Road Trip

Posted on 18 Mar 2016 @ 12:50pm by Lieutenant JG Cyrin Xanth & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika & Crewman Apprentice Sigrid Thelin

1,432 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: Runabout Araguaia, En Route to Trill
Timeline: MD25, 1325 Hours

[ON]

Not for the first time, and likely not for the last, Cyrin peered over Marika's shoulder with some nervousness to check the helm console. Neither of the ensigns had anything more than the standard piloting training they'd gotten at the Academy, with maybe and extra hour or two since then in a simulation, and if there was one thing Cyrin did particularly well, was worry. Unfortunately for the Bajoran woman, he had a tendency to loom when he wasn't at the controls himself. Of course, he wasn't much better when he was in the pilot's seat either.

"Is the port nacelle out of alignment?" he asked, at least stopping himself from reaching over her shoulder to tap one of her controls this time.

"Shouldn't be," Rheneas piped up from one of the other stations, "I'm not getting any faulty messages from the systems. Unless the systems are faulty but I doubt that. Shuttle wouldn't have been cleared if there was something wrong."

Turning her head slightly to the right, Marika observed Cyrin for a moment, his face about an inch from her. After glancing at Rheneas to ensure he could take the controls if something went wrong, she acted on her silly impulse. Grabbing the Trill's face, she pushed herself towards him and gave his left side one good lick.

Rheneas hid his face to hide his laughter, but it still echoed through the small compartment. He stole a glance towards the front to see how the poor Trill would respond.

Anyone watching wasn't disappointed. Cyrin let out a yelp and stumbled backwards, flailing a bit until he dropped clumsily into the empty chair behind him. His face was bright red, eyes about as wide as they could go, as he scrubbed his cheek with a sleeve. His mind began to race. What was that? What did it mean? Was she initiating some sort of Bajoran mating ritual? Had she just infected him with a strain of Rigellian Fever? In all the dozens of scenarios that ran through his head, not once did Cyrin consider humour as a motive.

Marika burst with laughter. Her friends face was priceless, although perhaps with a little more terror than she had anticipated. She held on to the chair's arm rests as she tried to contain the laugher long enough to inquire about his 'health'.

Cyrin stared at Marika in shock for a moment at her laughter. Then he offered a shaky smile and said, "I guess I deserved that. I'm sorry, I was being a back-seat pilot." He was too tense to laugh himself though. He'd been tense when they'd boarded the Araguaia, and he'd been growing subtly more tense as the light years passed. A little bit of that had faded at the Bajoran's antics though, and obviously a vacation was exactly what was needed. Abruptly he stood up and looked around at the others, "Does um...anyone w-want anything? From the um, um, the rep-replicator?"

Rheneas tilted his head in thought for a moment. "Toast with vegemite and a cuppa please," he requested, his Australian accent heavy in his voice.

Still giggling to herself, Marika waved in the negative. "I....I'm sorry...." A fit of giggles interrupted her. "I... I just couldn't help it..." Much as she tried, she burst out laughing again, evidently proud of her little stunt.

"I don't get it..." Rheneas looked over at the poor Trill. "Do you get it?"

For his part, Cyrin just shook his head and hurried for the aft compartment without answering. If he'd tried it would have involved lots of stuttering and the like, which would only have embarrassed him further. It was too easy to do that in the first place, no need to add to it himself. As soon as he was alone in the back of the runabout, Cyrin made his way to the replicator and started typing in orders. He hated it when the computer insisted he 'please restate his request' because it couldn't make heads or tails of his stammering.

Then the Australian looked back at Marika. "Couldn't help what?"

Shaking her head, Marika giggled. "Just flow with it. It'll be easier than trying to understand." She winked and stuck out her tongue, then promptly proceeded to giggle some more.

Back in the aft compartment, Sigrid sat on top of two large stacked cases containing what she needed for their trip. She smiled at Cyrin as he passed but immediately returned her attention on the design applicator and her nails. When the computer protested to Cyrin, the Vega colonist looked up quickly and fanned her painted nails towards the Trill. "Oh, oh. Could you ask it for a carbonated water with a lemon wedge for me please?"

Cyrin nodded, and keyed in the commands for her order too. It took a lot longer this way, but with as tongue-twisted as he could get... Cyrin stepped away from the replicator holding a tray that had everyone's drinks and food on it, and balanced it carefully as he walked over to join her. "How's it going, Sigrid?" he asked, thankfully with his speech back under control. "Enjoying the long ride?"

Sigrid threw her head back and let out a satisfied moan as she said, "Oh gosh, yeeess!" Sigrid hopped down from her towering cases and took the bubbly water from the tray in Cyrin's hands. After taking a sip, she placed it down on the cases, "I have so needed this time away. I mean don't get me wrong Galileo is great. Really great. But sometimes a girl just needs to get away and relax, you know?" Sigrid's voice became a bit dreamy as she went on, "Get a foot massage; read a romance novel; eat some wonderful foods. Oh! I just can't wait."

"Oh, I'm uh...I'm sure you'll get a chance," Cyrin said, sounding hesitant enough about it. It was the mention of a romance novel that had him a little worried, as it was too close to the secret poetry he wrote. "Do you l-like Trill cuisine much? I've heard some people say it's sort of bland before..." Cyrin for one enjoyed it, but of course his people evolved to eat all those leaves that seemed to turn up in the majority of their dishes.

"What's keeping him," Rheneas muttered, half tempted to get up and get his tea himself. "Oy!" he called back over his shoulder. "What's keeping the tea?"

Cyrin ducked his head at the call that came muffled through the bulkhead, and said, "I uh, should p-probably be getting them their uh..." The Trill hefted the tray of things, gave a brief flash of a smile then hurried forward on the runabout to deliver the replicated goods. "S-sorry."

Still giggling to herself, Marika enjoyed the look on Cyrin's face as he came back into view. How could someone with such genius be so ... uncertain of himself? At least he still have a decent sense of humor. It was just hidden underneath a sea of variables. She mused for a second wondering just how many shades of red she could bring on to him.

Accepting his tea, Rheneas smiled. "Thanks!" He flashed the Trill a wide grin as he sipped it. "And it's still warm too, wow. What took you so long Cy?"

"I uh...I mean I was um..." Cyrin looked between Rheneas and the hatch to the back portion of the runabout a few times. "Just chatting with Sigrid. I mean um, Crewman. Crewman Thelin, that is." The Trill winced slightly and slid back into his seat, only slightly looking over Marika's shoulder again as he sat down, and oblivious to the nefarious thoughts going on within at least one of the minds of his companions. "So what's our ETA?"

"Miraculously three days less then when you asked this morning?" Marika greeted his question with amusement, pointing at the black space outside. "See? Trill! Right there!" She pointed at a random star that might have been Trill, but probably wasn't. "Don't worry Great Word Smith. We'll get there." She smiled reassuringly.

Cyrin fidgeted, blushed quite noticeably, and tried his best over the next three days - and failing to every so often - to avoid ask plaintively, if they were there yet.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Cyrin Xanth
Astrophysicist/Cosmologist
USS Galileo

Crewman Apprentice Sigrid Thelin
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo

PO2 Rheneas Malachy
Archaeologist/engineer
USS Galileo
pnpc Tyrion

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

RSS Feed