[G-HOL] JP-DeVeau+Moonsong+Saveron+Greyson: Teddy Bears’ Picnic Part 2

[chythar skyfire]

(( Holodeck ))

Saavok: Our plants are demonstrating acceptable health. But are the leaves that we planted in your quarters growing? When will you know whether our efforts were successful?

::He clearly took their little planting session seriously.::

::As if she were a child, Alora clapped her hands together, her eyes widening even as the light twinkled within.::

DeVeau: They are indeed!  I have more babies now!  

::There was no way she’d be anywhere close to having as many as he had before...the incident...but at least it was a start.::

DeVeau: It will be a while before they’re fully grown, but you’re welcome to come visit if you like.

Saavok: I would not object to that. ::Which was Vulcan for ‘yes please!’.:: I would be interested to see how they have developed.

DeVeau: You’re welcome, any time.

::After that reassurance, it was the counselor’s turn for attention from the miniature Vulcan.::

Saavok: Counsellor Moonsong; I wanted to ask you about your name. I am aware that most Human and Betazoid names do not have direct meanings in Federation Standard, but both yourself and Doctor Skyfire have names that do. I am curious as to their significance. 

::He’d asked his father but turned up a blank; Saveron didn’t know either. And whilst Vulcan names often had derivative meanings, the actual words were usually lost in some ancient dialect.::

::She nodded, though she was surprised at his interest. She had never been asked that question before.::

Moonsong: It is a translation from… a much older language. The literal translation is Singer-of-songs-to-the-moon. The ancestor of my Name was a shaman of our people and her descendants chose to continue the name to honor her.

Saavok: That is interesting. Acknowledgement of important ancestors is something that our cultures have in common then. ::Which was new information to him.::

:: Carter’s conversation with Saveron had gone over relatively well, though something was still bugging him. The tension with Ris was frustrating him, and annoying on so many levels. He wanted to talk to her about it, even if it was only a brief conversation. ::

Greyson: oO I can’t take any more of this… Oo 

:: He swallowed back some hesitation and anguish, and cautiously approached the counselor. Carter wasn’t about to be rebuffed again. ::

::Raissa stiffened as he approached. The fact they haven’t spoken since their last ill fated conversation had created a gulf, at least in her mind. She kept her expression blank, even though her body was tight with tension.::

Greyson: I know we’re here to have fun. And I want this to be fun. Dancing around the tension is only going to make it worse. 

Moonsong: Worse than silence?

Greyson: Destroying a friendship. Which is, in my opinion worse than silence.

:: That much, at least, was true. And his feelings seemed to have remained as strong for her as they were during their last conversation, his passion just as strong. ::

Moonsong: I disagree. Silence can crush the soul. ::She looked away.:: I do not think this is the time or place to discuss this.

Greyson: Looks like the perfect place. We may not be alone, which I recognize, but by hashing it out now, we’ll avoid the silence.

::Her mouth tightened slightly and her dark eyes showed a hint of anger, and there was a hint of bitterness in her tone.::

Moonsong: The silence came from you. You needed time to sort things out.

:: He probably deserved that, though he kept his voice even. ::

Greyson:  And now we’re talking. : His voice filled with a determination and passion, similarly to what he displayed  during their first encounter. :: I love you, Ris. Nothing’s going to change that.

::Raissa ground her teeth, her arms crossing across her chest. She was tired. Mentally and physically exhausted with nothing but short breaks. Emotionally she was becoming a little ragged. Which meant she was less tactful than usual.::

Moonsong: Until my next… change, Carter? Then more silence while you come to grips with that?

:: His eyes softened slightly, voice filling with steel determination. ::

Greyson: Never again. There won’t be a silence next time.

::She turned away from him. Her feelings for him hadn’t changed. But her level of trust had been shaken along with her self worth.::

Moonsong: It’s not that easy, Carter.

Greyson: I know. And I want to help. 

:: The engineer was still deeply in love with her, and the idea of the silence both crushing the soul and destroying their friendship sent shivers down his spine. He wouldn’t get shaken again by changes within her, and wanted desperately to make it work. There was a moment’s pause before he wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair. ::

Greyson: :: whispered :: I don’t need more time. I need you.

::Raissa was stiff in his arms for a moment, then a tremor went through her and she turned into his embrace still trembling. She didn’t read him, even though it was harder not too when he touched her. She just needed this. The reassurance of his touch. The grounding to the physical that couldn’t be fulfilled by the mind.::

::As Carter approached Raissa, Saveron turned to speak with Alora.::

Saveron: I trust that you have been well. 

::He was all too aware of the fallout from her last social venture. Hopefully a picnic would be far more benign, though given the tension between Moonsong and Carter, perhaps not.::

DeVeau: Yeah, I’ve been all right.

::Nightmares still haunted her if she didn’t take the medication, so at least that was helping.::

DeVeau: I’m more well rested, thanks to you.  How have you two been?  I got worried about you when I heard you’d fallen through time.

