<USS Avalon> "Attempted Vulcan Cleansing"

"Attempted Vulcan Cleansing"
Ensigns V'Tresh and Magee
 
V'Tresh kneeled  quietly on the edge of the Colorado River, assembling the 
necessary gear that  she would require for shooting the rapids of the Grand 
Canyon.  Ahh,  Arizona. The holodeck did an impeccable job of recreating the 
dry 
air; the heat.  Almost like Vulcan, in a way. 


He  needed something to cheer him up. He still hadn't received a ship 
assignment and  Magee was getting very frustrated. He decided that he needed to 
take 
a break  from reality and made his way over to a holodeck. Without checking to 
see if  anyone was using this particular holodeck, he merely opened the doors 
and walked  in. He was immediately hit with a gust of hot, dry heat. "What 
the hell?" He was  about to turn to leave when he thought he heard a voice 
mumble something. "Is  there someone in here?"  

V'Tresh turned abruptly and smiled. "Hey, you! Decided to join me on  a 
rafting adventure?" She smirked. "I know, I should have invited you from the  
start, but I assumed you'd still be sulking over your not being on a ship  yet."


"I'm  not sulking. I'm just frustrated and I should've known it would be you 
in here  considering the landscape and temperature. I didn't think Vulcans 
were overly  fond of water let alone rafting. But, since I am here and have 
absolutely  nothing else to do, I might as well see how good your skills are on 
the 
water.  What do you have in mind?" He looked at the supplies she had lined up 
wondered  if she had enough for two.  


She  chuckled as she dug around in her duffel, tossing a canteen to him. 
"Have  you ever been rafting before?" 


"That's a silly question. Yes, I have been rafting before. There was  a river 
not far from where I grew up. The only way to cool off was to spend as  much 
time in the river as possible. I used to go rafting all the time." It was  
true he had been rafting in the past, he just didn't mention how long it had  
been. Hopefully he wouldn't make an ass out of himself.  

"Well, then, I'd think that you'll be  able to help me. Better than a 
hologuide, eh?" she asked with a  smirk.

"Oh God, what am I getting  into"  Magee looked at V'Tresh and swallowed the 
lump in his throat.  "Sure, You don't need a hologuide. I can help you out. 
"Magee you ass, open  mouth and insert foot. Maybe if you pretend like you know 
what you are doing she  won't realize what an idiot you are." Taking the 
canteen he took a quick  swallow to moisten his lips. "Well, first we have to 
make 
sure we have  everything we need. Don't want to get stuck without anything?" 


"Well, I  replicated the 'rafting package' out of the replicator. Didn't want 
to get  halfway up the river before I realized that I forgot the sunscreen. 
Everything  look good to you?"  


Looking like he knew what he was doing, Magee looked over the gear.  "Hmm, 
life jackets, paddles, water, food, tent, extra clothing. It seems  everything 
is in order. Do you by chance have a map of where you or we are  planning on 
going?"  


She  nodded. "Yep, and it's even in plastic, so it can't get wet. "She waved 
a bottle  of sunscreen around. "Look, I even brought some sunscreen. For the 
effect, even  if it isn't really necessary."  


"Well,  if you want the true effect I suppose we can program the holodeck to 
give you a  sunburn. Wouldn't want you to miss out on the whole experience now 
would we?"  Magee grinned as he started to load up the gear.  


V'Tresh  shook her head. "I think that we can pass on that part." She loaded 
a box of  energy bars into the raft. "Hope we've got a flavor that you'll 
like. S'mores,  honey crunch, original, and cookie dough."

"Not exactly what you would call healthy food but it will do. Well,  since 
the supplies are loaded, lets get this raft in the water. You can swim  can't 
you? I don't want to have to save a half drowned, wet Vulcan?" Magee  grinned 
as 
he put on his life jacket and started to pull the raft to the waters  edge.  


The  thought of being submerged in the water made her feel slightly ill. 
"Yes, well  enough, but I'd prefer to remain dry. Good thing that I have an 
experienced  rafter with me." She grabbed the other end of the raft and helped 
to 
slide it  towards the water.  


As the  raft entered the water, Magee instructed V'Tresh to get in. He would 
push it the  rest of the way in and then jump in the raft. He could see her 
hesitate. "Would  you get in already. The sooner you get in the sooner we can 
get going. A little  water isn't going to hurt you. You aren't going to melt. 
Float maybe but not  melt."  


"It  would be illogical to think I would melt," she replied with a smirk that 
 conflicted with the overly Vulcan nature of her words. Moving towards the 
raft,  she took a seat. "Doesn't look overly safe to me."  


"You  have the safeties on don't you? It can't get much safer. You have a 
life jacket  on. You will be fine." Once she was seated, Magee pushed the raft 
the rest of  the way into the water and then jumped in. As he found his seat 
the 
raft started  to tip a little from side to side.  


V'Tresh's eyes bulged. "I'm going to be seasick in the least. Sure  you 
wouldn't rather take a mule ride up the sides of the canyon?"  


"Geez,  we haven't even left calm water's and you are getting sick. What are 
you going  to do when we hit the rapids?" Fishing through one of the bags he 
found a hypo  and loaded it with some medicine. He reached across with the hypo 
and before she  could do anything he pressed it against her neck. "There, 
that should help with  the queasiness." He just shook his head and smirked.  


"Thanks," she replied drily. "I'm certain I'll be most grateful."  She picked 
up a paddle and started moving it through the water  helplessly.

Taking his position in the back of the raft, he used his paddle to  help 
steer the raft. "So, what made you decide to go rafting. Especially if the  
thought of going in the water makes you sick?"  

"Excitement. Adventure. Sounded better than meditation, don't you  think?" 
she asked with a wry grin. 


"Anything is better than sitting in front of a candle trying to  figure out 
the meaning of life." Looking ahead Magee could see the beginning of  the first 
bunch of rapids. He could see the water churning as the raft quickly  
approached the rapids and began to bounce all over. "I suggest you hold on, or  
you 
will end up in the water?" Using his paddle he attempted to steer them clear  
of the rocks.  


The  water splashed into the raft as V'Tresh shrieked. Paddling furiously, 
she  started laughing, despite the 'dire' circumstances.

The raft started to bounce more vigorously as  they approached more intense 
rapids. The front of the raft would lift up into  the air each time it hit a 
wave and then it would come crashing down, causing  more water to enter the 
raft. Magee was feverishly paddling to avoid the worst  of the rapids. 
Unfortunately, the rate over turned, dumping it's passenger's and  contents 
into the cold 
river.  


The  Vulcan screamed, taking in a gulp of water. A little disoriented, she 
made a few  strokes in the direction of the raft. "I thought you said that you 
knew what you  were doing!"
Gasping for  air and grabbing at their supplies, Magee screamed back, "I do 
know what I am  doing. It's not my fault if a rock is hidden under the water. 
You can't expect  me to know where every little rock is now do you?" After a 
few strokes he  managed to grab hold of the raft and swam with it toward 
shallow 
water. Trying  not to laugh, he looked at V'Tresh. "You look like a drowned 
rat!" He pulled the raft over so she  could grab on to it. 

Despite the  warm air, she shivered pitifully as she latched onto the raft 
for dear life.  "Are we going to keep going, or have you had enough water for 
one day?" 
 
Laughing Magee  looked at his companion. "I think you should be the one to 
make that decision."  He pulled the raft up onto the shore and helped V'Tresh 
up. "Why don't you go  sit on that rock while I start a fire so you can warm 
up. 
You might want to take  those wet clothes off." He left her sitting on the 
rock while he gathered some  wood and proceeded to work on the fire.

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