The Beach; Sunsets, Flames and Barbecue (Part 1)

Posted on 09 Jan 2013 @ 12:43pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk & Crewman Athlen & Senior Chief Petty Officer Anthony Davis

3,674 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony, Puam Digh
Timeline: MD9 1815

[ON]

Kiri was well a truly out of energy now. The sky was getting darker and darker but not a single cloud could be seen. Right now it was right on the edge from turning dark blue to a toasted pink, the asteroid moon was coming into distant view as were the brightest of the stars. The tide had retreated as far as it would go leaving a huge patch of sand dotted with rocks and pools. The water seemed so distant now that it was only on the edge of hearing. A little way down the beach from here the wood she'd requested had been transported and was being set up for a fire by a few of the crew. From the other side the smell of cooking meat wafted over and remind her how little she'd eaten, having missed breakfast, most of lunch and had no snacks. Still she didn't really feel like getting up just yet. Everyone else seemed to have everything in hand and what more could she add? Even in her best physical shape she'd struggle to help, right now she could barely stand.

Brining her knees back up to her chest she looked out into the darkening distance of the horizon and rested her chin. She was so very tired, yet sleep was the last thing on her mind. People, she wanted to talk and to smile and have fun. That morning she had been awkward but almost like a child again, it was nice. While it wasn't how she really wanted it to be, it was how it would have been. If she had been able to play games like that, if she had friends. She wanted there to be more of that now but she could barely struggle to take part on her own. It smelt nice, her body was still warm, the babble of voices washed over her.

The day was slowly coming to an end. However much he might have had reservations about taking part in shore leave in such a direct way, John was glad that he had left the confines of his office, even if just for a few hours to take his mind away from his duties. As the evening began to take hold and the light waned to a comforting warmth instead of the harsher light of the day, the XO sighed with relief as he moved along the beachfront, albeit alone, en route to the pile of resources that Galileo had beamed across for the benefit of the crew earlier on.

Senior Petty Officer Anthony Davis had decided that enough was enough. It was time for some action to be taken and since no one seemed willing to do it, it was left up to him. Squaring his shoulders, he marched forth and took command...of the grill. Barbeque was the right of males everywhere (except on Galatia IV where they had been forced to abdicate outdoor cooking in the feminine coup two hundred years before). This was among his forte.

"Let's get this thing fired up and ready to go," he said looking over the large grill. He may have preferred charcoal and mesquite, but this gas powered thing was going to make short work of feeding all these hungry people, as well as allowed him to conrol the various temperature ranges that would be necessary for the differing foods.

"Somebody start getting me some of them crabs, I'm the mood to make a poor boy's pipias claws!" he shouted out.

"Senior," Smoak said as he came to the grill, hoping to avoid Tiffany and her attempts to get 'Big Strong Men Who Aren't Kiwosk' to set up a firering in preparation for - Smoak shuddered - a singalong. And s'mores. "As long as you keep me away from Petty Officer Motormouth over there, I'm good to go as your griller's mate!"

With similar expressions of distaste on their faces, Liyar and Athlen emerged from the side area, where Tabby Delaney was yelling behind them, "Oh, come on! Everybody loves a singalong!" with a heartened look on her face.

Both Vulcanoids quickened their paces.

"Athlen!" Tiffany shouted as she ran after the two. "You promised! You said you'd come to the fire tonight and participate! You're a sociologist and this is a social gathering so it's completely your JOB to participate!"

Liyar gave his comrade a vague look. "Indeed, Crewman Athlen. It is your job."

Athlen glared. "I think you're engaging in a proverbial Terran custom known as 'gloating while the shoe is on the other foot'." He remembered all the times he told Liyar that something or the other was part of his job.

"You are currently wearing both shoes," Liyar replied innocently.

"Yes, Athlen," Tiffany said, "it's part of your job to do social things, otherwise what good is a sociologist? And you, Lt. Liar, shouldn't you be learning more about the various species and customs of people's so that you can be a better Diplomat? Well, we're going to have loads of people at the singalong and they're going to be showing all sorts of cultural stuff like songs and instruments and maybe even dancing and you'll learn loads more than just from reading textbooks! You should come and participate as well. Maybe even play us a few Vulcan songs or show up some Vulcan dances! Alright, great now that you two have been sorted out," Both of their eyes widened slightly, "Go back over there and help them build up the fire ring and we'll have a nice Big Cheerful Fire going soon!" She leaned in to whisper to Liyar, "And since you're being such a good sport about this Liar, I'm going to share some of my favoritest special chocolate marshmallows for your s'mores!"

