The Three Amigos

Posted on Wed Oct 30th, 2024 @ 5:41pm by Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII & Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Lieutenant Xavier Leiko

Mission: Character Development
Timeline: In-between missions
1360 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

"So, any fun plans for shore leave?" Finn plopped herself down next to Xav and Zade at the bar. "Don't tell me you're going to do something boring like catch up with family or stay on the ship..."

Xavier rolled his eyes at his friend her need for adventure was always at the forefront of her mind. "I spent the last mission with a talking wolf with a bad attitude, I think I would be happy with a bit of boring," he said as he stretched his arms above his head. He was only half telling the truth, yes boring would be nice but Finn had that look in her eye, her mischievous one. As much as he dreaded what it meant this time, seeing her being her old self again was great.

"Ugh, lets not talk about the last mission. I spent it in pigtails. I've been thinking about getting a buzz cut ever since. What do you think? Could I pull it off?" Finn chuckled. "Seriously though, you'd be happy with boring? Sounds like a waste of a shore leave to me, but suit yourself," she shrugged with a sly smile. "What about you, Zade? Any interesting plans for shore leave?"

Zade cracked a smile at the idea of Finn shaving her head. It would certainly be a change. "I almost got thrown into an oven, so I second not talking about the last mission." She could still feel the candy bracelets on her wrists, and fought the urge to try and rub that feeling off her skin. As tempting as it was to stay aboard during shore leave, she felt like she simply needed a break from people. "Not much planned, aside from a small trip tomorrow. There's a planet nearby that I was going to explore. Class M, seems very tropical, lots of good hiking trails and a highly recommended natural water slide. No civilization, just a few native animal species."

Xavier gave Finn a concerning look. "Are you really comparing having to wear pigtails with a talking wolf or being thrown into an oven," he wildly gestured in Zade's direction, "an oven? Really?" He asked, the words only registering properly once he had spoken them out loud. "That's crazy." He shook his head with a grin, it was amazing that none of them had died. "Maybe a remote shore-cation is exactly what we all need. After all, Finn needs to process her hair trauma," he added with a grin.

"Look, we got into some hairy situations ourselves, but the pigtails were definitely the worst and I was stuck in a stupid looking dress. I would rather lose another couple fingers than relive that," Finn said, for the first time actually making a joke about the torture she had endured months prior. It felt good to finally be in a place where those memories didn't entirely weight her down and put her in a bad place. Though the memory did trigger another thought. Benedict. "Where did you say this planet was?"

Zade was glad to see that Finn was doing better, and able to process her trauma. She was worried for a while. To Xavier, she had given him a look that emphasized her endeavors last mission were a long story. Holding up her right hand, she answered, "I've been sworn to secrecy, Finn. Can't ruin a natural beauty with tourism." Her words were not meant to be taken seriously, as evidenced by the smile that accompanied it. "It's not far from here, maybe an hour at warp 5. It's nestled inside a nebula, so apparently the skies are stunning."

"Oh that sounds perfect," Xavier said his eyes lighting up. A planetary body inside a nebula always made for one of the most romantic spots in his opinion. For a second he thought that he could invite Jerant, it had been a while since they had spent any time together but then he quickly brushed the idea aside. "Maybe we should bring Tey," he said directly to Finn. "I'm sure he'll make you forget your troubles in no time," he winked.

"He'd just give me a whole new set of troubles to think about. No thank you," Finn took a sip of her drink and quickly racked her mind on the planet's location. Surely that had to be close to Benedict's latest migration path based on the information she'd received. "I'm in," she smiled as she placed her drink back on the bar. "You can even bring Fenn if you really want, but you're babysitting." As much as she hated the idea of Fenn's presence his need for constant supervision could work in her favor if she decided to slip away and take a tour towards the migration route.

"If he misbehaves, we can get our reigning champ here," Xavier tugged a thumb in Zade's direction, "to break his arm again." He laughed at his own joke and sipped on his quickly vanishing rum. He turned to Finn and eyed her suspiciously. "You don't mind Tey coming with us? What are you up to Finnley?"

"Nothing," Finn shrugged. "If I'm not babysitting, why would I care if he tagged along? If anything I think I'd almost enjoy watching you have to keep him in check instead of me. Maybe some good practice for when I transfer him over to ops?" She flash Xavier with a sly smile before finishing off her drink.

Zade rolled her eyes at Xavier's jab. Despite her efforts to emphasize that Fenn was the one who broke his own arm by twisting into it, a couple of people on board still liked to hold it over her head. "Hey, this is an off-duty trip. I don't mind you two coming with, I think I'd actually enjoy some company, but I'm not responsible for your junior officers, and if you talk work at all I will ditch you on an asteroid with an EV suit along the way."

Xavier ignored Finn's joke. He loved Teyo as a brother but he wouldn't be held responsible for his actions if he had to work with the man too; the Trill was trouble! "I have had enough space walks to last me a lifetime," he replied, shuddering at the memory of his last spacewalk and how he nearly died in the process. "So we're on then? Road trip?"

Finn couldn't be sure of Benedict's migration route without looking it up, but then again she didn't have any other plans. Besides, there would surely be time to investigate Benedict's wellbeing while on shore leave regardless of whether she went on this trip or stayed on the ship. "Sure," she shrugged. "Why not?"

This would be a good chance for them to hang out and maybe get to know each other a little better. "I should mention now that I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 0600," Zade pointed out with a slight smirk. As much as she didn't want to be up at that time, it ensured a full day to explore the planet. "The plan was to let autopilot drive for the bulk of it, so pillows will be provided."

"Pillows? By 0600 I'll have been up for an hour and a half, have eaten my breakfast and gone for a morning run. Don't tell me you guys are late sleepers?" Finn asked with genuine curiosity. She couldn't imagine sleeping in past 0600. How did one get in a full productive day if they woke up past 0530?

"It must be a security thing," Xavier said, smiling at Finn. "There's only so much torpedo polishing they can do in one day. Us real workers are normally crawling in jefferies tubes at that time." He threw Zade a slight wink as his smile grew wider. "I'll happily pilot, it's been a while since I was behind the cockpit. You can laze around until we arrive."

"Sleep in for once, you overachievers," the Trill responded with an eyeroll. With the extra company, it meant she'd have to get up earlier than she had anticipated to finish prepping the shuttle. "0600 sharp, don't be late."