Hot Springs Hike

Posted on Tue Nov 13th, 2018 @ 8:18pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi

Mission: Escaped Pantheons
Location: Holodeck 6

Enalia had reserved holodeck 6 for some alone time with her wife, but since her wife had to cancel because of a last minute appointment for massage therapy on one of the people injured in the last mission, she was now alone and standing outside of the holodeck, geared up for a hike up a snow capped Japanese mountain. She had the holodeck for three hours, but she didn't want to cancel, but she also didn't want to go alone. That's when she remembered that she hadn't spent enough time with her new second officer... Or even told Thex that she WAS the new second officer!

Tapping where her comm badge normally was, she missed due to all the extra layers and had to go searching for it for a moment before just giving up. "Computer... Telvan to sh'Zoahri. Want to join me in Holodeck 6 for a hike up a snowy mountain and a hot bath with some monkeys?"

" On my way Telvan." Thex replied as she put down her book that she was reading. It didn't take the andorian long to change into a long sleeved teeshirt, trousers and trainers.It may have seemd like light gear, but she was an Andorian. it wasn't to long before she appearing in the holo deck. Smiling as she looked around the breathtaking senary the anodrian approached her friend. " You definitely know how to pick a breathtaking scene Telvan." She said casually.

Enalia grinned as she got up from the bench just outside the tiny japanese hiking lodge. The snowy Hakone valley sprawled out below them and above them lay one of the many mountains surrounding the area. "Please, just Enalia for now. This was one of my favorite spots on Earth so I had to have a program of it. About an hour up that trail is the best hot spring I've ever been to. I've got a few bottles of sake and some offerings for the monkeys and the reservation is for three hours. Ready?"

" Lead on." Thex said with a grin as she felt some snow on her nose. It was a simple pleasure that did remind her of home. Even with the bad memories she still loved her home. As the two made their way along the path Thex struck up a conversation. " So how's the wife Enalia?" She said politely.

"Busy as usual. It seems her job aboard the ship is growing more popular. Before long she might need to take on an apprentice or something." Enalia was bundled up a bit tighter in a heavy red and black parka, thick black pants, hiking boots, and a red hat with ear flaps. The pack she wore looked light enough, but it also bulged a bit peculiarly.

"How about you? Everything going well?" Enalia asked back as she led them a steeper part of the trail.

" Still looking for the four I need for a family though that may be changing. I'm talking with an Anear called Tathaa on the USS Forthright. If the DNA tests goes well we may start openly trying to date and see where things goes from there." Thex replied as she continued the walk her well-exercised body finding the hike easy to handle.

"That's awesome! With an Aenar you'd only need them, right? Not four like a classic Andorian coupling?" Enalia, while physically fit, was used to more stationary activities so hiking was a bit more taxing on her more rounded physique. On the bright side, she had remembered to wear a sports bra so she could keep herself mostly contained. On the down side, it seemed Maica's cooking had added a bit more jiggle to her rear... She'd have to hit the gym a bit more often in the coming days.

" Nah we'd still need another two to make it few little andorians. If everything looks fine with are DNA in the first place. I hope it does given my races numbers and DNA problems. " Thex replied as she offered her hand to the captain to help her over a, particularly steep bump.

Taking Thex's hand, the spotted woman got up the steepest bit and leaned against a large rock for a moment before continuing on. "Thank you. That makes sense. I just hope everything works out for you. You deserve happiness and a family."

"By the way..." Enalia started, changing the subject a bit suddenly. "I'm pretty sure I haven't told you this yet, but as the third highest ranking person aboard, that makes you the second officer. Congratulations."

The andorian felt comfort and pride at her friend and commanding officers words. She never thought she'd make the third in command of a ship. " I won't let you down Enalia. " She said as the two of them reached what Thex guessed was the top of the mountain.

"I know you won't. That's why you're in the position." Enalia looked around at the small bathhouse and the surrounding hot springs. They weren't at the very top of the mountain, but they were close enough. The trail ended here and the trees around them were only traversable by the monkeys that lived in the area. "We can take off our clothes and stash everything in here. Once you're ready, I'll make an offering to the monkeys and we can get in."

Enalia smiled as she slid open the door to the small bathhouse to reveal the cubbies filled with baskets. Nothing was locked and everything was open, but that was fine - it was just the two of them. Setting her pack aside, she started stripping her clothes off and folding it into one of the baskets. "There are towel sets next to the door. Be sure to grab one before you head out."

" Will do Enalia. " Thex said as she began to remove her clothes and carefully folded them into one of the baskets. Thex was wondering about the monkeys. She didn't know much about the earth creatures though she had read a few papers about uplifting them to full sentient level intelligence. Off course the prime directive completely forbid it. With her clothes carefully folded, she grabbed one of the towels and waited patiently for the captain to finish undressing.

