Flight of the Bored

Posted on Fri Apr 15th, 2016 @ 2:14pm by Warrant Officer Awf & Rhian
Edited on on Fri Apr 15th, 2016 @ 2:15pm

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: The Promenade

* The Promenade *

With most of the crew away from the station on various errands, Rhian had taken herself out to the Promenade to wander around. Rafael was okay company but he was rather intense at times and hard to know what he was thinking. He was, she had to admit, a little intimidating. He and Ronin had taken the new engineer out for a run and last she heard, would be gone for a day or two. She had actually thought about going with them, because...well, she had her reasons. But Zarv was with them and he creeped her out sometimes, especially when Isa wasn’t around to keep him in his place.

She much preferred Joe, who was usually a barrel of laughs. He was off in the gym somewhere increasing his neck size or something at the moment, which he did a lot. She decided to find a little surprise for him to say thanks for looking out for her as he often did. There was a shop on this level that Kaeli had mentioned that seemed to have a bit of everything that she wanted to look into. Surely she could find something for Joe there that wouldn’t clean out what latinum she had left from her shopping trip with Rafael.

She pulled out the jumja pop she’d picked up and began to lick it as she strolled along. Raf was right, it was pure sweet goodness on a stick. Continuing along the Promenade, she passed a place called Palaxia’s Playground - full of lights and noise and people cheering and groaning over the dabo tables. The chaos fascinated her and she stopped outside to watch.

Eventually a second individual had stopped outside of Palaxia's Playground to watch as well, though he had little interest in what was going inside Dabo wise. He didn't exactly relish the idea of going in there for the time being. Every new experience was nice, but he'd played Dabo and already knew what it felt like to be a loser. No, Awf was interested in something else entirely, and that was the fact that he had been following a second Ocampa around.

Turning toward her slowly, he carefully pulled the hair around his ears back with a smile hoping that she would have figured out what he was from just that. He had only seen her before, having been essentially rendered useless when it came to his psionic abilities. Unlike other members of his species, Awf really couldn't use this impressive abilities whatsoever.

It took her a moment to pull her attention away from the crowd in Palaxia’s and turn to look at the young man. Young was relative, he looked to be about her age actually, perhaps a smidgen older. What drew her attention was his ears. She gave him a sudden bright smile and reached out, tugging on his ear.

“Well, well, look at you! I didn’t think I’d see any more of us ever again.”

Youth truly was relative considering that in most species' lifespans, he was surely so young as to be a mere child. While Awf didn't exactly like anyone touching his ears really, he simply grinned in response to what she was doing and looked back into her eyes with a big exhalation. "Ever since I left the home world, I never thought that I was going to see someone else from my own species either. How did you end up all the way out here? I ended up joining this group called Starfleet. It's nice, but I wish I could do whatever I wanted to do sometimes."

“I was dying to get away sne see something of the universe in the time I have, so I sneaked on board this one ship that ended up in Krenim space. It was a little tricky getting away. They weren’t too crazy that I’d stowed away and I had to run to keep my skin in one piece. I slipped on this Klingon ship that was coming here. They discovered me part of the way here but were a lot nicer about it and said I could stay with them as long as I took over the mess hall duties.” Rhian leaned in closer and whispered at his ear. “Pirates!”

Well that had certainly sounded exciting. Indeed, that sounded more exciting than his current job, almost to the point where he'd want to run off and try it if it weren't for the fact that there was still a chance that he could someday get an appointment as a full-fledged test pilot. Looking around carefully, he tried to see if anyone was around to listen to what they were saying. Obviously space piracy was quite illegal, but it also sounded like it gave her plenty of stories to share. "That sounds...awfully exciting. Do you get to take stuff?" His eyes were lit up like those of a young child.

Rhian shrugged. “I’ve only been with them from Krenim to here and from what I gathered, they were there to deliver some hogs. Or something hog-like. Rafael, he’s their chief engineer, has been griping about the mess ever since.”

