Chapter 48. Tiny and Nilf’s planned trip
They went into the bar. Warm air hit them immediately. Caribbean music and the sounds of lots of conversation filled their ears, giving them a warm welcome. Of course, as expected at this time, every table was occupied. They scanned the room, hoping to find an empty table. When their eyes met again, Daisy said disappointedly, "Well, it looks like today is not our lucky day."
"Hey," a tall man greeted them. His dark eyes, shaded by dark curls, sparkled in a friendly way. He has an angular face covered with laugh lines. "You guys look like you could use a drink."
Daisy turned around. "Hey Abraham," she greeted him and gave him a hug. Daisy introduced Noah, "This is Abraham, the owner of this amazing bar. And this is Noah, my captain."
"That slave owner you often mentioned?" Abraham's eyes were a little gloomy. And Daisy's smile froze. Before she could respond, Abraham had once again smiled his charming smile and reached out to hold Noah's hand. "Please don't mind, Captain, I couldn't resist teasing her. Welcome to my humble place. Your reputation is already well known. And it's all positive," he held up his hand reassuringly.
Daisy smashed her fist into his shoulder. It wasn't a real blow, but it was powerful enough that Abraham also understood that his joke wouldn't work on her. "You don't have to be so friendly to him, there are no more vacancies." Daisy said to the boss.
"No, that's not quite right," he shot back, as Daisy turned to leave. "If you don't mind joining someone else's table."
She looked at Noah. In fact, after today's seminar, she was tired of being around other people.
"They were also Starfleet officers," Abraham continued. Apparently, he saw this as a reason to stay. "I think they came from your ship, if I remember correctly."
"Crew?" Daisy frowned. "That's going to be a pretty awkward night, with the Captain? And, now that I'm on Earth, I'd like to see some other faces."
"This is a very attractive young lady. An Aboriginal person," Abraham continued firmly. "There's one more..." He hesitated. "...Klingons. I didn't know Klingons served in Starfleet."
Daisy looked at Noah hesitantly. She was tempted to join them, but wasn't sure what Noah had in mind. He smiled and said, "You wanted to be here so bad. I thought we could join them."
She nodded. "Okay, Abraham. Take us to that table. I haven't seen them yet. What about you?"
"No," Noah shook his head.
"But gladly." Abraham made a gesture of invitation. "Come with me." He led the two men through the crowded room. In the corner, half hidden behind a pillar, sat the two men they were looking for. They formed an unusual pairing. She is an elegant Aboriginal woman, beautiful and demure. He, a very strange hybrid, looks more Klingon than Vulcan, with the typical forehead ridges and long hair. His hair is combed and tied together to expose his pointed ears, the only outward sign that he is Vulcan. Beauty and the Beast, Noah suddenly remembered that classic work. They were so deep in conversation that they didn't even notice Noah and Daisy coming until they were standing in front of them.
"Hello, Dad," Tiny said with some surprise. She obviously didn't expect to meet her father here.
Nilf immediately stood up. "Hello Captain," he greeted.
"Sit down, we are not on duty after all," Noah waved his hand. However, he realized that he was still wearing his uniform and was making a corresponding impression.
"There's no other room at the bar," Daisy explained kindly. "So we were directed here. If you don't mind, we'll be on our way right away."
"No," they both said almost simultaneously.
"Please take a seat," Tiny invited them, and Nilf sat back in his chair.
"We were just discussing tomorrow," Tiny said when the two sat down.
"Is there anything special tomorrow?" Daisy wanted to know.
"Today is our last day at the academy. We have some rest now before the exams in a week. Before we start preparations, we want to visit some sights tomorrow. Nilf has never been to Earth before. And I am only here I stayed there for three days. I didn’t see anything at that time.”
"So it hasn't been successful so far?" Daisy asked in disbelief. "We've been here for almost a year."
"We don't have this in our curriculum," Nilf said calmly.
"At least our Starfleet degree is completed in one year instead of three," Tiny added.
Before Tiny could continue, Abraham returned and brought Noah and Daisy their drinks. Then he immediately disappeared again. The number of guests left him no time to rest. Noah was quite happy about this. Noah felt a little old in front of this strong Mexican.
When Abraham was out of earshot, Tiny whispered to Daisy, "The boss looks really handsome."
"That's right," the Republic's chief engineer looked back, her eyes sparkling.
