Science exploration?

Posted on Wed Jan 24th, 2024 @ 2:52pm by Ensign Quinton Grey (Kosugi) & Lieutenant Commander Mel Torma

Mission: Memphis Island
Location: Memphis Island
Timeline: Shore leave
2595 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Quin had spent sometime of his shoreleave wandering around Memphis Island, going on a couple of dates with ladies he had met on DS 7 as well as on Memphis Island. However, there was more to see, but he wanted to do some exploration with the head of Science, Mel. She had senses that he didn't have and maybe she'd pick up a few things that he won't. Quin sent out a message to Mel, wondering just what she was up to.

"Commander Torma are you busy? Hopefully I've not disturbed you on your personal time. Would you be willing to do a little bit of exploring on an island with me? This is Ensign Grey."

Mel had just finished up some time on the beach, under escort of course. Deep water was quite the hazard for Dalacari, despite the fact that she was a good swimmer. "Oh hello." she responded back, "Oh that'd be fantastic, I actually just finished up a trip to the beach. Such a lovely stretch of..."

"... sand and shore. Really is quite something, yes I'd love to see more." she offered. Moments like this made her almost forget that this wasn't Dalacar, or any of the Dalacar Republic's worlds. Inviting, hospitable, and surrounded by friends.

If only they let her keep the drones.

"Are you on Memphis Island? If so I can join you there." Quin stated. "Or do you need some time to get some gear together before we head out to explore?" What Mel had spoken about it sounded like she had a great time.

"Well, I'm already on the island. At the shore, and I'm still wearing my protective gear for the walk out in the waves so..."

"... if you wanted to meet up by the beach and then we can go wherever, that works perfect." Mel responded, chipper and cheerful as ever. Protective gear? For the beach? "I'll send you my..."

"... location to help get you down around here. Not exactly many landmarks aside from 'Meet at the beach'." she giggled before transmitting her location.

"I will be there shortly." Quin responded.

A few minutes later, Quin materialized in the area where Mel was at, having a smile and wearing a backpack as well as shorts tee shirt and boots meant for walking. He also had a knife in a scabbard on his hip, and was wearing gloves. Upon his head he had a tan hat with a wide brim. Last but not least he had a walking stick.

"Hello, Commander or shall I refer to you as Mel as we're off duty?" Quin asked.

"Please, just Mel right now. The whole of the ship is essentially on vacation. Or shore leave. Or whatever term you use." she said, searching through terms to get close enough to the answer. "Did you have anything specific in..."

"... mind, or just putting one paw in front of the other and seeing where you wind up?" a pause. "Foot. one FOOT. Sorry."

Quin just grinned, "Oh don't worryy, I understood what you meant." he looked around then pointed towards what looked like a hiking trail. "Well we could go do a bit of hiking up that trail, I would love to see what is up there. Scans of the place could offer a bit for us look to see what we could expect but then there is the not knowing what lies ahead." Quin giving a nod.

Mel gave a pair of nods, "That DOES sound interesting. Plus there shouldn't be too much interference in case of an emergency." Mel's people always considered the risks, but when you literally existed in two places at once, wouldn't you?

"I already found a shell at the beach, so I wonder what we'll find on the path ahead." one form maintained eye contact with Quin during the conversation, while the other turned to examine the hiking trail.

"That looks perfect, I'll just have to keep my eyes open for a good set of hiking sticks. They're called..."

"... hiking sticks, right? I read that Terrans take them hiking to probe the ground ahead for traps and tripwires. Is that still a thing?" clearly, her source material was somewhat lacking...

"Actually yes they are still a thing. I have one that can fold up and makes it easy to transport." Quin bringing out the walking stick to uncompact it. "However we can also search for you to find the proper walking stick."

"That's very impressive." she admired the device's simplicity. "Back home we'd just watch a video of a drone flight down a trail. Or maybe, MAYBE, we'd..."

"... take the trail ourselves. With a balance stick. And a drone making sure the path ahead was safe. On approved ground." she had a smile on her features the whole time. THIS level of security, safety, it was all normal to her. Removing danger was what her people did... but without the thrill was it even still exciting?