"Hmm, could you mean a Targ? You did mention the Klingons before." Even though she had claimed to not really have anything happen yet, this was all extremely exciting to Awf who was used to the more organized world of Starfleet. Considering what had happened to a close friend during the last mission he was on, this was a welcome escape from his regular reality.

“No, these had spikes, Joe said. He’s one of the crew.” She took another lick from the jumja pop in her hand. “Awfully nice fellow. Anyway, that’s how I got here. What about you?”

"I thought Targs had spikes or horns or something." Awf shrugged midway before he started to answer her question. "I got forcibly removed from the Kazon, and eventually ended up on the station staff. Sometimes I wished that I could have put up a better fight, but I was really young at the time and there wasn't much that I could have done. I ended up getting taken top-side on Ocampa, but then I found out that most people live much longer lives than I have in front of me, so I promised myself that I would live my life to the fullest that I could."

“Yes, that’s it exactly!” Rhian clapped him on the shoulder with approval. “So you’re Fleet huh? What do you do?” She looked past him and noticed a bench close by. “Let’s sit.”

Once she had noticed the bench, he quickly followed along with her. He was soon grinning quite brightly as few people had taken this kind of interest in him in any recent length of time. The best part, of course, was that she was even of the same species as him, and that served to make things more interesting. Having sat down, he soon looked back up into her eyes. "Well, I'm a pilot, and I mostly fly support craft right now, but I hope to make it into the test pilot corps some day so I could fly new and experimental vehicles. I never went to the academy like everyone else, considering that it would have taken so much time away from me and all."

“I can understand that. I mean, life’s short, right?” She laughed at her own joke. “See, that’s what I don’t get. Why stay hidden away instead of out enjoying the time we have?” Rhian gave him a sidelong glance. “You have a name, pilot?”

"Yeah, I wish all of our people could be out here grabbing life by the horns like we do." Awf didn't quite know if he used the expression properly, but he didn't want to look like an idiot so he didn't ask if he had. Rather, he moved right along to introducing himself. "I'm called Awf." As usual, he pronounced his name almost like the English word 'off.'

“I’m Rhian.” She offered her hand as she has seen Joe do when meeting people. “Nice to meet you. You’re not on duty today?”

Taking her hand, it seemed like Awf had a pretty good handshake when offered. "Nah, I actually get today and the next few days off. They don't want me to spend too many hours on duty and get exhausted from it."

“That’s good,” she replied. “So what are you doing with your days off? Most of my crew is off the station right now, so I’m on my own.”

"Well, I was just walking around the station really, since I don't usually get an opportunity to relax. Sometimes I go skateboarding or something." Awf shrugged a bit in a casual way. He had a tendency to 'take life by the horns' even on his days off, but at this point it was nothing to him.

“What’s...skateboarding?” Rhian was now more than a little curious. “Is that something pilots do?”

The Ocampa shrugged a bit with a smirk. "No, I think it's kinda just something I do. I never met another pilot with an interest in it. It's where you ride around on a deck with wheels bolted to it."

“Interesting. Maybe you could show me sometime.” She turned her attention back to the people passing around them. “Do you like it here? Being the only one of us here, at least as far as you knew? Are they nice to you?”

"I'd love to show you, whenever you're free really!" Awf's eyes lit up, not really having had anyone to socialize with like this in a while. "Oh yeah, they treat me fine I suppose, I've made lots of friends here, but there are some parts of the station that I really don't like at all! I wish some of those would go away really."

That got Rhian’s attention, pulling her gaze back to Awf. “Like what?” There was an unmistakable glitter in her eyes now.

"Have you ever been to the Cherry Pit? I love the rough clubs, but they actually tolerate prostitution there and they actually let people sell sexual activity." Awf made a face that indicated that he didn't like the idea of it at all.

“Oh, Saturnalia. Yes, I have.” Rhian’s smile lingered. “Ronin took me down there and the crew favors it to anywhere up here. Comfortable neighborhood for them I guess. They know me down there now though, so if you want to go but not venture in alone, I’m your girl.”

With a smirk, he tilted his head toward the other, not having necessarily been afraid of the place so much as offended by what went on there. "Oh really, you've made quite a name for yourself on the station then? What have you been doing over by the Saturnalia?"

