Shaka Bro

Posted on Sun Feb 16, 2020 @ 6:52pm by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Commander Cullen Walker

1,785 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Nibiru
Location: Holodeck 1

Walker was in shorts, sitting on a beach and waxing a holographic board. He didn't own one of his own; he collected weapons, not sports gear. He was wearing waterproof compression shorts designed for snorkeling and diving and was barefoot. He had been to Hawaii for real and got made fun of for wearing shoes on the beach. He had tattoos on his body: Symbol for the Klingon Empire on his shoulder, Walker family crest on his chest, a skull/rose/shamrock/raven feather on his chest, the word Walker across his back shoulders, and the name he earned in martial arts on his back along his spine. He didn't walk around often without a shirt, especially on duty, so most never saw them. The beach was a reproduction of a Hawaiian beach. He heard the door open, "If I don't halfway drown, I want loco moco after this."

Penny walked up to him wearing her websuit, her feet similarly bare. She looked around and nodded. "Not a bad program," she said. "I have one of another island where I lived." She looked up at the sky. "Computer, access my personal files and recreate my board with my specifications."

Her board appeared, drenched in bright colors, as if she'd painted it randomly and couldn't decide what color to make it. She plucked it up and carried it to the water's edge, then placed it gently on the surface and climbed aboard, bobbing on the waves. "So how often have you done this?"

Walker got up and followed her to the water, "Only a few times. I came to Hawaii to train in Lua. My instructor wouldn't teach me unless I surfed." He voice had pain in it. "I needed to train." He didn't go into it. He didn't think she wanted that story. "The surf gives you balance." He laid on the board.

"Actually, it gives me chaos," she said. "I prefer a little of that now and then, I find it stimulating." She gestured to the waves. "A basic random generator algorithm can try to reproduce it on the holodeck, but watching the real thing is way more interesting. I used to spend hours sitting on the beach, watching the waves roll in. Riding them just gives me more to enjoy about it."

Walker looked over at her as he paddled out with his hands. "I have a random wave generator to produce a combination of mild and moderate waves, no expert or advanced waves. I meant the Lua instructor wouldn't teach me unless I surfed. The surf would create a bigger picture. The introduction of chaos."

"The only Lua I learned was the language," Penny said, matching his paddling. "But I agree that surfing does give a bigger picture. At least until you're inside the curl, then you're limited to the narrow corridor you're riding." She watched the horizon, scanning it slowly. "One's coming. You take it."

Walker paddled towards the wave and he caught the wave and he moved up into a crouch and then stood up. His stance was not a surfer's stance, but a martial artist stance. He yelled, "Klingon's don't surf", as he went by. He was trying to be funny.

"Not standing like that, they don't!" Penny shouted back, giving a half smile. She watched him move into the wave and watched the board wobble as his balance wasn't quite right for turning with the curl. She amused herself with calculating his chances of staying upright, then when they dipped below thirty percent, which side he'd fall. He finally fell on his right and she glave herself a mental high-five for guessing correctly.

He kept his stance pretty well, but the wave changed and got him. He used all of his training and briefly looked like he was walking on water, but another wave got him. He was not attached to the ankle strap. He bobbed up about 10 feet from his board, "Hoooah."

When he came to the surface and swam over, she sat up on her board. "They may not surf, but they fall over with style," she said, smiling, then tilted her head in her thinking pose. "You said that at the party too. What does it mean?"

Walker grinned and shook the wet hair out of his eyes, "It is a multifunctional. The closest translation would be hell yeah. My family was Military going back Generations on Earth. After the creation of Starfleet we joined. The challenges and dangers. My family still likes the word Hooah. Is is the Old Earth Army version of when SFMC yells Oorah. Same word, different dialects."

"Interesting," Penny said. "My father would say 'jee haan' when he got excited. Similar idea, I suppose. My parents are diplomats. They believe in compromise, discussion, the precision of language. My mother says words can overcome a warlord, if you can just find the right ones. They also taught me to surf. They loved the interaction with the water." She spotted another wave forming and swam out, catching it and standing up, riding it through and coming to rest near the shore. She paddled back out to him and sat up. "It stuck with me."

