Father and Son Camping trip

Posted on Sun Jan 9th, 2022 @ 12:32am by Lieutenant JG Damien Blackford

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Earth
Timeline: 2387
620 words - 1.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Damien sighed as he trudged along the pathway, running a hand through his hair, the sweat causing his fringe to stick to his forehead. "Hey, Dad, can we stop for a second?" He called to the figure who was walking ahead of him. Turning, his father nodded.

"Alright. Let's take a quick breather." He said, walking back down to his son. Damien smiled, nodding, kneeling down, taking his backpack off, and pulling a water bottle out. He took a quick swig, sighing in relief, before pouring some over his head, ruffling his hair. A chuckle emanated from his father. "Feel better for that?" He asked, grinning, reaching across to ruffle his son's hair himself.

Damien grinned, playfully batting the hand away. "Yes. I do actually. You could have warned me it was going to be this hot."
"Hey. I told you it was a warm weekend. You knew what you were signing up for."

Damien rolled his eyes, smirking. "You told me it was gonna be warm. You didn't tell me we were stepping into the first circle of Hell." He retorted.

"Oh. Don't be so dramatic." His father said, laughing, crossing his arms over his chest. "This is nothing compared to some of the planets that I've been to. I've been to planets so hot the water evaporates within seconds of hitting the ground." He said, grinning pulling his own water bottle out and taking a swig.

"You're exaggerating," Damien said, narrowing his eyes at him in disbelief, putting his water back in his bag. "That's can't be right."

His father merely shrugged. "Maybe just a little bit. But I have been to some truly hell-like planets." Looking around, he glanced at his watch, before shouldering his pack again. "Alright. Come on. Let's get moving. We're almost at the campsite. Once we're there, we'll set the tent up, then we'll get some dinner sorted." Damien nodded, standing back up, stretching slightly.

His father, turned around, heading back up the trail, Damien following behind him.

About half an hour later, Augustus led himself and Damien into a small piece of land, on the edge of a cliff. Damien let a small whistle of appreciation as he approached the edge of the cliff, looking over the ocean, smiling softly. "It's beautiful." He said softly, shrugging his bag off, letting it drop onto the ground, crouching down. His father walked over, kneeling next to him. "Aye. We live amongst so much technology these days, that a lot of people forget just how breathtaking it can be to get back to nature and just relax and unwind sometimes." Damien nodded, staying quiet as his father continued. "That's one of the reasons I thought it would be good for us to get away this weekend. Your mother tells me that you've expressed an interest in applying for the Academy in a few years."

Damien nodded again. "Yeah." He said softly. "Ive been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do with my life, and I want to help people as best I can. And I think Starfleet is the best way to do that." His father nodded, smiling.

"Well then, like I said, this weekend has another reason. Starfleet relies on technology for a lot of it's operations. And technology has indeed come far. But, what do you do when you land somewhere, or are otherwise prevented from using said technology." Damien stared at him, nodding slowly. "This weekend." his father continued, "We won't be using any technology. From this point on, everything we do, we do the old fashioned way."

Damien smiled, nodding. "Understood."

His father nodded. "Alright. Let's get started then. First thing's first, Let's get the tent set up."