A Walk In The Woods, part 2

Posted on Sat Nov 21st, 2009 @ 8:25am by Commodore Samantha York & Colonel Damon Raine

1,120 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Devils Snare
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: current

Continued...


"So, does your family approve of the beautiful Miss York's vocation of flying through the galaxy to poke interesting things with a stick?" Damon jokingly changed his tone. "Did your parents encourage your studies or try to influence you to follow in their footsteps?"

"I poke interesting things with my fingers. It's the ugly things I poke with a stick," she said with a soft laugh. She paused and glanced over at him. "My parents encouraged me to get an education. They didn't care what it was in, as long as I worked hard and did well." She shrugged. "They let my brothers as me follow our own paths. They're quite happy with my decision to join Starfleet."

"So what direction did you brothers go?"

"Two are in Starfleet as diplomats. Two are professors. The fifth is in business."

Damon smiled. "Well, if you are any indication, your parents raised some pretty great kids." He chuckled lightly to himself. "I have to say, though, it must have been a real pain in the ass to argue with your parents as a child, being as they are diplomats."

"Oh, yes. We had to learn early how to form a valid argument and prove out point or we were sunk." She chuckled, remembering some of their early 'discussions.' "They would tear apart our argument, point out where we'd made a mistake and how we should have gone about it. Our teachers hated it. We'd practice on them as they were easier to confuse with rhetoric and 'logic.'" "Some of our teachers enjoyed it and would use us as object lessons." She smiled as she thought about it. "My brothers and I get along great now, but there was a time they thought I was a pain and didn't like me tagging along." She shrugged. "Like most siblings, I'm sure."

"I guess my sister and I never learned to reach that point. I suppose it may have had something to do with the fact that we are twins, or that we were left to our own devices when we were young. In any case, I can't remember a time when we didn't do things together. School, friends, even work we had a like mind and were together." He shrugged. "I suppose the only thing she really did separate from me is marry her husband."

"That's a good thing," Sam said with a grin. "Seriously, though, being twins is a lot different from being the only girl in a family of boys. In some ways I envy you that bond. I love my brothers, don't get me wrong, but there were a lot of times when they got made at me for tagging along, or trying to play 'boy' games." She shook her head, remembering some of the times they'd drop her in the mountains to make her way home by herself. "They weren't always nice about it back then."

"Well, as harsh as they may have been, they still had a part to play in making the person you are today. Through your struggles you learned to be a stronger person. In a strange way, I suppose I should really be thanking them." He gave her a shy smile.

Samantha looked at him a chuckled. "You're right. I did learn a lot from them. Even when they'd dump me in the mountains." She shrugged. "What is the old saying, that which does not kill us makes us stronger? I did learn a lot from my brothers. I wouldn't change that." She smiled at him. "How about we change the subject? I'm not that interesting a topic."

"Oh, I don't know about that." He said with a grin. "But we can change the subject if you want."

The two walked a few more feet up the hill when Damon noticed a break in the trees. He moved towards the opening and stared through the trees, a smile slowly etching itself across his face. The view was magnificent; from their vantage point they could see the entire valley of trees below them. The fall colours of the trees were brilliant. Bright reds, yellows and oranges looked as if an artist had splashed paints across a canvas leaving what could only be described as a masterpiece behind.

Damon found the sight enchanting. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t real, that it was only a holographic representation of the real thing. Still, somewhere back on earth this was the sight played over a dozen provinces and States in North America.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?†He said to his companion.

Samantha stood next to him, taking in the view. "It's breathtaking." She looked at him and smiled. "I love autumn. I think it's my favorite season. And autumn in the mountains is... incredible." She was also glad she could share this with Damon.

He met her gaze and returned her smile. "I've always been partial to the summer months but, I have to admit, this is hard to beat. Being close to something this stunning can't help but make you feel good inside." He gave her hand a quick squeeze to indicate that the scenery only played a small part in the way he felt.

Sam smiled shyly. Being with Damon made her feel good inside. "This is hard to beat." She stood by his side for several minutes, enjoying the view and the moment. "Should we head back, or do you want to keep going?"

Damon considered what lay ahead on the trail. "Well if I remember how this trail ends, the view isn't actually better then what we are seeing now." He paused for a moment. He was quite content to keep walking as this hike doubled as part of his daily workout. However he really didn't care about his exercise program when Samantha was with him. He was quite content to do anything so long as he was accompanied by her. "We can start our way back down if you like."

"I'm happy with whatever you want," she assured him. And it was true. She was happy to go on, or go back, or just stand there and admire the view, as long as they did it together. "So, Mr. Raine, I leave the decision up to you."

He chuckled a bit. "Alright Miss York, lets head back down. We can figure out what to do once we get to the bottom of the hill." ~What the hell were they going to do anyways?~

"Okay," she said. Together they turned and headed back the way they had come, talking as they went.

OFF

2nd Lieutenant Damon Raines
Marine CO
USS Orion

Lieutenant Samantha York
Chief Science Officer
USS Orion

 

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