Posted May 1, 2022, 7:25 a.m. by Lieutenant Commander Ethan Nash (Chief Engineer) (David Shotton)
Posted by Lieutenant Emily Fox (Counselor) in Academy Flashback - A stroll for two
Posted by Lieutenant Commander Ethan Nash (Chief Engineer) in Academy Flashback - A stroll for two
Posted by Fleet Captain Kelly Bordeaux (Commanding Officer) in Academy Flashback - A stroll for two
“So the trajectory of any object follows a predictable path,” the professor drew a wide arch on the console PaDD before him at the podium, instantly appeared on the large wall PaDD behind him. The man’s voice droned on and on reminding Kelly of the environmental control unit. It was low and on some level comforting yet just loud enough you could not drown it out and fall asleep. Astro 781 Planetary Atmospheres was required but a mind-numbing course for most in the command track.For Kelly Shultz, the lesson was completely losing her interest. Leaning to her right, she whispered to Dante, “Hey, what are we doing this weekend? Should we hit up the Lost Albatros again? I am pretty sure they won’t remember us from last time?”
“How drunk were you Kelz?” Dante paused and looked at her. “You think they won’t remember us after you made me ride that bull and you made Ric sabotage it to move at double speed? After we entered the apple bobbing contest and you lobbed a flash grenade into the Klingon’s bucket and I told him it was a matter of honor for him to continue?” He shrugged. “Yeah you’re right, they probably won’t remember us.”
Kelly snickered and put a hand upon her mouth to try and stifle it. “Win at all costs baby and you had great form. I am positive if we hadn’t done those four shots before you got on you would have lasted more than four seconds. In your defense however it was going extremely fast.”
Dante snorted a laugh out, it was clear he tried to cover it as a sneeze or something. “Try 44 seconds, you only saw the last 4 because you were playing the apple bob game with your tonsils and Ric after he sabotaged the bull.”
“When an object moves in the predicted path several things may occur.” The monotone voice continued adding X’s and circles to the arc.
Dante stopped and looked at the screen, then leaned over to Kelly and drew an X on her PaDD among the X’s and O’s she had already drawn. “Three in a row, I win.”
A small frustrated growl escaped her lips as Dante’s trajectory line clearly indicated he won.Leaning to her left, Kelly whispered to Nash, “Yes you impact sed object. Hey, you up to going out with us on Saturday?”
“Do you sing like Cupids song-bird?” Nash deadpanned, and kept his head down and he studied the lines that the instructor was making. Then he frowned. Damn Dante, now all he could see was noughts and crosses.
“No but I whistle like a Nightengale,” she winked back.
“Now when the intended object is dis....lodged,” the professor stopped talking as the doors to the room opened creating a small disruption all eyes turned to the cadet walking in wearing medical blue. As if she belonged there, the student moved up to the podium and began speaking to the professor.
The interruption did make Nash look up and glance at the person that walked in, then look down again. Then, almost immediately, he looked up quickly.
“Hey Nash, is that,” Kelly snapped her fingers in rapid succession as she swatted to the side hitting Dante. For whatever reason, the young red-head’s name was escaping her but she looked way too familiar.
“Huh?” Dante said absently. His eyes were on the redhead but the lights in his head weren’t on as he watched her walk. “Oh! um. Foxy.... Fox. That’s right? Right? Eeeeeeeemily Fox?” He drew out her name as if testing the sound of it.
“Yes Emily Fox,” Kelly nodded hearing the name. Turning her attention off of Dante and Emily now talking to the professor who seemed to be gesturing in the random direction the trio was sitting in. “What is your spring fling doing up there?”
Cadet Kelly Shutlz
“Oh my spring fling was a Sandworm whose name translates in English to Gertrude,” Nash said and at the same time, slid the PaDD into his satchel. “You should meet her, she’s a little cranky before meal time but after that really enjoys her belly rubs.”
“That,” Nash said still watching Emily. “Is the woman who stole something from me and hasn’t given it back yet,” he looked at Kelly and smiled.
“Your chastity,” she chewed on the edge of her stylus and waggled her eyebrows. “You know it is okay if you cried after and she held you close and promised you that you would be together forever. I mean some women like men with emotional pouring. Not anyone I know but some girls do.”
“Plow you.” Nash fired back. “Shut up, not my virginity. I can see the snark in your eyes. You think I’m a total prude just because I won’t do the fountain frenzy with you two, I know.”
