Posted by Ensign Chloe Kendrick (Nurse) in Graduation Week - Earth 2383

Posted by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Assistant CNS/ Child Psychiatry) in Graduation Week - Earth 2383

Posted by Ensign Chloe Kendrick (Nurse) in Graduation Week - Earth 2383
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.

“Well yes… I mean every player has to be able to. How else can you throw someone out at home plate?” he asked her with an arched eyebrow at her statement as she got on the mound. He couldn’t help but find her adorable as she stood on top of the mound trying to look like she knew what she was doing. “I take it you didn’t play pitcher, even in softball.”

“Shut up,” she laughed and 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.

“I mean… it left your glove, that’s progress.” Nathan with a smirk as he watched her get ready for the second pitch. “Maybe try not to rotate your arm so early.”

“Oh okay,” she took his advice and this time she added the rotation later in the throw. If she was being scouted at this moment, anyone watching would be wearing a corkscrewed expression as even Chloe had no idea what she did to make the ball act the way it did. By twisting her arm the way she did, it caused the ball to bounce on the hard ground. This allowed the ball to not only cross a longer distance but ricochetted from the ground, up into the seats between home plate and first base. A slight ding rang out in the stands as the metal from the chair vibrated. “Sorry,” she grimaced. “I think we need less rotation but I did get it over the trail line to first base.”

“Yes, the trail lines. The ones that connect the bases so you know where to go an which direction to head. See there is one from home plate to first and then from third to home plate. Since I got it over the trail that has to count for something,” she smiled at him picking up another ball.

Nathan’s comment made Chloe’s face wrinkle up in deep thought. “Huh, I never realized that,” she said now looking at the fact there was no line from first to second or second to third. “Learn something every day. Next ball…I would stand back,” let out a full laugh knowing that throwing a ball could be dangerous.

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.

“Well… I may be just a simple country doctor, but I think maybe we should switch to the pitching machine…” he said as he made a thumbs up jab as he pointed behind his shoulder.

“Pitching machine. Why would we need a pitching machine,” she cocked her head to the side looking at him.

“Because I am a shortstop love, not a pitcher. While I can throw to home plate I excel at fielding and hitting… so maybe we try that before you get yourself hurt and I have to try my main profession out on you… but then again I would get to play doctor on you so honestly this might just be a win win.”

Nathan Harland

“You’re not the pitcher,” she replied with a truly confused expression on her face. “Number eight. Nathan Harland the North Paw Bazooka,” she repeated looking for some validation.

“Eighteen… my number is eighteen.” Nathan said as he couldn’t help but smirk, she was the one from the games, the bracelet he knew matched but it seemed she didn’t watch him nearly as much as he suspected.

“Okay this is awkward,” she started laughing. Scratching her forehead Chloe glanced up at him with a sheepish grin. “But do I at least get a few brownie points for knowing your nickname is the North Paw Bazooka because you can get the ball anywhere you need it to go? And besides,” she began to backpedal as she talked, “it’s not like you have your names on your shirts. That would be too easy,” she winked at him.

“No one ever has called me that… like… no… no one one the team is the North Paw Bazooka, unless the game programme’s say it and I just don’t know. That’s a stupid sounding name, I don’t even have to throw the farthest, that’s Kyle Park our Right Fielder… he has to throw the farthest.” Nathan said wondering just where she had been getting all this information.

“So batting it is. Do I go to the mound and hit them to you or are we both batting,” she began to pepper him with questions. It had been years since she had hit a ball with a bat. As dates went, this one was going to be a hard one to beat. Most men took you for coffee and maybe breakfast from a bar. No one had ever taken her to play baseball in a real stadium under the stars.

Chloe

“Come to me sweetie I will get the pitching machine on the mound… ” he said with a wink as he grabbed the handle of the machine and pulled it to the mound as he set everything up. “Okay, this thing has several style of pitches and speeds, but I am going to start you on a change up, 70 mph. That’s a fairly slow ball, but it whizzes past you like a blur I can adjust it.” Nathan said as he walked back and with the PaDD that was attached to the machine as he let it calibrate. The technology of now could have the pitching machines do far more than when baseball was invented. It could change angles, velocity, pitch types… all while calibrating the perfect strike zone for each player that goes to hit in front of it.

“Okay, lemme see your batting stance…” he said as he put the PaDD down for a second as he came over to her, coming behind her he placed his body directly behind her as he waited to see just what kind of stance she thought she should have. “Okay legs apart, grip needs to be tight with wrists firm…” he said as he helped adjust what he saw right and wrong as she stood before him.

Nathan Harland