The Most Valuable Real Estate Part 2 of 2

Posted on Mon May 17th, 2021 @ 1:33am by Lieutenant JG Matthew Plumeri & Lieutenant Alekela illm Meaho'ōla
Edited on on Mon May 17th, 2021 @ 10:20am

2,870 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 109 - The Dust Settles
Location: LEVEL 811 – HOLOSUITE 22
Timeline: MD3 - DIRECTLY FOLLOWING PART ONE

[ON: PART TWO OF TWO “THE MOST VALUEABLE REAL ESTATE”]

Continued…

Matthew opened his eyes and looked around. He went to the railing and looked out at the scene while he staedied himself on the rigging. He laughed as a warm breeze caught an upward draft. Down below, he could make out the water and a set of shoals that caused the waves to break on them. "Whew!!! Would you look at that!" He looked back at Alekelia and then the skyship. "How does it stay aloft?"

"There are large bags of gas down below. I can show if you wish. In between are some spots for cargo and then cabins along the periphery. I know seems very archaic especially compared to a shuttle, still it gives the flavour of flying. One feels a part of the world not separated. Would you like to fly it?"

He looked up to the sails as they billowed and filled with air. He looked back at her, "Hell's yes I want to fly it! Show me? Show me everything? Can you!" He stood closer and was happy and excited to see this aspect of her world.

"Of course, this way then," She moved toward an opening in the center of the ship that had stairs that lead downward and went down nodding to some of the crew that were busy coming and going. Sails still needed to set and trimmed.
She stopped and then waved a hand at the silken bags that lined the center of the hull. "There you go, this lifts the vessel." The crew balance things and there is a certain amount of water that is taken on for ballast for trim and is released for the ship to rise sometimes depending on circumstances.

Walking through the lower level he looked at everything and touched it. The wooden planks. The way everything was carved and seemed hand crafted. The way the wood felt. The periodic window he could peer out of and see far below them. The ballast tanks seemed to even breath, "Is this a fabric? Or a balloon?" he asked Alekelia.

"They hold a gas that provides the lift," she replied and pointed. "See the heavy timbering above." She shrugged, "As I said, there is room for cargo but much of the ship are these silk bags filled with gas. Now let's go talk to the captain and she will teach you the way of the air."

Instead of like an Earth ship, instead she went forward rather than the rear. There were crew that hurried about tasks including up in the rigging to do the captain's commands on how much sail. Right now, the ship had full sail on and was making a good clip. Forward on the deck was a wheel but it not only moved around the hub, but one could see it could move back and forth. There was another set of stairs going down along with a hatch that could be closed.

"Captain Hi'ar," Alekelia said making a little dip. "This is my friend and high placed on his world. He would like to learn the way of sailing this ship."

Captain Hi'ar looked Matt over with a bit of frown. She was unlike Alekelia a bit stocky and short. Her arms much heavier as were her legs. It was obvious that this life made for physical work. She snorted and then nodded. "Very well daughter of Meaho'ola, what is your name?" She asked Matt.

He smiled back at the character of the Captain. As she sized him up with that look on her face, it reminded him the time he was getting evaluated for a beach volleyball team. "They call me Matt Captain Hi'ar. I know little of your world and even less of your fame as master of this vessel. From what I can see and feel, you ride the air currents as easily and as masterfully as any eagle." Then, he remembered a quote from his other Akkadian friend. He tried his best to say it, "A e hulahula nā makani o ka lani ma waena o ʻoukou" (Let the winds of heaven dance between you).

Captain Hi'ar reflexively made a small curtsy. "Polite as well? Interesting. Well come stand here, it is nice enough that we can be in the open air and not down below." She indicated the wheel and housing. "Just like anything else, left for left, right to go right, pull back to go up, push forward to go down. Before you do just feel the ship feel how the wind moves it. Let it flow into your hands, your feet, the feel of it on your face."

He took the wheel from her and felt the pull of the ship. It was to port, towards the coast and so he steered to starboard and away from the cost, just enough to keep the skyship on course. "The wind is strong. I didn't think it would be this strong? So, the wheel turns not a rudder...but the angle of the sails?" he asked as he tried to get a better footing and stand more centrally in front of the wheel.

