Team Building Exercise 2

Posted on Sat Jul 6th, 2024 @ 10:37am by Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Lieutenant Commander Rin & Lieutenant N'vok Holv & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: Season 6 HIATUS
Location: Edens Reach and Transporter Room 1
Timeline: MD6 - 08h15
2576 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure

IC

Phoenix had four packs at her feet as the four senior staff officers she had summoned filed into the transporter room.

"Ah Azhul, Miraj, Rin, N'Vok. Good. Welcome." Her lips were smiling. "I figure while we have some downtime, it would be a good time to get you all involved in a bit of Team Building." She handed each officer a pack. "Food for the day water, tricorders, everything bar sleeping equipment because you will not be spending the night down there. I am going to beam you to a place on the planet, and the four of you are going to spend the day exploring, working together. And get to know each other." She waved them onto the transporter padd.

N'vok raised an eyebrow. "As you wish, Commodore." He stepped onto the transporter pad as he pulled on his pack.

"And what is the point of this team building and exploring exercise, Commodore?" Naxea asked, remaining where she was. She had enough going on in her life presently without having to participate in an exercise with officers that her duties did not include interacting with save possibly Miraj.

"As stated. Get to know your fellow crew members. And to work together better." Came the calm reply.

Rin picked up one pack and slung it onto her back as she eyed her teammates, sizing up their reactions to the assignment. Personally, she looked forward to the exercise. "Is there something we should be looking for, ma'am? Or somewhere we should head toward?"

"No it's up the 4 of you to decide. Hike, chat, scan have fun." Phoenix said.

Rin was less confident how that was going to work with the four of them, but she couldn't know until they beamed down. So she stepped onto the indicated transporter pad. "Mandatory fun, got it, ma'am."

Miraj dragged her feet all the way up to the padd. "I don't see what's fun about being marooned."

"Hardly marooned, we will have tools, communicators, and each other," said N'vok, "and a beautiful new planet to explore."

"I'm a sailor, I belong on a ship, not land." she gave an exaggerated shudder as she zipped up her body suit. "I'd rather scrub the orlop."

"Even sailors look for stuff on land Miraj." Phoenix said airily. "Have fun!"
And she waved a hand to the ensign at the terminal who beamed them down.

When they beamed down, they looked around to find themselves on the shoreline of one of the islands, facing the ocean, which had a large reef just off shore. It was low tide and the reef was half exposed showing radiant corals.

"This looks pleasant," said N'vok, snapping open the tricorder and began a methodical scan of the local area.

Rin nodded, also scanning with her tricorder. After several seconds, she snapped it closed and tucked it into a pocket of her pack, which she set on the sand. She was not going to spend the day with her nose stuck in a tricorder. Check for matters of safety, absolutely, but with that done, she was going to experience things a little more directly.

Rin began wading out into the water toward the corals. The water was crystal clear, and small fishlike creatures swam around her legs. They tickled slightly as they brushed up against her.

"Rin, where are you going?" Naxea asked as she stayed on the shore, watching her.

"Wanted to see the coral up closer. And the water's amazing," Rin replied, looking back at the Colonel. "Sorry, got ahead of myself. Care to join me?"

"Thank you for the offer, but not at the moment," said N'vok.

He looks to Naxea, "It is perfectly safe, so far we have not found anything that is a serious threat to us. I can set my tricorder to act as a proximity alarm if you wish."

"Someone should go with her just in case something happens," she sighed as she removed her hiking boots and stepped into the cool water to join Rin.

Rin managed to not visibly roll her eyes at Naxea's comment. Instead, she asked, "What are you hoping to do today?"

"Colonel, to use a Terran expression, we are safe as houses here," said N'vok. "I am headed to take a closer look at the reef, I am curious as to what it has anchored itself to." He set action to words.

"Depends on the context," Naxea replied. "Is a house safe during a thunderstorm? Yes. Orbital bombardment? No. This is an unsurveyed world and you'd be a fool to let down your guard." Naxea then turned back at Rin. Keep everyone safe is what I'm hoping to do today,"she answered.

"Appreciated, but you do understand we're all Starfleet officers, right?" Rin asked as she continued wading out toward the reef. "We are all trained a good deal on how to survive a variety of scenarios. We are not, in fact, fools."

