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Vespa V - A Need to get Away

Posted June 22, 2020, 11:11 p.m. by Lieutenant Commander Jarred Alindor (Chief Engineer) (Steven Sigle)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Jarred Alindor (Chief Engineer) in Vespa V - A Need to get Away

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Jarred Alindor (Chief Engineer) in Vespa V - A Need to get Away

Posted by Ensign Kalani Kāne (Science Officer) in Vespa V - A Need to get Away

<snip>

“So they are putting us in the smoke house,” Kalani looked at Jarred not reassured by his comment. “If that is the case that means they are cannibals and we should probably start fighting for our life.” She knew his comment was flippant but it did make one wonder. “Besides the thick fur covering their bodies paired with the subtropical flora indicates they probably don’t need to dress in layers.”

“Well… cannibals would mean they eat each other… they would be just eating us like we eat pork…” Jarred countered as he looked over at Kalani as he saw the horrified look form over her face. “But… of course that isn’t… that isn’t going to be happening here love.”

“Mee kah so wah,” a voice said from behind her pulling at the hand. Kalani looked at the being who again repeated the phrase as he gently tugged her towards one of the huts. He wasn’t acting aggressive but definitely wanted her to follow him “Mee Kah so wah,” he repeated slower and with what could only be a smile on his face.

“Umm Jarred,” she reached back with her other hand searching for his. Kalani had no idea where this being wanted to take her but she knew she did not want to go alone.

“How sure are you about that meat and veggie smoke house idea,” she quipped with a smile on her face.

“I don’t know… 70/30? Decent odds… I think.” Jarred added with a terse smile as he tried to make himself believe it all.

“It’s okay June bug…” he said softly as he held onto her tight as he took her hand. “Look it’s just an adventure, we’ll be fine. My dad would love finding me out here, next thing you know they will wanna take us fishing and tell me how I am using my pole wrong for three hours…” he said with a slightly sarcastic tone to his quip has he nodded as he began to take her with him.

“I’m sorry about all this,” she said in an apologetic tone. “Maybe next time we can go a lot more room service, less fresh air, and no work,” Kalani said. “I promise if you trust me one more time it will be Mai Tai’s on the beach and meals with utensils.” To be fair, Kalani had just asked Jarred to come on a whim. She had hoped he would enjoy coming however not all people grew up outdoors as she had.

“I need to tell you, I don’t regret any of this… not one second. Not as long as you are by my side.” Jarred said as he looked back at her as he leaned close to kiss the top of her forehead.

“Really,” she asked him far more inquisitive than accusatory as his lips left her forehead and they began to walk.

As the pair was led into a hut, it was not at all what Kalani expected to find. A large cloth-like hammock dominated the center of the room. In a way, it was romantic in a vegan treehugger sort of way. The torches scattered about the room created an ambiance where shadows moved against the walls like a thousand candles. “Mee kah so wah ha,” the creature walked over to the hammock demonstrating how the couple could crawl in. The gesture brought a smile to Kalani’s face. For the first time, she realized how dumb she and Jarred might look to thier hosts.

“I think they want us to sleep here,” she murmured out loud to Jarred. Moving across the room, she nodded. Placing a hand over her heart she said thank you and crawled into the hammock.

“I mean, better than on the floor with bugs crawling up our asses… I’m game.” Jarred said as she began to crawl in he looked around, a sense of marvel and wonder at all the construction. These people may not seem like much but they certainly were inventive.

“It’s rather spacious,” she wiggled a bit in it until all the fabric wrapped around her snuggly. “Like a sleeping bag almost but the thread count is amazing.” The fabric was exceedingly soft for a group who didn’t seem to care about clothes.

“Mo passa kah wah hoo,” he looked at Jarred a bit confused. It was clear he did not seem to understand why Jarred was still standing in the middle of the room. “Mee kah so wah ha,” he repeated the phrase and made a gesture towards the hammock with both hands.

“What… do we get in the same?” he asked, as he looked over at Kalani as she swung slightly in the hammock. It seemed more than big enough for the two, in fact, he felt it was meant for two of their species which meant four of theirs.

“Yo condo de soto,” a voice called out behind Jarred from the doorway. As Jarred and Kalani looked at the door they would see what seemed to be a wall of people from the village looking through the door at them.

The man that would be considered the chief or leader of the group gestured at Jarred and Kalani as he spoke to the individual in the room.

