Pre-Show at the Big Top

Posted on 21 Jan 2014 @ 1:52pm by Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Senior Chief Petty Officer Keval zh'Erinov & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Ensign Matthew Plumeri

2,909 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 05 - Solstice
Location: New Sunnyvale, California, Earth
Timeline: MD 10 - 1845 Hrs

[ON]

Earth circuses, it had obtained massive funding from various interested parties, most namely being a few Denobulan diplomats who found the sight worth investing into. It was undoubtably the most vibrant attraction in all of New Sunnyvale at the moment, as sight of a giant, red and blue circus tent could be seen peeking over the small glen of a town like a gargantuan mountain.

As they drove through the town, it seemed near-barren of people. However, as the hovercar neared the gargantuan attraction, the unmistakable noise of a calliope could be heard over the rustling of a large crowd, where it was likely most of the town's residents had decided to gather. Voices shouting about various sights and sounds embellished the chatter, and every so often, an elephant trumpeting it's horn would sound off.

Once the hovercar had been parked, Asahi hopped out of the driver's seat, pressing a little button on his car remote to pop the other doors open. "Ladies, Gentlemen, and people of other gender-related persuasions, I present to you... the Sumi Circus!" Before he could help himself, he took a deep, arm-sweeping bow, before righting himself and grinning.

Abbey was relieved to get out of the car, she much preferred large open spaces even spending time in shuttles she would feel nauseous. Stepping out she looked over towards the crowds and tents before being overwhelmed by the smell of candy, roasting nuts and other deliriously fatty foods. "Wow." She said side stepping to allow others out.

Matthew offered a hand to help Abbey and whomever else was exiting the hovercar. He said to Lieutenant Kita as he assisted people from the back seat, "This? Your family owns all of this L.T?" And he whistled.

"Mmhmm. It's a long-time family tradition that dates back to the 21rst Century some time." Asahi beamed proudly at the sights in front of them. "There's been a few sponsors helping to give the place more of an intergalatic fame too, so the updates you see here are probably from a lot of that funding."

Matt grinned back at him, "That's pretty impressive L.T.! Most people just joke that they came from a three-ring circus. You're serious!" He grinned back so playfully at him; he was enjoying himself immensely.

"It'd be weirder if I was kidding." Asahi chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lirha opened her door and stepped out, impressed with the view in front of her and the myriad of activity which was accompanying the upcoming show.

Theron stepped out of the ground vehicle and walked away a step or two. Being so close to others for so long of a period he could deal with. It just took a minute to compose himself and come back to the group. The Tandaran then looked about and saw what looked to be a great tent of sorts. Very uncommon for this day and age of technology. he thought.

Grin widening, Asahi twirled around to face the giant attraction in front of them, gesturing for them to follow. "The ticket's will get us in, so we should all stick together, but once we get through that, we can all wander about and explore with whatever we want. The tickets get us special seating, so we should at least attempt to meet back up."

"Agreed," Lirha said with a brisk nod, her arms wrapped around her body as the chilly evening air nipped away at her skin and clothing. "After you," she said to Kita, then began to closely follow him into the carnival.

Asahi nodded, delighted that there were sights in the circus even he hadn't seen before. They may have hired new performers here and there, and some of the equipment must have been updated, but Asahi could smell it; the heart of the circus was still very much the same. He quickly stepped up to the royal violet-dressed ticket master, exchanging a few words and handing the man a bright green container. The ticket master beamed, peeking inside and flourishing in a grand manner.

"How honored I am to greet the members of Starfleet." The ticket master winked, ruffling Asahi's hair playfully. "Hopefully this one hasn't caught you off beat! Come in, come in, the circus has attractions for all, and do your best to enjoy them... please, have a ball!"

The ticket master waved them all through the line, making certain to ruffle Asahi's hair again just as the man had it all straightened out. "Don't let Kid Kita give you any trouble, he's a wily one!"

Theron walked past the ticket master with the group, but gave him another quick glance over as he passed. He was curious about the package that Asahi had given to him. He thought, Illegal? Contraband? Maybe just something hard to come by.

Keval originally had come just for the thrill, the circus he'd been to this circus, once long ago, when everything was truly right with the world. His adoptive father a decorated hero home. He wanted to recapture that feeling. The fact that his host, if his gaydar was right, swam on the same team as he did, was only icing on the proverbial cake.

And if Asahi had any idea anyone was checking out his rear, he would have probably turned a shade of red that matched Keval's blue skin. Luckily for the overly excitable engineer (and possibly unluckily for the Andorian), was too busy hosting the group to notice.

