Two's company

Posted on 17 Jun 2016 @ 12:12am by Lieutenant JG Cyrin Xanth & Lieutenant JG Lenaris Marika & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Petty Officer 3rd Class Ellsworth Hudson

2,614 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Divinum Mundi
Location: Alpha Quadrant, Deep Space 9
Timeline: MD -47 - 0800hrs

[ON]

Making his way through the crowd on the promenade, Oren fanned himself with his paDD, almost overheating from the excitement of finally going home for the long awaited camping trip he'd planned with his friends. If he was being honest, the change in destination felt right, despite Ellsworth's misgiving. Oren was sure his partner would get over it soon enough. After all, Bajor was gorgeous this time of year.

Ellsworth trudged along behind him burdened down with his belongings like a pack mule. He glowered. He more than glowered, really. It was like an outright scowl. This stuff was heavy, and he had no idea what among it he'd actually need since someone had changed the itinerary at the very last minute, leaving him with a bunch of worthless research and probably a bunch of worthless gear.

Finally reaching the docks from where they would travel down to the planet, Oren turned on his heel to look at Ellsworth, a giant grin on his face. "We're almost there! Are you excited?"

In that moment, Ellsworth wanted to take Oren's enthusiasm, mold it and shape it and form it into a blunt instrument, and then bludgeon the him with it. He'd been excited about camping on Earth. He wasn't sure how to feel about camping on Bajor. Were there bears are Bajor?

"Are there bears on Bajor?" After only half a moment's pause, he rushed on. "You know, I could have answered that question for myself. If we'd been camping on Earth. But we're not. So... Now I don't know if I'm going to get my face mauled off by a Bajoran bear."

Oren deflated slightly and gave Ellsworth a pout, approaching him. "Come on, it wasn't that big of a shift. Bajor is gorgeous this time of year and I know you'll love it," he assured the cranky Betazoid, reaching up and running the back of his fingers over his cheek. "I promise I'll protect you from any bears that might miraculously show up."

Ellsworth cast a strong side-eye to Oren and contorted his face up with skepticism and doubt. He couldn't imagine Oren protecting him from a bear, but he at least kept the thought to himself as they trudged onward.

Cyrin nearly stumbled through the hatch, a few minutes behind Oren and Ellsworth, not looking where he was going, and not used to there being a rise at the junction of two corridors. Damned Cardassian engineering! His frustration didn't last very long however, as he gazed about the Promenade with a bit of wonder on his face. It was far smaller than the similar places he'd seen on Federation starbases before, and by a good measure. Why, Spacedock had a Promenade level almost five times as big as this station's. But there was something about being here, on the famous station, seeing the aliens that one didn't often see.

He made his way over to one of the large, oval windows quickly, beckoning for his own travelling companion to join him. "Marika, do you think we'll get to see it?!" Cyrin asked enthusiastically, his nose almost pressed against the transparent aluminium as soon as he'd managed to wedge his way into the crowd and get a front-row view of the space outside. The Denorios Belt was partially visible, a vague purpling of the blackness of space from the charged plasma, but there was no sign of what he was really looking for at the moment.

"I'm sure we will if we wait long enough." Joining her friend, Marika looked out excitedly. "Of course, it might be wise to go ask when the next ships are due to pass, that way we don't end up waiting for hours for no good reason." Resting her head on Cyrin's shoulder, she sighed softly. "It's kinds of nice to be home."

"Isn't that Cyrin?" Ellsworth asked Oren, sounding genuinely curious as he motioned ahead of them. The man's backside had been what caught his attention, seeming vaguely familiar, particularly when paired with the rest of his athletic frame. "And what's-her-face, that girl from sciences? Marissa? Cyrin! Cyrin, hey!" He turned to Oren with a look of amazement. "Isn't the galaxy a small place?"

"Oh! They're already here?" Oren asked, looking around the docking area to try and locate the Trill. Finally spotting him, Oren's face broke into a big grin. "Cyrin!" he called, jumping up and waving his arm up to get his attention. As if there weren't only a dozen or so people in the vicinity. Satisfied he'd made himself noticeable, he turned to Ellsworth.

"I knew you had your reservation about me switching the trip to Bajor, but I also invited Cyrin and Marika to come with us! The more the merrier, right?"