“Je make de wah ha,” the guide shrugged as if saying I don’t know why they don’t seem to understand. His face bore an almost hurt expression as if he had failed at his task. Looking between Jarred and the people behind him the man waited shifting his weight from side to side as if anxious or nervous not knowing how to get the man where he needed to be.

Lt. Kalani Kane science

“Okay okay… I will get in…” Jarred said as he climbed up in and cozied up next to Kalani.

Kalani tried to shift as much as possible to let Jared crawl in however this was not a normal bed. Anyone not paying attention to the chain of events from the start might have thought the couple was fighting instead of cuddling as arms, elbows, and the occasional leg was flung over the edge of the hammock as the two worked to situate themselves. Kalani could not help but laugh as Jarred ended up settling in the bottom and she curled up along his body with her head resting on his chest. Surprisingly this hammock was far more comfortable than she anticipated.

Taking a deep breath he felt a ease go over them. This wasn’t the vacation they planned, but it was their vacation. “When we tell our grandkids this story, maybe we tell them less about us looking like fools trying to learn their ways and just brilliant scientist treading uncharted waters as we had little to no hitch with these people.” Jarred said as he looked over at her with a warm gushing feeling rush through him as he leaned in close as he kissed her deeply in their cocoon-like hammock.

Alindor, CE

“Grandkids,” she let out a small laugh. Maybe Jarred was enjoying the weekend far more than she thought. Licking her lips she took a deep breath before starting to talk. “I think we need to start with kids before we jump to the grandkids but since you brought it up I am looking for two. That way we have an even number. Odd numbers make things so hard. I mean someone has to ride alone on roller coasters, you rarely get discounts on odd numbers and someone has to share a bedroom while the other kid gets a room of their own so we go for any combination that is even when we expand the Alindor brood. That’s my deal. Take it or leave it,” she murmured sleepily. Kalani had planned for other activities this evening however from a sensor standpoint the hammock was doing everything to relax them. The deep pressure from the sides of the hammock felt like a comforting hug. The gentle rocking back and forth from the suspension of the hammock worked like a sedative lulling her body into a relaxed state.

Soft breezes and the sound of birds slowly allowed consciousness to return to Kalani’s body. Never had she slept so sound and never had she understood why babies loved to be swaddled until last night. Blinking her eyes, Kalani tilted her chin up to see Jarred still sleep. Thinking back to his comment about not enough tech, maybe if she brought him some breakfast and what passed for coffee, Jarred might want to come camp again. The trick was getting up before him.

Not wanting to wake him, Kalani arched her back so that she could press her palm into the fabric below her body. This gave her the smallest bit of leverage to allow her to roll out of the hammock minimally disturbing Jarred. Lifting her leg, she slung it over the edge tilting the hammock slightly to the right. The separation of the fabric at the top of the hammock allowed more sunlight to spill into their cocoon-like bed. She would have to make this fast so that the sunlight on his face did not rouse him. Rolling her hips to the side, Kalani lifted the one arm that was free over the edge of the material. In a smooth move, she started the typical bed roll out.

As the hammock dipped to the right due to the weight of her body, Kalani’s one free leg probed for the ground. Unfortunately, this was higher off the ground than she realized. Pressing harder into the right side of the hammock increased the tilt. This should have allowed her to find the floor of the hut with her toe yet still there was no hard surface under her foot. Pressing hard into the fabric with her shoulder, the hammock tilted still farther now allowing Kalani to look down to find the floor. Instead of rough-hewed planks, however, all she saw was blue skies and wispy clouds.

“Jarred,” Kalani yelled out, feeling her body overcorrecting in an attempt to right itself. The hammock began to wobble then oscillate as each attempt to roll back into the hammock was forcing it to rock more and more side to side. “Jarred,” she belted out louder, not caring how he woke up. Her hand closest to him clawed at the material of his shirt in an attempt to pull her back in or take him with her as the vigorous swaying edged her hips closer to the lip of the hammock. “Jair…id,” her hand latched onto the neck of his shirt as she caught the first true glimpse of where the hammock was located. It was precisely a thousand feet off the ground.

Kalani Kane, Science

Jarred began to wake as he started to shift from his slumber as his eyes opened to see the outline of Kalani. Reach out he put his hand over her side as he caressed her side. “What…” Jarred paused as a big yawn came over his lips as he began blinking “What are you doing puppy?” he asked softly as he began to feel his mind wake up. “How about you get back here cocoa bean,” he said as he tried to pull her from her perch, the hammock shaking back and forth.

Alindor, CE

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