"I don't recall saying you were a fool," Naxea replied as she approached the coral. "But if you'd recall your training. The first things they reach is that there is safety in numbers."

"Like I said, I got a little over eager, but here we are, four of us, all within sight of each other." Rin paused as the sand under her feet started to be replaced with coral, careful not to disturb the fragile reef. Maybe she'd come back here with scuba equipment before they left, get a better look in deeper water. But the reef rising out of the water was spectacular enough, a tangle of textures and colors that glinted in the sun.

"So, what would you like to do today besides make sure we're all safe?" Rin asked.

"Well, we were told to explore, so we'll do that,* Naxea said, feeling thankful to simply be off the ship, away from S'hib and away from Desek.

N'vok made his way over to the reef. "I think this has built itself over a stone structure," he said taking out his tricorder and ran a scan. "Look at this, Rin. Does that look like something made by intelligent beings? Perhaps a pier?"

Miraj had sat down whilst the other's debated, and opened the pack to find what looked like a decent packed lunch, water, and much to her relief, a sunhat and a bottle of sunscreen among the things stuffed inside. She set to work covering up her pale skin. She wished the captain had warned them. She would have worn a wetsuit rather than the hot wool of her uniform. "we could always just explore the nearest patch of shade, and take the day off."

"What would be the fun in that?" asked N'vok.

"Well, it sounds like it would be fun for Miraj," Rin said. "And she has the same input as everyone else."

"Hooray for the woman with the most pips!" Miraj cheered. Then she pulled at her collar, trying to decide if she should take her jacket off and risk the sunburn. Her fingers came away damp with a sheen of sweat. "Sun, one; Pilot zero," she muttered, struggling out of it, and her shirt, before slathering her neck and arms in thick white cream. Half the bottle was gone already. "Come on, Lieutant." She pleased with the vulcan, "We've got food, we've got drink, we've got safety, and two kick-arse women with guns. Nothing to worry about, so can't we just chill?"

Naxea watched the group and sighed. She wasn't in the mood to relax-- with everything going on in her life at the moment, she needed to keep occupied "I believe we were sent here to explore, not have a picnic," she said.

"We were sent here get to know each other better and work together better," Rin reminded them. "The Commodore doesn't need this island scouted. Exploration was a suggestion, not an order. 'Have fun,' she said. The point was an afternoon together doing whatever we can agree on and, I suspect, to chill the fuck out. This isn't an away mission. It's mandatory shore leave."

N'vok continued his scan. "As long as we keep in sight of each other, I do not imagine there will be much of a problem. I wish to follow up on this structure and see if there are others nearby. That I will find relaxing."

Rin nodded as she dropped onto the sand, sorting through her pack for food and drink. "I think I shall chill with Miraj for a bit. Naxea, you're welcome to join us. And then we can explore in a bit. Does that sound good?"

"I need to stay busy and I'm not on the mood to relax!" she snapped, angrily as she moved off, keeping Rin, Miraj and N'Vok in sight. She fought back tears as she turned for a moment so the others wouldn't notice.

Rin looked back to Miraj. Suddenly, she was no longer in the mood for frivolities. "So, um, do we go after her or give her space?"

On one hand, Naxea was making it very obvious she wanted to be alone. On the other, sometimes such shows meant exactly the opposite. She didn't want to pry. On the other hand...

Rin stood, brushing the sand off her wet clothes, and walked toward Naxea, shuffling her feet so as not to sneak up on her. "I...suspect this might be what the Commodore was thinking of when she had planned this excursion. Is this about the Gul, by chance?"

Naxea let out a breath. "Not as much as my idiot husband," she said, letting the bitterness into her voice.

"Oh....dear," Rin said, unsure what else there was to say. "If you want to talk, I'll listen. If not, that's your business."

"I've already had a chat with Alicia about it. I'm currently staying in quarters in Marine Country by myself, except when Sle'anna is with me." What she didn't mention was how loud the silence was which was why she only used the quarters for sleeping.

Rin just nodded in acknowledgement. She was, until that moment, unaware of a rift between Naxea and her husband, and she respected Naxea's privacy on the matter. Rin was never one for gossip. Using information to belittle someone or gain pleasure from their situation was cheap, unless it gave benefit over an enemy. It was Naxea's story to tell or not tell.

