Posted by Fleet Captain Drudoc Andone (Commanding Officer) in Pre-Sim: An Immigrant in a Foreign Land
[snip]

There was a long pause, almost a moment worth before a reply came. =/\= This is Andone, come in commander, though watch your step the paths are near cliff edges, take the leftmost path down to a stream then follow it north to a clearing. I’ll meet you there. =/\= She said.

Drudoc Andone CO

Rhansi nodded, though no one was nearby to see, then stepped forward and the doors parted onto a cliff, woods behind him. He paused to take in the scene, ignoring the doors closing behind him, just listening to the birds and letting the breeze blow across his skin. Still the wrong smell.

He spotted the path Andone had indicated and began down it, watching his footing as some loose dirt would occasionally skitter as he walked. At the base, as indicated, he arrived at a stream - and it was then Nivor realized something.

=^= Computer, =^= he sighed. =^= Indicate north. =^=

An indicator, the Federation standard N, appeared and stayed in a fixed position near the stream. He nodded and dismissed the icon, then set about hiking alongside the waterway. He had not been to such a place since a child, so those were the feelings - of exploration, elation, and adventure - that bubbled inside him. He suppressed a grin, glad he had never reached that point of satiation with the outdoors many of his peers had. True, it wasn’t his environment of choice, but that made it a good getaway when he needed one.

The stream broke into the promised clearing, skirting the edge of it. He crossed into it, and it was the emptiness around him that made him realize he and the Captain could not have been more than 10 meters apart since he entered the holodeck, and were merely separated by forcefields, light, and sound dampeners.

The Federation never ceased to surprise him.

XO Rhansi

The clearing was soon ahead, opening before him, awash with exotic butterflies, flowers, and other small plants. In the center of the clearing rose a single ancient looking tree upon which sat on a hanging branch a half-human/romulan girl of 13 odd years. She was dressed in an almost eye pulsing fluorescent white/pink/green colored shirt and pants with black hiking boots. She gave a bright friendly smile and wave as the new XO came into the opening. “..Mom! The Commander is here, seems he didn’t break his neck!” she giggled.

Coming from the opposite end of the clearing Drudoc strode into view, she was a solid 6‘2 in height, well built in stature and frame. Clearly someone who worked out regularly. Her eyes shone with a brilliant intellect as well studying all about her with a careful eye. “..Hush Tel’eck! Show respect.” Drudoc chastised who was clearly her daughter. Despite her words her intelligent eyes shown with a deep love and protection for her daughter as well.

Turning back to regard the XO, Tel’eck smiled, “..Sorry sir. I just bet Mom you would slip on the slope down here. Didn’t mean any harm by it though!” She said swinging back and forth now upside down on the branch by her bent legs.

Drudoc eyed her daughter’s antics a moment then came over to Rhansi, “..Greetings to you Lieutenant Commander. Please come take a seat on the grass if you like, or have the holodeck form a bench or seat if you prefer.” She indicated by the shade of the tree taking her own seat on the ground. “..This is my daughter Tel’eck as you may have heard.”

Drudoc Andone CO / Tel’eck Andone CO

Rhansi nodded to the girl, smiling. “Greetings, young one,” he called. “And you as well, Captain,” he said as he sat beside her, leaning against the tree. “I have not sat in the shade of a tree in… some time,” he admitted, looking up at the sparkles of sunlight through the leaves.

He looked around them, the signs of life everywhere. He knew, in his head, that it was artifice, but his soul believed, and he felt the flush of it within him. Part of him yearned to remove his breathers, to taste the true air of this place; but he knew that was foolish. “This is beautiful,” he murmured. “Where is this place?”

XO Rhansi