HIgh-Speed Introductions

Posted on Wed Apr 14th, 2010 @ 3:29pm by Lieutenant Kaj Mikkola & Lieutenant JG Erin Tal

5,703 words; about a 29 minute read

Mission: What Lies Beneath?
Location: Holodeck
Timeline: Prior to drop

ON

Erin tried to go to bed early, but something wouldn't allow her sleep, so throwing on her leisure clothes, she headed to the holodeck to try and tire herself out with a gallop around the track or something.
Yawning, she padded to the nearest holodeck.
''Computer, open file-''
=Denied. Holodeck programme running=
Erin blinked and checked the console. ''Huh. So there is.'' She looked around, deliberately whether she should go to another one, but sheer curiosity took over.
After all, what better was to learn about the crew than to have a peek at what their recreational hobbies are, right?
''Computer, open holodeck door.'' She ordered, stepping through the door into the simulation.

She was greeted by a dusty old airfields that was undoubtedly situated somewhere in the American west during a period between the 1920s to 1950s. A fraying wind sock flapped in the breeze that kicked up little wisps of dust, a couple hangars stood in dark contrast to the clear blue sky that was adorned with small clouds here and there, even the control tower on the opposite side of the hangars seemed to be empty save for a figure that either was asleep or on hold.

Not that all of it mattered at the moment because less than a second after the door had closed behind Erin an ear-shattering roar and enormous blast of wind nearly knocked her to the ground. Pulling up and away from the airfield was a twin-engined bright red airplane that had been in the middle of a low and fast pass when Erin had stepped into the program.

In the cockpit Kaj looked back at the field, picking out the spot where he nearly clipped a crewmember with a wing. Shaking his head he flattened the turn slightly and started to make an approach to the second runway.

Erin stumbled, immediately dropping to a low centre of gravity out of instinct to keep her balance, muttering a few curses under her breath that thankfully weren't in the universal translator.
She considered just leaving incase the plane flattened her on landing but instead she jogged to where the plane was heading, the second runway.
He or she probably deserved an explanation for the hijacking of their relaxation time.

The big plane seemingly hurtled down the strip, too fast to stop by any means, however after bouncing off of its wheels once it did come to a rolling stop, settling on tail-dragger landing gear. Taxing to a complete stop both engines cut out right in front of Erin, followed by the front section of the canopy opening.

Kaj swung one leg over, then the other one, dropping down to the ground with a thud.
As he walked over to Erin he brushed off some non-existent dust, keeping his vintage goggles on his eyes to keep the blowing dust out, goggles that fit the rest of the vintage aviator look.
"Are you alright? Hope I didn't scare you too much, just getting a speed run out of the old 'House here."

The Kazon didn't flinch as the plane landed and turned to the pilot as he spoke.
"No, Im fine, nothing like a near-death experience to wake me up." Erin replied with an apologetic grin.
"Sorry for disturbing your flight simulation. I kind of just.. got curious as to what the other crew members did in their spare time."
She looked him over curiously. The flying gear was not something she'd ever seen before.
"Im Erin Tal, by the way. Im guessing you're a pilot by trade as well as practice?"
She shrugged. There really was no other explanation.

Kaj cocked his head to the side before answering.
"By extension that's mostly true. I'm the Chief Flight Control Officer, Kaj Mikkola..."

He noticed the eyeballing of his flight gear.
"... and the clothes help compliment the vintage machine here."
He slapped the side of the airplane for good measure.
"DeHaviland DH.88 Comet, one of the best made and probably the most beautiful thing ever to fly the skies of earth in the early 20th century. Makes you appreciate things such as auto course-correction and faster-than-light travel.

So why the curiostiy as to my holodeck program? Not that I mind, very few people share the need for speed that I have."

Erin nodded along polietly. The ships were as alien to her as she was to them, however she could still appreciate a fast vessell.
''A persons recreational time says a lot about their character.'' She explained easily, looking admiringly at the vintage machine.
''As counselor human behaviour and interests are a paramount study for me. For example, I've learned just from seeing the simulation that you've an insatiable need for speed, as a result probably very good in tight situations and perhaps slightly impulsive against authority?''
She smiled. ''Its a basic personality trait that usually involves speed. I could be wrong, but I'm not here to psychoanalyze.''
She walked closer to the ship, studying it.
''Also, I saw the programme that was running, and had to have a look. I love any kind of ship, the faster the better. And theese are no exception.''

