Reunions

Posted on Sat Sep 12th, 2020 @ 10:26pm by Lieutenant Avery Paxton III & Lieutenant Nyysa Maldonado & Lieutenant Scott Hayes
Edited on on Sat Sep 12th, 2020 @ 10:28pm

Mission: Once Upon A Time on Risa.
Location: Risa

:ON:

“Perfect,” Avery said, admiring the clothes that she had so neatly organized as she unpacked for her stay on Risa. Satisfied that everything was in good order, she put on her favorite teal hawaiian board shorts and matching top then looked at her watch. It had been 45 minutes since she & Scott left the shuttle. Maybe she would make it to the pool first.

Avery grabbed a towel and exited her room. She looked over and noticed Scott exiting his, which was apparently just across the hall and one room down, at the same time. They made eye contact. “I guess since we’re both here at the same time it’ll have to be last one to the lift buys the first round,” she said, with an eyebrow raised waiting to see if he would accept the challenge.

Scott strode out his room, still wearing his arrival clothes; the board shorts and white and blue Hawaiian shirt although now he had it all the way unbuttoned, allowing it to flap about in the wind. He carried a small shoulder bag that kept all his things in, towel, water, sunscreen. Without even responding to Avery he began a fast walk towards the elevators. He would look back after a few steps and say, "You are on."

That cheater she thought as he had purposely waited until he was ahead to accept her challenge. Luckily, Avery often ran as part of her workout routine, but then again so did Scott. She threw her towel over her shoulder and sprinted towards the lift. Scott moved into a run as she gained on him. It was neck and neck, but at the end Scott edged her out and reached the elevator first.

Avery broke out in laughter as they ended their race. It was a childish competition, but it felt good to let loose and have fun. “Fair is fair,” she said as they stepped into the lift, “first rounds on me.”

"I mean, got to take the chances where you can, especially when it comes to drinks," Scott winked as the doors closed. "Anyway, its not like they actually need to be paid for and all, it's just who goes to get them."

They exited the lift a few moments later. “Something frozen, with lots of alcohol and one of those tiny umbrellas, right?” She tried to confirm Scott’s order as they neared the bar next to the pool, but then cut him off before he could even answer. “Wait a minute,” she said, squinting to confirm the familiar looking person already sitting at the counter. “Is that Nyysa?” Nyysa had served with both Avery & Scott on the Wayfarer, but as far as she knew the Wayfarer was off on a mission. So what was Nyysa doing here?

"Of all the bars on all the planet, you stroll into this one," Nyysa said, paraphrasing that Casablanca movie her dad likes so much. "Don't look so surprised. You're not the only ones who got an out from the brass."

Quick version; Betazoid terrorist ripped through the Wayfarer causing all kinds of havoc. The admiralty thought that maybe, just maybe, the crew had been put together a little too quickly. So the captain and a number of the senior officers were reassigned. From what Nyysa could piece together, she actually had the option to stay on the Wayfarer, but without Meezo, Paxton and Hayes, all of whom she was beginning to like, there wasn't much point. Besides Captain Devoe on the Sunfire made her a better offer. And he's nice to look at, not that that affected her decision in any way.

"I didn't take a standard transport, before you ask. The joys of being friendly with some Klingons and Naussicans," Nyysa explained. It pays to make friends in all corners of the quadrant, you never know when you'll need a favor.

“Speaking of Klingons, I do believe I owe you a thank you for getting Captain Mog to forget about that prank from my earlier years and the consequent dinosaur incident at Quarks on DS9. I was sure he’d come after me again once he came to in that holodeck, but I heard that you convinced him to move on.” Avery chuckled, recounting the near deadly, but exciting experience from their last shore leave.

"It was nothing," Nyysa said with a shrug. They were shipmates, and Klingons will hold a grudge for as long as it takes them to regain their honor. Getting Mog drunk on a cocktail of bloodwine and pheromones, then convincing him to leave Paxton alone wasn't hard. Besides, she was going to run up a tab at Quark's anyway, might as well be for a good cause.

“Drinks on me if you’ll join us at the pool? I owe Scott a drink anyways, even though he totally cheated.” She smirked and narrowed her eyes at Scott.

