#6 The Tour Begins

Posted on Thu Jun 13th, 2024 @ 9:28pm by Captain Rogue Green {Meji} & Lieutenant JG Sheyla {Meji} & Lieutenant JG Ainkara "Kara" {Meji}

Mission: Shakedown II
Location: Starbase Danvers
Timeline: current/somewhere in between

OOC: Next day after BBQ. Please, don't add any info from this post into the BBQ posts. Thanks.

ON:

Having returned to the temporary Meji temple installed within the ruins of the ancient stone keep, Ro had slept well. Upon waking she got up and went out to the bathing pools that had been built in the keep by the previous civilization, reminiscent of a Roman bath house, and fed by a hot spring and a cooler stream of running water that had spouted out of the small mountain on the peninsula. Enjoying the hot water and the feel of being clean, Ro stepped out of one of the pools and walked over towards her towel and the black outfit she was choosing to wear today. It would make her look like Lara Croft, what with the Underarmor shorts and top, belly exposed, and an equipment belt dotted with pouches to store items. And, of course, places for sabers. As Green stood there air drying, enjoying the humid warmth of the caverns like one would a sauna, her personal hand comm bleeped. She picked it up. "Ro, here."

"Kara, here, Master. I bumped into Acolyte Sheyla this morning and she had quite a few tales to tell. She is quite pleased to have been accepted."

"Yes, she showed her enthusiasm last night," Green responded, grinning to herself even as she set the comm down and began to use the towel to remove the excess drops of water still running down her body from her head and neck. She dabbed her hair, which was up in Dutch braids, removing a great portion of the moisture and leaving it damp. She began to dress. All this while speaking to Lieutenant Kara. "I'm at the keep. Bring Sheyla and meet me at the docks. Admiral Stone should be here anytime now."

"Admiral Stone?" That caught Kara off-guard. "I go out into the woods to meditate last night and, apparently, missed the good stuff."

Green got the twins tucked into her Underarmor top comfortably, which was also a sports bra and a scuba suit. Applying her equipment belt she checked all the pouches to make sure they were full of what Meji needed when out in the field, and finally looking to her saber, making sure it was secure. After which, she left the bath house caverns. Leaving the keep proper, and entering the inner courtyard, Ro saw both Sheyla and Kara standing together and talking. They looked over at Green as she approached, both their sets of eyes looking her up and down.

"Nice outfit," Sheyla said. "Got another one?" She smiled.

Kara grinned at that. "Shey, that's what replicators are for." She giggled.

Ro looked at Sheyla and gave a cynical shrug, to back up Kara's statement.

"Fine. The dual purpose for diving is what I seek. I'll be back." With pep in her step Sheyla left them and went inside. Both ladies watched her go before they looked back at each other.

"She's a fire brand," Green said. "We'll need to keep an eye on her for a while. As an Andorian, and just who she is, Sheyla can be rather excitable."

"Ya think?" Kara grinned. "But, yes, we will do so. On that note who is to train her?"

"I have been considering that." Ro admitted. "After meditating on it and seeing how things are working around here lately, it is my belief that the best teacher for her is you."

"Me?" Kara was somewhat surprised but, at the same time, she knew this day would come. If she turned out to be a good teacher, and Sheyla became a shining beacon of what it meant to be Meji and wield the powers of the Core, then she would attain the title of Master and help take some of the weight off of Green's shoulders. "I accept the duty with all seriousness, Master. I will be mindful."

Ro gave her a nod and smile, placing a hand on Kara's shoulder with warmth. "I know you will. I will observe from a distance and aid you in your position if I see you falter. We are here to aid one another, after all." Green then looked Kara up and down. "Go change," Ro said, waving a hand down the front of herself. "Match the outfit like Sheyla is doing. The Admiral requested a tour and we will give him one. Better to be dressed for hiking or swimming since we'll take him to the large island where the new temple is being built after a boating around the Preserve. He is the Meji liaison, now, so he needs to be shown what we are about."

"Understandable." Kara replied. "That, and showing off to dad is never a bad thing, right?" She gave Ro a side glance and smile.