The goggles on Kaj's face hid the raising of one of his eyebrows, a sure sign that typical Kaj Mikkola shenanigans were afoot.
"Really? Computer, reset simulation to pre-flight in hangar."

Instantly the sky dust and far mountains faded around them, replaced with an interior setting, obviously now they were in one of the hangars that were situated farthest away from them. It was also obvious that there was a little spatial cheating going on due to the fact that the hangar seemed suspiciously spacious inside compared to the exterior, because in addition to the DH.88 there were several other golden-era racing planes situated around the hangar with plenty of space to be observed from many angles.

Kaj's hands went to the goggles and started to strip them away as well as the leather hat on his head. Before he spoke again he shook his reddish brown medium hair a little.
"Much better, it may be simulated grit but it gets in your eyes and hair like the real thing.
Anyway, the best way to experience these things is to get in them and experience them for yourself. Besides, you're the chief headshrinker onboard, maybe you can discover some more things about me despite my impulsiveness and anti-authoritarianism, which is I have to say pretty close to true.
There's a couple of lockers on that back wall, I'd advise getting a pair of goggles out of them. These old birds didn't have reactive anti-glare treatment and even a simulated sun can get a bit blinding."

''Sounds good.''
Erin grinned and raced for the lockers, returning pretty shortly with a pair of goggles, which she had a bit of trouble strapping over her forehead ridges.
When she was done, she squinted out through them, getting used to the primative glass discs in her vision.
''You're not human, are you?'' She asked a few minutes later, not immeadiatly announcing what she had noticed.
''Your eye colour. As far as I know from human geneology its almost unheard of for iris colour to differ, and impossible for it to differ to such a great contrast in colours.''

Before Kaj answered the usual question about his eyes he carefully took the goggles off of Erin and started manipulating the strap.
"Here, let me adjust it a bit. Had to do this for a Klingon more than once so this shouldn't be a problem.
And you noticed huh? Well I am human, just not from Earth. Its a rare but harmless color shift mutation caused by generations of exposure to the stars of Alpha Centauri. Don't worry though, I get that question so often that I might as well start carrying a little PADD with me detailing what I just said.

And I wasn't going to bring it up but since that bridge has been crossed I did happen to notice that you're, um...."
Kaj resorted to adjusting the goggles with one hand while snapping his fingers the other.
"...crap, what is it, Delta Quadrant race, encountered by Voyager when they made a wrong turn in the Badlands..."

Erin let him struggle for a few seconds before offering a helping hand.
''Kazon.'' She said with a wry smile. ''You were almost right. I heard the Voyager did encounter my race, sadly it was long after I left, so I know no details.''
''So, are the controls like standard craft, or is this an antique?'' She nodded at the plane.

"Oh its a complete re-creation of the original DH.88 series, right down to the bolts, so in short form it has the original controls that aviators used in the 1930s on Earth. Here, ill show you, Computer, mantinence scaffolding."

Instatly a network of platforms and girders encased the Comet as well as several panels and the canopy opening. Kaj handed the goggles back to Erin and pointed in the general direction of the Comet.
"Climb on up there and have a look, and while you're at it take a look at one of the engines and take a look at just how primitive things were at one point."

Erin took the goggles and scrambled happily up the scaffolding, peering in interest around the Comet.
''It has a rustic charm.'' She admitted, raising her eyebrows as she peered at the engines.
''Though I cant imagine how these things actually flew. The ships I grew up on were a little more.. high-tech.'' She added with a teasing grin.

After exploring the Comet to her hearts content she jumped back down again, landing on her feet like a cat, and turned to Kaj with a smile. ''It's defiantly impressive for its era. Tell me, do you spend all your time around planes, even recreation time?''

By that point Kaj had started to clamber up the scaffolding, and as he looked back to answer the question he nodded his head slightly to indicate that it would be a good idea to follow him back up.
"Oh no, in general if there is something that can go ridiculously fast through either self propulsion or through any engine chances are I've either hit the upper limits or gone beyond and crashed. Seems to be a reacurring thing in my leisure time and in my profession, but only when it comes to Anubis-Class ships.

How about you, what program am I denying you the luxury of indulging in?"

By that point Kaj had reached the top of the scaffolding and proceed to reach down and help Erin up to cockpit level.

"Before that however, which seat do you want, pilot or navigator?"

Erin clambered back up happily with the help and without a moments pause nodded at the navigators seat.
''I never was much of a pilot. Plus, I'd prefer to see a real pilot in his natural habitat.'' She answered with a smile, climbing into the navigators seat.

