Traveling Plans

Posted on Fri Jan 14th, 2022 @ 11:59am by Captain Shran dh'Klar & Lieutenant Aiko Kato & Lieutenant L'Rissa

Mission: Respite
Location: USS Washington

L'Rissa entered the officers lounge aboard the ship shortly after her duty shift had ended. It had been a fairly easy shift with the ship docked at the starbase, but she had spent much of the time in the shuttle bay making sure a runabout was ready for travel in the morning.

She walked up to the bar and ordered a drink and then waited while scanning the lounge. To her surprise she spotted her superior, Lt Kato sitting alone. After getting her drink she made her way over to Aiko's table, "Mind if I join you lieutenant?"

Aiko was startled out of her deep thought and glanced up to see L'Rissa. "Hi L'Rissa," she replied with a warm smile, "and yes, please join me."

Aiko took a sip of her Samarian sunset drink secretly pleased for the reprieve of being forced out of her own head. "Hope you are well. How are you enjoying the break?" she asked.

L'Rissa sipped her drink, and Earth beverage known as Baileys. She found it to be quite satisfying, causing her to lightly purr. "Honestly I haven't had much time off as of late. I spent the bulk of my duty shift prepping a runabout for tomorrow. Captain needs a ride to Andoria."

"The Captain is going to Andoria?" Aiko asked surprised and tried to recover but realized it was too late. No doubt, there was a padd detailing that request in the pile of padds she was still yet to make her way through. For the umpteenth time, she was grateful for a competent department even if their de-facto leader was less so.

"I am taking the captain to Andoria, and then I am going to Cait to enjoy some time home. I haven't been back home since I graduated the Academy and this is the closest we've been since I reported aboard the ship. Have you ever visited Cait?"

Aiko sat back smiling. "No," she replied. "I can't say that I have. Although I have heard nothing but good things. Why haven't you been back for so long?"

L'Rissa sipped her drink. "Honestly, I've been avoiding it. My family is rather obsessed with achievement. I have been avoiding dealing with that aspect."

Aiko nodded understandingly. Coming from a family with a deep and proud history of military service, she knew what it was like striving to stay true to the Kato name. Interestingly, both her parents had tried to buck tradition by becoming Ambassadors, which had not been looked on favourably by the rest of the family. She suspected they all collectively breathed a sigh of relief when she announced she was enrolling in Starfleet.

All of them except her parents that is.

"What type of achievement if you don't mind me asking?" Aiko inquired.

L'Rissa had brought it up, or at least provided the opening and a response was necessary, even if she didn't want to provide it. "S'rrel, my father is the captain of the USS Tigerclaw, my mother M'Ress is the station commander of starbase 21 orbitting Cait. My brother Sh'aow is a commander and XO of USS Magellan and my brother C'Raal is a lieutenant commander serving as CTO aboard USS Akira. And then you have me, who has made lieutenant but has nothing particularly noteworthy as of yet to point towards." She sipped her drink once more. "Do you come from an equally illustrious family?"

"Wow," Aiko announced. "We live very similar lives you and I. My grandfather is a retired Admiral, my grandmother a retired Captain. Both my parents bucked tradition by becoming diplomats. My brother was a Lieutenant Commander and XO and my sister was the fastest in her class to make Lieutenant."

She paused and smiled thinking about them now. Like a lot of Federation citizen, the Dominion War had left its scars. For her family, that scar ran very deep because it had claimed the lives of her parents, and her siblings.

She suspected that was the reason her grandparents were more muted about significant career ambitions, though it was partly because of them she had finally relented and taking up this position aboard the Washington, which some viewed as a more prestigious position.

"If there is one thing my family prides itself on, it is on military excellence. So you can well imagine seating around the table with Admirals, Captains and Commanders and you being a lowly Lieutenant."

"It seems you and I have quite a bit in common. You are welcome to join me on Cait if you like. I think you would find the open space a welcome change, though you would have to experience a possible formal meal or two."

Aiko thought about it for a while finding the offer to be a lot more tempting than she would have imagined. She really had no formal plans for the downtime most of the crew had while the ship was docked at the starbase.

"You know what..."Aiko said, "I'd be happy to, if you'll have me. It will be a good chance to finally visit Cait."

L'Rissa purred approvingly. "Excellent. The runabout is scheduled to leave at 0900 and once we drop the captain off it is only about 3 hours to Cait. Pack for warm weather. Cait is much like the savannahs and Serengeti of Earth's African continent."

"Sounds like a plan," Aiko replied. She found herself quite excited about the trip ahead. For one thing, it would be a welcome break from the back to back action she had experienced since coming aboard the Washington.

"I guess I should go pack a few things," Aiko said as she finished the last of her drink. "See you tomorrow morning."

L'Rissa nodded. "Main shuttle bay. Runabout will be ready to go." L'Rissa sipped her drink as Aiko exited, feeling excitement and joy at the idea of having a companion with her as she returned home for a visit. She finished her drink and rushed out of the lounge herself a few minutes later, nearly running into the captain. "My apologies sir."

Shran gave a simple smile. "Not a problem. You seem in a hurry. Anything wrong?"

"No sir. Just excited. I have the runabout ready for the morning, and Aiko decided she wanted to join me on Cait, so I just got caught up in the excitement of it all."

"Very well. Carry on. I'll see you in the morning."