Kicking Back

Posted on Thu Oct 23rd, 2025 @ 1:55pm by Lieutenant JG Kate Kono & Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger

748 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Wild Wild West
Location: Hotel Room
Timeline: After the Subeject Interview

Kate opened the door to the hotel room with an unpracticed twist of the doorknob while turning the key at the same time, the way that Jon had showed her when she first stepped into the room. Inside, Wolfie was still sleeping with a smile on his face. He was clean and his fur looked like brand new for the first time in his life as he snoozed away without a care in the world.

"There's no Television, no Internet either... I would give this place one star," Kate said simply. "No subspace tranceiver, no plumbing... And theres a bar over here with a big block of melting ice in it instead of a fridge." Kate finished showing him around. "But at least in here nobody has to shove me out of the way while people try and put bullets into my face for no reason whatsoever, so, it's a safe -- boring place."

Kate opened a window and sat on the ledge to look out at the crap-smeared streets of Durango. The wind caused the tips of her spiked hair to wave like a crowd at a David Bowie concert, swinging back and forth rapidly as she closed her eyes and leaned her back straight against the frame.

"And the air conditioning is only natural..." She said with a smile as she kept her eyelids shut and her face toward the sun.

Aaron stepped into the sparse dining area of the hotel and picked a circular table with a chair facing the entrance. A kind faced waitress approached shortly after.

"What can I get you hon?" She said, taking out a pad and pencil.

"I'll have your..." Aaron scanned the menu placard again. "Country fried steak. Medium rare, with the mashed potatoes"

The waitress smiled and took the menu from him. "It'll be right up."

Aaron sat back, finding it interesting that they had manufactured items like notepads. Something clearly wasn't adding up. As he continued to watch the people around him, there was a comfortable nature between the patrons. This was more than a hotel, this was a more friendly community spot than the saloon. People caroused, ate meals, shared jokes. This would be the location to get friendly conversation and perhaps learn more about the town.

Kate, stayed in the hotel room with her dog while Aaron did his thing downstairs. Wolfie did surprisingly well being alone and seemed content to be happy waiting for her without the usual anxiety many other canines would have when their Human companions were away.

After checking in on Wolfie, she washed her hands and left the room again, locking the door for his safety. Then she came downstairs, she ordered food and took a seat next to Aaron.

"Learn anything new or interesting?"

Aaron wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and gestured across the room with his fork. "Those two, they're expecting a baby." He pointed to a disgruntled group of farmers to the left. "The grain harvest this year will be disappointing." Aaron then pointed to his meal. "Whatever this is, it certainly isn't a potato by Earth standards. A little more fibrous, maybe like a Yucca or something similar. Same general niche but not what I was expecting." Aaron smirked. "In terms of useful observation, just bits of evidence of a more advanced manufacturing and technical precision than what I would expect. The waitress used a pencil, and an actual notepad to take my order. The glasses for drinks are all too uniform, no variations. Even this napkin, look at the stitching of the fold on the edges." He offered it to Kate for closer examination.

Kate picked the napkin up and scanned over it with her eyes, inches from her face. She grabbed another napkin off the table and placed the two plays side-by-side. He was right... The stitching was uniform. She looked closer to see that the turns in each stitch had the exact same number of spirals before dipping onto the paper as well. She places the napkins down and looked to Aaron.

"Replication Quality..."

"Again, I'm not sure specifically how useful all of these observations are on their own. They could be part of the greater picture though." Aaron smirked. "In the meantime, this country-fried steak is spectacular, light years better than replicator. I recommend it."

After an hour of eating and enjoying the food, both officers returned to their rooms to wait on the rest of the team.

 

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