“Just hanging out with the crew. There’s some interesting people down there but you have to watch your back, at least that’s what Joe said. But he’s big enough that no one bothers me.”

Laughing for a moment, Awf looked back toward her and nodded again. "Well, I guess we're both in it for a rush then, we just choose to get our rush in different ways. How about this? I'll take you skateboarding if you show me around the club. Does that sound fair?"

“It is!” Rhian smiled almost ear to ear. “When?”

"I guess I should ask when you're free, but then again like I said I have some time off so whenever is fine with me." Awf seemed every bit as pleased.

“Now, then. This skateboarding first?” Rhian finished the last bite of the jumja pop and dropped the stick in the recycler by the bench.

With a smirk, Awf turned from the disposed-of jumja pop and instead looked back at her face. "What, did you want to go try it now?"

“Sure if you want. I’m not really big on putting things off till ‘someday’,” she quipped. “Unless you’d rather go to Saturnalia now and save that for tomorrow?”

"I'm fine either way, but as you can imagine I'm not much for putting things off either. Let's go skateboarding first, then jump down to the Saturnalia. Sound like a plan?" Awf smiled, figuring that since she shared at least some of his outlook as well as his short lifespan, Rhian would have certainly not wanted to put things off.

“Good.” Rhian flashed him a bright smile. “Lead on then.” Rafael’s warning to be wary of people on this station popped into her head but she shrugged it off. This fellow was a Starfleet pilot, not some lowlife. She suspected that Awf was squeaky clean, not someone to be wary of. He was likely the one who should be warned about Rhian instead of the other way around. The thought made a giggle escape her. “Ready when you are.”

While Awf was certainly wild in his own right, his sense of being wild was taking his life into his own hands constantly. He wasn't the type anyone would have had to be wary of. Just as Rhian had thought about, it could be said that he was squeaky clean. "Alright, I'll race you there!" He started to stand up, running and figuring that she would very well have given chase after him.

A slow, beguiling smile spread over Rhian’s face as she gave him a bit of space. This was going to be fun, she thought, then broke into a run after Awf. It took only seconds to catch up with him.

Honestly Awf figured that she was going to catch up with him, but he didn't give up with his running until they were both safely inside of a turbolift with the doors shut behind him. "Deck 44!" He called out and then laughed as the turbolift obediently started to move, considering that it had recognized him as an officer of Starfleet. He doubted that Rhian was familiar with that particular deck, but he was going to have fun with the fact that almost no one hung around there.

“So,” Rhian began as they continued to ascend. “Are you planning to stay here on 900 until you can’t remember how to get to the flight deck?”

With a snicker, he soon shook his head toward the other Ocampa. "I don't think I'd ever forget where that is, but for right now we're going to a part of the station no one ever seems to go to. I can use it as my personal half-pipe. I don't think anyone even cares!"

“Lots of utility areas here, huh?” she asked as the lift doors opened. They stepped out into a long hallway and she stopped and looked at Awf. “Okay, let’s see what you’ve got.”

Walking over to a slightly over-sized replicator unit, Awf started to push some buttons to call up a custom pattern that he had stored in the computer's memory in a personal file. "What do you mean, what I've got? I didn't think you ever tried this before." Naturally he smirked, appreciating her feistiness in this. Soon enough he watched as a custom-designed deck with metallic trucks and wheels began to materialize in a replicator that seemed to be designed for use replicating replacement components for the myriad systems around the station.

Rhian watched as Awf began to construct the track. He worked quickly and she remained quiet, not wanting to interrupt him. She followed along, however, watching closely.

"I'm just replicating the custom board that I designed before is all; what kind of ride did you want?" Awf naturally didn't know how much she knew about skateboarding so he didn't know what she was going to take on, if she had any knowledge that would have given her a real preference at all.

Rhian shrugged. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “How about I watch you first?”

"Well, we could but I at least wanna see if you ride reg or goofy." Awf said this as though it were something normal to make a request about. Setting the skateboard on the ground he looked toward her, "You can watch in a sec; just stand on it for now."

