The 14ers

Posted on Sun Oct 2nd, 2022 @ 1:13pm by Captain Samuel Woolheater & Crewman Adelaide Kirkby & Consul Andrinn Orin

Mission: Season 5: Time Warp
Location: Earth - Colorado - The Lalor Ranch Wedding
Timeline: MD01 - The Wedding Party - Early On
3000 words - 6 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON:]

One of the first things Sam did, after making it through "the gauntlet" as he called it, was to find an open bar. One of the best things about folks getting married is all the free stuff. And top of the list was all of the free booze. Even better was that at this wedding there was none of that, "Let me see your wristband" crap and there were none of the "drink tickets" BS either. Samuel had no plans to get plotzzed. He was a professional drinker and he had a high tolerance for alcohol. What he did enjoy was the free part. He could order all the kooky fu-fu drinks and try stuff he would never buy from his own wallet. He was also in his dress blues. It was also hot here and he had Adelle to think about. He placed his drink order for him and Adelle. She was looking fine and talking to other guests. Sam went to the bar. "I'd like a whiskey, double shot on the rocks and can you add a touch of liquid smoke? Unless you have something from Tennessee or Arkansas? What's that? Jack? Jack Daniels, oooo baby gimme some of that. Don't need the smoke if its Jack. AND - - ho' up - (whistles) - and I need a Manhattan for the lady." He gave two thumbs up and with his right hand, picked up a clean toothpick and skewered himself three olives and ate them.

Andrinn was sitting at the bar as he watched people slowly transporting into the wedding. He didn't know a lot of people and didn't want to be a bother to anyone, so he thought that the open bar would be one of the best places to hide away until the wedding began. He didn't want to remember the fact that he couldn't get a date in time for the wedding and just started to think way too much about his past loves.

Andrinn couldn't help but smile as he thought back to his first love. "God, we were so young back then and so much in love, weren't we Tobin? I miss your quirky smiles," Andrinn said in a hushed tone as he took another sip of his drink and happened to look up at the perfect time. Sam was standing a few meters away from him, ordering two drinks as Andrinn quickly realized that Sam had found himself a date for the evening. She was beautiful and a total catch.

Doesn't mean a man couldn't be disappointed, though.

Sam noticed Andrinn and smiled and waved. One never left a lady and so Sam indicated that they would be right over. When the drinks arrived, Sam thanked the bar keep and left a generous tip. Adelle and Same came over to him. "Consul Orin, good to see you man!" and Sam offered him a handshake, "Andrinn, please meet the very loverly Miss Adelaide Kirkby."

Adelaide smiled and gave a friendly nod, "Consul Orin, I've heard so much about you sir. It is my pleasure to meet you." Sam smiled and said, "We met at the Captain's bachelor party" Sam said. Adelaide noticed what a handsome looking fellow the Chief Diplomatic Officer was. He had a kind face and expressive eyes. He had rugged good looks and he filled out his dress uniform very nicely. He was an attractive man with a nice voice too. He had a calmness to him; like he was centered. Grounded in something other than the present. She said, "I think that we are both new to the ship? How are you finding your new post Ambassador Orin?"

"Definitely different than my last posting on Earth. Well, really different than most of the stuff I've done throughout my career, as I haven't done much on starships except for my cadet cruise back in the late 23rd century. So, it has been a good run since I came onboard. How about yourself, Ma'am?" Andrinn asked, smiling gratefully before taking a swig of his own drink.

Adelle nodded, "It's my first time, for real, on a starship. I mean, as a member of the crew. Not my first time in space though. She said, "I've got a job helping out with administrative duties for Colonel Azhul and anywhere else they need help."

Sam added, "And an awesome job she is doing of it too! She runs a tight office though. It's all business with CA Kirkby around" he said only teasing. Woolheater asked Andrinn, "What do you think of these fourteener's here huh? Colorado has so many of them."

Andrinn looked over at Sam, cocked his head to one side and asked, "What's a 14er? I've never heard that term, even when I was positioned on Earth, so what is it and why are they so big?"

Sam opened a hands to the mountains as a backdrop. "Fourteen-thousand feet or higher. Colorado has fifty-eight of them. I love mountain hiking, zip lining, WHEW! I love it. You like to go on mountain hikes?" he asked Andrinn.

"Yeah, back home on the Trill homeworld, but nothing on Earth yet. I'm taking it that you've gone on a few yourself?" Andrinn asked, as it seemed like the sniper had gone on several himself.

Sam got the biggest grin on his face, "Aww hell's yeah. There's a list, I've done twelve of them. The rest I have on the..." here he made a sliding motion with his hand to emphasize the next word, "...holla-deck. 'Cause y'know, for some reason, the keep sending the ship away from Earth. We should go man? I've got some damn shoreleave in the bank. We could do an easy one....San Luis Peak. It's super cool this time of year, and a gorgeous view."

