Pilots on the loose, Part I

Posted on 09 Mar 2021 @ 2:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Gemma Alexander & Lieutenant JG Charles McCullen

3,448 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Interlude
Location: New Bajor
Timeline: Feb 3, 2390 1100 hrs

Gemma Alexander checked her pack one more time before hefting it on her back. She squared the newly docked little sailing vessel away. Like the experienced sailor she was she thoroughly checked the area of her rented vessel to ensure it was as good as when she rented it earlier that day and secured properly to the dock.

When they first arrived in port on New Bajor like many she flocked to the night life to relax and once she worked the restlessness out of her system she went in search nature, something she was fond of doing whenever possible. She never passed up a chance to smell the sea air and tack into the wind. She hopped on to the dock and headed over to the rental office to return the keys basically.

A while later, still in her practical civilian pants, shirt and leather jacket she was back in town. She was now trying to decide between meeting some friends for dinner, it being about that time, or just hitting one of the food places at random to see what could be experienced there. Bajorans and others flowed around her as her senses happily took in the smells of unusual spices, babble of voices and in general the bustling of an active city. She loved serving in Starfleet but the kind of chaos she was likely to experience there wasn't nearly so much fun.

Charlie winced slightly as he shifted his weight on the stool he was perched. He'd spent much of the past twenty-four hours catching up with his fiancé, there had been emotional scenes, several hours of conversation, a lot of which was Charlie talking and Darys smiling at him and nodding, there had been dinner and some drinks and then several rounds of quite vigorous catching up, for which he was now paying the price. However, even if he was on leave, Darys wasn't and the Bajoran scientist had reluctantly trotted off to work in the early hours of the morning, leaving the young lieutenant at a loose end.

He'd cleaned, recycled and replicated bedsheets, taken several real showers with actual running water, and then with nothing better to do, took himself out for a ride. Their home was a modest one-bedroom affair situated just outside of town nestled in a beautiful grove surrounded by trees and it was there that he kept his toys, an assortment of hoverbikes, speeders, small skimmers and dirt bikes in various states of repair, an honest to goodness 2162 NX-class shuttlepod that was currently in a dozen pieces and a two-seater dune buggy that he was building himself roughly based off of schematics for the Argo.

For the ride he'd chosen a classic hoverbike, circa 2250. The thing was comfortable, smooth and when it needed to be, dangerously fast. He'd spent an hour ripping around the countryside and then taken himself into town to take a break and see what was going on. He'd found a little corner café type place that served pretty good freshly squeezed kava juice and settled himself down at the exterior bar to people-watch for a few hours.

He spotted Gemma easily, not that she stood out from the crowd, her hair color and skin tone weren't that unusual for Bajorans, but he had been people watching and a familiar face was easy to see. For a moment, he hesitated, reluctant to disturb the woman's vacation by inserting himself into it, the voice in the back of his head that told him he'd just be bothering her started whispering, but to his eyes she looked to be looking for something and he probably knew the town a little better than most. That, he reasoned with himself, was reason enough.

"Lieutenant Commander," he called from the bar, "are you, uh... lost?"

Gemma turned at the semi familiar voice, she didn't know him well but the ship wasn't that huge and pilots tended to hang together. She smiled and headed over, "Now that'd be adventure maybe I will get good and lost one day but not today. Just deciding where to plant my feet for the next bit, stretching your legs too?" She asked in polite curiosity as she glanced around the bar, trying to get the 'vibe' of the place.

"Just, uh, killing time, waiting for my fiance to get off duty." Charlie explained, "I spent the morning riding," he nodded towards the hoverbike parked nearby, "this place has good kava juice and I needed a break. Care to, uh... join me?"

Gemma was immediately distracted by the hoverbike but managed a smile and nod to his question before heading toward the bike, "This yours? a 2250 Triumph if I am not mistaken, amazing handling..." She admired walking around the bike. Eager and knowledgeable eyes taking it its sleek lines.