''As for the programme, its a fast-paced combat simulation, to my shame. Plenty of dense forest and armed enemies. Its good to get the blood pumping and unleash some of the old inner Kazon spirit, you know? Its good to let loose once in a while, and better here than the mess hall.''

Kaj mockingly rolled his eyes and threw up his hands before settling into the pilots seat in front of Erin, turning to speak to her in the chair itself.
"Well I was going to volunteer to join you in one of your programs as penance for ruining your fun, but getting shot or slashed at doesn't rate high up there on my fun, just above excessive PADD-work.

Still, if you want I am at your disposal should you desire backup in your simulations. I have trained with the marines so unlike most "deck-apes" as they sometimes call us I can actually shoot and hit something I'm aiming at.

Now, there's one thing we need to do for the full authentic experience...Computer, advance program to final pre-flight check and startup."

Again the scene around them swirled then faded to white before re-forming into an exterior setting, obviously at the end of one of the runways in perfect takeoff position. The propellers were not turning yet but an audible hum could be heard from the primitive electronics.

However the most notable change was that now they were joined by a holographic character, one that would fit the description of 'crusty old mechanic', standing on a ladder midway between the two on the outside of the plane. Kaj motioned to him as he made the introduction.

"Erin meet Cam, the best simulated technician in all four quadrants. If it was made in the first half of the 20th century an flies, Cam knows how it works and how to fix it if it breaks."

Cam simply waved a hand dissmisively in the direction of Kaj before hauling off with
"Yeah Yeah, blow it out your bussard collector you button-jockey." In a perfect South Bronx accent.

Kaj laughed a bit before explaining.
"You'll have to excuse him, his technical skills come at the expense of people ones, and unlike most programs he knows this is a simulation..."

Cam didn't wait for the ending.
"Didn't I just say blow it out the collectors? Can I please strap the lady in? Or would you like to throw her out of the canopy?

Kaj sounded overly-irritated, enjoying the mutual antagonism in good nature.
"Fine, go ahead, just don't get cute because your wife is never in the mood, Erin here might beat you with your own arm."

Cam simply grumbled incomprehensibly before turning to Erin.
"No manners whatsoever on that bum. You gotta keep an eye on him, but he can actually fly the bolts off of anything.
Mind if I strap you in? It seems simple but getting the right fit is almost an art form."

Erin lifted her arms so he could get at the buckles, laughing at the guys banter.
''Be my guest, I've no idea how. Buckles were never priority on Kazon ships. And dont worry, I swear I wont live out the highly-inventive 'arm-beating' scenairo Kaj has planned.'' She told the hologram with a grin before glancing at Kaj.
''Fly the bolts off anything, huh? This is looking more and more like the best and worst idea I've had in a long time.''

''And yeah, having a partner on the holodeck would be fun from time to time, thanks.'' She admitted with a smile.
''I promise I'll choose a non-combat programme.''

As Cam strapped Erin in Kaj started to re-fit his own hat and goggles, talking a bit loudly to compensate for the fact that he couldn't turn around very much at the moment.
"We'll see how you feel after getting airborne and/or inverted, believe me it's a completely different experience than anything in the galaxy right now. Hang on for a second, have to get strapped in myself.

Cam meanwhile just shook his head and finished tightening the belts down enough to be snug but not crushingly so then grabbed a headset from the side of her seat.
"Before I put the radio headpiece on ill show you what does what.

As he spoke he pointed to various gauges and folded maps in front of Erin.
"This is your compass, altimeter, air and groundspeed indicators, and a host of other things that don't matter because ol Natch up there won't listen half the time. The maps in front of you are your basic terrain, topographical, and today's best forecast according to the yahoos about a thousand miles from here. Now lemme adjust the thigamajigger here and ill show you how the radio works."

Cam seemed to merely glance at Erins cranium and then adjust the radio headpiece, but in reality the program had done a flash scan of her head and fed the nessecary adjustments to Cams subroutines to get the job done. It only took a moment, then he went back to explaining things, pointing directly at the radio box on Erins left and indicating switches.

"This controls the volume, handy when Natch starts yakking away. The switch next to it switches your earpieces, and the one next to that switches the mike. All have three different settings, inboard, outboard, and general. Since you're new I suggest you keep the microphone to inboard, tower doesn't like to talk much, they get itchy after awhile."

Cam handed the headset and mic to Erin and clapped her on the shoulder.

"Need anything else before I give Natch the talk about keeping his hands on the throttle and stick in the air when a pretty lady is in the back?"

