Commandeered Taxi
Posted on Wed Sep 20th, 2023 @ 1:19pm by Lieutenant Commander Finley Chu & Gunnery Sergeant Roderik Kos & Lieutenant Commander BaoJun Qiao
1,261 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission: Season 1 Interlude II (E5.5)
The trip from the large communal villa to the nearby transporthub was quite a hike. It was hidden on just the other side of one of the large nearby hills. It kept it out of view from any guest, but ready for any emergency that might require a vehicle.
It took some finagling, invoking the veil of SFI secrecy, and a Theta-Level override that was technically not on the books anywhere but was accepted by computers nonetheless, but Fin got her shuttle. Now granted, it was an aging Orbital Shuttle. But it flew, had a transporter, and most importantly a functional sensorgrid. The pre-flight was quickly ignored as Fin noticed it hadn't been updated since 2289.
So her fingers quickly danced over the LCARS panels, powering up all systems. Minutes later she found herself airborne. The shuttle's comm system was possibly the oldest equipment on board. Fin wondered if it would even support any modern combadges, but tried the standard frequencies regardless. The sound that came back was absolutely horrifying. Polka of many varieties, across the supposed standard comm frequencies used by Starfleet. So instead she relief on the shuttle's sensors, hoping they would be sensitive enough to differentiate between the nuances of Lagashi and Human biology.
At camp, the Lagashi man was dozing lazily in the makeshift bed he and Rodi had made from camp cots. It wasn't the most comfortable thing he'd ever slept on, but it was far from the worst, and it made the current position he was in possible, so he wouldn't complain. It was quickly becoming a favorite position, in fact, curled around a sleeping marine with an arm thrown across him, and the ability to watch him sleep. He very much doubted the latter would last long. He'd already discovered, even on vacation, that Rodi tended to be awake before him. For all that he knew, the marine could in fact be awake now and just humouring him, for that matter, since he hadn't checked. One way to find out though. He tilted his head and laid a kiss on the marine. "Rodi, 大野猪*, it is time to awaken."
Rodi had, as a matter of fact, been up for quite a while. A few hours even. He had built their little kitchen fire up, prepped the breakfast, and then crawled back in bed for a light snooze. "Tá caife ar an tine." Rodi half-grunted as he curled up further, away from Bao.
"I think I heard the word 'coffee' in that somewhere," muttered the larger man with bemusement as he slipped out of bed. He knew the marine would be along shortly anyway. He rummaged in his pack for a moment before slipping a pair of padded cycling shorts for a bit of modesty instead of walking about entirely nude. Not that he expected there to be anyone around to flash since they'd stayed off the official trail since abandoning previously. Then again, protecting the most sensitive bits in the wilderness was always intelligent. That managed he slipped out of the tent to collect his coffee and actually cook what Rodi had prepped, humming lightly to himself as he pushed the bangers around with a pair of chopsticks.
"Now you know how I feel when you start talking Chinese." Rodi countered, half-yawning with already closed eyes. The last word might have even been more of a snore than a word at that point.
The near-ancient sensors on Fin's pod beeped an affirmative tune. She had detected a combination of Lagashi and Human biology near a small waterfall. There was a conveniently sized beach right there for her pod to land. "Commander Chu to Commander Qiao." Fin called through the comm system. She was pretty sure the men had ditched their combadges, but it was always worth a try. As the comms stayed quiet, Fin did a first pass over the camp, searching for her landing spot. There she spotted two figures sitting around a small fire.
Bao looked up as the shuttle circled. Really. Was it too much to hope for making it through a single vacation without something going to hell in a hand basket? He looked at Rodi, "100 yuan says someone has released a cosmic horror that was hiding on Risa. 50 more on the cosmic horror being related to sex, because Risa. Any wagers on who released it this time?"
"I'll take that bet." Rodi said as he blew on the coffee. "I'm thinking he has shifted half the staff into the mirror universe, and is reluctant to get them back. But only because he might find a real and proper Vulcan on the other side." He tasted the coffee, a little bitter for his taste but it'd have to do. "As for who. Dedeker."
"I guess we'll find out," he said. "Shall we make ourselves more presentable? Part of me wants to show up dressed like this just to piss people off, but our luck that would be the one time regulations are actually enforced."
The shuttle had landed on the strip of beach between their little camp, and the lagoon. When the rear ramp hissed and squeaked open, an annoyed Fin looked out. Maybe two dozen meters away she saw two men in a reasonable state of undress looking at her. Granted, she herself was dressed in vacation clothing, and not her uniform. Her uniform being on the Phantom meant that she wouldn't be able to change any way. "You two!" She called loudly. "Things went Theta shaped. Ben-Avram needs you to pack up and come back home!"
"I wish I could say I was surprised," Bao said. "What has happened this time? Sapient computer? Ancient sexually transmitted disease? Rogue secret society? I think the Romulans are due now."
"I'm betting on Mirror Universe doppelgangers here to steal the secrets to Warp 9, and the Quantum Torpedo." Rodi offered as he picked up the pan of breakfast before kicking out the fire. "How about you grab the coffee. We can grab our packs and get on board. The resort will come pick up the tent."
The Lagashi was already moving, stepping into the tent to grab their supplies. "There should be just enough to fill these," he said brandishing two insulated cups he'd liberated from where they had been hanging on the packs. He sat them down for the marine while he made a second trip for weapons.
"Actually, ancient std was pretty right on the money from what I understood." Fin answered as the two men pulled themselves onto the chairs in the back of the shuttle." Her fingers were dancing over the ancient LCARS to lift the vehicle back in the sky.
Bao cringed. "I think that means I win on what. Although if it's sex, has Sergeant Kos won on who did it? His money was on Lieutenant Dedeker. Though honestly, with how he acts, one does wonder how he gets anyone to come within 500 meters of his genitals."
"I think it was Mrazak. Something about shared fever dreams, psychic connections. I'm an engineer, I don't really get medical stuff all that much. You should ask Wolf when she is fully lucid." Fin said with a verbal shrug as the shuttle lifted up.
Bao cringed. "That might actually be worse. I forfeit the bet in favour of no one having the hear or imagine Captain Mrazak in a compromising situation."
*大野猪: Literally: "Big Wild Boar"
Tá caife ar an tine: "There's coffee on the fire"
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