Oh, the Cleverness of You?

Posted on 15 Apr 2016 @ 9:27am by Commander C. Kos & Commander Terry Walsh

2,212 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: USS Black Hawk, New Risa
Timeline: MD 4 || 0945 hours

Getting the fighters back inside the ship wasn’t too bad. Getting through the hustle and bustle of crew, enlisted and officer, was much harder. The Flight Deck looked like a bee hive what with all the people hurrying around trying to get their work done. Terry finally made it out of the Flight Deck, into his office, and eventually on to his quarters.

Once inside, he ran for the bedroom and very quickly took the uniform off. He put on his loose-fitting white pants and matching shirt. He turned to the mirror and started buttoning the shirt, leaving the top three undone. Then he started packing an overnight bag. As an afterthought, he packed something a little nicer just in case he and Kos wanted to go out some evening. His plan was to rent a room and not come back to the ship for the entire period of Rest and Relaxation.

While in the middle of packing, his door chime rang. “Aww c’mon!” he said. “That had better not be squadron related.”

Standing in the corridor outside of Walsh's quarters, Mackenzie anxiously waited for the doors to whoosh open.

Terry walked over and opened the door, hoping to not find the Flight Deck Chief.

"Are you ready yet?" Mac asked, bounding into the room.

Terry was caught off guard as the perky redhead bounded in. Even better, he thought to himself. "Almost," he said. "I was in the middle of packing when you rang." He grinned and said, "Had you come on in instead of ringing the door chime, I'd have been finished already. Wait, you mean to tell me that your're already ready?"

She turned to show the hunky pilot the small bag she carried on her back. "Don't make this about me!" she joked.

"Oh I'll make it about you if I want to," he joked back. "As a matter of fact, this whole Rest and Relaxation is going to be all about you," he said. "I'm going to see to that."

"I like how that sounds," Mac purred, a playful smile on her full lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He liked her playful smiles. He liked her being playful, period. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom where he needed to finish packing. He put her down and returned to his bag.

"Uh...babe? Why are you packing such a big bag?"

"Seriously, hun?" Terry said. "Look at me, I'm huge! My clothes need more fabric, so they're bigger. Plus, I'm renting a room. No way I'm coming back up here until R and R is over. So I need a big bag. Why did you pack such a small one? Not planning on taking too many clothes are we?"

Her green eyes sparkled as she cast a mischievous look at Walsh. "Maybe you haven't heard, but this place is like Risa. That means fun. Scantily clad fun."

“Ohhh, I don’t know….you, scantily clad in public? I might have to beat some people up,” replied Terry, laughing. “If that suits you, though. Just be ready to turn some heads when we go to the marketplace. I plan on doing some shopping while I’m down there. See what they have, maybe get a couple things. Who knows. That’s another reason for the big bag.” He turned to look at her as packed the last item and closed the bag. “C’mon, Miss Scantily Clad,” he said, winking, “we’ve got a transporter to catch.”

Not needing any further motivation, Mackenzie grabbed Walsh's sizable hand and tugged. "Let's go!"

“Alright then.” They headed out the door, hand in hand, and walked to the nearest turbolift. “So, other than the obvious and some shopping, what else would you like to do during these two days? I’m sure there’s lots of stuff on a planet like this that we could try.”

"Water," she stated excitedly. "Anything with water."

As they passed by several crewmen, Mackenzie was aware of the looks she and Walsh were getting. They were both in civilian attire, Walsh in white shirt and pants, and she in a flowing, pale blue floral print sundress. The spaghetti straps of her dress left her shoulders exposed, which was atypical for her. But she was going on leave. With Walsh. On a paradise planet. Based on their attire, not to mention the way they were walking hand in hand, it wouldn't be hard for anyone who saw them to know that there was something more than a professional relationship going between them.

Trying to avoid dwelling on the looks they were getting, Mackenzie continued the conversation with a question. "Where are we staying?"

“If I remember right, we were on the beach last time, in your room,” said Terry. “This time I got a room in a hotel a little further into the city. It’s between the beach and the marketplace. I thought it would be best since I wanted to do a little browsing and shopping in between my beach runs.” Terry had noticed the looks they were getting and decided to ignore them. People were eventually going to find out no matter how much they tried to keep it a secret. So why not put some truth to the rumors that would most likely be circulating.

“So, anything with water, huh? I’m betting that includes the ocean and hoping it includes a hot tub?” he asked. “Because I think the room has one, or some kind of a Jacuzzi type of thing. Anyway, there's some sort of a giant tub in there that we could share.”

"Share?" she inquired. "Who are we going to share it with?"

Terry looked down at her. “Well I didn’t plan on sharing with anybody else,” he said. “I meant that you and I could share it, if it were big enough.” He shook his head and grinned at her.

She waited as long as she could before she began to laugh. "I'm just giving you a hard time," she explained between chuckles.

He started laughing. “Okay, I get it now. You’ve found your sense of humor again. Good. But just you wait…” he said. “Just you wait.”

After her laughter subsided, she commented on the choice of location. "I've always loved wandering city streets. Spending so much time travelling with my father when I was younger has taken me to lots of cities on many different planets. When I could manage it, I'd leave the diplomatic compound and explore. It's a great way to really understand a culture."