"You are not mistaken," Charlie replied, rising to his feet and making his way over to the bike, "I rebuilt her last year while I was on leave. I... uh," the young helmsman felt a surge of shyness come over him, the little voice in his head telling him that of course she wouldn't be interested in his stupid collection of random junk, but he ignored it and pushed on anyway. "I have a little collection back at my place, if you wanna come take a look? Maybe we can go for a ride? It'd, uh... be nice to have a riding partner, my fiancé isn't really into riding... and I have some interesting machines, and... uh," shut up, Charlie. "Well, I think they're cool."

He reminded her of her younger brother, somewhat awkward but highly intelligent. Her answering smile was genuine and without the amusement she'd stifled. "Sounds grand. I've never gotten the chance to set roots beyond the Hawk or the room to have all the toys I want so I'll have to live vicariously through you." She said easily, her mind arranging her mental schedule, such as it was. She'd been meaning to reach out to more of the crew outside of work and this was as good a time as any. "You've a time in mind? I'm clear until later evening a bunch of us from the Squadron are going to check the nightlife, you're welcome if you want to come." She invited easily in her British accented English, it was that kind of crowd.

Charlie's face did a little dance of emotion from a wash of fear to a frown and then a smile. The invitation to a night on the town caused a mini anxiety spike, the idea of socializing with fighter pilots was initially terrifying to him, a mixture of fear of embarrassing himself, fear of inferiority and a general fear of socializing. But he had learned to recognise the fear for what it was and, with a force of will, shoved it aside as irrational.
"Say in one hour?" The young helmsman responded, "as for going out, I'll give you a tentative yes, but I need to check in with Darys, my, uh, fiancé, to see if he's interested?"

Gemma nodded, "Sure, we're meeting at Tek's Sports Pub, bar, whatever they call it here about 1900 then will see where the winds take us. It'll be nice to meet your better half." She joked gently, Then having caught the expressions on his face continued, "And if you feel like you want to bow out at any time, no harm no foul." Her tone sincere and still friendly.

Charlie smiled, touched at her kindness and understanding. In truth, it was common in Starfleet for people to be kind, understanding, friendly types but it always caught him by surprise anyway. He stood from where he'd been perched and moved over to his hoverbike. "Thanks for the out," he replied, "my nerves get the better of me sometimes, but if my better half", he had to stop and grin at that one, it was as far as he was concerned, absolutely true, "is interested, then we'll be there."

Gemma smiled, "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you in an hour so that we may amok through the countryside." She joked, "If you'll point me in the right direction?" Unsure where he actually lived.

"Uh, yeah," Charlie reached into the saddlebag hanging from the side of his hoverbike and pulled out a PaDD, with a few button presses he brought up his address and directions how to get there. He held it out to Gemma, "this will show you the way, don't try to walk it unless you like walking for, uh, a long time."

"Got it." She replied, "I'll catch up to you then."

They talked a few more minutes before Gemma headed off with a new plan for the afternoon in place. If one planned every little bit this random chance to hang out with crew and ride amok may not have occurred which is why she sometimes just let things ride.

== One Hour Later, McCullen Household ==

Charlie ran his hands under the sonic cleaner, removing the oil and grease that had accumulated there. After parting with Gemma at the cafe he had headed directly home and given the hoverbike he'd intended her to use a once-over, oiled and greased the moving parts and given her a basic maintenance cycle.

His workshop was big, almost half the size again of the house it was attached to. The centrepiece was an anti-gravity pad for suspending vehicles in the air, upon which sat the 2293 Indian Chieftain Hover Horse which he had been working on for Gemma. Along the left wall was a row of single-pilot machines ranging from modern hoverbikes to classic hover cruisers, the pride of which was a 2245 ex-police model and his 2250 Triumph Bonneville TH9000. The right wall was lined with an extensive tool rack, a lathe, drill press and mill, a small CNC machine and a hobby-sized plasma forge and anvil. In the back was the hull of a 2162 NX-class shuttle pod, currently stuffed with piles of bits, parts and assorted possibly-useful debris associated with said shuttle pod. A 2195 Hilts PX70, the only wheeled vehicle in the shop, was sitting next to it.

