So How was Your Vacation?

Posted on 21 Apr 2016 @ 8:22am by Ensign Aidan Crehan & Ensign Quinn Mackie

2,176 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: USS Black Hawk, Cadet Quarters
Timeline: MD 6

Aidan had said his goodbyes on the planet before he and Mila had transported up. This was his first shore leave in Starfleet and he had enjoyed every second of it. He looked forward to another shore leave with her. But then they did talk about more private time once they were back up here. So he would be able to continue getting to know her without needing to wait for another shore leave.

At any rate, they had been recalled and he intended to continue relaxing before heading to work. He walked into the quarters that he shared with Cadet Mackie and tossed his bag on his bed. He sat down in one of the chairs and stretched his legs out.

Quinn had beamed aboard with Kelly just a few minutes ago. The timing couldn't have been better as they were just about to check in their kayaks and begin the unfortunate process of beaming back aboard thanks to the sudden recall. It didn't take him long to navigate the ship and reach the quarters which he shared with Cadet Crehan, only to find that the older cadet was already inside and lounging.

"Any idea what's going on?" Quinn asked, setting his bag on his bed and beginning to unzip a couple of pockets to unload them.

Aidan turned to Quinn. “I don’t know,” he said. “I imagine that is must be rather important for the Captain to cancel shore leave as he did. Did you hear anything on your down here?”

Quinn shrugged and smiled. "No. Uh... Kelly and I spent most of our time on the river in kayaks or in the air on her vectorboard."

Aidan looked at Quinn and grinned. Two lifetimes of experience had taught him a few things, namely that a smile like that was usually accompanied by a young woman’s name. “Is that so,” he replied. “Um, Kelly…she is one of the young ladies that we performed karaoke with that time, correct?”

"Young ladies?" Quinn asked rhetorically before remembering the age of his roommate. "One of our fellow cadets, yes," he replied. "Though I'm pretty sure we're an item now."

Aidan chuckled a bit as Quinn repeated the ‘young ladies’ remark. It was nothing new to him, as he had been getting that sort of reaction since his freshman year at the Academy. “An item, huh,” he replied. “Then it sounds like you enjoyed your shore leave. So which was more fun, kayaking with her or vectorboarding with her?”

He'd considered mentioning a third option, but Quinn didn't think he was the type to kiss and tell. "The vectorboarding was awesome!" he exclaimed, pulling out his dirty laundry and tossing it into the recycler nearby. "The kayaking was pretty cool too, paddling along the river just talking. What about you? Tell me you at least went down to New Risa."

Aidan smiled as he thought about Mila and his trip planetside. “Yes, Quinn, I did at least go down to New Risa. We had a hotel on the beach and everything. Why would you think that I wouldn't go?” Aidan knew full well what he had said.

Quinn shrugged. "I'm not sure really," he said as he continued to unpack his bag, this time going for the still sealed rations. Then he paused and looked up at the El Aurian. "We? Who's we?"

Aidan grinned. “Her name is Mila,” he said. He wasn’t sure if Quinn would even recognize her name. But if he did, it would be an interesting conversation to follow. Though Aidan did want to probe more about Quinn’s vacation.

"Mila..." Quinn pondered as he placed some items into his trunk. "Mila... Seems a bit exotic. Huh. I pegged you for someone who'd appeal to someone more... traditional."

“In many ways she is,” replied Aidan. “More traditional, I mean. Speaking of someone being pegged differently, you and Kelly?” He was, to say the least, a bit surprised.

Quinn only smiled. "I didn't think I was in her league," he replied. "Kelly and I had a great chat in the rec room a couple weeks back, and we both ran into each other in the cargo bay a couple days ago preparing for shore leave. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew we were jumping out of the back of a shuttle."

Adian got up and started unpacking his bag as Quinn was talking. "It sounds like you two hit it off, as they say. I cannot imagine jumping out of a shuttle. It had to be the most thrilling ride you..." Aidan stopped in mid-sentence as he lifted the last shirt out of his bag. Laying there on a pair of tan cargo shorts was the folded purple napkin from the restaurant. "Oh, um. Where was I? Yes, the most thrilling ride you have ever had." Mila was a sneaky one.

"What's that?" Quinn asked, noticing the older man's pause. He considered making an old person joke or take a stab at the lapse Aidan's species' listening skills, but that wasn't typical for Quinn. "You ok?" he asked instead.

Aidan cleared his throat and chuckled. “Ohhh yes, I am just fine,” he said, grinning. “I could not be better.” He carefully lifted the napkin so as not to disturb the fold, removed all of his cargo shorts, and placed the napkin back in the bag. “At any rate, how high did you jump from?” he asked, carrying clothes across the room to the recycler.

Quinn paused to think about that. "I'm not sure, actually. I was too caught up in the moment to check the altimeter. It had to be somewhere between six thousand and ten thousand feet."

“That sounds like it would have been a wild ride,” said Aidan. He couldn’t imagine jumping out of a shuttle, but then again, he was towed by one across the water. “We spent some of our time walking along the beach. But I think, no, I know that the best time we had was shuttle surfing.”

"Shuttle surfing?" Quinn asked, returning to his backpack. "I don't think I've ever heard of that."