Ellsworth stopped like he was wearing magnetic boots that suddenly activated, binding him to the deck plating. I also invited Cyrin and Marika to come with us! The more the merrier, right? What? The more the... He blinked, watched Cyrin and Marika as they turned around to face Oren. He looked at the back of Oren's head, felt his burning gaze nearly making a hole there. Who invited other people on a romantic getaway? Were they even dating? Had Oren ever properly dated anyone, ever?

"What," Ellsworth heard himself mumble, so thoroughly stunned by the revelation that he could hardly speak. Or maybe he could hardly speak through the anger and the cloudy red haze that was obstructing his vision.

Turning around, Marika's eyes widened in pure joy. The excited shrill that escaped her lips as she literally bounced her way over to them, was enough to make most passerby's stare at them in shock, or horror. "Ooooooooren! Yaaaaaaay! This is so awesome! I've missed you!" Throwing herself at the El-Aurian, she continued with alacrity. "It'll be awesome to show our friends around. Camping is soooooo fun. We'll have to stop and see my parents. I went them to meet you guys."

To her credit, the young Bajoran looked at everyone involved as she said so, giving Ellsworth a small nudge, a mark of familiarity for someone she'd spotted thrice at best before today.

Cyrin had followed after his Bajoran friend with a good deal less enthusiasm, though he was wearing a smile on his face. "Hi Lieutenant, hi Petty Officer," he greeted them by rank, without any signs that either the Betazoid or the El-Aurian were in danger of being drawn into a big hug from him. "Th-thanks for uh, well, you know, inviting me. M-maybe this will be m-more of a um, relaxing vacation than Trill turned out to be." Had Cyrin given Marika a sidelong look when he said that?

Giggling a bit, Marika gently bumped her shoulder into his. "You should thank me. I make your life interesting." The twinkle in her eyes offered proof she really believed it. "Besides. Your grandchildren will need tales. What better tales then those you'll have shared with Aunt Marika eh?"

Ellsworth looked at both Marika and Cyrin with someone just short of a glare. The glare he saved for Oren, leveling it at him with a great deal of enthusiasm. He could almost - almost - envision wrapping his slender fingers around Oren's shoulders and giving him a firm shake. An endless sort of shake, the tension and frustration releasing sort. Because he was, after all, very tense and frustrated at the moment. The young Betazoid hated surprises, and, at the moment, he wasn't sure he could think of a bigger surprise than the one standing in front of him.

"So, Oren invited you all, hm? Lovely. More the merrier, right, Dr. Idris?"

Suddenly, whatever joy Oren had felt vanished from his face, but only for a split second before he composed himself. It was only due to Ellsworth having spent almost three months with him that he'd caught it at all. If there was any doubt about whether he realised what he'd done, it was definitely gone now.

Still, he didn't let it show. Instead, he gave Ellsworth a smile. "Yeah! We're gonna have so much fun together!"

Quite literally jumping in joy, Marika squealed with delight. "This is going to be soooooooo awesome! I love camping! I love the outdoors! Oh! But Cyrin is right! We have to watch the Celestial Temple open before we go down. It's so pretty! Have I ever told you the time my parents brought me here to meet the Emissary? It was the first time I saw it. I don't think I have words to describe what I felt at that moment. I think I was six. It was awesome! Mom bought Jumja sticks and dad kept trying to sneak past the other pilgrims. And while I was looking out, trying to figure out where it would open, it did. Everyone around me was so busy, no one realised it was there. It was almost as if it had opened just for me... Which I know is ridiculous. But at the time, it's what I thought."

"That's so sweet," Oren said, reaching out to take Marika's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I think waiting is a great idea! I've never seen it before. I bet it's beautiful!"

"It's not, like, on a timer is it? Doesn't it just open and close whenever something is passing through it?" Ellsworth said, speaking through his nose in an annoyed tone of voice. "That could take forever." He looked up and down the corridor, and his shoulders sagged. "There's not even a jumja stick vendor on this level, ugh. Besides, what time is it on Bajor? The wormhole thing isn't on the schedule, it's gonna make us late." He turned to Oren. "You know I hate being late."

For his part, Cyrin stayed quiet and had turned back to face the viewports with deep expectation written plain all over his expression. He knew he'd probably sound a bit whiney himself if he talked about how much he wanted to see the wormhole, but it was just one of those things that he had to do at least once in his life. Cyrin might be able to go on at length about the science behind it, with passion and excitement for the facts, but the experience of actually seeing the wormhole itself was going to be something else entirely.

