Time To Chill

Posted on Tue Sep 4th, 2018 @ 11:54pm by Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi

Mission: Holographic Horrors
Location: USS Hera, Deck 24, Main Engineering
Timeline: 2395

Duty had been served and the disciplinary actions taken, as Lieutenant Rita Paris doled out the bridge and flight deck assignments based on performance evaluations. As she had been aboard a month now, Rita had taken the time to evaluate her personnel, and had assigned the duty rosters while on leave based on performance and discipline issues. Despite the fact that the boss was also spending a good chunk of her shore leave on board, the underperformers were finding their shore leaves curtailed somewhat, while the good and medium performers were spending the entirety of shore leave free from duty.

Which of course included her assistant chief, Ensign Mona Gonadie. The brightly plumed avain aviatrix had been relieved of all duty for the duration, and had been sent to enjoy herself with her chief’s blessing. She had been a godsend for Rita in adapting to both the position and the flight controls of the 24th century, and this was the first chance Rita had come across to show rather than tell her appreciation. The ensign had wisely chosen not to argue with her chief, and was somewhere out there relaxing and enjoying herself.

But Rita’s duties were discharged, and now it was time for some shore leave of her own. She had been monitoring the duty rosters in Main Engineering and it appeared her little blue bestie had been working longer shifts and putting in more hours, likely trying to repair the damage done by the dark matter ion storm they had barely escaped. Which made Rita smile- Thex was an overachiever like herself, and the time-tossed temptress knew that left to her own devices, Lieutenant Commander sh’Zouri would work through the entire shore leave without a break and consider it time well spent.

Which meant that it was Rita’s solemn duty to pry the Andorian away from her engines for at least 48 hours in the middle of the shore leave, and drag her out to go have some fun.

Exiting the turbolift on Deck 24, Lieutenant Paris strode through Main Engineering, waving at those who recognized her. The anachronistic uniform she wore guaranteed to catch the eye- a bright gold minidress amongst the black and grey sea of uniforms with a hint of gold down in Engineering. And after having been on board for over a month, the 2268 issue Starfleet officer was now well known and recognized, even outside her own department. Her friendship with the chief engineer was also well known, as was her penchant for jogging deck 12, the center of the saucer section.

Given her figure, it was joked by some that she should wear a warning hazard when jogging given the sight of her assets in motion tended to be a traffic hazard. But today she was on a mission, and somehow she knew she would find her quarry elbows deep in something that needed to be fixed or calibrated or adjusted or replaced.

As her friend had guessed, Thex was on her back trying to fix the pimary tachyon flux actuator. The familiar sound of her friend's high heeled booted footsteps caught the blue girl’s attention as she slid out of the Jefferies tube. " Hello Rita, how are you this fine day?" the andorian asked, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Nice outfit." She added upon seeing her friend’s usual anachronistic uniform.

“What, this old thing?” Paris joked, making a literal interpretation of her unconventional uniform. “Okay Thex. I know there are a million things to fix. And calibrate. And adjust and tweak and whatever else you grease monkey types do. But you promised me some shore leave, and I am taking you up on it. Seems there is a winter arcology out there, with a ski lodge and skiing and…” from behind her, Rita produced a square light blue box wrapped in dark blue ribbon. Holding it out at arm’s length, she presented it to the Andorian engineer.

"What is it?" Thex asked as she placed her tools down and took the box from her friend and started to undo the ribbon.

“It’s a present! Don’t they still do that in the future?” the Starfleet vintage officer asked as the eager and able hands opened the box to reveal a pair of white ice skates. “Again, I don’t know how they do it today and I don’t know if you did it differently on Andoria, but on Earth we skate on frozen lakes and ponds using shoes connected to metal blades the lets us glide across the ice. I figured you are so graceful when you dance, you should be an awesome ice skater… right?”

It was clear that Rita had not done her cultural nor historical research, but was instead introducing the blue-skinned antennaed alien to some of her culture instead.

Thex paused as she held the skates in her hands. She knew about skating it was very popular on Andor, as it helped to teach people how to move around the frozen oceans. It was a hobby she never had a chance to participate in, however. Her family considered it a distraction. Her hands gripped the skates tightly as she looked at her friend. "Thank you, Rita they are a very thoughtful gift."

