Colonial Maneuvers - Part 2

Posted on Sat Jun 21, 2025 @ 10:23am by Commodore T'mpest Michaels & Civilian Geral Lasuma

1,584 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Time After Time
Location: Lasuma's Yacht & Pangaea
Timeline: MD13 - Afternoon

[PREVIOUSLY]

The cork released with a load pop. Having stifled his own laughs after hearing his comments. However, innuendo with innuendo as he poured the wine "Not to worry, working it out slowly will always beat quick and messy"

[CONTINUED]

She bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Indeed. Wine, like...other things...is always better when you take time to appreciate the experience."

He grinned as he lifted his glass. "To enjoying the experience."

She grinned back as she raised hers. "To enjoying the experience." She took a sip of her wine, watching him over the rim of her glass.

It felt like butterflies were dancing around in her head, so she chose to ask him a question. "Why did you choose to stay on Deep Space 5?"

Leaning back into the couch looking out the window as the planet grew larger and larger. "You mean after basically getting dumped?"

“I meant originally.” She didn’t want to open any wounds that might be healing—although she was glad he’d chosen to stay after being dumped.

"Well, I had originally come here to straighten things out and expand the shop my company had here, then head back to Bajor. Then there was the whole Xi'Cadian issue and the dilithium and trade deal with Tarelis system. Those deals catapulted things considerably, so I became vested in the region...Cardassian and even personal problems had to be set aside."

"Yes. This is a far more interesting area of space than I was led to believe. As a scientist, I find the planet itself fascinating."

There was a little bump as they entered the planet’s atmosphere "Did I mention she was capable of atmospheric flight as well?"

"No, but considering the danger associated with transporting, I should have expected it." He, like his ship, was full of surprises. She wasn't sure if they would all be good ones. It made her more curious.

It wasn't long before they were breaking through the clouds and flying over the water. A land mass could be seen on the horizon. Do you want the high-level overview flight or shall we get a little closer?"

She couldn't help smiling as she replied. "I definitely want to get closer." Even though she wanted to be cautious because she didn't know what Lasuma wanted to do on the planet, she was impressed. The perspective she had as they broke through the clouds made her want to see more.

He ran a finger over his mouth as he grinned. "Well, I can have the pilot take us lower or we could take excursions craft out?" He turned his head and raised a brow questioningly as he grinned.

Excursion craft? That did sound interesting... She met his gaze with a raised eyebrow of her own. "I think I will put myself in your hands."

"Come on." He eagerly led the way to the bay they had passed earlier and opened the sleek two-seater craft.

As soon as T'mpest saw the craft, her smile grew.

As he went through the startup sequence the cover closed and sealed the craft and signaled the bridge that they when ready for drop. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Ready."

Tapping the console, the craft dropped from the yacht off they went. Diving towards the water below them he leveled off and a water was whipped up behind them in their wake.

He slowed considerably as the passed the aquatic recovery yachts he had donated to the stations medical department. Circling slowly, seeing several patients relaxing in the afternoon sun. "Good to see that they are being put to use."

She watched them for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. They are greatly appreciated. It was generous of you to donate them." He'd done a lot for the station as well, but she could not let that color her opinion of what he wanted to do on the planet. Especially as he was also far too charming.

"At the time, I thought they would be needed here on the planet...given that there had been some recent accidents. And what with the inability to transport and how there really wasn't proper medical facilities on the surface. But to be honest, I had an ulterior motive."

"And what would that motive be?" She knew that was what he wanted her to ask, but she was also curious to hear the answer.

"Well, there was a blow up between Captain Soran and myself. I thought it might help patch things up."

She appreciated his honesty. "Yes. A gesture like that could mend a lot of fences." A part of her wanted to ask more, but she was aware that the former captain of the station had also dumped him when she stepped down. T'mpest had no wish to ask him any painful questions.

They were now flying inland, he knew a lot of people were still walking on eggshells about his breakup, but he turned his head to T'mpest, "And no...it didn't work."

Turning his head forward he reached up pointing at the dust clouds ahead. "Isn't that where the Marine base is being constructed?"

"Yes. The base is by the lake where the training ground was." Her human side wanted to put a hand on his arm in a gesture of sympathy, but her Vulcan side wasn't sure if he would appreciate or accept it, so she chose to nod, indicating she understood. "Both the Colonel and I agree there is a need for a larger Marine presence on Pangaea."

The Research compound was one thing, but the establishment of a Marine base was something else entirely. His wheel started turning as fresh ideas formed. As they flew over the construction site, he could see that it was still in its early stages and could easily be modified with an addition or two.

Looking over to his companion, "Where to next?"

"I'd like to see the research colony next." While she couldn't tell what he was thinking, she could see that he found the Marine base of interest and wondered what new ideas he had and if any of them would be agreeable to both her and Colonel Means.

After rocking the craft, a bit to wave to the Marines and workers below he turned north toward the research compound. "You know when I was up shopping around to update my freighter fleet, there was a military version of the heavy freighter that would have been perfect for the Colonel, but with a base on surface there's really no need that anymore." Glancing to his left he could see the lake in the distance and it and a "hhmmm" could be heard.

T'mpest made a mental note of that. But before she could ask a question, his hmm caught her attention. "What is it?"

Looking back over to her, grinning. "Oh, just ideas springing up. But let get to the compound and see how things are coming along there."

She raised an eyebrow, but she couldn't help smiling back. "Yes. We will need a baseline before we can discuss any future plans." Most of all, she was curious to see what the compound looked like. Maps and diagrams were one thing. Seeing it in person was another.

"I couldn't agree more. I much prefer the personal touch myself. Can you imagine what it must have been like have to work from drawing alone. With no ability to get a feel for how things were going to turn out until everything was complete?" Eventually neared the compound and Lasuma swung the back of the streamlined craft around as it set down a short walk away from the compound as workers paused their repairs on several of the buildings in the Federation section.

"Actually, I can." She looked around, then smiled at Lasuma. "I studied history and archaeology, so I learned to read 2-dimensional maps. But I agree that seeing how it will look holographically before building begins is better." She slipped off her uniform jacket and removed the clip from her hair, setting them both on her seat. "Today, I do not wish to be here as the station commander. I want to be a scientist having a look at the compound." She shook her hair out and ran her fingers through it to comb it out. "As you no doubt understand, you can get more honest answers when you are one of them than if they know you are the person in charge."

Lasuma came around the front of his ship and stopped as she ran her fingers through her hair. He watched, her hair spilling down over her shoulders. There was a brief pause in his reply, "Oh absolutely."

She smiled again. She'd been doing a lot of that today. Maybe it was feeling like she was playing hooky and maybe it was just the ride--she wasn't going to consider that it might be something else. She liked the feeling and was simply going to enjoy it.

T'mpest got out of the ship and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. The air smelled like soil and trees and civilization, but it was primarily the land and trees that captivated her. She turned her attention back to Lasuma. "Where do you want to go first?"

Returning her smile with his own, adding a chuckle. "You were the one wanting to come here. After you."


TBC...

Geral Lasuma
Owner Lasuma Enterprises

&

Commodore T'mpest Michaels
Commander
Deep Space 5

 

RSS Feed