Bishop to King's Rook 4

Posted on Sat Feb 28, 2015 @ 10:53am by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot

2,562 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: All this has happened before...
Location: Holodeck One

Tom's day had been boring. Though his position had privileges and flexibility when it came to his duty shifts, it seemed like the Victory was rigged for silent running. No grievances in the enlisted ranks, nor evaluations or tests to administer. He'd been left to stand behind the transporter console for most of the day. Just a normal day at the office.

Far from normal actually.

His mind, despite the routine diagnostics and maintenance, could not help but focus on a singular topic all day: Penny. The last couple evenings had been absolutely wonderful. He hadn't felt so alive in years, and there was little chance he'd let that slip away again. Without realizing it, he'd been set up on two different dates. Not that he cared that she was initiating, but it was time for him to reciprocate.

She'd taught him how to surf. And then took him to an amazing exotic location. How could he top that?

He wanted his first move on the offensive to be as memorable as her first two had been. And he'd searched the available programs most of the morning before remembering the Counselor's advice. In an instant, he abandoned his search and began to write a program of his own. He left a cryptic message for Penny to meet him that evening in the Holodeck and left to get ready.

Wearing a pair of khaki swim trunks and a white t-shirt, Tom entered the Holodeck to review the program he'd created with enough time to make a few tweaks. He'd meticulously recreated a place he frequented before enlisting, a popular section of Miami beach, complete with a couple large tiki huts pulsing with live Latin music, clear ocean water as far as the eye could see, and a colorful sunset. He'd rigged the sunset, of course, to slow as it descended at around a third of normal speed. The options were limitless for the fledgling couple.

For now, he awaited her arrival at the bar with an azure lemonade for her as he sipped his own martini.

Penny wasn't always one for subtlety, but a surprise entrance was a good enough reason to try. She watched from a safe vantage point for him to look away and dashed into the bar. She skirted two tables and snuck up behind him as silently as she could. "Hi!" she chirped in his ear.

She grinned as he jumped and turned around. She wasn't sure what "dress for the sun in holodeck one" meant for sure, but she assumed it was going to be another outing. She'd worn a full length blue dress with hibiscus down the front, back and sides. It was a typical casual dress on her island, and it semi-blended with the setting he'd called up. "America, right?" she said, looking back outside. "I can always tell when I'm home."

Tom had nearly spilled both his martini and the azure lemonade on his shirt. He recovered quickly and smiled at the sight of Penny. "Hey!" he exclaimed, setting the drinks down on the bar. In a flash, the surroundings disappeared, leaving only the serenity of Blue Horizon and the moment they had shared. Yet, even in the memory of a moment that felt so right, as the surroundings yielded to the environment Tom had created, Tom wasn't sure what to do. He embraced her, trying not to be awkward, and kissed her.

Penny kissed him back, pressing against him. She experienced an unusual momentary lapse in processing and immediately allotted a portion of her concentration to examining it, as well as a portion to analyzing the situation at hand.

Letting go, he looked at Penny. The dress suited her perfectly, the blue complementing her eyes and the hibiscus matching her personality. "Miami!" he answered boldly, masking his nerves. He gently waved at their surroundings. "I grew up not far from here, but spent many nights here with good friends and good company."

"Aw that's wonderful," Penny said, smiling and looking around the bar, then out the door. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan," Tom said, smiling, turning to pick up the drinks and handing Penny hers, "is simple. Have fun." He finished his martini as there hadn't been much left, and led her outside the hut. Though the beach was comprised of fine American sand, this hut was connected to another by a smooth dance floor. A couple dozen people were already on the floor, enslaved by the live band. Tom had thought about leading her to the floor, but one step at a time. Instead, he led Penny to a table on the outskirts of the dance floor to view the sunset.

"I've seen tremendous things in the last twenty years," he told Penny, sitting close to her and looking out the majestic canvas of reds, oranges and pinks before them. "Ice fluttering off a series of comments, the mouth of the Bajoran wormhole, the tropics of Karanbar III, and even the ruins on Vulcan. But nothing compares to this sunset."

