Country side ride

Posted on Wed Jan 20th, 2021 @ 2:20pm by Ensign Paul Sleeford

Mission: Season Two - Incidentals
Timeline: Follows: Reading the bumps

Jane was glad they were on horses. It was so incredibly beautiful. It reminded her of a painting if a painting could blow a soft breath of fragrant air across your face and provided a track of birds songs she had never heard before. If not for the horses they would not have made it very far. There was so much to see, to touch , to learn. She would have been stopping every few steps or so to babble about everything on foot. About the flowers, the grass, the animals even. It was all breath takingly beautiful, especially the blankets of bright lush purple flowers that seemed to surround them on both sides of the trail as they rode slowly through. Shew smiled over at Paul for what had to be the millionth time. First to check on him and then to tall his ear off. "I have never run this particular program before. Its just so beautiful. I never knew a place could be so stunning. Oh! oh and look there goes anther bird!! Oh wow look at it go!" She had halted her horse to watch as the gayly coloured bird took wing and flew off into the blue cloud filled sky. "Just wow." She said smiled again at Paul again like an excited kid at an amusement park.

Sitting on his horse the wind blowing through his hair as it came off the moor, he smiled no matter the time of year the Yorkshire moors where always windy, anything from a small breeze to a full blown gale. Turing to Jane he smiled at her enthusiasm.

"My family where born five miles from where we are now, my great, about six times, graandfather was born in Glaisdale, on the river Esk. If we follow this trail, we hit the river and the old track bed from the railway that ran from Middlesbrough to Whitby. If we turn right at Grosmont it will take us South back into the moors"

"You grew up around here. Oh your so lucky." She said breathed as she tucked a stray bit of her hair back behind her ear again. The wind made that a fruitless labor. So she simply abandoned it after a few attempts. "I really like hearing about you. and this place." She said her eyes swept the painted hills around them and sighed in contentment. She could stay here forever. she mused. "if your in a sharing mood maybe you might tell me more about you perhaps."

As the set off Paul spoke, "So what do you want to know, all the usual stuff i suppose? Why i joined, hat i think of the ship and so on?"

"For a start I suppose. However, I wont promise to stop at that." Jane replied in cheeky playfulness. "I plan to eventually know everything about you given enough time and pressure."

Paul paused for a second, "Best place is to start at the beginning is suppose. I was born Paul Mckeen, my 'father' was an engineer, not a very good one as it turned out, my mother was and still is an LCARS screen designer, a good one too, some of her work is on the Penns, most of the ops panels in Starfleet are hers. Anyway as my 'fathers' work dried up and his projects failed the drinking started, one glass at dinner, then two or three, then a bottle, ", Sighing Paul stared out across the Esk valley, "Anyway it was around that time the beatings started, the dinner was cold, the kids are Being noisy, that sort of thing. It came to a head when my grandfather walked in and caught my father with a knife to my mothers throat. I'd never seen the old boy loose his cool before, but that day he ripped into my father and threw him out the door."

Jane was not sure what she had been expecting. It hadn't been this though. This man with the easy smile and clever wit. But then who was she to judge? Everyone came from very different walks of life and this one happened to be one that she herself could relate too. Oh her father never beat her persay. But had nearly drowned her, and had caused her a great deal of physical pain over the years in his efforts to make her tough. To make her out grow her girlish ways and become what he needed and wanted her to be. Now he was even sending bounty hunters after her. just because she had defied him. She wanted to reach out and offer comfort. But Paul didnt seem to be in any pain. At least nothing obvious anyways. Still. her smile was gone replaced instead by a sad frown. "That's so terrible."

"Anyway not long after My mother took the family to New Caledonia, a small colony planet 20 light years from Earth, we settled in to a small house on the outskirts of town and got on with our life. We met James Sleeford at the market, mother was having trouble with a trader who because we where newcomers didn't want to sell his goods at the same price as to locals. well Sleeford put him right and warned him that no one else would buy from him if he didn't behave. The rest as they say is history. The I suppose the word is dated for a while, then married. James adopted my sister and myself two years later, we took his name, I never looked back. "

"That explains it." Jane said, "I have been sitting here listening and I couldn't figure out how with so much pain in your young life. How you have a smile that radiates warmth and kindness. How you are so open and good. But now I understand. At least that much. Your stepfather he sounds like a very good man and he passed a lot of his fine qualities on to you. I am grateful, because not all such tales end in such a happy ending." She looked at him again her smile was soft. "So you never went back to your old home? Is it painful to be here then? Because we can leave. No amount of beauty is worth your unhappiness." She said softly her voice almost blown away by the breeze that wrapped around them as they stated to move again.

"no we never went back, being here, it's okay, the past has gone, he can no longer hurt us. As to who I am now, that's all James, he made us... I say made us he asked us when we where young, my sister and myself, to help on the farm,
we sent the summers outside caring for animals, feeding them, healing their hurts, selecting those that went to feed the community, those that stayed to raise next years herds and flocks. It seemed strange at the time, but I suppose it taught me to work hard and the value of life. "

Jane nodded and simply listened as he spoke. She felt like she could see it in her minds eye. How strange it must have been, that turning point in his life. She said nothing not wanting to interrupt him.