"Exactly," Ro laughed. "Go, get changed. You two come down to the pier when done. I'll prep the boat. Dad is on the Euphrates with his Security escort. I'll call him and see if he's ready to beam to the pier and get going. I'll tell them all to dress for the tropics."

With instructions given the women separated. Ro went down to the pier and boarded the jetboat, which was the size of a World War II PT boat, but decked out like a yacht with all the modern technology thereof. An upper and lower pilot area, and a fold-up awning system that when raised provided shade for passengers and pilots and was aerodynamic to not slow the water craft if the winds were strong. No propellers just a powerful jet system powered by a small fusion reactor beneath the deck. There were several of these craft around the Preserve, provided to the Meji by the people of Risa through one of Ro's contacts. Seeing to pre-launch, Green kept busy while waiting. After a bit of time all the others showed up.

Aaron Stone and his escorts looked like people on a vacation in Bermuda, with lightweight hiking boots, shorts and tank tops beneath light, button up over shirts. They clambered aboard and Ro pointed out the fridge below, and said there was a replicator below, as well. They took their seats on the the long bench seats on either side of the aft deck. The far aft was a diver platform and ladder to clamber back aboard after a swim. With the size of the boat there was also a small rack area for those wanting to take a nap while they traveled, or just to go below and get away from the bright sunlight. Shaded or not, the sun reflecting off the water could be harsh when one saw it for hours at a time without a break.

Kara and Sheyla showed up, dressed like Ro, expressing the Lara Croft look in triplicate. Not openly could she sense it, but Ro surreptitiously caught the two Security guards, and even her dad, stealing glances at the ladies as they prepared the boat for departure. Underarmor left little to the imagination, and with these two piece outfits also designed as scuba suits, all three of them were not wearing any undergarments. Not very comfortable beneath skin tight stretch fabric and tended to bunch up. At least Green now knew that her father was older but he most certainly was not dead. He still had an eye for the ladies.

Once all the lines had been removed and the boat began to float away from the pier, Green pushed the speed lever forward a bit and gunned the engine, pulling away to starboard and then accelerating to a higher speed. Once the boat was moving she set the auto-nav, punching in the coordinates for their destination and letting the computer take over as she turned to face the others. That was when she noted that both Kara and Sheyla wore ankle high aqua socks that had a but of technology placed on them. They could either be used as a waterjet system for movement in water, or the nano-tech could fold out into large fins. The items were designed as all-terrain footwear so one could wear them as a form of boot if they suspected that they would, at some point, end up in water. Going down to the main deck, then below deck, Ro sat down and unlaced her own boots and changed them out to the aqua socks.

Sheyla, her own Core swirling about as she continued to practice using it and living with it, could feel the sexual nuances from the three men. She ignored it as she turned from them to look out over the water, using sense to try and find Seamother and the pod. She was quiet and contemplative, and she did wear her own saber that Master Green had allowed her to borrow. Kara came up next to her. "It is so beautiful here. I will be chomping at the bit to return whenever we have to depart."

"I share that sentiment, Acolyte." Kara used the title to let Sheyla know that she knew all about last night with Master Ro. "Welcome to the Order as an apprentice, Shey."

"Thank you," Sheyla responded, glancing over with a nod. "It's a strange life I have stepped into but, I am ready for it."

"That's good," Kara said. "I need you centered and focused for the days to come."

Admiral Stone sat over on his bench seat with his Security detail, all of them listening to what was being said between the two. All three finding they were interested in all the happenings with this strange Order and what it claimed to stand for.

"The days to come," Asked Sheyla. "How do you mean?"

"I am your Master, now." Kara said. "Master Ro wants me to train you and I accepted. At some point there will be many of us and the more masters we have the better. So, while you learn from me, I learn from the Core and Master Ro."

"Awesome!" Sheyla said. She turned and hugged Kara. "Thank you for your trust!"

Kara hugged her back before having her step back. She was grinning. "Don't get too excited, you're in for some hard work. You should have seen what Ro put me through during our private sessions. Not easy to keep others from observing training while living on a starship, but we managed."

"I'm glad you did," Stone said from behind them. He had been watching and listening to them, and yes, his eyes kept dipping down to their backsides wrapped in tight garments. He had to willfully keep his gaze upwards so as not to embarrass himself by getting caught admiring their assets. "It gave me a new job in Starfleet."

