T'Lar Shore Leave part 2: Arrival
Posted on Sun Apr 5th, 2026 @ 12:14pm by Lieutenant JG T'Lar
1,654 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Character Development
Location: Lake Tahoe/ Starfleet Retreat and Conference Center
Timeline: Shore leave
T’Lar wound her way up the 80 to the 267 towards Kings Beach. She could have headed directly for Tahoe City and the Starfleet Retreat and Conference Center at Lake Tahoe, but she decided to take a ride around the entire lake heading first towards the Nevada side in the direction of Incline Village. The late afternoon views were spectacular as she came in view of the lake with the sun starting to dip down towards the rim of the basin, causing the snow capped hillsides to glow with a thick golden light that rippled across the water like a vast inland sea. The air was crisp in a way that was not bothersome to one to the desert born such as she, but rather exhilarating to the senses as she zoomed along towards the mini metropolis that was South Lake. Gone were the gaudy casinos of the age of money, replaced by wellness spas and entertainment venues galore, along with plenty of accommodations for those seeking lodging during the winter ski season.
An hour into her circumnavigation of the lake she crossed again into the California side, hanging a right at the Y to head up the 89. The sun was casting long shadows across the lake now from the west as she made her way up the grade overlooking Emerald Bay. Chasing daylight, the temperature began to drop uncomfortably low as she made her way past DL Bliss Park, to Meeks Bay, past the legendary Homewood mountain ski resort and finally to Tahoe City.
The SRCC was located right on the lake just off the 89, with its own dedicated shuttle arrival and departure area. The avenue leading up to the main building was lined with the flags of every member planet of the Federation culminating in three large flagpoles on which were flown the UFP flag, the Starfleet flag and the SRCC at Lake Tahoe flag. The motif of the grounds was Alpine Chalet with a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright and the mid 20th century modern aesthetic with lots of natural stone walkways and walls accented with redwood and cedar. Before one got that far however there was a gatehouse, where a Starfleet Marine stood watch at the edge of the property. He spotted the Starfleet Motorpool sticker on the Moto Guzzi and scanned it with a PADD.
“Lieutenant T’Lar? Would you mind taking off your helmet for me?”
“Of course, Sergeant,” T’Lar said doffing the bucket.
The marine scanned her face and said, “There we go. And if I could please get your thumbprint here?”
T’Lar obliged, removing her right glove and pressing her thumb to the PADD.
“Thank you so much. Pre-check is complete. Please proceed to valet where your ride will be taken care of, then report to the main desk for your quarters assignment and enjoy your stay.”
“Thank you, Sergeant.”
T’Lar put her glove and helmet back on and when the force field was de-activated proceeded slowly towards the front entrance where she was indeed met by a motorpool valet who repeated the scan here, thumb there procedure before taking possession of her bike. Walking with her backpack and helmet she made her way up the flagstone stairs to the wall of glass that was the entrance to the Center. The doors opened automatically as she approached and she headed towards an absolutely massive check in desk, manned by a solitary human in standard Starfleet uniform; rank indicating crewman first class. She looked up and smiled as T’Lar approached.
“Lieutenant T’Lar?”
“Yes, I am Lieutenant T’Lar.”
“Welcome to the Starfleet Retreat and Conference Center at Lake Tahoe, Lieutenant. I see you are booked for two nights. Will we be returning the motorcycle for you or will you be returning that on your own?”
“I have not decided yet.”
“That is perfectly alright, Lieutenant. We have a few of those on hand right now and our personnel love returning them.”
“They are fascinating machines. I greatly enjoyed the ride up here.”
The Crewman looked a bit surprised at that.
“Well I’m glad to hear that. You are booked into room two one nine, if I could just get your thumbprint for biometric access… thank you. Each room comes with its own kitchenette and replicator but if you want there is a general mess that is open twenty four hours a day, or if you would like our officer’s lounge opens at nineteen hundred hours. There is a dress code for that. Uniform or cocktail attire. If you need any sundries or souvenirs our replimat is open twenty four hours a day and can whip up everything from a little black dress and the perfect shoes to match, to SRCC branded pajamas, tote bags, etcetera.”