"I swear," a voice came from the doorway which connected the house to the workshop, "Tiku, I have watched you take that thing apart and put it back together again three times. Stop worrying."

"It's what I do." Charlie responded with mock resignation, "I fly starships and I worry."

"And tinker endlessly in this cave of yours. You're only here for a little while, you know." The words were accusatory but the tone was gentle, teasing. "Here she comes now. Try not to implode, Charlie."

"Hah hah."

Gemma stood outside uncertain where to approach, holding a bottle of wine.

Charlie dropped the rag and turned towards the garage entrance, spotting Gemma standing outside and giving her a wave. He opened his mouth and was struck by a wave of indecision. Was Lieutenant Commander Alexander too formal? Should he use her first name? Or ma'am... she wasn't in uniform and neither was he, but letting go of the formalities was a step he was hesitant to take the initiative on. "Uh, hi... ma'am. Come on in."

"Thank you and Gemma is fine off duty." She replied trying to put him at ease. "I've brought a bottle of old Spring Wine, the vendor said this was a popular type on Bajor for the locals." She continued holding out the bottle, "It's customary in my family to bring a gift when first getting invited to someones home. As a good wishes for future bounty sort of thing."

"Welcome to our home, Gemma," Darys picked up the social ball, sliding out of the doorway and moving up behind Charlie, casually draping one arm over the shorter man. "We have the same custom on Bajor, a gift is a good omen. Would you like to come in for a spell or are you two going to get straight to annoying the neighbours with your wild antics?" He grinned, winked at Gemma and gave Charlie's shoulder a subtle squeeze.

"Uh, yeah. Would you like to see the place, uh... Gemma?" Charlie added, grateful for the social intercept.

Gemma smiled at Charlie's fiancee, he had a friendly open demeanour that she appreciated instantly, "I think we have a little time before we annoy the neighbours." She replied.

"Great," Charlie smiled, relaxing slightly. "I'll, uh... go wash up and Darys can show you in. Won't be long." He slipped out from under the taller man's arm and trotted away towards the sonic washer.

"Follow me, Gemma." Darys invited, and then when they were walking together towards the house, added, "We bought this place together five years ago, just after Charlie graduated. He spent most of his first leave building the garage. I'm afraid the house is a bit of a mess, I hope you don't mind?"

"A house isn't a home until you've tripped over someone's shoe, my Gran always said." Gemma replied easily walking in. "I didn't know Charlie could build." She hadn't known a lot things about her shipmate despite having served together awhile, this was turning out to be an interesting day.

Darys led Gemma into the kitchen, it was a warm room with a floor tiled in terracotta, thick wooden countertops and a natural color scheme. A small pile of used dishes sat next to a large double sink, there was an actual wood-burning range and a full-sized oven and stove. A heavy kitchen table dominated the middle of the room, upon which was a variety of objects. An intermix balancer in mid-disassembly, a stack of small picture frames, several PaDDs and a small heap of semi-folded laundry.

Charlie emerged from the bathroom, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, he'd missed a spot of grease on his nose. There was, for a moment, that odd spark of silent communication, that thing that couples did without thinking about - an exchanged glance, a slight tilt of the head, a glance to the left and a grin that was half a conversation.

Gemma, who had been looking around, caught a bit of it but not being a part of it let it flow. "Nice home you have here." She said with sincere politeness.

"Thanks," Charlie replied, "it's still a work in progress, but we're getting there." He sidled over to the counter as Darys stepped back towards the kitchen door, "would you like a coffee or a cup of tea. or something else?"

"Tea would be fine." She said, "Typical I know but I do rather like it." she continued in her British accented English. As he heading into the kitchen she asked "So what kind of transport are we looking at later?" She asked just as much to encourage him to break out of his shell as she was curious.

"Classic hover cruisers," Charlie grinned as he reached up into a cupboard and pulled out a stainless steel mason jar. "I'm sticking to my Triumph, she's my favorite for the moment," he told her as he popped the lid and the aroma of black tea wafted from the container, "but I spent the last couple of hours tuning up a 2293 Indian Chieftain Hover Horse for you."

