PNPC Ens. Imogen Lacy — Stranger in a Strange Land
Nolen Hobart
((1725H, Transporter Room 2, Deck, USS Khitomer, Earth Orbit))
Lacy: Yes! Ready. ::beat:: What's in El Paso? The tourist brochures seemed… quaint?
Michaels: We are directly over North America. My mother pointed out that it would be a waste of time to have my father fly us from El Paso to Marathon. We will be getting there just in time for dinner. So we are beaming directly to Marathon.
Ginny liked Mrs. Michaels already. Few things in life felt as good as a sensible, straightforward itinerary.
Lacy: Ah, yes. ::smiling, following up onto the pad:: I thought of that, but didn't want to step on your plans.
Michaels: We will get El Paso when we have more time. :: Nodding to the Transporter Chief. :: For now, welcome to
((Sky Park, Marathon, Texas))
Michaels: Sky Park, Marathon, Texas.
After the well lit interior of the USS Khitomer vanished in a swirl of light and noise, a starlit field melted into view as the lights faded and the noise silenced. The January air was crisp, and immediately Ginny felt underdressed. In the distance, a splotch of dark black against the distant stream of the one spiral arm of the Milky Way marked a mountain. Maybe two.
Instinctively, Ginny looked up to get her bearings. Sol Station was large enough to be visible by the naked eye, if one knew what to look for. The Khitomer was not, though it didn't stop Imogen from looking.
Lacy: ::softly:: She's up there, somewhere.
Michaels: Just look at those stars. I know. We are out there most of the time... We never look at them any more but they are quite beautiful. :: beat:: It is just like the song...The stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas.
Lacy: So this is home?
Michaels: This is where it began for me. Yes. I was born on a different world but I was too little to fully grasp that. :: She pointed at a spot in the sky:: My father always says I was born there. It could be. But here. Here is where it first hit me just why I was different. I have always known that I was different. No one had ears like mine. No one's features were quite like mine. No one bled green like me. Here is where I knew I had to go up there. This is home but up there is where I belong.
Lacy: I know how you feel.
The crunch of approaching footsteps drew Ensign Lacy’s attention back down to Earth. In the darkness, a figure approached. She couldn't see much of him in the moon- and starlight, except what looked to be a splash of gray or white hair. But it was hard to tell.
Kellen Michaels: Lera?
Michaels: Dad! :: Lera took the three steps in a heartbeat and hugged the man in the darkness. A moment later, she stepped back. :: Father. This is my friend, Ginny Lacy. Ginny. My father Kellen Michaels.
Lacy: A pleasure to meet you, Mister Michaels.
Though it was hard to see in the dark, Ginny extended her hand towards Lera’s father. It felt a little strange, because though she knew Lera was raised on Earth, the woman was still coded as “Vulcan” in her mind. It took effort not to offer a raised hand with parted fingers as the greeting there, but she managed.
L. Michaels / K. Michaels: Response
Lacy: ::gripping her duffel tightly:: Oh, I can manage. ::beat:: Just a little cold.
She wasn’t yet to the point of shivering, but if they spent much more time out in that field, she might soon be. The duty jacket on a Starfleet uniform provided substantial insulation from the elements, but had she thought about where she was going more carefully she might have put on a few extra layers underneath before heading to the transporter room.
L. Michaels / K. Michaels: Response
As they began to walk, Ginny fell in behind the younger Michaels. The cold night air numbed her nose, but she could still smell the wild grasses as they walked out of the field, and away from the stargazers. As Lera and her father exchanged words, Ginny’s thoughts turned toward her brother, far off and locked away in more than one sense. What would the old Gerry have thought of her, here? He’d been the fun one, and she’d never been much for shore leave. Deep Space Nine was different, she’d been ordered to relax. Here, she volunteered to leave the ship?
Lacy: I had a training exercise in San Antonio, once, at the Academy. But other than that, no, I’ve never been to Texas.
L. Michaels / K. Michaels: Response
Tags/TBC
———
Ensign Imogen “Ginny” Lacy
Engineering Officer
as simmed by
Lt. Commander Nolen Hobart
Executive Officer
USS Khitomer (NCC-62400)
A240001NH3