Athlen put his hands on his hips, grinning. "Yeah, Liyar. A nice Big Cheerful Fire!" he repeated, unable to contain himself. "What's more Vulcan than that?" he laughed.

"Vulcans cannot ingest -"

"He can," Athlen interrupted happily.

"I will not -"

"Oh, yes you will." Athlen was not suffering through this alone.

"It was your idea to come here -"

"Too bad," Athlen sing-songed.

"My name is Liyar," the Vulcan corrected resignedly. His name really wasn't that difficult to grasp, was it?

"So Kiwosk got it right, at least."

"No. Mr. Kiwosk did not." Was that a so-not-glowering-Vulcan-glower?

"That's what I said," Tiffany said, "LIE-ARE!"

Liyar tried not to cringe.

"Okay, now c'mon! Let's go...the sooner we get the firering done the sooner we can build a Big Cheerful Fun Fire and have s'mores and fun songs and maybe even some dancing. Doesn't that just sound like so much fun! Okay, good, let's go and get things ready!" She smiled at Liyar as she wound her arm through his to guide him back to the firepit area. "And Justin Smoak, don't think I don't see you over there hiding! You're just lucky that I'm getting hungry and Senior Davis is promising lots of good grub to go with the s'mores, though you could be making yourself useful in rounding up the crabs like he asked for!"

Smoak rolled his eyes as he moved to the other side of Davis, using the Senior's form as a shield.

Liyar walked with her, pretty well sure he didn't have another option, much to Athlen's amusement. At least he wouldn't be alone. Liyar carefully disengaged his arm, finding the never-ending stream of her thoughts rather ... loud, was one word for it. "Vulcans are touch-telepaths. We do not touch others unnecessarily," he explained while they walked, Athlen following behind.

"Oh," Tiffany said, then her eyes widening slightly. "Oh! I'm sorry Lt. Liar! I didn't realize that you were smitten with me!"

Liyar blinked at her. "I beg your pardon?" he asked, a little curtly.

"Of course you're right because I'm not That Sort of Girl! I've already got one sort of boyfriend and I'm not going to cheat on him just because he's a warrant officer and you're a lieutenant. And I'm sorry but since you're Vulcan and all and would rather I be honest with you, I'm not very interested in you. You're all Cold and Logical but I like a guy with a great sense of humor and is devoted to me and has passion for things, like Kell does -"

Warrant Officer Evan Kell? Liyar asked himself mentally. The Capellan? He looked at her again, as if he were assessing her sanity. Athlen paused, wincing internally. This had the potential to go downhill really fast.

"- If he ever stopped yapping away long enough to really pay attention what kinds of things True Ladies like me like but instead he just talks on and on and on and on and never quite gets the point so he's not a great boyfriend and not even a good boyfriend, and okay, he's not even really my boyfriend yet because I'm still holding out on him hoping he starts to understand things better.

"But the point Lieutenant is that maybe you're a good looking guy but you're not really boyfriend material!" she giggled slightly, "And if you were anybody but a Vulcan I'd let you down easy but I know you'd hate that because it's a Vulcan thing and I respect that but you have to know that your feelings for me are going to have to go away because I'm not at all attracted to you. I'm sure you can find a nice girl on the ship somewhere to meet your interests! Hey! I know! Tabby is available and she's really nice and a good person and tell you what, how about I set you up with her and then the two of you can see about hitting it off and won't that just completely upset Mr. Flexing Big Jerky Pig Jerk Kiwosk! Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll tell Tabby how interested you are and how you'd like to take her to dinner or something and she'll be happy because someone's interested in her and you'll hopefully will have met someone to take your mind off me!"

Liyar whirled around, staring at her with undisguised incredulity. Athlen moved, but it was too late. He said tersely, "Enough."

Oops. "That's just the way she is - it's a, you know, cultural... thing..." Athlen started, uneasily. Great. Just great.

"I am uninterested in yourself or your companion in any way," Liyar cut in abruptly, staring at Tiffany coldly. "You will do nothing of the sort, and you will cease your overtures toward me immediately." Where he'd been resigned before, his eyes held a touch of barely restrained fury. Some child was inferring... he looked away, clearly not in the mood to participate or listen to her rant any longer. He brushed past the two of them, stalking toward the open area, without another word.

Well. That could've been a little less blunt.

