Posted by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) in Saracen Holosuite: Knight and Dalton/SARAH

Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton/SARAH (Ships AI/Avatar) in Saracen Holosuite: Knight and Dalton/SARAH

Posted by Captain Dante Knight (Commanding Officer) in Saracen Holosuite: Knight and Dalton/SARAH

(snip)

With a grin, Cori took his hand and stood up. She was about to walk off but then gazed at him side ways with a smirk. “A tip for you though, Captain. Never assume the sweet ones don’t have a spark of fire in them.” Cori then moved off down the hill.

Dante adjusted his cuffs and jacket to fit properly from his previous seated position and smiled as he watched her head to the horses. “Great, I get a sassy AI” he said with good natured sarcasm and followed after her, sliding his hands casually into the pockets of his jacket as he watched the landscape around them.

As they approached, the horses stayed where they were but they, Cori and Dante shimmered for a moment. The horses were then tacked up and ready to ride, whereas a moment before they were peacefully grazing. Cori herself was still wearing her jeans and boots, but her hand carried a couple carrots. Dante himself was appropriately ready to ride as well, though it was notable that she didn’t bother with riding helmets.

He came to a halt beside her and watched the animals, a slightly far away look in his eye as his thoughts went back to his uncles stables and a life that was now light years away. It was far from a bad memory and he smiled at the feeling of the sun and the breeze in this place and the memories.

Moving closer, Dalton whistled slightly and made a clicking noise with her tongue. Cash and Lacey raised their heads and Lacey snorted, almost in acknowledgement.

~Corinne Dalton

“How long has it been since you took a ride?” He asked Corinne as he kept up with her and examined Cash with an out-of-practice critical eye and then moved forwards to greet the horse, glancing at Corinne as he did so out of curiosity as to what she was doing. He couldn’t be sure, but he had a feeling that she hadn’t been ‘back here’ like this as it were in a while, not with the way she had been sitting on the hill looking over her old homestead.

Captain Knight, CO

She handed him a carrot for Cash, of whom had taken a step forward and jutted his head out slightly, as if to ask for his clearly predestined treat.

Taking it, Dante turned to Cash and simply let him take the carrot, while at the same time reaching forward and scratching the horses head on the side, just behind the ear with a rough and firm touch letting the horse know he was there and confident. It was an old habit he had largely forgotten but he found himself enjoying the contact again.

Approaching Lacey, Cori reached up slowly, drawing the tips of her fingers gently up the mare’s face from her nose to her forehead and then gave a scratch, making the mare snort slightly and wiggle her head to ensure just the right spot was reached. “Not since I left for the Academy, so… about 15 years now,” Cori said softly, not wanting to startle the mare.

“Then this should be interesting for both of us” he smiled, and walked beside Cash while he checked over the straps and buckles of the saddle.

But as he spoke, she realized that that was as unintentional lie. The memory of her last ride was buried along with all the mixed feelings of one Levi Keller, the man who inadvertently caused her death while he had been preparing to propose to her. Pausing, Cori closed her eyes and willed the memory of them racing across the meadow, egging each other on. She won by a nose and had laughed like a carefree girl. Had she ever been like that before? Again? It was all such a haze.

Offering Lacey the carrot, Dalton simply went about showering the horse with small gestures of affection. In a moment like this, she could entirely ignore the fact that neither she or the equine were even real in a physical sense. This was simply her interacting with a creature that she had loved and whom had given her something back in return. She waited till the carrot was consumed and gently mounted the mare, leaning forward to pat her neck.

~Corinne Dalton

Watching Corinne as she mounted, Dante’s smile got wider as he pulled himself onto Cash and settled his feet into the saddle, while letting the horse feel his weight and balance. As expected, Cash moved slightly under the unfamiliar rider and Dante used his knees and voice to settle the animal although, he could feel the tremble of eagerness to run and the power of the horse under him and could feel that Cash wanted to be given his license to run. It was of course a holo program, but that didn’t change how real it felt. “Computer, one Cowboy hat” he said, and a moment later one of such items appeared in his hand.

“So” Dante said looking at his riding partner, “Where did you like to ride around here?” he raised his hand and placed the hat on his head, it was a black hat, curled at both sides and he placed it at a rakish angle with a smirk and a shrug. “I may be Italian, but everybody loves a Cowboy.”

Captain Knight, CO

“Not everyone,” she said with a slightly impish smile. But there was something in her unnaturally coloured eyes that suggested there was more to it than just a joke. Now that she had opened the vault on the memories, they were there under the surface and they wouldn’t just go away. The farm boy in his cowboy boots and hat and the cheeky grin seemed to want to haunt her for the moment. Well, he could just go away and not ruin what so far had a been a perfectly pleasant experience!

Turning Lacey to the left, she gestured with her head. “Come on then, I’ll show you my favourite route. It’s a circle tour that goes down to the sea and then back up through the hills to the farm. ” With a double-click of her tongue, she nudged Lacey forward with her heels, heading towards a gate on the far side of the field. It felt good to do this, to have her hair loose in the holographic wind and the sun warming her skin. It was, as ever, a perfect simulation.

~Corinne Dalton