Lieutenant JG Amelia Semara - A (Not So) Little Get-Together

[Max]

(( OOC: I'm very honored to kick off a very short end-of-shore-leave party!  Most of you are familiar with how this works, but if you're not: feel free to tag into this scene, or start a little scene of your own with anyone who's not already at the party.  Enjoy the food, the views, or whatever you can come up with, and we'll all be looking forward to the awards presentation coming soon! ))

(( Holodeck 1 - DS 33 ; Simulation of Broken Tepui Aerie, Klowahka ))

The Khitomer had finally reached the point where Amelia had stopped finding any new rooms that looked like they had been shaken around like a little toy house by a cantankerous toddler.  Everything worked like new - or at least as new as it could on a ship of the Khitomer's age - and that meant only one thing: the ship would be getting new orders soon.

Yet one thing still didn't quite feel ready: the crew itself.  So many conversations, so many little feelings - little whispers in the hallways, looks exchanged in the lab or on the bridge...  Perhaps unnoticable if one was not an empath, but to Amelia, the feelings still lingered on the air.  It was like the mission had stripped off the insulation from the wires that energized the crew, and everyone was still ready to spark.  Amelia, for her part, was exhausted by it and, as befitting her ladylike upbringing, took matters into her own hands to do what she could to bring the whole crew together before the last lingering days of shore leave slipped away.

Days ahead, real paper invitations went out in a tidy cursive hand to every member of the crew - commissioned and enlisted alike.  She exchanged all her remaining holodeck time to book "the big holodeck" on DS 33 for the venue.  No need to dress fancy: it was a casual, comfortable, picnic-y, (virtually) outdoorsy, and catered affair - you could even come in your uniform, if you weren't feeling inspired!  But there were no excuses to skip entirely: the DS 33 repair team was taking over the Khitomer's systems for the afternoon for a final systems and load-out check anyway (another sure sign deployment was coming), and no, Connor, they don't need babysitting.  They've done this a hundred times before.

The day of, she spent time strategically cooking up a few simple dishes of her own, but there was simply too much to make for too many people, so she spent a while picking out dishes that replicated well and recruited some holographic help to get everything laid out and arranged for the crew in short order.  As for the location?  She'd spent a long time thinking it over, before she'd finally struck on an idea that balanced exotic with comfortable.

The Broken Tepui Aerie on Klowahka was a rather striking affair.  Once upon a time, it had been a vast mountain mesa stretching out unbroken as far as the eye could see, but grinding, geologic time and running water had carved away dramatic slot canyons deep into the rock, breaking it apart into massive, rocky flat-topped pillars standing over a thousand meters taller than the undulating forest it overlooked.  The tops had a biome all their own, overrun with endemic grasses and flowers and the occasional gnarled tree.  One could spend all day trying to figure out what the wind-eroded rock formations atop the mesa looked like, or poking through little caves deeper in the formation.  Once, this place was a nesting site for ancient pre-Klowahkans, giving total safety of isolated altitude.  In modern times, it was a natural park, preserved for its beauty disturbed only by the large visitor count that could be waved away in a holodeck.

The simulation, thoughtfully rendered by the Klowahka tourism bureau, was that of a perfect day: the soft sound of rushing water was far away below, kept from sight by mist and clouds that stayed in the canyons between the towers.  The sun brought red and yellow jasper tones to the ragged rock canyon walls between each platform, and warmth to the mesa-top, even in the shade of a tree.   Looking to the east, the water formed a beaded curtain of many waterfalls that flowed down to the forest, trees dancing in the breeze.  Each spire was connected by little wooden bridges, but the main platform was large enough to host the whole crew, and a number of picnic tables and benches were scattered around to promote mingling for those who wanted it.

Already a handful of the crew had shown up and were milling about, exploring the environment and the table setting and picking up conversations when Amelia spotted the one officer she hadn't managed to catch up with during shore leave.  She immediately gave a huge smile and a bouncy curtsy that matched the mood bubbling up in her.

Semara: Lera!  :: A little trot over :: Good to see you!  I've been meanin' to catch up with you, but it seems time's run away from me in the labs.

Not just the labs.  The new study workload she had started the last week for her "professional development" was nothing short of onerous on top of her normal duties - and preparing this little get-together on top of it?  She'd sleep well tonight, that was certain, but for now there was more than enough energy starting to brew among the crew that she was anything but tired.

Michaels: Response

Semara: Well, I'm glad we got a moment now.  How's your shore leave been?  Been up to anything excitin'? :: A big grin. ::

Amelia eyed the Vulcan woman with trembling lips and studious eyes that were the tell-tale sign of a very excited semi-reformed gossip.  It felt like something good might be coming.

Michaels: Response

Semara: Well that is excitin'!  :: Spotting Richard, and giving a big wave. :: Oh, Richard!  Come join us.  We were just talkin' what we did over shore leave.

Naturally, she gave another small curtsy when he arrived.  It seemed only right to properly greet as many as she could, seeing she was a proper hostess.

Michaels / R. Matthews: Response

Semara: Richard introduced me to this... how would you describe it? :: Looking at Richard :: Animated action-musical holovid.  :: A grinning glare. :: If I'm singin' and dancin' on the bridge next mission, it's your fault those tunes were so catchy.

Amelia promptly started humming something and moving her shoulders to the beat of the song in her head to give a full demonstration.  Then she looked back to Lera, and figured it was best if she stopped dancing in place.

Michaels / R. Matthews: Response

Tag / TBC...

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Lieutenant Junior Grade Amelia Magnolia Semara

Science Officer - Special Projects

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0