Cowboy Shore Leave Part I
Posted on Tue Jul 18th, 2023 @ 9:43pm by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Commander Katherine Malbrooke
Edited on on Sat Jul 22nd, 2023 @ 9:46pm
1,660 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Poseidon Station Various
Timeline: MD005 1900 hrs
Kat decided that if they were having a night out, she was going to dress up. Besides, her belly bump was definitely showing and wearing something that would not make it so obvious suited her. She chose a skirt and a loose blouse that were flattering and a pair of low-heeled pumps that would be comfortable for walking, then picked up the latest engineering magazine and waited for Ty.
Tyler had been preparing for this night for a few weeks. He knew that with the baby coming and orders getting a date night as a married couple may be nearly impossible. He had arranged for a holosuite program that was an old Broadway show in New York City, Annie Get Your Gun. But first they would go to dinner on the station.
He just finished pulling on his cowboy boots and he pulled the legs of his jeans over the tops of the boots. A plaid button up shirt, with a leather vest and his trusty hat rounded out his outfit. Once he was dressed Tyler stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room area. He whistled immediately as he saw his beloved. "I didn't think you could improve upon perfection. And yet here we are. Now what do ya think?
She grinned at his flattery, even though she didn't believe him. She looked him over carefully. "You are the sexiest cowboy in Starfleet," she pronounced before kissing him. "I'm going to enjoy going out with you tonight." Afterwards, she was going to enjoy staying in with him, too.
"Well little lady you aren't too bad yourself..." Tyler said with a sly smile. "Well, we should get going if we don't want to miss our holosuite reservations." He motioned toward the door so she could lead the way. This served two purposes, the first made Tyler seem to be the gentleman. The other was it allowed him a view of her posterior. As they walked hand in hand down the corridor toward the Pioneer's airlock Tyler continued. "What would you like for dinner? It seems that Poseidon's promenade has just about anything you could think of."
"No idea. Let's see what catches our interest." She was no longer suffering from morning sickness, but sometimes certain foods appealed to her and at other times they didn't. This way, they'd just find whatever smelled best. "We could likely spend hours wandering the place otherwise."
"That is true... Besides a brief pre-dinner walk will probably do us some good. I hope that they have some place that is romantic. A lot of the promenades always have these themed restaurants and I just don't want that right now." Tyler always seemed nervous when going out with his wife. He never truly understood exactly what she saw in him and worried that she would run at the moment she realized just how good for him she was. However, he soon gained composure. "Well... Shall we?"
"Not yet." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. "Okay, now we can go." She gave him a cheeky grin. "I like the idea of an intimate restaurant. Maybe French or Italian. Honestly, as long as we're together, the place isn't as important."
"I am sure that we can find a place." Tyler replied as they walked down the corridor. As they approached the turbolift he stopped and simply looked at her. He drank her in, her beauty, how she glowed with impending motherhood. Tyler had always thought he was a lucky man, and right now he seemed to be even luckier if that was possible. He often did this, and did not seem to care if his crew or anyone else saw it. The turbolift arrived and minutes later they found themselves in the clear umbilical that lead from the Pioneer to Poseidon Station.
The Pioneer had landed on one of the station's landing pads. So, to board the station one had to walk through a clear umbilical. It was quite breathtaking to take the stroll. One could not only see the station, and the planet Aquil. But one could also see the rift which managed to look both menacing and beautiful at the same time.
Kat stopped to take in the view. "It's breathtaking. if I wasn't madly in love with the captain, I might consider a transfer." She gave Ty a cheeky grin and shook her head. "No. It took me too long to get where I am. I'm not going anywhere."
"Then you would have to break in another commanding officer and then it would be work work work all the time." Tyler laughed at his own joke and then stood there in silence to drink in all that was there. He turned so he could stare at the two women he loved most. His wife, and his ship. A Captain so rarely got that kind of view. He whistled and smiled. "You are too beautiful for words."
"Yes, I know you feel that way about your ship," she replied impishly. "But what do you think of your poor wife who has to come in second?"
"Actually, I was talking to both of you. You are not second... The best decision that we ever made was moving you on the Pioneer. I am damn glad to have you there. But saddened that it had to come at the price of you career." That was the truth. Tyler felt a tad selfish bringing her onto the Pioneer for that reason. Kat always said that it was her decision and it was not harming her career. But Tyler could not help but feel the opposite.
As they made their way through the umbilical Tyler smiled. "You know Poseidon Station is undergoing a major refit. I know how you are itching to get your hands dirty despite being on a leave of absence from the fleet. Perhaps you would want to take a look at the refit. I hear it is the most extensive refit any station has ever undergone."
Her eyes sparkled with interest and a broad grin spread across her face. "Could I? I'd love to see what they're doing." Although it would technically be operations doing the majority of the work on the station, she was still curious to see how they managed such a monumental task with everyone still on board.
"I am sure that Commander Jezkah would welcome the help. We can get something arranged for you. I would hate for you to lose your edge." He laughed as he motioned for her to lead the way out of this beautiful space walk in into the station.
"Edge or sanity?" she teased, slipping her arm through his. "I've written a dozen papers and sifted through every bit of data in the main and backup computers. El has been very accommodating."
"I am sure that she has been. After all she does not want to upset the pregnant Captain's wife. That could lead to all kinds of unfortunate circumstances..." Tyler's voice trailed off as he looked up through the umbilical. They were about half way across but the view took his breath and words away. He felt as if he were standing in the middle of everything looking out into the great undiscovered country.
Kat had seen the view from the ship, but this was something else. She leaned against Ty as they both looked up. After several minutes she looked at her husband. "And this is one of the reasons I stick with you, Cowboy," she whispered. In truth, she would be with him wherever he was, but she always enjoyed teasing him.
Tyler whistled and muttered softly "Sleep well you've earned it." After one last glance to the rift that had formed and swirled with all of its purple and green hues, Tyler continued into the station. "You know rumor has it that there is a DTI contingent on this station. I wonder what would merit that." He said as he let his wife enter the station first. "Meh, not my monkeys not my circus. Right?"
"Right. You have enough to keep you busy. You don't need to be wondering what DTI is doing here." She again slipped her hand through his arm. "Besides, I don't want you to think about anything work-related tonight. You're officially on vacation--at least for the next twelve hours."
"Fair enough..." Tyler said as they both stepped through the airlock and onto the station. "Now if only there was a way that we could learn where to go." He said with a smile. Poseidon was not like any other station Tyler had been on, it was a fairly new design and as such he had no idea where to go. Fortunately, he spotted a directory listing. "Ah here we are... Deck 63 is where we are heading. This way to the lift."
There was a lightness to her step as she walked beside Ty to the lift. The last time they had shore leave she spent much of it in the computer core. Now, she was eager to do some exploring, have a good meal, and spend a work-free evening spoiling her husband.
The two walked along the promenade hand in hand and took in the sights. Poseidon was certainly different from Empok Nor. He noticed nestled in the corner of the promenade was a Texas style bar-b-cue restaurant. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. "Hey babe look bar-b-cue. It has been sometime since we had some authentic homestyle bar-b-cue. What do you think? After all it is on theme with the rest of the night."
A Joint Post By
Commodore Tyler Malbrooke
Commanding Officer, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Commander Katherine Malbrooke
Operational Advisor, USS Pioneer
RSS Feed