They had reached the turbolift and entered. “Deck Ten,” Terry announced. As the lift started moving, Terry continued. “You’ve never really told me much about what it was like for you growing up. This is nice. So, what kind of diplomat was your father exactly? I mean, was he the peace treaty negotiator or was he more of an all-around diplomat?”

Mackenzie stopped dead in her tracks. She dropped Terry's hand and looked at him in disbelief. "You've never heard of C. William Kos?"

Terry shrugged, “Nope. Well, just now when you said his name."

Throwing her arms around the burly pilot, she planted a kiss squarely on his lips. When she pulled away, she smiled widely at him. "Thank you," she beamed.

Terry returned her kiss and smiled back. “Well, you’re welcome, I guess.” He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he liked the results.

"That was odd, I know," she said sheepishly. "But its rare to find someone who hasn't heard of my dad."

Their turbolift came to a stop and the doors opened to Deck Ten. “Almost to paradise,” he said. Then he looked at her grinned. “You wanna race to Transporter Room Three?”

"I don't think that would be fair," Mac said. "You've got longer legs than I...."

And she was sprinting down the corridor, leaving Walsh behind.

“Hey! You little…! Get back here!” Walsh took off after her, but found that his larger bag slowing him down. Well, that, and he had to dodge the personnel in the corridor. When he finally caught up to her, she was already inside the Transporter Room, waiting.

"Took you long enough," Mac teased, another of her characteristic playful smiles plastered on her face. She grabbed Walsh's hand and pulled him onto the transporter pad. "Let's go."

Terry stepped up on the transporter pad, hand-in-hand with Mac. He looked to the Petty Officer on duty, “Energize.” The glimmering light of the transporter engulfed the couple and the room was replaced with bright sunshine, a slight breeze, and the smell of the ocean.

Terry looked around. “I think the hotel is this way.” He started walking in the direction of the city. “I thought we’d get checked in, toss our bags on the bed, and see what this place has to offer.”

"If that's what you want to do...," Mac said.

“It is,” he said. “I want to see the sights, well some of them. I want to taste real food, not the replicated stuff. And I bet we can that anywhere in the city. Anyway, you’ve never said how the Captain took to your request to not be the XO for a while. How’d that go?” Terry was surprised to see so many people this far out of the city. But then again, he took a whiff, the beach was nearby.

"Harvey wasn't very happy about it at first," she explained. This wasn't a subject she was that eager to discuss, but she was trying to make an effort to open up more with Walsh. "But he understands that this is something I need to do."

"I told Harvey I could move out of my quarters so the new XO could use them."

“I'm glad he was understanding," Terry said. "That was nice of you, offering your quarters, but where would you stay? VIP room?” he asked.

"I figured that I could move in with you," she replied. "But that's not important because I got to stay in my quarters."

“That would definitely be an option. I couldn’t have you roaming the ship like a homeless person, sleeping in a bulkhead to stay warm,” he said. “But it’s nice that he let you stay there.” They were coming up on the outskirts of the city and noticed the crowds getting thicker. “Stay close, I don’t want to lose you in all of this.”

"I can handle myself," she retorted, batting at Walsh's arm. "But I appreciate the chivalry." The two walked on, entering more crowded pedestrian walkways as they approached the commercial area.

In short order, they reached the hotel Walsh had selected. They checked in and entered their room. Mackenzie chucked her bag on the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to hang out here for a bit," she asked, playfully pulling at the straps of her dress.

Terry tossed his bag on the bed and turned to Mackenzie. “Oh, I’ll make short work of those straps. You may not even be able to wear it back.” He grinned. “But there’ll be plenty of time for that tonight. It’s still early in the day. Besides, in less than an hour we can have lunch. I overheard some of the maintenance personnel talking about an awesome restaurant that I’d like to try. But before then, we can browse the shops.”

"Just wanted to make sure," she said, slightly disappointed. She loved being intimate with Walsh but there was more to their relationship than sex. Terry seemed so excited to walk the streets of New Risa; his excitement was infectious. "Let's go," she said, walking back to the door. "Wonder if I can find some new clothes. I'd love to find something handcrafted. I've got enough replicated things already."

“I hear that,” replied Terry. “I’m tired of seeing all the replicated things around my quarters. I mean, there’re some things I brought with me, of course. But it would be nice to have a few things that are actually handmade.” He put his arm around her waist. Well, as much as he could with their height difference. “So what do you want to look for first, new clothes, artsy craftsy things, or handmade stuff?”

Mac thought for a second. "I vote that we just wander. When we see something we want to look at, we stop and look. Simple enough."

"Or were you wanting something more structured?" she asked, poking Walsh in the ribs.

“Hey, watch it. You know that tickles.” He laughed as she poked him in the ribs. “But wandering around sounds good to me.” They walked out of the hotel room and down to the lobby. As they left the building, Terry noticed how warm it was outside and was glad that he had decided to go with his breezy, loose-fitting, all white ensemble. “Let’s go that way,” he pointed. There were quite a few more little shops in that direction and quite possibly an open-air kind of a thing.

"Lead on," Mackenzie said, taking Walsh by the hand.

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