A Beautiful View...

Posted on Sun Mar 13th, 2016 @ 2:30am by Admiral Deela T'Lar & Captain Jack Solomon

2,066 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 90 - The Great Relink
Location: Holodeck Two
Timeline: MD3 1800hrs

ON

After finishing off the overhaul of the Ashalla's Impulse Engines, Jack signed at the end of his shift and made his way to his quarters. It had been a long shift with many challenges faced and overcome but he was now ready for something different...a change in pace...

Jack changed into some civvies, putting on some jeans, a shirt and a waistcoat before heading to Holodeck Two, in which he had booked some time for the next few hours...some time in which he wouldn't be alone and was looking forward to enjoying the company. Before leaving, he replicated a wide variety of food to fill the plentiful sized picnic basket he planned to take.

Jack made his way to the holodeck and when he arrived, he logged in, with the computer responding immediately. "Holodeck is ready for use. Please state your program of choice," it said. Jack smiled as he thought about the best place for a picnic and he recalled a memory...

"Computer, load program Solomon Beta-Alpha-Lambda-One," he instructed. Once the computer confirmed it was ready, Jack smiled as he tapped his combadge.

=/\= "Solomon to T'Lar, Dinner is served and awaiting your presence on Holodeck Two, Solomon out," =/\= he said before cutting the comm. He liked giving surprises and he hoped Deela would enjoy this one.

Deela answered, =/\= On my way.=/\=

Jack walked into the holodeck and smiled as he took in the breath taking view before him. He'd programmed in a holodeck simm that he didn't use very often, but when he did, he felt calm and at peace because of the location. Most would call it Heaven...Some would call it Eden... All Jack knew was it gave him an inner peace being surrounded by all of the beauty before him and it was a long time ago that he had been there, in fact several years since he had visited this place that had helped him so much.

Jack went over to the patch of grass to his left, surrounded by several trees and knelt down on the ground, putting the basket down and unfolding the contents and laying them out on the red and white checkered thick sheet he'd placed on the ground. He stopped for a moment as he felt a breeze pass gently over him and smiled. This place meant a lot to him and although he didn't tell many people about his visit there, it was somewhere he now wanted to share and enjoy with Deela, allowing himself to open up to her and to help her get to know him better.

"That's it," he said to himself as he finished up the spread. He unfolded a small table and placed drinks upon it with glasses ready and sat back to mentally take a picture of the scene.

Not far from this area was a lake with the mountains as a beautiful backdrop. From the shore reached out a pontoon at which a small boat was anchored in the water, which itself lapped gently as the breeze of a warm sunny day kept it in motion. Jack went over to the moored vessel and made sure it was all as it should be.

Between meetings with new crewmembers and Bremer's counterpart being removed from the base, Deela finally had time to take some time out for herself. It was nice to get out of the hustle of Starbase life. She wondered what Jack had in mind for them. Being the holodeck, it had to be someplace calming and peaceful.

Deela entered the holodeck, took a deep breath and exhaled. She spotted Jack and walked up to him as she glanced around at her surroundings. She couldn't help but smile like a little school girl experiencing her first crush, "Hi. Amazing. This place is beautiful."

Jack looked round and Deela. He smiled as he saw the look on her face, the the schoolgirl smile spreading wider across her lips meant she liked what she saw. He put an arm around her and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "Hey, I take it you approve then?" He asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Very much so." Deela continued to take in the view, "It has been a while since I have used the holodeck for anything. I am glad you thought of it."

Jack was glad she approved. "Well, I thought a customary second date should be a picnic in a beautiful location and I instantly thought of here," he explained as he guided her towards the picnic setup. "This is Lake Joseph on the Ba'ku home world. I came here once a long time ago at the... behest of a senior officer to help me recover and recuperate and I've never forgotten its beauty or calmness...which is why I wanted to share it with someone special... I've never shared this with anyone before."

Jack guided Deela over to the spread before them in the picnic area and gestured for her to take a seat. "Now, sit down, relax and enjoy whats before you, I insist," he said, "We can talk about your day or we can talk about anything but your day, its your choice."

Deela started to fill her plate, "Rather than talking about me, I would rather talk more about you."

Jack sat back as he took in the warmth of the sun on them. He hadn't really opened up much on their first date and after his talk with his Uncle recently, he took a deep breath and began.

"Ok, lets talk about me. My full name is Jack Tobias Solomon and I'm the only surviving member of my immediate family. I have an Uncle who lives back home on Earth, Henry Solomon...or as I know him, Uncle Hank. I hold the largest collection of digitalised comics from the 20th & 21st century, I love practicing Archery, Reading and I love taking part in a series of my favourite holonovels called "The Deathstalker Saga," he started out before taking a sip of his drink and continuing...

