Posted by Lieutenant Commander Ethan Nash (Chief Engineer) in Academy Flashback - Time for Two

Posted by Lieutenant Emily Fox (Counselor) in Academy Flashback - Time for Two

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Ethan Nash (Chief Engineer) in Academy Flashback - Time for Two
A week had gone by. On Arakis that was a week of hot, sandblasted days and relentless heat, that merged into each and every week on the planet that, on the surface, very little to endear it to anyone.

Emily’s soup kitchen had operated every day without fail, although the coffee machine that had been left by Nash when he had left the kitchen had raised more than a few eyebrows. Most loved the bean machine that turned water into black gold, but many distrusted anything that changed such a precious thing as water.

Today was no different as the evenings regular clientele pushed there way through the doors and began to take their seats. Dusty, smelly and dirty, dressed in linen wraps with hoods over their heads most of them couldn’t be told apart at first glance unless they had something specific about them. One of these men that sat at a table was clearly broad shouldered and muscular, but not overly so. His hood was pulled down over his eyes as he looked at the table, and toyed with something metallic in his fingers. Fingers wrapped in cloth and to protect them from the sun. For a time, he watched the goings on and the Cadets as they worked stirring pots and calling out for more of whatever they needed, and his eyes followed one woman in particular.

“Coffee?” He asked one of the Cadets quietly who was walking around serving tables with drinks and clearing bowls. In his fingers was a Starfleet Comm badge. “If you could ask the Soup Savior of Arakis to come with it, I have news for her. About her friend.” The mans voice was heavily accented, like the people of Arakis.

Nash

The man nodded and heard back to the small kitchen area. “Yo Soup savior,” the cadet called out to Emily. “Someone is asking for you. They say they have news or something and they want coffee.”

Emily wiped her hands on the rag that seemed attached to her shoulder and moved to the small machine Ethan had left a week ago. Glancing out into the room, she smiled seeing a dusty, cloth-covered individual. There was only one man it could be. No one asked for coffee that wasn’t part of the Federation. Approaching the table, Emily had a spring to her step. She had waited a week to hear anything about Nash. The problem was not all the desert cities communicated. When Nash disappeared into the desert, only the immediate people with him knew where they were going. Emily had asked but the only response she could get was the dog roams the desert at night. The response was poetic and the fact Ethan’s nickname was now his tribe name was comforting and problematic. Ethan was bound to be less than pleased to see the nickname Emily playfully gave him has been bestowed as an official one. For Emily however, it had meant Ethan, as she expected, had earned a place in the tribe. Being an outsider this was unheard of.

“So you have some news for me,” Emily said to the stranger setting the coffee down on the table.

Emily Fox

Her face fell slightly not finding Ethan under the robes and dust but someone different. She had half expected Nash to surprise her going all native but something deep inside Emily told her Nash was not at the stupid in love antics yet.

The man looked up at Emily a moment as she set the coffee down, and under the hood she would see that it was neither Dulin or Ethan, but a young man that had been in the kitchen once or twice. Picking up the drink, he brought it to his lips and drank it in one sitting, closing his eyes as he did so. Giving a body shudder as he set it down, he gasped slightly for breath and waved a hand in front of his mouth, the coffee had been hot, but not enough to burn.

“The Dog told me to ask for coffee, and then drink it before giving you the message,” the man explained, his mouth making odd shapes as he tried to decide if he liked the drink or not. “He told me it was good manners among his people to drink this when meeting someone,” he shrugged, “it is disgusting, I liked the pineapple better.”

Sliding into the seat, Emily’s face brightened some. “Okay tell me they are all calling him the Dog because of his cunning and brilliance and not because they think that is his nickname.” Seeing the man focused more on the pineapple than her question, Emily pulled the plate. While Nash had only seen the happy without-a-care Emily, there was another side. This side of Emily got things done and whipped people into shape. “Hey no pineapple without some information,” she said snapping her fingers.

“Oh!” The man said, looking up at her and remembering why he was here. Holding up the Starfleet Badge that was in his fingers, he motioned for Emily to take it. “Your friend told me to give this to you, he told me that you have to meet him at the place you took him the night you met. The first place, he said, under the stars. Meet him when you finish here, as he cannot come back yet.”

Emily took the badge and the smile slowly dipped from her face as she turned it over in her fingers. This was the first thing of his Emily ever held in her hand. Turning it over she rubbed the small indicator without depressing it. If she activated the device, it would only reach the ship in orbit and not the person she wanted to talk to most. For the millionth time today, Emily wished she hadn’t sent Ethan off into the desert.

“Ahh,” the man let out a long, drawn out sound of understanding. “The dog does know you. He told me to say these words when your face did that, he described it well. He said to tell you, Why is your face doing that? He likes it more when it does that smile thing, not that confused thing. Meet me where you opened my mind to the world and where you asked too many questions. Those were his words.”

Emily let out a huge laugh and tapped the comm badge on the edge of the table. “Yeah, I think he knows me better than I think.”

Pushing himself to his feet and turning to leave, he paused, and then turned back to her. “Room Mate of Doctor Doolittle,” he said, using one of Dulins names for here that Ethan had used in the cave, “the Dog told me that you are to ride in style tonight to the place he will meet you. He left you a gift outside, and asked that you bring coffee.” Turning, the man walked out of the door, throwing the hood further over his face to cover it from the sun and sand.

“He sent me a gift,” Emily stood up and followed the man out the door. For the first time meeting Cadet Ethan Nash, Emily was shocked at something he did. “What is it?” she asked eagerly following the man out the door.

Outside, he patted the animal that was tethered to a post outside the kitchen, a post that was very reminiscent of old hitching posts outside saloons on Earth. The animal resembled the Yak that Ethan and Emily had joked about, but was saddled for a rider. Like all animals on Arakis, this one could go without water for a long time, was strong and sturdy, stank, and was uncomfortable to ride with the way it swayed side to side when it walked.

Ethan Nash

“He got me a Yak,” she stopped and let her face twist into a confused expression. Taking a step forward she wrinkled her nose and looked around. “This is a joke. He can’t really expect me to ride this..thing right? Right,” she yelled as the man walked away. Sighing she reached out and patted the animal. Taking another whiff of the air she withdrew her hand and let out a small eww sound as she fanned the air around her. Emily’s face screwed up more when she realized the smell was not on her. Moving inside to wash her hands, Emily was not so sure about the mode of transportation for her date tonight but she was still excited about the company.

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Eight hours later....
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Emily rode on the back of the Yak to her destination but the look on her face showed she was not so impressed still with the Yak. As Emily moved over the sands, she pulled out another bottle of perfume and began to spray it liberally around the animal’s head. The bellow of the animal only caused her to roll her eyes. “Oh stop it. This is expensive stuff,” she turned the bottle back on herself. As much as she wanted to see Ethan, she did not want to smell like a Yak when she did. It only took an hour to get to the cliffs overlooking the ocean of sand where she took Ethan the first night she met him. Looking around for another silhouette and not finding one made Emily begin to doubt herself. Was it a prank? Was this payback? Letting out a sigh she slid off the beast and decided to give it an hour before she returned back to the town.

Emily Fox