The Scenic Journey Home

Posted on Sat Sep 28th, 2019 @ 10:43pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Jack Carver

Mission: If You Like Pina Coladas
Location: Meria Colony

The trip back to Jack's fighter had passed in a haze of small talk, mostly centered around initially the new crew members they had welcomed aboard, and then the colony itself as they travelled through the streets toward the landing site. Marvelling at the size and sheer luxury that was offered by a colony that up until a few years ago didn't even exist. Finally, the vehicle they had been travelling in had stopped and the doors were opened, allowing them to leave.

Stepping out into the fresh evening air, Abigail waited for Jack to circle around to join her before she rested her hand in the crook of his elbow, smiling at him. "I'll let you lead the way," she said quietly.

"Thank you." He smiled, giving her a wink. They made their way onto the starport proper and towards his ship, No Mercy. Once there he'd help her up into the cockpit, making sure to press a quick kiss to the back of her hand before climbing in himself and putting on his helmet.

"I had fun today, with you." he mused. "But I've got more planned. You see, before we came down I checked about local air space regulations to see if we could get away with a sightseeing tour, and if I keep to certain altitudes and regions, I'm free to do exactly that. I've put a few locations in my nav system that I think might be worth checking out."

Fishing a hair tie out of her pocket, Abigail pulled her hair back into a hasty pony tail before pulling her helmet on and securing her safety restraint. "I trust you," she said with a soft smile as she settled back in the seat, feeling much more relaxed than she had on the flight down. Maybe it was the few glasses of wine she had had, with the meal and after meeting the new crew, or maybe it was just the company, but regardless, she was definitely feeling much more at ease at the idea of being in the fighter.

Jack for his part hadn't had any alcohol, seeing as he still had to 'drive'. "You ok back there?" he asked, powering up his ship. after launch clearance was negotiated with air space control he lifted off and headed to what looked to be a mountainous area.

"I'm actually good," Abigail said softly, watching the view as they moved. "Thank you, for today, for this..." she said with a smile. Even though he wouldn't be able see her smile, chances are he would be able to hear it in her voice.

"You're entirely welcome." he mused. It didn't take long for the view to improve from the industrial like area near the starport to the natural beauty of tall mountain peaks with verdant green valleys between, silvery streams and lakes interrupting the green of forests.

"Have you looked at the history of the planet at all?" Abigail asked, a slightly awestruck tone in her voice as she spoke, her gaze fixed firmly over the views in front of them. "It's absolutely incredible."

"Sorry, no. I've been too busy trying to find places like this to show you. But you could tell me about it if you want?" he mused, slowing No Mercy down and banking lazily as he spied a herd of deer-like animals on a nearby heather type field, grazing peacefully.

As the small craft moved, Abigail smiled and shifted slightly in her seat, her hands folding neatly over her lap. "So, almost everything you see here has been rebuilt over the last fifty or so years. The entire colony is protected under some kind of Federation imposed natural preservation embargo. The planet suffered some kind of natural disaster that saw everything on it destroyed. The planet was rendered uninhabitable, the wildlife here was all destroyed. The initial science teams that came and surveyed the area said it was impossible to do anything to restore the surface and the planet was marked as restricted," Abigail paused, giving him a chance to take on what had already been said.

He gave a low whistle. "That seems incredible, considering what I'm looking at right now. Are these indigenous or imported, then? Whatever they did, they did an amazing job considering the nature below us." He seemed thoroughly impressed.

"It was actually a Scientist from Earth and a small team of students who made the initial breakthrough. I can't remember all the specific details, but there are entire underground facilities, massive ones, that continually clean the air and the water and control the weather. When they started cleaning they were able to find small fragments of original plant life that hadn't been completely destroyed so they did some basal dna reprinting thing and modified plant life from other nearby planets to create something similar to what was likely to have been here before. There's swathes of information in the computer about it, I only really scratched the surface with the bits that I read." Abigail laughed suddenly. "Sorry, I found it really fascinating."

"That's amazing." he truly seemed in awe, slowing No Mercy down to almost a still hover, looking at the scene below. The deer-like creatures seemed a bit nervous though from the strange flying machine overhead, and Jack slowly backed off, giving them their space. "Sorry, I've never really been very scien-matifically minded, but it really is fascinating that they were able to do - ... well, this, in that short a time."

