Camping and Climbing

Posted on Wed Feb 7th, 2024 @ 3:15pm by Ensign Daniel Franklin & Lieutenant Anthony Edwards Ph. D & Ensign Nicola Cross

1,288 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Shoreleave
Location: Risa, The base of Galartha
Timeline: Shoreleave Risa

A human male stood in the square of a small town, The weather was perfect, I mean come on it was Risa, a planet where the natives had set about using seismic regulators, and a sophisticated weather control system to perfect the weather and control seismic conditions to perfect it for both natives and of course for the paying customers.

The small square was part of a splendid garden area with a restaurant and a few smaller shops around it and a small resort hotel and medical centre. From where the man stood you could see Galartha. Because of that, the man had chosen this exact spot in the small town to meet, so everyone would see the end location from where they met. The other reason for it was because it was only a day's walk from that final destination. After all, one of the things often affected by being on a spaceship for long missions, is that there are many short walks taken to where you are going.

Anthony had taken his pack off as he waited for the group members to arrive. Being Risa he had brought mainly light clothes with a jacket and a heavier set of slacks to stay warm when he wasn't climbing. They could have taken a shuttle to the campsite, but knowing James he would likely slip men food at least as good as local food to them regularly. Anthony thought he saw the first member of the camping trip just approaching the garden now.

Hope hadn’t been camping in quite awhile, but when she heard a camping trip on Risa was being planned she asked to tag along. She brought a pack with everything she could think of needing and the doctor in her brought a small field medic kit, just in case. As she approached the square she smiled and gave a polite “hello there.”

Anthony was glad that Doctor Ross had asked to join them, as he knew that his very short term as a field medic wouldn't be the only knowledge to keep people healthy and he could concentrate on hiking and climbing and making fun stories to tell his friends from hopefully minor injuries. "Ah Doctor welcome, I am glad you're here. I am sure you're much better prepared medically for accidents than I am, I'll admit that my knowledge is small but passable to minor cuts and scrapes, though I won't be getting too crazy if I don't have a climbing partner."

“I’m glad to be allowed to tag along” the Doctor said with a smile on her face. “I packed a medkit just in case” she gestured toward her bag.

"Hey Lieutenants," came the voice of Nicola cross from the other side of the small square. "Quite the view isn't it, I bet its even better from the top."

Anthony chuckled he had been a young ensign, and not that long again a junior grade, "Hello Nicola." He smiled, he liked Nicola she was always like a breath of fresh air, except when she was angry. "I of course can't speak for Lieutenant Ross, but I am on holiday, if it isn't a science question you don't have to be calling me lieutenant all the time. At least not while I am enjoying some shore leave activities. As for the views, even at the base camp of Galartha, where we'll be camping the view is quite a bit better, If we get to the top, not that I will be pushing hard for it, because it is a difficult climb. "Late Captain Travis Mayweather took a tumble from this particular piece of rock, so if I start feeling bad rock I will come back down."

“Oh I can’t wait” Hope said with a smile taking in the view and the fresh air.

"I can't promise I'm not going to make us stop every so often and talk your ears off about some of the rock formations around here." Nicola remarked as she put her pack down beside the two.

“That’s alright” Hope wore a smile “I’m a talker myself.”

Anthony smiled and said, "I believe talking about rocks is what they would call a Geologist's professional expectation. They may not be my favourite topic but I am sure it would be fairly interesting at least. It sounds like we're all talkers so far."

“Nothing wrong with being chatty” Hope smiled her southern accent thick.

One last pack slumped to the ground beside the trio. "I guess that's all of us." Daniel Franklin announced as he flexed his shoulder, it had been a while since he'd had to wear a pack.

"Welcome Daniel." Anthony said with a smile as he asked to give Daniels's shoulders a rest before he had to take up the pack again "Anyone up for a cup of joe before we start? Also Daniel the tighter you make your waist belt the less your shoulders will need to take leading to less pain." Anthony looked over Daniel's hunch, then added "Though a new backpack might be in order if we get to do this again because it looks like you have outgrown your current one."

"I'll manage." Daniel remarked and adjusted the straps on his pack a little. "Just using muscles in ways they haven't been used for a while."

“A little stretching might help” the Doctor suggested. Sometimes Hope wasn’t sure people wanted her advice but she usually offered it anyway if she thought it would help.

Anthony smiled and made a joke, "You can take the doctor off the ship but it won't stop them being a doctor! That said it is one of the best ways to avoid major injuries."

Hope gave a smile and slight nod. She wasn’t really on this trip to okay Doctor but she would if she needed to. “This is going to be fun” the smile on her face grew.

"It's okay Hope I like getting off the ship, especially onto federation-friendly locations. Like you, I am a scientist, and of course, I can point and shoot at things, but I'm not a security officer, If I go to an unfriendly or unknown planet, I go invisibly or well protected, especially if openly helping them would breech the Prime Directive. I am looking forward to the ghost stories that get told around the first-night campfire. The rocks in this area have a good variety of changing pitches and I can climb well, but I wouldn't take complete novices up faces like that. By doing that you reduce the injuries a grad deal just by being smart and enjoying the camping."

Hope smiled “friendly planets are preferred, but you know it’s all part of the job sometimes.” She took a second “but this is going to be fun.”

Anthony smiled as he started leading everyone through his stretching routine starting with some light ones and getting more strenuous the further he went but he knew everyone would be well warmed up and loose by the time he was finished and very ready to get on the hike and up to the campsite.

“I’m excited.” Hope said ready to go.

"All set." Daniel swung his pack back onto his back and made a few more small adjustments to the straps before fastening it all tightly.

After a quick check of everyone else's pack, Anthony lifted his and first tightened the waist belt before adjusting the other straps before he said "Okay, let's go." He looked toward the trail they would be taking and headed in that direction. He expected Nicola might be picking up stones all over the place on the trip up there.


TBC

 

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