Penny grinned at him, enjoying his enthusiasm. "I know exactly what you mean," she said. "The first time I saw it off the coast, I was amazed. I sat there, watching the sun drop past the water, then stayed all night, waiting for it to rise. Nicole used to go on and on about the colors and majesty of Rigel, and when I visited there it was very pretty, but there's something about an Earth sunset I can't compare anything to. Maybe that's how we all feel about our homeworlds."

"Maybe," Tom said, turning to look at her. His mind spun with different ways to respond to her story, and each one seemed cheesier as the one before it. Tom had dated and been with his share of women, but for the first time, the person sitting next to him was more beautiful than the sunset he cherished for most his life. He even thought about discussing what had been bothering him since their activities at Blue Horizon, but this moment was not even ideal for it.

But why did he spend so much time perfecting and critiquing his next move? This wasn't a game of chess, this was the foundation of a relationship, or so he hoped it would be. Were he now at a poker table, he'd shove everything he had into the pot. "That's what I thought until I met you," he told Penny, looking at her shimmering blue eyes. His statement, however it came across, was true. He'd never been as fascinated, stumped, and amazed than his last couple days with her.

Penny looked at him and grinned. "That is so sweet," she said, leaning over and kissing him, taking his hand, "and so corny." She giggled and gave his hand a squeeze. "And if I can be equally corny, when I met my father I thought I might not meet a sweeter person. However, you may have just stolen that title."

She hopped off her stool and stood in front of him. "So, are you going to give me a tour, or were you hoping for another 'intimate' session?" she leaned on his knees and gave him a bit of a view as she looked up at him, smiling at him playfully.

He couldn't help but grin and chuckle before giving her a kiss as well. As Tom was still holding her hand, he playfully pointed with hers and his out towards the water, "There's the Atlantic," gesturing inland, "Miami," and then downward at the sand below his chair and her feet, "and the beach." Grinning ear to ear, Tom added, "That's the nickel tour." If his grin could grow, it would have with his quick glance downward, enjoying the view Penny provided.

Tom looked up towards the band, noticing a change in tempo and tune. He slid out of his chair and let go of her hand. "Care to dance?" he asked, offering his other hand to Penny.

"I think I can manage a salsa or two," she said, lifting his hand and twirling into him. "You lead."

Gently taking Penny's hand, he led her across the couple paces to the dance floor. As the musicians began to harmonize, Tom pulled Penny close and smiled as he took hold of her other hand. Tapping his foot to catch the quick beat, he spun Penny out towards the center of the floor, firmly holding one hand until both their arms were outstretched. Once there, Tom pulled Penny back in, enjoying how her blue dress fluttered during the spin.

They followed the beat, moving smoothly around the dance floor. Penny kept her eyes up for the most part--the same couldn't quite be said for him, she noticed--but she did get a glance down now and again to study his movements. He'd clearly grown up with this music, given the fluidity of his movements.

Four songs later, Penny observed the slight sweat he was breaking and decided a pause might be in their best interest. As the latest song ended, she stood up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. "Shall we take a stroll?" she said.

Tom hadn't been tracking the time, but seeing that the sluggish moon had replaced the sun, and his feet were aching a little bit -- No! He was too young to start getting old! -- he was happy to oblige. Holding her by the waist, he led her down to the beach and started to walk the shoreline under the cover of moonlight. "You did pretty good back there," he said, keeping her close.

"Thanks," she said. "I took a couple lessons on various Earth-style dances when I lived in Hawaii," she said. "You did pretty well yourself." She gave him an appreciative smile. "Could hardly tell your feet were getting sore." She grinned and giggled at his expression.

"You could tell, could you?" Tom asked playfully. Chuckling, he added, "After standing all day, I'm glad I made it that far." And yet, here they were walking. As long as he was moving, he should be fine. "So, we know you can salsa. What else is in your bag of tricks?"

