https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf3/outpost42/notes/62762/ Original post

“We have so much more to see… I need to get you to the mound.” he insisted in an excited tone as he looked back, his eyes seeming to smolder as he looked back at her knowing she probably wasn’t expecting anything he had thrown at her so far.

“See,” she said quizzically. “Its pretty much pitch black. Like the Schemes of Royalty finale. Did you see that,” there was pure disgust in her voice as she walked with Nate. “Eight years of my life I spent on that show. All my high school Sundays and all four years of the academy wasted,” the ire in her voice was getting more pronounced. Her body was also becoming more rigid and her steps more purposeful. “You know what happened in the finale? I don’t because they shot it here…in the dark…the entire hour-long thing. Hell, I could have been blind and enjoyed the show more than I did watching it. Why,” she asked rhetorically, “because they shot it in the dark. Thought it would create suspense but it only created hostility. I mean what did they have against torches. The entire series was shot in a time set without electricity but I can tell you how Catelynn Blark died. She was killed at the Red Wedding. I can you how Jamie Bannister lost his hand. He lost it when Rooster Bolton chopped it off. I can even tell you where they kept the dragons. In the House of Undead in Marth. What do all these things have in common? You could see it. So why did I sit for an hour waiting for the battle to end all battles only to get eye strain and have me on the edge of my seat bobbing back and forth? I was waiting along with ten billion other viewers to get one torch lit to see Saria leap from the shadows to kill the Deathwalker only we didn’t get a torch. We got the death, but we didn’t see it. No, we had to remember that Brian was sitting under the weird tree from the previous episode to know where the heck we even were on the set and we only know that because Brian was in a wheelchair and said leave him there.” It would not take much for anyone to see Chloe was livid. Her palms were even sweaty in Nate’s hand but she didn’t care. They had crossed her point of no return.

Turning to face her stared at her for a long moment. She hadn’t shut up once about the show as he walked up to her forcefully as he pulled her in and kissed her like he had just came back from war and he hadn’t seen her in ages as he let every moment of the kiss melt and twist and form a perfect moment before slowly letting go of her as he put a little bit of space between them so he could look directly into her eyes.

“I mean why wou,” she continued until she was not able to talk. Oh she tried, for a few seconds but the words were a muffled mess. The muffled mess soon turned into a soft whimper and then silence as she kissed Nathan for the first time. The setting was exactly like she planned it: in the dark under soft moonlight with a gentle breeze. It was the moment she hadn’t expected: on an angry tirade about an imaginary story that ended a show she later didn’t care a hill of beans about.

“Oh look you can shut up… come on you dork.” he said with a wink as he kissed her once more but more playfully so as he got her to the middle of the mound before leaving her a for a few second as he went into the dugout. Moments later there was a hum as lights came on as spotlights illuminated the night as night became day for Chloe up on that big dirt mound.

Chloe let out a small giggle realizing she had forgotten she was in public. The Schemes of Royalty anger still ran deep in its fans but tonight was about making new friends and nothing about a holovision program.

“If they had just hired me I could have giving them all the light they needed, you can even see how cute you are as you blush under the night sky.” came Nathan’s voice echoing in a boom as he came from the dugout back onto the field, pulling behind him a hovering machine with one hand, as the other held a bag over his shoulder as if it was bootcamp.

“And Nathan said, “Let there be light and there was light. Harland San Franscisco 6:12:83,” Chloe wasn’t sure if he was the religious type or might take offense at the joke but if he ever got past the tight collar of her cadet uniform, he would find the small gold cross she always wore around her neck. It was a topic they could discuss later if the situation arose. For now, she let the topic change abruptly.

“If you can hit a ball I will let you tell me more about how awful it was, if you miss I will come up with random punishments that will make you blush and squirm and say to yourself ‘this isn’t baseball, it’s love making.’” Nathan said with a playful wink as he teased her as he tossed the bag at her feet. Inside as she opened she would find gloves, bats, and helmets for them to use.

Nathan Harland

“And if I want both options to happen. What’s a girl to do,” she laughed kneeling down to pull out a ball and a glove. “So I assume we are teaching me to pitch? I played softball like every girl when I was eight but I was never a pitcher. Right middle fielder,” she tossed the ball up and caught it in her hand. “What do I do,” she turned her body so that her toes were on the white stripe of the pitching mound. Adjusting her feet so that they were slightly hip-distance apart, she wiggled a bit and held the ball in both her hands close to her chest. “Holy smokes you can throw it hard enough to get to home plate,” she dropped her stance looking at Nate after sizing up the distance between her and home plate.

Chloe readjusted her body to what she thought was the perfect pitcher stance. After taking a deep breath, she brought her knee up to her chest. This was a move she had seen a million times only each time the ball flew over its intended target. This time, Chloe realized raising your leg to throw was harder than it looked. It was not that she was ungraceful, but by raising her leg, it did take her off balance. The flew but only halfway between her and home plate. “Wait wait wait lemme try again,” she said pulling another ball out of the bag.

This time she wound up but did not bring up her leg. The ball left her hand and traveled farther but nowhere near its intended target of the batting box. “Cheese and crackers,” she growled pulling another ball from the bag. Before she assumed her stance again, she marched up to Nate and began to frisk him slightly. “You don’t have some inertial dampener on you do you,” she asked looking up at him.

“Then there is no reason I should not be able to get the bah…ellll,” she over hand threw it letting out a small grunt. Chloe also took not one but two steps forward as she lobbed the ball towards home. It was an extremely ugly pitch but even so, still did not reach home plate.

Chloe