Waiting for the Celestial Temple to open for almost an hour proved to be as bad of an idea as Ellsworth thought it was. As the foursome spent the following hour in the transport taking them down to the planet's surface, the cramped space was filled with excited chatter about just how exciting and beautiful seeing the wormhole open was. By the time they reached the campsite, it was almost dark and their reserved camping spot had been given away, due to their being nearly two hours late.

"This is what happens when you're late," Ellsworth complained as they hiked to some undesirable portion of the campground to setup their equipment. In the dark. "Logistics people have very set ways of doing things, you know, and it said very clearly in the fine print not to be late or you'd forfeit your reservation. We're lucky they even had a spot left, you know. It's probably in, like, a snake pit or something. Ow, oh my Goddess!"

The sharp sound of a hand slapping skin broke Ellsworth's complaining. Something had bitten his arm. Some kind of damn flying insect, probably part of Bajor's welcome party. With a glare in Oren's direction, he fell sullen and silent, occasionally rubbing the spot on his arm, mostly for show.

"This is great," Cyrin countered, letting his backpack slide off his shoulders to the ground, his face lit up with a grin that was probably hard to see in the dark. He'd judiciously sprayed himself with insect repellent as soon as they'd reached the surface, so hopefully he wouldn't fall victim to a bite - or pinch. Cyrin had started to rummage through the bag, digging around for the things he wanted. "Pitons, hammer, ah ha, lamp..." A moment longer and then a soft golden glow lit up the surrounding area some. "I'll work on the tents! Who is making dinner?"

"I got it!" Rummaging through her stuff, Marika grinned. "I bought genuine earth camping food before we left. Ha! There it is. Beans and sausages." Triumphantly, she showed off her canned and plasticized goods. "Camping food!" She repeated enthusiastically.

"Great!" Oren announced. "We'll go make food and you two set up the tents." With that, Oren immediately dragged Marika away. From the emotional vibe he was getting from Ellsworth, the farther he was from him at that moment, the better. Perhaps he would cool down enough by bedtime for them to have a conversation.

Still holding her cans with great pride, Marika waved them around under Oren's nose a few more time, grinning. "Where are we going?"

"To the other side of the campsite to make food," Oren said quickly, before grabbing under Marika's arm and half-dragging her far away from Ellsworth and Cyrin.

Ellsworth watched them go. Well, watched Oren go. There was a little flare-up of love and affection as he watched the certain movement of the El Aurian's hips as he walked. But Ellsworth quickly snuffed that out and turned to watch Cyrin. Putting up a tent seemed like it was mostly a one-man operation, so he supervised. He watched the way his arms worked with the tools, the occasional strain produced from lifting a heavy portion of the structure. Inside of three minutes, Ellsworth thought the ambient temperature must have raised or something.

"So, Cyrin," Ellsworth said, slow-walking his way over. He smiled. It was a big smile. A meaningful smile. "You seem pretty handy with this stuff. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Oblivious, as usual, Cyrin turned his head around one of the support rods for the tent and offered a grin, "Thanks." At the moment he was getting the final pieces that snapped together set so that it would lift the fabric of the tent and create a room inside. "My family went camping a couple of times when I was a kid, is all. But, um, yeah, uh, if you would please, could you get the ground stakes out uh, Ellsworth?" It was a bit weird, calling him by his name rather than his rank, but he was making an effort to try to relax. Changing out of his uniform would probably be a good step in that direction, he'd have to remember later. "Do you do this much?"

"Uh, never," Ellsworth replied as he grabbed what he thought was the right bag and began digging inside. Thankfully, the stakes seemed new. Not caked in dirt and whatever else came out of the ground. "This is not my idea of camping. Camping is supposed to be in, like, a cabin. Or whatever. Not... Tents. Bugs get inside tents."

Cyrin paused and laughed, shaking his head and grinning over his shoulder at Ellsworth. "That sounds like you're taking all the fun out of it. You're in Starfleet. Where's your sense of adventure?" The Trill winked, then turned his attention back to getting the pole in place. In a moment, the tent was standing higher, the room inside expanding.

[OFF]

--

LTJG Cyrin Xanth
Science Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Lenaris Marika
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo

LT Oren idris
Chief Research Officer
USS Galileo

PO3 Ellsworth Hudson
Operations Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Mott]

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