"That's why it's largely a tourist mecca right now, and why it's so tightly controlled. There are less than a hundred permanent residents approved for year round residency, and most of those are involved in either the Agricultural trade here or part of the Science delegation that are always on site monitoring everything. The actual colony itself is only open to the public for less than half of the year, the rest of the time the planet essentially goes into what seems to be something like a 'rest' cycle?" Abigail continued talking, explaining what she could remember.

"I guess that explains why the airspace is so empty and I got permissions to sightsee so easily, provided I don't go below four hundred meters." he explained, still sounding impressed. "So what did you do before going into command? Science?"

Abigail laughed and shook her head quickly, instinctively reaching up to hold the helmet on her head. "No, I came up through the ranks in Security," she replied. "I find sciences fascinating but really not my forte."

Jack chuckled. "Security! Right. Sorry, you mentioned that before. I remember now. Lot going on, slipped my mind." Beat. "Guess I'd better behave or you'll kick my ass."

"Personally I'd rather not," Abigail said, her voice becoming quieter again. "There are always better ways to deal with an unpleasant situation than resorting to physical violence. Though, that said, sometimes it's warranted." She turned her attention back to the planet below them, watching the silvery river that snaked across the landmass. "The water looks so pure, crystal clear," she said quietly. "Even from here you can see the rocks below the surface."

"Aw, I as just kidding. Trying to inject some levity in the situation." Jack offered. "You seem thoughtful. Dejected, almost. Are you ok?"

"Just marveling at the planet," Abigail replied with a soft smile. "Apparently one of the land masses on the planet has snow year round. I guess maybe it's something like Earth's North Pole? I thought about maybe going and checking it out but I haven't been skiing in years. Knowing my luck I'd fall on my backside, embarrass myself and inevitably break something!"

"Hmm." Jack tapped some commands into his nav console before speaking again. "We have clearance to fly there, but we don't have any winter clothes, so no skiing. Can at least check out it though." he had a smile in his voice. "Maybe we can come back later with winter clothes and skis." he added, accelerating No Mercy towards the pole area.

"Sure, you're the one in charge," Abigail said with a smile. It'd be nice to see the snow again," she fell silent, just thinking for a long moment before she cast a quick glance at Jack. "I think that would be where I want my forever home to be. Somewhere with good snow."

"Plenty of planets with snow. Some even inhabited." Jack mused, consulting his nav console, as No Mercy went to top speed - just over the speed of sound. The landscape below sped by as they flew, the ship remarkably stable and comfortable.

Abigail closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing into the seat. She could feel the slightest hint of reverberation though the craft as it accelerated. "It feels a lot different to what I would have expected," she said quietly. "I would have thought it would have felt rougher, especially at these much higher speeds. Is it always this quiet?"

"Not exactly." Jack chuckled. "No Mercy's a well behaved girl, but I'm taking it very easy for you. This is your first time in a fighter if I recall, and you were very nervous on the way down. But just give me the word if you want me to throw her around a bit and give you an experience." the amusement was clear in his voice.

She shook her head quickly. "No, I'm happy with this just the way it is, thank you very much!" she shot back. "Quiet and calm works just fine for me."

"As you wish, Milady." Jack chuckled, a broad smile on his face.

It didn't take too long for them to reach the polar region, snowy peaks appeared in the distance as the grass and heather lands below turned to tundra, with patches of white becoming bigger and more common. Lakes frozen over, as the ground below turned to ice.

It was the snow that drew Abigail from her reverie and she leaned forward with eager anticipation, watching the snowscape beneath them. "Isn't it amazing?" she asked softly, her voice edged with awe. "Definitely my favourite place to be, anywhere in the galaxy." She sighed with contentment as she leaned back in her seat again, a smile playing across her lips.

"I love the peace and quiet that snow gives. It absorbs ambient sound, making it very quiet." Jack mused. "Nothing better than coming out of the snow and eating a nice, hot comfort food, warming up at a fire."

"I haven't really been to the snow in a long time," Abigail said softly, her voice becoming contemplative again. "When I was little, my parents used to take my brother and I every winter, my Dad had a cabin we'd go and stay in, and it would just be us. I mean, we had some technology, we had a replicator, we had communications, we had entertainment if the snow ever got really bad, but there were dozens of other cabins around and most days there would be dozens of us kids outside playing." She stopped speaking, contemplating for a long moment before she drew in a sudden sharp breath. "We should head back to the ship," she said quietly.