“Thank you, Crewman. You have been most helpful.”
“You are welcome, Lieutenant. Please enjoy your stay.”
T’Lar made her way to the elevators and took the conveyance to the second floor and followed the signage to her room. Upon reaching the door she placed her thumb on the handle and the door unlocked itself, allowing her entrance. She was immediately struck by the similarities to her own accommodations on board the Sunfire. In fact the layout was almost identical with the exception being wall to ceiling windows behind the bed with curtains fully drawn and a black out shade pulled all the way down for privacy. Setting her helmet on the desk, she put her backpack on the bed and began to peel off her riding gloves, then her boots and finally her riding suit. Fortunately Vulcans do not sweat, but the suit was in need of a good washing . T’Lar found the com unit by the bed and called the front desk who arranged for the suit to be picked up and dry cleaned within the hour if she would just set it outside her door. Wrapping herself in a SRCC robe she folded the suit and did as she was instructed, then went and took a long shower.
Following her shower she dressed in a Starfleet issue sweat suit and joggers and made her way to the General Mess. She was gratified to see that they had at least some Vulcan dishes on offer and made avail of them. There were not many people in the mess at the time and they mostly seemed to be cadre, clustered together to avoid fraternizing with the guests. As she ate in silence she wondered how his day was playing out. She still found it hard to believe that she had invited him to join her at the SRCC for part of his shore leave. She had tried to make it sound as casual as could be, mentioning the hiking and possibly cycling or rock climbing. She hadn’t mentioned water sports, however as it was still very early spring and the lake was freezing cold, but there were other reasons as well. T’Lar was a desert creature and not a strong swimmer. In fact she had only learned to swim to help her get into the Academy. Worse, although she deeply appreciated the beauty of the oceans and bodies of water such as Lake Tahoe, and was fascinated by aquariums, T’Lar suffered from thalassophobia; the persistent and overwhelming fear of deep bodies of water. She could not stand to be in water that she could not see the bottom of and the idea of swimming in the same vicinity as sharks absolutely terrified her as much as they intrigued her.
He was having dinner with his parents in Oregon. They had agreed to meet later tonight for drinks in the officers’ lounge. They had met for drinks before but this was the first time that it was a pre-arranged affair. Was it a “date”? Just a meeting between friends? She wasn’t sure she knew the answer to that. What she did know is that she was developing an affinity for his presence. There was a chemistry there that she could not deny, at least one that she felt though she did not know if he felt it as well. Therein lay the source of her nervousness. She found him to be aesthetically pleasing to be sure, and there was a kindred spirit nature to their shared experiences. At the same time she knew better than to make more of the situation than was prudent. They were friends, enjoying each other’s company and that was more than enough for her for now.
One thing she did not know how to navigate was talking about how she’d spent her day. If this were a “date” the last thing she wanted to do was to spend it talking about how she’d spent the day visiting the family and gravesite of her late fiance’. She couldn’t explain to him what had transpired; the liberation she felt for having freed Brian’s katra and his blessing for her to move on with her life. That would seem like crazy talk. Far less crazy than having to explain that she kept the soul of her departed fiance’ bound up in an obsidian bust on board the Sunfire, but still. She decided to just say that she’d stopped to visit with friends and leave it at that.
After dinner she visited the replimat, stepping into the fitting room where she was measured for a cocktail dress and pumps along with an IDIC pendant necklace. Taking the items back to her room, she brushed her teeth and did her hair in an updo style that accentuated her neck and Vulcan ears and slipped into the tight little black dress. Stepping into her shoes she looked at herself in the mirror. It was a daring look for a Vulcan. She gave herself a quick smile and headed out the door.
TBC
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