Drink and Devil the Rest

Posted on Wed Jul 26th, 2023 @ 6:08pm by Lieutenant JG Jaya Maera Garlake & Lieutenant Colonel Storr Garlake

1,519 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Season 1 Interlude II (E5.5)
Location: Suraya Bay | Risa
Timeline: ID 5

"Is all this really necessary?" Jaya asked hands on her hips, which were left exposed by her low-rise bikini. Baby bump or no baby bump, she had nothing to hide physically or emotionally. "We're certified to fly runabout class Starfleet vessels. How much more complex could watercraft be?"

"I don't know, what's the difference between a yardarm and the bowsprit? Besides," the Afrikaner said while grinning like a schoolboy as he swung out from the deck onto the rigging, "let them do the work they're best at while we enjoy ourselves." The wind quickly carried away his voice as he scrambled towards the lower mast sail. It was like a combination of the obstacle course and a confidence maneuver wrapped into one package that happened to be moving at 10 knots over the lightly choppy, clear blue sea below him. The tangy salt air blew against his face as he made it to the first of three masts, his heart already beating quickly at the height. Looking down, he saw his slightly perturbed wife with that oh-so-kissable pout on her face and an excellent view down the top of her swimsuit. Looking back towards the horizon, the sun was a hand's breadths above it, spilling its golden rays across the ocean like paint spilling across the waves. Looking up, there were two more masts above him.

Did he dare?

Taking a deep breath before exhaling, Storr spat on his hands and, rubbing them together before putting them on the ratlines of the next rope ladder, answered his own question.

"Storr!" Though Jaya let out a disapproving holler, she couldn't help but giggle and grin. Storr was usually so serious and stodgy, with only a cunning smirk or glimmer in his eye to hint at his true wit. Times like these, though, were when she got to his inner child come out and play. Her roving eyes admired his chiseled arms clutching the rope. Well, not a child. Young man. "If you break you're neck, I'll kill you!"

"Get in line!" he hollered back, a smile on his face a mile wide. He had made his way to the topsail mast, the second of three that spread from the foremast like limbs from some gigantic, seaborne tree. While the ship seemed to smoothly cut through the waves, at his height, he could tell how much she rocked back and forth from even the smallest wave. Looking up at the gallant sail above him and having come this far already, he wasn't about to give up now. Grasping the ever-narrowing rope ladder, he began making his way up again, swaying with the sea as he went.

Kihrab smiled as he turned the wheel, watching the Federation dog scramble up the ratlines. Only the two of them had reserved the sailing, and despite caution that far more would come, the Andorian couldn't believe his luck. What were the odds that he had been contracted to find these two exact individuals, who were the only ones that signed up for the sunset tour? Uzaveh is surely smiling upon him.

"Yeah? Well, maybe I should join you!" Jaya hollered back, hands to her face to project her voice. There was nothing like threatening to follow him into danger that could whip him back into sanity. A shiver went down her spine, though, triggered by the sensation of ill intent. The Andorian at the helm? He was smiling, but Jaya could sense his latent antipathy. Maybe he liked Storr playing buccaneer even less than she did. "Or... maybe I'll stay right here," she said overly loud. Getting kicked off the cruise would be no fun at all.

Halfway up the ropes to the top sail, the Commandant heard Jaya's voice on the breeze. It sounded...not right. Looking down, his Deltan bride was little more than a smudge against the brown deck, but he could tell she was concerned just by her movements back and forth. He smiled and sighed, shaking his head as he looked back up, grasping the next rung. He would be careful. After all, he had a wife and three children to think of; his thrill-seeking days were behind him. Or rather, below him. The top was another twenty feet up, and he'd get a quick look before coming down.

The Andorian nodded to one of the deckhands who, nodding back, finished coiling his rope, stood, and made his way toward Jaya.

"Ma'am, would you care to come belowdecks for some refreshments?" he asked, a light pirate accent covering the human's brogue. With only two visitors on the ship, he wasn't laying it on as thick as he would normally with a full boat, but without it, he'd lose practice. And she'd likely be suspicious. "The sun's a scorcher today, and, no offense, ma'am, you're quite fair, and I'd hate to see you get burnt."

"Maybe later," Jaya said. "Delta IV is a lot like this. Feels like a touch of home." While she was born and raised on the primary moon of Seyann rather than the homeworld Seyalia/Delta IV, Jaya didn't feel that undermining her answer with factual exactitude would be beneficial. Casting a look up at Storr to note his location, she gave the Andorian an askance look. "Is it a problem that he's up there? You didn't look too pleased a moment ago."

The Andorian didn't reply, instead returning to his duty. Jaya didn't know a mast from a ballast, but she knew intent. Closing her eyes to focus, she could pick up on currents of ill intent buried beneath layers of... professional experience. When her eyes opened, the world looked very different than before. What seemed a nonchalant shuffle among the deck crew suddenly felt subtly organized along patterns other than sailing. If they were planning something, she couldn't let them know she was onto them. Not in their compromised, separated positions.

The crow's nest was barely 4 feet across, and the wind was howling in his ears, nearly drowning out the surf of the ship as it cut through the waves 115 feet below him. He smiled, and tears came naturally from the air pummeling his eyes. His enjoyment of the moment, however, was broken when a speaker screeched by his knees, startling him.

"Sir, come down, please. We're ready to serve lunch."

Storr hadn't seen the device, but it was a simple speaker with a wired microphone attached to the box. He fished it up and replied. "Roger, I'll be coming down in a moment."

Putting the mic back in the cradle, he looked towards the horizon as the sun warmed his neck. His imagination ran for a moment, wondering what it had been like for his ancestors to have traveled on a ship much like this to establish the Cape Colony in South Africa so many centuries ago. A long, arduous voyage with women and children, striking out into the unknown for God and King. The Afrikkaner took in a deep breath of salt air before letting it out, his journey down needing to be a bit more wary than the one up...

---

The plate of two dozen oysters before Storr was shucked and summarily eaten with a not-insignificant amount of horseradish, hot sauce, and crackers. They even had a boot of Windhoek Lager; how they had gotten it, he had no idea but it went perfectly with the appetizer. He felt warm and satisfied. Exhaling with a smile, he looked over to Jaya before his eyes closed and he crashed face-first into ice and shells.

Jaya's earlier apprehension eased when Storr had come down from that terrible height. Maybe the pregnancy was affecting her more than she'd anticipated. Or maybe she was simply hungry. She couldn't deny the delicious food that had been spread before them. As was the case for the past month, she felt much calmer after having indulged herself. She leaned against Storr's shoulder, full and satisfied, and entwined her hands around his thick arm.

"I feel much better..." she cooed, eyes closing while half-heartedly fighting the urge to nap. "So sleepy. Maybe I should get up and walk around. Wouldn't want to miss any sights..." But she didn't budge an inch, instead just sighing contentedly while losing the battle against her own eyelids.

Apparently Storr had the same idea. The Afrikaner's breathing turned deep and husky with just the faint hint of a snore. Despite her lingering worries, Jaya couldn't resist the creature comforts of her husband's big, warm body lulling her the rest of the way into slumber.

One of the humans who had been pretending to be Maître d' tossed the serving platter over his shoulder and spoke into his concealed communicator. "They're out."

"Finally," said the voice of the Andorian from the other end. "Signaling extraction. Prep for transport."

"Acknowledged." The human took another look at Storr. "Send down Ka'Da. Waring and I may need his help with the big one."

The Andorian grunted in frustration. "Fine. Just get it done. Our ladar window is tight enough."

"Understood. Zahra out."

 

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