"Anyway I graduated highschool and had a choice to make, James took me to the pigsty, with a couple of beers and we had our first 'father and son' talk, i had the options of staying on the farm, meeting a girl and raising the next generation of farmers, join the corps of Marines and go off to fight for the federation or join starfleet. Well I chose the fleet, never looked back"

She smiled. "So what happened to the farm then?" Jane asked curiously. She felt herself getting far to invested in his personal life's story. "Who went to help him with the farming and stuff?"

"As for the farming, well my sister married the son of the farmer over the hill, nice lad, a bit single minded, crops, animals he's great, anything else. "; Paul shook his head; " He thinks Klingons are the name of the farmers on the other side of the continent. He only knows of the Romulans because he has a family helping him on the farm. My sister loves him so I suppose that counts for much, anyway the next generation is secure, I have two four year old nephews, lovingly knows as the 'twin demons of hell'"

Paul laughed, his nephews ran their parents ragged, when the family had their rare moments together all James had to do was look at them and they'd go all quite and shy, much to Pauls amusement.

Jane had let out hearty laugh at the mention of his nephews. The nick name suggested that they were a rambunctious dou. She could tell it brought him a lot of joy to think about them. "Your still young Paul. Who knows what might happen still. For all you know one day you will be just going about your day and then BAM' There she will be. You'll feel every bit of your will power just dissolve and all you can think of in her face, the way she moves, the sound of her voice. She will hijack your heart and you will reshuffle the universe if you must just to have a future with her in it." She smiled sighing happily. "It can still happen, today, tomorrow. Don't count your chickens yet Paul. Some day you to can have a family still if you wanted. Having a career doesn't mean you have to sell yourself short." She looked at him then, "I can tell family is important to you. contrary to popular belief you can have both."

Laughing Paul turned in the saddle to face Jane, "You've not met my nephews. But yes their important, i guess, because of my bad start, I want to see them have a better life. Knowing my brother in law they'll want for nothing, which is part of the problem. As for my personal life, it will happen when it does, to be honest, there's someone on the ship for me, I'm sure, just need to find her. I'm young, there's no rush. "

"That's the spirit." Jane said. The wind blew a breath of fresh fragrant air across her face. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply of the scent of the blossoms and the damp Earth, There was a promise of rain on the air as well. "So we have discussed much of your life. I know some of the boy you once were, and part of the young man that grew up to join starfleet and what drives you. I know of your family." She smiled as she thought of his nephews and what he said. She could almost feel the pride in his voice as he spoke of them. "What I still want to know is what is your favourite part of being in Starfleet? Why do you think it called to you the way it did and do you think you still have that same passion today that drove you then?"

Smiling Paul felt the breeze on his face and watched as the clouds began to build on the horizon, "I joined Starfleet I suppose for the same reason everyone else does, to see new things, I would say alien life, but that's a difficult one, we're the aliens when we go to a new planet. The things that drive me, new discoveries, new people, new planets, new friends." He paused and looked out across the moor, "I've been on the ship less then a week and so far everyone's been nice, the ships...well the ships large. there's places yet I've not seen and I'm noisy. "

Jane nodding in understanding. He was right of course. They were the aliens. It made her feel very happy to hear him say that. "I am glad you have found the ship and crew to be welcoming. Maybe if time and opportunity permits we can explore the ship together. Get the lay of the land so to peak." She smiled over at him. "Wolfy, he is in engineering I bet he could help us sort out a few good places to start." She suggested.

"That would be nice, I had a bit of explore when I first arrived, covered about four decks, even found Cetacean Ops, somewhat a myth in some vessels, so yes it would be nice to have someone show us around properly."

Jane chuckled. "Sounds like you might already know it better then I do." She confessed as she urged the horse to move down the path once more.

Laughing Paul shook his head, " I wouldn't go that far, I've explored like four decks and one of those was ten forward. I'd like to get to know the ship better, if only to assist me in my job as an operations officer better. " Looking at the sky Paul turned to the road, "Looking at the weather ahead we should head back" Laughing to himself he'd forgotten they wher e on the holodeck and not in North Yorkshire.

Indeed they had lost track of time. Jane felt a pang of sadness at the revelation that their time actually was drawing to its end for today. Would he feel a need to come back and talk to her more after today? Now that his evaluation was complete. She looked over at him, he looked so peaceful and happy. She wished it didn't have to end. The storm however began to blow in. Sending the salty sweet air to set the lavender fields to dancing. It was almost dream like. "Your right, Its time to start heading back. You will come see me again thought right? So we can go exploring together. It's safer to travel in pairs even if it is just on the ship. Never know what trouble we might stumble upon."

Laughing Paul, smiled at Jane, "Sure, I'm sure that between us we can find no end of trouble to get into"

Ensign Paul Sleeford
Assit COO

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Ensign Jane Doe