Both women turned around and sat down on the bench seat on their side of the deck, with Kara offering a smile at what Aaron had said. Green came back up on deck as she spoke. "I heard. Good to know we have a liaison that will back us when we need it, Sir."

Sheyla, while sitting and listening to the back and forth between masters and the Admiral, suddenly sensed a familiar presence and it was getting closer. Standing quickly, causing others to jerk a bit and watch her as she got up hurriedly and went to the aft diver platform. She closed her eyes and reached out, and sure enough, there they were. The pod. Kara got in next to her, then Green on the other side, both of them watching her and the sea, knowing why she was acting the way she was.

"Is everything alright, Captain?" Stone asked.

Green half turned to look back. "Yes, all is well. Sheyla has made friends with a local whale species and from the way she's acting, they are close. Probably following us since their pace will be slower than ours."

"Master?" Sheyla said, with both of her teachers looking at her in response. Sheyla, however addressed her query to Kara since she had told Shey that she was to train her. "May I go say hi?"

"You'll be left behind, Sheyla." Kara said. "But, I won't stop you. Meet us when you can."

"Thanks." Without another word said, Sheyla dove off the back of the boat and disappeared beneath the surface of the Meji Sea. That was what Sheyla designated the body of water within the underwater sea wall, in her own mind. She had plans to discuss it with the masters, but for now, she just wanted to see the pod and Seamother.

"She's tenacious, isn't she?" Stone looked at the two remaining Meji. "Doesn't hesitate much."

Green shook her head and smiled at her dad, and to herself all at once. "You have no idea."

Kara had followed her Acolyte with sense for a few minutes, then let it go. If anything happened to Sheyla then the Core would alert Ro and herself. She half turned from the aft view, glanced back a moment at the waves from the boat, then turned and went up to join Green on the upper pilot deck.

"Music?" Green asked.

"Sounds good. Your father and the Security boys are all chatting amongst themselves with beverages. We might as well enjoy the trip." Kara said.

Nodding to that approvingly, bored out of her mind right now, Ro input the music selections, the first being a favorite that always got her body moving around and caused her to lip sync and pantomime to the lyrics in a saucy way.

***

Freak Show

{OA} Dead Posey

Wild child got the fever tonight
Yeah I'm turnin' the screw
Wild child got an appetite
Yeah I'm cuttin' the noose

Ooh yeah I want it
Cause I need it
Chasin' hell on the highway
Ooh I can see it
I'll make you feel it
Believe when I say

One for the money
Two for the freak show
Three gettin ready
Four cuz you never know
Throw in them chips tonight
Under the neon lights
One for the money
Two for the freak show

Wild child got the fever tonight
Yeah I'm turnin' the screw
Wild child got an appetite
Yeah I'm cuttin' the noose
See upcoming rock shows
Get tickets for your favorite artists
You might also like
Boogeyman
Dead Posey
Don’t Stop the Devil
Dead Posey
Creep
Radiohead
Ooh yeah I want it
Cause I need it
Chasin' hell on the highway
Ooh I can see it
I'll make you feel it
Believe when I say

One for the money
Two for the freak show
Three gettin ready
Four cuz you never know
Throw in them chips tonight
Under the neon lights
One for the money
Two for the freak show

Ooh yeah I want it
Cause I need it
Chasin' hell on the highway
Ooh I can see it
I'll make you feel it
Believe when I say

One for the money
Two for the freak show
Three gettin ready
Throw in them chips tonight
Under the neon lights
One for the money
Two for the freak show

***

Down on the lower deck Stone and his sentries all watched the two women up on the pilot platform as they danced and gestured, lip syncing together and then laughing their asses off when it was all over, giving each other female 'bro' hugs. Aaron was now set on getting himself a home built within the Preserve, seeing these two Meji enjoying life like they had not a care in the world. The second song in Green's arsenal started and Stone had no idea the types of music his daughter enjoyed listening to these days, but now was surprised at the variations in what she found entertaining.