Rhian stepped gingerly onto the skateboard, resting her hand on Awf’s shoulder to keep from losing her balance and having the board slip out from under her. “Shaky.”

"You can step down now, I wanted to see which foot you wanted to lead with. That's what I was trying to ask for." Awf then offered her his hand, "Grab on if you needed some help getting off. You can just watch for now to get a hang of it!"

She took his hand and stepped off the board, then moved back against a wall to watch and not be in the way. As loose as the board felt beneath her, she was curious how he could stand on it, with it moving, and not end up flat on his back.

Now Awf made it look easy, placing both feet on the board and pushing himself forward down the corridor for a moment in a manner that made it look as easy as walking. Soon, though, he allowed himself the luxury of getting freer with his motions, and since this was such an unused section of the station it had looked like he didn't care what he did. Once he had suitable momentum, he abused the fact that the joints where the walls met the floor were slightly rounded, and rolled slightly upwards before he was able to make much of the length of the other wall, switching and flipping the board beneath his feet in the process. He was right about this place having been unintentionally built just like a half-pipe.

Rhian watched him and an impish grin settled on her face. As Awf turned and aimed back towards the floor, coming down of the curved wall, she closed her eyes and reached out mentally. The board beneath his feet skimmed just over the floor and continued up, carrying him along several inches above the floor.

Once he was carried back down, Awf soon allowed his board to skim the other way, now electing to demonstrate a hand plant as he reached the other wall. Letting his hand actually grasp onto something beneath his seemingly perpendicular body, it looked like the board actually came out from under his feet for a split second. Soon enough, though he quietly rolled back down the side and in front of her, giving him a chance to kick his board effortlessly back into his hands. "Wanna give it a try?"

“It’s more fun to fly you around.” Rhian leaned in close. “None of my crew know I can do that.”

Blinking a bit, Awf seemed surprised at what it was that she had been saying. "Why do you keep that a secret from them anyway?"

Rhian shrugged. “They don’t know much of anything about me really,” she admitted. “I’ve not been with them long and they didn’t find me onboard till we were halfway here. Ro, our First Mate, was the one who came up with a job for me on the ship so I’d be pulling my weight if I intended to stay.”

Seeming rather surprised at the admission for the time being, Awf shook his head, which had the effect of moving about his prominent mop of hair in the meantime. "Woah, you really don't let 'em know anything then?" He then grinned infectiously, "Sure you just wanna watch me shred and don't want to give it a try?"

Rhian laughed lightly. “You go ahead and don’t worry, I’ll have my fun. Just hang onto your board.”

Rolling his eyes a bit, Awf eventually sighed and shrugged a bit as he tossed his board down so his feet could jump right back on the rough surface covered with grip tape. Shrugging, he smirked and then started to push off again, silently wishing she had at least given it a try, but doing nothing to show these emotions visibly.

She waited until Awf had taken to his board once more and as he sailed off down the corridor, Rhian focused and Awf’s board, and Awf with it, left the floor and he continued to sail forward, several feet off the ground.

As he reached what looked to be end of the wall, he kicked his board effortlessly in turn, spinning it around so that he could again ride back the other way. It certainly looked like this was something Awf no longer had to consciously think about, since he spent plenty of time in here. That was, of course, without any permission to do so.

Rhian lowered him gently to the floor as he drew near, a big smile on her face. “Impressive. Ready to hit Saturnalia?”

Shrugged a bit and smirked, "As ready as I'll ever be. Thanks for comin' with up here. Do I gotta change? How do people look down there anyway?"

“You look fine. You see every kind down there, trust me.” She gave him a wink, then turned towards the lift.

Looking her over with a grin, he soon tilted his head up and exhaled, "Alright, let's get going. You'll have to show me all the places to have fun down there!"

“Oh, that I can do.” The lift doors opened and she beckoned him to follow.

Soon enough, Awf smirked toward her and figured he was going to have quite an adventure coming to him shortly.

********************
Rhian
The Bad Influence

Awf
The Innocent She’s Corrupting