"Easy there, we will be scattering crew and cargo. Most of the crew can fly but the cargo cannot," the captain groused. "Captain if I may?" Alekelia said and stepped up behind Matt pressing close and put her hands on his.

"Now then, like water dancing, feel the wind coming from behind you, feel how it is a bit more on the right side than the left. Turn slowly, let the feel of the wind guide you. See the clouds ahead? See the direction of the ocean swells? Swells are close, storm then ahead so let's climb. She pulled gently still with his hands and the ship lazily climbed upward. There you go, keep that wind centered best you can, the ship is like a lover, you treat her gently." As Alekelia had helped get the ship going up, she gently let go of his hands and took a step back smiling as he began to get the feel of following wind. He did well for never have flown one, his movements becoming gentler. If he had wings, she was sure she could teach him to water dance. The wind was the hardest to master, the waves next but the principle was the same, getting used to the feel of the direction.

Her touch, the feel of her hands on hs was exhilarating. Her touch was light but not weak. Her hands were cool to his. She stood in close and for a moment he lost all thought about sailing the ship. A crosswind brought his attention back to the wheel and her voice in his ear guided him. It was more of a gentle, but firm grip that was required. The sails of the ship didn't constantly shift their bearing as one might have thought. No, it was more like a gently flowing stream. And the best way was slow, deliberate movements. As he pulled gently on the wheel, her hands over his, the skyship's bow lifted gently and they gained altitude. He couldn't help but laugh. This was delightful. The airy breeze all around and nothing but the sky. The sail pulled slightly again and slowly, gently he resisted the pull and pulled the wheel back with gentle movement. He looked over at her, "Is this what it is like to fly? To be carried by the wind; not plow through it?"

"A bit, it is to become one with the sky. Now let the feel of the ship come up through your feet and legs. Let every part of your body become attuned the nuances. This is more like water dancing. One must feel the waves and the air. Here," she bent and indicated to lift a foot. She took off the shoe and sock and then the other. She kicked her own shoes off to stand barefoot on the deck as well. "If I may," she said standing and again coming up to stand behind him and she placed her feet next to his but her hands where on his shoulders. "Now let the ship dip slightly, feel the motion in your feet, relax your shoulders, let your body become one with motion of ship and still feel the change in the breeze." She gently pressed on one shoulder or the other as the ship moved, even as it rocked slightly in the air. "There you go, now you are starting to water dance, the balance of wind and wave and it is a dance, you and the elements constantly shifting but in partnership." She again slowly let go and let him feel for himself. "That is true flying, being one with elements."

With his shoes off he could feel the whole ship. Somehow, he could feel the wood as it was stressed and relaxed. The tension and pressure placed on the hull. It was a much more immediate feeling. The deck wood was at first cold to his feet, but it warmed up rather nicely and the air felt good. As they passed through a cloud, the moisture felt good and he took an exhilarating deep breath. He smiled and laughed out loud, "Whew!!! I love it." As the ship dipped slightly, he did as she directed and felt the skyship respond to his touch. Except for the noise below deck, the wind as it blew by his ears, it was much quieter than being on an ocean sailing ship. "How can you sail at night?" he asked her.

Alekelia smiled. "Ah well if one can see the stars one can navigate, but you are heading into cloud and this ship will not sail far enough up to get above. We will be soon out of sight of land or stars. It is not easy to learn but I can show you but I will have to be close to you for much longer. Do you wish to learn?"

"Yes, I want to learn. Teach me to fly?" he said earnestly. He didn't mind at all being close to her. In fact, touch was a very sensual and expressive thing. In fact, he well knew about the science of touch. Humans were so nervous about touch. He tried to understand that about them, about himself. He rather preferred the Fontalan approach. Touch was admired, needed and welcomed. Not only for its physical and mental benefits but because in Fontalan mythos, the pantheon of Fontalan gods were all about the senses. Only the Deimos dealt in absolutes. Matthew feared, perhaps more then most, isolation. And isolation as punishment was reserved for the most serious of crimes. Exclusion from ones community was considered the worst punishment. And so he happily agreed, "How do we start then?"

