In The Wild

Posted on 28 Dec 2023 @ 5:50pm by Ensign Unknown 'Weirdo' & Commander Kristiana Petrova

2,454 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Miranda

The camp was nearly finished. A good thing, for the sun was slowly setting and it wouldn't be long before it was dark. Aliza wasn't the only one who had been gathering wood or who had brought chunks of campfire material down, he had noticed on his treks through the camp. In several places piles had been erected, and smaller twigs or other things he couldn't quite identify (kindling, his erratic mind supplied), to be lit later.

As he began to set up his own shelter at last, he spotted another familiar figure as she walked by. He straightened and waved at Kris.

Who completely didn't notice him as she was engrossed in a PADD. Engrossed in and terribly vexed by, from her obvious frustration. She eventually just threw it into the dirt and sat down on a log, hands in her hair.

He watched the spectacle with some bemusement and walked over when he saw her sit down. "What's up?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, hi. Nothing, just - getting frustrated with things," she explained. "And now my PADD started malfunctioning, and I just - ... I'm not doing well."

He looked at her with that intense gaze of his, that look that was all in the here and now, the full focus of his attention now trained on her. She certainly looked better than last time he had seen her. Physically, that was. The rest was harder to judge without an even closer scrutiny, and he had determined pretty soon after arriving on this ship that it was considered highly impolite to do so. "What is it you need?" he asked. "Some space? Someone to talk with? A solution for the things which frustrate you? Something else, or all of these things?"

"I don't know what I need," beat "Well, what I need is for this to all go away and the status quo to return, but that's not really something you can just snap your fingers and magically make happen. Is it?" She peered at him, and he could easily see just how tired she was. The drugs had suppressed the physical aspects of the disease, which means that there really was nothing keeping her going apart from it being her job. Before she'd had spite to fall back on, but no longer. "I could use some company though. How you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Just did a lot of heavy lifting for the people who were still to weak to do so and now I'm setting up my own digs. Just about done, so keeping you company is something I can do." He sat down on the log next to her and picked up the PADD. He looked at it for a few moments, touched it here and there and hummed to himself. "That shouldn't be too hard to fix…" He reached for a pocket and got a rather bemused look on his face when he failed to find whatever it was he was looking for.

"You're gonna need a screwdriver to get in there," Kris idly mused, watching his antics. Somehow said antics always managed to cheer her up a bit, distract her, entertain her even. "Are you sure you don't wanna be an engineer instead?"

"For a moment I thought-" he said in a rather distant voice which was quite unlike his regular self, and shook his head. "And it was gone again. Ah well. I don't think a screwdriver alone would do the trick, though. Maybe some kind of multitool, I don't know… Kind of like those pocket knifes but then with the seriously good stuff. Who knows, I might cobble up something myself if I get bored one day." And he grinned and was back to his normal self. "Nah, I would make a lousy engineer. Tinker with everything and then get reprimands left and right for not sticking to Starfleet regulations."

"Well, you're not wrong," Kris chuckled. "Starfleet doesn't like much when you mess around with their stuff too much. Conclusion, get you some stuff that isn't Starfleet issue and you can mess around with it as much as you want," she smiled, though still obviously exhausted. "You know what? There is something you can get me. Something to snack on."

"Of course, one moment." He had already jumped up again and withdrew inside his shelter, which looked slightly different from most. Not something one could immediately put a finger on, just an impression that there were some not-quite-standard things mixed in here as well. He rummaged in a box and came out a few moments later with a tray bearing various snacks and a bottle of… well, it was transparent, so it was probably water. Probably.

"There you go," he said, sitting down again. From one pocket came a few cups which were too small for just water, from another pocket a miniature toolkit. He first poured the liquid into two cups (from the smell: definitely not water) and handed one to Kris. "I hope this is to your taste?" Then he picked up the PADD again and began to fiddle with it.

"You are. And I'm sure this will be too," she took a quick bite of a snack before contemplating the drink a bit closer. Sniffing the scent, twirling the liquid in the glass a bit before taking a sip. She made a face at the taste, though quickly recovering and deciding she liked it.

He looked up from the PADD he was working on and grinned. "It's Andromedan vodka, found it awhile ago in a crate in a storage room. I think it was shoved in there years ago if I understood the logs correctly, and has been forgotten until I found it." He clicked the PADD open and peered at the delicate tangle of crystals, hair-thin wires and other glittery things that made up its contents. "Ah, there you are, you sly little thing," he muttered as he selected another tool from the kit and prodded inside the tangle of wires, rearranging some of them and touching one of the crystals. He closed the cover again and handed it back. "Try it now."

"Have you ever noticed how all these drinks from other worlds are named after a people and then an Earth drink? Like - Saurian brandy, Romulan ale, Andromedan vodka ... " Kris mused, contemplating her drink, as she was reached the PADD. "Oh. It - is working now. What did you do? ... Do I even want to know?"

"It's probably because it's either because it resembles the taste or because it resembles the preparation process. It's not called vodka in their own language, but I'll spare you the pronounciation." He tucked the tools back in their places as he talked and closed the toolkit. Then he tucked up his legs and sat cross-legged on the log, one hand propped under his chin, the other holding the drink once more, and regarded her. "As for the PADD, a couple of wires had shifted, causing it to glitch. Separating them and diverting some electron streams did the trick."

"Diverting some electron streams? Do you mean rerouting a wire?" Kris quirked a brow at him, smiling. She took another sip of the drink, closing her eyes and savoring the taste for a moment.

