Patagonia Paradise (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 08 Jan 2019 @ 1:37am by Commander Luke Wyatt & Commander Marisa Wyatt
Edited on on 08 Jan 2019 @ 1:28pm

1,933 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Holodeck
Timeline: MD -130, 1400 hours

[ON]

Luke had been doing his research, he wanted to keep the experience as homely as possible and decided to keep the location to Earth. After consulting with a few experts and friends he had narrowed down a shortlist of just 20 location around Earth across a 100 year period before finally settling with Patagonia in the 16th century. It was a few decades after the area was first discovered by man meaning the landscape was untouched. He waited outside the holodeck with his bag already packed, for a warm tropical like climate but some extra wet gear just in case. He carried most of the cooking equipment and the heavy parts of the tent like the pegs and poles while having sent Marisa her own initial packing kit including the tent itself, half the food and water and the note to pack whatever else she wanted especially when he had set the program to randomly generate their starting point and the weather

As well as the main parts to his packing list Luke also had a set of spare clothes, a survival kit which had helped him in sticky situations in the past and a fire making kit including pre-shaved wood chippings. Oh and a generous amount of whisky for the chilly night he expected.

Marisa was excited to go camping--even if it was on the holodeck. She was especially happy to go with Luke. They'd talked about their camping experiences, and she was eager to see him in the wild. It was going to be fun.

As she wasn't sure what to expect, she wore a pair of faded blue jeans, a deep purple t-shirt with a an alpaca on the front, and a purple and white flannel shirt. Along with the gear Luke sent over, she packed a lighter pair of cargo pants, a spare shirt, a bedroll, and a plastic poncho. On her belt she clipped her belt knife, multi-tool, and survival kit. Finally, she grabbed her boonie hat and headed for the holodeck.

She met Luke outside the holodeck. "Hi," she said cheerfully.

"Hi you," He said as she approached. "Don't you just look beautiful. Loving the shirt" He said pointing out the alpaca. "All ready to go then? The program starts at about 1000hrs so we have some hiking time ahead of us to find somewhere to camp.

"Thanks," she said. "That sounds like fun. Do you have some place specific in mind?" She didn't really care where they camped, she was just happy for the opportunity.

He shook his head "Nope, everything is random and its set to a time before Patagonia was fully discovered by man. Its gonna be awesome" Excitement ringing in his voice as he opened the door to the holodeck. "Lets go!"

The doors to the holodeck opened and the two stepped in.

Marisa stopped and looked around, slowly taking in the scenery. "This is incredible," she whispered.

In front of Marisa Luke had also stopped to take in the view. The program had ejected them on top of a cliff overlooking what must have been the entire reserve. It was stunning, a winding river split the dense forest in two and in the distance high rising mountains blotted the horizon. "It truly is," He said turning around to look at Marisa "So is this view" He winked.

She chuckled softly, feeling her cheeks warm. "You're prejudiced," she teased. She leaned forward and kissed him, pleased that he thought so.

Taking the moment to enjoy the feeling of her kiss Luke smiled before turning back around "Right, lets get going we need to at least be within reasonable walking distance of fresh water which means that river" He said pointing our the winding blue water. "Keep up" He said teasing as he set off.

She grinned as she followed right behind. She had no problem keeping up, although she had to keep from stopping to appreciate the view. It was truly incredible. She didn't bring a walking stick, but with the vegetation, it would not be helpful. "I've never been this far south," she admitted. "I never knew what I was missing."

Luke stopped momentarily to appreciate the same view. They were about half way through their journey, "I think a lot of things been built on. Even though we have tried to preserve our natural earth wonders most was either destroyed or urbanized before the birth of Starfleet." They lingered for a moment before continuing their journey.



The whole trek to a suitable location lasted a few hours and night was slowly creeping in as the sky turned red. "This is as good as place as any. You can hear the river from here, the canopy provides an extra layer of protection from the elements and the open area gives us enough space to set up camp" Luke waited for her approval before unpacking.

"It looks good to me," she said, walking the perimeter of the propose campsite. "Do we have to worry about predators? Will a fire be good enough?"

"A fire should be enough to keep anything away. I'll set up the tent if you want to get that going?" He offered already having taken off his backpack and assembling the tents beams. "Come On, chop chop we're not in the science labs now he teased.