Abbey followed on behind everyone, she walked slower than the rest as she took in the sights and smells. Other than the wedding this would be the first time she was spending it with the crew and the whole thing seemed more daunting than transferring straight into the thick of it where she could just do her own little things.

"Looking for me?" Matt came round the left side and said that and then moved to her right side in a feint throw move and laughed.

Abbey smiled "No, Not really" She teased as she was happy for now to have his company.

As Lirha rounded the corner of one of the tents and suddenly flailed her arms in horror then covered her mouth to suppress a scream. In front of her stood a large humanoid with bright disheveled green hair, ridiculously wide and baggy trousers which made his waist bulge, and a face covered in white, red, and black paint. It was the most horrific thing the Orion had seen in recent years, and she shivered as it smiled at her and began to dance. "Dear spirits..." She ducked her head and slowly backed up, then turned on her heels and quickly began to run away from the abomination.

"Gus!" Asahi passed by Lihra, just barely noting the fear in the woman's eyes as he went to greet the clown. There was a brief exchange, ending with Asahi squeaking the clown's large nose before sending him off again. He grinned at the others. "If you follow Gus, they're starting up balloon animals soon. Should be near the food too. I should be able to find the elephant rides around here somewhere too if someone was interested in that, or if you wanna show off your balloon popping skills, there should be something like that around here too."

"Where do you all wanna go?"

Abbey liked the idea of seeing the elephants it wasn't the sort of everyday thing you'd get to see and the clown did seem a bit scary "I'd like to see the elephants if anyone else wanted to?" She was also an out doors person so being one with nature and animals called out to her.

"Me too! I've been inside filtered air, replicated meals and computer screens the whole freak-in' day! Outside as long as possible for me. Most of these creatures are new to me anyway."

Theron felt a touch confused, he had not read up on the circus before he came. He asked the person next to him, "What is an 'el i fant' ?"

Matthew nudged Lieutenant Rhodes and with his arm made the elephant's snout and with his mouth made an elephant's roar. He nudged him again and said, "Let's go say hello? One of Earth's larger land animals. A staple at the circus I'm told. Ain't that right Asahi?"

"Mmhmm." Asahi nodded. "They make better platforms than horses do, and you can carry more than one person on an elephant's back. They're also a lot more friendly than a horse is. Sumi leans on elephants more than they they do any other animal. Every other animals is usually just for the show. I bet they still have Sutra wandering about. She was just a baby when I was born, so we're like siblings!" Asahi grinned, turning and leading the group off to where the elephant ring was. "This one we'll have to wait in line for, hope no one minds!"

He stopped at a large, fenced-in ring. Inside, there was a grey, Asian elephant, wearing a black and silver blanket on it's back and an enlarged saddle on top of that. A pair of children were riding on her back, completely enjoying the slow-pace that the creature was trotting along at. Asahi beamed, nearly leaning over the railing and opening his mouth wide to call out to her.

"Hey Su-OOF!" The riding attendant, vibrantly dressed in matching silver, black, and purple, shoved the man off the fence, huffing at him angrily. Asahi mumbled, all too childishly pouting and folding his arms against his chest. "Fine fine, I'll wait my turn."

"Wow!" Theron said slowly, amazed at the massive animal lumbering before them. He said softly, "That thing is twice as big as a Brestcoff." Theron recalled from his childhood going to a farm were animals were raised. The Brestcoff were the biggest herdbeasts on Tandar, but it only stood as high as his father's shoulder. The 'el i fant' was much taller, and had this unusual appendage on its face.

"El-ephant. You have the em-PHAsis on the wrong syl-LA-bble." Matt teased. His grin was ear to ear. He motioned to the animal before them. "This one looks like an Asian elephant...smaller ears. African ones have larger ears...hotter climate."

"It's so awesome!" Abbey had seen animals from books and texts she had even seen them in zoos but this elephant was almost glamorous and amazing in every way. "Whats her name again? Can I touch her?" She asked excitedly.

Having calmed down from her clown experience a few minutes ago, Lirha returned to the group with a large swirly jumble of cotton candy on a stick which she had procured at one of the food stations. She casually peeled off a fluffy layer of the sugary food and stuffed it in her mouth, humming softly at the nice candy flavor. "Is this an elephant?" she asked in between bites. She had never seen one in real life, only on holo-vids and LCARS screens.

"Aye, she's the runt of her litter too." The attendant gave the group a stern look, as if daring them to hop over the fence. "Her name's Sutra, and I'll let ya talk to her she's gone around some more with the kiddies." She shot a glare in Asahi's direction, watching as the man gave the most innocent of innocent looks. "... And you, keep your mouth shut."

