Star Trek: Starbase 777

The trail stretched up for about two miles, leading up a spiraling mountain to a rocky cliff. A peaceful quiet hung over the whole trail as the buzz of voices grew further and further away. Coming to the top revealed breathtaking view of the campsite below. A wooden sign made it clear that there was an invisible wall on the edge to avoid falling, even if it was a simulation safety was important!

"It looks pretty far." Maggie peered through the forest at the dirt path, squinting to see a little in the darkness. It looked lovely nonetheless, with the small clearing over the road making the starlight visible up above. And the fireflies woven through the forest along with it... Pretty... They glanced back over their shoulder to check if Rai and Serin were still following. Sure, it looked like fun, but they didn't want to go alone. "We can do that, probably...." They straightened, fixing their bag over their shoulder, holding tight to the walking stick. "Nowhere to go but up!"

Rai followed Maggie towards the hiking trail, leaving the thoughts of marshmallows behind. He would come back for them! "I love hiking, and this is the holodeck so we aren't in any real danger," Rai had done many hiking simulations in the past so he felt like he was ready for this. It didn't bother him that his companions were less fit than he was, it just meant he had more opportunities to help! "I have excellent night vision, but I doubt there's many dangers. If only we had a guy chasing us with a knife..." Rai thought aloud, thinking about how Romulans (or well, Rai) typically did his fitness training.

continuing forward through the trail she ended up a bit in front of the duo, so she twisted around to face them and began to walk carefully backwards as they talked. "I've brought everything we would need for the campfire, so you can thank my over preparedness and don't have to worry about too much." Turning her focus back up to Telim, she smiled and nodded "Oh yeah they are the squish white things. They don't really taste like anything, and are only used because they are sticky and go well with chocolate. S'mores can be really messy, but that's the fun part! The chocolate also taste really good of course." (edited)

Vara'l smiled softly in response to the ensign as they indicated that they'd got everything they'd need for a campfire. The Romulans patient smile one that if anything concealed his slight surprise at the fact the other happened to have everything needed to set up a campfire "That is good to know, though I'll still be supervising should Telim want to try roasting their own marshmallow.." Vara'l responded with a warm smile before he then added "Though I'm happy we'll not have to worry overly much when it comes to setting up the fire, just will need some stones for the campfire border." As they continued to walk, Telim on his shoulders, Vara'l lapsed into silence. He was quite contented to allow Telim and the Ensign to talk more, though he continued to listen in. Even though he might have decided that the ensign was alright, he was still a dad.

Telim practically vibrated with deep curious interest in the face of the information about marshmallows and S'mores. "Woaaah, they sound really good!" The kid declared before he then added. "Don't mind if they're messy, as long as they're tasty!" Before he then signed to his dad and pointed off ahead. "Look, people!" He'd then proceeded to declare verbally.

"Chasing you with a knife, huh.." That sounded... unusual, to say the least, must be a Rai thing. Not anything Maggie wasn't used to, they'd been stabbed a few times. "Mm, I trust you on that one. You and Serin can protect me, can't you?" they joked, as they'd practically grown up on the street and were perfectly capable of taking care of themself... Maybe not against, like, a bear, but most things nonetheless.

"Oh yeah the stones, obviously I didn't pack those because... that would be very silly. I already brought enough weight with the food and stuff..." She continued to walk backward, thinking of something to say to avoid a prolonged silence. However, she stumbled over a rock but was lucky enough to only flail about for a moment before regaining her balance and turning to walk forwards this time. "Uhm, please forget you just saw that. Anyway! Do you think they programed any wildlife on this trail? It'd be super cool to see like some birds, or a squirrel or something." She adjusted the pack on her shoulder so the weight was more comfortable. At least there was still light all the way up the trail so they wouldn't be in the dark. That would be scary.