Andrinn couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as he watched the younger man work his magic and talked so enthusatically about the 14'ers. Whatever they were must've been awesome and Andrinn was down for trying it at least once.

Looking at Sam and his date, Andrinn replied, "I'd love to go with you sometime. You'll just have to let me know, so that I can put my time in for it. Sound like a plan?"

(See image that Sam has at: https://www.14ers.com/photos/sanluispeak/peakphotos/medium/201807_San01.jpg?lu=20210402)

"Well? Why not tomorrow? Or the day after that? We're here. And San Luis is not far from here?" Sam looked at Adelle, "What about it? You want to go? How about a hike?" he asked. She smiled and politely declined, "I like the mountains, but I'm not a hiker by any stretch of the imagination. You should go Consul Orin. Sam is right, the mountains are high enough in elevation that they will be cooler at the tops." Sam looked over to Andrinn, "What do you say man?"

Andrinn just chuckled once more before shaking his head in agreement. "Fine, fine! We can go tomorrow because the ship isn't due to ship out for another little bit as far as I'm aware. So, lets go have some fun while we're back on Earth. As for you ma'am, you're more than welcome to come if you ever change your mind," Andrinn said, glad that he had something to do other than just doing more reports back to the Diplomatic Corps on Earth.

Sam said to Andrinn, "We'll have to change out of our dress uniforms. You look all dapper & sharp in your formal wear Consul Andrinn." As Adele listened to them talk and sipped her drink, she became gradually aware of how Andrinn was looking at Sam. She looked over at Woolheater and he seemed oblivious to it. Adelle did not have 'gaydar' but she was pretty sure that Andrinn was checking Woolheater out. All of this, she kept to herself. Later on she would let Samuel know her observations. She didn't want either of these guys to get hurt. If Sam really was clueless then he could hurt Andrinn's feelings and not even know it. She listened and chimed in at appropriated times during the conversation. She watched to see if Sam was checking Andrinn out and he didn't seem to be. This made her concerned and she would be sure to clue him in later on. Until then, she kept quiet about it. Andrinn was a handsome guy too. The really handsome ones she could never land. *sigh* she thought and took another sip of her drinky-poo.

Blushing slightly, Andrinn couldn't help but think of the many things that they could do out of their dress uniforms. But, that wasn't the point of the hike. It was two friends, going out on a nice hike together on something called the 14'ers. He looked back at the lady that came with Sam and could tell that she was keeping something inside.

Andrinn didn't want to say anything, but he was curious as to what she was thinking. He made it a mental note to ask her about it later...personally.

Sam had polished off his drink a while ago. Now he took the mostly melted ice and finished off that. "It'll be fun. We could make a day or two out of it. Y'know? Why rush? Get some overnight gear, pitch a tent and see the sunset and the sunrise. We can enjoy the view and decide what our next peak will be. I'm so glad to have found a hiking bud" he said and play punched Andrinn on the arm.

"Do you like to hike Consul Orin? Were any of your previous hosts avid mountaineers?" Adele asked the handsome diplomat.

"Most of my previous hosts worked with the Trill Symbiosis Commission or for the Trill Government in some form of Diplomatic affairs. We've only gone hiking as something fun to do, which is why I'd have to suggest that if you ever find yourself on Trill, you guys should totally go hiking on the mountains near the capital City of our planet. They're absolutely beautiful this time of the season," Orin replied, finishing off his own drink before grabbing another one and finishing off that one to take the edge off.

Orin was definitely nervous and didn't want to show it. This was the first time in a long time that he felt....something forming that he hadn't felt in quite some time and Orin knew that it was something that he shouldn't be feeling towards this straight man. So, the drinks help to make him forget, if even for a moment.

A wedding attendant found Sam and said, "Lieutenant Woolheater? Could we see you for just a moment? One last minute change in where you sit for the marine saber ceremony. A word over here by the map sir?" The attendant indicated to a seating chart displayed on the other side of the bar and asked Sam to follow him. "Excuse me?" and Sam followed the attendant to see the minor change.

Adele was never uncomfortable in social settings and she smiled at Andrinn. She said, "My mother used to tell my brothers and me that we should say kind words to another person while they have ears to hear those words. And to say kind words to them while we have lips to say them. And to do kind actions while we have hands to do them with. And so, may I offer you a compliment?
I think you are a really handsome man. I don't mean that to sound, y'know, vapid or an appeal to illicit some favor from you. I just mean; I think you are handsome guy."

"Ma'am, are you asking me to come to your bedchambers later? Cause, if you were, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm rather gay. Sorry to disappoint you, ma'am," Orin said with a slight chuckle and a stance to show that he wasn't the straightest person in the quadrant.