***

On The Rocks

{OA} Amaranthe

This is an admission and our mission is to bring down the walls
It's our mission, not fall to submission
Life is an addiction with conviction, you're a Hollywood star
My addiction to feed my conviction

Light up the fire, I bring you back to life
Taking us higher like it's the Fourth of July
That's right, come on

We can make it hot, hot, bring it on the rocks
'Round, 'round, down right until you wanna drop
Acting like a hotshot, drop it like it's hot
So swing another round, right, 'cause we will never stop

Speeding up my future, I'm unbound as I restring my guitar
I've got no regrets along the path to be a Hollywood star
A Hollywood's sunset, I'm bound to the boulevard

Trapped in a wire bringing me back to life
Get ready to fight, we ignite like the Fourth of July
That's right, come on

We can make it hot, hot, bring it on the rocks
'Round, 'round, down right until you wanna drop
Acting like a hotshot, drop it like it's hot
So swing another round, right, 'cause we will never stop
See upcoming rock shows
Get tickets for your favorite artists
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Limitless
Amaranthe
Amaranthe
Amaranthe
Bring it on the rocks
Bring it on the rocks

A lonesome desire, a freak on a ward
I'm torn into pieces as I restring my guitar
So this is my future; my boulevard scars
Got shattered into nothing; a self-proclaimed superstar

We can make it hot, hot, bring it on the rocks
'Round, 'round, down right until you wanna drop

We can make it hot, hot, bring it on the rocks
'Round, 'round, down right until you wanna drop
Acting like a hotshot, drop it like it's hot
So swing another round, right, 'cause we will never stop

***

Another round of laughing and hugs, then Ro turned the music down to a conversational level. "Apologies, Admiral. Open water and a long boat ride. You know how it is."

"Not really, but I'm finding out," Aaron shot back with a grin. Both his security people laughed at that. "Now look what you went and did, Captain Green. You made my sentinels laugh." He laughed, as did everyone else. One of his men leaned over and spoke into his ear while his eyes glanced Ro's way.

"Pardon me, Sir. Is your daughter spoken for?"

Stone's face scrunched a bit, not believing that one of his guards just did something he would never have expected from them. His head slowly turned, his eyes meeting those of the Lieutenant. "Not that I know of. But, keep in mind, Craig. She recently lost her entire family, and a friend she considered a sister. Tread lightly is all I will say about that."

"Noted, Sir. Wasn't trying to offend."

"None taken," Stone replied. "She's a big girl capable of making her own decisions without parental approval." He smiled at his flippancy.

Rogue, instead of using the steps/ladder to the main deck, just hopped down. She landed right before the three guests and looked to the Lieutenant. "Craig, is it?" The man nodded, tilting his head with a quizzical look on his face as she knew he was wondering if she had heard them talking about her. Which, of course, she had. Not through the Core but through her augmented hearing. "You're good looking but I am not interested. Not at this time. Like the Admiral said I have lost much over the past six months. Come visit again when next we come here for a port call. Maybe then you'll get lucky." She gave him a couple of pat-slaps to his shoulder and then went further aft to check on some of the boats gear stored in the hull.

"Told you," said the Admiral. "She is very...blunt. And, before you ask how she knew I will let you in on a classified topic. Captain Rogue Green is an augment, with all the bonuses that come with it."

"Oh, shit." Craig said. "Now I feel really stupid."

"Why?" Stone asked. "She's like any other woman who told you no. Respect it, move on."

Craig nodded that he understood and would do just that. Okay, Craig thought to himself, being assigned to the Admiral was definitely going to be an interesting assignment for his career. Augments, weird powers and weapons. The list seemed to be growing as to what he never expected to experience. As he thought on these things the boat continued on towards the island of Praxeum, where the main Meji temple was being constructed. Even from this distance, which was roughly 100 kilometers distant. they began to see the workbees and shuttles coming and going as they added to the construction and also brought in supplies from the bulk freighters in orbit that had brought all the materials.

Admiral Aaron Stone stared off in the distance, watching the comings and goings, somewhat jealous of what he was seeing. If only Starfleet could build things so quickly. For them it was duty. For the Meji populace it was not only duty, but a way of life, and they were obviously dedicated to getting things in order as fast as possible with skill and precision. Once all the Meji projects were settled it would make Danvers one of the best defended starbases in the Federation.

OFF: