<USS Avalon> Shore Leave Without Leaving the Ship (Ranger/Erridim)

Shore Leave Without Leaving the Ship
by
Walker Ranger, Acting Chief/Security, /USS Avalon/
Talea Erridim, Chief/Ops, /USS Avalon/
Talea heard the announcement of the vessel's arrival at McKinley Station, but was, sadly, uncertain she could successfully interact with men she'd never met before and would probably never meet again, so, instead of taking shore leave on-station, decided to create a holodeck adventure, partly to test herself. She knew this was not what the Captain had intended, true, but it did keep her aboard the /Avalon/ and theoretically safe from the threatened punishment. Carefully timing the simulation where it would only last a few Terran hours, she entered the scene, which was that of an old-fashioned pub that could have been from Earth, Trekala or even Regelis. The building itself was ancient post and beam construction, still sound after who knew how many years, although the building was thoroughly modernized in the most essential ways.
She approached the podium near the door, where a hostess was stationed. "Table for one, please. Non-smoking." The hostess looked at her, startled that such a pretty woman was out alone, but nodded in agreement before saying quietly, "Follow me, miss."
Talea was deeply glad the table was far from the bar; like most such establishments, it, like Bobby Woodward's place, sold both synthehol and true alcohol, and the mere scents of those two compounds had the power to make her head ache after only a few minutes. At this remove, however, she was finding the scene pleasant, although she was, as the hostess had accurately pegged, intensely lonely.
As a group of six young men passed her table, following one of the hosts, one of them said quietly, "What have we here, boys?" Talea tensed, but didn't react otherwise. His intent could be simply admiration, not something less savory. His next words were, "We've a lost gosling who is far from her nest."
This confused her badly, until two of the men reached for her, with one of them asking, "Join us?" His tone seemed friendly enough, but she wasn't certain. She said quietly, "I'm just here to eat and think. Please understand? I mean no disrespect, but I'd rather be by myself right now." Her bright hair, still in the Chinese queue, almost glowed in the subdued lighting of the restaurant. Just to be certain they understood her refusal to be a polite one, she tried to send them the same message telepathically before she remembered this was simply a holodeck simulation. To her shock, the attempt was intensely painful; so intense, in fact, that she had a very difficult time concealing the sudden agony.
Walker, about to beam over to McKinley for some much-needed shopping, felt her pain and flinched. Talea was apparently in trouble, but her location seemed to be a holodeck, so he was even more puzzled. Most holodecks were set so that safeties were automatically at full, so even if someone tried killing you, you'd only pass out, or be beamed to Sickbay long before fatal injury occurred. He decided against going across for the moment, although he still needed to go shopping for things that were best if not replicated, such as rings. He grinned at himself, then stepped away from the transporter grid before waving someone else into his place. "I'll join you folks later." With that, he headed out the door toward the holodeck she appeared to be in.
A few minutes later, Walker approached the holodeck. Noticing the status allowed others to join as needed or as desired, he simply entered, the Arch fading into a cleverly-designed hide for it. Walking toward the building, he smiled. He didn't recognize the building itself, but did recognize the area as that of King's Ford, the (obviously now former) village the King had created. Striding toward the restaurant that now stood on the site of the King's Head Inn, he entered, instantly noticed by the alert hostess who had seated Talea. She asked, "Be ye here for a purpose, or are ye also here by yerself?" She was faking the accent, of course.
Walker chuckled. "Is there a young lady here, red-headed, about so tall?" He indicated Talea's height relative to his own, and the woman nodded before responding, "Aye. I'll lead you to her." Walker noticed Talea long before they reached her table, and two young men seemed to be hovering nearby. Not being certain himself of their motive, Walker asked Talea quietly, "Are you all right, love?" to one of the two cursing softly. The other looked murderously at Talea, silently accusing her of leading them on, then both rejoined their friends at their proper table.
Talea was rocked by Walker's words. Not so much the first four, but the last word. The word he'd actually said was a Regellian one that only loosely translated to the word the others had heard. It actually meant far, far more. She wondered if he truly meant it, and the thought both frightened and excited her in ways she had a hard time coping with. A little hesitantly, she said, "Shall we skip the meal, my lord, and head elsewhere?" Her eyebrow had risen during the inquiry, as she was uncertain what his motive was, although she knew beyond a doubt that this time, the man's motive was not to harm her.
Walker said quietly, "I think we need to revive Blackstone. You need his companionship and he will guard and guide you in your interactions with men." He gestured toward the six young men. "They meant no harm, but were, as young men often are, a little aggressive."
Talea said quietly, "Then we need to get with the Captain or Admiral to gain permission, do we not? Forgive me if I do not understand, but I could have sworn, when you approved the container, that releasing its occupant would require approval by the CO and/or XO of this vessel?"
Walker, remembering that very conversation, winced, then nodded. She was correct. They then departed the holodeck, rather than her attempt to continue coping with even simulated jerks. 


> TBC [Tag: Capt. Skyler and/or Admiral Ketchum]

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