It didn't take long before the children were let off of the elephant's back, and Sutra was soon led over to the group. The attendant gave her a pat on the side. "She's friendly, does well in around chaos and loud noises. She's actually quite like troublemaker over here-" Before the attendant could finish her sentence, the elephant had gently placed her trunk on the nearest head of hair. "... And she's quite feely."

Asahi beamed, hopping up onto the fence railing and giving the aforementioned elephant a giant hug, much to the dismay of the attendant. "She's all cuddles and happiness."

Keval sitting several seats over from Ashai had to grin. Not the grin of the aggressor seeking a mate, he just wasn't like that anyway, just an innocent almost child like grin as he enjoyed the show.

Abbey squealed in delight as the elephant enveloped her in a hug after it was done Abbey was revealed, her hair somewhat tangled and scruffy, but she didn't mind. The experience was simply heart warming. "Is she always so scrumptious?" She asked looking back to Asahi giggling and still with her rosy cheeks from the experience.

"She's a sweetheart. I helped train her myself." He gave the elephant an affectionate pat on the leg, watching as Sutra turned to try to give the others in the group 'handshakes' with her trunk. "She doesn't mind pats either." The engineer ignored the growing frustration the brightly colored attendant was displaying, up until he heard her clear her throat. "Oh come on, you know you missed me."

"If I was warned you were going to be here, I would have brought another elephant out."

"Oh, mom didn't tell you?" Asahi scrunched his nose in amusement. "It must have slipped her mind."

Lirha moved forward next to Abbey and and Kita and shook the elephant's trunk, then gave it a soft series of pats and strokes. The thick and rubbery skin was warm and covered in a light layer of fuzz, much to the commodore's surprise. "Would you like some cotton-candy?" she murmured to Sutra as she peeled off a piece of candy fluff and held it to the elephant's mouth.

Matthew whispered something obscene into Abbey's ear and then wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

Abbey rolled her eyes hoping that no one had been close enough to hear his comment Mathews, she wanted to resist the hug as soon as he had her however she found it hard to say no, probably one of her biggest downfalls. Instead she rested her head back and heaved a sigh, at the very least her dad would scare him off despite this she found him rather cute.

Sutra was happy to oblige the gift of cotton candy, wrapping her trunk around the treat and sticking it in her mouth. She then stuck her trunk back out towards Lihra. "... She wants to thank you." The attendant explained, giving a small smile. "She gives handshakes as thanks."

"Oh..I see. You are very welcome," Lirha reached out and clasped the end of the offered trunk and gave it a gentle shake. Such a polite and pleasant animal, she mused.

Asahi grinned, before glancing over at Theron and Keval. Theron had expressed his wonder, but the other one hadn't said much. The Andorian certainly looked happy enough, but at the angle Asahi was at, he couldn't tell if the man was smiling at him or Sutra. "Would you two like to come over and pet her? She's very gentle, honest."

Mixed emotions filled Theron's mind. But with the consultations he had had recently, he had learned to understand their purpose, yet set them aside and do what was either needed or desired. Theron smiled and looked to Keval.

Keval nodded, his antennae curling back slightly. Having lived on earth most of his life, he was of course used to them. Just not this close. Asahi's words brought him out of his reverie though and he moved forward to touch the elephant.

Theron followed, but cautiously.

Kevel's touch was a little tentative at first. Put him in front of a charging brigade of Klingons and he was cool as the ice of his home world. Before this giant and supposedly gentle creature he was, well, a little unsure of himself, would be the kindest way to describe it.

Theron watched as Keval offered his hand for that first connection. Tinglings of fear and anticipation danced about his neck and shoulders, awaiting his turn.

Theron stepped to Keval's side and extended his hand, down low. To Theron's abrupt surprise, the elephant placed its trunk right in front of his face and inhaled. This startled the Tandaran, but only slightly. Theron then realized, that he had not become defensive by this action, but he just smiled and then began to pet the side of the trunk before him.

As they continued their socializing with the happy elephant, the calliope's tune abruptly stopped, and a booming voice wafted through the crowds. "Attention one and all, the show is about to begin! If you would all please make your way to the central tent-that's the big red and blue one-and take your seats, we can get our show under way!"

Asahi leapt down from the fence he was sitting on, gesturing for others to follow. "We shouldn't have to rush, there's seating that they set aside for dignitaries and some of my dad's old Academy friends that they've set aside for us, but we don't want to miss anything!"


[OFF:]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Ensign Matthew Plumeri
Guest Science Officer/Historian
USS Nimitz

CPO Keval Grayson
Operations
USSGalileo
[PNPC - Nicholas]

LT Asahi Kita
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

LT. Theron Rhodes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

CA. Abbey Wyatt
Scientists Mate
USS Galielo

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