As Enalia finally finished, she grabbed her pack and tossed one of the towels over her now nude form before sliding the door back open. "Holy shit that's cold..." she muttered as the freezing air hit her. She stood her ground though, heading across to the offering area and opening her pack, the monkeys' gaze following her as she did so. As she reached the low, makeshift altar, she reached into her pack and pulled out several bundles of fruit and stepped back.

What looked like one of the females stepped out of the bath, headed over to the fruit, grabbed a few choice pieces, and headed back in, offering it to the largest male herself. He munched on a piece for a moment, before nodding and making happy sounds. After that, the rest of the monkeys also made happy sounds and made room in the hot springs for the two women.

By that time, Enalia's teeth were chattering so she spared no time getting in, leaving her towel on the edge and her pack on top of it. The relief and warmth was instant. "Oh yeah, that's where it's at."

Coming from a planet of ice the temperature was barely noticeable to Thex as she followed Enalia. The behavior of the monkeys brought a smile to her face. They'd probably developed to live among the hot springs for defense and simply didn't bother the humans bringing them gifts of food.

The heat from the hot spring sent a feeling of relief and relaxation through the sapphire engineers body. " I can see why you like this Enalia. The feeling, view and company is certainly something. " The andorian said a as few of the monkeys seemed to be puzzled by what the blue girl was.

"It certainly is," Enalia replied, relaxing a bit further into the steaming water. She'd run this a few times so the monkeys were familiar with her. Apparently they'd never seen an Andorian before though. "There's nothing like a good hot spring to warm the bones, you know? If you ever want to run this program yourself, that hut at the base has a selection of fruits you can offer to them."

" There's a reason a lot of the cities on andor are built around natural hot springs. Thanks for the program i'll definitely try running it a few times. " Thex said as she leaned back allowing the hot water to flow over her.

After a few minutes soaking, Enalia reached into her pack and pulled out the rest of the goodies in it - a small floating tray and a couple small bottles of sake. Popping them open, she set them on the tray and let them float between the two soaking lovelies. "This is real sake so I didn't bring much of it. Just enough to enhance the scenery."

"So tell me about this Aenar you're hooking up with. How did you meet? What are they like?" This was the time Enalia was into gossip - when she was completely relaxed and enjoying herself.

Thex let out a grin as she picked up one of the small alcohol shot glasses. " Through starfleets date net believe it or not. We've talked a little and we hope to be able to meet face to face. She's a nurse with a love of music and dance. If are DNA results are compatible we'll make a go off it. I know it must seem odd, but this is where the andorians have ended up."

"Yeah, it's unfortunate how things have turned for your people. I really hope this works out for you and if you need some time off, just let me know." Enalia was definitely supportive when it came to family matters. Picking up the other small bottle of sake, Enalia lifted in a small toast. "Here's to a bunch of little andorians running around in your future!" With that, she downed half the bottle and set it back on the floating tray.

Thex took her own glass and downed another drink. She did hope this would work out for her. " Here's to being halfway there." She said to her friend as she placed the bottle back on the tray.

"Speaking of halfway there, the new uniforms have been approved for use and we're authorized to start phasing them in, starting with command staff. That being said, the uniform replicators are going to get a workout once the rest of the crew start getting them." Enalia finished off the rest of her drink and set the now empty bottle back on the floating tray.

" I'll make sure the new codes are added to the replicators. Pity i've liked the current uniforms. Still i'll get use to the new ones." Thex replied.

Sinking back into the hot spring, Enalia moaned a bit as she relaxed. "Yeah, but we're moving to more of an exploratory force according to the admiralty, so they're trying to recreate the legacy of the old red uniforms that we used for like eighty years. We'll have to like it and sell it to the crew. Thankfully the fabric feels nice and is rugged. Supposed to even be stain resistant as well. I saw a demo where they poured EPS plasma over the sleeve and other than a first degree burn on the test dummy, the uniform was untouched."

" Well, I'll have plenty of time to test them out. Especially if we keep ending up fighting gods." The andorian replied as she to leaned back in the hot spring.

"We also need seven hundred fifty new comm badges," Enalia added, almost as an afterthought. "The new design for them got approved as well."

" I'll set a few of my team to start replicating them and getting them connected in the morning." Thex replied calmly.

"Thank you. I know you'll get them done as soon as possible. Just make sure all of the old ones get recycled." Enalia looked up at the sky as snow started falling. "I love relaxing here so much. It just melts the stress away."

" Will do boss and you're right about this place. You can just feel the stress melting away." Thex replied as she leaned back in the hot spring.