Noah frowned. To continue the previous conversation, he asked, "Where do you plan to go tomorrow?"
"It depends on how long we stay in each place."
"Tini doesn't want to follow the schedule I set." Nilf said, sounding almost apologetic.
Now it was Tiny's turn to roll her eyes. "No, I don't want to." Then she turned again to Daisy and her father. "First we'll visit the Signing Hall, where the Confederacy was founded. Then we'll go to the Montana Memorial. There we'll visit the rocket silo of the first warp ship (Phoenix). I can't wait. .After that we will go to Paris and visit the office of the President of the Federation and the Eiffel Tower. In addition, I also want to go to Rome, the Great Wall of China and the Smithsonian Museum."
"Go see the Phoenix?" Daisy asked, shuddering as she recalled the first time she visited the warp ship.
"Yes. Have you seen it?"
"More than once. This ship is the reason I became an engineer," Daisy answered. "This is a very ambitious plan that will be almost impossible to complete tomorrow."
"I know. But we only have this day. After that we should prepare for the exam. Even though we already have practical experience, the exam will definitely not be easy. It was like that for me. Nilf should be a breeze. I don't understand why Martians and Half-Martians still have to take exams." She poked Nilf in the ribs playfully.
They had to huddle together after Noah and Daisy joined, and now they all sit closely together at a table. When Noah saw them sitting together like this, he had a strange feeling. His daughter and Nilf? They have been in close contact over the past few months. inevitable. They are the only two Starfleet Academy cadets who must complete their training within one year. Starfleet Academy did not like having two service members on the Republic who they considered to be civilians. The rest of the crew insist that Tiny and Nilfer must complete their academy training or leave the ship. After completing their training, they will be transferred to any starship like other graduates. But neither Nilf nor Tiny were interested. They would rather abandon Starfleet Academy and become wanderers again, wandering among the stars. And Noah didn't want to lose his daughter again. In fact, he didn't know much about her. After Noah exhausted all his persuasion and bargaining, he finally convinced the relevant persons in charge that the two men could conduct shortened training, citing their actual experience as a reason. Although no special treatment was sought for the exam itself, they could return to the Republic after passing it. Starfleet Academy only agreed to do this because the ship's repair schedule included exactly one year of training. Additionally, the first two years will be considered a kind of internship. Then they will officially become Starfleet Academy officers.
Has this year brought them closer together than their colleagues who share the same goals? They have a different vibe than others. This resonance brings them closer.
But even so, why would he worry about it and blame himself. Tiny is mature and independent enough to know what she is doing. He must accept this. And he was appalled by the idea that Nirfer might be biased because he was different. Maybe he was just afraid of losing Tiny. Although this is ridiculous.
They spent nearly an hour together and then left. Noah and Daisy weren't planning on staying long, while Nilfer and Tiny planned to get up early tomorrow to make the most of the day.
They said goodbye to each other at the door. Nilf and Tiny lived close to Starfleet Academy, while Noah and Daisy were scattered around the city, as most of the officers had chosen. This allows people to not always see the same people when traveling. Some even rented houses outside the city.
Tiny kissed her father on the cheek and said her usual farewell to Daisy, while Noah and Nilfer shook hands. It becomes cooler. Daisy hugged herself as they walked down the street. She was a little cold but tried not to let anyone notice. "It was quite a pleasant evening," she began.
"Yes. I envy their days tomorrow." Noah replied.
"I can imagine. I don't know what your plans are for tomorrow, but I'm sure it won't be as fun as a trip."
"Yeah, definitely not. Tomorrow's meeting will be about the current situation in Starfleet and the Federation. It's going to be an interesting but long meeting. But maybe I can get an idea of the next mission the Republic is going to receive."
"That's true." Daisy yawned deeply and stopped. "Okay, I'm here. Good night."
"Thanks, you too." They hugged briefly. In the past, this was an unusual gesture for them, even though they had known each other for many years. But on the ship, where they meet and work together every day, they don't do that. They hadn't seen each other that much in the past year, so they were slowly getting used to it, albeit only when they were still doing things privately. If they part ways after the work is done, which is the rule, then of course there is no such gesture.
Noah waited until she was through the door, then continued walking alone. He took a deep breath of the cool fresh air. He may never get that chance again. The repairs on the ship were almost complete and their departure time was not far away. Although he has become accustomed to living a peaceful life in a fixed location, he is still looking forward to welcoming the vast interstellar space again. Only among the stars could he truly feel at home.