Charlie picked up an earthenware teapot and had an investigatory glance inside, satisfied that it was clean, he continued. "She's a smooth ride, handles easy and she's got the ponies if and, uh... when you want them." The young helmsman began spooning loose leaf tea into the teapot. "I picked her up about three years ago as a box of rusty bits. She'd been sitting in an old warehouse on Vega colony for a hundred years." He turned around and slid the teapot into an alcove built into the wall, wherein a hidden faucet began depositing boiling water into the pot. "Restoring her was a pain in the butt, I like to use original parts as much as I can, I only replicate what I absolutely can't repair or source.... uh, milk?"

"Of course, thank you." She replied trying not to derail the conversation by asking more about the tea. "Sounds like fun, I'd do the same if I had roots, pretty sure the Captain would not go for bikes in the cooridoors..." She grinned just imagining it.

"I'm a fleet brat, I, uh... grew up on Starships," Charlie started as he pulled out two mugs from the cupboard, "All this," he gestured vaguely around the room with a mug, "was never on the cards. But then I met Darys and well... here I am. Not that I, uh... regret it, at all." He dropped a strainer over the first mug and paused as he poured rich black tea into it. What was he supposed to be talking about, again? "But, uh... there are always holodecks. I have a couple of pretty sweet programs for bikes and ATVs and four-wheelers if you're ever interested."

"Careful, you may become the hanging out place for speed fans on the Hawk." She warned only semi joking. "So you got me curious how did you meet this life changer by the by?" She said leaning against a table, this was quite nice. Something she'd see at home in London at anyone of her families homes. A comfortable and happy place to be where someone knew the power of tea. This was turning out to be an interesting day indeed.

"Oh,"Charlie poured some synthetic milk into a small milk jug and set it on the table, before sliding a mug across to Gemma. "We met on Bajor, my father, mother and I were on vacation there and... well, they spent most of the time working, like usual. He's a captain and she's an admiral," he explained as he poured a little milk into his tea, turning it a dark brown, "and, well... we were just kids, I was sixteen and he was fifteen, and well, I guess... it was..."

Now that it came to it, Charlie was having a hard time working around the words in his head. He felt a tinge of red creep up onto his cheeks, suddenly noticed he was clenching the mug fit to crack it. It was at that moment that Darys swept back into the room, all smiles and cheerful deflection, pretending he hadn't been listening from the other room just for this very purpose, ever to the social rescue.

"It was," the Bajoran man interjected, "love at first sight. The first time I saw him I thought my heart would never beat again, and then it wouldn't slow down. Bajoran tradition would say that our paghs are twinned, fated to be together in past lives, this live and in the next. I just thought he was the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid my eyes on. We fell in love before we knew each other and as we learned who the other was it only deepened, and when that ninety days of bliss were over, we both knew that the will of the prophets, or fate, if you will, had spoken. Ever since, we've been together, even when we're apart."

"That," Charlie tried gamely, ignoring the fact that his body hard partially turned to jelly, attempting to will away the red flush to his cheeks and trying very hard to forget that Gemma was in the room, "is poetic, sappy, sugary teenage tripe. It's, uh... also, uh... all... well... mostly true."

Gemma smiled gently, tried to put Charlie at ease, liking his fiancee immediately, "That was, bar none, the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. You realize some people search their whole lives for a hint of that sap, you go and be as over the top as you like. Not gonna lie, little jealous." Just a little, she was happy for them and if she was a little wistful that was her own bag.

"We, uh... we know." Charlie smiled at his partner, "well... shall we hit the road?"

"Let's finish our tea and get moving, I feel the need to feel some speed." She joked. And so they did chatting amiably before heading out to where the road toys awaited. "Oh this is going to fun.." She said picking up a helmet off the seat of the bike he'd pointed out as hers for the ride. "Thanks for inviting me Charlie, you're alright." She glanced over at him meaning it. Confirming to herself again that sometimes being too stuck on ones plans meant you didn't get happy happenstance like this. With another grin she turned to her bike ready ride.

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