Star Trek: Starbase 777 - atlai︱atlai-river

Teno was there, getting off the transport in the Atlai region of Mol'Rihan. He stepped off and took a few steps toward the trail marker so he could be easily identified by whoever on the transport was getting off here too! Teno was wearing comfortable hiking clothes with long green pants to cover his legs from the sun and the buggies. On his feet were comfortable hiking boots he had broken in long ago (black and brown colored!). On top he had a breathable shirt with long sleeves for the same reason as the pants. And finally he had on a brimmed sunhat to keep the rays out of his eyes and off of his pale face. "Well, this should be fun!" He said as folks began to walk up toward him.

Tavek, too, had just gotten off the transport. Having never actually been to Mol’Rihan, he was stunned by its beauty! He loved all the nature he could see around him, and the fresh air on his face. He didn’t hike often, so he was excited to get out into the wild. He had a backpack with him with a few bottles of water and a small battery-charged fan, just to combat any overheating. He was wearing black hiking boots, with tan shorts with plenty of pockets (no need to worry about bugs when you had artificial skin, and he needed as much skin open to the air as possible to vent off heat), and a green t-shirt. He didn’t wear a hat, leaving his purple hair in the open. “I think so too! It’s been a bit since I’ve hiked anywhere!”

Rakim, having disembarked from the transport around the same time also, headed toward the familiar figure of Lt Teno once he spotted them. Experienced in hiking thanks to multiple trips taken over the years, Rakim arrived dressed and prepared for the hike. Stout boots with good ankle support were paired with along sleeved but thin for the heat. His hair still covered by his usual hair wrap as he waved at them both. "Hi, agreed, hopefully will be fun!" He responded as he approached and stopped near them. The words followed by a slight shift of his backpack on his back, well stocked with food and water, as he added. "This place is beautiful"

Teno smiled as Tavek approached. He was pretty sure he'd seen Tavek around on the Starbase at least once, but couldn't remember where or when. He was excited to see him though and waved excitedly as he approached. "Hi, I'm Teno! I can't remember if we've met officially or not." He nodded and bowed a little, opting for a more formal, if excitable, greeting just in case. So many people preferred no-contact greetings anyway. When Rakim showed up shortly after, Teno was bursting with joy. He and Rakim had spoken a few times and they'd met the previous year on Earth when Teno had continued his hiking-on-shoreleave-tradition on Starbase 777 with his new friends and co-workers. "Hey, Rakim! I'm glad you could make it. I don't think this hike will be as difficult as last year's but it should be just as beautiful! Have you been to Mol'Rihan?"

Tavek bowed too, a little confused by the formality but wanting to at least match it. Then, he waved, because Tavek was not a formal guy. He liked to chill out, be casual, and generally not stuff himself into a manner of behavior that he very much didn’t fit in. “Maybe we have? I can’t remember where or when, though. But, in case we haven’t, it’s nice to meet you! I’m Tavek.”

Allan had thought about it for quite a bit when Teno had told him where the hiking trail was. He'd invited the galaxy's most handsome biologist, who turned out to be busy, so it required a bit more consideration. Growing up he never did much hiking, but during his years at the Academy, he'd gotten a lot more into it. Even went on this same trail. Before the summer of 2411, though, he'd fallen out of it. Sworn it off for a bit. And by a bit, that meant... well, over 4 years now. But this was a friend inviting him and the entire station out for some fun, and so there'd probably be like, at least 3 other people there, and so hopefully that'd be a fun time, right? Right. So here he was, in some hiking clothes that were your typical tight-fitting breathable hiking clothes whatever those were, and some boots to match. "Rakim, Tavek, heyyy, how's it going?" He said as he walked up to the group, adjusting the shoulder of his little backpack. "Thanks for inviting us, by the way, it's ... been a hot minute since I've been here, it's a really beautiful spot."

"Nice to meet you officially, Tavek. I think I may have seen you in the hall or something. Seven seven seven is very...bustley." He chuckled and smiled, just happy Tavek decided to come along. He looked ready to enjoy the trip and that was all that mattered to Teno. "Oh, hey Allan!" Teno said, turning as he noticed the familiar firey red heair from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, I haven't really hiked much on Mol'Rihan. Last year I went back to Earth but I figured we could explore this place since it's so much closer, and well, I wanted to hangout on the beach later like last year. But yeah, I can't wait to do the hike with you all. This is going to be so much fun. So you've done it before... no spoilers! But should we keep an eye out for any dangerous critters?"

Tavek smiled, waving to Allan when he spotted him coming up. He’d quickly warmed up to the man, despite usually not trusting new people too easily. Allan was just the type of guy who could put anyone at ease, he supposed. He adjusted the strap on his backpack before turning to him. “Oh, hi Allan! I guess you could be persuaded after all!” He said with a small laugh. He nodded in agreement with Allan’s statement, he was also grateful for the invitation. “Hah, I agree, it’s certainly crowded over there. Very glad I can just turn off my sense of hearing, or else those Promenade crowds would be unbearable.” He laughed. “You guys have been here before? Anything we trail newbies should expect?”