Alekelia again stepped behind him pressing herself actually into his backside and leaning as close to an ear as possible. She then reached around to put her arms along his. She had not been this close to a male since that last House dance seemingly now ages in the past. She waited until the ship sailed into the heavy cloud. "You have felt the breeze on your skin, the feel of the ship below your feet. Now it is time to close your eyes and trust other senses." She took a breath breathing gently on his neck as she calmed herself as well. This was tricky and not so easy. "Now feel the moisture on your arms from the cloud. It is cool but if you concentrate you will feel the moisture condense on one side slightly more than the other. If you had your own wings you could touch the ocean and feel the currents, the islands affect them and you will notice as you turn your hand that it feels different. Here we must use the clues available to us. To stay on this heading then feel that little bit of difference in the feel of the cloud and try to keep the ship orientated just so it stays the same. The air from an island is drier and will push up the moisture and continues to do so for a long way. Feel that, feel the droplets in the air," she took a deep breath. "Now move a bit upward with the wheel," she took another breath. "The air is not quite a moist, so our island is in a slightly different direction. Turn slightly and breath, and again and breath, and there!" Alekelia said. "Feel the change in the water in the air? A bit denser and feel along your skin the sweep of the air, it is moving every harder than before upward. Now turn right just a little more, feel the difference, it is not quite the same. So turn back slowly feeling that subtle clue and....there. That is our direction." She stayed with him and did not move but only very slightly would make a slight pressure on one arm or the other side to side or push or pull very slightly. The light began to get stronger and finally the ship sailed out of the clouds and there off on the horizon one could just make out a dark shape on the water. An island just barely appearing above the horizon.

Captain Hi'ar spoke gruffly, "Not bad, not bad at all. Maybe should hire some water dancers to teach the next batch of navigators."

Matthew smiled and took his eyes off the scene just long enough to look at Alekela, "I'm having so much fun. Is this for real? You really have ships like this where you come from?"


"It is how things are transported from place to place yes," she did not move away from him. "The Council does not want a lot of technology. They say that keeping this is a way to keep balance with the world. Sometimes some are lost," she said quietly. "A tragedy yes, but it is said, it our due to the world for what it gives us. The same with our children, we have a phase that we spend a year as a sort of larva in the sea when we are born. As a society we do not intervene and many do not come back, lost to the sea we call it. That way our numbers stay fairly in balance with what the world can provide naturally. Some think it cruel, but then other species thrive and the world is diverse in the richness of life." She laughed lightly. "I am getting to philosophical. Well the way is open and clear, you can navigate with sight from here if you wish." She stood back then.

For a few more minutes he stayed put. The breeze all around the ship. The noises below deck, the way the skyship handled. True, it was all simulated, but this was as close as he was likely to come to piloting such a vessel. When Captain Hi'ar passed by, he handed back the wheel to her and sat down on a crate to put his shoes and socks back on. "That was wonderful! Thank you for that little adventure" he said before standing up again. "Computer? Arch?" The machine whirred and on the deck of the skyship materialized the archway interface for the holodeck. "It feels late to me? Like we've been gone hours?"

Alekelia nodded. "Yes, suppose need to get back to the real world," she said. "Thank you for showing me yours. It was very interesting and hope to visit someday." She had but she had enjoyed the skyship even more and being close. She had been sent off world to the Academy before she had hardly gotten her wings and before the first major dance of the year for the House.

He smiled, so warmly, with a gentle laugh, "Interesting ay? We should go ziplining in the Forests on Lyto III sometime, one of my favorite programs. Well" he said as if not knowing what else to say. He took a step back and straightened. Then with practiced ability he gave a courtly bow, simple and respectful. Without the Fontalan flourishes that made their two cultures so different. He said in her language, "Me ka lokomaikaʻi a me ka maikaʻi mahalo wau iā ʻoe. (With grace and goodness I thank you.)" He rose again and hesitated only a moment. He gave her a hug. "You look like you needed that? I know its against Starfleet protocol." He ended the embrace and said, "I'll probably see you again in the science lab?"
Alekelia did not understand the words but the feeling came through. She enjoyed the hug no caring and it felt nice. She then made a full curtsy and said in her language back, Ka makani ma hope ou, ke ānuenue ma luna o kāu, Hoʻopuni ke laoha iā ʻoe (The wind behind you, the rainbow over you, love surround you). "At the science lab and the line of zipping sounds interesting."

--
[OFF:]

Lt. Alekela illm Meaho'ola
Doctor
SB 400

&

LTJG Matthew Plumeri
ACSO – Historian
SB400

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