“You’re welcome- after all you’ve done for me it’s the least I can do. Come on, pack up your summer clothes and let’s go hang out where the weather is your speed and we can take a little weekend off in a winter wonderland. We always go to my climate- let’s go hang out in yours this time, shall we?” The curvaceous cosmonaut’s grin was ear to ear as she motioned toward the turbolift.

Thex grinned as she picked up her tools and headed for the turbolift. "Lead on, my friend," she said as the two entered the lift.

“I got us reservations at the lodge, such as it is, and apparently there are catgirl maids who take care of everything. Since we are in the fortress instead of doing the local resorts, it’s all inclusive. So we can ski and skate and go sledding, build snowmen… ah, I am guessing you know more of what to do in and with snow than me. But we have a weekend and we’re going to go have fun!” It sounded a bit like Rita was trying to convince herself as much as Thex, but she was at least enthusiastic. As they emerged on Deck 8, the duo split, headed yto their individual quarters as Rita promised to meet the Andorian outside her quarters.

It wasn't long before Thex emerged from her quarters wearing some tight black trousers along with a dark blue shirt under a white jacket bearing the flag of andor upon the back. Her skates hung around her neck as she smiled at her friend who was waiting for her.

“Look at the workaholic all excited to be headed for the ice!” The taller human was decked out in a pink long-sleeved unitard, with a fluffy, furry pair of white boots and a short yet bulky powder blue parka jacket that would hide her figure but keep her warm. Pink gloves and a stocking cap with earmuffs rounded out her colorful outfit, which left her legs covered only by human flesh-colored tights. Somehow, even out of her high heeled duty boots, the human still dwarfed her petite compatriot.

Wrapping Thex in an invasion of personal space, Rita Paris cheered. “C’mon you! It’s time to go drink and skate and ski and eat food that’s bad for us and maybe chase some men and… shore leave!”

"Lead on, my friend." The andorian replied as they headed for the airlock, to cross the umbilical into the fortress. It wasn't long before they were on the station, and stepping through its locks they appeared to be avoiding the transporters, heading up to the ski lodge.

A smile spread over Thex's face as snowflakes fell upon her head and her face- it had been far to long since she'd felt snow.

Strapping on some snow shoes, Rita apparently planned to hike up to the lodge, when there was a perfectly good transporter they could take.

Thex didn't need any snowshoes, given her upbringing, so she patiently waited for the California surfer girl to get her snowshoes strapped on, then as she began trudging uphill the eager engineer followed behind her friend. "It's beautiful here isn't it?" She said, looking around the winter wonderland that comprised the exterior of the station.

“It is!” Rita agreed. “Aside from arctic survival training and the occasional ice planet, I’m not really much for cold weather. But the snow blanketing everything really is pretty, and the crisp air really does make you feel alive. Different than basking in the sun, but I didn’t want my best pal to melt into a puddle.” At that the buxom blonde shoulder bumped her companion with a grin, to indicate that she was teasing.

"Hey, I'm not that weak to the heat!" Thex jokily replied as she helped her friend through the snow. "How your species made it to their poles is beyond me," she chuckled as she helped Rita out of another patch of snow.

“Sheer stubbornness and the determination to see what’s out there. Same way we managed to get out into space and see the far corners of the galaxy- human stubbonness and determination,” Rita huffed as she plodded through the snow. The snow shoes were supposed to keep her on the surface, but the lost navigator wasn’t exactly light on her feet, nor was she experienced at trying to make snow shoes work properly. At least she hadn’t pitched face forward into the snow.

“So if you don’t melt, maybe our next vacation we can take on a nice tropical beach where I can wear a bikini?” Rita huffed as she struggled uphill in the snow.

"Sounds good," Thex replied as she helped Rita along again. Thankfully, the path evened out ahead, letting the human and the andorian walk up the gently rising path. It wasn't long before the frozen lake appeared before them. "Well, we made it Rita," She said, looking back at her friend.

“Ugh… I thought we were headed to the lodge first. But it’s all good,” Paris panted as she dropped her rounded rear onto a log to start unlacing the snowshoes. It was clear that exerting herself in the frozen wonderland was nowhere near as invigorating to the California girl as it was to the ice planet native. “Just give me a minute to catch my breath. You know how to lace up human-style ice skates?”

