S1E8.5 Peace and Quiet- Open to Whole Fleet

[Dylan Torngate]

[Andoria- Cryhess Montain Range]

Dylan sat in the quiet confines of the lodge on the side of a mountain. Like many buildings on Andoria, it was beneath the surface, but unlike many places, it resembled a snowed-in Ski Lodge from Earth. The lodge was run by a few private entities, and offered many different types of adventures. Off of the main room was a transporter pad to go wherever one desired on Andoria, or to the ships in orbit. The Lodge itself had no name, at least, not one that could be pronounced.

A flier on the walls talked about all the different activities one could do- Skiing, Caving, Ice Climbing, snowball fights... all but one of which was indoors. Only the bravest or stupidest would go skiing outside. They may be near the equator, but it was still -20* C outside. Instead, Dylan sat by a fire, fed from a pile of replicated wood nearby, reading a PADD while drinking some type of hot beverage. In the far corner, the Human holiday of "Christmas" had managed to penetrate, with a ridiculous green and red colored tree with pink orange and blue lights dotting it lighting up a corner. For Andoria, it was quite festive.

He was reading the latest dispatches from Starfleet as he sat. Challenger herself sat in orbit, her nacelles dark and her engines lifeless, as engineering craft swarmed like bees around her. The damage had been severe to the deflector dish and warp engines, and the Andorian shipyard was the only place in the Federation that now specialized in maintaining and repairing systems this old.

Dylan, of course, had gotten more than an earful from the Chief Engineer of the shipyard, but he didn't care. He'd told the man to just fix his ship. Excalibur herself was also a bit of a mystery to read about. A Starfleet clean team had rushed in the second they were to the other side of the wormhole and escorted the crystal away, under heavy guard, onboard an Odyssey class starship with a few Saber escorts. Dylan still had to finish the report for the Excalibur. It was a lot of paperwork to account for a missing science station (Not his fault), a severely-damaged ship, (Mostly not his fault), and closing report on a ship that had been missing for over a hundred years.

Seriously, the Federation had a form for that. DJS-8826J26-221B, Subsection "M". The Federation had a form for everything. Of course, beyond that, there was another form for what happened if only *half* the ship was recovered, because of course there was. So Dylan had a mountain of paperwork, in a mountain, on his R&R.

[Kyle Briggs]

Kyle was all smiles as he opened the door to the room he and Liv had been assigned at the lodge. It had the classic Old Earth look and feel. Wood floors, brick fireplace, Wooden railings through out. There was a huge hot tub/spa in the bathroom.

"We're gonna have some fun in here." he teased as they toured the room.

Elijah was sleeping so they were able to lay him down in the crib they had requested.

"This place rocks. I think Dylan did well picking this place."

[Olivia Briggs]

Kyle was all smiles as he opened the door to the room he and Liv had been assigned at the lodge. It had the classic Old Earth look and feel. Wood floors, brick fireplace, Wooden railings through out. There was a huge hot tub/spa in the bathroom.

"We're gonna have some fun in here." he teased as they toured the room.

Elijah was sleeping so they were able to lay him down in the crib they had requested.

"This place rocks. I think Dylan did well picking this place."

Liv still couldn't quite believe that they were on Andoria as her, Kyle and Elijah walked into the room they had been assigned at the Lodge but he was right it had everything and loved the old Earth style that the designers had chosen. She was looking forward to some proper relaxation and family time especially after the last couple of missions and when Kyle teased her she couldn't help but grin.

" Oh I'm sure we will especially with the hot tub" she teased back as they looked round properly before laying their son down in the crib. " He did indeed and I think its perfect" she said looking at her husband moving closer to him. " Now what would you like to do first?".

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Andoria

Lizzie had chosen a small ski lodge for her shore leave. It had it's own generator as it was well away from anything resembling civilisation. It had all mod cons, including a large bath, replicator and full media centre, including a full communications system.

It also had a large stone built fireplace in the living room and there was a large supply of wood in the wood store. This was in addition to the under-floor heating system and well insulated walls and roof.

She was sitting on a thick woollen rug in front of the fire, watching Alys make attempts at crawling. The little girl was not there yet, but it would not be long before she was. Lizzie was dressed in casual trousers and tank top, with Alys in a pair of corduroy dungarees and a lambs wool jumper. A camera sat beside her so she could record the moment for posterity.

Lizzie smiled and looking at the clock on the wall, realised it was time for dinner. she looked back at her Daughter.

"So what would you like for dinner tonight?" She said to Alys.

The little girl, seeming to know she was being spoken to, turn to Lizzie and gurgled at her.

Lizzie's smile grew wider and she cocked her head to one side.

"Roast Lamb eh?" She said. "Just what I was thinking. And yes, before you ask, you can have some too." She finished.

