The Beach; Early Birds (Part 1)

Posted on 23 Dec 2012 @ 4:12pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Crewman Athlen

3,971 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony, Puam Digh
Timeline: MD9 0500

[ON]

Kiri had a sleepless night but she felt alive. She'd come down before dawn, packing everything she felt she might need. A huge towel, a blanket, a large beach parasol, a few work pads and a bottle of water, right now it remained laid out a short stretch from the entrance to the beach. When she first came Kiri had run a short distance, darting on the sands, paddling in cool moonlit waves. Letting the swash bury her toes and discovering a creature she thought was called a Prog Crab, part crab, part spider and part jellyfish, it had dragged itself around on long legs before sliding back into the water. As the sun crested into a crown over the horizon, she watched seated on her towel, wrapped in a blue blanket. Under it she wore only her swimsuit but it almost completely covered her. Skin-tight breathable black material covered her arms to the wrist and her legs to the ankles. The spots on her feet could be seen and she hated that but there was nothing that could be done. A blue wrap wound around her shoulders, covering her chest and knotted around into a skirt at her waist.

The sight took her breath away, bringing a smile to her face. Tired eyes with huge black bags under them made her face look swollen, even with the smile. Palm trees swayed with long tendrils, huge sky blue birds silently glided almost invisible over head. Just beyond sight there were a few houses, the transporter pad and when it opened a replicator shop. The public rest room and rain shelter were the only other buildings on the entire island. The rest was all palm, sand and wave, white sand, warm light water. She waited, keeping warm until the sun was higher, waiting for the first to arrive.

Dea awoke early and packed any gear she might need for the day. The idea of an early morning run along the beach intrigued her as did a change to watch a sunrise. She arrived around 0500 to find Kiri already there. Currently dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with her swimsuit underneath. Instead shoes Dea had on her good waterproof beach shoes that she could wear in the sand an had purchased specifically for her beach runs when the opportunity for those presented themselves. "Morning," she greeted Kiri briefly as she began to stretch.

Looking up Kiri let the blanket fall a little way, it hadn't taken long after all. The first rays of the sun caught her hair and almost made it look orange, "Good morning." Smiling she stood up, the blanket still around her shoulders, "It is still early." Kiri had come to escape, because she couldn't sleep, because she could be free here.

"Yeah, its not often I get a chance to go running along a beach just at sunrise. Besides I wasn't having a very restful night. I'll let you get back to your solitude and will be back later. Sorry to disturb you."

"It is quite..." But she was already gone. Kiri didn't want to be in solitude, she didn't feel up to running any more though and the impression she got was that Dea wanted to be alone. Sinking back into her blanket Kiri watched for a while before bringing a pad up to look at. It was the same work she would be doing if she was on the ship.

***
The ocean was something that Mor'an had been too long without seeing. She hailed from a pelagic world where swimming was about as common as walking. Here was an opportunity to swim for the first time in too long and Mor'an wasn't about to let it pass her by. The water and sand repellant swimsuit that she was wearing was specially made for long days in the water. It was probably the most comfortable piece of clothing she owned and it covered her upper arms and thighs to keep her warm. Mor'an strolled down to the sandy shore, barefoot, her beach satchel in hand. She did not requite much when she swam, unlike many of the girls she had seen on Earth, who needed so many things with them, hairbrush, towel, sunglasses and the like, she wondered if it was even worth it.

When she crested the sand dune and caught sight of the water, Mor'an sighed with contentedness. It was not Arun R'lantha, but it would do. She jogged towards the water, dropped her bag on the sand, and ran into the cool water without hesitation. Soon she was up to her neck, her dark hair floating around her.

***
0640

The air was crisp with the tell-tale beginnings of day, the morning breaking early overhead while the next few people beamed down. Liyar decided, at once, that he did not at all enjoy being this close to any ocean even if the humidity and temperature were instantly more comfortable than on the Galileo. But his subordinate was bounding toward the water with childlike excitement, and Liyar was left looking a little bereft at the absence of the only real bridge he had with these people. He tentatively walked toward Dea and Kiri, and a few other assorted crewmembers, though he did not recognize the flight control officer, and had no idea what he would say to them when he arrived.

Still swimming by herself around the shoals, Mor'an watched as more people began to arrive on the beach. She was surprised to see Liyar here, knowing he probably was not here by his own accord. Good. He needs to stop being so...Vulcan-like and actually have fun. She grinned at the thought and she dove under the water to watch the heat signatures of the marine life around her. The water stung her eyes but she didn't care. She was happy to be in the water again.