Andrinn's response was unexpected. And it hurt her a bit. It stung. She had never considered herself anything but a proper lady. And this guy was perhaps thinking she was being a slut? His comment stung and it took a moment to recover. She was surprised, but she gathered her composure, decided to take the high road and said, "No sir. Consul Orinn, I am not asking you to do that." She paused and looked at how he was standing and said, "It's the twenty-fourth century Consul and being gay is no longer a crime as you well know. It doesn't matter to me your orientation. Because you can be handsome...and rude at the same time. May I offer you some advice? Before you get too drunk and say or do something you'll regret later? I think you should just talk to Lieutenant Woolheater about how you feel. I don't think he knows that you want more. And I don't want to see either of you get hurt. And that's all I wanted to say about it."

Andrinn stood dumbfounded. He didn't even realize what he was doing to the young marine. While he was bashful sometimes, Andrinn didn't consider himself blind to what others were feeling. However, several of his previous partners would have said otherwise.

Looking at the young lady, Andrinn blushed hard and replied, "I'm sorry. I've just had too many people, women in particular, come to me and try to get in bed with me. It's just a response that I usually give out because it's something I've had to do more than once. Please accept my apology. As for Sam....I didn't know I was being such an idiot...."

"Apology accepted. You're not an idiot. You're lonely. And that's OK. Being attracted to someone is a natural thing. I just happen to know that Sam lost someone he cared a lot about. And he's lonely too. I just want you to be prepared that he may not have the same feelings for you. Maybe he will. You two will have to sort it all out. But since you are both lonely and both vulnerable...go carefully. OK? And if you want to talk about it with me? I will make myself available and I don't even need to get in your bedchamber to do that." She winked at him.

Orin just shook his head because he truly was an idiot. While he was a diplomat and talked to hundreds of thousands of people on a daily basis, interpersonal relationships weren't always his forte.

Insert last relationship...

But, Orin knew that he didn't want to harm anyone else. So, if he was going to do anything with anyone onboard, it was good to know that he had someone to talk to. Looking over at Adelaide, Orin replied, "Thanks. I'm just not good with the whole relationship thing. I just suck at it, you know? I'm also horrible with picking up different cues, so sorry about that again. You're a beautiful woman. I was just being stupid. What happened with the whole Sam thing anyways?"

She smiled back at him, "Thank you. You're very kind. Relationships are hard. Making friends is hard. And, humans make it more complicated by all of the non-verbal cues. We just keep trying and maybe someday. Don't feel badly please, you're not stupid. People make mistakes; that's all that was. And it's been forgotten."

Sam arrived, "What's been forgotten? Me? You all forget about me?" Adele looked at him and winked, "How could we forget you?" she said with only mild sarcasm. Consul and I were having a rather pleasant conversation until now." Sam snickered, "Oh? Anyone I know?" Adele said, "I have to go the ladies room. Excuse me boys? Save my seat?"

Sam called after her, "Sure" and watched as she walked away greeting friends along the way. "So, Andrinn? You serious about going on that hike with me man?"

"While the Trill are quite jovial, we are also very serious. Mix that with my El-Aurian heritage, you get a man with a serious want to go on a serious hike. You just name the day and time, and I'll be there for you! How does that sound?" Andrinn said with a smile, hoping what he said didn't sound too stupid.

"Yes! OK, then we're leaving for San Luis peak tomorrow. I've got some shoreleave and I think I could use a hike about now. So...let's meet at 0500? Get a good early start? Maybe eve see the sunrise?" He ordered another drink as he spoke, "Sounds good?" he asked Andrinn.

Andrinn just chuckled as he watched how animated Sam got when he was speaking about going on this hike. Andrinn ordered another drink himself before he replied, "Yeah, we can go and get a head start on that to catch the sunset. I think I've got enough shore-leave stored up, especially since I've been in Starfleet technically for over a century. So, yes, 0500 hours will work just fine. Just come and get me on the ship if I don't respond right away."

"You bet! I'll be there" he said and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "You hanging out here for a bit longer?"

"I think that I might hang around for a bit, but I've got several people I wanted to go and talk to before I come back for another drink. I've had enough drinks as it is. But, I'll find you, okay?" Andrinn said walking backwards before winking at Sam. He walked over to several people in the wedding party and said a few congrats before losing himself in the crowd.

"Yeah. OK. I'll see you later then" and he watched him walk away. Sam returned his attention to the party at hand. he would meetup with Andrinn later on tonight.

[OFF:]

Consul Andrinn Orin
Chief Diplomatic Officer
(Signed off by Woolheater)

&

Crewman Apprentice Adelaide Kirkby
Communications Specialist
MARDET 62nd Company

&

1st Lieutenant Samuel Woolheater
First Platoon CO
Marine Honor Guard