Nice to meet you...but not quite like this

Posted on Fri Nov 11th, 2022 @ 1:57pm by Ensign Diana Ravenbroke

1,269 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Episode 113 - No One Left Behind
Location: Holodeck

Diana was having a BLAST! She had chosen to retreat to the Holodeck to get some breathing room from the intensity of Starbase 400. Not that she was gonna be overwhelmed forever, but she had learned enough about herself to know that it was going to take awhile for her to settle down in such a big setting. At the moment, she was swinging on vines through a Rainforest setting, reveling in the mist that was falling. "This is GREAT! I love Holodecks!" Diana was feeling on top of the world!

The holodeck doors hissed open then, rather abruptly, to admit a single Kelpien woman. She was dressed casually, clad in a maroon tube top and jeans paired with a black leather jacket, the kind you might see Terran bikers wear when out riding. A pretty rebel-ish punk look really. The woman glanced round the already running scene with amusement before calling out in an accent somewhat reminiscent of Southern American Terran, "Ensign Diana Ravenbroke?"

"AAAAHHHH!!! UMPH!!!" Diana tumbled to the ground after missing a vine at hearing someone call her name. "What in the cosmos are YOU doing in here...gulp...mmmmma'am? Oh boy," Diana looked into the blue eyes of her Superior, and felt her stomach drop to her feet. Diana had been brushing herself off and checking to make sure everything was still in working order and hadn't looked at whomever had broken her concentration until she finished hurling a few insults along with the question.

"No offense taken. It's my fault for startling you." Vasha placed a hand on hee hip and surveyed the woman she was looking at. For someone with a very, very human name she looked decidedly un-human: Orion green with what she could only describe as aquatic features: fins, webbed fingers and what seemed to be... were those gills? How was this woman breathing out of water if she had those, she wondered. Maybe she was amphibious in nature. Hmm.

"Well, Diana, I'm lieutenanr junior grade Vasha, and I'm the new assistant security chief. I've made it my job to seek out and get to know those I'll be working with on my own - you did forget to lock the holodeck, and I walked straight in," She admitted with a sheepish smile. "This is a fascinating program, by the way. I don't think [i]I've[/i] ever gone swinging through the trees before - clearly you have some practice."

Diana breathed a sigh of relief, then started laughing. "Haha. Yeah, it's really fun! I'm a bit of a Tarzan fan. I did forget didn't I? Nice to meet you...sorta. I mean! Sigh...let's try this again. It's nice to meet you, Lt. Vasha. Um...let me make it up to you? How bout dinner in my quarters? My Dad taught me to cook, so I can whip up some pretty tasty stuff," Diana offered her hand, wondering just how bad she'd screwed up.

"Can you!" The Kelpien's craggy face lit up with excitement. Who was she to turn down the promise of good food and drink in the spirit of friendship? "Well then! I'd be glad to come. What time, and what should I wear?"

"How bout 1900? Something comfy'd be best in my opinion, since we're not on duty. I'll make some home recipes. Hey, do you wanna do some swinging before you go?" Diana asked, grabbing a vine and turning catty cornered to Vasha, ready to take off.


Vasha took a good look up at the thick, sturdy-looking vines that hung over their heads. If they could take Diana's weight they'd no doubt be able to take hers, she reckoned, even with her dense, heavy hooves. "I don't see why not!" She declared, taking hold of one of the vines and wrapping it round her hand. "Though I've never done this before... I'm afraid you'll have to teach me."

Diana stepped over and gently unwound the vine from Vasha's hand. "You can't wined it around your hand or you'll get stuck and fall. You just gotta trust that your body will know what to do once you get going. You just grab on like you're gonna slide down a pole, and..." Diana swung out, changed vines, and stopped on a high tree limb. "Easy as skydiving...only you can go up!" Diana laughed, flipping upside down to hang from the limb Spiderman style.

Vasha watched with amusement as the hybrid swung easily through the vines, breezing through the vines like they were nothing to her. They probably were nothing, she reckoned, after so long of practising on her own. "I'll take your word for it." Yet again she grasped her vine, only this time she didn't wind it round her hand. As easy as skydiving, Diana had said. That didn't seem so bad. Vasha braced herself, grabbing onto a tree trunk as an anchor... and pushed off, sending herself hurtling towards the next vine just a few metres away. She let go at what she thought was the exact right moment, reaching out to grasp the next vine... and missed completely, sending her hurtling towards a tree trunk...

"Gotcha! Even with the safeties on, THAT would have been painful. Here, let's sit on a branch and catch our breath," Diana gently got Vasha situated on a thick branch against the tree trunk, then sprawled out on the branch facing Vash. "You had it up to that last second. You overthought it. Once you've been doing it for awhile, your body kinda figures out how to gauge swing verses distance verses speed...something like that. It's like ridding an old Earth bike: 'Once you learn it, you never forget how,'. Yawn. Opsi! Sorry, I've kinda gotten used to sleeping in cray cray places," Diana carefully stretched, sitting up and facing Vasha square on. "For a newbie, you did great! When I was taking a year to get used to being a person, I ended up being alone a lot cause others my age were acting like adults when I wanted nothing more than to have fun! I climbed ANYTHING I could, and since I didn't have a lot of friends, I made animal friends and stayed outside a lot," Diana picked at the bark, swinging her legs on either side of the log.

The Kelpien chuckled. "You remind me of myself, actually." She remarked. "I was a playful village child myself before I went into competing on the intergalactic stage in sport. Though I'm afraid there aren't many vines on Kaminar to swing on." Following a short pause she added, "I'm pleased to hear that I'm doing alright for a beginner, though. Perhaps I shall have to practise more in future!" This she said with a sly smile. "And possibly someone very, vey capable to teach me,"

Diana blushed...at least her form of blushing. "Yay! I'd be honored! Ops!" Diana almost fell out of the tree in her excitement at having someone to play with after so long. "Looks like things might be looking up for me," Diana thought happily, swing her legs even faster.

"Well, ensign, I'll be seeing you around, hm? You bring that cheer with you to your duties every day, and you'll be cheering up the rest of the department in no time. That's an order, now. Understood?" Vasha said with a laugh. "I'm sure you can do that for me, can't you?"

"Yes Ma'am, I sure will! Until 1900 then!" Diana grinned happily as she grabbed a vine, waved one last time, and swung off into the trees with an unsurpressable whoop of glee.

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