprised. "Sure...you do have experience using that console, yes?" she asked, wanting to double check with the man before finding out the hard way once they were in space.

Luke looked from the console to the Orion "this may come to a surprise to you but i have flown these before, they're actually quiet universal" he winked before turning to the console once again "but just so were on the same page which button makes it go up?" He laughed.

Lirha grinned at the older man, resisting the youthful urge to stick her tongue out at him. "No, that button activates the auto-destruct sequence," she jested in return, then continued with the pre-flight sequence and monitored the controls as all systems were finally powered up. "Contact Starfleet HQ and orbital control, let them know we are departing for the Rigel system. With a commodore on board." She made sure to add the last sentence in the hopes that it would give their runabout some degree of priority over the other departing craft.

Stopping mid laugh an depressing the console he opened a channel to starfleet =^= Air control this is the Runabout Jermias carrying five passengers including the commodore requesting departure to the Rigel system =^=

A voice crackled back over the comm within a few seconds letting the occupants know they were authorized to depart. "Jermias, this is Tower, your request has been received and approved. Ascend to 50,000 feet and contact Orbital Control for departure clearance. Your marshal stack is on the three-five radial. Have a nice day." The channel closed with a soft chirp on the console.

Siren laughed softly with disbelief at them jumping the queue. "I'm telling you, officers have all the fun..." she tsked to no one in particular.

"Rank hath its privileges," Delainey remarked dryly, but with a grin.

"Right," Lirha said, "time to get going." She looked back behind her at her occupants and gave them a heads-up on takeoff. "We are lifting off, please take your seats and strap in."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CPO Luke Wyatt
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

LT Asahi Kita
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Matthew Plumeri
Science Officer/Historian
USS Nimitz

Lt. Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Counselor/Medical Officer
USS Galileo

PO2 Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
[PNPC - Blake]

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