At the door of his apartment, he looked up at the sky again. Directly above him, he saw the bright light of the Big Dipper.
The starry sky is clear and bright. The stars that make up the Big Dipper are clearly visible. It was the only constellation he was familiar with and the one that made sense to him. But what about Ursa, Libra, Leo and other zodiac signs? There are even warrior constellations like Orion. It was almost impossible for him to identify the constellations. Even if he traced the lines between the stars on the photo, he could not use his imagination to identify the shapes in the description.
He slowly lowered his head. Close your eyes and move your head in a few circular motions to relieve the tension in your neck caused by looking up at the stars.
"Ingmar?" He heard a very familiar voice calling him. It was his mother, obviously looking for him. Although she was still some distance away, she was close enough for him. In fact, he wanted to be alone for a while.
"Coming right away," Ingmar responded, trying to reassure her. When he was a child, he often deliberately let her find him. But now he is no longer a child. He also understands better not to take pleasure in other people's worries.
He was standing on a hill outside San Francisco, not far from his parents' house. When they returned to Earth a year ago, his parents wanted him to board with them. They were so insistent that he finally gave in. Although Ingmar would rather rent an apartment in the city. In the past year, he has tried many times to rent an apartment of his own, but has always been unable to do so. It's not that he doesn't like his parents, on the contrary, he loves them very much. But he hopes to maintain a certain distance. His mother was stubborn and extremely curious. These traits he had earlier found somewhat annoying, especially when combined. Moreover, she always warned her son for what she regarded as his too unrestrained lifestyle. As if he were still fifteen years old. According to her wishes, he should learn a respectable trade and start a family somewhere. Preferably nearby. To make matters worse, his parents absolutely couldn't understand why he loved spaceflight. They are very affectionate to their hometown, and even when they left the earth, they just wanted to go to the moon for a short vacation. It was only because he was a rebellious child that he insisted on going.
“We are human beings who walk on two legs,” he remembers his mother saying at the time. "If God wanted us to fly and travel across the stars, he would have given us wings and oxygen masks. Why would we go to space? We have everything we need here."
Now he also understands that this is more than just a mantra from his mother. She really has this idea. His parents were happy in their little world and they really didn't need more. Just maybe, they need a son who can share their ideas.
Ingmar smiled into the night. He knows very well that he is not a child in his parents' concept, he lives for himself.
A gust of cool wind made him shiver. The tall grass swayed in the wind. In front of you is the Pacific coastline. The crests of the waves undulate gently against the faint moonlight, which hangs on the horizon like a thin scimitar. However, there is no sound of waves here. The wind blew towards the sea, taking away all the sounds.
To his left, he could see some suburban lights. This is a beautiful place. Watching the sunset from here is rare. He likes this place. But he sensed that he was tired of it. He started to want to leave again. Living in one place is not a good thing for him. He is constantly attracted to new things and needs new challenges. A life like his parents was not suitable for him.
He heard footsteps stepping on the grass, finally stopping beside him. His mother, apparently dissatisfied with his answers, tracked him down. They stood together in silence. The cold wind made them shiver, but she tried not to show it. She pulled her cardigan tight and stared at the ocean. Then she couldn't stand the silence any longer. "It's so beautiful here, isn't it?" She said as if accidentally.
Ingmar's snort should be regarded as approval, although it was not obvious. He knew it was unethical to do so. But it was okay for him to worry her for a moment. In fact, she was used to his attitude.
Again they remained silent, watching the waves swell below the shore.
"It's getting colder," she tried again to break the silence. “We haven’t had summer yet.”
Ingmar just hummed in agreement, but it was getting harder and harder to hold back his laughter. He knew that his mother wanted to say or ask something specific. But if she wanted it, she had to say it directly. He wouldn't give her a hint.
"Do you know when you will set off again?" she finally asked.
Now they were getting close to the essence of the matter. "No, there's no official notification yet. But I'd guess about a month or so."
"So fast," she whispered.
Fast is a good word, Ingmar thought to himself. He has been on Earth for nearly a year. A stay of this length would be unusual for a Starfleet officer who was not holding a civilian job at Headquarters. But he said nothing.
"Is this another dangerous mission?" Her voice was full of worry.