Vara'l smiled at their comment about the stones and the like and then responded as they continued to talk. "I think its entirely fair to not ah bring the stones as well." He chuckled a bit before he then continued. "And..Foods a good thing to bring on a camping trip, though I always admittedly brought very unhealthy confectionery food." He chuckled softly then before he'd then sheepishly added. "At least, I'm told thats what I did, I..don't quite remember myself." That being the final comment he'd uttered into the silence that had reigned for the moment before the Ensign had then stumbled before then regaining their balance. Something that caused the Romulan to look concerned as he asked. "Are you alright?" When the other then rapidly changed the subject, Vara'l paused a moment as he continued to walk.. before he decided to follow their lead in that and responded. "I imagine they will have.. it would be rather nice to see some wildlife on the way." He'd mused as he continued to walk and talk. Well, walk talk and sign as he carefully signed a response to his son after they signed to him.

"Saw what?" The kid helpfully chimed in when the ensign asked for them to forget that they saw the ensign almost fall over, the kid having decided to do as they asked and then decided to indicate as such. Nodding in response to his father signed response, Telim then declared. "I really like squirrels, wanna see different sorts of birds though, birds are cool!" (edited)

He followed along, keeping up with them as best as his short legs could. Rai probably had no problem striding up the trail, he thought, with those giraffe legs. "I'll protect you from any nefarious forces with my reputation alone - for I am far more nefarious than any enemy could be. With our magic combined with Rai's strength, our enemies will quiver." Now if only he knew a spell to increase walking speed. "I don't have my wand on me right now, though." And by wand, he meant phaser.

"Oh, my hero!" Maggie giggled. They had a few fun tricks they'd like to try by the fire later, but other than that, they'd retired The Magnificent for the night. And probably permanently until the night of the show... "I wish I'd brought something, I didn't think so far ahead. I doubt anything would harm us, so."

She also smiled at hearing how Vara'l used to bring unhealthy food. To be honest, she couldn't think of a person who wouldn't bring sweets around... unless they hated sweets or something. "Eh, I can see it Vara'l. You got the face of someone who would bring those types of foods. Uhm, that sounds weird but that was meant as a compliment." She turned her attention back to Telim "Oh yeah birds are super cool. I can hear some, but I cant really see any in the trees. On earth there are some birds you can keep as pets and those kind can live up to about seventy years! They can even talk and repeat short phrases that you teach them."

Vara'l chuckled softly at the ensigns comment as he nodded. "Thank you for the compliment, in all honesty its.. always been strangely nice for me since my Liberation to think that Sweats have always been something I've squirrelled away in camping bags." He commented, his tone wistful as he mused upon part of his past he only recalled as memories of what he'd been told about it, the memories of it he'd once had stuff snatched away from him by the Borg. Or well..snatched away as part of the pre-assimilation Vara'l that the Collective had deemed irrelevant, something a tactical drone happened to not need.

Telim listened intently as his dad talked about their past, provided a brief glimpse into a time when he'd been as small as Telim was. A glimpse that, as they spoken, had caused him to realize something as he'd mulled it over. Did his dad not remember when he was a kid? That wasn't fair, came the thought at that even as he perked up at the mention of birds and turned his focus to the Ensign again. Listened as he signed to his dad. "'Love you, dad'" Before he then proceeded to speak as he responded to the ensign, responded and grinned. "They sound amazing and, I really hope we see birds here!" He'd then paused before he added. "I really wanna see those birds too also though, they sound amazing!" The comment followed, as he spotted movement in the trees with him pointing as he then asked. "Was that a squirrel?" As he'd watched something bushy tailed disappear around the side of a tree.

"Yeah, in the Romulan Navy we always have a guy with a knife chasing us during any sporting event. It adds a sense of danger. If you get caught well, you're out. You don't actually get stabbed, well, not normally," Rai said casually as if that was just a thing everyone did. "And of course we can protect you! I... Don't know about magic, well, at least for me, I have sadly lost my wizard status," Rai said with a little chuckle. He was a little sad he was no longer a wizard, but what he got in return meant more than just some random title. Plus, Rai recalled performing a total of 0 spells during his wizard-era. "What kind of spells can you do, Serin?" He asked the blue haired individual, assuming that was their name seeing how that's how Maggie called them.