A short time ago Dea had returned from her run and a brief swim. Currently Mialin had a towel wrapped around her. "Good morning," she greeted Liyar with a smile. "It's a beautiful day so far." Glancing around to see who else had arrived.

The Vulcan inclined his head. "Good morning," he repeated mechanically. He wasn't exactly dressed for the beach, unlike the rest of those gathered he wore the same long tunic and boots Athlen found him in. The script of his tattoo was visible at the sleeve cut off heading down his forearm and wrist. Other than that he looked as severe as ever and obviously unprepared for fun or casual interaction. And Athlen, damn him, left and now he had to deal with it on his own. "The orbital weather control network of Vega IX is within nominal operating parameters," Liyar agreed blandly.

Kiri stood up and looked down at her outfit, making sure the wrap covered as much of herself as possible. Showing her body wasn't something she was remotely comfortable with but going swimming would be nice at some point. This was a chance for her, maybe. He wasn't Sellen but he was a Vulcan, maybe a real chance to talk to him would let her know if he liked her or not. Making sure there was a silence so she wasn't interrupting she spoke up, "I'm glad it is," That certainly sounded stupid, "Is there anything you would be interested in doing?" She was now finding herself drifting into host mode, she did organised this after all. Ensign, now Lieutenant Blake did tell her to. There was also a forced smile for Mialin, trying to hide her nerves.

Liyar regarded the Trill imperiously as she came over, which didn't really help in terms of her ability to tell if he liked her, but his reply was surprisingly forthcoming. "I have not engaged in this form of recreational endeavor. I am told it is logical to participate in order to cultivate stable relationships between myself and other crewmembers. However, I do not possess the knowledge to adequately provide an answer to your query. What would one..." he paused, and arched an eyebrow, "Do?"

This was a state of being that Kiri spend most of her life in when it came to social interaction but she was almost never so upright about announcing it. Recoiling slightly she managed a small smile, "Some people will swim, or talk, or create something using sand," Well children might sometimes she had seen adults do it though. If he was anything like Sellen though who did go swimming a few times, the only other thing was, "If you would like we can play three dimensional chess, in the sand." There were other games but that was the one she knew best. It was almost like work and now the sun was up it was getting progressively warmer.

The Vulcan bowed his head and gestured toward an open expanse, a little further away from the general crowd, sensing Kiri's rather familiar (in a way he can uncomfortably relate to) reticence in social situations. "I am amenable to that course of action," he declared calmly.

She wasn't going to let the fact she was tired interfere with this, forcing herself more alert she looked around at the beach. There were more than enough shells and odd bits of flotsam around. Two jobs to do, "We will need to find some things to represent the pieces," Looking back down the beach, "It'll take a few minutes."

"As you say," Liyar acknowledged, but ultimately he followed her lead. Somewhat curiously he found several differently shaped shells and smooth glass-type rocks that he couldn't identify off hand, and held them out for inspection after he observed Kiri doing the same in equal part. After they both amassed the correct amount of signifiers, he spoke again. "These are sufficient?"

"Yes," Kiri nodded. She was getting a little excited now. Using a long thin stick she had started to draw out the grid. Three main sections four by four and then four smaller orbiting two by two grids. It was a little tricky to get all the positions correct in her head but she was sure both of them could manage it. Converting two dimensions to three was part of the challenge. That done she carefully laid out her shells for her back row, match them quite well to each other, the pawns were a series of disk shaped seed pods. Everything set she looked over, "Would you like to go first?" A few hours ago, well the entire night, she'd been a child. Some of that still remained and Kiri didn't even really notice.

Receptive empathy being what it was, her gradual relaxation had a cumulative effect as Liyar in turn became calmer, rather than his usual default setting of uncompromisingly rigid. He helped Kiri draw the dimensions, not really because she needed the help but rather to quicken the process. A mathematician by trade, visual analysis and perception came naturally to him. Chess, however, was not a game he had been overly familiar with until two months ago. It was, primarily, a Terran game. They made their first moves tentatively, settling into an easy game if not an easy repartee.

While Liyar played logically enough, he also demonstrated a rather peculiar degree of instinctive, intuitive play that wasn't common to mainstream Vulcans (but is, in fact, common to psionic native Vulcans). Athlen had long told him about the unfair advantages of receptive empathy, Liyar was cognizant to prevent any 'cheating', still it was natural to him to adapt to Kiri's individual style instead of using an overbearingly computerized method. "It is my understanding that while partaking in this form of repose," Liyar started as it came to his turn once more and he moved a rather malformed looking seashell, "It is expected to maintain casual discourse on neutral topics. Do you wish to adhere to this custom?" It was a rather awful attempt at small-talk.