"Ooooo this is so exciting!" that answered that.

"Well come on, I've got just the tools I need to make a walking stick for you." he motioned towards the machete he had at his waist along with the knife as well. "We'll probably find branch in the trees up ahead to trim down and make for a sturdy walking stick." Quin stated, with an answering smile. "C'mon, lets go." as he headed up the trail towards the trees he had seen in the distance.

Mel picked up the pace as she followed Quin. Watching the Dalacari move was fascinating, since she really only got 'caught up' in something once, even though she had two sets of feet. If a branch nearly swatted her first form, her second form was already ready for it. Uneven ground only caught her off guard the first time. Everything that stood between her and the prize only really surprised her once.

She smiled through it all, though. Life's little hiccups didn't dissuade her, as one might expect of a Dalacari. Life on the Gladiator toughened her up, it seemed.

A little bit aways, Quin found a branch that was laying on the ground, he tested it for soundness and also was careful to not disturb any wildlife that might be there near by. To his relief there wasn't anything there. He trimmed the branch taking off the bark and smoothing it out skillfully with the machete and then his knife. Making it the length of his own walking stick. "You know we can get this polished when back at the ship for you to keep, that is if you so choose."

Mel watched the process with interest. A stick to walk with? This was something that had never occured to her, or to her people, in a long time. They just, well, didn't do this.

"Ca... careful. Ooo, watch out. Care..." she whispered three or four times, worried that a slip or a miss could wind up hurting someone. Quin seemed to have this under control, though, as the stick was finished. "Really? Oh that would be excellent. A momento of one of the few nature hikes I ever went on." she offered. "Just, give me a moment to wrap my head around how this is going to work." her second form piped up, examining the walking stick, and the path ahead, before coming to something of a mental consensus.

"You know, I wonder if primordial Dalacari used these.." she considered aloud. "We know they used tools, sure. Rocks and sticks and..."

"... such, but walking sticks too? We just don't know." she continued. "Really reaching back to the roots here." a giggle. She was so enraptured, so captivated, by something as simple as a stick. She came back to the here and now, though, with a nod. "Let's keep going."

The body in the lead took the walking stick. That seemed to be her solution. "Can we... keep an eye out for a second one? I'm not a fan of just ONE of something." she sounded embarrassed to even ask.

Quin literally but gently slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, "Doh! I can look for another one. I hadn't even thought of that, or even asked!" he looked around then said, "I will be right back." disappearing through the trees.

A few minutes passed then Quin returned bearing another branch. "Okay here we go, sorry it took longer than finding the last one." of which he promptly worked on to ready it for Mel. "Okay here you go. Now we are ready." giving a slight smile.

She gave a pair of nods. She was now officially ready. "Oh, and thank you. I ... I understand that dealing with a Dalacari can be a bit, overwhelming. That I might come across..."

"... as a bit, needy, or even just Extra. I appreciate you taking the time to find another walking stick, and making it nice and..."

"... smooth." she glanced between the two walking aids, and then back up to Quin. "I'll want to keep them both, if that's alright. A memory..."

"... of a fun walk, and an understanding friend."

A raise of an eyebrow. "Um you needy? I don't think you are. And sure I don't mind you having the walking sticks. I like that idea of them being a good memory of our hike."Quin giving a huge smile. "Okay so...lets get to hiking." heading towards the trail that looked like it would take them to above the waterfall. "Have you ever been to the top of a waterfall, Mel?"

The Dalacari followed behind, excited about the notion of the hike. The sights, the scents, the DANGER! Oh that was the best part. And the worst.

"I've been up that high once or twice, but not where there's a waterfall. I've seen them, sure, but not up close. Ummm, if we're going up to the top, then umm, just..."

"... make sure we don't get too close to the water? Or, ummm, okay. IF we're going close, just..." Mel was nervous about something, it was obvious to anyone with eyes in their head. Dalacari weren't good about concealing body language. "Just, promise me if anything..."

"... happens, you won't leave me?" she asked. "Dalacari sink." she explained, simply and directly.