She smiled at the cute son and father interaction. It made her remember her times with her father. Nice memories flooded her mind, of camping, fishing and just hanging out. She also continued to scan for birds and pointed them out to Telim every chance she got. "Uhm I don't know the species of these birds, but its nice to hear them chirp and sing!" They continued to walk, and son they would be at the cliff. "How long do you two want to camp up here? I don't mind whatever you two choose of course, I'm just enjoying this whole hiking experience."

Maggie furrowed their brow a little, though didn't comment. It felt like everything some people said painted Romulans as more and more violent people... Which, well, wasn't really true at all. But oh well, Rai probably knew more about that than they did. "He's only the greatest wizard that's ever lived," they said, nodding solemnly. Maybe twenty minutes or so left until they reached the top, and a bit longer for those far behind them.. "Like making sure my lighting setup doesn't explode. Protective spells."

Vara'l chuckled softly as Telim and the ensign continued to talk, overjoyed to see Telim so happy and at ease here on the station when talking to someone he'd only just encountered recently. A far cry from how they'd have happened to have been in the not so long past where he'd have reacted to such a interaction quite shyly. "I wonder if they're the parrots a friend of mine once talked about, not at all familiar with Terran birds though in all honesty." When the Ensign proceeded to ask how long they both wanted to camp there, Vara'l looked thoughtful and proceeded to then say. "I'm quite happy to camp up here while we cook and enjoy some S'more and then for a little while after that, it seems like quite the nice area to sit, we'll have quite a good view as well." He mused simply as he continued to walk with the other and smiled up at his son in the face of their signed 'I love you.' A thing he then returned as he signed. "Love you too, son."

The kid watched the different birds that were pointed out and occasionally softly exclaimed. "Woaahh" Or variants of the same exclamation of awed interest as they walked. Telim only pausing in this as the ensign proceeded to speak, as he turned and fixed them with an attentive gaze as he listened. "It really is!" He agreed softly then before, as his father signed a response to his own signed comment, he then briefly and carefully hugged his as he attempted to avoid covering their eyes while he hugged them. When the ensign proceeded to then ask how long they both wanted to camp up there, Telim looked down at his dad and then looked to the ensign. "What dad said, this place looks reaaaally nice and I'm game to sit here for a bit and enjoy the view!" He declared.

When they finally reached the cliff, Coda put her bag down and looked at the view. I mean this was great! You could see everything from up here, everyone from the campsite to the cabins, oh and how the stars looked on everything down below, this was amazing! "Woah I wasn't expecting this, they really went all out for this retreat huh? I'll start unpacking a few things to get this experience started!" Kneeling down and digging through her pack, she pulled out the ingredients for S'mores, a pack of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows, as well as some hot dogs and some buns to go with them. She had brought a small set of kindling with her, as well as a few matches.... so this should probably work... right? Could she instead just tell the computer to build a campfire? That will kind of ruin the experience though.... She was paralyzed with indecision as she started blanky at her pack.

"How the HELL did they get in front of us!?" Maggie had realized that the voices behind them had vanished, and seeing as they saw no backs turned back to the campsite, could only make one possible assumption, and was thus humiliated. "Am I seriously going that slowly..!?"

It definitely wasn't a safe place to build a fire. The ground sloped quite a bit, not to mention the trees all around..

Grey eyes surveyed the environment before, with a frown, he then arrived at the conclusion that the area seemed to contain no suitable patch with enough distance from the trees to allow for the safe construction of a firepit for a fire. With that conclusion arrived at, Vara'l glanced to Ensign Mitchells and proceeded to say. * "They really did.. though about ah...unpacking further." *He paused before he then continued. "I don't think this would be the best place for a fire, don't know if its a program decision or just how this place is." Vara'l trailed off a second then as he considered what do to before he decided and then said. "May I propose we track a bit down the trail?" Grey eyes calm as he glanced down the trail, idly noted the fact that the other group had somehow gotten behind them without having been noticed by him, before he continued. "Conscious it seems there's another group who are headed up here too."