::Fallen through time.  The term seemed so much more romantic than the reality of it.::

Saveron: I understand that we were not alone in that. ::Alora had apparently done so twice.:: I do believe however that we both travelled the furthest back and for the longest duration. However we are all in satisfactory condition. 

::Shandres was likely was discharged so they were all but back to normal.::

DeVeau: Still.

::Still what?  The idea that he and the others had not only slipped back in time, but had remained there far longer than any others and with the thought that they might not return had unsettled her far more than she was willing to reveal - at least, not in that at that moment.::

Saveron: You experienced two time slips, did you not?

DeVeau: Yes, though the second was shorter than the first.  Aron and I had remained in the past for a good twelve hours when we were pulled back together.  Although I did go a second time, it was a good deal shorter - only a few minutes, really.

::If painful.::

Saveron: That is preferable. I was stranded for approximately four weeks. Over the course of that time, our expectation of rescue… diminished.

::He recalled facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life in that ancient jungle.::

DeVeau: Did you really think we’d give up all that easily?

::An undercurrent of amusement laced her voice even as her gaze upon him intensified.::

Saveron: We were aware of the difficulty of such a retrieval. ::And at least one of them viewed the situation from a purely logical point of view.:: However it has become apparent that time flowed differently in the fractures, and the further back the slip, the faster time flowed.

::Meaning that what was four weeks for him was a couple of hours for those in the present.::

DeVeau: We don’t give up that easily.

::Her smile returned, brightening her features.::

DeVeau: How far back did you go?

Saveron: We had no direct method of estimation, however a combination of our observations and those of Doctor Skyfire’s team indicates that we were approximately 11,000 years into Peppalexa’s past. Given the planet’s own time shift, we were 21,000 Terran years before the present time. 

::Which was, as far as he was aware, the farthest slip. The physicists were having a field day.::

Saveron: Are you aware of approximate dates for your own time fractures?

DeVeau: We seemed to have traveled back to the development of the largest man...well, Peppalexan made Island, which was about thirteen thousand Terran years ago.

::Way before she was born, yessirree.::

Saveron: Interesting. Did you observe the Peppalexan building process? 

::Terraforming was always something of a science in development.::

DeVeau: Yes, we did.  We almost got buried alive too, but thankfully we managed to avoid that fate. 

::Just as Saveron and his fellow team members had managed to avoid another fate with a similar end.::

DeVeau: I have to admit, I’m just glad to be back in my own time.  

Saveron: As, I believe, are we all. ::He replied gravely.::

::But right now they were in a far more pleasant setting where they might all relax and enjoy each others’ company.::

Saveron: I appreciate your invitation to this ‘picnic’. I am interested to learn what such entails. 

::At that particular moment, Alora noticed the embrace between the other two adults and her lips quirked upward.::

DeVeau: For them, it evidently entails that.

::The Vulcan regarded the interaction blandly.::

Saveron: I assume I should deduce that they are involved in a romantic relationship. ::He said dryly. That was more than the usual hug of greeting.::

DeVeau: Raissa had mentioned there were issues, but I have the feeling they’ve now worked out said issues.

::Which was good.  Raissa had seemed to harbour genuine feelings for the man and though she had tried to hide the pain behind that simple explanation, Alora knew the emotion had gone deeper than the counselor had indicated.::

Saveron: That would be preferable.

::For a moment he had considered warily the possibility that such behaviour was expected on picnics.::

DeVeau: Goody.  Now maybe we can have pie.  Purple pie.  It’s a purple pie day.

::Raissa and Carter rejoined the other three, stepping close enough to catch her last comment. Instead of the distance that was initially between them, they stood close together now. Carter’s arm was currently around Raissa’s slim waist and didn’t appear as if he would be letting go any time soon.::

Moonsong: Seriously, Alora, care to explain that?

DeVeau: Every day’s a good day for a purple pie day.  There are three vegan, three with meat, and three dessert pies.

Moonsong: ::a weak smile touched her lips.:: I’m sure there is a story behind this. Other than the color purple. A color I am fond of, but I question it in food.

DeVeau:  I don’t know about a story, but there’s an explanation.

:: Carter remained silent as he contemplated the color of the food and the pie, pondering if at least one of them had eggplant or plum in it. He wasn’t overly fond of eggplant, but hoped at least one of them was a peach pie. ::

::Raissa looked at Alora as if she was in need of another counseling session.::

Saveron: ::Glancing at the others.:: I anticipate that we are all interested in the explanation. 

DeVeau: I really like purple.

Greyson: Interesting. :: He smiled softly to Ris and squeezed her shoulder gently, reaffirming his touch. :: Are purple peaches even edible?

=============

JP by

Lt. Cmdr. Saveron

Xenobiologist

USS Garuda

and

PNPC Saavok

Vulcan Child

USS Garuda

As simmed by Saveron

and

Lt. Raissa Moonsong

Counselor

USS Garuda

and

Lt. Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Garuda

and

PNPC Ens. Carter Greyson

Engineering Officer

USS Garuda

As simmed by Chythar Skyfire