Erin looked around and gave Cam the thumbs up, a habit she picked up at the academy.
''No everything's fine back here. Though I've a feeling this is more of a passenger ride than anything else. Thanks Cam.'' She grinned.

Cam was right, he probably didnt listen when he was in the air. She thought, looking at 'Natch'.
It was weird to hear a human-even if he was a hologram- call her 'pretty'. It was'nt really a word in the Kazon vocabulary.

She sat back and waited for the startup sequence, or however theese things fired up the engines.
''So how do we get off of the ground?'' She asked through the microphone, a few minutes later.''

By that point Kaj had finished the last of the pre-start checks and was about to start the two engines when Erin asked.
"You're about to find out so I won't spoil the surprise. Just sit back and enjoy the sensation."

Shifting his gaze to the front and left he could see Cam standing in front of the plane. He first raised his right arm, and in response Kaj held down a small lever near his left thigh. After a moment the left side engine coughed twice, sputtered, clattered, then barked to life before settling into its baritone snarl. Cam repeated his motion, and Kaj did the same with a lever near his right thigh, and the right engine followed a similar startup pattern to its twin, breaking the stillness of the early afternoon and kicking up an enormous cloud of dust behind the Comet.

Cam gave them a double thumbs up then ran awfully fast perpendicularly away from the plane, and with that the last obstacle to takeoff was removed. Kaj took one last look at the windsock and any errant floating dust before he was fully convinced that they were indeed faced into the wind, then started to advance the throttles at his left side slowly.

The big scarlet plane started to inch forward as the engine notes started a crescendo in pitch and volume, and the propellers started to turn even faster, and although he had done it a hundred times before with more demanding aircraft Kaj still tightened his grip on the stick as his breathing and heartbeat increased.
The plane bounced and juddered slightly but soon enough the vibration from the ground was gone as the air under the wings took a firm enough grip to keep the old racer aloft.

Kaj easily coaxed the aircraft into a lazy climbing left turn, retracting the landing gear as he did so. As he looked back to check on Erin he could see the runway getting smaller and smaller, a testament to the excellent power to weight ratio of the old bird.
"How's the view back there, how's the experience?"

Erin gazed in amazed trepidition as the clouds above them grew ever closer and the wind whistled in on all sides.
''I feel like a bird!'' She exclaimed, peering at the dissapearing ground below them.
''This is amazing, the world looks so different...''
She resisted the urge to laugh out loud, seeing as it would probably deafen the pilot through the earpeice.
Navigation forgotten, she stretched her fingers out, feeling the breeze whip past.
''Its a strange feeling of freedom is'nt it? I can understand why you love flying now, Kaj.''

Kaj chuckled as he leveled out the plane and checked the position of the airstrip, working out the math in his head for his next maneuver.
"It is, but if that was impressive then feel free to yell into the mic for this next trick."

That was the only warning Erin got before Kaj shoved the throttles forward and inverted the Comet. The plane was barely done rolling when Kaj pulled on the stick and started a dive back down, the wind going from a dull roar to a furious caucophony around the cockpit. As the comet hurtled down on its cured trajectory the entire frame started to shake, the howl from the propellors started to become a shriek, and the entire experience translated into vision-blurring vibrations for the two of them. However as hectic and dangerous as it seemed Kaj never lost control or focus, making minute adjustments here and there to ensure that as they flattened out there would be no bad surprises from any ground effect.

The shriek of the twin 6 cylinder motors reverberated against the hangars, and the crew on the ground, while blurred, was most certainly whooping and cheering as the plane rushed by in a streak of crimson and with a sound and fury not heard on any starship no matter how primitive in that day and age.

At the end of the runway Kaj jammed the throttles against the stops and yanked back on the stick with both hands, hauling the Comet into a vertical climb. As they rushed towards the sky once more Kaj crowed into the mic just as much for his as Erins benefit.
"Are you alive back there?! We're goin' ballistic, crack the sky or bust!"

Erin lifted both hands in the air against the air currents and yelled in both fear, surprise and glee.
''This is incredible!!'' She yelled breathlessly, her heart still pounding from the dive, navigation totally forgotten in the thrill of the moment.
''I'm more than alive!'' She yelled back, knowing that that made no sense but was too wrapped up in the moment to care.
''What else can this bucket do?''