Walker looked at her, "The Walker line is descended from Hrolf the Walker, Great Grandson of Ragnar Lothbrok. We are big on manipulation of the minds. In the time when armies would face each other on parade fields, leaders would ride forward and attempt to negotiate. Hrolf would walk to the negotiations. If negotiations failed, Hrolf would grab the leader off the horse, turn him upside down and drop him on his head. More than half of the enemy Army would retreat."

Penny tilted her head in thought, then scanned the horizon. "What did you have for breakfast this morning?"

Walker looked at her, "Oat meal. Two overhead eggs with sausage. Toast. A spoon full of peanut butter. A banana. Same thing I have every morning."

Penny floated on her board, looking at him thoughtfully. "Is that a breakfast you've created for yourself? Or a family tradition as well?"

Walker was floating on the board, "My family eats a lot of sausage and bacon. We prefer it straight from the pig. My breakfast covers specific dietary needs. Many members of my family have protein intake deficiency. If our protein level drops too low, in drags down our iron and blood sugar. Being half Klingon, seems to exacerbate this at times." He started thinking of food related Traditions his family followed. "With the exception of honoring Freyr by eating pork on Fridays, or honoring his gift to the Goddess Eostre for her Festival Ostara, not breaking bones of goats when we eat them, and not eating dogs if we have a choice, we don't have a lot of traditions related to food consumption."

Penny nodded, thoughtfully. "Okay. I've tried to follow some of my adopted parents' traditions, but they're pretty modern. I'm having a hard time discerning you from your family. What's unique to you?"

Walker looked at her, "I've always looked at myself as a Walker first, and Cullen Walker second. That isn't unique only to me though." He looked at her, "I like Science Fiction. 20th and 21st Century. I like to collect actual books from the time period if I can."

Penny snickered. "A lot of silly stuff back then. I remember watching--" she paused as she realized the memory was actually making her sad. "I've seen movies from those centuries," she said, changing tack slightly. "They're...amusing. Humans had some weird ideas of what aliens looked like. Not to mention some barbaric ways of dealing with them."

Walker looked at her, "Outside of the middle 20th century, giant crab and blob movies, which I have seen some of those, the 1980s aliens make me think someone had seen an alien. I've seen aliens that look like the Asgardians from Stargate. That being said, I like books. The Gor Series and Magic of Xanth. I also collect Archaic Yggdrasil maps. I am looking for a specific one."

Penny could actually feel her mind working overtime. She nodded along with what he was saying as she tried to dredge up all the references he was throwing past her, most so obscure even she couldn't think of much on them. She sat and bobbed on the waves and looked at him for close to an eternity--nearly four seconds--and finally looked at him. "I think....you're worth further study. I'd like to remain your friend, if I may."

Walker looked at her, "Just my friend?" He grinned at her, "Study all you like."

"I failed the test," Penny said. "You attempted to court me, and you showed me something personal to test to see if I wished to learn more. I ran. I read the Havamal that you gave me, and while it is fascinating, I can say that you and I have different views on things." She looked down at her knees. "You seem to be a good man, wanting to do good. I like that, but I don't think we are..." she paused trying to remember her mother's expression, "on the same side of the table. I've no desire to ignore you, but I don't think I can pursue you. Did that make any sense?"

He smiled, "I won't force you to pursue me or us. I like you, but forcing you to do anything would hurt you. I don't go out of my way to hurt people. You are different and unique. It is awesome. My faith and my family define me, as I define them. I'm Heathen."

"I don't know if I have such definition," she said, looking inward for a moment. "I don't know if I'd want it. But you're fortunate if it gives you direction." She swung a leg over her board. "We should head back to shore before our time is up."

Walker looked at her, "Brace yourself." Then he spoke up. "Computer, end program." He caught himself as the water disappeared. He readjusted his short even though they were really wet. It was a matter of habit. Aspects of his anatomy were evident through the material. He got the material to be more relaxed. Since it was holographic water, the shorts dried quickly.

Penny landed lightly on her feet and stared, then shook her head. "Aw damn," she said.

Walker was confused. He made an assumption, "I could have sworn my shorts were long enough."

"No, it's not that," Penny said, smiling slightly as she walked out of the holodeck. "I just owe Nicole a beer."

Walker answered, "Why?"

Penny giggled to herself and walked out of the holodeck.

 

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