"However I come from what I consider an extremely dysfunctional family: My parents were killed at Wolf 359, my baby brother was hidden from me with the Maquis until he was 18. After several years of contact, he was discovered and murdered by my psychotic ex-girlfriend, whom you've also met." he paused...realizing how he was sounding and tried to sound "How am I doing so far?"

"I did not realize that you had such a tragic family history. I remember our conversation about death. I thought what I went through was bad but finding your brother, only to lose him again? And your parents." The mood wasn't what she quite wanted so she changed the subject, "So tell me about your collection. You said that they are from the 20th and 21st century? I am intrigued."

A sudden spark lit up in Jacks eyes as she asked about his comics collection. It wasn't something he often shared with others. "Really? Well, back in the 20th Century there were companies who printed stories in comic book format about the adventures of Superheroes or Villains," Jack explained before continuing. "As a kid I always loved the heroes from one particular publisher, DC Comics and it turns out my dad was a collector and his entire digital collection was left to me in his will. I continued to find them in historical archives and completed the collection which holds thousands of stories I have cherished over the years."

Jack took a sip of his drink after pausing for a moment. "That's something else I've never really shared with anyone or trusted anyone with, so your doing well so far," he said with more confidence in himself. He was growing more comfortable with Deela and he liked that.

Deela smiled, "Good. You will have to show them to me sometime. Earth's history has always fascinated me. The older, the better." She went through the list in her head of his hobbies, "You also mentioned that you enjoy archery. Captain Harrison introduced me to it six months ago but I do not get to dabble in it much. Do you get to practice very often?"

Jack shook his head slowly. "No, not too often unfortunately. I need to find more time to practice more, although I have only a small amount of experience," he explained. "But I never knew you liked it. Maybe we could share a bow & quiver sometime and practice together?" He asked. Jack knew having someone to practice with was more fun and this would offer him the chance to improve.

"I would like that. Maybe you could also show me this holonovel you mentioned. It sounds interesting." She took a sip of her drink, "I really need to start getting Brandon interested in something. He is getting to that age."

Jack smiled. "I'd love to share it with you, its real hero & heroine stuff. My holonovel series can be quite involved, but it can also help relieve a little stress... although it can get a bit saucy at times as well as push the limits of your fitness..." he explained before taking a sip of his drink. He thought about some about how to help Brandon out, knowing at some point he'd be spending some time with him.

"Is there anything that he's shown an interest in at all? Sometimes that can be the best starting point. I could show him some Archery or give him lessons?" Jack offered.

Deela shook her head, "Not really. He is ten and his interests are limited. Paul Harrison has gotten him interested in computer games which seems to keep him entertained. I, of course, have to put a time limit on it or he would play them all day."

Jack nodded. "That's understandable though. Better to help him nurture a more stimulating and rewarding hobby if possible," he said. Jack had been lucky in living with his uncle to learn a lot. "So, what else would you like to know...or are you having fun learning?" He asked.

"I am." Deela thought for a moment, "What about other family members?"

Jack relaxed for a moment and closed his eyes whilst he thought about the answer to that question. Then he opened his eyes with a small, wry grin. "Ah yes, that would leave Isabelle... My sister... I haven't seen her for over 12 years," he began. "She went to the Academy two years after I signed up and graduated with honours two years after I graduated. Isabelle was a very capable pilot and ended up becoming a helmsman...helmsperson...piloting the USS Toleman," Jack explained. He took a sip of his drink before continuing.

"She was on board the Venture at the first battle of Chin'toka, we met up later on DS9 where we caught up with each other before her transfer to the Sutherland by which time she'd moved into Security and Tactical. The last I heard from her was about a year after the war. We caught up at 375 where she'd been approached to join Starfleet Intelligence... that's the last I heard of her..." he explained, his voice drifting away for a moment.

"If she did join Starfleet intelligence, might explain why you have not seen her." Deela sensed something from him, "You must miss her a great deal."

Jack caught himself for a moment. It had been a while since he'd spoken of his sister to anyone...even Hank. "I suppose I do..its been while since I thought of her what with all my recent assignments and hassles before coming to 400," he explained. Jack picked up his drink and moved over to sit next to Deela.

He put his hand on hers and looked in her eyes meaningfully. "Whilst I have a dysfunctional, far from the norm family, one thing I do know is I'm happy and comfortable being with you and I don't want to lose that," he explained to her.

Deela smiled, "I am as well. I never thought that I could feel this way again but you have changed that. And I am no longer afraid of what the future may hold for us."

Jack smiled as he agreed with what Deela said and inside it made him feel happy, safe and secure. A feeling he hadn't known for a long time.

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