Getting up, she went over to the replicator and soon had her dinner, plus a smaller mushed up portion for her Daughter and set them on the table. She then picked up Alys, swathed her in a bib and set her in the highchair. She then sat down to eat her meal and tried to make sure Alys ate more than she threw on the floor.

'This is just what I needed.' She thought to herself. 'Rest, relaxation and peace and quiet.'

[Lek]

[Andorian Holosuite]

Lek sat on a lounge chair under a wide striped awning that looked out across a large lawn and onto a pristine lake currently rippled by a steady rainfall. Listening to the patterning rain, Lek took a deep breath and savored the damp loamy scent of the air.

"Almost feels real." But he knew inside, it wasn't. "All forcefields and photons, but it's better than that icy hell outside of the holosuite. First time in months we aren't on the ragged edge of annihilation and we stop on an ice cube as a 'vacation', I know the captain hates me, half the crew hates me too and the other half ignores my existence except for short or money grubbing Ferengi jokes. I'm not certain what I expected out of Starfleet, but it was better than this."

Lek sighed again, closed his eyes and concentrated on the rain again.

"Almost feels real."

[Rhymus Cleroux]

[Andorian Resort - Gym]

The confines of underground life here on Andoria had always baffled Rhymus. The resort offered many amenities, but true open space for activities was not among them. This left many among the Security team, the Chief included, rather restless as their normal patrols and training times were exchanged for lounging and relaxation. Luckily, many had found a new outlet in the well-supplied gym area.

In here, the Security crew let their hair down in their own style. Rock music played over the intercom, many shared personal jokes among themselves, and a few managed to sneak bits of alcohol and food in for their own partying. Competition, however, was the mainstay of this celebration.

Challenges ranged from the pedestrian to the outright absurd. Drinking games made their rounds before being overthrown by challenges of skill and strength, then turning into groups seeing how many pairs of undergarments they could run off with before the night was over. Now, the party had found a happy medium, with many doing a little bit of everything.

Rhymus found himself in a challenge of strength. Another crewman, boastful as he was, dared to challenge the man at the chin-up bar. The two were neck and neck, figuratively and literally, and a pot of bets had been slowly rising with the crowd as the challenge progressed. The numbers themselves were not high, but as the men reached the '15' mark, it was obvious both were struggling. It was anybody's game.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Andoria - base of the mountain - outside the Lodge]

After the forced inactivity of his self-confinement, Rayek was glad to be off the ship. He had actually thought the Captain might have denied him and Lt Lek from taking shore leave but that wasn't the case.

The Earth-style Lodge was new to Rayek. But despite its novelty, Rayek felt the need to get out and explore. The idea of remaining in the Lodge Á¢â,¬Ëœhanging out' at the gym didn't appeal, as it did to most of the other Security crew.  So Rayek purchased the appropriate cold-weather clothing - including thermal Á¢â,¬Ëœlong-johns', snowsuit, gloves and toque- and rented what were called skis.

He'd spent the last 3 hours learning and practicing the basic maneuvers of skiing and believed he had the hang of it.  He was ready for more than just the Á¢â,¬Ëœbunnyhill'.

Rayek left the beginners group after thanking the Lodge instructors, and made his way to the ski lift.  He skipped the blue and green slopes and went straight for the Black Diamond. 

[Bonnie Moors]

Andorian Resort

'tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...'

It had been a long few months since Bonnie had come aboard the ship. An exciting one, too. She'd enjoyed her time on the ship so far; even if it had been littered with life threatening situations where the crew had been questioning whether they'd make it out or not. Bonnie wouldn't have it any other way.

"Be quiet." Bonnie sighed and stood up. She walked over to the large clock. The thing had been driving her insane. She didn't know who thought putting an absurdly large and loud clock in the room but whoever it was, she wanted to have a word with. It was massive, it took up a corner of the room and made an annoying, stupid noise. She wasn't a fan to say the least. "I said be quiet." Bonnie repeated, gently tossing her PADD onto the sofa in the room and walking out. She needed a break from the clock, or she was going to go insane.

Bonnie walked out of the room into the corridor and looked out of the window. She stared out of the window for a few minutes admiring the 'winter wonderland' that was outside and smiled, deciding she was going to go out and have a walk around. Bonnie turned around, walking back into her room and up to the well hidden replicator. "Warm clothing for temperatures of around minus twenty degrees." Once the clothes had materialised, she put the clothes on and walked out. The replicator had yielded a big white coat, a black jumper, gloves, hat, and a pair of big snow boots. She was ready to go outside now.

Bonnie walked up to the door and looked out the small glazed window for a moment. She found herself questioning whether she actually wanted to go out or not. It was cold, maybe too cold. She shrugged before she could change her mind and walked out into the snow.