Kiri smiled, he was more Vulcan than Sellen. He was stiffer and his words overly complex, it took a few seconds for her to put them together. Placing the stick down on the ground she stayed crouched for a moment, "If you would like to we can talk." While she would play, Kiri was terrible at chess. She would never sacrifice a piece, she could play aggressively but rarely was that enough to win. She wouldn't place her pieces in danger if it could be helped. They were just representations but she gave them feelings and emotions in her head. She was their leader and it was her job to protect them, it wasn't really much of a game to her.

Liyar was sitting lotus-style, legs folded beneath him in such a way that he made sitting in the sand appear to be a dignified activity. He pondered his next move, spotting an opening through Kiri's defenses. Rather than take the obvious route, he kept his pieces oddly aligned, dancing around her overt attacks as if setting up for a major assault. To him, chess was a game of tactics, his own versus his opponents. Quite a few times he had heard it compared to kal-toh, but found that analogy flawed. Tactics (and by proxy chess itself) did not have to conform to logic, whereas kal-toh was developed purely for logical pursuit. He watched Kiri make her next play impassively. Rather than clashing miserably as they had their first meetings, he found this to be a more suitable alternative. "Where did you learn this game?" he settled on the obvious question.

"My grandmother taught me to play Go, I learnt chess in high school with a friend," Kiri had been advancing slowly setting everything as defensively as possible. If he did attack then she would be able to blunt, at least that was the plan. Knights and rooks waited in the wings and could sweep around the board using the orbiting sections.

"What are Go? and high-school?" Liyar asked, methodically collecting one of Kiri's pawns. His plays involved maneuvering knights and bishops, clearing the way and creating a large degree of deliberate space between the rows of players. He veered off when his next turn came, using a bishop to go in sideways. He collected another player, but in an obvious sacrifice of the bishop.

"It is a game played on a nineteen by nineteen point board, two players place counters in an attempt to encircle each other. The first to do so wins," That was a game she was better at, it was more logical and less focused on individual pieces, "High school is where most Terrans have their tertiary education." Kiri took his bishop with another pawn and on her next turn took a stray pawn of her own, sweeping in with the knight on her right hand orbiting grid.

Liyar listened while she spoke, and nodded in some degree of understanding. "Most Vulcan children attend to their own educational progress," he explained, remembering the learning bowls that had encompassed most of his own tertiary-education. "I do not believe there is an equivalent to your high-school. It would depend upon the individual. It is not this way for Terrans?" If he seemed unduly troubled by the loss of his pieces, he didn't show it. Instead, he continued as if nothing untoward had occurred, using his own knight to maneuver away from its guarding position in order to counter the offensive strike on his second orbital pad and defend his rook.

Shifting her own orbital grid on the right side Kiri charged his Rook with her bishop across the board, "It wasn't just Terrans, there were Vulcans, Bolians, Betazoids and several other races as well, it was quite a mixed school." Honestly Kiri didn't know if Sellen was odd for a Vulcan or not, she assumed most of them went to school to learn from others, that was efficiently done in groups.

Liyar immediately countered the hit on his rook (which was by all accounts a piece of very green beach glass), in a manner that was more deliberate than the rest of his defensive play had been yet. He wouldn't give away his hand, of course - he knew as soon as he made the play she would realize he was up to something, but that is what he counted on. "Fascinating," Liyar commented truthfully. And it was, at least to him. He wondered if he would have benefited from such an experience. "I did not have a similar upbringing. My peers were Vulcans, and Vulcans alone." Which explained a lot of things, probably. "I assume that you undertook this educational rite on Terra?"

Kiri felt rather sick when she lost the bishop but the opening was wider now, moving her pawn forward she made an opening for her own rook next turn. Looking up she answered, "Yes but it isn't really a rite." That raised the question in her mind, "Why did being a diplomatic officer appeal to you, if you had limited contact with other races?"

Dea was interested to find out more as well. Of course growing up she'd had not choice but to interact with other races from an early age due to her parents duties in Starfleet. "In my case I went to school wherever my parents were stationed. That meant I had contact with other races prior to attending the Academy but Diplomacy has never been my particular specialty. I'd be interested to hear why it appealed to you as well."