"Good heavens, I do not plan on leaving you, especially if something happens. And if you fall, of which I will do my utmost to that not happening. I will come get you. You can count on that." Quin replied.

That, put the Dalacari at ease. To know that she had taken the first few steps into dangerous new territory with people of all walks that would support her, would protect her... that put her at ease.

"Well then, let's go see this waterfall." she called out, a smile on each face and a walking stick for each form.

Quin gave a happy smile, and followed after Mel. As they traversed up the pathway, on one side to the right were trees as well as underbrush, on the other there was a low wall of stone which possibly gave some sort of safety, but not obstruct the view. Quin when they got up a little bit of the way, he paused to look at the scenic view, gazing out towards the ocean. A bird drifted its way in the azure blue sky, seeming to just float in the air catching the eddies, its white wings curved to be buoyed up further.

Mel caught a glimpse of the bird in flight, and stopped to admire it. "You know, I know HOW it flies. I know all the properties of motion and applied dynamics. Still, seeing it is a hell of a sight."

"I can't imagine what our ancestors were thinking the first time they saw a bird in flight. Well, I mean, aside from 'Damn, Got Away!' or something primal." she giggled. "Ancient..."

"... Dalacari were very predatory, to the best of our understanding of them."

"I can see the attraction where the birds are concerned. When I was younger I tried to catch birds, I wanted to hold them at first, wanted to have one as a pet then later on I decided I would rather see them in their natural habitat. though I am not above eating a duck or, a goose or even chicken." Quin responded.

"I had a pet when I was a little girl, a fish. Local species, vibrant and colorful." Mel recalled. "My parents figured I wasn't old enough, or responsible enough, to handle a pet that..."

"... could, in theory, run away if I left it unattended. They wanted ME to take care of it, not Gamma Forty Four, so they got me a fish. It did well, but it was a pet I couldn't touch..."

"... or play with, really, so while the fascination was there, the enjoyment and playfulness wasn't." she offered, then gave a pair of smiles. "You know I didn't want to actually SAY it, but..."

"... avian is SO delicious." a form ran its tongue along her chops. "And Terrans have such amazing seasonings for their avian. Hey, when we get back, want to grab a quick..."

"... bite to eat?"

"You know that sounds really great, and now I am getting hungry for some good roast chicken." Quin giving out a laugh. "And I agree, there are so many ways to prepare chicken." his mouth starting to water at that thought."Lets finish up our exploration and then go get some food."

Just then a butterfly winged its way over and landed upon Quin's head. He felt the landing, even though it was light, still his eyes widened.

The butterfly was blue with black on the outside of its wings, and on the lower part of the wings were orange patches. it resembled the rhetus periander a butterfly from the Amazon.

"Mel, tell me what is on my head? And take an image please." Quin hoping it wasn't anything dangerous.

Watching Mel turn was one thing, but when she saw what was at stake here, a whole new set of motions came into play. Slow, methodical. Tail down, ears forward, eyes slender, iris contracted. She had gone full predator instinct.

"Don't. Move. It's a flitwing. You call them butterflies. Brilliant cobalt display. Black primary markings." one spoke in a hush, one moved to get the imager. Like this, her motions, it was easy to lose one in the fuzzy outline of the other. Dear god, is this how they used to hunt prey tens of thousands of years ago? Something akin to watching static move. It was weird. It was informative. It was...

*click*

"Got it. You can move now." she offered with a pair of smiles.


Quin chuckled. "A butterfly or a flitwing. Thank you." he gazed around a bit more and saw the butterfly go winging away. "Want to continue to do some hiking or do you want to go get some lunch. We have been hiking for a little bit."

"I'd be remiss if I turned down a chance to relax and enjoy some food." she offered with a pair of smiles. "Though, oddly enough this is a LOT of..."

"... fun. We should do this again. There's just something... borderline scandalous about taking a risk like this in something so captivating." she looked around, each form scanning along a different chunk of the horizon.

"Thanks for bringing me."

"And thank you for coming with me, this was great fun. Now, on we go to get food!" Quin smiling. This indeed was a great day.