“No that is because you are saving yourself for marriage and it’s okay,” she put a hand on his shoulder in an empathetic manner.
“Why? Cause you think it’s gonna be you that gets it?” Nash sat back in his chair and looked at Emily, then smirked. “That ship has sailed.”
“She’s here because I made her a promise.” That was true, the night in the hot tub on the desert cliff had gone on far longer than their soak in the tub. There had been dinner and dancing as well, in between Ethan making sure she believed his answer to the promise she asked him to make. “And she is here to collect.” That thought made him smile, in part because this was the first time he had seen her since she had come back from Arakis, and partly because she hadn’t left his mind since he had returned to the Academy.
Cadet Ethan Nash
“So you owe her money,” Kelly looked at the woman on the stage talking to the professor. The pair were pointing and gesturing towards Kelly, Dante, and Ethan as much as Kelly was pointing back at her. While it could be debatable that Nash was punching about his weight class with Emily, it wasn’t like it was an out of reach punch.
“A tenner, yeah,” Nash avoided looking at Kelly at all costs. “The Fleet bar doesn’t accept Arakis tribal currency, and I left my credit chip in my other pants.”
“Look it is not like there is anything wrong with your love grub,” Kelly stretched her legs out. “It is more your love grub is so…perky.” As if Emily could hear the conversation, between Kelly and Nash the droning voice that had once been lecturing was not replaced by a bubbly one.
At that, both Dante and Nash paused what they were doing and both turned to look at Kelly. “So, you got a problem with perky there, miss perky pants?” Dante asked slowly. “Did you suddenly decide you can’t out perky Nash’s perky little redheaded hottie?” Looking at Nash, Dante shook his head. “I bet she’s jealous she can’t pash the Nash.”
“Pash the Nash? What are you ten?” Ethan shook his head at Dante. “You’re right though, when did the queen of Perkyville decide perky was a bad thing? You forget your cheerleader card today or did they throw you off the team?”
“Ethan…Ethan could I have word please,” Emily said from the podium waving him down from his seat high in the auditorium.
Giving Emily a half wave in acknowledgement, Nash began to slide his things into his satchel and clear the space in front of him so he could move.
Kelly reached over and placed an nought in one of the quadrants taking the PaDD back from Dante. She just half glanced at the screen far more interested in the wondering what the small chat was between Emily and the professor. He looked less than pleased while Cadet Fox was acting as if this was a social engagement.
Reaching over to her, Dante took the PaDD back from Kelly and looked at what she was doing. Shaking his head, he made a mark on it then made to hand it back to Kelly, but she wasn’t paying attention.
“I thought you said she was in counseling,” Kelly watched as Emily moved to the side of the room waiting for Ethan to come down the steps.
“She is, why?” Nash asked, suddenly pausing to look at Kelly while he was half out of his seat.
Feeling Dante nudge her in the side, Kelly placed another nought on the screen briefly looking at it again before turning her attention back to Ethan.
“Cause she is acting like she is the TA. You had better scoot. You are disrupting the class and I am dying to find out what happens when the objects intersects with the trajectory.”
“Oh I have no doubt you are just dying for that,” Nash’s voice sounded unimpressed. “What happens is you lose three in a row.”
“What,” Kelly rolled her eyes looking over at Dante who had spent the last thirty seconds poking her in the arm like they were kids in a playground.
“You suck at Astro Planetary Atmospheres’,” Dante said, this time just dropping the PaDD in her lap. “No wonder you pay me to do your homework.”
“Ah crap…seriously. How do you keep doing that? Best three out of five and this time I am Crosses.”
Emily Fox
Leaving the two behind Nash made his way past the line of students and then down the steps. The entire time he tried to keep his face straight, but all he really wanted to do was break into a wide and goofy smile. He could feel the eyes of the entire room on him even as the voice of the professor started up again as people wondered why the redhead from Counseling was calling the do-no-wrong Cadet down in the middle of a lesson.
“What are you doing in here, Em?” Ethan asked as he stopped beside her, his back facing Kelly and Dante. “You had to break into a class mid session just to see me? I know you’re hot for me, but isn’t this a little public?” His face broke into a smirk as he winked at her. “Tell me this isn’t an official call, I was thinking about booking a session with you, maybe a double?”
Ethan Nash
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