Tiffany bit her lip while she turned to look at Athlen. "I guess I should have let him down easy? I thought Vulcans hated dishonesty? Well, live and learn I guess! But still, I think maybe once he gets over being upset then maybe he'll be happy to be fixed up with Tabby, she's just great! A Wonderfully Great Person! I just hope she hasn't found somebody wonderful in that time! It'll be his loss to not have me and to miss the chance with her!"

Athlen frowned, and shook his head. "No, I don't think that will happen. For one thing, he's fifty-six years old," he dropped the bombshell with a small smile. "For another, Vulcans mate for life. They don't have dates or casual flings. He isn't looking. I'm not sure why you got the impression otherwise, but, I'd suggest letting it go," the Rigelian told her gently. Liyar wasn't exactly known for his patience, lenience and over-abundance of Calming Zen.

"Oh, Athlen," Tiffany said as they came to the firepit. "You're a really great friend, but you've got a lot to learn about affairs of the heart."

Athlen shot a wry look at her back, wisely choosing not to comment while they made their way forward into the pit.

As they got near the barbecue, Liyar tensed and blinked at the olfactory assault of it all. This was the first time he'd ever been confronted with the fact that most Terrans weren't vegetarians. He was unable to conceal a slight flash of disgust on his face, but he quickly recovered, moving near the edge of the area to hopefully avoid the aroma. He was evaluating his patience and coming up blank.

Senior Davis looked around to see who could be commandeered for 'Salad and Sides Duty'. As much as Athlen and Liyar looked as if they were walking to their own executions and could use the distraction, David didn't want potato salad made in an OCD sort of way. He kept looking as he watched the meat he'd already put on the grill.

The word of the Vega Colony Beach spread through the ship like wildfire, and even though Evelyn had spent most of the time on the Galileo, finishing up her reports she needed to get out to Starfleet Intelligence, she couldn't help but let her mind wonder. When she came off duty, she changed out of her uniform into a more casual attire and made her way to Puam Digh. She approached the fire and and the smell of the barbecue filled her nostrils. Humans and their beach parties she thought to herself. Her eyes caught a familiar Vulcan and she smirked seeing the faint expression on his face. She reached out from behind him and rubbed his shoulders, "Don't worry, Liyar, there are ways to counteract the smell," she spoke to her friend, as she moved beside him.

Athlen did wince at that. He reached out. "Ah, I wouldn't -"

Liyar turned, wrenching his shoulder out of Coleman's hand as if burned, a moody look on his features.

"Mm. ...Yeah. That." Athlen smiled weakly. "Darwisch," the Rigelian said ruefully, as if that explained everything. Which, in his eyes, it did.

"Petty Officer Darwisch is highly mistaken," Liyar bit out.

Athlen tilted his head dryly. "You know, half of me just wants to let it play out. The cruel half, of course. Poor girl. She's convinced he's in love with her." Liyar seemed a bit nauseated. "Oh, that's not the best part, though," Athlen continued, mildly humored. "She's rejected him!" He laughed. "Then again, I'd have to deal with it. Niram," he muttered with an eyeroll. At Liyar's faintly insane stare, Athlen coughed. "Oh, you're all great! Honestly! Most even-tempered clan on Vulcan!"

"Crewman, that's enough." Eve warned, and looked at Liyar, "Liyar let's go for a walk, we will clear our heads."

The Vulcan nodded, and they broke away from the rest of the crowd, leaving the Rigelian to sigh to himself and turn back to the festivities. Once they were reasonably separated, Liyar took a calming breath and looked out into the horizon, where several birds were gathered on the top of the water. He kept his hands clasped in front of him, looking far from the angered countenance of before.

"So you going to tell me what happened back there, or do I need to do an interrogation?" Evelyn teased as she noticed his changing demeanor.

He was still looking past her, at the skyline. "I should not have reacted in that way." He still wasn't sure why he did. "One of the junior personnel insisted I possess romantic inclinations toward her. It was inappropriate. I do not know what prompted this analysis." Liyar wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy, after all. What a silly thing to tax his controls.

Evelyn looked at him and nodded, "I understand how that maybe... unnerving," she replied, "and I'm sure, Athlen doesn't help the situation with his persistent need to mock the situation."

"Indeed," Liyar agreed somewhat dryly. Athlen's brand of conflict resolution usually involved yelling at it, laughing at it, or hiding from it. "I assume you are attending the..." he said it almost distastefully, "Party."