Compound of Andorian Resort

Bonnie begun her walk and made her way for the top of the hill. It was beautiful. The whole resort was beautiful, she'd never seen anything like it. She'd seen snow rarely enough, but to be in a place like this was something else. She didn't travel around much, especially when she moved back to Texas with her mother. She doesn't recall going away from the state at all, actually.

Bonnie stopped at the top of the hill and smiled as she looked at the land below. Everything about the place was beautiful, she lowered herself into a sitting position in the snow and stared down the valley.

She was still mulling over the fact that she'd been made the head of science.. She couldn't quite believe she'd been made the head. The fact that she had only been on the ship for a few months and had been appointed surprised her enough, but the fact that she'd been appointed and she wasn't even in Starfleet, that hit the nail on the head. She didn't hesitate when she was offered it, she just thought it was unorthodox was all.

In fact, she was mulling over a few things. The fact that she'd been appointed head of department had made her think about actually sitting the officer exams. She wasn't sure how everything worked though, she wasn't sure she'd be able to pass it without taking time away from the Challenger. She wouldn't even be sure if she was returning to the Challenger if she went and sat the exams. It had filled her with uncertainty, she just wasn't sure what to do.

She'd also been considering sorting herself out in the health department. She was healthy mostly, but physically there was some work. She didn't eat much which had left her small compared to most people on the ship, she needed to put some work on. She was considering going back to the gym at some point and sorting herself out.

Bonnie continued to think over the countless things she had in her mind while she observed the lower valley. There was one thing that she was sure about in all of her uncertainty. She was glad to be on the ship.

[Lek]

[Andor]

Lek took one more deep breath and frowned.

"Enough of this self-indulgent nonsense." Lek stood and added. "Computer. End program."

The lake side scene faded to be replaced by the yellow gridded black room of a holosuite.

"I knew this was a mistake. How hyoomons can consider a frozen lump of a planet a 'resort' or a vacation, I will never know."

Lek sighed and tapped his commbadge.

"Lek to Challenger. One to beam up."

On arriving in the transporter room, Lek nodded to the transporter chief and headed for his quarters. Once there, he flopped onto his bunk and sighed again.

"Guess it's back to the entertainment library. Computer, play Young Frankenstein."

As the ancient 2D film started, Lek smiled and waited to see what this creation by the genius known as Mel Brooks was like.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Andoria - Black Diamond ski hill]

Rayek's first attempt down the Black Diamond was an adventure. The speed which he was able to attain going down was exactly the exhilaration he had been looking for, though it paled in comparison to his one and only HALO jump. He fell multiple times on that first run down, and at that speed, Rayek was fortunate to not come away with a broken bone or two - mostly due to his Vulcanoid bone density. But that didn't deter him from attempting the slope a second, third and fourth time despite the freezing temperatures.  By keeping active he kept himself warm.

By evening, Rayek was quite sore, slightly bruised and exhausted but pleased with his progress. He retired to Lodge and considered what to do for the evening.  Eating alone in his rented room wasn't appealing after spending several days isolated in his cabin, so the Romulan went to check out the main lounge.

Rayek found the lounge quite active.  There was a particularly large group of youngsters all gathered and lined up with their adult care-takers to have a holopicture taken with a bearded Andorian in a red suit, who laughed in a ridiculously fake "Ho-Ho-Ho" laugh.  The pictures were being taken beside a large decorated and colorfully lit evergreen.   Faint background music in the area proclaimed "Here comes Santa Claws" in cheerful and happy tones had Rayek perplexed until he recalled the Xmas and Yuletide season he'd researched the year previous.  This must be the 'jolly happy elf' that was to give out gifts to good children.

Curious, he decided he would observe the activity for a while.  He noted a good place to sit and watch by the fireplace.  As he neared, he noted that one of the other individuals present was the Captain reading from a PADD; but despite being on shore leave the Captain didn't seem to be all that relaxed.  Rayek almost reconsidered his choice of seats but as it was the best place from which to observe the festive activity discreetly, he kept to his plan and sat down in a chair diagonal to the Captain's seat.  He nodded in greeting but didn't say anything not intending to interrupt, and turned his attention to observing Santa and the children. 

[Kyle Briggs]

"What do I want to do first?" Kyle repeated. He glanced over at their sleeping son and then turned back to Liv with a mischievous grin. "Nah. He won't be asleep long enough for that. How about we get Jeessa to keep an eye on him for a bit and we go ski a little?"

[Olivia Briggs]

"What do I want to do first?" Kyle repeated. He glanced over at their sleeping son and then turned back to Liv with a mischievous grin. "Nah. He won't be asleep long enough for that. How about we get Jeessa to keep an eye on him for a bit and we go ski a little?"