Kaj neatly and gracefully pulled the Comet back to inverted and rolled it level, re-orienting things once again. He had to keep from giggling like a school girl, the sensation of the old bird hurtling at impossible speeds never got old and it was obviously infectious.
"Well, open up one of those maps, see if you can find us a good canyon to blast, get REALLY close to the walls. Just remember to clip it down or it will blow away with the canopy open."

Erin found a map and duitfully fought it down to a flat surface she could pin it unto, doing everything as quick as possible to avoid missing out on more of the flight.
''Uhm... bank left, 20 clicks to the left, start descending at a 34 degree angle.'' She called into the microphone, not really sure how to phrase the instructions.
''I'm not used to earth measurements on aircraft, but thats accurate.''
She craned her next to see down to the clouds below, her heart still racing with the adrenaline.

Kaj looked in the direction that Erin had stated and saw a dark green ribbon set between the gray mountains. It certainly looked big enough but they were still far enough away to not gauge how close it could get. Still, she was the guest, and if he couldn't handle it then he wasn't much of a pilot.
"Roger that, just tell me when to break so we can carry some speed into it."

''I'll bet your supervisors like it that you get all the daredevil flight stuff out of the way off the feild.'' She remarked, eying the map.
''Okay, bank left now!''

Kaj complied with a smooth but still firm roll into a banking turn, then let the plane come onto its axis at 34 degrees and aiming straight for the mouth of the canyon.
"They try, but it never fully goes away. I pilot and helm by instinct and feel as much as I do by gauges, hence my nickname through flight school being Natch, short for Natural."

''Oh, I thought that was just Cam the grumpy mechanic nick-naming.'' Erin replied, holding tight to the sides as the canyon loomed up.
''All right then Natch, I have full faith in your piloting abilities, but excuse me if I scream like a sissy all the way through the canyon.''

Kaj laughed so hard he started to cough at one point, but even through that the plane never wavered once.
"Permission granted, but if you need to forceully empty your stomach contents let me know, I'll invert the plane, now hang on cause here we goooooooo...!"

Even Kaj couldn't hide his excitement as the comet entered the canyon which was indeed tighter than it looked from a higher altitude. The plane heaved right as Kaj threw it into a tight turn, cutting throttle and lift in order to make the turn, then rolled right and reversed into a left turn to make a longer and faster turn, keeping the rim of the canyon below the cockpit.

Another left that kicked into a near right angle right turn were next, nearly scraping the propellers off of the Comet judging by the buffeting and the echos. After another series of turns the canyon widened out a bit and a pair of rock bridges could be seen in the distance.

Kaj may have been a starfleet officer but he could also be a showoff, and this was an opporotune time. Squaring up the nose for a perfect pass he inverted the Comet, ensuring that when they passed under the first bridge then over the second they would stay upside-down when they passed over the second, all at near maximum speed.

After another series of varying turns the canyon eventually opened up, and Kaj started a slow easy climb. Judging by the silence in the headset he either had scared Erin to death or the adrenaline had locked her in position, so he tried to get her attention.
"How're you doing back there?"

Erin tried to whoop but the sheer speed and sharp turns made it safer to grab something tightly and cling to it throughout the whole ordeal.
The first thing that came out of her mouth were a few Kazon swears but as the adrenaline wore off she let go of the sides and looked up.
''Fine!'' She croaked, laughing from sheer exhilaration.
''You, however, are a madman. I've completed my physcoanalysis and you're completely INSANE! There is no help for you, you need to be locked somewhere far away from canyons, planes and nonsuspecting councelers, effective immeaidatly.''
She laughed again, stretching her fingers that cramped from clutching a safehold so tightly.

Kaj chuckled as the plane did a steady ascent, enjoying the peace way up in the air as much as the insanity close to the ground.
"Is that an official starfleet headshrinker edict or a personal observation, and either way what's the price of your silence in that matter?"

''Both.'' Erin replied with a laugh, sitting back and enjoying the ascent after the bone-jarring labyrinth of the canyons.
''And the price of silence is a beer. Or a new heart. But I'd say a beer would be a more cheaper method of calming me down.''

Kaj grinned despite the fact that nobody could see it.
"Agreed, beer it is. Not while flying though, that regulation hasn't changed since the dawn of flight. Speaking of, let me show you a bit of what it's like to be a bird."

Kaj leveled the Comet off at altitude then pushed the nose down just enough to give the comet the proper glide angle, not to steep to warrant a dive but not too shallow to stall. Then he cut the engines back to idle and shut them off, allowing the plane to glide under the principles of lift established by physics long before anything ever had flown on Earth.