Eve shrugged, "Who knows, I might. Or I may just skip the event and head back to the Galileo." She looked over the bond fire and the people gathered nearby. "I must confess, I'm not really a people person," she revealed with a frown. "Been on so many individual assignments and missions, it's been difficult adjusting to the chains of command again."

Liyar nodded once. "I comprehend the sentiments," he responded with more candor than he might normally.

"Misunderstandings are bound to happen. Consider this event with the junior personnel as another variation of what to expect." Eve reasoned looking at Liyar. "You are an attractive male, Liyar, and your Vulcan etiquette can be quite appealing to various individuals. You may have to prepare yourself for these sort of misunderstandings to occur again."

Liyar ruthlessly suppressed any response to Coleman's comment, pulling out his indomitably Vulcan demeanor. He had no idea why it even bothered him. It wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last time (twice in one day, after all...). Even on Vulcan, he'd known some people to have a less than proprietary attitude toward him. Anger was an unnecessary emotion. One he felt far too often. He regretted now that he'd reacted so poorly, but would make no attempt to apologize. He suspected that would be construed as begging for his undying love to be given a second chance, or some such ridiculous sentiment.

"Unfortunately." He tried to inject some levity into his tone. It was part of his experimentation of Standard, attempting humor in strategic areas, most notably to 'change the subject' or 'change the focus' of the conversation as he observed many others doing. On top of this, he found the concept intriguing, on an intellectual level. Standard was an extremely versatile language. It surprised him that other Vulcans, with their race's immense curiosity, did not attempt to learn the nuances. Instead they spoke a rigid, formalized version which denied a greater comprehension of the language. Nevertheless, it didn't seem too effective on Coleman. Or maybe he wasn't very funny.

Eve smirked at the Vulcan's attempt to both change the subject and to be funny, both futile in her opinion. "Would you mind enlightening me as to why you reacted negatively to the apparent misunderstanding? To speak frankly, I never seen you this emotional before. The anger was obvious."

Liyar turned his head to the side slightly, a Vulcan negation. "I am uncertain. It is obvious she did not comprehend her offense. My reaction was instinctive. The idea that I possess any such inclination her is reprehensible. She is a child." He shrugged an eyebrow. It still didn't explain why. He had no idea. It wasn't a big deal. "Nevertheless, I obviously require meditation." Or Lexorin, the shrill, irritating part of his brain reminded him. Liyar told it to shut up. It didn't listen. She reminded you of those Bleeding Edges, the ones that won't ever Feel again. He wondered if everyone's Inner Voice was this annoying.

Shrugging Eve looked out towards the horizon. "Still doesn't explain the burst of emotion." Eve sighed and turned to look at the Vulcan officer once more. "Liyar, if this was an isolated incident I wouldn't be as persistent, but the fact is these flashes of anger occurred before. I'm worried about you."

He squared his shoulders, as if to ward off the comment on his control. "Unnecessary. I assure you, I am functional." He stared at her, looking through his memories as if to isolate incidents where she could have perceived anger. He continued, undaunted. "It will not occur again." He wouldn't allow it.

"You're not an Android." Evelyn replied looking at him, "emotions are stubborn things, you may confidently assure me that, but we both know... nothing is guaranteed."

Liyar bowed his head, hands behind his back. "Never is illogical," he agreed, "But I am Vulcan. I must prioritize Control. Peace. My mind is recovering. I will require... time." He said it a little reluctantly. It sounded like a platitude, but what else was there? "To return the state of my control to full composure. If I were dangerous, I would not have been sent offworld."

She looked him over, "What are you recovering fro---ohhh." Evelyn nodded, covering her mouth as it dawned on her. She lowered her hand and leaned in closer to Liyar, whispering, "did you recently...performed a certain Vulcan ritual prior to your arrival on the Galileo?" She asked trying to be discrete and respectable as possible.

By this point, everyone had long since gathered to the party on the other side of the beach, outside of any earshot. They were far away from the festivities, and he looked at her. They were probably not going to get any more privacy than a deserted beach. "I assumed you knew," Liyar started uncomfortably. He kept his hands folded in front of him. "It appears... not." He gave an added look toward the setting sun and tried to put it as succinctly as possible.

[TBC]
---------

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officcer
USS Galileo

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

Crewman Athlen
Sociologist, SCC
USS Galileo

SPO Anthony Davis
Security/Tactical
USS Galileo

PO2 Tiffany Darwisch
Ops crewmember
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer/ 2XO
USS Galileo

CWO Kiwosk
Security/ Tactical Offiver
USS Galileo

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