Nyysa smiled. "Guess it's a good thing I didn't grab a horga'hn on my way down." As fun as jamaharon with random Risians is, hanging out with these two would probably prove more entertaining. "I could go for something cold and boozy with a tiny umbrella. Everything is better with tiny umbrellas. "

"Not cheating," Scott teased, "I half expected you to start running anyway. Also, what is a hor-horga'hn. First visit to Risa you see," Scott confessed to Nyysa with a nod.

Avery chuckled and looked at Nyysa, “I’ll let you explain that one to him while I get the drinks. I’ll meet you by the pool in a minute.”

Nyysa watched as Avery headed towards the bar before motioning to Scott to head towards the pool. Looking around she spotted exactly what she needed.

"You see that Caitian over there?" she asked. The guy had beautiful caramel colored fur and was sitting with a female Risian in his lap and a male Risan caressing his shoulders. When Scott nodded, Nyysa continued. "The little brown statuette by his knee is a horga'hn. It's the Risian symbol of sexuality. To display one on Risa is to seek jamaharon. Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. The locals are very... giving."

"Oh...oh....ohhhhhhhh," Scott replied, his eyes widening with the realisation of what it all actually meant. 'Yeah, that certainly does sound...interesting."

Avery grabbed three highly alcoholic frozen cocktails topped with tiny umbrellas off of the bar and also picked up a horga’hn for Scott. She walked over to her shipmates who had found a nice spot by the pool, handed them each a drink and then placed the horga’hn next to Scott. “You know, just in case you feel like you want to experience some of the 'local culture' later,” she said with a laugh as she set it down.

They spent the next couple of hours together sipping on fruity cocktails with umbrellas, soaking in the sun, taking the occasional dip in the pool and in general catching up with each other’s lives. Nyysa brought them up to speed on the latest from the Wayfarer. The new Captain seemed like quite the interesting fellow, who apparently had a weird affection for oddly flavored salads.

Eventually Avery grew restless. Relaxing wasn’t really her thing and she was ready to do something more exciting than just sitting by the pool. “So Nyysa, what are your plans while we’re on Risa?” She asked, hoping that her answer would contain something a little more adventurous than what was on Scott’s itinerary.

"I volunteered to do some work... that just happens to include cave diving," Nyysa replied.

Since the Borg attack in 2381, there have been noticeable changes to Risa's geology. Scientists from all over were flocking to the planet to examine and catalog the changes, among them, her dad. He was, and is, leading a team that's exploring areas of the planet that were opened up by the seismic regulators being disabled for months. A few days ago, the equipment her dad set up in an underground cavern on the northeast side of Suraya Bay went dark. If it were one or two things, he would just leave it alone but everything off meant that he wasn't getting any data at all. Moreover, gear doesn't just cut off like that, which had Nyysa equal parts curious and concerned.

"I told my dad I'd go with him to replace some gear in a nearby underwater cave formation," the science officer said. "You guys are more than welcome to join. It's maybe ten percent work but hundred percent awesomeness."

“That sounds amazing! Unfortunately, I’m not certified to cave dive, but perhaps I’ll have to look into it for next time. I think I’m going to head out to the beach, those waves look about perfect for some surfing action. I’ll catch up with you two later though. Maybe we can meet up for dinner?” She asked.

"Dinner sounds wonderful," Scott replied eyeing up one of the vacant sun loungers next to a pool, "Although, why people don't go on vacation to just relax is beyond me. You can both go do your risky activities. I'll be here, by the pool, working on my tan and day drinking." He tucked the small wooden statue into his back, just in case he wanted to see what full Risian culture was like. "So if either of you end up injured, I would say come to me, but I'm guessing I won't be much use medically after a few more drinks and dips in the pool."

"I can definitely do dinner," Nyysa said as she forced herself to get up, and tied her sarong around her waist. "I have some prep before my dad gets here, so I'm going to head off. I'll catch up with you guys later." With that, Nyysa headed back towards the resort.

"Good luck," Avery told Nyysa as she walked off. She then grabbed her towel and looked towards the waves off in the distance. "Have fun relaxing," she said to Scott before making her way to the shore.

:OFF:

Lieutenant Nyysa Maldonado
Chief Science Officer
USS Sunfire