Thex nodded, as she was already removing her boots and doing up the laces on her skates. "I haven't done this since I was seven, so..." the Andorian said as she finished, then awkwardly moved over to the ice. Careful she stepped onto the ice, and with a forward motion pushed herself onto the ice. For a second she moved with all the grace of a dancer. Right before she fell right on her ass.

"You okay?" Rita called out from the relative safety of her log where she was clipping on the Andorian ice blades the replicator had produced for her. Instead of a tight boot with a blade, these were simply blades of dense ice that clipped onto the boot. She'd had the computer produce both, so she knew they fit together. The earthling was just trying to figure out how the Andorian traditional gear worked.

As she let out a burst of laughter, Thex slowly and carefully picked herself up off the slippery ice. " Yeah, I'm okay. You okay? You’re talking a while with those skates."

Snapping the first one in place, Rita let loose with a triumphant “Aha!” after which the skate immediately fell off her boot. “Okay, I continue to fail at cross-cultural experimentation. Think you might be able to show me how these darn things work?”

Gliding smoothly over to the edge of the frozen lake, Thex took a few awkward steps off the ice then bent down to help her friend. "Rather simple… you need to put them on like this," she said as she picked up one of the skates. Putting it on at an angle, she slowly moved it round until it had connected firmly to the boot.

Rolling her eyes, Rita groaned. “Aw, for the love of phloog!” Mimicking the action, she effortlessly applied the other Andorian skate to her boot. Standing smoothly, she tested out her weight on the snow before proceeding. “Well, okay then. Now… I don’t actually know how to skate, so you go do your thing and have fun. I’m going to be over here doing my Bambi impression. Don’t worry,” the buxom blonde held up a hand to silence any protest. “I am very well padded for falls, eh? With that Rita smacked her well-rounded rear for emphasis.

Thex grinned and gave a slight laugh as she made her own way back onto the ice. "It's been a long time since i was on the...." Thex began before having to suddenly steady herself from falling. I think it's coming back to me," she said, laughing slightly to herself.

As Rita watched for a few minutes, the Andorian ganed more and more confidence on the ice, and soon she was skaing across the surface with the same grace and balance she showed in her dancing, and Paris couldn’t help but smile. Modest and unassuming she might be, but her pal the engineer certainly had a gift of grace that the curvaceous cosmonaut certainly lacked. It was nice watching Thex, literally in her element, come alive and blossom.

As the afternoon wore on, there were spills, laughter, and two women skating alone on a frozen lake that was somehow warming to them both. It was clear that neither of them were going to be competing professionally any time ever, but they had fun and enjoyed themselves, and that was the point. By the end they were both tired, sore and one of them was a little cold. But they’d had fun, and that was the goal.

Gliding unsteadily to the edge of the lake again, Rita stumbled a few steps to fall on her knees in the snow before pulling herself up onto the log. Removing her skates, her breath making clouds of fog in the air, she grinned at the blue-skinned skating queen. “So… success?”

"I believe so," replied the very out of breath andorian replied, as she undid her skates before slipping on her boots. "The lodge is just up ahead if i remember the layout correctly." She said pointing at a path leading upwards.

Looking over at the lightly-clothed Andorian, the human woman smiled. "Thanks for this, Thex. I wanted to be able to get you out in your own element and just relax, and you didn't fight me a bit. You work hard, but you know when to stop. You don't mind trying new things, and you are a good friend to me. I genuinely appreciate you."

"You're a good friend to me as well, Rita. Thanks for this- I really needed it. Do you need a hand getting the skates off...?" Thex asked solicitously as the leggy blonde struggled to slide off the Andorian ice blades.

"Nah, I got it," Rita responded as one slid off her boot. "Tell you what- let's head got that lodge, get in a nap and a long bath, then we can meet for a late dinner and see what trouble we can get up to. Sound like a plan?"

" Sounds good. I could use some warm nachos and a nice alcoholic beverage. " replied the andorian girl as she offered her hand to help her human friend up.

“Can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” Rita replied as she took the offered hand up, and the pilot and the engineer headed for the lodge, to relax and enjoy their shore leave together.