"Those sound like lovely memories." he smiled. "Wasn't really much snow where I grew up. Can't really remember any white winters. It's very warm in Louisiana." he mused, pulling No Mercy up and putting on the power to escape gravity and atmosphere. Fortunately escaping atmo was a lot less 'interesting' than entering - at least the fighter didn't cosplay as a fireball during escape.

Remaining contemplative and silent as they moved through the atmosphere, Abigail leaned back in her seat, just watching through the front of the vessel. "Louisiana is lovely though," she said quietly. "I've been there a few times."

"I suppose. Never really thought about my home like that." Jack answered pensively. "I mean, I grew up there. That's just the way the world looked. It was normal to me. But I guess everyone feels the same way about their own home, more or less."

"I guess that depends, so many people seem to really dislike where they grew up. So many people couldn't wait to finish school so they could leave, be somewhere better, busier, faster paced, more exciting..." She shrugged slightly. "I never felt that way. It was always home."

"As was Louisiana. I only have fond memories, really. Of growing up there I mean." A smile. "Maybe I can show you around there some time. So, where did you grow up?" he asked, as in the distance the appeared over the horizon.

"Montpelier," Abigail replied with a smile. "Vermont. My parents were both civilians, so my brother and I had a very earth bound childhood."

"That's way up north. Must've seen a lot of snow growing up." Jack smiled. "No wonder you like the stuff so much." as they approached the ship.

"Winter was always my favourite time of year," Abigail said softly. "Still is, just no snow inside a star ship, but I still love the cold. Definitely the colder the better." As they approached the ship, she leaned forward again with anticipation, inhaling deeply as she looked over the Astraea in front of them.

Jack remained silent, slowing down to a gentle pace, giving Abigail a sightseeing tour of her ship. A long, wide flyby of the ship's flank, arching down and doubling back to give her a view of the shapely underbelly, then a pass over the top, giving her a view of the bridge - her bridge - before lazily wheeling into an approach vector between the ship's pylons.

"She's beautiful," Abigail breathed with a contented smile as she looked over the ship again on their final approach back to the hangar. "Thank you," she said genuinely. "For today, I've really enjoyed it."

"Yeah, it was very nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle and just take it easy, no rush, no responsibilities. And with excellent company, too." he smiled, lining up No Mercy with the rear of Astraea's saucer section, where the through-deck hangar's entrance was. "A man could get used to that." he added, piloting in for a gentle landing.

As they landed, Abigail removed her helmet and handed it back to him before climbing out of the craft, unable to hide the sense of relief that she was back on solid Astraea surfaces. Not that she didn't trust Jack or his piloting skills, but she really just didn't find small craft all that comforting.

Tugging her sweater down and smoothing her hands over her hips, she watched as he disembarked and offered a smile, hesitating for a moment before asking "walk me back to my quarters?"

"Uh - .. " he really couldn't leave right away, there were post flight checks to do. Jack quickly looked around the hangar bay to see if there were any ground crew working, whistling one over when he found one. "Hey, Johnston, can you give No Mercy a post flight check for me? I gotta run. Yeah, thanks." he smiled, giving Johnston a thumbs up before turning his attention back to Abigail. "Sure." he offered his arm with a smile.

"You don't have to, if there's stuff you need to do," Abigail said hurriedly. "I am a big girl, I do know how to find my own way, I promise," she smiled. "I don't mind if you need to do something else."

"It's just post flight checks. Ten minutes of running down a checklist. I'll take care of it it, don't worry about it." Johnston waved his hand dismissively, climbing into the cockpit. This was too juicy to get in the way of.

Jack shrugged. "Like the man said, don't worry about it." still offering his arm.

Finally, with a smile and a slight nod, Abigail rested her hand in Jack's elbow as they started walking away. "Did you want to stop for coffee?"

"Love to." he mused. "Where do?"

"How about the lounge? It should be quiet enough and Kaarg makes a chai latte to die for," Abigail responded as they headed into the corridor. "Plus, he probably has cake, and it's always a good time for cake."