Posted by Ensign Jessica Lemann (Doctor) in Ten Forward - Nash After Hours

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Ethan Nash (Chief Tactical Officer) in Ten Forward - Nash After Hours

Snip

“You know,” Nash replied with his smile widening, “I think that might be able to be arranged, come on.” He shifted his hand now so that his fingers entwined with hers then he turned to the wall panel, entering a code into the holosuite and looking back at her as the doors in front of them opened and he led her through.

As Jessica and Nash stepped through the doors the first thing they felt, was the breeze. It was warm and gentle and carried the hint of the sea upon it. They came to a stop on sand as the doors slid shut and disappeared behind them, all around them were many types of grasses normally found on coastal sand dunes, rustling lightly in the breeze that caressed their faces and hands. Aside from the breeze and grasses, it was quiet as no sea birds gathered around them, it was night time. It wasn’t dark though, in the sky above them shone Earths moon, large and full and reflecting enough light for the pair to easily see the area surrounding them. Stars filled the sky without any cloud’s in the way.

Out ahead of them past the dunes and the trail that pushed through for them, they could see the glimmering shine of the ocean, a few boats way out in the distance at anchor and the moon reflecting from the surface. Closer to shore the waves rolled in and ran a small way up the sand towards the dunes. The beach itself was curved, each end to left and right curling away ahead of them and ending in forested hills although to the left, not too far away was what looked to be a beach house of some kind. Simple, with people moving about a large balcony around an outdoor fire and the faint sound of music playing when the breeze shifted for a moment.

Beside Jessica, Nash slipped off his shoes leaving his feet bare in the sand and his free hand reached inside his jacket pocket for a moment, and he paused and felt around slightly before laughing and unzipping it fully so it hung open in the warm breeze. “I forgot my cigar,” he told her. “I must have had something better on my mind.” He turned and watched her in the moonlight for a moment, “A sunny beach this time of night just didn’t seem to fit.”

Lt Cmdr Nash, CTO

Jessica felt a rush of emotion as Nash intertwined his fingers in hers, but all too soon, she was forced to let his hand go as she knelt herself to remove her shoes and socks. Getting back to her feet, she spent a few moments scrunching her toes and enjoying the warm feeling of the sand filling in all of the cracks and crevices between them. The feeling was so similar to the warmth of having her hand in his…

She let that thought trail off as she studied the area around her. She quickly lost herself in the waves of the ocean in the distance, only brought back to reality by Nash’s attempt to find his cigar. She giggled lightly.

“Good!” She exclaimed. “Hopefully your cigar is where it belongs… in a trash can.” As she processed the rest of his statement, her attractive features pinkened slightly again and her gaze went up to the moon.

“I love it. It’s perfect.”

Jessica stared at the moon for a few more moments and then quickly looked at Nash with a wicked smile filling her features. She took off for the path between the dunes, calling over her shoulder, “the last one there is a rotten egg!”

Ensign Lemann

“Oh that was sneaky,” Nash muttered through his laugh as he watched her dart ahead, but he waited just that little second extra before he took off himself, bare feet digging deep into the sand and kicking it up behind him as he sprinted forward, as best as he could on the sand for the path ahead. Jessica did have the advantage however, her lighter frame meant that she didn’t sink as deep into the sand or maybe, Nash just chose the softest and deepest looking parts to run into.

He couldn’t catch her before she reached the path, and once there Jessica had the advantage of firmer, flatter ground. Still Nash was no slouch and his longer legs powered him along the path and then up onto the dunes beside her rather than reaching out a hand and sending her face first into the grasses she was running alongside, that simply would have been sporting.

They reached the end of the path together, neck and neck with Nash laughing as he began to overtake her. Until he failed to notice the sudden dip in the dunes in front of him as they ended in a drop to the flat sand and down Nash went, managing to roll into a ball as his training had taught him. It wasn’t nearly enough to land on his feet gracefully and Nash pushed himself over from the messy heap he landed in, coughing from a stray mouthful of grasses and looked up to see Jessica on her way to the waterline.

Now Nash did pause, watching her figure and long hair flowing behind her as she made her way ahead of him in the moonlight, and he smiled. The beach ahead of them was perfect, no footprints of any other people marred the sand as she ran, the only footprints leading to her. In just moments it would be only the two of them as his footprints would join with hers.

He was still smiling as he pushed himself to his feet and started after her. She wasn’t that far ahead and he was confident he would catch her, right at the moment she reached the waterline in fact if he timed it right.

Lt Cmdr Nash, CTO