"Sort of yes but actually no. I did move some wires around but I also kinda nudged the electrons to choose different pathways. It should make the PADD a little more efficient. Or make it explode in three days or so. So if you planned to store anything long-term on that particular one, I suggest you reconsider." He grinned again, and it was hard to tell if he was actually serious or not.

"Huh. Well, that'll be interesting to see. I'll keep it in mind," she chuckled as she put the PADD aside, he was certainly improving her mood. "We need to find you something to tinker with. I'unno, some sort of thing or device that'll give you a creative outlet and keep you entertained."

"Oh, as I said, I have some ideas. And besides, even without those I'm rarely bored. There's always enough to do now that I'm actually studying." He sipped his drink and looked around. "So, do you like it down here or do you miss the ship already?"

Kristiana considered for a moment. Part of her missed the ship of course, but right now she felt she was just too exhausted to really miss life on the ship, and she welcomed the change of scenery and chance to rest. "I'unno," she shrugged. "Part of me misses the ship, I suppose. But it's good to be away and given a chance to rest. That disease hit me - not as hard as some - but it did a number on me. And I overworked myself, to the point where I think the captain is going to chew me out next time I see him. I guess I'm good here, for now."

"It's a lot easier to dodge the captain here than when we're on the ship," he said with a nod. "And yes, you do look like you need the rest."

She heaved a sigh, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again and taking another bite of snack. "So that's what I'll be doing, right here," a tired smile. "You'd be more than welcome to join me, I'd appreciate the company. Though I know you're a restless type, and if you want to go have fun or have something to do that's fine too."

He smiled. "Oh, I promised I'd help out with the campfire later, but we have some time before that. I just finished with my shelter. Yours is set up already, too, I hope?"

"Yeah, everything's set up from my end. Only way I could allow myself some rest. I'm sure there's more I can do around camp but - eh. They can take care of themselves for once," Kris sighed, wincing a bit as she shifted position, trying to make comfortable. "I just want to rest. Maybe I'll feel better in the morning."

He hopped up again and dashed back into the shelter, quickly snatching the small toolkit with him. "One moment," his voice came from inside. It didn't last much longer than that before he was back, one of the blankets they brought down with them over one arm. He spread it over her shoulders. "That should keep you warm at least. I can get you a pillow too if you like."

"Are you trying to smooch up to the ex-oh?" Kris quirked a brow, chuckling softly. "To get a leg up, perhaps? To curry favor?" Beat. "Because it's totally working."

There was a moment of silence as he digested that, then he grinned again. "Perish the thought." He ducked back inside and came back with a pillow. "But no. Still part of the patient-care-package. Up you go, just a bit."

"Well, it's appreciated. Thank you," she smiled an honest smile, doing as instructed and making comfortable. "So, how are you holding up? I'm sorry I haven't asked yet. Lot on my mind, you know how it goes."

"Comes with the job," he said with a smile and sat down again now that there was nothing more to do. "Me, I'm good. First time down on an actual world, standing on something that hasn't been built, breathing in air which hasn't been recycled…" He spread his arms as if he wanted to embrace the sky. "How could I not be?"

"Yeah?" she smiled, honestly glad to hear, happy to see him feeling good. "It's nice, isn't it. A proper world, I mean."

"Oh yes, definitely. I wouldn't mind spending some time on one, for awhile. Doing some mountain climbing and stuff, maybe actually testing those survival skills I've trained for in an uncontrolled, unmonitored setting." He lowered his arms again and shifted to look at Kris. "I suppose for you that's far more familiar."

"Only in a hunting and farming situation. Shooting for fun, shooting for food," Kris admitted. "Sounds like a plan, though. Next time I go on leave we can go together, find a nice planet with mountains, go climbing, survivaling. I like the sound of that."

He swung one leg over the armrest of the camping chair and swung with his foot. "So do I." He resolved to look up some holodeck programs to practice his mountaineering skills. "Any place you have in mind?"

"I think that would depend on where we find ourselves at such a time," Kris shrugged a bit, looking at him. His features, his jawline, the messy curly tangle of his hair, taking in the details. "In the grand scheme of things a shuttle at warp doesn't get very far very fast. I'm sure that we'll be able to find a nice planet when that happens though," A warm smile. "We should've had this conversation a few months ago. We actually went camping on Earth, in Kenia. That was nice."

"Remind me to look that up at some point." He had read that planets tend to have different climate zones, depending on their rotation axis and orbital eccentricities, but that knowledge was still largely theoretical. Actually walking around on a world, unprotected, brought those lessons to mind and made them feel more real.

"Yeah, unless I forget to," Kris mused. She let out a big yawn, covering her mouth with her hand for the second half of it. "Sorry 'bout that," She smiled tiredly. "I think I'm just gonna take a bit of a nap, right here. Would you - .. stay with me? Is that ok to ask?"

"Of course," he said with a smile, answering both questions as one. He jumped up again. "Here, it's not as good as a bed, but certainly better than trying to sleep lying on a log or on the hard ground." He used the pillows and blankets to make a comfortable nest for her and tucked her in. "Sleep well, dear," he said softly.

She smiled appreciatively, getting into the nest without complaints or a need to e told twice. There she closed her eyes, though when he tucked her in she reached for his hand to give a soft kiss on it before letting go, not saying a word, just enjoying the moment.

Soon enough her breathing slowed and evened and the hand which had touched his a few moments ago relaxed. He tucked her in. Soon the night would fall and it would grow colder. Then he just sat and watched sleep steal over her and carry her away, with uncharacteristic stillness. His thoughts were lightyears away.

 

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