N'vok walked along the coral wading in almost to his waist, whispering notes into the tricorder as he did so.

Miraj watched him go, watched the ocean beyond. Brightly coloured fish leapt from the water and dropped back in, turning round each other. They didn't seem to be trying to go anywhere, just frolicking through the water. It was beautiful. It was idyllic. She flopped onto her back, and threw an arm over her eyes with a dramatic sigh. "I'm bored."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to chill?" Naxea asked as she and Rin approached the young woman.

"I'd love to chill, but we weren't exactly warned. So there's no books, and no music, and no crayons. My options for chilling is lying here like a grounded clipper."

N'vok splashed his way back ashore. "That coral is simply fascinating, I think that it may absorb carbon from the air so that it grows both when submerged and when exposed above the water."

"Are you serious?" Rin asked Miraj. How utterly childish. She looked to Naxea and N'vok. "How might we spend this afternoon? Any preferences?"


"I would like to follow up on the traces of the ancient civilization that once existed on this planet," said N'vok. "But I understand if it does not excite everyone."

"Acceptable to me. Colonel?" Rin responded, looking back at Naxea.

"I thought we weren't supposed to use rank," Naxea replied with the slightest of grins. "What do you say, Miraj?"

"Don't look at me," Miraj said. "I'll just go along with everyone."

N'vok made it back on shore. "I must say, it is an interesting experience, wading in an ocean. Not something one can do on Vulcan."

He gestured further inland. "I am getting a reading of some potential structure in that direction. They may be natural formations, I cannot be sure without a closer look."

Rin looked at Naxea. "Apologies, Naxea. I was not aware that was a rule." Then she shouldered her pack and started to move in the indicated direction.

"It's fine. You coming, Miraj?" Naxea asked, turning to the pink haired helm officer.

"All help is welcome," said N'vok. "I think what we are looking for is under those brambles." He gestured to a mass of dark green vines and pink berries. "We might have to cut through those vines."

Naxea sighed as she unsheathed a machete strapped to her backpack. She approached the vines and began to hack away at the vines. The sharp blade cut through the vines with relative ease. The world seemed to disappear as Naxea focused on the task at hand.

N'vok pulled on gloves and cleared away the vines as Nexea carved through them. "Look, there is a structure under here. I wonder how they moved these large slabs of stone? It has allowed the structures to remain intact but it must have been an impressive amount of effort to move them."

"They could be more technologically advanced than you seem to be assuming," Rin offered.

"That is indeed possible," agreed N'vok. "So far all that seems to have survived is the actual structures themselves. We have not found any other durable goods or, indeed, any remains, it is most curious. We simply do not have much data to work with."

As Naxea finished hacking away at the vines, she sheathed the machete and drew her tricorder from her belt holster. "I'm not picking up any evidence of burial plots," she commented after a moment of scanning.

"We have not found any indication of any," said N'vok, "nor tools or anything to reveal information about the inhabitants. It is . . . perplexing."

"You're assuming its a homeworld." Miraj kicked idly at a lump of moss. "For all we know, this place is just a way station, stripped and abandoned. Like rum smugglers used to do on Earth in the Golden Age of Piracy."

"It is possible though unlikely," replied N'vok. "A rum bottle would be an excellent find, however."

"And even less likely" Miraj sighed

-------------------------

Several hours later, Naxea sat on a broken piller that was laying on it's side. Light was beginning to fade as the sun became low on the horizon. The whole missing culture was proving to be a huge mystery. She spotted some mud nearby as her gaze leveled on Miraj. She took a scoop of mud into her hand and flung it at Miraj with a smile.


Miraj sputtered as the sandy clump caught her cheek and dripped down her neck. "Oh. That's it. Its on." She gathered her own ball of mud, and heaved it wildly

N'vok, whose back was to the others, was finishing his notes. "A good days work I believe," he said turning back to face the rest of the group.

And took a mud pie to the face, as Miraj's flailing throw curved hopelessly off target.

N'vok paused and took his glasses off and shook the mud off of them. "That was most illogical."


Naxea couldn't help but laugh, something she really needed.