"I hope we're not in a science lab," she said in mock-horror. "Can you imagine the brouhaha if I built a campfire in the middle of the floor? Unless of course I was testing something." While she talked, she cleared debris and undergrowth from the area she was going to use for the fire pit and gathered wood. Then she pulled out a camping shovel and dug a pit deep enough for the fire. Dead brush and small twigs went in next, then larger sticks. Finally, she lit the fire and nurtured it until it caught hold. A couple of larger pieces went on next. "Fire's good for now," she said. She glanced up at the sun, gauging the time left before it grew dark. "Will we have time to catch fish for dinner, or should we wait for morning?"

Luke looked to the canopy where the sun could still be seen making its last attempts at breaking through the blotchy green ceiling. "I'd say we have some time for a spot of fishing, I'll show you how to make a fish trap." He said picking up a few things as he finished the tent and placing them inside.

"I'd love to learn how to make a fish trap." She stowed her gear in the tent as well and followed him. One of her cousins tried to teach her how to stand in the water and catch fish once, but it was a skill that took time and practice, and she preferred spending her time doing other things. When she camped, she use a hook and line, but that, too, took time.

The walk to the river was short and mostly unobstructed, at one point Luke had to crash through some dense vines but it didn't take too much effort. As the stood along the river Luke could see the fish swimming and smiled "Looks like we're in luck. Now, all we need to do is create a fish trap." He said turning back to the ground and picking up some sticks "Those vines we passed think you can go cut some and bring them? We'll need them to bind the wood together"

"Sure," she said. It would not be the first time, or the last. She went just far enough to find the right size vines and cut several lengths and took them back to Luke. There was one good thing about being on the holodeck: she didn't have to worry about parasites or poisonous spiders.

Having gathered the required amount and sticks, Luke had sorted them into their size and their roles with one large cone shape stick which he had carved from a large branch. "Awesome, I was going to come looking for you" He teased taking the vines from her and started to shape the trap explaining to Marisa as he did.

Marisa watched carefully as Luke crafted the fish trap. It wasn't too complicated, which meant she was going to learn how to make one of these herself on a future camping trip. Hopefully, that would also include Luke, who could help her if she needed it.

With the trap finished Luke handed it to Marisa "Now all you need to do is have it facing upstream so as the fish travel along the current and into the trap they'll get caught. They're not so smart so they'll swim right in but because of the smaller hole coming out they won't be able to swim out thus creating a nice meal for us tonight." Luke moved to give Marisa room to drop the trap into the water "Oh don't forget to use some rocks to weigh it down" He added.

She selected a couple from the side of the river and set them inside, then carefully dropped the trap into the water. "This is easier than a hook and line, but it takes some of the fun out of the hunt," she joked.

The water was a little chilly and she wondered if she should try a short swim in the morning. Right now, she'd likely scare away the fish.

Watching her Luke couldn't resist his urge to have some fun and though they needed food having some fun seemed far more appealing. Kicking off his shoes Luke tackled Marisa as softly as possible sending them both into the water. It was colder than he expected but still, the warmth of the evening sun kept the water at a moderate temperature and was refreshing more than shocking.

Marisa was laughing when she came up for air. She took off her wet boots and tossed them onto the dry ground, then pounced on Luke, ducking him under water.

Even though Luke had the weight and muscular advantage Marisa managed to get the better of him in this instance. Spending a moment underwater Luke broke the surface splashing her before taking her up in his arms. "Who knew you were so strong." He teased planting a kiss on her forehead as he pinned her arms at her sides in a bear hug.

"I'm half Vulcan, and I have male cousins," she replied. She tried to free her arms, but he had the advantage, so she wrapped her legs around him to trip him up, if she could.

Spending more of his efforts in containing her arms he hadn't expected her to use her legs and was tripped sending them both toppling back into the water. After a few more minutes of play fighting Luke pulled himself out the water laughing.

"That was fun," Marisa said, wading out of the water. "Is there anything left of the fish trap?"

Luke looked and nodded "it seems to have been able to hold" Luke pulled Marisa down so she was laying next to him. "I have a feeling this trip of ours isn't going to be as productive in the camping field as I though" He teased kissing her.

For a long moment, Marisa kissed him back. "It depends on what you consider productive," she teased. "We made it to--and into--the river."

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

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Lieutenant Commander Luke Wyatt
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

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