"I could, I could," Allan laughed some with Tavek, thinking about what he should say about the trail or the creatures. "Uhhh, dangerous, um... not really? I mean, we're not going in the river, and we're not climbing any of the trees, so... only thing I can think of are these little -" he made a little circle with his hand to demonstrate the size. Not too tiny to be unnoticeable, but not big enough to be super scary to someone who didn't like bugs. "Bugs, they're green and have really shiny wings so they're easy to spot. They don't, like, try to seek you out and bite you, but if one happens to land on you, don't swat at it or anything or it might bite you and then it ends up itching like, a whole lot."

"Glad I could too and no I haven't, Its a bit out of the way of my old stomping grounds." The El-Aurian had responded before he'd turned to look at Allan as they approached. "Hello, its going well so far!" The El-Aurian he'd responded at Allan's comment before he'd looked to Tavek and then back to Allan. "So just insect related concerns and the standard need to watch your footing over any rough patches." The El-Aurian had proceeded to say then as he responded to Allan and then, as he realized he'd not really introduced himself to Tavek at all and turned to them. "Just realized I've not really introduced myself to you, I'm Rakim by the way, hello."

“Oh, good. I won’t have to worry, then, I don’t have real skin. I’d like to see a bug try and bite through something that’s stood up to actual knives just fine. Plus, my pain receptors are optional anyhow. You guys who have real skin better watch out though!” He joked, laughing before turning to Rakim. It was true, he hadn’t really seen the man before. Tavek did like to make the occasional joke about being synthetic- it was all fun and games until you somehow did find a way to fuck your skin up and then you had to go and actually get repaired because there weren’t dermal regenerators for synthetic skin. Of course, he was still (obviously) intending on being careful, he wasn’t stupid, plus he had a lot of things planned for this trip and didn’t want to fuck it up on the first day. “Ah, nice to meet you, Rakim! I’ve not seen you around, though maybe that’s because my work keeps me in the repairs bay most days- unless you also like chilling on the Promenade, we’ve probably not crossed paths.”

"Aye." Rakim had chuckled at the joke and smiled, hands moving as he'd worked on the straps of his backpack and made them more comfortable. "Good to meet you too and I suspect that's right, I'm a diplomatic Attache these days so." He'd chuckled then before he continued. "I don't tend to have as many reasons as I once might have had to cross paths with anyone in the repair bay." That comment not expanded on as he shifted in place, enjoyed just standing around for a time. "Though its very good to meet you now!" The man added then as he then looked off into the distance and mused. "This place is truly beautiful."

"Ooh, maybe I can get a picture of one..." Teno had brought his camera. He wasn't a great photographer, but he liked to take pictures for his memories and for his studies. Bugs for fun, plants for science! "Well, I'm just glad I wore long sleeves then. That should help." He chuckled and smiled ad the group, happy everyone seemed to be getting along. That was usually the case on these trips anyway, but you never knew what to expect. "It is a beautiful spot! I can't wait to see the rest. Maybe we should get going so we can miss the hottest part of the day, hopefully? I've got some snacks, and water, and a blanket for when we get to the end if we want to sit and take a break. And um. Yeah, I studied the trail map before we got here but since Allan knows the way maybe..." Teno trailed off for a second, looking at Allan curiously and with an encouraging smile. "Maybe you'd like to help keep us on track?"

"Standard need to watch your footing, yeah, that's important, there's like - a few creatures that are pretty territorial out here, but like - just don't go too close to any of the caves near the shore, we'll be alright, 'cause there's these uhhh, big guys - like, bigger than us, and can definitely bite through you," he looked at Tavek when he said that. "If you're just passing by though, they don't give a fuck, um.. there's some squishy pink guys too, but they're chill, just like, don't bother them, of course." He smiled when Teno mentioned trying to get a picture, and took out his own camera. "Yeah, I've got some good pictures of them from when I was back here last - there are also, um, some bugs with giant stingers that can go right through any of us, but those only get ya if you walk right into their swarms, which are pretty obvious, so - yeah," he paused when Teno mentioned he knew the way, then laughed. "Ohh, um - I mean, last time I did this was like... 5, 6 years ago..? So I think it's best if we work together on this one, but like, I... remember some things, probably?"

"So, don't disturb the wildlife, avoid the territorial ones for sure as they're a danger." The El-Aurian summarised thoughtfully after a moment before he then, as talk turned to photographs, reached into one of his bags side pouches and retrieved his own camera. "Working together sounds good, 5 or 6 years is.. a fair bit of time." Which it was, though sometimes he'd discovered it seemed less so when one looked back at their memories of things. Well, when one happened to be a El-Aurian and did so. "Aside from the dangers though, are there any view's we should be keeping in that you'd recommend we stop take in during the hike?"

“Ah, well then you’ll be experiencing this hike with fresh eyes!” Teno said with a smile and a chuckle. “Okay, I’ll keep the map out. The trail should be relatively maintained so we shouldn’t get lost, and I will also keep my eyes open for creatures and bugs. Okay, we are good to go then.” Teno nodded and waited for everyone to finish their convos. Once everyone was ready, he would turn to leave and start the hike. “Oh wow, I’m so excited.”

The group enjoyed their hike through the Atlai River basin, spotting beautiful plants, indigenous wildlife, and gorgeous views of the large, winding river that cut through the scenery. They talked comfortably amongst themselves, holding their breaths at the beauty together at times, and filling the air with laughter and maybe the blooms of new friendships and old ones alike.