[Briggs' Suite - Ski Lodge]

The moment she saw his mischievous grin she knew exactly what he was thinking about but he was right they couldn't chance it as tempting as it was. However did like the idea of them have Jeessa watch him so they could go ski. She wasn't brilliant at skiing but it would be fun and allow them some time away on their own.

" Your right he won't be but we can always do that later in the hot tub" she replied biting her lip playfully. " Although us going skiing for a little bit does sound good so I'll call Jeessa then we can go get ready" she said leaving her favourite boys for a moment to make the call to their regular babysitter.

[Dylan Torngate]

[Andoria]

Dylan stood up from his table, and shut off the PADD. All of his work was done, his forms completed. He cast the PADD into his room as he entered, and gathered his rented caving gear. The caves here were mapped and wired up with emergency beam-out locations, but overall were still as untouched as ever. It'd be fun. At least, it couldn't be much worse than crawling through jeffries tubes, right?

... except for the moisture... or the temperature... or any of the other hundred things that could make it a lot less fun. But it was nature, and so enjoy it while he could, he would. He donned a helmet, as safety regulations required, and went down the hall to the transporter, beaming into one of the cave systems, where he clipped on his safety line and began to repel, down into the depths of the cavern.

[Lek]

[USS Challenger Observation Lounge]

Lek leaned back in his seat with a glass of Irish stout and a bowl of tube grubs in front of him that he snacked on absently. His attention was focused on the PADD in his hand. He paused a moment to drain off his mug before standing and crossing over to the replicator.

"Beamish stout, cold."

He returned to his PADD and if someone was to look over his shoulder, he was reading 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. The lounge was dimly lit because he was the only person there and he was clearly enjoying the silence. He paused and rubbed his eyes, realizing he was tired.

"Computer. Time?"

"The time is 0322."

Lek blinked in surprise and he shut down the PADD.

"I had no idea I'd been reading for so long. I am not certain what makes this story a classic. The Three Musketeers was much better, but it's not bad. This Violet Beauregard seems familiar.  I'm not certain that immersing myself in hyoomon culture is giving me any insight into my shipmates, but I am enjoying being alone."

He finished his stout and tube grubs, before heading back to his quarters and turning in.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO2 Rayek
[Andoria - Ski Lodge - Lounge]

Rayek wasn't surprised in the least when the Captain left his chair after a while without so much as a nod in Rayek's direction.  Rayek remained where he was and continued watching.

Rayek observed the children with Santa Claus - Claus, not Claws he realized after noting the  advertising signage - for close to an hour before the 'jolly happy elf' bid "Merry Christmas" to all the remaining children, reminding them to 'better watch out and better not cry' just like the lyrics of the song that had played in the background during his observation.

The Andorian Santa then left leaving his 'elves' to pass out small colorful striped hooks to the children.  The 'elves' called these candy canes.  These candy canes apparently came in various flavors as several of the children swapped colored canes to get their favor.

"I like licorice" "I want peppermint!" "Mom, do they have butterscotch?"

This occupied Rayek for another 5 to 10 minutes before the lounge area cleared as most children were told to put the candy away until after dinner.  Rayek however noted that one of the elves had dropped a cane while passing them out and it was left unclaimed by the base of the colorful tree.   Rayek glanced about a moment to see if anyone in the lounge was paying attention to either him or the unclaimed candy cane, but it didn't appear so.

Rayek stood up from his seat and casually made his way across the room to the roped off decorated area.  There were signs at the entrance to the roped off area asking children to wait in line for Santa to called by them by name.  For a moment, Rayek wondered if Santa were telepathic to know the children's names... until he spotted the Lodge ID reader at the front of the line.  The electronic device was used in conjunction with ID tags inserted either sub-dermally by the Lodge or worn at the wrist to provide the Lodge owners with an easy means of identifying which guests have paid for which activities.  No doubt it also provided details such as names - for Santa to use.

Rayek skirted the ID reader and hopped the rope to access the decorated section.  He quickly made his way to where the unclaimed candy cane lay at the base of the tree and picked it up.  It was a red, white and green spiraling striped cane.  He sniffed at it.. and even through its plastic covering, it smelled pleasant.

"Hey you!" A voice called out startling the Romulan slightly,  "The Christmas display area is off-limits after hours. Get out of there!"

Rayek subtly palmed the cane into the sleeve of his shirt as he looked over towards the voice.  The voice belonged to an Andorian male in a lodge uniform, with a shoulder patch noting his department as... ah of course... Lodge security.

"My mistake, I assumed it was just to keep out the children while Santa was present.  I will leave."

The guard watched Rayek warily as Rayek approached the guard and lightly 'hopped' over the rope once more to exit.  "I apologize for my misunderstanding.  It will not happen again."

To which the guard grumbled, "It better not. I'm watching you."