Vajripam (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 11 Feb 2015 @ 6:43am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Luke Wyatt & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Dorian West & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Nesh Saalm

2,144 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Rigel VII - Vajripam, Transport Terminal
Timeline: MD 18 - 0440 local

[ON]

After ten days and fourteen hours of transit from Starbase 84 to the Rigel system, the wedding party's large hover transport car touched down softly on the terminal's tarmac after which the ambient lights inside the main cabin suddenly came to life causing Lirha to rouse from her nap and squint as she looked around. It was still dark outside -- probably early morning -- which she noticed after looking out through one of the shuttle's large windows, and she'd taken the opportunity to catch some sleep during the ride from Rigel VII's main spaceport to the city of Vajripam.

Suppressing a soft yawn, she looked around at her entourage to make sure they were all awake and ready to disembark. Siren was still curled up next to her in the seat with her head resting on her shoulder, and Lirha gave her thigh a soft squeeze to wake her up. "We are here," she said matter-of-factly to the entire group with sleepy excitement.

"Hm....?" Siren blinked to try and bring herself round, lifting her head. Once she was back in the real world, she smiled brightly, leaning across Lirha without warning to try and see out. "Finally...."

Allyndra had watched the final arrival. Though she had drunk heavily at the bar, the trip out she had refrained from intoxicating drink. She had spent the time reading on the way on Orion culture and history and had already figured an agenda out of places she would like to see and visit while here. It was her first time to this world and she planned to make the most of it. The lotion felt a bit greasy but she was not going to get sunburned for anything. Though she wore civilian attire she had adopted a cloak to cover the wings and in her hand was a large pair of sunglasses. She wondered if the rest remembered her admonition about the intensity of sunlight on this world.

"Hope you all remembered sunblock and eye protection. I really do not want to spend my time doctoring everyone with sunburn." Allyndra said it gently. She then turned her attention to Lirha and with a wave of the hand, "It is beautiful, I can hardly wait to see the countryside. Thank you again for letting me come along."

"Wait until the sun comes up and you get a good look at the beaches," replied Lirha with a warm glint in her green irises. "Vajripam is the most beautiful city I have ever encountered." She was a bit biased of course, but it was nonetheless her favorite metropolis to visit in the entire Alpha dn Beta quadrants.

Luke had fallen asleep resting his feet upon a pile of bags which could not fit inside the hold or up in the small overhead baggage area, wearing a pear of aviator's he snored happily unaware to the situation unfolding around his as the others on his shuttle prepared to leave.

Nesh made a point of parking herself next to her own luggage, nearly bouncing in place as she waited for the shuttle to stop. Once it had, she nearly leaned into Wintrow, in an attempt to get his attention. "We're here! We're here we're here!"

Wintrow smiled, taken by her enthusiasm. "Yes I can see that," he told her, leaning back so she could lean over him to look out the window. "So I guess this is where I start applying sunscreen and dig for my shades? Oh...and a hat..." He gestured at his blonde hair. "I do burn easy...would you help me?"

"You can..." The young Orion smiled, already pulling out a pair of large-lens'ed, golden rimmed sunglasses and sliding them on before giving Wintrow an odd look. "Help?... Help you find your hat?"

"Uhm..sure yes, find me my hat..." Flustered, Wintrow replied, completely forgetting he actually wanted her help with the sunscreen.

Nesh nodded, proceeding to dig through one of the teen's bags to help out. "What color was it? I don't remember what you packed!"

"Neither do I," Wintrow admitted, smiling sheepishly, "it's a straw hat, so a little brown-ish yellow in colour?" He honestly couldn't remember if he packed it at all, but he thought he did.

It took only a few more moments before the young Orion pulled said hat out of the bag, plopping it on top of Wintrow's head. "There we go! You look great!"

Wintrow frowned, then broke into a smile. "Thank you," he said brightly, spontaneously planting a kiss on her cheek, then blushing scarlet.

The younger cadet was too excited to read into the notion, turning to kiss his cheek as well. "I wouldn't want you catching a sunburn as red as you are now!"

"Neither do I," the boy said, not quite sure what else to say.

Quinn stood and stretched mightily. "Gambling. They have gambling here, but watch your asses. You need to know who you can and can not win against here. I may rent a date for the reception, if no one minds, that is." Quinn said with a smile and wink. He was too old for all that, but he did plan on having a good time. "Do you realize this is the closest thing to a trlaxing leave I've had since...Willis tried to drown me on that damn sailboat."

"Drown on a sailboat? That's impossible," Wintrow replied without prior thought. "And I know...I have one."

Quinn looked over at the young man and shook his head. "It would mind you to know when to keep your thoughts to yourself, young man. You can drown on just a teaspoon of water, lad. If water gets into your lungs, you can drown. Try it sometime."

The boy shrank back in his seat, his face gone chalk white. "I have..." he whispered, almost inaudibly then swallowed hard.

Quinn looked over at the lad and then returned his attention to the outside.

Dorian watched the exchanges between the others, slowly gathering his things together before smiling gently to Aria. He reached past the sleepy young woman to help get her things before she could argue.