Telim sagged a bit at the revelation that the place wasn't safe for a fire, the view enjoyed briefly before the yell from behind them caused him to twitch as he reacted to the noise. Shook a bit before he then recovered rapidly.. and turned and stared down the trail a moment. "If we cant have a fire here, maybe we coulddd enjoy the view a mo and then do what dad said and explore to find a place to make S'Mores and let the people coming up enjoy the place?" The kid commented as he looked to the Ensign and then glanced to his dad.

Luckily she hadn't unpacked everything she had brought, but to see that the place was not safe for a fire made her disappointed. She felt a little embarrassed as well, being so eager to light a fire she didn't even check to see if it was safe to do so in the first place. She quickly put the various items back in her bag and zipped it up. "Ah I don't mind, honestly talking with you both has been so fun. If anything we can just enjoy the cool view, or we can go back to the campsite and cook some S'mores there. It is getting pretty late as well, and I know there are a few free cabins to take near the campsite if you don't like tents all that much."

"I've rather enjoyed talking with you also, I imagine Telims also enjoyed their time." Vara'l responded with a smile. "I think, given the time, we could well start heading back to the Campsite to make S'mores." He then added after a moments thought. "It'll take us a little bit of time to get down there and then we'll need to sort out cooking the S'mores.. so if we head there now, we'll get a bit more time to enjoy that if we start moving now.." He continued for a moment before he glanced up at Telim.

Telim, tired a bit due to how late it was and now not really with much of a reason bar the view to be up there with dad, actually visibly suppressed a tired yawn before he responded. "S'mores, Smores sound good!" He declared as he looked to the ensign. "It is getting pretty late and there are people coming up here too a-and I wanna try out a S'more before its time to sleep!"

It was difficult to talk when he was wheezing this much. His mana may be high, but his stamina? Very low. "More like you're - gasp - having to slow down for me... I've been a bit too reliant on teleportation magic recently. Not enough cardio." The transporter was not meant to be used as much as he used it. He really shouldn't be doing it as often as he did - he might scramble his molecules or something. "Maybe I should have a guy chasing me with a knife."

"Oh, Serin, are you okay?" Maggie stopped for a second. They were struggling just a little bit as well, but wasn't gasping for air. "Let's take a second and sit, alright? It's okay, there's plenty of time to make it.." They reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder and gesturing off to the side. "Please don't push yourself to the limits just to keep up. Rai has long legs, it's impossible," they joked halfheartedly, bringing out a water bottle for each of them.

hauling her pack over her shoulder she nodded to her two temporary companions "Yeah lets be quick before Telim falls asleep, I'd hate for him to miss having his first S'mores with everyone. Especially since I hyped it up so much." She started the trek back, a little quicker than when she had walked up here. She really wanted Telim to experience everything and have a good time.

He considered protesting, but didn't have the energy for it. Instead, he sat down and then flopped onto his back, took one of the water bottles, and poured some of the liquid onto his face, which was flushed red - he didn't have the green blood from his Vulcan side. "You're right - I'm sure if we measured them, my legs would be half the size of his." Rai was a giant wolf, and he was a dachshund with their little stubby legs. "Did you know some Vulcans don't sweat? Good survival mechanism for the desert and all. I did not inherit this trait." He felt as though he had been slathered in sticky, smelly honey.

Rai grew concerned seeing the blue haired magician wheezing. He wondered if hiking was really a good idea conidering their party's low stamina. He could see there were others up ahead, but he was going to stay with his two magical friends for now. He couldn't help but chuckle when Serin said maybe they should have had the guy chasing them with a knife. Rai was fully aware that he was very tall and much stronger than the other two-- physically stronger. Not magically. He was sure both Serin and Magie probably had the ability to turn him into an akaana boar or something. "O-oh," Rai knealt down beside Serin who was flopped onto his back in some Serin-shag pose. He crouched down near Maggie and laughed when they said it was impossible to keep up with his long legs. "That does sound useful for the desert, but sweating has many benefits," Rai was glad he was fully Romulan, he couldn't imagine what sort of weird hybrid physiology would give him. Like how his brother often complained about being tall and gray. "Did you need some more water?" Rai reached to grab what looked like a whole ass stanley cup out of thin air-- actually he had a small tote bag. "It has a bendy straw," Rai bent the straw a little to show Serin.