"I can dive for pearls, make a killer bahn mi sandwich, chuck a pineapple across Hanauma Bay and...well you know a few others," she smiled coyly.

"Yes," Tom said almost in a deadpan tone. "Though de-pantsing someone whist they swim is a very common skill."

"Yet a useful one," she said in a wise voice. She grinned and put her head on his shoulder. "Then again, what humans consider to be a 'common skill' can actually be quite rare."

They walked together in silence for a minute or so, enjoying each other's company. Tom, who had earlier that evening decided to simply enjoy the evening, found himself thinking once more about the various dilemmas he'd concocted about this relationship. "I have a question for you," he said softly. He had many, and this would buy him hopefully at least one more second before he had to ask one.

Penny blinked. By the time her eyes and closed and opened again, she'd processed a series of possible questions and come up with several possible responses to each. "Go ahead," she said slowly, stopping and turning to face him, her hands clasped in front of her.

Tom smiled nervously. He hadn't expected Penny's pose or action for that matter. Instantly he crossed off a couple of questions orbiting his mind. Each passing thought felt like it lingered for a minute at a time, when in reality it was just a second or two. Hoping the phrase wouldn't reflect his age and that it would appear chivalrous, Tom asked. "Would you like to go steady? With me?"

Penny blinked again, then tilted her head in her 'unable to process' look. "Were we wobbly?" she said, before her memory banks finally found the context of the term. "Ohhhhh," she said, slowly. She bit her lip and thought a moment, then said. "Can you 'go steady' with someone who is a haole?"

"What's a haole?" Tom asked with curiosity. Was it some form of racial slur he hadn't heard before? Or was it some detail regarding her background? He quickly bypassed the questions. "Infinite diversity in infinite combinations," Tom said with a smile. "Yes, I can."

She smiled. "It's not always a nice word," she said, "but it's literal meaning is 'a person without a country or known beginning.' I'm an orphan. I was found on the beach with no memory of how I got there. Could you be involved with someone who couldn't tell you about their history?"

Tom replied instantly, "What matters is the person in front of me now. You are the sum of your experiences, not a slave to your history. Whether your history is good, bad, or hidden under the rug, as long as you are truthful to who you are and what you are capable of being, that's the person I want to love."

He held both of his arms out and looked in both directions with Miami on one side and the ocean on the other. "This is one of my most beautiful memories. The first twenty years of my life were a train wreck. My career has been one of adventure and self discovery. I choose to remember the good parts of my life and do my best to not be chained to what I was, no matter when I made errors." Though he didn't say it, that included decisions in the last few years for career advancement rather than enjoying life to the fullest, like he was now beginning to do.

Penny's head was tilted again and her eyes blinked rapidly. Illogical logic might have been her reason for being, but it was proving to be too much, even for her systems. What had begun as a minor systemic anomaly was rapidly blossoming into a system-wide error that was threatening to overwhelm her.

She ran an internal diagnostic and found the unquantifiable emotion had begun growing and affecting her systems. She attempted to isolate the affected programming so she could deal with it at a later time. It took her almost six agonizingly-long seconds to accomplish, but finally she was able to think clearly.

"Truthful...to who I am...." she said slowly, "is a matter of perspective." She blinked again and took a breath. "What I am capable of being, is what I am." She took a step closer, bringing them toe-to-toe. "But I will be counting on you to tell me if I'm being a girlfriend correctly. I don't know how capable I am yet."

Tom smiled. "Then we have our new adventure." He reached out and drew her close by pressing his left hand in the small of her back. His right hand brushed back a bit of her blonde hair that hadn't been managed since their dancing. Tom looked deep into her blue eyes, the feature that had first captivated his attention. She was unlike any other he'd been with. He didn't quite know what had him so mesmerized, and he would be patient while they figured that out together. And then he kissed her.


Joint Post

Thomas Barnes
Transporter Specialist


Penelope Naroot
CFCO

 

RSS Feed