“It is something I grew up doing on El-Auria,” he said. Aidan removed his gift from his bag and placed it in a drawer next to his bed. “Basically, you hold on to a towline which is attached to the back of a small shuttle while standing on a board on the water. The shuttle tows you across the surface of the water. After becoming proficient at the basics, you can start learning a variety of tricks. I think Earth has a similar sport except you stand on two slender sleds and are towed by a watercraft. Low flying shuttles get much faster and allow for more fun.”

Quinn winced. "Water... Salt... Oxidation..." he stammered, thinking of what water would do to the engine grills of a nacelle or thruster unit. Extreme heat and sudden cooling never were two things that should meet often.

Aidan laughed. “I never said it was perfect, Quinn. I said it was fun. But I’m sure those places have either a decent engineer or enough of an income to not have to worry about it. So, did you two ride the vectorboard back and forth to the river or hike there?”

"Took the vectorboard from the shuttle," Quinn began, zipping up the empty pockets on the backpack. "Found a campsite, then went and picked up the kayaks. We wound up seeing a lot of the river from those. How about you? Shuttle surfing is something your body can only take for so long."

“It is,” Aidan replied. “We only did it once. Most of the rest of time we spent walking or sitting on the beach. Or actually in the ocean. Of course taking a swim really was not the plan at the time, both of us fell off our boards at different occasions and the other dove in after. Believe it or not, the old man had fun.” He closed up his bag and put it under his bed.

"Who goes to the ocean and not take a swim?" asked Quinn. He'd grown up in the American midwest, and it wasn't until the Academy that he first saw the ocean. There, he swam in it every chance he got. "But at least I know I can still have fun if I ever get to be as old as you."

"Actually," said Aidan, "we were planning to go swimming, but it never happened." He turned to look at Quinn as he sat on his bed. "You should always strive to have fun, no matter how old you get."

"I completely agree!" Quinn said, kicking the empty bag underneath his bunk. "For my 100th birthday, I want to go solar surfing. I figure, if I'm too slow, it's one hell of a way to go."

Aidan started laughing, and kept on for a couple of minutes. “That is most certainly one way to look at it, Quinn! How about you invite me to your 100th birthday and I can watch you beat that solar surf and go on to 101. We can all celebrate your survival with a ride on a vectorboard…out of the back of a shuttle.”

"How old would you be then?" Quinn asked, nearly suggesting a number himself. "But a vectorboard ride after solar surfing sounds like the perfect icing for that cake."

“I will be 287 years old at your 100th birthday,” he replied. “I thought you would like that vectorboarding idea.” He paused, wondering. “I only remember meeting Kelly at our karaoke recital. What is she like outside of the ship?”

Quinn cocked his head slightly to the right. "Pretty much the same. She's sweet really. Kelly knows what she wants and will keep going until she gets it. We had some great conversations and an amazing time."

Aidan nodded. “That is terrific. It’s good when people are the same no matter if they are in uniform or out of it. But it sounds like you really had a great time. Perhaps Mila and I could try some river excursions next time. It sounds exciting.”

"And perhaps Kelly and I will give shuttle surfing a shot," Quinn sat on his bed to remove his shoes. "I don't suppose they updated the duty roster yet for the recall."

“I’m not sure,” Aidan said. “I have not bothered to even check it, yet. I expect I’ll start as soon as possible. But I hope that it is tomorrow morning. I would not mind that at all.” Actually, he wouldn’t mind lying down and thinking about shore leave. “But I suppose I should see if anything has been sent out.”

"It'd be a shame if we didn't have to report for duty until tomorrow. We could have at least finished our day." Quinn paused, giving another matter a thought. "Mila... Who on this ship is named Mila?"

Aidan had walked over to check for an updated duty roster when Quinn’s question caused him to pause. “Rasputin,” he said. “Mila Rasputin.” He wasn’t sure if he should give her rank, her position, or just leave it at that. Or this… “She wears command red.”

"Rasputin..." Quinn's eyes suddenly widened. "Geisler's yeoman?" He chuckled in surprise. "Oh, Grandpa, you do live dangerously."

Aidan chuckled along with Quinn. “You do not know the half of it,” he said, remembering his last massage. “But yes, shuttle surfing, walking on the beach, and cooking breakfast with Captain Geisler’s yeoman, Senior Chief Petty Officer Mila Rasputin.” He reached down to pull up the duty roster to see if it was updated.

"That's a lot for two days' leave," Quinn replied, shaking his head. Nodding at what Aidan was pulling up, he asked, "How's it look? I've got Gamma shift again, don't I?"

“It is, but we could have put more into it.” He looked at the roster. “There,” he said pointing, “Mackie, Cadet Quinn.” He started scanning it for his name.

"Gamma shift indeed," he said with a sigh. "I could have had three more hours on the planet below." And three hours more with Kelly. "Duty calls, I guess."

Aidan found his name. “Alpha? That…how did that happen?” He scrolled up through the duty roster. “It looks like I have a new department chief. That might explain it, a meeting with the new boss.” He sighed. “Duty indeed.”

"Hope he or she is a lot nicer than mine," Quinn said. "You need the shower? If not, I'm heading in."

"Go ahead," said Aidan. "I wish to rest a bit more." And think about Mila, he thought. He couldn't seem to get her out his mind.

"Thanks," Quinn said with a nod, grabbing a clean set of clothes from a drawer and disappearing into the head, wondering what Kelly was up to at this time.

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