Aria groaned and frowned as she watched him, before the frown eased and she smiled gratefully. "We there then..." she murmured and shifted, unfolding her legs.

The large exit doors of the transport car slowly hissed open allowing its occupants to depart. Various Orions of different shapes, sizes, and skin colors began to depart with their belongings, and soon the cab was empty except for Lirha's group.

"Shall we?" She motioned towards the exit with her two large duffel bags slung over each shoulder and led the way out of the cabin and onto the station platform. It was only a couple hours until dawn but the station was surprisingly busy already. She took a deep breath of the cool morning air and smiled to herself as she recognized the familiar smells and distinctive nitrogen-oxygen mixture of the atmosphere. It was good to be home at last.

In the distance, the high-rises of the city skyline could be seen with quite a display of blooming building lights and holographic billboards. The hovercar highways were busy with small craft which buzzed in and around the tallest of buildings on their way to whatever destination they deemed most important. Above in the night sky, the cloudless view of the solar system presented the group with a plethora of twinkling stars and nearby planets. Rigel VII's only moon was on full display and provided a bright illumination of the dark surroundings.

Staying close to Nesh, afraid he might get lost despite his reasonable sense of direction, Wintrow gawked at the view. "Wow!" he breathed.

Lirha briefly wondered if they should take a cab to the hotel and get settled in, but quickly remembered Aila's recent message that she would meet them at the transport terminal and drive them there personally. Her eyes scanned the scattered crowd in search of her while they patiently waited. "My mother should be meeting us here...soon, I hope," she explained to the rest of the group.

Allyndra waited a moment and retrieved a cloak from her travel bag. She carried very little figuring to live on the economy here and have an excuse to go shopping for extra clothing. She was not a vain, but such a trip gave her a chance to mingle and learn a new culture. She tossed the cloak over her shoulders and then fastened it at the neck. It looked a bit odd and out of place here especially considering the way most of the populace was dressed or rather nearly undressed. She could not blame them, it was hot, and for someone not brought up here more so. Allyndra was fairly sure no one knew what she was other than an off worlder but no use advertising the wings either.

Quinn smiled at Lirha. "Is mom...single?"

"Widowed," responded Lirha with a touch of solemnity while also forcing a small smile across her lips. Technically it did make Aila single, but the commodore thought it best to give a more accurate description.

Quinn frowned a bit from the comment. "Sorry, I, eh, didn't know." he said softly to Lirha.

Shaking her head lightly to dismiss any notion of offense, the commodore then shrugged and gave the COB a more optimistic perspective. "She has not re-married, so...perhaps she is interested in a date? It would not be a proper Orion wedding without one, after all."

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. You know me, always wanting to honor customs and traditions."

"It is the Starfleet way, yes?" she teased. A lifelong fleeter, Lirha thought Quinn had probably been exposed to more different custom than she could count. Such was the benefit of Starfleet, and it was one of the major reasons for her enlisting as a young woman.

"This is going to be...weird..." Aria said as she walked, with West at her side, her voice hushed. She felt oddly covered up in her jeans, heels and top. But the see through hoodie over it made her feel a bit more secure. Truth was, she was nervous.

"No, this is going to be an adventure...." Dorian corrected as he looked to Aria with a grin, nudging in to her to make her look at him before winking. "Just don't get contracted."

"It's really hot here," Wintrow commented as he looked around, not wanting to miss a thing. He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, then leaned over to do the same with the legs of his pants. "Is there an opportunity to change into something ah...lighter?" he asked, desperate to get out of his body-covering clothes and into something made of a lighter or thinner material.

Allyndra laughed at the comment. She was glad she was not homeothermic but even so she was rapidly feeling the heat especially with clothing and the cloak on. Akkadians did not sweat but instead panted when overheated. She did not want to start that in front of the others. "And combine that with a longer day!," Allyndra commented and then nodded her chin at some natives. "If you have not noticed clothing is minimal and quite accepted amoung the culture. I am already beginning to doubt my choice of attire."

Noticing several barely clad Orions, Wintrow's face turned scarlet. "Undress? Here?" He swallowed. "I'm not sure I can doctor," he stammered as he looked to the others. But it was so hot and he certainly was overdressed. But if he took clothes off, he risked a severe sunburn...

"Understood, you think this cloak and outfit is not warm?" Allyndra asked. "I am going to be panting like an exhausted runner pretty soon. However, I am probably a little less subject to heat prostration than you are. I do have some good sunblock if you change your mind."

Wintrow nodded shyly, but pulled off his shirt anyway and tied it around his waist. "I'll take your offer on that ma'am," he told her, "though I may need some help with that. If..If you don't mind?"

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CDT SO Wintrow Paragon
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

PO1 Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

Lt JG Dorian West
Counsellor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

Aila Saalm
Civilian
Mother of the Bride
[PNPC Blake]

LTJG Luke Wyatt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Cadet FO Nesh Saalm
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Kita]

LCMDR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galielo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

LTJG Aria Rice
Security Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Devin]

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