Kaj knew when to shut up, so he let sensation of effortless flight and the symphony of rushing air work its magic for Erin.

Erin's breath caught in her throat in an audible gasp as they began to glide.
She spread her arms out, feeling the wind catch and tug her limbs almost playfully.
''Wow...'' She whispered, craned her neck and squinting upwards to see the sky above them and the clouds drifting lazily by.
''Its the most immense feeling of freedom, isn't it?'' She didnt speak too loud, almost for fear of shattering the moment.

Kaj nodded in front of her.
"It is indeed. Sometimes I never do anything nuts, just take a simple monoplane or glider and fly around, enjoying the scenery. It's a shame more beings aren't born with the ability to fly, maybe some problems could have been avoided by it."

Unfortunately Kaj couldn't keep gliding for long, and he recognized the first signs of slipping into a stall before any major bumps occurred, so he re-started the engines and throttled back up to cruising speed.
"So navigator, anywhere else you want to go today or shall we come back down to earth? We've got some gas left before we have to make our return."

Erin though for a second. ''I think I've had my share of death-defying excitement for today.'' She replied ruefully.
''But seriously, dont let me call your rec. time to a halt, keep going if you want. I just cant think of anywhere.''
If he wanted to continue on his own way she was perfectly happy to sit in the back and watch the clouds go by.

Kaj was about to agree and just lazily cruise the sky when the icomms went off.
"Straub to Lieutenant Mikkola, I hate to cut in on your free time sir but your senior officer decision making is needed down in the training bay."

Kaj muttered a few things under his breath that were most likely finnish curses that were as alien to Erin as her vulgarities were to him, then responded.
"Fine, I'll be down...soon. Mikkola, out."

Kaj Sighed audibly and shook his head before slowly turning and nosing down a bit.
"Looks like that has to wait, apparently nobody can get anything done without me being there. Count yourself lucky that you don't have to have a lot of staff under you.

Well that just leaves one more thing, the landing. Maybe next time I can teach you to fly one of these things, how's that sound?"

Erin nodded enthusiastically, then realized he couldnt see her and scowled at her own idiocy.
''That sounds great!'' She enthused as the runway became more than just a near-invisable spot in the distance.
''I've always wanted to learn how to fly. But I daresay Halik battleships are a lot harder to fly than earth planes.''
''Thanks again for letting me intrude on your recreational time, Kaj.''

Kaj considered a few sarcastic remarks before finally conceding that he did not have enough experience to make that kind of call...sort of.
"Dunno about that, never helmed a Kazon ship, but in these you can't stop moving or you fall out of the sky, no anti-grav or any other means to hover, and landing is a bit more complicated...but we'll get to that next time, I suspect that if I don't go comfort the monkeys soon the ship will start pitching and rolling for no apparent reason.

Computer, end simulation."

The scenery around them faded, then the noise, then the plane itself, leaving them sitting on blue blobs roughly in the same shape as the Comets seats to which they were strapped earlier. Notably however was the fact that Erin's goggles vanished, but Kaj's outfit did not. He got up and offered a hand to help Erin up, grinning as he did so despite himself.
"And you can intrude on my leisure time at will Erin, you get the big idea after all."

Erin took the proffered hand and stood, letting go of his hand and stepping back after a second.
''Thanks. I had fun. I'll see you later, then.'' She turned to go, giving a freindly wave over her shoulder before strolling out of the holodeck.

Kaj watched her leave, rubbing the back of his head that was cocked to the side with one hand and had his hip on the other. He didn't believe in fate or destiny, but that sort of meeting didn't exactly feel like it was just random. Then again random collisions had been the cause of a great many wonderful things in the galaxy, so he couldn't say for certain.

Still, it would have to wait, the burden of being a department head was that you never truly had any free time all to yourself, something to think about if he ever thought about bucking for command. Still, that little idiot teenager that lives in every well-adjusted adult couldn't help but think if she had found him just as fascinating as he had found her.

Erin found her way back to her quarters,thinking contentedly.
There was'nt many people on the Ship as interesting as 'Natch', that was for sure.
For some reason she hoped he made true on that offer for another holodeck adventure. The odds of insane fun seemed to rise dramatically with that man around.
And even so, there was something.. intruiging about him, she thought, kicking off her shoes.
''I had fun.'' She admitted to herself aloud with a little smile before turning and going to bed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
END

Lt. JG. Kaj "Natch" Mikkola
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Orion.

Erin Tal
Cheif Counceller
USS Orion.

 

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