Liyar blinked, and looked up to realize Dea was still standing there. He strategized his next move while he thought of a suitable answer. "My path has generally been laid out to me from the time I was very young. Something, occurred, which disturbed this set course of events and prompted my clan elder to relocate me off-world for the time being." He settled his knight down to counter an offensive attack on his side orbital rook. "My field of experience is economics, which encompasses politics. I am well acquainted with the nature of politics, but did not meet many out-world species until two months ago. Miran is not as advanced as Shi'kahr. We have no psionic conventions, or interspecies programs. It is an area I am looking to change. I believe that outworld influence would be beneficial to us." His experiences growing up in Miran had not at all prepared him for the eventuality of going to Terra, or serving in Starfleet, or even simply speaking proper Federation Standard. "We do claim IDIC, but there are areas of Vulcan who are less tolerant of novelty. The psionic native populations in particular are resistant to change," he tried to explain.

Kiri didn't realise that Vulcan politics were quite so complicated, she struggled to follow what he said while still trying to come up with the next part of her plan. He was attacking from the front so she was almost ready. Making sure it was safe to do so she moved her rook to his right side orbit, now it was under her control. From there she could threaten the rest of the board. As for what she could come up with in reply, the standard, "I see," Had to do.

Liyar moved his second rook in front of his queen, glancing inscrutably at the configurations in front of them. He made room in the long run to place an Alekhine formation further up on the main board, which gave him a wider offensive berth. It wasn't as effective as a full formation but it was useful enough and the movement resulted in opening up the spot of his other bishop to join in on the assault. If his side orbit was sacrificed in the meantime, he could live with it. Clearly, the Vulcan did not believe in subtlety, and he was gearing up for an obvious outright charge on Kiri's defensive network.

She had to sacrifice a piece here, there wasn't a choice. If she had taken the left side then this could be almost all over. Shifting the orb from the right in her head she lined up where it used to be. The rook swept along the back line and captured the queen. Kiri looked at him for a moment, taking her seat after reaching over, "Check." The rook was right next to the king but at least she had taken the queen.

As Vulcan as he was, he didn't seem to take any reaction to that, either. The entire time he looked as if he was doing exactly what he wanted to do, even the reckless, self-sacrificing maneuvers that any person could see were wrong, and the traps that could have been easily identified fallen right into, making one move as part of his own plan only to thwart himself moments later. This went on until he realized he was in check, with mate in one.

It was only then he stared at the board for a moment as if to analyze it, and the Rigelian Liyar was usually seen with came up and sat down with them, scanning his eyes over the board and at what he assumed to be Liyar's captured (in-one move, but basically captured) king. "Wow, Liyar, you are really bad!" he announced bluntly, grinning at Kiri.

"That does seem to be the case," Liyar agreed with a pensive nod. The shielding he had in place was nearly gone. Intriguing. And mildly disturbing. He wondered if that explained the lapses in his reasoning.

"Welcome to playing with emotional beings," Athlen deduced after a while. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a psi-native lose spectacularly at chess and it wouldn't be the last. He leaned back in the sand, crossing his feet careful not to dislodge their markings. "It's about reading people, anticipating them. So challenge either way. Keep your shields up and you lose the ability to read them, keep them down and, uh..."

"Lacking balance of the two, the results are predictably dismal," Liyar filled in with an arched eyebrow. "I believe the correct phrase is, good game?" he questioned toward Kiri.

"It was a good game," She smiled and nodded, she had saved so many of her pieces. About to go on she paused and watched in confusion as one of her Queen sprouted legs and started to wander down the board. Watching it for a few seconds she went on, "You weren't bad, I was just lucky. I'm not very good at Chess really," Yet she had beaten a Vulcan, she wasn't going to forget that any time soon.

Liyar watched her queen skitter away up Athlen's arm. "I could not adequately determine our comparative skill levels," Liyar confessed. "I did not anticipate the psionic element. I have never played against a non-Vulcan," he said. Between Vulcans, 'shield balance' was not such a huge deal, because most emotion was actively suppressed. "Nevertheless, your skill is not to be underestimated. As I am learning, there are always various facets to whichever pursuit you choose. You may be poor in one area of play and exceptional in another. In this, our strengths and weaknesses were polarized."

[TBC]

------

Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, VDF/SDD
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Crewman Athlen
Sociologist, SCC
USS Galileo

Cadet Senior Grade Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Intern
USS Galileo

 

RSS Feed